Chaeyoung paces around the entrance of the hospital while running her hands through her face and her hair. Why did she do that just now?! Now the victim is threatening to sue her for reckless driving if she doesn’t pay the settlement fee of $10 million won. In the first place, Chaeyoung doesn’t think she has that kind of money, and asking for money from her parents means certain death. She shudders to think of the consequences of asking for this amount of money from her parents. Don’t get her wrong, her parents love her a lot, but they have been at odds recently because Chaeyoung refuses to enroll for university. She sighs as she plops down on the steps of the hospital, hiding her face in her hands. “Guys, what am I going to do now?”

“Just ask for money from your parents, you are the richest among us.” Jungyeon says nonchalantly as Dahyun nods her agreement.

“Bruh, do you think my parents will give me money considering how much we argued over my decision not to go to college? And it’s 10 million dollars, not 10 dollars!” Chaeyoung whines.

“That’s your fault though.” Dahyun is unsympathetic and it’s Jungyeon’s turn to nod her agreement.

Chaeyoung just sighs and her two friends stare down at her with pitiful looks.

“Yah, your life is not going to end just because of this incident. We just need to think harder for a solution.” Jungyeon, the oldest unnie of this group rationalizes.

Dahyun nods, encouraged by Jungyeon’s words. “Unnie, why don’t you lend Chaeng some money for the settlement fee then? You have the most savings out of the three of us.”

Jungyeon stares at Dahyun with a horrified expression. “Yah, it’s 10 million dollars! Why and how would I have 10 million dollars in my bank?” She turns back to look at Chaeyoung, her gaze immediately softening. “Sorry Chaeng, I can lend you some, but it’s still a far shot from 10 million.”

Chaeyoung just props her head against her clenched fists as she sighs again. Guess this is really how her life ends. Jungyeon and Dahyun settle down on either side of her, looking just as desolate as her. Dahyun suggests, “Maybe you should just try to hit on her again, make her fall in love with you so she forgets about the settlement fee.”

Chaeyoung turns to look at Dahyun, then turns back to look at Jungyeon, the two no-jam brothers’ faces lighting up as they jumped up and high-fived each other. Chaeyoung fixes her hair quickly, hoping she didn’t ruffle it up too badly just now in her distress as Jungyeon fixes her shirt for her.

“How do I look?” Chaeyoung asks Jungyeon. The latter takes a step back before patting Chaeyoung on the shoulders reassuringly. “Perfect.”

“Wait, you aren’t really going to hit on her right?” Dahyun asks incredulously, getting up.

The two no-jam brothers ignore Dahyun as Jungyeon holds Chaeyoung’s face tightly, as if she’s giving the younger girl a prep talk. “Listen kid, this is not your everyday fling, this is do-or-die. Get the girl, or go to jail. There is no room for failure, only success. You copy?”

Chaeyoung nods resolutely and Jungyeon pats her on the back. “Now go. You are ready.”

Chaeyoung ignores Dahyun’s cries of “You guys are crazy!” as she steps in to look for the victim again. She spots her sitting on a bed talking on the phone seriously as she rips off the IV drip on her arm, attempting to get out of bed even though she has a bruised knee. She gets off the phone just as Chaeyoung gets to her. “Woah woah, where do you think you are go-“

The girl throws her bag to Chaeyoung who catches it reflexively. “You have a car right? Send me to work first; we can talk about the settlement on the way there.”

“O-okay.” Chaeyoung just follows behind the girl silently. So much for hitting on her.

--

“So kid, how old are you?” The girl asks as she fixes her make-up. Chaeyoung grunts as she hears how the woman addresses her. She hates it when strangers address her as ‘kid’. Yes, she has a baby face, but she’s already qualified to drive, so in the eyes of the law she’s not a minor. Which also means, she can go to jail if she doesn’t get this woman to forget the settlement fee, so Chaeyoung it up and answers it. She clears . “I’m 18, and I’m no longer a kid.”

The girl looks at her and chuckles. “Yeah sure, if you say so.”

Chaeyoung looks at the girl from the corner of the eye. She doesn’t even look that much older than Chaeyoung herself, just looks a bit mature for her age. “How old are you then?” Chaeyoung asks as she follows the navigation, turning into a road block, the road apparently blocked for filming. “What is this…”

The girl snaps her lipstick shut and throws it back into her bag with practiced ease as she opens the car door. “Just worry about your settlement fee kid.” She jests as she hands over a piece of paper. It’s a sequence of numbers that Chaeyoung presumes is the girl’s phone number and she’s proven right with the girl’s next sentence. “Text me when you have the money.”

