« It has been a while. How are you doing? I didn’t know any of your actresses was on my set? Is there- »

 

« Calm down. »

 

Soojin chuckles as the woman in front of her speak enthusiastically. Sam, is a makeup artist on the set of Driving Your Heart. She was taking a breath outside near the caravans when she saw Soojin walking around.

 

The two have met many times on different occasions, but always for work. Sam is well known in the industry, she works with idols, actors, and models, and even has her salon. Soojin is always pleased to meet the energetic woman.

 

Soojin usually visits the set of her talents on the first day of shooting, on the last day, and a few times in between. The first day is important for her talents, they meet all of the people they will work with, and having Soojin as their agent helps a lot. Just her name makes it clear there shouldn’t be any problem or else they will have to deal with the agent.

 

On the last day, Soojin makes it a point of honor for her talent to thank all the crew present on set, and to say goodbye to each person they worked with. In her eyes, everyone should be appreciated, because a movie isn’t just actors and a filmmaker but way much more.

 

« I am looking after Shuhua, today. »

 

« Are you her agent now? She is lucky to have you. This girl is something, I did all of her makeup, and she has beautiful skin. You know, she told me about you. God, she always speaks about whatever goes through her mind when we are together. She said you are quite a cold person at first, and I have to agree. But she also said she felt safe when she- »

 

« I am going to the set. »

 

Sam is still talking when Soojin leaves her. The agent makes her way across the different sets most of them are being torn down, and eventually, she finds where the filming is. She politely greets everyone she meets on the way and even manages to get a coffee for herself. Eventually, she finds a seat near the filmmaker.

 

He knows and appreciates Soojin enough to let her sit next to him. Soojin has a screen in front of her, and she can perfectly see everything that is going on. On the screen, Shuhua is playing a kissing scene with her partner Sangmin.

 

One of the cameras has a close shot of Shuhua’s face, Soojin watches as the actress lets Sangmin caress her cheek, the gesture looks soft. They stop to look at each other, and with the camera angle, Soojin can see the subtle blush barely accentuated by the makeup, but it is the way Shuhua’s eyes are looking up which captivates the agent.

 

This is a look she has never seen before on the woman, a look which is loving, hoping, earning but where some innocence still flicks through. Soojin doesn’t look away when the couple kisses, instead she looks even more carefully at the way their lips connect, and the little fluctuations on Shuhua’s face.

 

Everyone on the set swoon over the couple, even more, when they separate after the “cut” of the director, and they shyly look at each other. Sangmin leans in to hug Shuhua but Soojin is already searching for her phone.

 

She is texting Yuqi about a thought that just pop into her head when she hears a familiar voice screaming her name.

 

« Soojin! »

 

Soojin has no idea how the actress found her among the people present on the set, but she seems to beam with excitement when she sees the agent. Shuhua happily sits next to Soojin, immediately breaking into a monologue to which Soojin listens attentively.

 

« Did you see the scene? What did you think of it? »

 

« It was nice. »

 

« Nice? »

 

« Yes. Nice. »

 

Shuhua seems disappointed, but it only lasts a second. She already has something else to tell the agent. Soojin notices how Shuhua’s school uniform is a bit different from the other days, the top buttons are opened, and let see more of the white skin of the actress.

 

It bothers Soojin how there is no cover on Shuhua’s lap, and without much thought, she takes off her blazer to put it on her lap. The action stops Shuhua in her sentence, and she only manages a soft thank you for the gesture.

 

« When is your last scene? »

 

« We already shot the last scene of the drama, earlier. We are just doing more takes for the scene which felt weak. »

 

« So everyone left already? »

 

« Yes. There is only, Song Kang, Sangmin and I left. »

 

« When do you think it will be finished? »

 

« The director said in the night. »

 

« Okay. Let me give you a quick call. »

 

« Are you staying until the end? »

 

« Hum. I will be back in a few. Stay here. »

 

Soojin walks away from the noisy set and leaves Shuhua behind.

 

Shuhua looks down at her hands and notices Soojin’s blazer on her lap. A blush covers her cheeks. There is something so attractive in the way Soojin took it off and gave it to her without saying anything.

 

« I will miss this. »

 

Sangmin sits down next to Shuhua, he gently smiles at her before sighing.

 

For the last two months, they have been filming the drama together. Even during the preproduction where they did the reading of the script, the shooting of the posters, and such, they had nice chemistry between them. Since they are the same age, it helped them become closer. The cast even hang out together multiple times. Shuhua and Sangmin always sit next to each other on those occasions and were considered the funniest and most adorable duo.

