Jaemi nervously walked through the building to find the conference room. She respectfully bowed at everybody she met, even if she wasn’t actually going to be working with them. When she found the room, she peeked inside just to be certain that she was in the right place and she was relieved to see the guy she met with Joohyuk. She forced the feeling of wanting to throw up back down and she went inside.

                Henry noticed her come in right away and he went to greet her. He introduced her to the director, other staff members, and the other actors who had already arrived.

                “Do you need something to eat or drink? Make yourself comfortable while we wait for everybody to arrive. I don’t expect Jonghyun and Soeun to be here for another 15 or 20 minutes, but Hongbin should be here soon enough,” Henry notified. And sure enough, Lee Hongbin walked through the door just as the words left Henry’s mouth. “Ah, speak of the handsome devil. Have you met Hongbin? He’s going to be your co-star. Here, c’mon I’ll introduce the two of you.”

                Jaemi and Hongbin exchanged similar looks of surprise and mortification. Henry signaled for Hongbin to come over so they could be unnecessarily introduced to each other. She didn’t know what to do. If she told him that she didn’t want to be introduced to him then she’d either appear rude or expose their past relationship but if she didn’t tell him, then she would have to have a “normal” and extremely awkward conversation with him. She could feel the lack of her stomach contents come up again.

                Hongbin cautiously walked over the Jaemi and the staff member. He wondered who exactly the staff member was and why Jaemi was here. She couldn’t possibly be shooting this drama. He subtly looked around the room for hidden cameras. He was relieved, but also annoyed, that this didn’t seem to be a prank.  

                “Hello, sir. I’m VIXX’s Hongbin. Please take care of me,” Hongbin greeted respectfully.

                “Aigoo, such a nice kid,” Henry praised. “Hongbin, have you met your co-star? This is Jaemi and Jaemi this is Hongbin.”

                Hongbin nearly choked on his spit. He must’ve heard something wrong. Jaemi? As his co-star? There was had to be a mistake. He looked around, waiting for the camera crew to come in with s laughing at their terrible practical joke. But they never came.

                Seeing that Hongbin wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon, Jaemi extended her hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Hongbin-ssi. I hope we can get along well together.”

                Hongbin got her message and played along, albeit, not as nicely as she was playing. “Yeah, me too,” he responded curtly. Luckily for them, the two main actors arrived and the script reading started. Jaemi and Hongbin sat on opposite sides of the long conference table. Hongbin heard her incessantly tap her finger on the table. He couldn’t decide if her new nervous habit annoyed him more than her old one of biting her nails.

                Overall, the reading went a lot better than Jaemi thought it would’ve. The director was very kind, giving her suggestions on how to read her lines from time to time and pointing out the things that she did well. It made her feel a lot surer with herself. Hongbin was the slightest bit impressed by her acting skills, even though he had experienced it first-hand years ago.

                And for this being Hongbin’s first time acting in a drama, he was equally as nervous as Jaemi, but he was similarly reassured by the director’s kindness towards him. Jaemi knew Hongbin was a good actor from watching him act in various music videos and such. She was only nervous about having to eventually get up and shoot a scene with him being near her and interacting with her.

                Once the reading was over, Henry and the costumes director called Jaemi over to talk to her about her hair. Hongbin wondered why Henry would need to talk to her again; he half hoped that they made a last minute decision to replace her. He didn’t really need to go through all the trouble of breaking her heart. The costume director suggested using a wig for tomorrow’s filming and then they would dye her hair and use extensions after she returned from fashion week. Jaemi and Henry both agreed to the idea and she was on her way.

                She nearly bumped into Hongbin in the hallway. She was disheartened by his icy stare, but she knew that he wouldn’t be where he was today if she didn’t do what she did. In an attempt to clear the air between them she said, “So, I guess we’ll be seeing each other more often now… I hope we can be friends again, Hongbin.”

                “Yeah, sure, whatever,” he replied coolly.

                Jaemi smiled meekly and replied, “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

                He watched her walk out the door without saying anything else. He scowled at her, not having even the slightest intention to be her friend. She forfeited her right to be his friend the moment she decided to use him.

                By the sound of Hyuk’s roommate snoring loudly, Jaemi figured that it must’ve been the middle of the night in Boston. She felt bad for Hyuk who had to stay up late to do homework, but at least it gave them a chance to video chat.

                “Have you slept at all, Hyuk?” she asked concernedly, noticing the countless cans of energy drinks on his desk and the way he fought to keep his eyes open while he took notes on his textbook.

