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Chapter 22
MINJEE DOESN’T RESPOND TO ANY OF MY TEXTS,not even when I send her the photos we took together. She just leaves me on read, message after message.
Maybe she just got busy, I tell myself. But there’s a part of me that knows that something is wrong, especially after the look on her face the last time I saw her.
On Tuesday, I send her a text saying,Hey, are you okay?No response. Just read. We don’t have any scenes together this week, so I have no excuse to see her in person. But Bryan does, so at the end of our shooting day, I ask him, “Hey, do you know if Minjee is okay?”
Bryan cocks his head to the side. “Huh? Yeah, I filmed a scene with her yesterday. She seemed fine, as far as I could tell. Didn’t you guys hang out on Sunday?”
“Yeah. But she was acting kind of weird, or at least she was at the end of the day. I think something happened, but I have no idea what. We didn’t fight or anything.”
“Want me to ask her what’s wrong? I have a stunt training session with her at the dojang on Friday.”
“Dojang?” I ask. The only meaning for “dojang” I know is “stamp,” but that’s probably not what he means.
Bryan laughs. “Oh, sorry. I think Americans just call it a dojo, but in Korean it’s dojang. Like a dojo, but it’s for taekwondo, not karate.”
“Ah.” My cheeks redden. You’d think that after several years of living in Korea, I’d stop encountering new words, but nope.
Bryan’s expression softens. He gives me an encouraging fist bump on my shoulder.
“It’s okay,” he says. “There’s no way you could have known that unless you did martial arts. Maybe this is a sign that you should do your own stunts.”
“Ugh, I would if Director Cha gave me some... but no, crown princesses like me just have to sit still, look pretty, and get rescued.”
“I mean, but are you really complaining about getting rescued by a hot prince like me, though?”
I give Bryan a searing look. “Yes, Bryan. I am. A lot.”
He laughs. Some things never change.
“Okay, okay,” Bryan finally says. “But yeah, I can ask her if you want.”
“Nah, it’s okay. It feels kind of weird for my fake boyfriend to talk to the girl I have a crush on for me. Thanks, though.”
Bryan wrinkles his nose. “Yeah, if you put it that way, thatdoes sound awkward. Well, good luck! Let me know if there’s any way I can help.”
The only bright spot of my entire week is Wednesday evening, when Director Cha gathers everyone on set around for a special announcement.
“I’m happy to inform you all that the studio has decided to extendFated Destinyfor four more episodes!” he says, looking very pleased with himself. “The show’s popularity is only getting better thanks to all of your hard work. Congratulations.”
We all cheer. Everyone is in a really good mood after that, although there’s also an undercurrent of anxiety. K-dramas are usually sixteen episodes long but are extended for a few more episodes if the show is really popular... whether or not the plot can be stretched out that long. This week, we were beginning to shoot what we thought were the last three episodes. But now, there are four more. It’ll be interesting to see what the creative team comes up with next.
On my way home that night, I call Minjee. I miss being able to talk to her about what’s going on in the show and want to check on her to make sure she really is okay. Since she left my messages on read the last few times I tried to reach her, though, I don’t expect her to pick up.
But she does. Or at least I think she does. The ringing stops, but I hear nothing on the other line.
“Hello?” I say. “Minjee?”
“Hi, Hana.” Minjee’s voice sounds really stiff like it did the last time we talked. “Can I help you?”
Her really formal question throws me off. She’s talking to me like she’s a customer service representative and not my friend.
“Um, Minjee, are you okay?” I ask. “Look, if I did something wrong... please tell me. Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”
Minjee lets out a deep sigh. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Hana. I just...” She trails off, and for a long moment, she doesn’t say anything.
“You just?”
