As days passed, Hakyeon never once forgot his mission. He'd make her coffee, tuck in her chair, bring her food and keep her company betweens breaks. She never admitted to enjoying the latter, though every now and then he'd see the ends of her lips tug as she'd try to stifle a grin.

It was during one of those times where he'd hurry to give Minyoung a blanket after their rain scene ended that Seungri noticed Eunyoung leaning limply against the doorframe. Her small figure seemed even tinier than usual, her shoulders slumped and face fallen. "Hey."

She looked up at him and put on a bright expression. "Hi!"

He shook his head gently, noticing the act she was putting on, and leaned against the wall by her side. Following her line of sight, he realised Hakyeon must have noticed her gaze as he lifted up a hand to wave at the pair. Eunyoung smiled brightly as ever, giving an encouraging nod before he turned around again to continue with his own business.

Having been biting nervously on the inside of his lip for some time now, Seungri finally managed to speak up. "Isn't it hard to always smile?"

Just like that, a lump appeared in and she blinked as she continued watching Hakyeon from afar. "It's harder when I don't."

Though every kind action he did, and every smile he'd cause, only made Minyoung more angry with herself. Was she really going to let history repeat itself? He was her crush as a little girl, and crush her he did; the grudge she'd held for years, the hard work she put in to prove to herself she was better than he thought... was that all for nothing? The past fifteen years of her life - were they this meaningless?

"Why are you doing this?" She asked him one day, staring holes into the coffee he'd bought her. She had been sitting comfortably in her dressing room, trying to catch up on some sleep while her stylist did her hair, but as soon as he'd come knocking she suddenly felt like she was sitting on a cactus. She became so overwhelmed with this feeling of discomfort and she couldn't help herself - she had to speak up. This had been going on for far too long.

He gave a soft sigh, shaking his head. "I knew I shouldn't have started buying them from the other store... does it taste weird?"

"No, no-- no, I mean this. This... 'nice' act. Why?"

He could only look at her in confusion. "It's not an... act..."

"Do you think we're friends? Just because you passed by me in a couple of school hallways, does that make us friends?" her voice was raising without her realising, and she had to make an active effort to quieten down so not to draw attention from the staff nearby.

"Yes... no... I don't- I thought--"

She raised a hand to halt him. "Stop. You spoke wrong. It's not that you 'don't', you 'thought': it's that you don't think. If you did..." she let out a frustrated groan. "If you did-- you just don't! If you did, you would understand! You would know why I don't... want this, any of this!"

He remained silent for a few moments, suddenly completely aware of his every word. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally offend her again. "It's okay if you don't... want to be friends... but you're my co-star, and I know how tired you are, I- I can empathise with that, and it makes me sad. It makes me want to do nice things for you, so--"

"Then be a stranger."

He blinked. "What?"

"That's it. That's the... 'nice thing' I want you to do for me. Act like we don't know each other - basically, be honest. Because we don't," she concluded firmly, turning her head back to the mirror and completely ignoring his presence. "We don't."

* * *

"Why? Why did you come?" Minkyung demanded, glaring at Kang with tear-brimmed eyes.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." he managed, fumbling uselessly with his phone after ending the call to the ambulance. All he'd wanted to do was take her out to dinner; the last thing he'd expected had been a drunk driver colliding into his car, yet he couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with guilt. "I just... you seemed to be struggling these days, all these bad things happening at once, so I wanted to help you relax--"

"Don't you understand? These bad things - none of them happened before you showed up!" she yelled, her tears now running freely as her body became aware of the fractures in her bones. "I was fine before you! Everything was fine!"

He tried to clear his throat, blinking back tears at the intensity of her words. "Hey, d-don't... say that. We've known each other for years and you were fine... it's-- I'm sorry, I-I really am, but you can't... blame it on me..."

There was a pause and Minyoung's gaze dropped, tears spilling down her face before she bit her lip. "You're wrong," she mumbled through gritted teeth. "It's true that I've known you for years. But I wasn't fine. Not then... not even once."

