I staggered into the kitchen, my nose just missing a collision with the doorway by a few centimetres.

A blonde was leaning against the wooden table, reading a magazine. She turned around to look at me. "Morning."

"Mor…ning… Lisa…" I mumbled, making my way to the kitchen counter.

My eyes were half-closed as I shook the cereal box a few times, before fumbling with the carton of milk that I had brought out from the fridge.

"Whoa!" Lisa said as she snatched the carton away from me.

I looked down at my bowl of cereal. The poor little things were bobbing around in a sea of white, which was threatening to overflow.

I furrowed my brows, feeling rather annoyed as I tried to figure out how to hold on to the bowl without dipping my fingers into the milk.

Lisa let out a frustrated grunt. "Let me do it. You, sit there."

I hummed in response, shuffling towards the kitchen table and dragging a chair out. I then slumped on the chair.

Lisa put the bowl in front of me and pressed a spoon into my hand. After giving a slight nod of thanks, I took the spoon and shoved it into the cereal. And stopped.

"Jennie? Jennie!"

I opened my eyes with a jolt. "H—huh?"

"You just fell asleep with your spoon stuck in your cereal!"

I couldn't tell from Lisa's tone whether it was meant to be a remark, an insult, or an expression of incredulousness. Probably all of the above.

I peered up at her, bleary-eyed, before dipping my head again.

"Ugh… I'm gonna get you some coffee."

In my hazy world, I barely registered the sound of Lisa stomping around the kitchen.

Soon, I was greeted with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

"Tha…nk… you…" I slurred and took a sip of the coffee. I never liked the aftertaste of coffee, but it was an emergency.

My best friend plopped herself on the seat opposite me. "What is going on with you?"

"What?" The cogs in my brain were groaning as they tried to get up to speed.

"You've been like this since coming back from that T.O.P guy's place on Friday."

Lisa's words were like a splash of cold water. On an icy winter day. "H—huh?" I said as I fidgeted uncomfortably on my chair. "It's nothing… Just insufficient sleep."

"Is that so?" She continued to eye me curiously.

I gave a small shrug and stuffed a spoonful of cereal in my mouth.

"You've been meeting this T.O.P guy quite a bit," Lisa pressed on as she quirked an eyebrow. "Anything I should know?"

I blinked a few times. The cogs in my brain were finally fully engaged. "Wh—what? Me and T.O.P?" I chuckled loudly.

My best friend, however, remained staring at me, not seeming to be in the least amused.

I sat upright in my seat and grinned as I pointed at the fridge with my spoon. "See that magnet on the fridge?"

"Which magnet?"

"The one you bought, i.e. the ugliest one."

"Ow!" I rubbed my head. Lisa had successfully smacked the last bit of sleepiness out of me with her rolled-up magazine.

I gave a pout, which was promptly ignored by her.

"Anyway… T.O.P is a magnet."

She looked at me blankly.

"But T.O.P is not attracted to fridges, he is attracted to other magnets."

She frowned, appearing to consider my words. There was then a swishing sound as she swung her magazine at me, but I was fully prepared and managed to duck my head in time.

"Is it necessary to beat around the bush? Just tell me that he's gay already!"

I gave her a broad grin. "But it's fun!" I then went on to stuff more cereal into my mouth.

That said, Lisa was right. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep since I returned from T.O.P's place on Friday night.

I probably should explain my relationship with T.O.P a bit. Well, T.O.P, or Seunghyun as he was known then, and I had met in New Zealand during middle school. While I was the kiwi girl who couldn't speak a word of Korean, Seunghyun was the Korean boy who struggled in English, as his parents had only just relocated to Auckland for work. The similarity we shared, however, was that both of us were ostracized by our schoolmates.

Lanky and gawky, T.O.P. was regularly picked on by the bullies, who literally got their kicks out of him. This lasted for some months, before said bullies ended up stuck headfirst in a large rubbish bin, their legs twitching agitatedly in the air. Umm… no, I don't think I should tell you what exactly happened. I like to call that episode the Revenge of the Nerds, though.

Anyway, that one year that we spent together was the only happy memory I had of middle school. Thereafter, my parents decided to move to Singapore. We kept in touch for a while, sending long letters over the Pacific Ocean. But that was the time before Facebook and whatnot, and eventually we lost contact with each other.

