The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. She met the staff at the meeting and heard about all the projects they had going on. Afterwards Michelle, the other assistant, sent her an email with official biographies for all the band members, links to their videos, music, and the marketing research to figure out how to position the band for an American audience. She did a lot of head nodding and smiling, and was thankful when the tornado of a day was almost over. There was tension at the agency; she could tell. Everyone was working to make tomorrow's shoot perfect.

Instructions to get some decent sleep before it all went into motion tomorrow were more like orders. As she climbed the stairs to her tiny apartment, she was buzzing with excitement. She spent a couple of hours unpacking some boxes and choosing her outfit. Friends5 music played on her phone while she danced around sorting her new place. She wasn't even tempted to reply to Brian's text message. Today, her life was just about perfect, and that was what mattered. She fell like a rock into her new bed. 

In the morning, she took an Uber to the shoot location, near the Santa Monica Pier. A small crowd had gathered at the end of the street. Trish could see the trailers set up behind a large temporary fence. She had the Uber driver drop her off so she could walk the last block. She wondered how she would get past the crowd. 

Trish was prepared to do the menial tasks assistants did like get coffee and nod endlessly, but she wasn't prepared for all the LA traffic. Embarrassingly, it had taken thirty minutes longer to get there than she thought. She bit her lip, hoping being late wouldn't screw up her second day.

The wide cement walkway was full of people trying to look through the temporary wire-fencing around the area. As she got closer, she could see a security person with a yellow shirt, cap and laminate keeping spectators back. She sent Felicia a text:

I'm here. Don't know how to get past the crowd.

Felicia sent back: Michelle will be there in a moment. Stay there.

Trish walked up to the edge of the crowd of teens and young adults armed with phones all pointed toward a set of chairs where some young Korean men were seated. One guy was getting his makeup touched up by a woman. Two other men were talking and drinking sodas. The whole crew seemed to be waiting for something, as if things were on hold for a moment.

She watched a girl with brown hair go knock on a trailer, and then talk into her headset. She shook her head towards the group of people where the lights were set up and talked into the headset again. Then, she walked away from the trailer.

Just then, Michelle came up behind her. She held out a laminate that had Friends5/Wood Productions printed on it then waved Trish to follow her. They pushed their way through spectators and signs that said, "We Love Friends5." While there were a few angry glances from the spectators, the security guard easily stood aside to let them both through.

Michelle handed the placard to Trish and led her onto the set. There were trailers and pop-up canopies all over. Not to mention at least fifty people, most of them sitting around and chatting. Once they turned a corner and were out of sight of the crowd, Michelle started to fill her in, "Right now, things are on hold. We're waiting for one of the members to calm down after the last scene." She kept her voice low, even though no one seemed to be listening to them.

"What happened?" she asked, following Michelle's lead to keep it quiet as they made their way through the maze.

"Woo In-ho won't come out of his trailer. The scene didn't go how he wanted it, and he's disappointed with the girl they cast in the video."

"Can I do anything?" Trish didn't know what else to say, but trying to get in the good graces of her new boss and the other assistant seemed like a good idea. Anything to get the project up and running again.

They turned another corner and found Felicia sitting in a chair, with her hand to her forehead. "If I knew he'd be this temperamental, I would have hired more actresses to choose from. It's been an hour. He won't come out," she said to the man beside her. He had his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Things were not going well.

The man blew out his breath, shaking his head. "We need to hurry and get the shot. We're losing the light." He turned around waving at the crew around him. "They're getting full scale whether we shoot or not." He looked Felicia straight in the eye. "I'm giving you a deal because I owe you Felicia, but this talent is driving me crazy." He took off his ball cap and started rubbing his eyes.

Trish realized that things were super tense. What could she do to help? That's what assistants did. She piped in with her first thought. "How about I give it a try? I can say I'm new, and will help him in any way I can." There, she thought. Being positive was always a good way to start helping.

Felicia looked up. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she gave Trish a half smile. "It would be a relief if you could do something. Anything to get him out of that trailer. Every minute we all sit here is costing me more money." She waved her hand towards In-ho's trailer. "Give it a try."

Trish walked over to the trailer, and noticed the people behind the security barrier follow her with their eyes. They must have seen the whole thing. That can't be good publicity, especially with all those phones taking pictures of everything going on.

No pressure. She just needed to get a temperamental Kpop idol out of his trailer while everyone watched. At least, no one had mentioned that she was late. She can make up for her bad start today.

She took a big breath and knocked on the door. "Hey, Mr. In-ho, my name is Trish. I'm Felicia's new production assistant. I just started working here, yesterday. May I come in and speak with you for a moment? I would like to help find a solution for you."

There was a pause. She was debating whether to knock again, when the door suddenly opened. The amount of squealing that went on behind her said volumes; getting a glimpse of the man behind the door meant a lot to the fans.

Woo In-ho stood towering over her, his frown ruining his beautiful aquiline features. His white shirt was partly open, his make-up still on from what must have been the earlier scene, black hair styled to frame his face in angles that would make any manga artist proud. She had thought he was cute in the videos on her iPad screen, but here, in the flesh, he was overpowering her senses. The smell of his cologne, scented like clary sage, was hot when on the right guy. His clothes tailored his form, accenting the workouts he must do for a chest outline like that. He was overwhelming her senses with subtle coolness. How was she going to work with a Kpop idol?

He looked Trish up and down, "Can you read some lines for me?"

Trish reminded herself that he was a client and she was not here to fangirl over him. "Sure. I'll do anything you need."

He grabbed her hand, and led her up the steps into the trailer. It looked like a small living room, complete with a brown leather couch, small table with books, his phone and earbuds were strewn across the top. A small script was opened to a page with highlighting on the lines. He sat down on the couch and picked it up, turned the page, and then handed it to her. "Read the girl's part."

"Are you going to say please?" She realized too late that maybe she shouldn't have said that.

But he only blinked once, and said "Please," then handed the script to her.

Thankful he didn't throw her out, she sat down on the couch and crossed her legs, thinking that maybe she should have worn a skirt that wasn't so tight. She began with the first line on the page. "It's over."

"Don't tell me it's over. I'll do anything for you." He said his lines already memorized.

She looked to the next line. "It's over." She looked over the action. "It says, she turns her back to the boy."

"Yes. Could you stand and do that." Trish stood, and turned her back to him.

Trish felt a shock go through her as he touched her shoulder. "Just give me one more chance." Then, he started to sing. The lines were in what she assumed were Korean, but she could feel the need that his voice conveyed. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she heard him switch to a line in English that must have been the chorus. "One more chance. Give me one more chance."

She had to steady her reaction, realizing that she was trying to still reject him. But his singing, his touch, got her to turn around. She looked into his eyes, his face begging her to give into him. His hand slid from her shoulder to her hand. She relaxed with his touch, letting the song lull her. He was singing to her. Trying to convince her to love him. A flutter went through her chest. She remembered to breath.

He stopped suddenly and said, "You'll do."