                “I took a short nap earlier today, don’t worry about me. What about you? You look like panda,” he teased.

                She covered her face with her hands and he quietly laughed at her. “Ey, I was just kidding. You look great for a really sleep deprived person,” he complimented. She rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

                “So how was your day?” she asked, changing the subject of their conversation.

                “It was boring, as usual. What about you?” he replied.

                “Well, I got back from New York yesterday and then I had to go to the script reading for that that I’m going to be in. Oh! You know how the casting director told me I would be acting with an idol? Well the idol is Hongbin! He’s going to be the guy I’m supposed to fall for,” she complained.

                Hyuk paused his work when he heard that Jaemi was supposed to like Hongbin again. “But, it’s just acting, isn’t it?” he confirmed.

                “Yeah, but still. It’s going to be so awkward,” she whined.

                “Why would it be awkward if you guys are just pretending?” he asked.

                “Because we’re going to have to like each other on camera and that’s just going to be so awkward,” she whined further. Jaemi started talking about the various scenes where she’d have to act like his girlfriend while Hyuk started on his homework again. Of course he half-listened to Jaemi, but he basically only listened to her voice as a background noise. He felt bad for not giving her his undivided attention, but he was busy and it wasn’t as if she was in a dire situation.

                As soon as Hongbin stepped into his dorm, he let out a long, agonized groan. N poked his head from out of his room to see what the commotion was. He saw Hongbin throw his script down onto the coffee table in frustration.

                “Hey, Kong. Is everything alright?” he asked concernedly.

                “Oh yeah everything is totally fine. I just wanted to yell for absolutely no reason,” he replied sarcastically. He covered his face with a pillow and groaned, “Jaemi is going to be in the drama too.”

                N’s jaw dropped. “What? Jaemi? As in Jo Jaemi? Your ex-girlfriend? She’s acting with you? Oh, wait, she’s just going to be like a background character right?”

                “Nope! She’s the second female lead. And I’m the second male lead. Yay!” Hongbin yelled sarcastically.

                N was at a loss for words. He called Leo over and explained the situation to him, but Leo couldn’t think of anything to say either. Hongbin was really going to have a mental breakdown. For three years, he and Jaemi managed to run in completely separate circles. The only time he ever saw her in those three years was when he was shopping on the Adidas website and he saw her modeling some of their clothes. But now, she was suddenly everywhere he was.

                “So what are you going to do?” Leo asked quietly.

                “Ugh, I don’t know. I can’t quit now, the filming starts tomorrow,” he grumbled.

                “Obviously you can’t quit!” N agreed. “But I think Taekwoon meant ‘what are you going to do so that there aren’t going to be any rumors or scandals about you two?’ right, Taekwoonnie?” Leo stared at N in annoyance in response. “Yeah, so how are we going to deal with this? Let’s brainstorm.”

                Hongbin groaned again and buried his face in his hands. He hated every bit of this. He hated that he’d have to see her on a regular basis now. He hated how easy it was for her to act like they never met. He hated that he had to worry about somebody finding out that he used to be her boyfriend instead of somebody finding out that he was her current boyfriend. He hated that he even wanted that. Everything just .

                While the two older boys discussed the best way for Hongbin to act around Jaemi, Hongbin thought about why she was suddenly everywhere. Of all the flights she could’ve taken, of all the restaurants she could’ve gone to, and of all the dramas or TV shows or movies she could’ve been in, she had to be in the exact same ones as him, but why? After three years of silence, why now? What was she trying to accomplish?

                “Guys,” he said after a great deal of thought. “Do you think… that maybe… Jaemi wants me back?”

                Leo and N could only gawk at Hongbin. “What?” N asked, more as a statement that a question. Leo continued to stare at him harshly, trying to determine how serious he was being.

                “Really, hyungs. Think about it. Isn’t it weird that she shows up everywhere I am all of a sudden? And none of us have talked to her or Hyuk for years, how would we know if they’re actually still together? You know, long distance relationships never last for more than a year and they both have such short tempers, there’s no way they could’ve lasted this whole time,” he explained.

                “No. No. No. Lee Hongbin. You will not get back together with her. I forbid you,” N declared.

                “What? No, I don’t want to get back together,” he fibbed. N sighed in relief, but Leo still doubted him. “I was saying that if she wants me back, then I can use this as my chance to get even with her. She plays me, I play her. It’s only fair, right?”