The girl waves goodbye with a small smirk on her face as she turns and speeds off towards the filming site while Chaeyoung just hits her head against the backrest in agony. So much for hitting on her indeed. She stuffs the paper in her pocket, intrigued by the filming site in front of her. No harm taking a look since she’s so free anyway. She gets out of the car, walking towards the direction the girl went off in. She sees the staff rushing around with equipment and walkie- talkies, making sure the filming site is ready for filming later. She spots the girl a few hundred meters away, bowing to the staff and introducing herself. “Hi, I’m Myoui Mina, a new actress; please take care of me well.”

She raises an eyebrow.

So she’s an actress? Myoui Mina? I should totally badmouth her on the internet and make her lose her career. She’s honestly blackmailing me for so much money for such a small injury.

But Chaeyoung sees Mina following a staff to a corner where all the other extras are, sees how her face contorts in pain when she thinks nobody is looking and Chaeyoung knows it’s not that small of an injury after all. Chaeyoung sighs. What an idiot.

--

Chaeyoung just watches as the filming goes on, the same scene being filmed for hours, the same scene where Mina has to run as she’s being chased by bullies. The bandage and wounds on her leg fits in well with the role of her ‘bullied student’ look, but Chaeyoung wonders if the director’s consistent shouts of ‘NG’ and ‘Retake!’ are counted as bullying as well. She sees the blood seeping through Mina’s bandages, sees how her limps get more and more obvious with each take.

“Cut! You over there who’s being bullied! You call that running?! I just need you to run as fast as you can, is that so difficult to understand?” The director barks, throwing his script to the floor. “Can someone get me some ing good extras for once?!”

A staff near the director tries to placate him, calling for a 15 minute break from filming. Mina apologizes as she bows to all the staff and her co-actors and actresses as they leave the site, giving her dirty looks. Chaeyoung feels her insides burn at this sight, but she keeps it together as she makes her way to Mina. She grips Mina’s waist harshly and drags her to a secluded corner and sits her down on a bench. 

“What are you doing kid?” Mina asks, resisting but stopping once Chaeyoung shoots her a glare. She unrolls the bandage, sees that the stitches have burst open from the constant impact of running. Chaeyoung closes and rubs her eyes in frustration. “You are such a ing idiot.”

Before Mina can retort, Chaeyoung silences her with an alcohol swap on her wound. Mina winces as she tries her best not to kick the younger girl, biting down on her teeth to bear the pain. She hides her face in her palms as Chaeyoung helps to clean and wrap her wound. She taps Mina’s knee lightly to tell her she’s done and Mina looks down to see a newly bandaged knee and she’s rendered speechless for a good few seconds.“Th-thanks.”

Chaeyoung waves her off as she picks up the first aid kit and walks off without saying another word.

--

To Mina’s surprise, the kid is still there when filming ended. She picks up Mina’s bag for her and helps her to her car, Mina already too tired and in too much pain to protest. She helps Mina to the passenger seat, before running to her driver’s seat, starting the car. Mina sees the time as the car starts; 1:12AM, and is alarmed. This kid is still hanging outside when it’s so late?!

“Don’t you have a curfew?” Mina asks, only to be replied with a glare and a roll of her eyes from the kid.

“I would totally fight you, if you weren’t in so much pain already.” The kid retorts as she pulls out from the lot, turning out from this horrendous filming site that Mina never wants to see again. Mina hums as a response, fighting fatigue and the throbbing pain in her right knee. She sees the kid glance at her for a moment and she realizes she’s in this stranger’s car, not even knowing where she’s being sent to.

“Where are you bringing me to?” Mina asks groggily as she tries to focus on the kid. The kid clicks her tongue. “Hospital. Just sleep, we will be there soon.”

Mina realizes this kid isn’t as bad she seems, and she’s in safe hands. “What’s your name kid?”

“It’s Chaeyoung, and for the last time, I’m not a kid.”

“Hmm okay, if you say so.” Mina sasses back before she succumbs to sleep.  

--

a/n: sorry this took so long, i'm having my finals now so updates will be a little bit slower

next chapter will probably be up in the next 2 weeks (i hope)