“Mean! The meanest!”
“Why do you think I gave him the scene that shows up in almost every drama ever made?”
But this was the precise reason Jesse refused to comply. “Nobody else had to do anything like that. It’s too much, hyung. I’m not old enough to play a romantic lead. I’ve got a baby face, that’s why they cast me in supporting roles instead.”
“Aww, but that’s just for now, right? You wanna be one of the important characters someday, don’t you?” Namgyu hauled him over to Jiyeon. “You can do this! It’s for your future!”
“Yeah, Jess. Think about your career. If you don’t practice now, you’ll be playing the bubbly junior colleague forever.”
“Dead junior colleague,” Max put in. “They’ll kill you off to keep the plot moving. Happens all the time in those dumb shows Jungwoo loves so much.”
“But I like being the junior colleague! And I’m amazing at death scenes, remember when I got stabbed in the MV forBreakPoint, I made that so emotional for everyone and Zuzu even cried for real—”
“Why don’t we just go? You guys will be late.” Jiyeon pulled her reluctant leading man onto the garden path, deploying the umbrella to the tune of Jesse’s panicked howling.
“Hyung!” he cried out, clawing at Eunjae. “Hyung, save me! Tell them you don’t like this, tell them you’re jealous! Aren’t you jealous? Why aren’t you ever jealous?”
Eunjae shrugged. “I don’t mind. And I’ve walked with her in the rain before,” he added, smiling at Jiyeon, “so it brings back a nice memory, actually.”
The standard uproar ensued. When did he do that? Was it recent? Was it today? How did they miss this event? Kei scoffed that it was stupid of Ari-hyung, regardless of when it happened. What if somebody saw and took a picture?
Jiyeon interrupted to ask if Max wanted to get the video for her. “You can hide behind us. Isn’t Hazel here? Maybe she won’t see you.”
“Oh, what the hell, noona—”
“Good!” Jesse crowed. “Torture him, too! Why should I be the only one suffering?”
“Why are you so upset? Isn’t she your date to the wedding?”
“Against my goddamn will!”
“But Hazel even posted about you this morning. I thought it was sweet. Did you see it, Eunjae?”
“I did.” The actress had uploaded some screenshots of a music video. Dropped by Emerald Entertainment about twenty-four hours ago, it introduced the agency’s upcoming girl group, Lumina. Max and Jungwoo were both credited for songwriting and production on the track. It was a pre-release digital single, intended to drum up anticipation and excitement for the girls’ actual debut EP in December.
“Congratulations,” Jiyeon said to Max. “I saw the song’s already gone pretty high on the charts. Can’t blame Hazel for being excited.”
No one asked, since they’d all seen her post by then, but Nicky pulled it up and read the caption out loud anyway. “SO PROUD OF MY BABY @MX.LEE.MX AND YOU TOO NAMGYU KISS KISS KISSY FACE!”
“Awww! I didn’t even do anything and she’s proud of me, that’s so nice…!”
Agonized groaning. “Do you have to read the fucking emoji too?”
Jiyeon turned her back on Max and his meltdown, looping her arm through Jesse’s. She dragged him one step, then another. Borrowing an umbrella for himself, Eunjae took her phone and prepared to follow.
“Eunjae ruined his shoes on that walk,” he heard Jiyeon say. “He switched places with me so I wouldn’t get splashed. It was sweet. Think you can do something like that? It’ll be a nice touch for the video, yeah? We’ll slow it down like they do in dramas.”
“Awww!”
“Speaking my language, ajumma.”
Jesse glanced down at his boots. Gently, he replied, “Noona, please. These are Bottega.”
He said this with such finality that Jiyeon couldn’t help laughing. Kei lurched after them, swearing under his breath. “Bottega! Did he say Bottega? Those are mine!” The perpetrator let out a squeak but ultimately admitted nothing.
The paths were slick and half-smothered in moss. Stone lanterns shaped like frogs lit the way. Their mouths were wide open, emitting a soft glow. Autumn camellias were in bloom, cherry red, petals and leaves glazed with rain. Even under such dreary circumstances, the place managed to be gorgeous. It was unfortunate that Prism’s intrusion soured the effect. Eunjaetried not to worry as Jesse chattered happily about his last drama, a rom-com where he played the younger version of the main lead.
“A script came for me,” he confided, as they neared their destination. He’d gotten over his terror pretty fast. “It’s one of those hospital dramas. I can’t do it, but it sounds fun. I’d look good in those things that nurses wear, right? What are they called?”
