“You fool. So you two haven’t contacted each other since that day?”

Min Joo clicked her tongue, pulled out the straw stuck in the cup, and gulped down the drink.

[Writer, this is Ma Bong Gi, Ji Ho’s manager. Please contact us here if you need to. Thank you for your help. (8:43 PM)]

Hye Yoon recalled the day she left Ji Ho’s house.

She had returned home alone in a taxi and prepared for tomorrow, leaving Bong Gi’s consideration aside. It was the day when she knew full well that the world outside her door would change the next day and couldn’t focus on anything. The message had come late in the afternoon that day.

That succinct sentence contained more than just gratitude. It was a sort of plea for cooperation, subtly pressuring her to communicate strictly through him and not create any other complications.

“But Ji Ho’s manager asked me for your number? I did give it to him. Aren’t the actor and the manager close? I found it amusing when he asked me.”

A few days prior, during a call with Min Woo, she could understand how Bong Gi got her number. She couldn’t tell Min Woo, who was waiting for Hye Yoon’s amusing reaction, that “Even Ji Ho doesn’t know my number.”

Now that the whole world knew An Ji Ho and Jang Hye Yoon were dating, it would be ridiculous if the boyfriend didn’t know his girlfriend’s phone number.

“Are you going to the script reading alone?”

“With Woo Joon. I’m not a child, I could go alone……”

“Oh wow, Kim Woo Joon proves to be useful at times like this.”

Min Joo, holding her empty cup of caffeine, headed towards the sink. Just like the sound of water falling strongly from afar, Hye Yoon wanted to pour out this vague frustration somewhere.

Hye Yoon, Min Joo, and Woo Joon had been close friends since kindergarten. A relationship so longstanding, they didn’t remember when or how they became close. They were the only two people, aside from family, who knew the pseudonym Jang Yoon.

“But are you going ahead with ’23 Centimeters’ without any changes?”

Min Joo wiped her thigh, brushing away moisture. Hye Yoon knew why she asked this question. Min Joo had not liked the ending of ’23 Centimeters’ from the start. Regrettably, Hye Yoon nodded in affirmation.

The ending was simple. Jong Soo liked Hee Soo but couldn’t express it, and Hee Soo noticed but left for Seoul. So, Hee Soo would remain as Jong Soo’s cousin forever.

Even if they never met again.

Min Joo, apparently not satisfied, vigorously shook her head.

“It’s a pity. When you get down to it, they’re practically strangers.”

“Well, they’re family. To call them strangers… that’s even sadder.”

Just as Min Joo said, Jong Soo and Hee Soo in ’23 Centimeters’ were cousins but without a drop of blood relation. Moreover, since both of their parents had passed away, the justification to call Jong Soo family was also fading for Hee Soo.

Still, Hee Soo thought differently about family. To her, family was something precious, that you couldn’t abandon or be abandoned by.

“Well… Anyway, Jong Soo and Hee Soo in the story are wistful, but it’s a relief that in reality they have many things to enjoy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Watching Hye Yoon tilt her small head to one side, Min Joo smirked. She had an expression of delight at the emergence of a good plaything.

“Jong Soo subtly holds Hee Soo’s hand, and they even kiss in dreams, don’t they?”

“Ah…”

The stormy week was intense enough to make Hye Yoon forget the content of her own story. With her mouth slightly open as if just remembering, Min Joo continued, laughing.

“Anyway, don’t forget that while you’re filming, I’ll be with you as a stylist? No changing your mind later.”

“Right. I’m grateful. I can’t pay you much, but I’ll offer memories in return.”

“I would have preferred money over memories, but since it’s a filming location… I’m quite satisfied. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see other male actors, too? Hehe.”

Breaking a somewhat large cookie with her hand, Min Joo grinned mischievously. Her face was filled with a devilish glee as she crumbled the cookie, thinking, ‘I really did well resigning.’

Ding

[Hye Yoon, don’t forget to come for script reading tomorrow at 2. If you can’t find the place after arriving, contact me. (10:10 PM)]

Min Woo’s reminder arrived with a cheerful notification. That’s right, tomorrow was the official start of the drama production.

With Ji Ho’s confirmed appearance, the production picked up incredible speed. Both advertisements and sponsorships were competitive, making the production budget plentiful. The broadcasting company announced their plan to change the airing time from the usual Monday night at 12, which was typical for drama specials, to Friday night at 10.

Every day, she could feel the extent of his standing in this field.

“Hye Yoon, can I really, really ask you something I’ve been curious about?”

With twitching eyebrows and sparkling eyes, Min Joo’s expression made Hye Yoon swallow. Hoping that the question wouldn’t require her to lie.

“Staking our 20 years of friendship. Was there really… really nothing that happened that day?”

“Yes!”

Hye Yoon answered confidently to a relatively acceptable question. Of course, upon hearing the phrase ‘nothing happened’, the image of that morning when she was only in her underwear did make her head shake involuntarily.

“Huh? What’s that! Why are you shaking your head? You seem to be lying?”

“No, I just had another thought. Really!”

“……Alright. It doesn’t seem like Jang Hye Yoon would lie. But it’s suspicious……”

Min Joo, who was shaking her head slightly more vigorously than her, looked somewhat adorable to Hye Yoon. A small laugh flowed continuously. She took comfort in the fact that she hadn’t lied, she just hadn’t told the whole story.

Outside the café’s window, after closing hours, it was pitch black. When this night passed, she would meet Ji Ho again after a week. Hye Yoon moistened her thick lips with her tongue. Perhaps due to the lingering taste of yuzu tea on her lips, the night somehow felt sweet.