there are a million questions racing in her head. if it’s his project, why did he let the casting happen the way it did after they swore they would be better off never seeing each other again? it is as if life has taken its sweet time to craft the perfect joke for her. or, for the both of them. or is it him who planned for it? of course, she is happy for all that he’s accomplished since the end of their relationship, but it doesn’t mean she’s perfectly fine with being around her ex all the time when the past still brings aches from time to time. it is no longer her decision to make, though, not when the management is so adamant to have her name on the most popular series at the moment. it would be another wise step to take for her flourishing career. if only they knew. “did you plan on avoiding me forever?” she doesn’t mean to sound so confrontational and her voice softens immediately after those words leave her mouth. she is only beyond confused about the entire arrangement, him dodging her like a plague only makes things stranger when they are meant to be colleagues from now on, for every cursed day in the next four months. god damn it. get a grip, ara. “let’s just — stay professional, okay?” she takes a deep breath and puts on her professional smile — what a shame. she used to be her most genuine self around him. “it seems like we’ll be colleagues for the next few months. might as well make it tolerable for the both of us.” it drives her mad just voicing it aloud — is this really happening?
her words are a sharp knife through his chest , digging neatly through his ribs. ashamed by his avoidant behavior , he finally turns to face her properly. his fists curl by his sides and he takes a deep breath. counts slowly 1 2 3 4 5. exhales. professional. he can do professional. he does professional every day. there’s a stapled copy of the script on the table , which he walks towards in effort of keeping up a professional appearance. “ tolerable, ” he echoes , almost bitterly. “ is tat what we call it now ? ” gun knows it isn’t fair to blame ara alone for what happened , and he doesn’t , it’s just difficult to see her face again. he takes a seat and attempts to keep his composure , to keep all thoughts that aren’t strictly about work at bay. except , it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
“ did you know ? ” he asks after a moment of grating silence. “ did you know , when you auditioned , what exactly you were trying out for ? ” his curiosity got the best of him. to anyone else , his webtoon and now tv show is simply a dramatic telling of an idol and author with a fraying relationship. no one was the wiser , but he doubts that ara didn’t know. he keeps his gaze trained to the script , anything to avoid looking her in the eye.