Who would have known that he had moved back to Korea; that we would meet again in Seoul?

And who would have expected the immensely awkward teenager to grow up into a dashing young man?

I guess T.O.P has the last laugh now.

Since our surprise reunion at the boutique, I had gone over to T.O.P's place a few times to chill. His parents were still based in Auckland, so he was living alone in the suburbs. His bachelor pad, though small, was cozy enough. I would spend the evenings chatting and joking around with him, and it would feel as if those years in which we were apart never existed. The shy and thoughtful T.O.P whom I knew also gradually made his appearances more and more frequently.

So last Friday night, I had again dropped by T.O.P's place. After dinner, I lazed on the floor, while T.O.P was glued to his laptop. I was getting rather bored, as my dear friend had been stuck on YouTube for ages, randomly surfing for interesting videos. The last time he spoke to me, I gathered that he was viewing videos of various female celebrities.

"Are you done being y yet, T.O.P?" I asked as I lolled on the floor. No, I have no idea why a gay guy was watching videos of so-called hot babes.

"I'm not being , Jennie," he replied evenly, his gaze still affixed to the screen, "I'm just amazed that there are so many videos like this online."

"Yeah, and you have to actually watch them to be amazed," I retorted dryly as I sat up on the tatami. Suddenly a thought struck me – my, err, video with Jisoo wouldn't happen to have been uploaded on YouTube, would it?

I quickly got to my feet and was contemplating whether to "accidentally" trip on the laptop wire when T.O.P jerked his head up.

"Jennie!"

I stopped breathing. You got to be kidding me!

"Look at this!" he said excitedly as he turned his laptop towards me.

My panic was quickly replaced by a sense of relief when I realized that it was not the music video. Instead it seemed to be a clip from a movie.

"Oh my god," T.O.P gushed excitedly as he nudged the laptop nearer to me, "she's so hot I can go straight for her."

I was about to comment that the statement was so wrong in so many ways, but for some weird reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

I recognized the girl in the video immediately as one of those popular young actresses from Hollywood.

The girl sauntered slowly towards the camera, her hips swaying sensuously from side to side. She flicked her long, black hair behind her shoulder, before running her hand through those ily tousled locks.

As she came closer, her lips parted slightly in a smirk, while her smouldering gaze threatened to burn up the screen.

As I watched, my eyebrows climbed higher and higher.

The dark-haired girl's face started to blur, and for a moment I thought I saw dazzling, black eyes.

…Jisoo?

"Jennie? Jennie?"

T.O.P was snapping his fingers in front of me. "Helllllloooooo?"

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

Without further ado, I bolted from the room. It took some time before my beloved eyebrows went back to their default positions.

And yes. From then on, I've been haunted by images of a certain Ice Princess.

Maybe Lisa can shed some light on this mystery.

"Ah… Lisa?" I said quietly, stirring my spoon in the cereal bowl.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think… Do you think Jewel girl looks like—"

We were interrupted by the sound of Lisa's phone ringing.

My best friend cast an apologetic glance in my direction. "Sorry," she said before picking up the call. "Hello? Rosie?"

I let out a heavy sigh and went to wash the dishes. I'm going to have a real awkward day at the studio.

One hour later, I was standing nervously at entrance of my workplace.

Okay, she usually comes in a bit later, so I should have enough time to concoct an excuse and get out of the studio. At least until I get these absurd images out of my head.

But surely heaven loved me, as I proceeded to run right smack into the girl I was trying to avoid.

"Hey." Jisoo gave a small smile as she slid her aviators off.

I shifted my gaze elsewhere at once. "H—hey. You are early today," I croaked as I marched stiffly into the studio, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah… I, umm, I thought I could help you with some errands," she answered as she trailed behind me.

Help me? With errands? What happened to Jennie-the-Maid?

I haven't had the chance to reply when she quickly added, "Dara said that the faster we get them out of the way, the faster we can finish the filming."

Oh. And here I was, thinking that she was being nice to me.

I removed my messenger bag and threw it on the chair, before picking up a stack of paper. It contained a schedule of things that had to be done that week. "It's alright," I said blandly as I kept my gaze on the paper, "I can handle them."

"Ah… okay," she mumbled.

I continued flipping through the stack of paper uneasily, wondering why she was still hovering behind me.

"Jennie?"

"Huh?"

