After hosting yet another show, Aeri was about to clock out and head home for some well-deserved rest when her assistant rushed up to her, an undecipherable expression written all over her face...

"Aeri... A delivery had just came for you?"

"For me?" The woman had to quickly check the time "At this hour? What could this be about? More fanmail?"

"I'm not too sure, the delivery truck driver is asking for a signature... and um..." The assistant hesitates for a second... "It looks like it might be a lot... and I don't think it's just fanmail... they are unloading a lot... and I mean a lot..."

"huh.. strange... Wait-" The words from her assistant finally fully registered through "did you just say a truck-"

"Look just follow me okay"

"Huh... strange... Wait—" The words from her assistant finally fully registered. "Did you just say a truck—"

"Look, just follow me, okay?"

Confused, Aeri followed her assistant outside, her curiosity now piqued to the max.

But the moment she stepped outside...

Let's just say... there was nothing...

absolutely NOTHING,

that could've prepared her for the sight before her.

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the big truck backing up, unloading a ridiculous number of boxes onto the pavement.

The delivery guy, looking bored as ever, finally saw Aeri step out and a waiver in her face.

"Uchinaga Aeri, right? Please sign here," the man, who looked to be in his 60s, pointed at the bottom of the page.

Aeri blinked, her mind racing. "What is all this?" she asked, in absolute disbelief.

"Deliveries for you," he replied flatly. "Just sign, miss."

The hostess could only assume he was not aware of her current status because, as she finished signing, the delivery driver walked away, mumbling something about why in the world someone would need so many bars.

This only further deepened the hostess's already overwhelming amount of confusion.

Still in a daze, she watched as the truck eventually drove off, leaving her and her assistant surrounded by what looked like a mountain of packages.

"What in the world..." she muttered, scratching the side of her head. Finally, she approached the first box in front of her and noticed a note taped to the top. She wasted no time tearing it off and reading it.

"Thank you for your support and for always being there for me. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to deal with, especially after blacklisting you, but my security guard informed me of your persistent attempts to visit. Your concern hasn’t gone unnoticed. I’m not great with words, and I know we’re both busy with work. So, here’s a year’s supply of protein bars and shakes as a token of my appreciation for your protein-obsessed self. - Jimin"

...

...

Aeri had a blink a couple of times, trying to make sure she read the note correctly... then her gaze landed back on the boxes ahead of her... and then back to the note... 

She was momentarily stunned to say the least... but when realisation finally hit her... she couldn't help but put a hand over her eyes and giggle at the absurbity of the situation...

Until she rolled her head back in laughter, her voice ringing out from across the car park.

"Ah Jimin, only you would do something like this"

She couldn't help but smile at the very gesture. It was so quintessentially Jimin, avoiding conventional expressions of gratitude in favor of something more unconventional and quite frankly, very over the top. 

It was just the actress' very own unique way of saying the word "Thank you" without having to say the words thank you.

"I'll take this as a sign that you and Minjeong are finally on good terms, huh?" Aeri chuckled to herself before placing a firm hand on one of the boxes, contemplating the sheer volume of protein bars and shakes before her. "But jesus woman how in the world am I going to finish all this before the expiry date" Shaking her head in mirth, Aeri finally calls out to her assistant so she can get a hand of taking the packages back inside...

This type of gesture might have been over the top... but somehow picturing Jimin placing this type of order put a smile to Aeri's face... It was a reassuring sign that her friend was in a better place with Minjeong now... and after all that struggle with trying to get the actress out of that dark place of hers...

This was the best news she had probably heard all year round.

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

As the days went by, the set became increasingly bustling with activity, with filming days inching closer to the grand finale.

This level of busyness was expected for a film of such high anticipation...

But what hadn’t been expected was the sudden shift in mood on set these days.

Since about a week after Minjeong returned to managing Jimin...

The vibes on set had turned unusually good.

Too good...

So good, in fact, that it was raising more mind-boggling questions, rather than answers... because...

The star of the show and the industry's diva was not only no longer demanding...

Or cacooned in an out of the blue type of quietness...

