the idol nearly wants to roll her eyes at the words as soon as she heard them. since jinri knows the actor a bit, hyunwoo's reply really isn't that shocking. having shared a couple of drinks with actor and potentially being bad influences on each other, she should've expected that to be his big 'secret' behind being able to enjoy himself at these events was alcohol. not that jinri was judging, because she would be a huge hypocrite if she was since it was the same for her.
but no matter how predictable it may have been, it was still disappointing to hear. jinri slumps back in her seat and groans as she closed her eyes. "is it impossible to enjoy this gala painfully sober?" the answer is yes. well, at least for her it's impossible. she's so close to just giving up on her promise in favor of feeling that comfortable buzz. she opens her eyes once again and looks directly at his cocktail. she hesitates with saying her next few words, as it opens a door she wanted to leave closed tonight. "is it any good? might have to try it later if you like it." her gaze shifts back to the other's eyes, not wanting to tempt herself any further. "i'm tired. i've tried almost every trick in the book to make this night go by faster and nothing really worked."
before she can even think about retreating back into her own thoughts, hyunwoo's mention of a game keeps her attention. her eyes follows the direction of his point and she closely listens to every word with a small smile on her face. the game is silly, but it surprises jinri enough that she lets out a giggle. it's not the stuffy business talk she's been engaging in, so she's willing to indulge hyunwoo in his game. maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as she initially thought? she picks up her glass of water, but speaks before she takes a sip. "i hope everything you said actually happens, because i am totally blaming you if i go on any social media and see that." she's way too amused at this for her liking, but it's the highlight of her night so far.
"mind if i give it a try?" she doesn't wait for an answer as she turns around to scan the room, looking for a target. jinri's scanning the room for a few seconds before she stops on someones that catches her interest. she's silent as she observes them, appearing as if she was lost in thought again before she speaks again. "look at those two," pointing in the direction of two young and relatively unknown individuals who are terrible at acting like they don't know each other. "they were giving each other heart eyes a few seconds ago. potentially a newfound relationship or one that hasn't had it's time to fully blossom. maybe a dating ban is causing their caution? an insider with loose lips catches them and a blind item post goes up by the end of the weekend. however, they go undetected since neither are stars yet." she takes another sip of water once she finishes. in her opinion, it's not as funny as hyunwoo's, and she has no idea if she's anywhere close to the truth, but it was fun coming up with a scenario on the spot. an incoming question for hyunwoo finally pulls her attention away from the two 'lovebirds'. "was i a victim of your little game earlier as well?" she's well aware she wasn't at the top of her game tonight, so she wouldn't have blamed the other if he decided to have a little fun with the reasoning behind why jinri was so out of it.
it was a good distraction, but the feelings and thoughts she had prior to this conversation returns. once again, jinri is quiet as she tries to find something else to say in order to keep the conversation going. all she could think about were remarks at her expense, so that's what she went with. "if i didn't know any better, i'd say you're looking for trouble engaging in a conversation with me at an event like this." she's a little anxious at the thought of things being misconstrued into something it's not. even though she has been working on it, jinri's still not entirely favorable in the eyes of the public and has no doubt they'd have a field day making her a villain once again.