 

So, it is a shared feeling between them; not being able to see each other every day like they did those last weeks. Shuhua gives Sangmin a comforting pat on the shoulder.

 

« I heard you were already booked with a new drama and a movie. »

 

« Ah, yes. It makes me anxious… The ambiance is very different from here. »

 

« With Soojin as your agent, you shouldn’t worry. »

 

« What does that mean? »

 

« Well… There is a reason some directors fear her. »

 

« She can be a little cold, but she is nice. »

 

« I don’t know about the nice part. I just know she easily gets angry, and if she wasn’t supported by people as influential as Lee Sanghoon or Kim Minnie, she wouldn’t be an agent anymore. »

 

« What? »

 

Sangmin moves with his hand to indicate he wants to drop the subject, but Shuhua frowns her eyebrows even more. It doesn’t get better when Soojin comes back and Sangmin immediately walks away after a deep bow to the agent.

 

---

 

« Soojin. »

 

Shuhua walks up to the woman fast asleep on the couch of her caravan. With her hands under her cheek, half folded in a fetal position, and her phone fallen on the ground, the agent looks….adorable in Shuhua’s eyes.

 

She has never seen her this way before, completely free of all thoughts, peacefully asleep. Shuhua picks up the phone and puts it down on the table nearby. She then sits on the floor in front of Soojin and looks at her. She knows this moment surely will never happen again, she wants to capture it with her eyes.

 

Shuhua remembers the first time she saw Soojin, it was when she went to NYA to sign her contract with Yuqi. Soojin entered the office in the middle of their meeting, and apologized saying it was urgent, she then said something to Yuqi, but Shuhua didn’t hear it. Maybe Soojin was not speaking loud enough, or maybe she was too absorbed by the beauty of the woman.

 

After, she saw Soojin here and there, when she would have a rendezvous at NYA. Soojin always seemed busy, and in a rush. The agent was so captivating to look at in Shuhua’s eyes. One time they talked a bit as they shared the elevator, and Shuhua decided that Soojin was the coldest person she had ever talked with.

 

It was such a contrast to what she had imagined Soojin to be like from the times she witness her running around the office.

 

Now. Her perspective on the agent changed again. In her eyes, she is the nicest person she has ever met in Korea. Soojin is still somehow quite cold, but she cares a lot. Shuhua sees, how Soojin cares about her even if she doesn’t know her, even if she has been mean to the agent, even if she tried to push the agent away, Soojin cares.

 

Like right now, when she came to her last day on the shot and even agreed to stay until the end despite it being late. How she always checks if she ate something and orders food for her. How she gave her blazer to cover her legs. How she always comes when Shuhua calls her. Even if Soojin isn’t her agent, she is always there.

 

This is why Sangmin’s words don’t make sense. Soojin is the most caring person Shuhua has ever met. Anyone would be lucky to have such a person to lean on, especially in the industry they work in. Soojin can be insufferable, Shuhua is willing to admit it, but she always seems to care.

 

« Soojin. »

 

Shuhua tries to wake her up again. The shooting is over now, and the crew is already busy cleaning up what they can to have less to do tomorrow. Sangmin and Song Kang already left. They promised to meet again with Shuhua in the future.

 

« Soojin. Wake up. »

 

Shuhua raises her hand, wanting to gently shake Soojin up, but the phone of the agent rings before she can. Soojin immediately opens her eyes. She sees Shuhua with her hand raised in the air, sitting in front of her on the floor of the caravan.

 

« What are you doing? »

 

Soojin doesn’t even let Shuhua respond, she grabs her phone on the table and stands up to answer. Shuhua looks at her from the floor.

 

The woman keeps running her hand in her hair to put herself back together, she inspects herself in a mirror a few times. Shuhua is absorbed by every single one of her movements. It feels so intimate to look at the agent, right now. Like she isn’t supposed to see her like this.

 

« Yeah? … At this hour, really unnie? … I am kinda busy, right now. But I will come by in the week. Okay? … What? … Unnie. What even is this question? … Is that what is keeping you up at night? … I can answer right now. … Hum? … Well, let’s say this week at your place. … Bye. »

 

Soojin turns around and finds Shuhua waiting for her on the couch. The actress still has her makeup on, but she isn’t wearing her high school uniform, instead, she has a long shirt that doesn’t even go past her knees and her blazer.

