The first day of filming went better than expected - in Hakyeon’s mind, at least. He had some concerns as to whether it would be awkward working with a former schoolmate who didn’t even remember him, but he was relieved to find her cooperating naturally and doing her best. He was soon to realise she was a better actress than he’d thought; particularly in the scenes where her character would be acting harshly towards him, he could feel her gaze burning deep into his soul. He was half-tempted to tell her how great she was, though his fear of it seeming condescending held him back. For someone who appeared to thrive on social activity, he had a tendency to secretly get incredibly nervous… but then again, wasn’t it his job to pretend to be someone he’s not?

Lunch break was called and Hakyeon took the opportunity to get to know his co-star on a friendlier level. “Minyoung-ah! I brought our graduation yearbook. Want to go through it while we eat?” he offered with a bright smile.

"Don’t you think it’s a little impolite to call me Minyoung?" she responded sharply.

His expression fell. “Oh… but… we went to school together, so—”

"And you said yourself that we weren’t close, right? We’re still not. Don’t speak informally."

"I’m… sorry," was all he could say. She wasn’t like this before - she was bubbly at the press conference and script-reading, wasn’t she? Was he imagining it all? Maybe she was just tired today. That must have been it. "I guess that means I have to start from the beginning, then, right?" he forced a laugh. "Hi, Ellin-ssi. My name’s Cha Hakyeon. I hope we can be friends. Can I get you some coffee?"

She bit her bottom lip tightly in effort to maintain a composed expression. “Am I stupid? I know how to make coffee too, you know!” she yelled. The staff around them turned; upon feeling the pressure of their judging eyes, she let out an awkward laugh and gave his shoulder a heavy pat. “Yeah, so that’s what she said! It’s such a funny video. I’ll show you next time!”

While the staff members believed her lie and went back to their own business, Hakyeon only stared in confusion as she threw her hand back to the side and walked away. “Wh-where are you going?” he called out helplessly.

"To the bathroom. Not that it’s any of your business…" she muttered, making her way inside. She sighed and gripped the rim of the sink as she faced her reflection in the mirror. You have to control your anger, she scolded herself. At least in public. The production crew don’t know what an he is, they’re going to think you have a princess disease or something… ugh, but I can’t be nice to him all the time! That’s like saying it’s okay for him to treat human beings like rubbish. Karma has to happen! How else is he going to learn?!

Her mind was still filled with these thoughts as she returned to the filming location. She spotted Hakyeon, who looked as if he was about to say something, though the director called ‘Ready!’ on his loudspeaker before he had a chance. With shoulders slightly slumped, he made his way back to set as Minyoung gave herself a mental pep talk to get back in character.

Throughout the duration of the filming, she was amused to find Hakyeon occasionally messing up. The amateur was doing better than the professional - and she was loving every second of it. Hakyeon couldn’t help it himself; he couldn’t stop thinking about why she could possibly hate him. What had he done that morning to annoy her? She’d been fine before that! He’d always been the one everyone got along with. This was something he couldn’t bear. Amid these thoughts he’d find himself glancing over at her when he wasn’t supposed to, leading for a need to re-take the shot.

"I’m sorry…" he apologised to the production team for what felt like the umpteenth time, while Minyoung leaned in to mutter under her breath.

"I know I’m pretty. I know that. But it’d really help if you’d follow the script.”

He looked over at her with furrowed brows and blinked, nodding his head in apology.

* * *

"She hates me!" he declared in bewilderment, throwing his arms around wildly as he complained to Eunyoung. "She completely, one-hundred-percent loathes me. Why? What did I do? Tell me, Eunyoung-ah! Give oppa your feminine intuition, because I have no idea what’s going on!"

The younger girl bit her bottom lip awkwardly. She’d worked with Hakyeon for a drama in the past and the two became friends, but this was the first time she’d seen him so cut up about something. “I’m sure she doesn’t hate you…” she tried.

"Nope— Stop right there! I don’t want reassurance. Reassurance is stupid. I just want a reason."

"I… don’t know," she admitted in defeat. "I’m sorry, oppa. I really do wish there was something I could do to help you out."

He shook his head, giving her a faint smile. “Hey, it’s okay. Maybe I just need to try being a little nicer to her—”

"Oh, wait! There is something. I get along fine with Ellin unni, do you want me to ask for you?"

His brows rose at the idea. “… Would you?”

"Of course!" Eunyoung smiled brightly with a nod of her head. "It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done to help me. I’ll try to become closer with her today, okay? If I just ask her now, she’d probably make up an excuse."

"Mm, you’re right…" Hakyeon realised. "Well, in the meantime, I’ll do what I can. Just make sure to let me know what she says, alright?"

"I will! But… ah, I’m pretty sure she’s just been tired from work. It doesn’t make sense that she’d be rude to you so suddenly."

"That’s exactly why I’m confused," he complained, crossing his arms almost childishly. "But then why is she only rude to me? Why not everyone else?"

Eunyoung hummed softly under her breath as she mulled over the idea. “Well, I guess because you can’t fire her,” she grinned and Hakyeon chuckled.

"If that’s the case, I might be able to deal with it."

"Hey— can we make this fun? Want to make a bet on it?" Eunyoung offered, face lit up with enthusiasm.

"A bet?"

"Yeah! How about… if there’s a reason, I’ll bring lunch for you for a week. If there’s no reason in particular - as in, she’s just tired and stuff - you have to…" she frowned, struggling to make up her mind. "Ah, I’ll figure it out later. You have to do one thing for me. Deal?"

"WAIT, wait, wait. I’m smelling a loophole here. When I win, the lunch has to be home-made, okay? Don’t just buy me fast food!” he raised a finger in warning.

She laughed, pushing his finger out of the way. “Alright! Got it! We have a deal.”

He held out his hand and the two shook with grins on their faces. “Pleasure doin’ business with you, ma’am.”