"𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯"
❝Screaming children isn't adorable❞
HYEJIN SAT ON THE BLACK FRAMED DIRECTOR'S CHAIR, wrapping her black trench coat tightly around her body as she watched the large fake snow machines produce snowflakes that were delicately kissing the ground and the trees which were in front of the lights, cameras, and the groups of people setting up.
Hyejin turned her head quickly at the sound of her best friend's footsteps. "They're not showing up."
"You're joking." Hyejin's eyes widened as she completely halted her previous fidgeting. "Yeonmi please tell me you're joking, my sanity is being held by a thread."
Yeonmi shook her head with a small frown. "They're not showing up, they were supposed to be flown in this morning from the retreat we sent them on, but they got snowed in."
Hyejin closed her eyes tightly, letting out a soft groan before she began speaking slowly. "Yeonmi. I scheduled a photoshoot."
"You did."
"I have the teams here and ready."
"Correct."
"The set is prepared."
"Right." Yeonmi nodded. "That is how a photoshoot works."
"I know how a photoshoot works, I've done them many times!" Hyejin exclaimed, her cheeks beginning to redden. "But I can't have a photoshoot without any models, Yeonmi."
Yeonmi dropped her hands to her sides, careful of the bulky binder she held. She then brought up one of her hands to gently rub the sitting girl's arm. "Take a deep breath, Hyejin. What do you wanna do now? It's your call."
Letting out a deep exhale, Hyejin's eyes scanned the area before her eyes settled on her employees. All bundled up in jackets, gloves, and scarves. Watching them diligently working as they spoke amongst themselves, cracking jokes from time to time made her eyes soften and her eyebrows loosen as the corners of her lips quirked up the slightest bit. And just as soon as her smile appeared, it dropped as she remembered the photoshoot wasn't happening.
Hyejin mulled over her options as she bit the inside of her cheek, watching the way the sun had already begun disappearing.
"Let them go home and tell them they have tomorrow off. I don't have it in me to come to work tomorrow."
"Done. What are we doing after?" Yeonmi asked, writing down her boss's orders on a piece of paper in her overly organized binder.
"You should go home too. The driver will drop you off." Hyejin said as she stood up and straightened up her trench coat.
Looking up, Yeonmi furrowed her eyebrows. "You're not going home?"
"Not right now." Hyejin sighed. "I know this was just a tiny setback but I need to take a walk before I impulsively let out my anger on someone who doesn't deserve it."
"I'll let the clean up team know they can begin clearing up." Yeonmi said, smiling up at the slightly taller girl. "Take care of yourself, you're great and you know that. I'll see you tomorrow. Get home safely."
Hyejin nodded, muttering a small 'you too' before she grabbed her small black Chanel bag and made her way through the path out of the forest and began walking down the quiet streets of Ilsan.
The gentle clicking of the fashion designer's Chanel Mary Janes on the concrete ground, the gentle coolness in the air biting her cheeks, the warmth her clothes provided like a hug, paused her thoughts and for a moment Hyejin couldn't help but feel pure tranquility. She all of a sudden began hearing children laughing and yelling not too far away the farther she walked. Lightly patting her calf thigh long black velvet skirt, she smiled at the nostalgia the sounds brought her and she began following the noise.
The noise became louder as she neared a deceitfully small building with pastel blue and pink walls. The words in a pretty font over the slope window awning read "Rainbow Café" and Hyejin smiled softly, continuing to stare at the cafe while walking before she felt herself being stopped.
"Watch wh-" She heard a familiar voice say as she looked up with wide eyes.
"Taemoo?"
"Hyejin?"
She smiled softly at the taller man. "What're you doing here?"
"I had a meeting." He pursed his lips. "You?"
"I had work to do then I uh-" Hyejin began before becoming aware of his hands on her forearms and their close proximity.
"Oh, uh, sorry." Taemoo cleared his throat before letting go of her and they both took a step back.
Giving him an awkward smile, Hyejin waved him off. "No worries. But I was just taking a walk. Didn't have the best work day."
"Oh," Taemoo said, awkwardly swiping the tip of his nose as cleared his throat. "Do you want to go inside?" He shrugged, nodding towards the cafe.
