MY BRIGHTEST STAR

chapter 38: a slap in the face

"So tell me," Joohyun went straight to the point once they had placed their orders at a nearby Japanese ramen restaurant. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Taehyung was taken aback by the sudden question. "Are you in that much of a hurry?"

"No-" Joohyun laughed. "No, I'm not. Did I come across as that way? Because I really am not. I'm just kinda curious about what you had to say."

"I'll tell you later," Taehyung bit his lower lip nervously. "When the time is right."

"O-Okay," Joohyun laughed. "Sure, at your own time. By the way, why were you just hanging outside the office by yourself today?"

"I told you," Taehyung laughed. "I was waiting for you."

"Right," Joohyun laughed softly, her cheeks turning pink as she scratched the back of her neck. "You were waiting for me. How did your shoot today go, by the way?"

"It was great," Taehyung winged it. "You know, drama things. Same old, same old."

"Ah," Joohyun nodded with a wink. "I get it. Top secret drama things, am I tight?"

"Right," Taehyung laughed as he ruffled his hair nervously. "Top secret drama things."

"So anyway," Joohyun took a sip of water before looking up at Taehyung again. "Now that you're finally an actor at our company, have you acquainted yourself with the rest of the actors and actresses?"

"Well... not really, to be honest," Taehyung had no idea why he was still keeping up with the act when the point of this whole meal was for him to reveal his identity to her. "They're all so busy, and so am I, so I haven't really gotten to talk much to any of them yet."

"Ah, I see," Joohyun smiled. "So you only know Jieun then."

"Ah, Jieun-ssi?" Taehyung nodded. "Yeah, she's the only one I've ever talked to, I guess."

"She's really busy nowadays," Joohyun continued. "Her drama films, like, almost every other day. The remaining time is always spent on going through her lines. She barely has any time to spare for me nowadays."

"Ah, you must be lonely," Taehyung frowned. "Since you guys seem so close."

"We are close and I am lonely," Joohyun admitted with a sad pout. "I'm kinda worried about her lately too, she always seems pretty under the weather."

"Is that so?" Taehyung frowned. "Is it because of what Jungkook did to her outside the toil-"

Joohyun's eyes widened. "Wait- how did you know?"

Because Jungkook told him. And Jungkook had told him because they were friends. And because they were friends, that's why Jungkook had offered him position as marketing director. He was no actor, he had never come to the company to audition. He was the marketing director, just tell her! How hard was it-

"Joohyun-ssi," Taehyung pursed his lips, his pupils shaking. "Actually..."

Joohyun raised her eyebrows. "Actually...?"

"Actually..." Taehyung hesitated. "Actually I-"

"Your ramen is ready!" A bearded Japanese man wearing a apron and a Japanese headscarf approached them with a huge smile, holding a tray with two piping hot bowls of ramen in one hand.

"Oh-!" Joohyun beamed as she clapped her hands excitedly, eyeing the delicious-looking food. "Our food is here. Yay, it looks amazing! I'm literally starving."

Taehyung tried not to facepalm for missing yet another golden opportunity.

"Douzo!" The chef said with a smile before leaving the table after he had placed the respective bowls of ramen in front of them.