Mallory slammed her fist against the ground floor button and, as the doors closed, she pressed herself against the wall of the elevator. Zhen was stunned. He’d remembered her from somewhere. Could it have been the airport? No, there was no way. Her hair was down. She always had her hair down and curled when she was modeling. Her hair was up. And she was wearing her brown contact.

“Point taken. I shouldn’t tease you.” Mallory said, looking to Zhen.

She nodded. “I’d appreciate it next time.”

The doors to the elevator opened, and Cho Hee was walking out of the conference room she’d been in. “Oh girls! There you are! Wonderful, let’s get going.” She said, smiling.

Zhen and Mallory exchanged glances before moving out of the elevator and towards Cho Hee. She said nothing as they moved towards the door. It was silent until they got to the car. “Zhen Ai, Mr. Kim wanted you to begin moving your things in today. I figure that we can drop Mallory off at her car, go back to the house and wait for your things, and after we move everything in, we can take you to dinner, and then I’ll drive you back to Mallory’s.”

Zhen looked to Mallory and nodded. “I’ll call Song Yi to start bringing my things.”

Mallory buckled herself in and pulled out her phone. “I’m going out with Cale tonight anyways. Apparently, he needs to make an appearance at a new club, and I’m expected to be with him.”

“Who is Cale?” Cho Hee asked. “Is he your brother?”

Zhen shook her head. “No, Jaspar is her brother. Caleb is her boyfriend.”

“If you can even call him that.” Mallory sighed. The rest of the short ride to Mallory’s car was silent. Cho Hee would occasionally change the radio stations, and Mallory would shift, crossing one leg over the other and then the other way whenever one leg fell asleep. When they had arrived at Mallory’s car, she was out of the car before it even stopped. “Thank you for the ride, Cho Hee. I’d better get going. I’m already late to an event I had no clue existed.”

Cho Hee smiled. “Have a nice night, Mallory. And be careful driving!” She shouted after her, as Mallory ran towards her car. Zhen had moved into the front seat and was buckling herself in when Cho Hee began to drive again. “Is it a bad relationship, her and Caleb? Is that why she sounded so annoyed by the mention of him?”

Zhen shrugged. “I suppose. She’s only dating him because her manager threatened to take her pay away if she didn’t.”

“That’s illegal.” Cho Hee spat.

Zhen frowned. “Yeah, but she signed a contract that’s in place for the rest of the year, and whatever the document says allows the manager to pretty much control her life. At least he doesn’t keep her in a basement somewhere.” Cho Hee was silent, so Zhen continued. “And Caleb isn’t too bad when he isn’t drunk.”

“How old is he?”

“Nineteen.” Zhen answered, and Cho Hee shook her head. “He’s not the greatest guy. But it could be worse.” That was what Mallory always said. If there were a way for her to be out of that relationship, she would have found it already, but with the way her contract was, she was screwed. “The year’s almost up, at least.”

Cho Hee was still frowning. “This manager sounds like a disgusting man.” Zhen nodded. “Please tell me you’re under a different manager.”

Zhen nodded. “Same franchise though. My agent and her manager are close, but my agent isn’t crazy.”

“Thank goodness for that.” Cho Hee said, pulling down the street that led to the Shins’ house. Zhen pulled out her phone and quickly texted Song Yi with the address, asking her to bring her things. Song Yi wasted no time telling her that she would be there immediately. “Are you hungry now? I can order for delivery, if you would like to eat now.”

Zhen shook her head, unbuckling her seat belt. “No, I’m alright for now.”

Cho Hee smiled. “Alright. Don’t be shy, okay? Tell me when you’re hungry.” Zhen nodded and Cho Hee opened her car door, climbing out. She’d pulled into the garage, so she directed Zhen to the door that led into the back room.

The back room led into the dining room, which was linked to the kitchen. Dae Hyun was standing in the kitchen, so when Zhen walked through, he leapt in surprise at the sight of her. “I didn’t know the two of you were on your way home already!” He said, smiling to Zhen. In his hands he held a bowl of rice and an unidentifiable fish. “Would you like me to fix you something to eat?”

“We just ate, dear.” Cho Hee said, coming in behind Zhen and dropping a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to order for delivery later. Zhen Ai’s friend is going to bring by her things today, so she can unpack in here.”

Dae Hyun’s face lit up. “Of course! Of course, just call me if you need any help, anything at all, okay? I’ll just be in my office, okay?” Zhen nodded and Cho Hee smiled to her