A Female?
Two days after filming wrapped, I was waiting near the dorm for Yuwol and Kim Woojin.
"They're not here yet?"
There were still ten minutes left until the time we'd set, but even if Woojin running late wouldn't have surprised me, Yuwol being this late was a first.
"Did she get a stomachache or something?"
Worried, I pulled my phone from the little crossbody bag I'd brought so I could call her. Yuwol had gone out first thing that morning, saying she had somewhere to be. I'd told her my plans were later, so she'd said she would just take care of her errand and come straight over.
Even if she didn't show, I couldn't hold it against her. Today was supposed to be my thank-you for helping out on that last-minute shoot.
"Still, it's a little disappointing. Or wait—is it actually a good thing?"
The person keeping an eye on me was gone. That meant a chance to buy something delicious and greasy on the card Director Shin Yeomyeong had given me.
"Lately it's been the debut, the broadcasts, then filming on top of that. I've been eating less, and with the schedule only getting busier, I've actually lost weight."
If I dropped any more, I wouldn't even be able to go home. The second Mom laid eyes on a skinny version of me at next month's family gathering, she would absolutely raise hell at the company.
Back when I didn't know what she did for a living, I would have figured a little hell-raising was no big deal. After finding out she was a prosecutor, the phrase raise hell had taken on a considerably heavier meaning.
Then the phone in my hand buzzed. A text from Yuwol.
I read the message and let out a sigh. I'd figured this might happen—it had been a last-minute appointment on her end. Still, some part of me had thought that if it was her, she would come for me.
I hadn't expected it to fall through like this.
"Then why did she tell me to get dressed up and go out this morning?"
Because of that, I'd gotten Jina's help first thing with makeup and borrowed clothes. Jina's clothes hadn't fit my chest, so I'd had no choice but to borrow Yuwol's.
"That's why it's even more of a waste. I got all dressed up this pretty."
If Tsuki had been here, she might have been so thrilled she'd cancel whatever she had and come running. For the fun of it, I snapped a picture and sent it to her.
The phone started going off like it had lost its mind.
The effect was immediate. I lifted the phone, snapped another shot, and sent it over.
I tossed her a casual little heart.
A different vibration from before. Tsuki hadn't even lasted that long before calling.
"Hello."
"Jiwoo-chan! What's going on! Tsuki too! Tsuki too!"
"I get it, so just calm down first."
"Nn... No! I can't calm down! Jiwoo-chan is wearing clothes this female!"
Ah... a female?
Hey, Tsuki? Isn't that wording a little weird?
Whether she couldn't hear me or not, Tsuki's rampage continued.
"Jiwoo-chan! Look around you! Guys are looking at Jiwoo-chan with filthy eyes!"
Well... this was a street, and people were walking around. If you stood in one place long enough, of course you'd draw looks. On top of that, I was already an actress and a broadcaster who'd been on TV dramas.
"No, not just looks! Filthy looks! This won't do. Tsuki's coming to Korea right now!"
At this rate, she really would come to Korea. This was Tsuki we were talking about.
Keeping the call going, I sent a text to the number I'd gotten earlier for Tsuki's mother.
The reply arrived almost immediately. She must have already figured out that Tsuki was tearing around the house.
"Aaah! M-Mom! That hurts! That hurts! Stop hitting my back!"
"Tsuki. I heard you were going to Korea. You still have so much left to do—where do you think you're going? Sit down and study this instant."
"I hate studying! Tsuki wants to go on a date with Jiwoo-chan~!!!"
Tsuki's despairing voice came through the speaker.
Sorry, Tsuki. But if you come to Korea, I don't have the confidence to handle you.
It had only been about a month since I'd last seen her, and during those three days in Japan she had snuck into my blanket every single night. At first I thought she was just crawling in. Then I woke up in the morning, found weird marks left on my neck and chest, and got a little creeped out.
Still, it was a girl doing that to me, so I let it slide. If it had been a guy...
"Whoa... creepy."
Just thinking about it made my teeth grind. Even if I had a woman's body now, my mind was still a man's. That was why I wanted even less to do with dating. I liked work. And I liked money. If I was dating anyone, it was going to be money.
"What's creepy?"