"You've flipped through them three times. Are you okay?"

"A—ah?" I coughed a few times. My awkward behaviour clearly couldn't go on forever; she probably knew that something was amiss.

"Sorry," I said as I turned my body towards her, "I—I haven't gotten enough sleep."

Are you talking to the air? Look at her, Jennie!

I forced myself to meet her eyes. Which turned out to be huge mistake, as our gazes promptly locked.

I found myself unable to move as she stretched her hand out hesitantly and pressed her palm gently on my forehead. "You're not feeling well?"

I could see the familiar crimson hue gathering in her cheeks, and my gaze instinctively drifted downwards to her lips. Luscious, pink lips.

Holy macaroni!

I flinched, snapping my gaze back upwards. "I'm okay!"

"Really?" Her brows were slightly furrowed. "Your forehead seems a bit warm."

Of course, it's warm, because I'm blushing!

And why in the world did I stare at her lips for. Heart shaped lips. How did I have never noticed before?

Well, err, because she was moving her lips?

Yeah, right. Since when did you become an expert in lip-reading, huh?

I kicked my bickering thoughts to the back of my head. Both of you, shut up!

"Yes, yes. I'm fine."

"Okay," she said uncertainly as she removed her hand from my forehead. My body instantly relaxed and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

As she turned around to walk away, I massaged the back of my neck wearily. It has been a horrible morning so far.

"Ah, Jennie?" She suddenly spun around, such that I jerked my head up. I winced at once.

Crap. I think I pulled a muscle.

I reluctantly turned my attention to her. But my gaze had barely skimmed over her face when unwanted images started flashing in my mind again. Intense black eyes, delicate cheeks, heart shaped lips—

"Y—yes, Jisoo?"

"About that day when you came over… Umm, why are you staring at the ceiling?"

"Ah? Well…" I continued massaging my sore neck. "The ceiling…"

"The ceiling is reaaalllyyy high…"

"High?"

"Yeah, reaaalllyyy, reaaalllyyy high. They shouldn't make the ceiling so high, you know. It's too difficult to clean."

I immediately regretted my words.

You're a profound idiot, Jennie. Who cleans the ceiling? !

I was scrambling to think of a better explanation when a familiar voice sounded.

"A—ah, Jisoo-sii?"

I finally lowered my gaze, to see that a certain man had stepped between Jisoo and me.

Well excuse me, Jinyoung. I'm having a conversation with Jisoo here.

(Jinyoung is Jisoo’s co-star. Or more like male love interest. Ugggh. First time I saw him last week, he was being a creep? I just don’t get a good aura off of him.)

Whereby another voice in my head interjected: Aren't you trying to avoid having a conversation with her?

Yes, yes, you smartass.

I'm part of your brain, not your !

I could only roll my eyes, which earned me another quizzical look from Jisoo over Jinyoung's shoulder. Despite my annoyance with him, the man had probably saved me from further embarrassment. I managed to give the visibly irritated girl a somewhat strained smile before scurrying off to my duties.

When I returned from my errands in the late afternoon, Jisoo was nowhere to seen. Despite the fact that I've been trying to avoid her the whole morning, the knowledge that she wasn't around did make me feel… well, I didn't feel too happy I guess.

"Looking for Jisoo?"

I stopped looking around restlessly and turned my attention to the honey blonde. "No, I'm, err, just wondering where she's gone to, that's all."

"Oh, you don't know, Jennie?" CL smiled smugly as she folded her arms. "Jisoo is having dinner with John Smith tonight."

"John Smith?" The name sounded vaguely familiar.

"John Smith? You mean the director of 'Perspectives' and 'The Berlin Stone'?" Irina butted in enthusiastically. "He's one of my favourite directors!"

Ah, that's right. I had seen his name mentioned in the papers quite a bit while I was back in London.

"Yes, John Smith is supposedly one of the most talented directors of his generation," CL said as she inspected her finely manicured nails, "but I must say I don't like him much. He's too… touchy-feely for me."

Both Irina and I raised our eyebrows. "Huh?"

The blonde continued inspecting her nails. "I had met him once, at the Festival de Cannes. He invited me to dinner, and I obliged. However, we had barely finished the hors d'oeuvres, when he tried to put his hand on my thigh."

The blonde looked up from her nails and grinned. "Naturally, I made sure that his bespoke suit was permanently stained a deep red."

