Jaemi started sobbing harder into Hongbin’s arms. “How can it be me and Hyuk in the end if we’ve already ended?” she managed to articulate between sobs. “Hyuk hates me and he’s going to move on and it’s going to be me by myself in the end!”

              Hongbin held her closer and grimaced, feeling sorry for saying the wrong thing. He decided to not say anything else and just let her cry it all out. He wondered what exactly happened, but was too scared of her breaking out into even bigger sobs if he asked.

              Eventually Jaemi calmed down and stopped crying but didn’t move from Hongbin’s embrace. Hongbin couldn’t help but think about how she felt in his arms, but quickly banished the thought.

              “You’re not going to class today either?” Aidan asked Hyuk, who continued to lie in bed, wearing the same clothes he had been wearing since he came back from Christmas vacation more than a week ago. He had only seen Hyuk leave the room to eat or use the bathroom and he was really worried about Hyuk, but he had no idea what was going on. Hyuk pulled the covers over his head and turned so that he faced the wall. Aidan sighed and left, but not before adding, “then at least shower today. You’re stinking up the entire building.”

              As if on cue, a staff member knocked on the door. Hongbin and Jaemi quickly got up and separated from each other just before the staff member opened the door and summoned Jaemi to the director’s office. Jaemi and Hongbin exchanged wary looks, neither of them knowing what was going on.

              Jaemi followed the staff member to the director’s office and was surprised to see the producer and lead writer chatting quietly with the director in there as well. They motioned for her to sit down.

              “Jaemi, your performance the past week has been extremely poor and we’ve decided it would be best to write out your character,” the director stated plainly.

              “A-Are you firing me?” Jaemi asked in shock.

              “In essence, yes,” he replied curtly. “You’ll film one more episode with us and that will be it. You will be paid for the work you’ve done up to this point. You’re a very talented girl, but you really need to fix your work ethic.”

              Jaemi’s shoulders sunk. She knew they were right, but she also felt that they should be more understanding of her current situation.

              “We’ll start filming your last episode on Thursday. You may go home for today, and tell Hongbin he may go as well,” the director said.

              “Oh… I understand,” Jaemi responded automatically. She bowed politely to them before leaving. She found Hongbin waiting for her outside the door. By the look on his face, she could tell he had been listening in. He held out his arms for another hug and she didn’t hesitate to accept it.

              “Unnie, you’re close with Jaemi unnie right?” Jaehee asked her older sister, Jia. Jia was an up and coming designer and former model. She and Jaemi met during Jaemi’s debut show and had been friends ever since.

              “Mhm,” Jia replied without looking up from her sketchbook.

              “You wouldn’t happen to know her romantic history would you?” Jaehee asked, trying to pose it as a casual question. Jia finally looked up from her sketchbook and gave her sister an odd look.

              “What’s this about?” Jia asked cautiously, feeling wary of the answer. Although she loved her sister, she knew that Jaehee was quite good at causing trouble.

              “It’s… just...wait,” Jaehee mumbled embarrassedly. She had to think about how to say it without sounding like a crazy stalker or anything. “You know the guy I’ve been telling you about? The one who comes into the store a lot? Well… he knows Jaemi too…and sometimes… when he talks about her…”

              “Ahh,” Jia interrupted, finally understanding what her sister was hinting at. “I don’t know if this boy has feelings for her, but if he does, then it’s definitely, completely, 100% one sided. Jaemi is super in love with her boyfriend. She would never look at any other guy.”

              Jaehee let out a breath of relief and thanked her sister before skipping away.

              “Wait, Jaehee!” Jia called out. Jaehee came skipping back into the room. “Who exactly is this convenience store boy? You never told me his name.”

              Jaehee’s eyes widened in panic. Hongbin had asked her to not tell anybody about them. “Uh…his name… uh,” she thought out loud. “Uh…his…name…hmm…umm…”

              “If you don’t want to tell me—”

              “Ok! Bye unnie!” Jaehee exclaimed before running out the door. She felt happy knowing that Hongbin and Jaemi weren’t dating or anything. She liked Hongbin so much, but she had no idea if he felt the same way. He gave so many mixed signals and it was extremely frustrating, but she was determined to find out once and for all how he felt the next time they met.