Jin Ah felt much better the following day and even told Jin-Woo that she was ready to go back to work.
"Alright," he said. "I'll be moving out tomorrow as well so I won't be here to bother you when you get back. Don't miss me too much."
Jin Ah rolled her eyes. When he handed her the money he owed for renting the room temporarily, she recalled something she had been thinking about. "Umm..."
"Yes?"
"I was just wondering, do you think there are some odd jobs in your company that I can do? I can be a messenger or a repair person who can come in after office hours?" she pitched.
"What do you do at your job anyway?" he asked as they ate lunch.
She shared that she was a manager at a coffee franchise. It was a stable desk job, but it did not leave her a lot of extra money to add a significant amount of savings. "I just want an extra gig to add to my funds."
"This is why you did that acting job before?" he asked.
Jin Ah nodded. "Yes! But I really liked that. I once thought I'd be an actress but no agency booked me. Then, I realized that not everyone had the opportunity to chase after their dreams." Shrugging, she added, "I like my job. I don't love it but it's not the worst thing in the world. Besides, it allows me time to do all these other side jobs I'm interested in."
Jin-woo thought about what she said. "I can't think of anything right now but I'll let you know once I've assessed the situation at the office. For now, you need to be resting. I'll call you in a few days and let you know if there are things you could help us out with. If you're interested then let me know. Do you have a CV that I could take with me?"
While she was retrieving her resume to email to him, he asked, "Did you ever try auditioning again?"
"Yes. I still go once in awhile. I just stopped when I started dating Chul-soo. He doesn't like actors so much."
Jin-woo shook his head upon hearing that but decided to say nothing. "A friend of mine used to own an agency and I watched some auditions. They seem to be quite tough," he commented.
The following day, they parted ways as Jin Ah headed out for work while Jin-woo went on to his own apartment to move in. The day was unremarkable for both but when it came to an end, Jin-woo sat in his luxury flat and felt like something was missing.
On the other side of town, Jin Ah came home to a darkened apartment, still carrying a faint smell of musk but without the source of that delicious scent. Sighing, she murmured, "It's just you and me, Self. Like always."
*
Two days.
It took him two days to find a job in his office that she might be interested in. Sure, there were the odd jobs that she told him she would be willing to take but she also shared that acting was something she really liked to do and he would rather offer her something along those lines.
When his advertising department came up to present the marketing proposal, Jin-woo said, "Talk to the agency who will be shooting the materials. There's a talent that I would like them to hire."
Later that night, Jin Ah called him. "Hi!"
"Hey, how'd you get my number?" he asked.
"Emma," she replied simply. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for telling the ad agency to hire me!"
"I hope they gave you a good offer," he said. "We need print and commercial films."
"Yes! They hired me for all of it and it's load of money!" Jin Ah shared excitedly. "Plus, they liked my photos so much they're getting me for a beauty product they're also working on."
"Oh, that sounds great! I'm glad it worked out," Jin-woo said, earnestly. After a pause, he asked, "So, how have you been?"
"Good. It's strangely quiet at the house not having you around to piss off," she admitted. "You?"
"I... well... it's strange to not have you around, too," he said.
"Omo, Mr. Yoo... do you miss me?" Jin Ah teased.
Jin-woo rolled his eyes even if she couldn't see. "You missed me first. Have you had dinner?"
"No, I'm just leaving the audition so I'll just grab something along the way," she replied. When he asked where she was, they found that it was close to his office.
"There's a good restaurant in the corner. Do you want to meet up?" Jin-woo asked.
A few minutes later, they were reunited and teasing each other again. Then the conversation turned to a phone call she received the night before, "Chul-soo called."
"Who?" Jin-woo asked, not recognising the name.
"My ex," Jin Ah reminded.
"Oh. What did he need?"
"Things weren't going well with his trip with his new girlfriend and he's wondering if I would still take him in," she shared, her face pained.
"Are you?"
"I wonder if I was such a push over during out time together that he would think I would just take him back," she mused out loud. "I told him I don't want him back."
"Fair," Jin-woo commented.
"I don't think I'll be seeing anyone for a little while," Jin Ah declared.
"And why is that?"
Jin Ah explained, "I was thinking about everything and have come to the conclusion that I have to work on loving myself a little bit more. Work on a newer, better version of me."
"That sounds good," Jin-woo agreed.
There was a quiet that passed between them before she finally spoke up, "So, I guess this is the part where I say, it was nice meeting you."
He frowned. "Why does it sound like a goodbye?"
"Isn't that how it works? When the characters don't date, they part ways?" she asked.
Jin-woo leaned forward. "You watch too many dramas on TV, I think."
"Dramas only reflect real life," Jin Ah defended.
"Not always," he returned.
Frowning, she asked, "So are you saying you're staying?"
Jin-woo nodded. "Of course. Unless you want me to leave. Otherwise, I would like to be a witness to your life, if you'd let me."
She agreed, but she had doubts and prepared herself to one day wake up and not have his friendship around. But she promised herself to work on being a better person and that meant not putting effort on people who did not want to stay in her life.
So, they were friendly but she kept him at a distance.
For the next year at least, she was going to focus on herself. So, she traveled, took on culinary classes, continued to audition until she was finally with an agency and learned to love all the parts of her being she didn't think were lovable enough.
And luckily, Jin-woo was there as a friend to support her.
Over a year later...
They had spent birthdays and holidays together, they had a bench by the Han River where they would meet up every Wednesday to talk about their week so far and they had Sunday dinners together.
He helped her out once in a while when she wanted to take extra work. She helped him out whenever he had car troubles.
"When are you due back?!" Jin Ah complained over the phone.
They had not seen each other for over two weeks because he had a business trip to Spain for the new hostel he was putting up, and Jin Ah was starting to miss him.
"You miss me, don't you?" Jin-woo teased.
"I miss your ugly face, yes," she shot back.
Jin-woo laughed. "I'm flying out tomorrow. I already moved it 3 days early for you so don't complain if I don't have gifts for you when I return."
"You can get me chocolates from the airport, you know?" she reminded him.
"Fine. Hey, could you meet me at our bench by the river the day after next?"
"Sure, why? It's not Wednesday," she asked, confused.
"Yeah, but... I need to talk to you."
"About what? You're not going to leave me in suspense, are you?"
Jin-woo chuckled softly. "There are some things best said face-to-face, you know?"
"At least give me a clue!" Jin Ah said.
He was quiet for a little bit then finally said, "Things have changed and I just wanted to talk to you about it."
"Oh... you have someone."
Jin-woo was quiet.
"Is she... do you love her?"
"We'll talk when I get back, okay?"
They said their good nights and ended the call but Jin Ah was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned in bed.
Why am I bothered? He's a good friend and a good man. If she makes him happy, then I should support it. He has been great to me all this time. So, why do I feel like crying?
Her phone notification sounded and she quickly opened the message thinking it was from Jin-woo.
"I miss you, Jin Ah. Give us a chance?"
It was from Chul-soo.