An uncomfortable feeling arose from the pit of my stomach. "But you say—you say Jisoo is having dinner with him?"

"Well, I heard that John Smith is interested in making a short film set in Japan. Jisoo probably decided that a dinner with him might persuade him to give the part to her."

CL flicked her wrist nonchalantly. "Much as I think Jisoo is dumb, I must give her credit this time; it's a smart move."

I was momentarily rendered speechless. "But—but—"

I hastily turned to Irina. "Did anyone accompany Jisoo to the dinner?"

"Umm," Irina scratched her head, "I don't think so."

My head was awash with images of Jisoo and a faceless man in a restaurant, the man inching closer and closer, reaching his hand out towards her—

No freaking way.

"How could Dara allow her to do this?" I demanded angrily, at no one in particular.

"Irina! Text me the address of the restaurant!"

The bespectacled girl was stunned for a second, but she eventually nodded her head furiously.

Without another word, I ran off to grab my bag. The last thing I saw before I sprinted out of the studio was a strange expression on CL's face.

"John Smith… Famous director or not, if he dares to lay a hand on her I'll make sure that he ends up in a morgue with a 'John Doe' tag on his big toe," I muttered under my breath as I hopped off the cab.

I surveyed the place before me. It was ostensibly a traditional Japanese restaurant, and the most expensive kind, if I might add.

I tried to remain calm as I stepped into the restaurant, since no employee in the right mind would allow entry to a person who looked like she was on a murderous rampage. After spending an arduous ten minutes talking to the staff in gentle-and-refined-Kim mode and taking a long walk through a bamboo forest (go figure), I finally found myself in front of a shoji, the traditional Japanese sliding door.

"Jisoo?" I called as I pulled open the door.

I was greeted by an empty room.

I grimaced as I removed my shoes and stepped on the tatami.

For goodness sake, please don't tell me that there are a gazillion rooms here. I don't have time for this.

When I slid open the next door, however, I found the person I was looking for.

For a full ten seconds I stood frozen.

Jisoo knelt before a table, her hands resting on her lap. She was wearing a white kimono decorated with sakura motifs as well as a blue sash, with her long purple  hair twirled up in a bun to show off her elegant neck.

She was… beautiful.

"Je—Jennie?" Her cheeks had rapidly reddened under my blatant gawking.

I blinked and shook my head slightly. Darn it, Jennie, this is neither the time nor place to be having those weird thoughts of yours!

I cleared my throat. "Is—Is it true that you're meeting John Smith?"

She frowned, obviously bewildered by my interrogative tone. "Yes. Why—"

"CL told me that he's a lecher. I know you are interested in the film he's making, but is there a need to do this?"

She knitted her brows even more tightly. "It's just a dinner."

"Really? Then," I gestured irritably at her, "then why are you dressed like this?"

Her cheeks started to flush again. "The film will be set in the Meiji period, so I thought…"

So, you thought that this would impress him?

Oh, it would really impress him.

And I didn't like the thought of it at all.

Just then, there was a knocking sound from the other room.

"I'm not going to let you do this," I said as I turned briskly towards the source of the noise.

"Jennie!" she shouted as she tried to get up. However, she seemed to be very unused to wearing a kimono, and hence I was able to seize the opportunity to rush to the door.

A man was standing at door. He had an extremely high forehead, which was worsened by the fact that he was balding. A pair of rimless glasses rested on his prominent, beak-like nose.

He adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Ms Kim, I presume?"

"My name is John Smith, and I must say…" His smile grew broader as he gave me an once-over. "I'm most pleased to meet you. I didn't know that Ms Kim was such a beautiful lady."

"I'm not Kim Jisoo ."

The man tensed up, having evidently sensed the hostility in my voice.

"Then who, may I ask, are you?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm her personal assistant, which means that I'm her door ."

"And you," I growled as I jabbed my finger in his shoulder, "are not getting into the club."

With that, I slammed the door shut in his face.

_______________________________________________________________________________

My thumb rubbed against my forefinger restlessly as I lingered in front of the familiar doorway. My mind had been a complete blank as I made my way to work, although my body seemed to be clued in on the destination.

But now that I've arrived, the unpleasant feelings were once again threatening to overwhelm me.

Should I take the day off?

No, it wouldn't help anything.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled the brim of my trucker cap lower and stepped into the studio.

