“Don’t get nervous.”

“Yeah.”

“Remember to answer any questions well. Have confidence in yourself. No one wants to see you flustered.”

“Okay.”

“Also….”

Just as Yoojin was about to say more things, a voice resounded out calling for the next interviewee.

“Good luck!”

Yoojin sighed as she watched her walking into the interview room. For some reason, she was nervous. Even though the one taking the audition was ‘Bunbun’.

“She said this is the 2nd so there should be no problems.”

Usually, any interviews after the first audition were just occasions to talk to the director and/or the writer. Most of the time, whether someone passed or not was decided after the first audition. In other words, the fact that she came here to have an interview meant that it was highly likely that she had passed already. Unless she decided to pick a fight with the director inside, she would pass safely.

Yoojin took out a bottle of water from her bag and took a sip. Ten minutes had passed since she went in. She wondered what they were talking about inside. She became thirsty. There was no way she would come back out crying, right?

She spent some time walking around the corridor. When the door to the interview room eventually opened, she saw her bowing towards the interviewers.

Yoojin looked at her who just walked up to her with her mouth shut. For some reason, her expression didn’t look that good. Her hands were politely folded on top of her stomach, while her eyes were looking at the ground. Did she fail?

“What happened? Did it not go well?”

“Haa….”

She sighed. Yoojin did not know what to say. She thought that she would have naturally passed. She could even remember her jumping around in joy when she passed the first audition. She must be feeling very dejected right now.

“Let’s go. You can’t be depressed at a time like this. Let’s get some shaved ice for now. After we eat something cold, we should… yes. Let’s go to a noraebang and shout our lungs out. How about it?” Yoojin said as she grabbed her by the hand.

She wanted to do something for her disappointed friend. At that moment, she noticed that her shoulders shook slightly. She even chuckled once.

“Don’t tell me you….”

“Yoojin! I passed! They said they’ll contact me once the dates are set!”

She started hopping around like a rabbit while grabbing both of her hands. Yoojin smiled back and was about to congratulate her, but frowned and let go of her hands.

“And here I was worried sick about you. You dare to tease me?”

“Yoojin, sorry. I’ll treat you to shaved ice!”

“Shaved ice? I don’t think that’s enough.”

“Then I’ll pay for the noraebang as well!”

She started running while screeching. Yoojin watched as she ran before smiling. She felt the others in the corridor staring at them because they caused a commotion, so she quickly apologized and followed suit. She found her jumping around in joy in front of the elevator.

“What did they say?”

“They told me that I have to act a character that’s ditzy, and I told them that it’s my specialty. Then they told me to show them.”

“And?”

“I was surprised at first, but I thought I could make use of that and I just blankly stared at the people in front of me. When I did, the writer smiled. The producer laughed as well. The writer said that I seem to suit the character I was originally intended for.”

“Really? That’s great.”

The elevator arrived on the fifth floor and opened. She hopped inside with lighter steps than ever before. Yoojin thought that she would float into the sky if she gave her some helium balloons.

She pressed the button for the first floor before continuing the conversation,

“Were there actors inside as well?”

“No, I saw the producer, the writer, and a couple of people from the TV station.”

“Really? What about your senior? The one that told you about the audition.”

“She wasn’t there. Ah, I should call her now.”

“You said she was a graduate from your school right?”

“Yeah. She works in an entertainment agency. Wait a moment.”

She started the call with ‘seonbae-nim’ and told her senior that she passed. It was just as expected of Myunghwa High. There wasn’t a school that had better infrastructure for proceeding to the entertainment industry as Myunghwa High in the Gyeonggi province. The acting club was one thing, but there were quite a lot of celebrities commuting to Myunghwa High as well.

“Yes, seonbae-nim. I’ll make a visit next time.”

She hung up with a smile.

“Phew, it feels like a dream.”

“It’s not a dream. Wow, even I’ve never a shot sitcom before.”

“But you have experience shooting both a drama and a movie. For me, this is my first as a support role.”

“How do you feel?”

“I feel like I can fly! Oh, yeah.”

She started calling someone again. From her flushed cheeks, it was obvious who she was calling. Even when the elevator arrived on the first floor and they walked out to the lobby, she did not take her phone off her ears.

