.epilogue.
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"Hi. Its really nice to meet you. My name is Byun Baekhyun. I'm EXO-K's main vocalist. You must be Park Minji."
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In the morning, she had her phone read to her a EXO's Wikipedia page on the way to the SM Entertainment building, since she had left her house in a hurry.
Hajin was in the passenger seat, her make-up kit sitting on her lap and she bounced it up and down nervously. Their boss had informed them that he had indeed gotten in touch with Heemi the previous night and that she would be there for the interview, Minji as always would only be her assistant. Minji was a bit disappointed, but she thought there would probably be other opportunities for her in the future. She would continue working hard until she could get solo assignments to cover. There was word going around that in the upcoming year, SM would launch a new girl group with five members. Minji thought that might be her chance to cover a group all on her own for the agency.
Minji and Hajin arrived early for the interview and were led to their dressing room by a member of the staff who said nothing to them. It was the one they would share with Heemi as well, who was not there yet. The staff member gestured them into the room and then scurried off to continue with their assignments. Minji called her co-worker on the phone to find out where she was and to see if she would make it to the interview. Otherwise, she wanted to start mentally preparing for her first interview in a while. Her co-worker informed her that she was running a bit late because of heavy traffic, but that she would be there in another thirty minutes. By that time, Minji already had gotten dressed and her make-up done. Minji was a bit surprised that Heemi was running so late when she herself hadn't run into the heavy morning traffic. It was like destiny was clearing the way for her, so that she would make it there quickly.
When the thirty minutes passed and Heemi still did not show up, a staff of SM Entertainment asked Minji if she was ready to start with the interview. The boys were running on a tight schedule, and if they waited any longer, they would not be able to meet with them. They had a music show performance in three hours and had to be there at least an hour in advance. Minji asked for the staff to give her five more minutes and called Heemi once more.
"Are you almost here?" She asked her co-worker with a slight hint of irritation. She didn't like having to wait around because Heemi had priority to do the interview over her. Her boss had given her permission to do the interview in the event that Heemi could not make it. But Heemi swore she was on her way. She really wanted to do the interview. Minji wanted to give her a fair chance to get there. But time was running out and EXO only had a limited amount of time to meet with them. "Their staff said if we don't meet with them now, we will lose the interview."
Heemi cursed under her breath before she replied to Minji in a voice that almost sounded threatening. "Don't you dare do that interview without me. They are my assignment. You lost your chance. You're just an assistant now. Know your place."
Minji was taken aback by her words, since Heemi had always been nice to her since she came back to the agency. But now that there was the possibility that she would lose the interview opportunity to Minji, her true colors were showing. At the same time, she did always feel that even though Heemi was nice to her, there was an underlying tone of hostility in her voice. Minji just always ignored it and attributed it to stress.
"You know what?" Minji replied to her with a snap of bravery. "I have the boss' permission, and I won't let us lose that interview for your sake."
She hung up the phone and left Hajin the dressing room to wait for her. She would come find her again after the interview so that they could leave the SM building together. Outside in the hallway was the staff member, tapping their foot on the ground impatiently, and Minji nodded to them, informing them that her co-worker was running late, but that she would be taking over the interview for the day. The staff nodded in approval and walked quickly as he led her down the hall towards the set where they would be filming. The agency's film crew, as well as SM's filming staff were all there. They were already waiting to get started with their interview.