Hakyeon stared, gobsmacked at her words. He wasn't expecting an adlib during such an important scene.

"How much I... only looked at you. How much you meant to me, and then how much I resented you. You didn't even know, did you?" she tried to glare at him, though the cracks in her voice only made her sound pitiful.

This wasn't it. This wasn't what she was meant to say at all - he could see out of the corner of his eye the staff whispering to each other. What was she doing? "Min--" he began, though he couldn't even finish saying her name before he was interrupted.

"Back then... I felt a lot of things. I felt what it must be like to have your heart pierced by a cactus. I discovered how it felt to walk with my head hung low. I felt myself grow up with a grudge instead of self-esteem... I felt all of that, but I never felt fine. I can blame that on you. If I can," she sniffed, raising a hand to harshly wipe a tear from her cheek. "At least I might still be able to feel dignity."

Hakyeon's eyes flickered to the ground as he tried to swallow the knot in his throat. "Ever since you met me..." he repeated quietly as he tried to understand what she was saying. He didn't care about the drama any more. This felt real. Too real.

"That's why I'm saying let's go back to before then. My life was better back then." She managed chokily. "Let's be strangers... please."

It was the same request she'd made earlier that day, though this time her words were shaky and pleading. He'd hoped for a while that her tough act earlier had been just that - an act and nothing else, just another wall he could work to break into - but now she seemed so vulnerable; now, she was asking him as a genuine favour. Shivers ran down Hakyeon's spine and he nodded, finally aware of the tears spilling along his face. "Okay."

She whispered a quiet thanks and the two remained silent with lowered heads until Hakyeon finally spoke up.

"But let me ask you one last thing."

"There's nothing to ask. We don't know each other," she muttered fiercely through gritted teeth, still refusing to lift her gaze.

"That's right... we don't," he said softly. He couldn't find it in his heart to disagree. Not after she'd asked him so sincerely. "I don't know you, so why am I crying?"

It was at that moment that Minyoung finally allowed herself to meet his eyes - only to find them as wet and sad as her own. The pair stared at each other wordlessly before the director called to end the scene, and she instantly hung her head. "Great job. Take a break. Scriptwriters, we're having a meeting. Figure out if we can keep any of that in."

VANISHING POINTS

EPISODE 8 SCENE 5: INT. CAR - EVENING

      KANG: Hey, don't say that. We've known each other for years and you were fine. It's- I'm sorry, I really am. But you can't blame it on me.

      MINKYUNG: You're wrong. It's true that I've known you for years. But I wasn't fine. Not even once. Every time you were around... was always my worst moment. I was constantly getting pricked by the spikes of an unavoidable cactus.

(FLASHBACK. SETTING: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. KANG accidentally spills drink bottle on MINKYUNG. Students tease she has 'wet her pants'.)

(FLASHBACK. SETTING: MIDDLE SCHOOL. KANG kicks soccer ball and breaks MINKYUNG's nose. Time skip: Students making rumours that she got plastic surgery.)

(FLASHBACK. SETTING: HIGH SCHOOL. MINKYUNG hurrying to avoid KANG in the hallway. Someone calls his name. He walks past her and she suddenly feels sick. Time skip: MINKYUNG resting at home with a fever.)

      MINKYUNG: Because of you, I discovered how it felt to walk with my head hung low. I felt myself grow up with a grudge instead of self-esteem. I felt all of that, but I never felt fine. I can blame that on you. If I can, at least I might still be able to feel dignity.

      KANG: Ever since you met me...

      MINKYUNG: That's why I'm saying let's go back to before then. Let's be strangers... please.

      KANG: [tearing up] Okay. But let me ask you one last thing.

      MINKYUNG: There's nothing to ask to a stranger.

      KANG: There is... there is. I don't know you, so why am I crying?

BGM ease in: OST PART 2 Sirens are briefly heard through BGM. Ambulance arrive. SFX mute. BGM only.