Jong Kook has just parked Charity's car outside a grocery store not far from Hannah's apartment when he sees her black BMW come careening into the parking lot. He winces and barely resists covering his eyes as she swings into a spot, certain she's about to take out another car's bumper, or one of her mirrors, or perhaps a small child. She makes it just fine, though, and he can see her from where he's sitting. Instead of getting out, though, she picks up her phone. Noting her talking, Jong Kook decides to wait in the car until she's done. Prolonging the inevitable? Maybe. But he'll take it. 

When he'd come out of his bedroom to grab a quick shower, the apartment was silent. When he'd grabbed a drink from the kitchen, he'd noticed a tented slip of paper on the counter with a note from Charity.

"Had to run out for a bit. Left the keys for you. Rip that band aid! Text me how it goes. Fighting!"

He'd smiled softly down at the note, appreciating how she does little things like that to care for everyone. Protecting Ji Hyo's sleep when she manages to grab a quick nap on set. Gently steering Kwang Soo through conversations with the occasional American fan watching a Running Man filming. Knowing everyone ever's coffee order and slipping through the crowds to deliver morning refreshments. Always making sure there's suitable food for Jong Kook to eat at home, since such consideration is rarely taken during filming. And now, cheering him on through what she knows is a challenge for him.

Now, he sits in the parking lot, watching Hannah talk animatedly into her phone, still not at all sure what he's going to say. Still not at all sure he's making the right choice. But committed. He told himself he was going to go with whatever popped into his head first, so he's sticking with it. The how will just have to figure itself out as they go along.

After a couple of minutes, he sees her pull her phone away from her face and look at for a moment, then tuck it away. The car door opens and her long legs swing out, encased in black slacks and the same flowered high heels she'd worn upon her arrival to Korea. As she stands, he notes she's wearing a professionally tailored blouse and her hair is pulled back in a sleek twist. She looks so elegant and collected, he can't help but smile fondly.

He gets out of his own car and calls to her, jogging across the parking lot. Her face lights up as she sees him.

"Mr. Kim Jong Kook!" She flings her arms around him for a tight squeeze, and he hugs her back with one arm. "Let me tell you, it's good to see a friendly face." She reaches down and grabs his hand.

"Oh?," he inquires as they head into the store. "Is someone not being nice to you? Tell me who." His temper flares slightly at the thought.

"No, no, most everyone is nice enough," she sighs. She drops his hand as the enter the store and grabs a cart, pushing it in. He gently moves her aside to push the cart himself. "I'm just so... frustrated!" turns down in an uncharacteristic frown.

"What's going on?," he asks as they begin to navigate the aisles.

"It's a lot of little things, really. It will probably sound ridiculous."

"Try me," Jong Kook says wryly, knowing that he's got the ridiculous trump card coming up.

"Well," she starts. "The other day while I was doing rounds, Daniel met with the heads of the program and laid out the schedule for the next six months. For both of us!"

"Shouldn't you get some say in that?"

"I should!," she says, slapping him on the shoulder. "But he did it all without me."

"I don't really understand anything about what you're doing, but does what he set up favor him over you?"

"No, it doesn't, but he thinks it does, which really chaps my , you know? What he did was set himself up with some easy - well, relatively easy - rotations, places where he figures he can shine, and left some really challenging things for me. He framed it to me like he was doing me a favor, like, 'oh, I thought you really liked this particular area, so I left it for you.' And made it sound like he took all the basic rotations as some kind of sacrifice for me. But of course what he's really doing is stacking the deck so he'll have more exceeds reviews than fails to meet reviews. Oh, exceeds and fails to meet - those are two of the options on our rating rubric. Exceeds expectations and fails to meet expectations. Everyone is expected to have a scattering of ratings all up and down the scale, but of course exceeds are more favorable, especially considering the limited number of prestigious positions available to the two of us after this."

Jong Kook just nods, letting her talk, sensing that she needs to blow off some steam. Surely she maintains a professional demeanor through