“Maru’s not picking up?” Yoojin asked.

She flinched before looking at her and shook her head.

“He is busy as well.”

“That’s true.”

“But still, I can’t forgive him. How dare he not accept a call from my lovely Bunbun.”

“I can’t do anything about him being busy.”

Yoojin pinched her waist when she saw her giggle.

“Ouch, that hurts.”

“Good, that was my intention.”

She stroked her waist as she texted. Yoojin pushed her back to lead her out of the TV station since she seemed to be absorbed in texting. They walked towards the rotating door. Since she passed the audition, all that was left to do was to play around to their heart’s content.

“Let’s leave through here.”

She pointed at the rotating door as she spoke. Yoojin nodded. They walked into the rotating door and out of the building. Just then,

“Huh?”

A familiar face appeared on the other side of the door. It was Jiseok.

“Oh, Lee Yoojin.”

Jiseok waved his hand cheerfully above his head. He was constantly excited just as always.

“Yoo Jiseok, what brings you here? Do you have business?”

“Yeah. I’m here for an interview.”

“An interview?”

“Yeah. Rather than that, who’s the cute girl next to you?”

Yoojin quickly hid her behind herself. She didn’t want to reveal Bunbun to this overly-friendly fella. However, Jiseok had approached her anyway.

“Hi.”

“...Hi?”

She accepted Jiseok’s greeting, albeit a little flustered. Yoojin grabbed Jiseok by the back of his neck and pulled him back with all of her might.

“Ow, you’re breaking my neck.”

“It won’t break from just that, you know?”

“Did I do something wrong? I just greeted her because I want to become close. Right?”

Jiseok spoke as he looked at her. Yoojin sighed. Jiseok’s eyes were clearly saying that he wouldn’t leave unless she told him who she was.

“This guy is called Yoo Jiseok, and he’s a very tiresome guy.”

“Hi. I’m Yoo Jiseok. Nice to meet you.”

He extended his hand out asking for a handshake. She stared at his hand for a while before shaking it.

“Hello.”

Yoojin just watched as the two exchanged greetings. When Jiseok heard her name, he widened his eyes and asked,

“You’re Maru’s girlfriend?”

“Huh? Yeah, I am.”

“So it’s you! Wow, I’m really glad to see you. I’m Maru’s best friend number three, so I hope I see you more in the future.”

“You’re friends with Maru?”

“I said we’re best friends. Probably.”

“Probably?”

Yoojin whispered into her ears.

“He’s a hectic guy so don’t take him seriously.”

“Hey, I can hear you.”

Jiseok gave her his phone and spoke.

“Give me your number.”

“My number?”

“Yeah.”

She typed her number into Jiseok’s phone without much hesitation. When Jiseok called her, her phone started ringing.

“That’s my number. Maru always avoids my calls. He always runs away when I ask him to hang out with me, saying that he can’t be bothered. So please help me out in the future. I know that he’s awfully considerate of his girlfriend.”

Hearing his words, her face became red. It was really easy to read her. Yoojin interrupted the two.

“Well then. We’re going on a date, so why don’t you go about your business as well?”

“Can’t you take me on that date as well?”

“I thought you had business here. Just get going already!”

She glared at him. Jiseok made a dejected expression.

“Fine, I’m going. But why are you two here? As an audience for a program? Or something else?”

“Because of this girl’s interview.”

Thinking back, Jiseok said that he was here for an interview as well. The same TV station and an interview on the same day. Was his interview for the sitcom as well?

“Are you also here because of the sitcom interview?”

Yoojin asked just to check. Jiseok smiled and nodded his head.

“Wait. So you two are going to appear in the same sitcom?”

Yoojin looked at her. She was looking at Jiseok with surprise.

“Please take care of me in the future. Oh, I should text that person as well.”

Jiseok laughed like a child that found an interesting toy as he walked to the elevator.

“My Bunbun, what do we do about you? You’ll be having a hard time for the entire shoot.”

“Why? He doesn’t seem like a bad kid to me.”