 

« That is my blazer. »

 

« It goes well with my shirt. »

 

« Sure. Well, I presume the filming is over. We should go and say goodbye to everyone still here. Tomorrow I will drive you here so you can pack everything in your caravan, okay? »

 

Soojin opens the door and indicates to Shuhua to go before her. Together, they greet the crew still present, wishing them a good continuation, and goodbye. Then, Soojin orders a cab for both of them. Shuhua watches as the agent keeps rubbing her eyes, obviously tired of her long days.

 

When they arrive at Shuhua’s place, Soojin gets out too and walks Shuhua to her door.

 

« If you are too tired to go home, you can sleep at my place. I have a- »

 

« Thank you, Shuhua. But I will have to refuse your offer. Have a good night. Okay? »

 

Soojin smiles gently, it doesn’t reach her eyes, but it is a very comforting smile. Shuhua watches as Soojin goes down the stairs, she already has her phone out, and Shuhua hears her calling someone. It seems like the agent’s day never ends.

 

---

 

« Can I have a talk with you? »

 

« M-Me? »

 

« Yes! You. »

 

Soyeon is her usual beaming self, and Yuqi has once again a hard time properly getting coherent sentences out of .

 

They have finished the reading of another episode of the drama Soyeon is directing. Everyone is leaving MBS’s office, even Shuhua is already out of the room. Yuqi tells her actress to go without her, as she follows Soyeon somewhere else in the corridors of MBC.

 

The small woman is always wearing quite a provocative set of clothes, sometimes bright colors, other times a palette of black.

 

They reach an office unfamiliar to Yuqi. Soyeon explains that MBC landed her this office to work in. She has signed a contract for two dramas with them, and so she will be here for a while. Soyeon tells Yuqi to sit down next to her on the couch; the agent makes it a point to leave a good space between them.

 

« I wanted to talk about Soojin. »

 

« Soojin? »

 

« Yes. I was wondering if she is also Shuhua’s agent? Are you both her agent or is she trying to steal your actress? »

 

« Soojin isn’t like that. »

 

Yuqi is fast to defend her coworker. The last few weeks brought them closer, and the closer she gets to Soojin, the more she understands the woman, and the more she appreciates her. And there is not a chance she would let anyone speak ill of her, not even the pretty producer in front of her.

 

« Ah… Well, then I am glad we cleared it up. »

 

« We didn’t- »

 

« I have a question for you. »

 

Soyeon shifts a bit closer to Yuqi, her eyes diving into the other woman’s. They are captivating and mysterious as she rarely keeps them fully open but they still shine bright through her overall energy and curiosity.

 

« How do you feel about dinner with me tomorrow? »

 

« What? »

 

« Dinner? Tomorrow? »

 

« Oh… I thought… You meant, I… I-I am- Okay. »

 

---

 

« And, yes. I put it down on a contract. It is not the final draft, but just to give you an idea. »

 

Remy takes the documents and gives one to Soojin. They are in Minnie’s office, discussing the possibility of the both of them sharing the CEO position for a year, the time for Minnie to go on her honeymoon with her future wife.

 

« Before we reach August, it will be great for you two to have finished transitioning my talents. »

 

« I thought about it, and with Park Jiwan’s movie, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to take more talents. Yuqi on the other hand is more than capable to handle the responsibility. »

 

« Soojin is right. Yuqi and I don’t have any major project in perspective, it would be better for us two to take on the responsibility. »

 

« Alright. I will talk with her about it. »

 

« There is something else. »

 

Minnie and Remy turn toward Soojin. The agent is looking down like she is reading the contract between her fingers, but she is just taking a big breath before speaking. Remy sitting right next to Soojin notices how her shoulders seem to shake a little.

 

« Next year, even if Park Jiwan’s movie doesn’t go to Cannes… I want to take a month off to see my parents. »

 

« Soojin… »

 

« I thought about it longly. »

 

There is a single tear that falls on the papers she is holding. Minnie swallows her saliva as she looks at her friend. Remy looks at each woman, there is a piece of the puzzle he is missing to understand the situation.

 

« I have things I need to tell them. »

 

« I understand, Soojin. We will work this through so you can do so. »

 

« Thank you. »

 

Soojin finally looks up, her eyes shining from the tears, but she refuses to let them fall. Minnie doesn’t say anything when the woman walks out of her office. She sits down and looks at Remy.

 

Minnie knows most of Soojin’s story. One night, they drunkenly shared some of their secrets, and they got closer through the similar pain of leaving their family and everything they knew behind them. Minnie had noticed there was something quite attractive about Soojin, a certain class that feels foreign, and this night, she finally got her answer.