Hyejin's lips quickly formed a smile as she quickly nodded before walking in through the already opened door, assuming he'd follow behind. As she walked to a small empty table, she took in the white walls with colorful paintings and drawings on them. Near the entrance there was a small Sage green couch with a wooden coffee table in front of it and a TV placed on the wall which was playing a kids cartoon.
She smiled softly at the parents attempting to wake their snoring kids, before turning her head and taking in the modern baby pink marble counter and the rectangular shaped door frame that led to an extremely huge play section that was crowded with stressed out parents and giggling children.
Placing her purse on the table, Hyejin glanced at the man standing beside her awkwardly. "From what I know, color isn't really your thing, but you cannot tell me this isn't adorable."
"Screaming children isn't adorable."
"Neither are brooding men, but here we are." She shrugged, smiling sarcastically at him as she took off her coat and put it on the back of her seat before the both of them sat down on opposite sides of the round white table. "I'm assuming you're not just sitting here with me for no reason. So what can I do for you?"
Before Taemoo could answer, a little boy ran over to Hyejin, lightly pulled on the long sleeve of her red knit sweater. "Mom, he pushed me!"
"Oh?" Hyejin said confusedly before looking around for his mom. When he continued to pull at her sleeve and she didn't see another woman near them, she hesitated before she leaned down closer to his level. "I'm not your mother, but I think you should go over there and push him back."
He turned towards the young adult before his eyebrows furrowed. "But I thought two wrongs don't make a right."
"You also thought I was your mom so don't be wrong two times in one night." Hyejin said, raising an eyebrow at the little boy. Just then an older looking woman quickly came over, bowing and apologizing before grabbing her son's hand. The boy turned around, sending Hyejin a thumbs up, which she reciprocated with a playful wink.
"Glad to see you're giving kids the right message."
"Just doing what I can to contribute to the next generation" Hyejin said, a playful smile on her face. "Anyways like I was saying. What can I help you with, Mr. Kang?"
"This isn't a place to say such things," Taemoo said, leaning forward in his chair and putting his elbows on the table. "but I want us to start dating. With marriage in mind."
Hyejin's eyebrows shot up at this. "You're quite indecisive and bipolar, Mr. Kang. First you hate me, then less than two days later, you ask me out on some dates, and before I can agree, you tell me you want to date. Don't tell me you've actually been charmed by me."
"You're getting ahead of yourself." He dropped his head in annoyance before leaning back and crossing his arms.
"And you're not?" Hyejin replied, copying his pose.
He rolled his eyes at her before speaking. "I'm not saying that we should actually date. Just pretend like we are, Ms. Choi."
"Okay." Hyejin nodded slowly. "I see how this benefits you. Your grandfather leaves you alone, you don't need to waste any time on dates, and you can focus on your work. How does this benefit me?"
"Men will leave you alone."
Hyejin stared at his relaxed exterior with squinted, critical eyes. He seemed unbothered, but his right hand caught her eye as it began discreetly fidgeting with his sleeves before flattening it out a few times and a smile made its way onto her face. "You need me."
"What?"
"You need me and you're afraid to say it, but you've done something that you can't get out of without my help. Admit it."
"What are you talking about?" Taemoo scoffed, smoothing back his hair.
"Ohhh, you know what I'm talking about. I was going to agree to go on the dates with you, but now I've got to see the hole you've dug yourself. " Hyejin said, her smile becoming wider. "Stay with me until I order an Uber and it arrives and tell me what you're dragging me into."
Rolling his eyes, Taemoo leaned forward in his seat. "I'm not dragging you into anything."
"Liar." Hyejin smiled as she stood up, putting on her coat and grabbing her purse. "Come on, let's go."
✧༺♥༻✧
"We broke up for a little bit because we had a fight? Seriously?" Hyejin exclaimed as she paced on the sidewalk. "I haven't even agreed to go on the dates with you, let alone marry you, so why would you go and tell your grandfather that we were together?! You know if my parents find out, we won't be able to escape this?"
"What else am I supposed to do? You're the best person for the job. We both have the same interest in mind, and I know this secret's safe with you. And neither of us will waste any precious time, so it's a win-win situation, is it not?"