A figure that had appeared beside me spoke up out of nowhere. I'd been so absorbed in the call I hadn't even noticed someone walking up.
"Oh? You came. But..."
I looked Kim Woojin—the star of today's thank-you—up and down. He looked the same as usual, and yet vaguely off in a way I couldn't pin down.
It wasn't that his clothes were different. I'd barely ever seen him in casual wear, but this wasn't expensive designer stuff either—just black shorts and a blue shirt you could find online in two seconds, with a white tee underneath. He was the kind of kid who looked fine in anything because he was handsome.
Dressed up this put-together, though, he looked even better.
Wait... dressed up?
"You..."
"Wh-what? Why are you grinning like that."
"Did you get all dressed up because you were meeting me?"
What was different from usual was that he had actually styled himself. At school it was always the same uniform and a light pass through his hair. Now he was in clothes that had been chosen on purpose, and he'd put something on his face—a clean complexion, hair neatly arranged.
Heh... well, well. Look who got all dressed up.
"Do you have another appointment after this? Don't tell me... a girl? Want me to help you land her?"
"You... haah. Forget it. Let's just go. If we keep standing here we'll draw even more attention."
Woojin glanced around, feeling the eyes on us. Well, because of me, people's footsteps had been stopping for a while now—was that it? Wasn't it? I'd been feeling those looks.
I nodded and headed for today's meeting place, a salad shop.
"Delicious salad. Chicken salad? Meat salad? Tuna salad♪"
"What song is that?"
"Huh? Song? Did I sing?"
"You did. Something about delicious salad."
Was that so? I must have started humming without realizing it, giddy at the thought of food.
The salad shop wasn't far from where we'd met—about a five-minute walk. The dorm was an apartment near downtown, so nights were another story, but during the day it was a good place to wander.
I ordered the salmon steak poke, the spicy salmon poke, and the chicken poke. Woojin ordered a single sandwich.
"Can you eat that much? You're in the middle of filming."
"This much is fine. I lost four kilos recently. Look at this. My stomach's totally flat, see?"
"What are you, a girl!"
I caught Woojin's hand and set it lightly on my stomach. He yanked it back like he'd been burned.
Was that something to freak out over? It wasn't like I'd made him touch my chest. I'd just let him feel my stomach a little. Didn't people touch your stomach when they were spotting you at the gym?
Is that just me?
"Forget it. Looks like our order's up. Go grab a seat first."
"Can you carry all of it? That's a lot."
"Says the kid who knows that... I can carry this much."
I insisted on carrying it together to the end, and we finally collected the order and sat down. I went straight to mixing the poke, scooped up a bite of vegetables and the little bit of rice, and popped it in my mouth.
"Mmm~! It's so fresh. Nice. I think Yuwol and Jina come here sometimes. It's good?"
"You're not eating any?"
"Why would I bother with vegetables? In the time it takes to eat this I'd rather have another piece of meat. And these days vegetables and meat cost about the same anyway."
I tore through about two of the delicious poke bowls, and Woojin neatly folded his sandwich wrapper.
"What? You already finished?"
"I think that's my line. You already polished off two. Eat slowly."
"This is me eating slowly. So what time's your next appointment?"
"Appointment? I don't have one."
What? He'd gotten dressed up this nicely with nowhere else to be. Looks like his mind still hadn't come back from the sudden shoot two days ago. Poor guy—already walking around with his soul checked out.
Yuwol had blown takes too, but Woojin had racked up quite a few NGs of his own. Nobody on set had said a word, though. They were last-minute additions—one an aspiring actor, the other someone who'd only briefly studied acting, and voice acting at that.
"Was it that shocking? Getting chewed out that day."
Still, once Director Shin Yeomyeong heard Woojin was an aspiring actor, he'd scolded him thoroughly and given him advice.
"It wasn't shocking. It was just refreshing, getting to learn things I couldn't pick up at the academy. Thanks to that I could see where I was lacking, and I got a feel for the atmosphere on set, so it wasn't bad. That's all there is to it..."
"Hold on."
I cut him off. I knew what he was trying to say. The story was probably about to get longer.
So.
"Can I order a little more?"
"You already finished?"
And this, over a mere three poke bowls.