"O—oh!"

I snapped my head up at the exclamation to realize that I had nearly crashed into the  girl before me. "Sorry, Bom," I muttered as I went around her.

"It's okay…" The blonde answered hesitantly. "Good morning, Jennie."

I continued to trudge towards my usual desk. "Morning."

"Are… are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said quietly. I sat down on the chair with some difficulty and massaged my right knee, making a mental note to get a stool to rest my leg on later.

Bom approached the desk timidly. "Jennie, you and Jisoo-ssi…"

Her voice trailed off as soon as she saw the look on my face. She got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it.

That is, the fact that Jisoo and I haven't spoken to each other since that evening at the restaurant three days ago.

I reached for a file and tried to focus on the wall of text in front of me. But no matter how I tried, my eyes just glossed over the words, while my mind kept replaying what had happened then.

"Jennie!"

I spun around and leaned against the shoji. Jisoo stood before me, panting lightly. She glared me, but I refused to budge. Finally, she rushed forward, pushing me roughly aside and sliding open the door.

John Smith was already gone.

When she turned back to look at me, her face was coloured a deep red. Only this time, it was due to rage.

Her pale hands gripped the cloth of her kimono, which was already in slight disarray.

"Why did you have to do that?" Her words were unhurried, but her voice was positively deadly.

I inhaled sharply, bracing myself for the storm. "As I said, he's a lecher—"

"It's just a dinner! Do you know how difficult it was to arrange for dinner with him?" She was practically yelling at me. "Do you know who he is?"

I narrowed my eyes. My blood, too, was starting to boil. "I know that he's some famous director, but—"

"He is a world-class director! It's rare to be able to work with someone like him!"

Though I was itching to retort, I saw how furious Jisoo was. I wasn't in the least interested in getting into a fight with her. I flicked my gaze to the floor, choosing to clamp my jaws tightly together instead.

She took in a deep breath, but her words still came out shaky. "You… You know how important it is for me to do this."

My eyes widened. I looked up at the girl, who had wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

A pained expression.

And I instantly understood.

"All of this… is for your mom?"

Jisoo did not say anything further, and merely averted her gaze.

So that's why she wanted to be in John Smith's movie? Because she wanted to prove herself to her mother?

I pressed my palms against my face. This was not what I had expected.

"I know it's important to you… but…"

But what I did was right, wasn't it? Tell me I was right.

My voice rose as an inexplicable anger struck me. "But it doesn't mean that you have to go to such lengths!"

The girl jerked her head towards me and I could once more see the cold fire burning brightly in those emerald eyes. "How many times must I tell you? It's just a dinner!"

Just as I was about to retaliate, she snapped again. "And why do you care so much anyway?"

I was stunned into silence.

Yes, why do I care so much? I'm just her personal assistant; it's not my place to decide whom she has dinner with.

As I stood dumbly in front of her, she took a small step towards me.

Her gaze seemed to soften as she repeated her words, in what was almost a murmur. "Tell me… Why do you care?"

"I…" I bowed my head and scratched my eyebrow uncertainly. "I…"

I don't know.

I don't know why I'm feeling this way.

There must be a reason… What is the reason?

I repeatedly clenched and released my fists, frustrated by the mess of thoughts in my head.

For what seemed like a very long time, we did not utter another word. And it felt as if the silence was slowly suffocating me.

The reason is…

At last, I dared to meet her eyes.

"W—we are friends, aren't we? I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Despite a rather… rocky start to our relationship, we could be considered friends, right? Or at least that was what I believed.

The girl's eyes widened, as a mixture of emotions seemed to flicker across her face. But before I could decipher what they meant, she had relaxed into an impassive expression.

She retreated a few steps backwards.

"Friends…" she muttered softly.

And her piercing gaze suddenly lost its intensity.

"Thank you, but," her voice was icy, "I can take care of myself."

She then left the room.

The next day, I was summoned by Dara to her office.

I sat listlessly in front of her desk, staring at the surprisingly spotless wooden surface.

How did things turn out like this?

Was I wrong?

The sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts. I scrunched my shoulders rigidly as the manager strode into the office, taking her seat across the desk from me.

Dara leaned her elbows on the table, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on them.

"Jennie."

I continued to admire the wooden grain of the table. "Yes."

