Hakyeon would be lying if he said he wasn’t losing his patience. “Eunyoung-ah! You haven’t been able to ask her yet?” he reminded with furrowed brows.

"No… sorry, oppa. Wait a little while longer," she added, quietly grateful he seemed to have forgotten about the question he’d texted her the previous night.

"Alright," he sighed, pressing his lips tightly together for a moment before returning his gaze to rest on her as an idea dawned in his mind. "Hey, I almost forgot! I’m still waiting for an answer from you, you know."

…spoke too soon— "Hm?" she hummed, feigning innocence. "I don’t know what you’re talking ab—"

"Yah, honestly, you just typed ‘message failed’, didn’t you?" he grumbled, jutting his bottom lip. "Is it really that hard a question? Is there nothing to like about me?!"

"I—" she winced, uncomfortable at the feeling of her already-flushing cheeks. "O-Of course it’s a hard question! It’s not normal to ask someone to compliment you!"

He pulled a judging expression. “Tch… now you’re saying oppa’s abnormal?!”

"Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying!"

"Aish, this punk—!" he glared, folding his arms. "Fine. If you’re not going to compliment me out loud, I’ll do it for you."

"What are you—"

"I’m going to read your mind. Face me, Joo Eunyoung! Look deep into my eyes as I stare into the depths of your soul…" he declared dramatically, bending down to reach her eye level.

She blinked, her head jolting back instinctively at his actions.

"Ani, you can’t move!" he complained, his hands reaching to her temples. "Do it properly~"

"I don’t know what I’m meant to be doing!" she protested.

"You’re meant to stand still and look at me. No moving, no blinking, no breathing. Reading minds isn’t an easy jo—"

"No breathing?!"

A slightly surprised grin tugged at his lips and he shook his head. “I was joking…” he reassured, amused by her gullibility.

She gulped as he smiled, quietly hoping her cheeks had calmed themselves down. “This is ridiculous…” she mumbled, looking into his eyes nevertheless.

"Hmm, I’m reading… I’m reading…" he chanted exaggeratedly, squinting as he pretended to look deep into her thoughts. "Oh—?! That’s weird… oh…”

Her eyes widened. “Wh-wh-what— stop it!” she struggled to push his hands away as he made his way down to her cheeks, squishing them together to imitate a fish.

"Say ‘oppa’ once~" he grinned, wiggling her cheeks around in silly positions.

She frowned, trying to hold back her laughter. “Oppma—”

"Aigoo, our Eunyoungie speaks so well!" he laughed, letting his hands drop and throwing an arm around her shoulder for a quick side-hug.

"Mm, and you speak too much," she scowled, though it wasn’t long before she had to look away so he wouldn’t see the wide smile on her face.

"Yah, Cha Hakyeon!" an angry voice called and the man’s expression dropped.

"E-Ellin-ssi?" he responded cautiously, racking his mind for anything he could have done to irritate her first thing in the morning.

She stomped her way over and pushed his arm off the younger girl’s shoulder before tugging her protectively towards her side. “What kind of act are you trying to pull?”

He could only blink in absolute bewilderment. “I—”

"You stay away from him, okay, Eunyoung?" she warned her. "No matter who he said he knows, or what kind of job he said he could get you. People like this can’t be trusted…" she added, facing him with a look that could shoot daggers.

It took a good few moments for him to realise what she was talking about. “Oh, no— No, it’s not like that at all, please don’t misunderst—”

"Joo Eunyoung, Seungri! Set 2. We’re starting with scene 4," the director’s voice called out through his megaphone.

"Yes," the younger responded, bowing awkwardly at the two people beside her before hurrying off to work.

Minyoung glared menacingly at the man. “People like you make me sick.” How ironic that he would become this kind of person - tricking innocent rookies for his own selfish pleasures. He was exactly the type her mother had warned her of when Minyoung decided she wanted to work in the entertainment industry. She was ready to walk away when a warm hand caught her wrist— “Don’t touch me,” she warned, shaking him off to no avail.

"Kim Minyoung," he said softly, looking worriedly into her eyes which refused to meet his. Times like this he wished he really could mind read. "I… I know that you don’t like me. And you don’t have to, it’s okay— I just… we’re going to be working together for the next four months, and… to tell you the truth, it’s going to be a bit hard if we don’t get along. That’s why… I want to make sure you know - what you think you saw just then is completely not the truth. I understand how it could have looked that way. I don’t blame you. But please know that it’s not true. I’m…" he bit his lip awkwardly, letting out a quiet sigh as he continued. "I’d like to think I’m not a bad person, so— if there’s… any reason in particular why you don’t like me, please, let me know. If I can change it, I will, so—"

"You can’t change it."

Goosebumps shot through his flesh at the coldness of her words. “A-Are you sure?” he tried, still genuinely oblivious. “Is it my face? My voice?”

Her frown of disgust turned into one of hurt nature; she shrugged his hand off her wrist and folded her arms, looking up at him with disappointment. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

"Remember… what? I- I know we went to school together—"

"No, that’s— ugh…" she groaned, shaking her head. "Forget it. I’ve just been having migraines lately and it’s affecting my mood. It’s nothing, honestly." How could he not remember? How was it possible that the words which scarred her for years meant absolutely nothing to him? While she thought for a few moments that maybe she’d just been acting immature, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of anger and insult growing inside of her. He’d ruined her self-esteem and then never thought of it again. Somehow, that made the pain feel a hundred times worse.