 

« You won’t tell me? »

 

« It is for Soojin to tell you. »

 

« I don’t think she wants to talk to anyone right now. »

 

« Except Miyeon. »

 

They both say it at the same time. Remy nods, indeed, it will always be Miyeon before anyone else. At least she isn’t keeping it to herself. Remy excuses himself, promising to go back to Minnie about the CEO discussion.

 

Minnie finds herself alone in her office.

 

Years ago, she fought nails and teeth to get Soojin to work for her. Quickly, she realized it was only a battle and not the war. The real deal was to understand Soojin. It would have been unhealthy for them and her company if they didn’t work past their differences, and found a way to understand each other.

 

One night, they both stayed late at the office, and Minnie offered to buy the drinks. They ended up in a restaurant, eating and drinking more alcohol than they should. And here, during the flicker of a second, Minnie saw the opportunity of understanding the other woman.

 

She took it. Soojin opened herself, so vulnerably to her. Everything made so much more sense. The burning anger Minnie had to put up with, was only ardent passion toward a precise goal. The cold behavior was only the facade of a big and caring heart.

 

Soojin wasn’t a mystery anymore, even if she still had her secrets.

 

Minnie smiles when she sees the name of her fiancée on her phone. Soojin must have walked by Miyeon’s office by now.

 

« Yes, love. … It is fine, you can go with Soojin. I will take care of everything for you. … I know you will find the words. It is you after all. … I love you too. Bye. »

 

---

 

« Soojin! »

 

« Shuhua. »

 

Shuhua smiles brighter even if the agent doesn’t look away from her screen. The actress enters the office and sits down right in front of Soojin, waiting for the woman to finally look at her as she has something important to ask.

 

« I am listening. »

 

« Maybe you could also look at me? »

 

Soojin spares Shuhua a look and then goes back to her screen. Shuhua doesn’t lose hope, she waits patiently until the agent grunts in annoyance and closes her laptop to look at her. Shuhua smiles even bigger, she doesn’t have the strength to put on a satisfied smirk. The actress is quite excited at what she has to announce to play hard to get.

 

Soojin leans back in her seat and runs a hand in her hair. It catches Shuhua off guard, and for a moment, she freezes, a blush runs up her cheeks and she has to swallow her saliva.

 

« So. What do you want? Don’t you have a drama to shoot? »

 

« Today is my rest day. Also. I wanted to ask you something. »

 

« You have my phone number. Why do you put up with the struggle of coming all the way here? »

 

« I wanted to see you. »

 

« Sure. Well, ask away. »

 

« Would you go with me to the NYA Spring Day? »

 

« Ah. That. You have been invited? »

 

« You haven’t? »

 

Soojin chuckles, Shuhua is half worried half surprised, and the innocence of her mind is quite adorable in Soojin’s opinion. The agent sits up, now looking at Shuhua with a sweet smile.

 

« I work for NYA. Of course, I am invited. I am even required to be present. »

 

« Oh. I didn’t know that. »

 

« Hum… »

 

Shuhua stays quiet in her seat, suddenly feeling embarrassed and her energy of earlier gone. She realizes she doesn’t know Soojin that much, and the agent is hard to reach. Despite her effort, she is just an actress among the others Soojin takes care of, and Soojin is only her agent. They aren’t close, Soojin is just doing her job.

 

« So you want me to come with you? »

 

« Well, it is fine if you- »

 

« Okay. We can do that. »

 

Shuhua perks up. Soojin leans her face in her hand and smiles at her. The same small but deeply comforting smile as last time when she took her home. Shuhua opens , but nothing gets out.

 

« Now. Out. I have work to do. »

 

---

 

« You are beautiful. I really like your hair like this, it suits you perfectly. »

 

« Thank you. »

 

Yuqi lets the words out in a breath. Soyeon in front of her is looking at her with pure amazement. Her energy is different, not the beaming director which always looks longly at Yuqi without saying a word and yet makes her stutter when she tries to formulate a sentence. Soyeon looks rather serious, her smile is still present quite faintly on her lips, but her eyes are even more attentive.

 

Yuqi lets the woman touch her hair, it sends goosebumps down her spine. Soyeon’s nails graze behind her neck, and she takes a sharp breath. None of them are letting go of the other eyes. It is… something.

 

« Let’s go inside. »

 

Soyeon naturally takes Yuqi’s hand in hers. She leads the agent inside the restaurant, where she booked a table. It is quite fancy, with people speaking quietly, and a waiter in sharp uniforms. Soyeon is quite comfortable, she tells quick words to the waiter before he lets them alone at their table.

 

Yuqi watches as Soyeon leads the night, she has something different, yet so familiar in the way she speaks and in some of her movements, but Yuqi can’t put the finger on it. Until, in the middle of eating dessert, it hits her.