Lately, she had been smiling more, offering compliments, and helping out crew members. She even took the time to greet them.

Doing everything that is.. to put it bluntly.. extremely out of character for the diva everyone in the industry had grown accustomed to.

"Good Morning, Everyone" Jimin would chirp in the morning with a big enthusiastic smile on her face.. walking into set with her cute little manager following closely behind... staring at the woman in front of her with the warmest set of otter-like eyes anyone had ever seen....

"Oh- Sorry" Jimin would then apologise after bumping into a member of staff, who had been holding onto some set equipment "Here, let me help you with that. Hey, Minjeong!" she called out. "Let's help set up the equipment. You've done this a million times before, right? That should get things rolling a lot quicker."

Which her manager will then follow suit... bouncing happily back and forth upon the request... like some form of golden retriever... She just seemed oddly elated to help out, as if she had never been happier, but then she hardly let Jimin touch a thing, despite the older woman's protest. She stubbornly wanted to do the majority of the work for her, which eventually led to the two bantering quite loudly. One argued to help out, while the other insisted the actress should go to the trailer and not tire herself out.

It was as if they were an old married couple...

A very in love old married couple that was...

Which in turn..

Made many crew members exhange puzzling glances at each other... with eyebrows raised in silent question..

"Did she win the lottery? Why is Jimin so nice recently" one would mutter to another, who shrugged in bewilderment.

"Forget about nice... look at these two... they were at arms length at each other just last week... and now they look inseperable..."

The confusion only spread across everyone further... but with no answers to their piles of questions, they could do nothing but shrug their shoulders before returning to work.

Jihoon, on the other hand, had been silently observing the whole scene unfold before him and as an individual with more information than the rest, witnessing the drastic change in the two women's behavior, unlike everyone else's perplexed expressions, managed to put a small smirk on his face instead, as he shook his head slightly in amusement

With Jimin running to the trailers now to get her makeup touched up... the actor knew he should properly also do the same... but as he began walking towards that direction... he just couldn't help himself...

just as he passed by Minjeong, Jihoon lightly lightly nudges his elbow against the blonde, who had just finished lending a helping hand and was in the midst of scheduling her next task.

"Hey," Jihoon said, turning his head back to look at her with a knowing grin.

Minjeong looked up, momentarily confused. "Huh?"

"I'm glad things worked out," Jihoon continued before giving the blonde a handsome wink, leaving her momentarily perplexed by the meaning behind his words

But when she did, Minjeong's back jolted straight, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "Thank you," she replied sheepishly, her voice barely audible. Jihoon gave her a small thumbs up before continuing on his way, hands shoved in his pockets and back slightly slouched, all the while wondering why that little flustered look of her's just seemed a little bit to cute to him...

"For the record, Jihoon," Minjeong called out suddenly, making the man stop in his tracks. Her voice was just loud enough for the two of them to hear. "You're not spineless, and I don't actually think you have a fragile ego. If anything, I actually think you're a pretty cool guy." With a small smile, the blonde quickly returned to her task, leaving a sense of satisfaction lingering in the air as she parted ways with the actor, who still had his back turned to her.

She didn't notice the way his eyes widened slightly before he chuckled softly and continued with his steps. "Ah, Jimin, you lucky girl," he mumbled to himself, completely enamored by the blonde woman's energy. "Now that you have blondie back, do me a favor and treat her right, so I don't end up snagging her for myself."

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

"Did you know how worried I was!?" Ningning's voice through the phone was like a mother scolding her child, making Minjeong, on the other end of the line, feel small and nervous.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ningning, please forgive me!" The blonde begged, a hand held up in front of her face as if in a praying motion. "I didn't mean to leave you in the dark like that. Everything just happened in the spur of the moment... and I kind of just... forgot to tell you."

"You mean forget to tell me, you, my expected guest, would disappear for three nights straight without saying a word because you couldn't even look at your phone once in 72 hours?"

"OK, TO BE FAIR, it's not like I was purposely ignoring your calls. My phone was out of charge."