"I've heard about what happened yesterday."

My hands, which were fastened on the edge of my chair, instinctively tightened their grip. There is no doubt about it. I'm going to be fired for my impudence.

To my own amazement, however, I began to calmly contemplate whether I had saved enough to pay for Jiyong's rent. After doing some quick mental calculations, I concluded that I would be still kind of short. But I guess I would just have to find another way.

"I have also heard about Mr Smith's… reputation."

I blinked, and finally lifted my head to look at her.

"If I had known about the dinner, I would have asked someone to accompany Jisoo."

"So I don't blame you, Jennie, for doing whatever you did. You had her interests at heart."

I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat. Even though I was relieved that I wouldn't be fired, the fact that Dara had not reprimanded me somehow made me feel worse.

The manager leaned back against her chair tiredly and sighed. "That said… Starring in his movie would have done wonders for her career."

I frowned, the guilt hitting me with full force.

That's right, someone could have just accompanied her. There was no need for me to slam the door in John Smith's face.

At the end of the day, it was still my fault. I had overreacted and overstepped the boundaries.

I rose from my seat. "If it's okay with you, Dara, I would like to take the rest of the day off."

The unusually solemn manager raised her eyebrows slightly, before giving me a curt nod of understanding. I immediately excused myself from her office.

First, I need to make some phone calls. Then, I need to get something.

After doing the necessary, I found myself at the 68th floor of a towering skyscraper. Apparently John Smith was so enamoured with Korea and keen on making a movie that he had a base set up in the heart of Seoul.

I strode briskly into the impressive-looking reception area, guarded by a similarly impressive-looking receptionist.

An American? European? I'm about to find out.

"I would like to speak to Mr John Smith, please," I said in English.

"And you are?"

Okay, British.

"My name's Jennie Kim, and I'm Ms Jisoo Kim's personal assistant."

The lady eyebrows twitched slightly as she dialed a number and spoke discreetly to someone on the phone.

She covered the mouthpiece with one hand and turned her attention to me. "I'm sorry, Mr Smith is busy."

I pressed my palms against the shiny counter. "I just need five minutes with him."

She removed her hand and continued speaking into the phone. I strained my ears, but could not make out the conversation.

"He's in a meeting right now, I don't know when it'll be over."

I bit my lip. "What about tomorrow? Will he be in tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, Ms Kim, but he'll leaving for the airport tonight."

"He's going overseas? When will he be back then?"

"I'm not sure. I suggest that you leave him a message—"

"No. No, I've to speak to him personally."

The receptionist furrowed her brows, clearly annoyed that I was being such a pest.

"I see," she said with a small shrug, "I guess you'll have to wait then."

I nodded and was about to walk towards the seats when she called out to me.

"Ah, Ms Kim?"

I turned around.

"Mr Smith said that if you wish to wait for him, you should do so outside the meeting room. He sometimes leaves by the back door, and he doesn't have time to wait for you."

I frowned. "I understand," I said evenly before following her lead, passing through a few corridors until we arrived at a grey door. I could hear muffled sounds of laughter coming from inside the room.

"Please wait here."

"Yes. Thank you."

The receptionist turned to stalk back to her guardhouse. After she had disappeared around the corner, I leaned against the wall and sighed.

Guess it's going to be a long wait.

"Such a jerk…" I grumbled under my breath as I shifted my weight to my left foot. I checked my watch. I've been standing outside the room for three hours.

The corridor was slim, and people kept walking by, thus as much as I wished to, I couldn't just plop myself on the floor. In the end I could only alternate between pacing up and down the long corridor and leaning against the wall in a half-crouching manner, earning curious – and increasingly sympathetic – looks from the passersby.

Truth be told, thoughts of leaving appeared in my mind from time to time as I waited impatiently. But every time I remembered the look Jisoo gave me before leaving the restaurant, I would immediately resolve to persist in waiting.

She had looked… sad.

As for John Smith, there was no good reason why I couldn't have waited at the reception area, or why a presumably business meeting was punctuated with so much guffaws.

He was clearly getting back at me.

But I wasn't going to give up.

I'll wait. Whatever it takes.

Just as the fourth hour slipped by, the doorknob turned with a click. I instantly straightened myself up, wincing as a sharp pain shot up my right leg.

"It was a pleasure meeting you today, Mr Smith," a man said, "I learnt a lot about dog breeds from you."