 

It isn’t much, just a detail about Soyeon, but Yuqi’s brain adds up everything together, it starts to make sense, and she can’t unsee it. The tone Soyeon naturally uses, the way she addresses the waiters around them, and the grace in her movements.

 

The Soyeon in front of her is quite different from the one she usually sees at work. Here she is more relaxed, and comfortable, contrasting with her usual streaking energy. The woman is elegant, in a way Yuqi is quite familiar with.

 

« Are you… from a clan? »

 

« A clan? Like… the Gwangsan Kim clan? Something like this? »

 

« Oh… I was thinking more of something like chaebols. »

 

Soyeon smiles, her eyes close even more than usual. Yuqi looks at her more intensely, she knows there is something. Birds of a feather flock together.

 

Soyeon drinks from her glass of wine.

 

« What gave me away? The restaurant? Something I said? »

 

« Everything. »

 

« Really? It is funny because you are the first one to notice. »

 

« Oh? »

 

« You know what I think? The reason, you were able to pick up on it, is because you are the same as I am. No? »

 

Yuqi freezes, Soyeon smiles, and she her lips, they are redder because of the wine. The usual sparkle of curiosity is back in her eyes. She looks longly at Yuqi, her expression quite unreadable.

 

« I am not from a clan. But my family is wealthy enough that I never will have to worry. Now, let me guess… You started your career in Taiwan, I did wonder why when clearly the market in China is bigger. I think the answer is that you wanted to grow out of your parent’s influence. Which explains why you then came to Korea. »

 

Yuqi doesn’t respond, she only looks at Soyeon, her big eyes full of certain anger. Soyeon isn’t sure if it is from being found out so easily, or if there might be something else.

 

« I have to admit, your Korean is perfect, and if you hadn’t told me you were born in China, I wouldn’t have guessed that you were a foreigner. Well… Except for this one thing which betrayed you. »

 

« What? »

 

« Your eyes. »

 

Yuqi looks down almost immediately. She perfectly hears how Soyeon’s voice becomes quieter as if she is apologizing for her next words. For a moment, Yuqi believes it is only them in the restaurant.

 

She looks at the woman in front of her.

 

« They look sad when you think no one is looking. Shuhua and Soojin have this same pain in their eyes. So I could only imagine you are missing someone dear to you. I would say just like them, you are missing your family. »

 

« What does Soojin have to do with this? »

 

« Soojin misses her family every day. This is why she works so hard. You didn’t know? »

 

« I didn’t know. »

 

« You three left the country you grew up in to pursue your dream. You all carry the same sadness. »

 

Soyeon offers a warm smile, she even takes Yuqi’s hand in hers, her thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand. Yuqi squeezes the hand offered. This is something she never said to anyone, how lonely and sad she felt at times. No one seemed to have picked up on it, or maybe they did and didn’t know what to do so they didn’t mention it.

 

Yuqi misses China. Not every day, some days are just harder than others. She misses home, the familiar language, the smells, the food, the view, her house, her family, her friends, everything. Korea will always have a taste of not enough because it isn’t home. Yet, Yuqi refuses to complain. She promised herself she will go through it all until the end, and then she will come home.

 

Yuqi thinks it is interesting how Shuhua never mentioned once how much she misses home. But what surprises her, even more, is that Soojin didn’t grow up in Korea, and now that she thinks about it, it makes sense. She always found in Soojin a foreign feeling, yet the woman had a Korean passport. Yuqi saw it one day in Soojin’s bag as the woman had some administrative paper to fill out.

 

« I didn’t mean for the conversation to turn out like this. »

 

Soyeon doesn’t really apologize, but her eyes are saying “sorry”. Yuqi shakes her head, she says it is fine; after all, she is the one who started the conversation.

 

Soyeon graciously pays for the restaurant before walking out with Yuqi’s hand in hers. Yuqi looks down at their hands, with their fingers intertwined, and Soyeon’s thumb constantly rubbing the back of her hand, she feels a butterfly-like feeling in her stomach.

 

 

---

I play a game called how many chapters will it take for Soojin and Shuhua to touch each other. They haven't even had any physical contact yet.

I am working hard on Yuqi and Soyeon's relationship. I don't want it to be like Shuhua and Soojin's.

I wasn't lying when I tagged "Soojin Centric", every single scene mentions her. I am not sorry that everything is about her in this fic.

Fun fact: the Gwangsan Kim clan is a real clan, and Mamamoo Solar, BTS Jin, and BTS V are descendants of this clan.