“What?” Gui-Jin asked, slightly annoyed. “Zee is now one of us, and I don’t think she is here to destroy Min-Jun.” Gui-Jin suddenly paused and looked at Zee. “Wait, are you?”

“Of course not!” Zee quickly responded, her face heating up.

“See? She is one of those fans in love with him. Am I right?” Gui-Jin asked teasingly, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Zee felt her cheeks burn as she struggled to find the right words. “Um, it’s not like that…”

“Anyways,” Gui-Jin continued, disregarding Zee’s embarrassment. “Ha-Ung couldn’t accept the fact that she was fired, so she followed after Min-Jun, which led to those controversial pictures online.”

“What exactly did Ha-Ung do?” Zee questioned, feeling a mix of concern and intrigue.

“We don’t really know,” Che-U chimed in. “But little things make Min-Jun unhappy. He often shouts at Do-Hee when she is applying his makeup. Do-Hee here is walking on thin ice,” she added, glancing at the makeup artist, who nodded with a nervous smile.

“Min-Jun has a short temper,” Do-hee added, her voice slightly trembling. “You never know what will set him off.”

“That sounds stressful,” Zee said, her heart racing at the thought of dealing with someone so unpredictable.

“It is,” Gui-Jin agreed.

“One day, I got coffee for him, and he rejected it because it wasn't his usual coffee. I was depressed for the rest of that day,” Si-Woo added, shaking his head as he recalled the incident.

“What coffee was that?” Zee asked, making a mental note to avoid any mistakes in the future.

“Huh, americano. He usually likes espresso,” Si-Woo answered, slightly confused but still eager to share.

Zee committed that to memory. She realized she needed to find out more about Min-Jun’s likes and dislikes. Her gaze fell on Gui-Jin, who seemed like the right person to ask.

“Why did you ask, noona?” Si-Woo questioned, his curiosity piqued.

“Ah! So I wouldn’t make that mistake,” Zee replied truthfully, which earned her an understanding nod from Si-Woo.

“I can see uhn-nee truly likes him,” Do-Hee spoke, looking curiously at her.

Zee felt her face flush with embarrassment. “Y-You are wrong, you are wrong!” She stammered, shaking her head fervently.

“Don’t worry, we were all like that,” Che-U reassured her. “Until we realized the ugly character behind that beautiful face. Your feelings will soon die with time.”

Zee looked taken aback by Che-U's words. How could they all speak so negatively about him? He hadn’t done anything apart from express his disdain for her skin color, telling her to stay twelve feet away, pouring water on her, and... Maybe, he had said and done some bad things to her but she reminded herself, those things didn’t matter. They were all working for him and shouldn’t be bad-mouthing him.

________________

Uhn-nee—An older female friend