They were discussing such things? !

Five middle-aged men in business suits walked out from the room, giving a polite bow at the exit before striding past me.

Whatever.

I quickly stretched my arm out to stop the door from closing and walked into the room.

John Smith was at the other end of the large room, at the head of a long table. He had been rising halfway from his seat when I entered. Upon seeing me, however, he grinned and fell back into his chair.

"Ah, Ms Kim's personal assistant," he exclaimed cheerfully, "I didn't think that you were still waiting. If I knew, I would have tried to end the meeting earlier."

I resisted rolling my eyes. Just it up, Jennie, you don't want to offend him further.

"So, how can I help you today? I assume that you didn't wait so long just to, err, slam the door in my face again?"

The smug look on his face annoyed me to no end, but my expression remained placid.

Let's just get this over and done with.

"I apologise for my behaviour, Mr Smith. I shouldn't have been rude to you."

The man raised his eyebrows. "Oh, what a surprise! I thought you came here to tell me off."

Oh, how I wish I am. And I would have brought guns, too. Big guns.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from lashing out at him and took a deep breath.

"Again, Mr Smith, I apologise for what happened. The whole incident was solely my fault, and I hope that it does not affect Ms Kim's chances in your new movie."

The man broke into a smirk, as if I had just said the most amusing thing ever.

"Well, I don't know," he replied airily as he his tie. "Some things are not easily forgotten, and I've to say, I've a pretty good memory."

He gazed at the ceiling thoughtfully before leaning forward on the table. "I would, however, reconsider… if you keep me company for the rest of this evening."

"If you make me happy then…" He gave me a wink.

I bunched up my fists and narrowed my eyes. He was clearly bent on humiliating me.

"Keep it up, mister," I said through gritted teeth, "and I'll really think that you're a sleazebag."

I took out a DVD from my bag and sent it sliding across the long table. "But if you're really a world-class director as they say you are, you won't let talent go to waste."

With that, I turned and marched out of the meeting room.

And there has been no news since.

"Ah… It's Jisoo-ssi…"

My melancholic reminiscence was brought to an end by frantic whispers and the sudden change in the studio's atmosphere. I sat up in my seat and peered towards the door. As expected, Jewel girl stomped into the room. The members of the crew evidently sensed that she was even grouchier than usual and scrambled to keep a safe distance from her.

I let out a barely audible sigh. She's still angry with me.

Watching the girl make her way to her dressing room without giving a single glance in my direction, I realized that I had just lost my appetite for the third day in a row.

Before I could delve into those unhappy thoughts again, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said sullenly.

"Jennie?"

Oh no…. Not now.

"Yes, Lisa. What's the matter?"

"You left without a word this morning. Are you okay?"

I ran my hand wearily through my hair; I really didn't feel like talking about it.

"I'm alright, don't worry."

"Really?" Came Lisa's disbelieving voice. She paused.

"What about your leg?"

Crap. I pinched my nose bridge. "My leg? It's fine."

"Don't lie to me. I saw you limping."

I sighed for the hundredth time in three days. Ever since a motorcycle accident a few years back, I haven't been able to stand on my feet for too long a stretch without my injured right knee flaring up. John Smith probably didn't realize the true extent of his little punishment.

"It's swollen, isn't it?"

I kept silent.

It was my best friend's turn to exhale heavily. "I don't understand why you had to do it. I mean, yes, you pissed the guy off, but he's obviously a dirty bastard. What he did to you proves just that."

Just then, I was distracted by an outburst of excited squeals from the other side of the studio. I removed the phone slightly from my ear, to see that several members of the crew had swarmed around a dumbstruck Jisoo, gushing enthusiastically.

"Congratulations Jisoo-ssi!"

"I'm so happy for you, Jisoo-ssi!"

"Selected for Mr Smith's movie! How exciting!"

The purple-haired girl in the midst of the well-wishers eventually snapped out of her daze. She craned her neck over the ring of people, glancing quickly about the studio.

I pressed the phone back against my ear. "It's okay, Lisa…"

After some searching, she finally found me.

Our eyes met, and for the first time in three days, she smiled at me.

"…because it's worth it."

That smile enchanted me beyond limit.

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Jennie may or may not be totally falling for Jisoo's smile :) Jewel Girl 1 - Jennie 0