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I extend my hand to her.
“May the best actress win,” I reply in English, saying out loud what I thought to myself yesterday.
She laughs and exclaims, also in English, “Wow, so American!”
Minjee takes my hand. Despite the cold, her hand feels warm and fits perfectly in mine. Her touch feels a lot nicer than I thought it would, and I squeeze Minjee’s hand to hopefully distract her from the fact that I’m blushing.
“How are you so warm?” I exclaim, purposefully being over-the-top. “I feel like I’m constantly dying in this weather.”
She laughs. “I guess my body is more used to it since I was born and raised here.” She looks down the street. “So, is your bus almost here?”
I was so caught up with our conversation that I totally forgot about my ride home.
“Oh crap!” I exclaim, looking around. Luckily, everyone else is still standing at the stop.
“I think you’re good,” Minjee says, giving me a thumbs-up.
“Wait,” I say, since I can’t hide my curiosity anymore. I try to sound as casual as I can when I continue. “So why did you come here to the bus stop? Can’t you just ride your car back home?”
Minjee cocks her head to the side.
“I thought it was obvious,” she says. “I wanted to catch up with you. We’re always so busy on set that it’s hard to have a meaningful conversation.”
The genuineness in her voice makes me happy. Taking the time to say hello to old friends is Korean etiquette 101, but if she’d truly resented me for landing Sora’s part like I once suspected she did, she probably wouldn’t have bothered.
“But yeah, I should get going. Have any fun plans for Christmas?” Minjee asks.
“I always spend it with my parents, so we’re probably just going to have a quiet night in.”
“Oh, that’s right, you’re really close with your folks.”
The small, sad grin on her face reminds me of how much she hated going back home after school.
“The drawback of having famous workaholic parents,” she’d always say, “is that they don’t have as much time for anything other than their careers. I’m lucky if my folks even acknowledge that I exist!”
“Hey,” I say, “you’re more than welcome to come over to my place for the holidays. I’m sure my parents won’t mind.”
Minjee’s eyes go wide, growing a bit shiny before she looks away.
“Nah, I’m fine. I really appreciate the offer, though. Hope you have a good Christmas, Hana. Stay warm, okay?”
“Thanks. You too.”
I give her a quick hug, and she squeezes me tight before she lets go.
Even though we may still be enemies on-screen, I’m relieved that, in real life, I still have Minjee as a friend.
