Ha Mi-Ok was a diva. Dressed for a gala, her aura filled the room. You couldn't help but look at her, astonished by her presence. 

Chloe was already up, ready to greet her. "Mi-Ok, darling. Good morning!" she said. "Mr. Chung, lovely to see you" she addressed the man, who simply nodded. 

"Hello, Chloe," Mi-Ok greeted her indifferently. "Where is Ju-Ju?"

It took Noelle a moment to realize who she meant. Ju-Ju? She calls him Ju-Ju? She definitely hadn't wanted to know what the lovebirds called each other. 

"Ye-Jun is in the studio, practicing. Should I let him know you're here?" Chloe asked. 

"He knows. Lead me there" Mi-Ok demanded. 

"Of course. Mi-Suk, please accompany Ms. Ha to the studio" Chloe said. 

Noelle could feel Mi-Suk shiver, but she got up smiling. Mi-Ok glanced toward them. She hadn't taken any interest before, as they weren't her boyfriend. She probably knew who Mi-Suk was. But when her eyes met Noelle's, they narrowed just a fraction. Mi-Ok said nothing, staring steadily into Noelle's eyes for a long, uncomfortable moment. 

"This way, please" Mi-Suk said politely and walked out. The two guests followed without a word. 

Noelle was brimming with questions. She looked at Chloe, expectingly. 

"That is Ha Mi-Ok. Ye-Jun's girlfriend," Chloe explained. 

"Yes, I read about that," Noelle said. She'd read about it two months after arriving in Seoul, actually. Just a month prior, she'd heard on TV that he'd broken up with his previous co-star girlfriend. And within weeks, he'd apparently fallen for this new, snobbish vixen. 

He has a very strange taste in women. And he falls in love so easily... 

"Well, how could you not? It's all over the news," Chloe said with a smirk. 

"She seems... difficult." 

"She is promising, but she is not down-to-earth. So she's quite demanding." 

"Who was the man with her?" 

"Her manager. I know he looks like her assistant. He can't handle her. I've told him a hundred times to drop her, but he doesn't listen." 

"Why drop her? If she's promising, he could gain a lot from her success" Noelle pointed out. 

"Right. That's what he thinks, too. But a manager has a job, and an artist has another. When the artist interferes with the manager's work without knowing the first thing about it, mistakes happen. And guess who gets blamed?" 

"Oh, I see" Noelle said, wondering what other people she would meet there. Were all celebrities like this? So far, the two she'd met were major disappointments. 

"Well, don't bother with Mi-Ok. You probably won't see her again. And frankly, we also hope not to see her ever again. It was a mistake..." Chloe was apparently thinking out loud. 

"A mistake?" 

"People make mistakes" Chloe said, walking away. 

Soon Mi-Suk was back. "She is the worst! Every time I'm around her, I feel like a worm! She likes to walk on the wrecked souls of her subordinates!" Mi-Suk whined as she returned, slumping into her chair. "Stay away from her!" 

"I plan to!" 

"And that video he mentioned earlier? Do you know how much time this will take? She has to approve my edits!" Mi-Suk cried, thinking of the hardships ahead. 

"Tell me if there's anything I can do to help." 

"How sweet, but no. I will protect you!" 

After an hour or so, Mi-Suk's phone rang. The caller ‘Master’ appeared on the screen, and she picked it up with a sigh. 

"Hello?" Mi-Suk said, her face immediately gloomy. "I'll be right there" she replied and hung up. "Bye, Noelle. It was a pleasure meeting you..." she said, like leaving for the darkest dungeons imagined. 

"Who was it?" Noelle asked, even though she already knew the answer. 

"Ye-Jun. If it was just him, I wouldn't mind. But her..." Mi-Suk hurried out. 

Alone now, Noelle put in her earbuds and started writing. When she was focused on her work, she easily lost track of time. As she began drafting Chapter 3 ‘Research Methodology,’ she stopped noticing her surroundings entirely. She was so absorbed that she startled when Chloe suddenly appeared in front of her desk. 

"Noelle!" Chloe was saying as Noelle hurried to remove her earbuds. "I'm heading to a meeting. I'll be back around three o'clock if anyone asks." 

"Okay!" Noelle replied with a smile. 

Once Chloe was gone, Noelle continued writing, leaving her earbuds out since she was alone.  

It wasn’t long before she heard the door open. Noelle turned around and the air left her lungs. The last two people she wanted to see had just walked in – the lovely couple: Yeong Ye-Jun and Ha Mi-Ok. 

They looked like royalty, carrying an aura straight from a magazine cover, their gleam brighter than any spotlight. 

Two authentic Hallyu specimens.