"No it's not." Hyejin rubbed her eyes in slight frustration. "I'm not the best person for the job. We don't have the same interest in mind. This secret isn't safe with me. And I have so much precious time to waste. So get someone else to date you."
"I went on the dates like you asked." Taemoo replied, his eyes following the girl's moving figure as he leaned back on a tree. "The women were all the same, all boring-"
Hyejin paused, "But they were more than willing to marry you!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
"So why aren't you?" Taemoo asked, weirdly calm.
Hyejin stopped moving completely. She stared at him for a second before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, racking her brain for something to say. How was she supposed to tell one of the most egotistical men she's ever met that she couldn't agree to marry him because she was afraid that while she was invested in him, he'd always be invested in his work. How would she tell the man standing across from her that she's barely spent any time with him, but her previous not so secret crush is becoming difficult to push down or ignore because he Just. Won't. Quit.
So she just won't tell him anything at all.
"Just.." She took one more deep breath. "just tell your grandfather we can meet whenever he'd like."
"Really?" He asked, standing straight, clearly taken aback by her sudden agreement.
"Yes really. I could say no to you all I want, but I can't do that to your grandfather."
"I didn't know you prefer older men." Taemoo said as he stood up straight, raising his eyebrows as he adjusted his blazer.
Rolling her eyes, Hyejin gave him a sarcastic smile before she took out her phone to order an Uber. "Keep cracking jokes and you'll be going on blind dates again."
The man quickly cleared his throat, looking down at her phone. "You don't have to do that, I can drop you off." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Are you sure?" Hyejin asked, pausing her finger over the 'confirm ride' option.
"Yeah." Taemoo nodded before he began walking over to where he presumably parked his car. As Hyejin followed behind him, she entered the black car, taking a seat on the tan leather passenger seat just as she felt her phone start vibrating.
GROUPCHAT
the golden girls
riri<33— Hari
seoseo 🥸 — Youngseo
mimi👵🏻 — Yeonmi
hyehye🤕 - Hyejin
riri<33 is typing...
riri<33
Choi Hyejin, I am going to kill you.
hyehye🤕
UHM? girl what happened
to hi? hello? how are you?
seoseo🥸
Yeonmi, let's keep hyejin in our
prayers 🙏🏻
mimi👵🏻
I don't have time for this
hyehye 🤕
I literally gave you the rest of the day and tomorrow off, just say you don't love me
mimi👵🏻
I don't love you
hyehye🤕
💔💔
riri<33
Your brother found out I wasn't
Youngseo but he STILL wants to go
out with me.
seoseo🥸
looks like he's actually fallen
for you, hari!
hyehye🤕 and mimi👵🏻 emphasized
this message
hyehye🤕
LOL, you just made fun of me
and now you want me to help you😲
riri<33
Hyejin, I'm being serious!!
hyehye🤕
okay okay, it seems like he's
actually taken a liking to
you, so maybe go on a date
with him but as Shin Hari,
not Jin Youngseo
riri<33
I don't have time to be going on
dates hyejin 😐
hyehye🤕
so WHY would you ask me
for advice if you're not gonna
take it?!
hyehye🤕
the loml, Yeonmi was RIGHT I don't
have time for this 😒
Shutting off her phone, Hyejin put it back into her purse. "Do you know where I live?"
"No." Taemoo said, glancing at her quickly before back onto the road.
"Lovely." Hyejin mumbled, pursing her lips. "We've been pretending to date for five minutes and you're already losing boyfriend points."
"Why would I know where you live?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Whatever." She shrugged before she told him her address. They drove in silence for the next thirty minutes, the only sound being heard was the soft classical music being played from the car.
"This is boring." Hyejin said, reaching over to change the music only for Taemoo to lightly slap her hand away. "Uhm?"
"I like the music."
"Okay sure," She nodded before leaning back in her seat. "we can sit here in silence, listening to your boring classical music."
authors note;
❣️this chapter was fun to write so I hope everyone enjoyed reading it <333
btw thank you so so so so much for 3k reads, you guys are the best<3 anywayssss, thank you for reading <3