Bubble

2. Reboot

Eighteen Months Later

The shop was busy as usual, but he knew that Bonita's break was soon. He had tried to time his own break in order to meet up with her. The anticipation of what he had just learned at the round table meeting this morning was exhilarating. He couldn't wait to see a smile on Bonita's face again. In his mind, he was her personal smile fairy and had been ever since the day she'd been fired.

Growing up, Lee Minho (known as Lee Know by his colleagues) had kept to himself for the most part. Both of his parents had assured him from a young age he could be whatever he wanted to be when he grew up because they would pay for it. As a kid, he thought that was great. It was only when he was older that he realized how spoiled it made him look. Unfortunately, this kind of spoiling led to people kissing up to him in an attempt to be graced by the wealth his parents showered him with on a daily basis. When Minho was about to attend university, he had decided to break free of it all by going by an alias and moving out.

However, the damage by his parents had been done and he carried the emotional scars with him for quite a few years. For a while, he couldn't shake the depression that settled in on him like snow over the mountaintops. He couldn't help but wonder if he was worth anything at all, or if people only thought he was good for money. There were even a few days where he remembered contemplating whether or not it would be better if he weren't around since his parents had treated him more like a monthly payment than anything else. It was when he was at his lowest that writing became his saving grace. It brought him out of the rut he had found himself in. Even if what he wrote down was depressing in nature, it helped him to sort out his thoughts and feelings. Having the ideas on paper made him feel less alone and helped him to eventually escape his depression, eventually graduating with a screenwriting degree and being hired for an internship at the Starbright Entertainment Company. Just like he had changed his own outlook on life through writing, Minho wanted to be able to do the same for others.

When he had first met Bonita, Minho could tell that the same oppressive heaviness lurked on her shoulders. She tried to hide it, but being a kindred spirit, he saw right through her facade. Minho had been trying to figure out how to approach Bonita when she had gotten fired. He knew that his timing was not the best, but he still decided to approach her anyway. He was glad that he did. It took a while for their friendship to start, but once it did it took off with flying colors. Now the two of them acted like they were lifelong friends and Minho was happy to see the heaviness that once shrouded Bonita start to disappear. He knew that the news he carried with him would set her happiness to new heights.

Standing near the doorway of the coffee shop, Minho half plastered himself up against the entryway as a kid tore past him. Followed shortly behind the kid was their slightly frazzled looking mother who was trying desperately to juggle the coffee she had just received as she chased after her child. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he straightened out his brown leather satchel and entered the cramped and busy interior of the coffee shop.

Minho lingered on the outskirts of the crowd as his eyes remained focused on Bonita as she did a hectic yet coordinated dance around the other baristas behind the bar as she fulfilled orders. As Bonita handed the order she had been prepping to the customer, she caught sight of him. It caused a small smile to twitch across her lips before she held up a finger to indicate to him to wait a moment. He nodded his head, watching as a nearby customer mistook it as a gesture at them. The moment the woman started to take out her agitation on Bonita, Minho wove through the crowd with the grace of a dancer and materialized beside her like a ghost.

"Excuse me madame."

The woman turned to look at Minho as her eyes widened. Before she could attempt to say anything to him, he nodded his head towards Bonita.

"She was gesturing at me. Don't give her a hard time about it."

The woman — who had once opened her mouth in order to yell at Bonita — quickly shut it as she resorted to blushing and stepping aside. Bonita made quick work of finishing the customer's order, handing it to the woman before untying her apron and rounding the counter to walk over to where Minho stood with a smirk of pride on his lips.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know," he said. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

"I have fifteen of them actually," she said with a smile.

Nodding he moved to step outside the coffee shop with her, taking a seat at one of the small bistro tables outside. To anyone passing by, it would look like they were a couple. They were often mistaken for such.

"What brings you by today?" she asked as if hanging out with Minho wasn't a daily occurrence, watching as he moved to put his brown leather satchel onto the tabletop.

"I have a proposal for you..."

"A proposal?!"

Turning, they both looked at a middle-aged woman who had suddenly come to a stop. She was sure she had just stumbled across a viral moment as they both flushed, shaking their heads.

"No madame. Not that sort," said Bonita quickly.

The woman bowed in apology before continuing on. A soft laugh left Minho's lips as he stuck his hand into the satchel and withdrew a script. Putting it on the table in front of her, Bonita cast her eyes down at it. They soon widened when she saw the title of the project, causing Minho to laugh again.

"I thought you'd be interested."

Interested was an understatement. Bonita picked up the script in her hand, looking with semi-glossy eyes at the title of the project. 'Bubble'. The show had been cancelled shortly after Chistopher's death and became forgotten by society. People were fickle that way. It didn't take long for their attention to turn on to the next project. For Bonita though, it hadn't been as easy. It was like losing her family all over again. However, here it was again. A pilot episode for 'Bubble'. It was like a new beginning.

Bonita began to thumb through the script pages, noticing that most of the lines were scribbled out and very aggressive notes were listed in the margins.

"The company has decided to jump on the reboot train and want to try to revive this show due to its popularity in the past," said Minho as he watched her flip through the script. "The current head writer is being fired since he is apparently not being authentic enough to the show, and the original writer doesn't want to jump back on the project. They just signed the rights away."

"So, is it being cancelled before it can even get a chance at a reboot?"  Bonita asked as she looked up at him.

"No. The company doesn't want to let go of something that could be a potential moneymaker. There is currently a search going on for a new head writer and you were the first person I thought of."

"Minho, that's sweet of you, but did you forget this is the same company that fired me?"

"I can convince them," said Minho. "I can put in a good word. I mean, come on Bonita! You're a big fan of the show! You watch the entire series over and over again. Heck, you probably even have it memorized."

"Well...I..."

"Look, what the company did to you was completely unfair, but this could be a great opportunity for them to realize their mistake and for you to do what you love again. I think you should try for this opportunity. I will personally make sure your application ends up on their desk."

Minho could see that Bonita was still hesitant, so he reached across the table to grab one of her hands.

"At least don't tell me an answer right now. Think on it and get back to me."

Minho dropped her hand soon after as he moved to stand up from the table, looking at his wristwatch.

"I have to go before they wonder where I ran off to," said Minho. "Think about what I said, okay?"

Bonita absent-mindedly nodded, watching Minho walk away down the sidewalk before looking back at the script he had left behind.

'Was it possible to bring something like this back from the dead?' thought Bonita.

Minho rebooted her life, so she supposed the same could be possible for a cancelled television show. Getting up from the table, Bonita took the script with her, putting thoughts of her dreams aside once more to finish off her shift.