«It’s your choice, Mr. Sung Joon. One way or another, I still won’t be able to influence him if you don’t want to,» I replied with exaggerated respect, realizing that I could not immediately break his stubbornness.
«Why are you suddenly talking to me formally?» He grinned with the left corner of his mouth and began to look even more charming.
«I’m more concerned about why you started talking to me all of a sudden, Mr. Sung Joon,» I replied, looking straight at him.
«I need something from you,» he said without a hint of embarrassment, continuing to scrutinize me carefully.
«What is it?» I chuckled.
«I want you to show me some moves. I mean boxing,» he clarified after I gave him a puzzled look.
«Ask the general manager for that. He’ll hire a professional trainer for you and schedule your workouts,» I shrugged indifferently, but he didn’t like that answer.
«I need someone who will be patient and not interfere with my personal space in any way,» he tried to explain his request to me.
«Why do you think I’m that kind of person?» I asked through a nervous laugh.
«You have a goal that you want to achieve with my help. And you did not come here to work because of me, which means that you are not interested in me at all,» now it was his turn to shrug.
«Well, that’s a perfectly logical reasoning. It’s not a problem for me. I’ll teach you everything I know myself. Find some free time,» I agreed, but instead of answering, Sung Joon just laughed soundlessly.
«You are very strange,» he remarked as if he found his discovery charming, «at the beginning of the dialogue you speak to me formally, and at the end as if we were friends,»
It’s time to decide who we can be for each other. I think if we work and act together, we can achieve great results,» I concluded in a conciliatory tone.
«Then let’s talk to each other informally. We’re neighbors,» he said on an exhalation and got out of the car, «We’ll train in our free time.»
«Who decided that?» I retorted indignantly as I followed him, «I’m not allowed to have side jobs. You heard that yourself yesterday.»
«Yesterday obviously wasn’t your day. But… I won’t pay you, so… technically, it wouldn’t count as a part-time job. Let me repay you with some help of mine, okay?» He asked, but his question was more like a statement, so I left it unanswered.
We entered the agency building and slowly moved to one of the elevators. I loved spending those early hours in the empty agency building. During the day, vanity will dominate here in every corner.
We went up to the floor where the studio was located, in which the entire film crew gathered for the show in which Sung Joon had been filming for three years. In each episode, he answered questions he received from his fans.
Sometimes he went to places that fans couldn’t afford to visit, and he talked about his experiences in detail and, as a bonus, he always sent an invitation to the same place to the fan who requested Sung Joon to visit such a place. At the same time, the episodes were released much later than the fan visited this place, so there were no spoilers for him.
Today, Sung Joon answered questions and had to prepare a healthy breakfast for himself.
«We need to decide something about the food meant for you,» I announced to Sung Joon as we walked towards the gym where he had a dance practice scheduled right after filming.
«Don’t think about it,» he said grimly.
«It’s part of my job,» I said stubbornly after him, striding right behind him (following yet another agency rule that an assistant shouldn’t walk at the same level as his charge).
«There’s no need to waste food. I won’t eat anyway,» he replied in a reasonable tone.
«Is this a protest?» I asked through nervous laughter, feeling like never before I was close to finding out the reason Sung Joon was refusing to eat.
«Consider that it is,» he chuckled and entered the dance hall.
«You just ate what you cooked…» I objected, but he left my comment unanswered.
I greeted the dancers and choreographers before turning around and heading towards Min Hyuk for our daily meeting. And suddenly I realized that my personal phone number was gone. And I don’t know where he is. I hope my father will return it to me as soon as possible. Now I was not ready to initiate our communication with him.
I ordered lunch at one of the nearby restaurants, after which, on behalf of stylist Sung Joon, I went on my own to get the costumes that local brands provided for him. In them, he will participate in the upcoming filming to promote the new song, which is scheduled for release in two weeks. I took the outfits, after which I drove into the restaurant and proceeded to implement my plan.
«It’s good that your practice is over! I’ve brought water and lunch. Dismantle the containers and bottles,» I announced as I entered the dance practice room.
«Oh, Min Hee, it looks like you took Mr. Sung Joon’s words seriously,» one of the dancers called out to me, a young, thin guy named Lee Hyun, who could light a fire on the dance floor with his energy, «thank you anyway for food!» He bowed in gratitude, and I gave him a polite smile.
I took water for myself and a kimbap wrapped in a transparent wrapper and went to the mirror, where Sung Joon was sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of me and leaning his head against the mirror. As I knelt down next to him, he looked at me in surprise, and then looked suspiciously at the food in my hands.
«What is it?» He twisted his nose contemptuously.
«My lunch,» I answered with a sigh of satisfaction and took a bite, «I’m sorry, I don’t offer you. I know that you will definitely refuse. Therefore, having learned well everything that you told me on my first visit here, I decided to feed all these people that make up you. Let’s consider that you are full when they feel full, «I said, and exhaled in relief, feeling full, after which I unscrewed the cap from the bottle of water and took a greedy sip, and when I wanted to bring the bottle back to lips, Sung Joon snatched it from my hands and drained the rest of the water in an instant.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but decided to refrain from commenting, noting how greedily he drinks water. Even at that moment, he looked like he was on the set.
«Get another bottle?» I asked, barely suppressing a smile, secretly glad that he had accepted something from me for the first time ever.
«No. What do we have next on the plan?» Sung Joon asked, wiping his face with a towel that hung on his shoulder.
«Studio work. And filming. Your work day should end at eight o’clock in the evening. Now you have an hour break,» I said, stifling a yawn.
«Then let’s go,» he said, and nimbly got to his feet, after which he strode confidently out of the hall, tossing the empty bottle into the bin along the way.
I hurried to get up and was able to catch up with him only in the middle of the corridor. I didn’t ask any questions as I followed him, as I wasn’t sure he would answer them (silence was his style). Sung Joon ended up taking us to the agency cafeteria, which was located on the third floor. His appearance did not go unnoticed by the other employees, but everyone only greeted him modestly as he walked past them to the distribution.
«Find us a place,» commanded Sung Joon, giving me a quick glance over his shoulder.
I sat down at the first table I came across and began to look around (despite the fact that the room was occupied by a large number of people). The