Can I Steal You For A Second? (Jensoo)

Episode 13

It took her a long time to tell me the full story. 'I signed an NDA, so you can't tell anybody about this,' she said. 'If you do, I'm fucked, Jennie. Promise me.'

'Of course I promise,' I said.

It had started the day we'd met, at auditions.

'You're a nurse?' Murray said.

'Yes,' Jisoo replied.

'So you must be working on the frontlines with this new virus, right?'

'Yes,' she said. 'You're going to be lucky if you get a season this year. With the way things are going, we're all going to be locked down.'

'It takes a hell of a lot to derail Marry Me, Juliet,' Murray replied. 'So why are you here?'

'To give myself an excuse not to be on the frontlines, honestly,' she said. 'I'm starting to realise that nursing is not the life I want for myself. The work is hard and the hours are long and the pay is shit. I'm a single mother. Every hour I spend at work is an hour I spend away from my kid. And if this virus is as bad as I think it's going to be...'

Her voice trailed off. 'It's selfish,' she said. 'I got into nursing to help people. That's still all I want to do. But I can't live a life where I never get to see my son. Where I'm in danger every day. Where I risk having him grow up without a mother.'

'Tell me more about your son,' Murray said.

'His name's Noah,' Jisoo said. 'He's nearly seven. He's great. Smart. Funny. Huge personality. Heart of gold. I love him to bits.'

'Are you looking for a father figure for him?'

'He's got a dad. I might not like him all the time, but he's a good dad.'

'Interesting,' Murray said, scribbling something down on his clipboard.

'I think that's why he picked me,' Jisoo said. 'I didn't say I was looking for love. I didn't say I was looking for a dad for Noah. All I wanted was an out.'

When we'd had drinks after auditions, and she'd got that text and had to leave, I'd assumed it was from her work or her babysitter or something. It wasn't. It was Murray, asking her if she could come back for a private chat.

'First of all, I need you to sign this,' he said.

'What is it?'

'It's a lot of legalese that says I can sue you if you ever talk about this conversation.'

'Whatever this is, I don't think I'm up for it.'

'It's nothing bad,' he said. 'I promise.'

After a few moments, Jisoo scrawled her signature across the bottom of the paper. 'All right,' she said. 'I'm listening.'

'Are you a fan of the show?'

'I've watched every season,' she'd replied, 'so yeah, I guess you could say that.'

'Then you know we haven't had the best track record lately with our Romeos and Juliets,' Murray said. 'We've only managed two solid couples from the past four years ofMarry Me, Juliet and Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?.'

'Basil and Megan and Luna and Roger. I know.'

'You might also know,' Murray said, 'about the growing movement online for us to cast more diverse participants.'

'They're right. You should.'

'I agree with you,' Murray said, 'but the network is hesitant.'

Jisoo raised an eyebrow. 'Worried about losing their white audience?'