"FOR THREE DAYS, MINJEONG!? I COULD'VE CALLED THE POLICE!"

"IM SORRY OKAY, I'M REALLY SORRY.. I JUST- I just really wanted to focus on Jimin okay.."

She heard Ningning sigh heavily on the other end of the line, followed by a moment of silence. Then, finally, came the response, not without a tinge of exasperation but laced with understanding.

"Yes I get it, okay I'm not actually that mad, and if anything I'm happy you and her worked it out. You even sound like your old self now, despite only being back with her for a couple of days. But oh my sky daddy Minjeong, is your head unreliable sometimes. I don't get how someone with your.. I don't even know how to call it... your thought process managed to land you your current job"

"I'm quite good at my job despite my thought process, if I may say so myself"

"Hmm I don't know, I feel like dating your client is already a breach to your managerial contract, let alone completely disappearing for 2 weeks without really a word-"

"OKAY-" Minjeong groaned into her hand hearing that "You really don't need to put it that way okay..."

"I can tease you about it. It's only fair after everything." The doctor's chuckle on the other end was infectious, and Minjeong found herself mirroring it, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders in the process.

"But look, all jokes aside.. I really am sorry... and Ningning thank you, thank you for everything, letting me stay over like that for weeks on end.. I know how much trouble it must've caused you in your personal life... so thank you.. thank you for taking care of me"

"Oh, don't give me all that mushy stuff, Minjeong." The doctor waved off Minjeong's thanks with her free hand, even though the latter couldn't see it. "How long have we been friends now? You would've done the same for me—actually, you have done the same for me. And besides, you weren't that disruptive. I still went to work the same. I'm just glad that, if anything, you and Jimin managed to solve everything on your own." A smile played at the corners of the doctor's lips. "So I take it you're going to pick up the clothing I bought for you during your stay at mine? Since I presume you've moved back in."

"Oh yeah! Thanks again for doing that. I would've died if I had to wear the same clothes for three weeks. Remind me to send you what I owe you for that," Minjeong replied gratefully.

"Hm, don't worry about it, Minjeong. Just focus on Jimin for now," Ningning reassured her.

"No, this is the least I can do. And also, I actually called for something else. I owe you, Ningning. I owe you big time. You say you didn't do much, but taking me in like that, force-feeding me when I couldn't eat myself, talking sense into me... just everything, Ning. Seriously, if you need anything, just let me know," 

"Again with the mushiness Minjeong ewww"

"Hey! I'm trying to be sentimental here!"

"You still haven't given me my steak dinners yet for last time, and now you're already offering another favor. You shouldn't willingly get into debt like this, you know," 

"I'm being serious, Ning! Name your price. I'll actually do anything to make it up to you,"

"Well.. if you insist, there is a favor I need taken care of," Ningning began, prompting Minjeong to listen attentively. "My cousin is coming over to Seoul next weekend for a visit. They have everything mostly set up for their holiday, but next Saturday, it's actually her and her husband's wedding anniversary.... and she needed someone to take care of her kid for the day... but at the same time... on that day I have a date..."

"WAIT, YOU HAVE A DATE!" The blonde couldn't help but blurt out, surprise evident in her tone.

"I have a date."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS ENTIRE TIME, I SHOULD BE THE FIRST IN LINE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS"

"Tell you I'm currently dating someone while you're there moping over your own relationship? Not a chance, Minjeong"

"But-"

"You were basically dead on my couch girlie"

"Touche..."

"Anyway, my point is-"

"Can I at least know they're name" Minjeong couldn't resist poking her nose into the matter once more, her curiosity fully ignited by this unexpected revelation.

"No"

"Oh come one!"

"LISTEN! You said you'll do any favour now listen to the favour!"

"Oh you're right, sorry"

"My point IS! I need someone to watch over my baby niece next coming weekend, and if you're available, it would be great if I could drop her off with you for the day and pick her up the following night."

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

"And that's why, Jimin, I am currently holding a baby," Minjeong remarked in a matter-of-fact, nonchalant voice. "Ningning needed someone to help out, and after everything, I c