She slept in past noon. Till her mum popped her head into her room to wake her up. If she had her way, she would have slept in all day, nevermind the wrap-up party.

But that's not her. She had obligations, and she always fulfilled them without fail. She wasn't about to disregard them just because of a man and an unrequited love.

Steeling herself, she got dressed, soothed her wild mane into a ponytail, and set off for the hair salon to get ready for the party.
Mi Young unnie was already waiting for her when she got in. She gave her a warm hug, ushered her to a chair and started chattering mindlessly. This was their routine. Ji-Hyun loved her unnie, but she was a talker, which she wouldn't mind on a normal day, except she was feeling really down, and the lack of sleep hadn't helped. Still, she put in effort to engage her, making encouraging noises at appropriate junctures, and nodding enthusiastically when required.

She was staring into space when a tall, clean-cut figure appeared in the corner of the mirror, snagging her attention. He was here.

The salon was suddenly abuzz with activity, as staff and customers alike welcomed him happily, some coming forward to chat him up. Talk about star treatment. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep simply because it hurt too much to look at him.

She knew he had settled into a chair behind her, as she felt Mi Young unnie turn around to greet him cheerfully. "What time did you guys finish shooting last night?"

"Around 3am?" He answered smoothly.

"That's late! How was it? Did you cry?" Mi Young unnie teased, knowing how close-knit the crew was.

"No, but I might cry later." He said with an easy laugh.

Throughout the exchange, she kept her eyes shut, which was a bad idea, because she could focus on his voice better. She knew his voice was deep and husky, but she didn't know how much it affected her. There was a particular quality to his voice that made her skin tingle.

Giving her hair a final comb, Mi-Young unnie kneaded her shoulders gently to rouse her from her (fake) sleep. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she wasn't even close to dozing off, hyperaware of his presence behind her. She opened her eyes reluctantly, only to meet his gaze in the mirror.  

"Hi, Ji-hyun." His smile was tentative.

"Hi, oppa." She swallowed, returning the greeting with a limp wave, aware that there were eyes in the salon, but too tired to feign enthusiasm.

A little frown appeared between his eyebrows, as he peered at her face, noticing for the first time her downturned mouth and her dull eyes. She squirmed under the weight of his stare. He knew her too well. He knew something was up. That she wasn't herself.

Mi-young unnie, who witnessed the intense exchange, wisely kept her comments to herself. She wasn't about to meddle in their business. But seeing how uncomfortable Ji-hyun was, she decided to throw her a bone. Turning to block Chang Wook's view, she shot Ji-hyun a knowing look and gave her a light pat on the shoulder. Taking that as her cue, Ji-hyun jumped up from her seat with a quick 'thanks' to her unnie, and made her swift escape.

++++

The media attention was cra