“That’s because you haven’t met him for long. That guy is really strange. He doesn’t have the slightest bit of embarrassment in him. If he approaches you later, act like you don’t know him. Otherwise, you’ll have to listen to him talking to you for the entire shoot.”

Yoojin shook her head and dragged her out of the station. Just then, her phone started ringing.

“Wait a sec. Yes, Maru. What?”

It seemed that she got a call from Maru. Yoojin watched her from the side. She talked with a smile on her face at first, but that smile turned into a prankful expression when she finished the call.

“What is it?”

“Maru said the same thing you did. He told me not to hang out with Jiseok, saying that he’s a very annoying guy.”

“Don’t ignore his advice. Your boyfriend is right for once.”

“Really? He looked normal to me.”

“That looked normal?”

It was no good. Yoojin had no choice but to tell her how much of a chatterbox Jiseok was and how he loved to stick his nose into other people’s business. She grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the TV station for now.

* * *

“Why don’t you get up already?”

Miso slapped Taesik’s back, who was lying on the bed. Taesik groaned before hiding inside a blanket.

“I’m commuting to an academy again starting today.”

“An academy?” Taesik sat up and asked. Miso smiled as she looked at Taesik’s chubby belly.

“Yes. Ganghwan’s play is over, so I was instructed to start working again by my great president.”

“Ah, that Mr. Lee Junmin?”

“Yes, that Mr. Lee Junmin.”

Miso took off her pajamas and hung them on a chair. At that moment, she saw Taesik looking away. He was so cute.

“What is it? It’s not like you haven’t seen me.”

“No, well. I’m not entirely used to it.”

“You were staring at me when we went to sleep yesterday though.”

“Ehem.”

Miso faintly smiled and put on a shirt and pants.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t we go greet my parents this week?”

“This week?”

After thinking about it for a while, Taesik said okay. Miso, who had her back facing him, sighed slightly. She was worried that he would say no.

“But what if father-in-law hates me because we’re too far apart in age?”

“10 years is not that far apart.”

“To be exact, it’s not ten years but….”

“Same thing. Oppa, have confidence in yourself. You’re marrying me, not my parents,” Miso sat on the bed as she spoke.

As a teacher, he was so cool as someone who had faith in his job and was kind to students, but he was very awkward at times like these. Well, that was one of Taesik’s charms, so she couldn’t help it.

“But before we go, let’s get you a suit.”

“A suit? I already have one at….”

“Oppa, didn’t I tell you that you look ten years younger if you wear the proper clothes?”

“B-but I can’t exactly throw away the clothes that still fit me….”

Hearing that, she remembered what she told him last time. The checkered-patterned shirt that Taesik wore while she was still his student - she found that in his closet last time which surprised the heck out of her. She asked if he still wore that shirt to work, and Taesik replied yes as though it was natural. That shirt was over ten years old, and yet he was still wearing it frequently. She did tell him that they should clean up his old clothes, but they didn’t do it immediately since Taesik said that they should decide on a date to do it properly.

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t thrown away that tattered checkered-patterned shirt of yours?”

“I-I did throw it away.”

From how his eyes were looking elsewhere, he was obviously lying. And that was after she had told him multiple times to throw it away.

“Look at me in the eyes and speak. Did you really throw it away?”

“I did.”

“Oppa, you’re a teacher, aren’t you? Can a teacher lie to his students?”

“...Alright, I’ll throw it away. I promise.”

Taesik’s eyes looked very innocent when he said that. Miso couldn’t bear to say harsh words to his face. She lost to him once again today.

“Then I’ll be off to work, so throw it away before I come back. Also, even though it’s the holidays, don’t just stay at home and do some exercise. You’re gaining weight.”

“I’m not just playing around. I’m preparing for….”

“But you just rolled around in bed for the past few days, didn’t you?”

“...I’ll exercise.”

“Very good.”

Miso kissed Taesik on the forehead before putting her shoes on.

“I’m off then.”

She took the elevator down and loaded herself in her car. She was going to Film, the academy, after a long time today. She would be teaching actors and aspiring actors, not students.

‘Is he preparing to snag them one by one?’

Miso thought of Junmin’s face as she grabbed the driving wheel.