Now, as Zee stood outside the building preparing to head home, a flashy blue car pulled up in front of her. She wondered why it had parked right where she stood, but her question was quickly answered when the window rolled down, revealing Yeong-Su’s smiling face.

“You are on your way home, right? Let me drop you off,” he said, his smile warm and inviting.

Zee subtly frowned at Yeong-Su's insistence. Drop me off? Since when were they close? However, she still politely turned him down. “You don’t have to bother about me. I can find my way home, so please go ahead.”

“Of course, I would be bothered. We are now friends,” Yeong-Su said, chuckling.

Friends? Since when were they friends? Zee recalled that she hadn’t given him a definitive answer regarding his earlier proposal.

“Don’t tell me you have forgotten your words so soon. You outrightly said if I got my stunts right, we would be friends,” he explained, grinning from ear to ear.

“I didn’t say that.” Zee could clearly remember her own words, and she hadn’t made any such outrageous claim.

“You may not have put it that way, but you did challenge me into it, and I made a deal with you, so…”

Just then, Yeong-Su’s phone rang, cutting him off. He excused himself and answered, “Yeoboseyo.”

Zee watched as he listened intently, the grin on his face fading. “Mwo? I will be right there!” he exclaimed before abruptly hanging up. 

Turning back to her, he looked slightly flustered. “Mianhe, I have to go. The drive will have to wait another day. Goodbye, Chingu.”

He roared the car back to life and sped off. As Zee stood there watching the car fade out of sight, she couldn’t shake the concern creeping into her thoughts. The call he received sounded urgent, and she couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened.

Lost in thought, Che-U approached her and cleared her throat, jerking Zee out of her reverie. “Uhm... Zee, we would like to apologize for how we spoke to you earlier. We want to celebrate with you joining the team. You don’t have to worry about expenses; we will treat. All you have to do is choose any place you like.”

Zee looked from Che-U to the group behind her, their expectant gazes lingering on her. Their change of heart was so unexpected that she was left speechless for a moment.

She cleared the feelings building up within her and said, “You guys should decide on a place. I don’t know many good ones.”

Che-U smiled. “We know a good place nearby where they sell delicious pork belly. We can eat it with some soju. What do you say?”

“I like that,” she replied, grinning from ear to ear.

They all squealed excitedly, and Zee felt a warmth spread through her, replacing the earlier tension. 

“We started off on the wrong path,” Che-U spoke again. “I didn’t get to introduce you to the team. This is Gui-Jin, the stylist; Do-hee, the makeup artist; Si-Woo, the runner; and I’m Che-U, the publicist.”

Despite knowing that the introductions weren’t necessary since she already knew who they were, Zee allowed it regardless. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Zee,” they chorused back.

Gui-Jin stepped forward, tugging both Che-U and Zee. “We should get going now.” And with that, they all proceeded to the location.

____________________

Yeoboseyo— Hello

Mianhe— Sorry

Chingu— Friend