"What the heck are you wearing, Ji?" Inseong asked his older colleague, his voice full of mock. "Looks like a rainbow-eating unicorn barfed all over you."
Sang Ji just grinned, seemingly not taking offence.
"I have a new stylist."
He looked down at his outfit - a knitted, multi-coloured and cheerfully patterned turtleneck shirt, paired with azure blue chino pants. Sang Ji was known for not being very picky with clothes, a trait that lots of stylists had taken advantage of through the years. As he looked up again, he immediately seemed to have spotted something of interest outside of their circle, as he suddenly started waving enthusiastically.
"Hey you, come over and say hi!"
Joonah followed Ji's gaze in confusion, and it seemed that the object of his interest was someone even more confused - Senghi. She was still standing in the manager and stylist area, pointing to herself with a dazed look on her face, and Ji eagerly nodded in reply.
"Yes, you! Get over here."
"Ji, what are you…" Joonah cut himself off as he watched Senghi tentatively approaching them, encouraged by Ji's waving hand.
"Hello, mr Sang…" she mumbled, her expression weary.
"Hello, it's been a while. Asian Drama Awards? We were table neighbours, right?" Ji took an eager bow, his eyes never leaving Senghi's face.
"Yes, that's right. I can't believe you remember me."
Senghi blushed, deeply embarassed by the attention. Without even looking at Joonah, she could sense his confusion. Ji on the other hand, looked outright enchanted, his shining teeth veneers almost blinding her with intense whiteness.
"Your name is Jung, isn't it? Jung Senghi. You co-wrote the script for It's not you, it's me."
"Well... yes." Senghi couldn't deny it. Besides, she was still proud of that script, and the drama series that became the finished product.
A moment of anticipating silence passed. Ji kept staring at her, and Senghi felt pressured to elaborate.
"I'm… here today, as Goodwin-ssi's manager."
Ji's smile slowly faded as his expression turned flabbergasted. His eyes darted between Senghi and Joonah. It was clear he didn't know what to make of the information.
"You're… Goodwin's manager?"
The other cast members exchanged intruiged looks, now immersed in the conversation between Ji and Senghi.
"What an interesting coincidence for us to meet again like this", Ji finally managed to say. "I don't think I've met a script writer who side-gigs as a manager before."
Senghi let out an embarassed laughter.
"Oh, it's a pleasure to help Joonah-ssi."
Inseong suddenly decided to butt in:
"Excuse me, but how could you even consider that lousy position of a job? Admit it, Goodwin is a pain in the ass to work with." He looked serious, but Senghi spotted the amused glimpse in his eyes.
With a stiff smile, she met Joonah's gaze, also full of tease and amusement, as if to say 'Well, am I?'. She swallowed and waved her hand dismissively.
"No, no. Joonah-ssi is very easy to deal with, and kind. We get along."
A sarcastic laughter escaped Ji.
"Joonah-ssi, huh..? You two didn't drop the honorifics yet?"
"That doesn't sound like Goodwin," Inseong chuckled. "When it comes to ladies, he prefers them calling him by 'oppa' within the first hour of aquintance."
At that, Joonah simply laughed, raising his hands in a disarming gesture.
"Calm down, people. I'm trying to be on my best behaviour and stay professional. I don't want to scare another manager off."
Somewhat boosted by Joonah's casual demeanor, Senghi smiled innocently and added:
"See? And I can't really call him 'oppa', he's five years younger than me. I'm comfortable with honorifics."
Joonah flinched slightly at her words, a puzzled look on his face. He had been unaware of her age. It felt unexpected, for reasons he couldn't pinpoint. The other cast members looked baffled as well, eyeing her a little closer all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry, but this won't do", Jongwoo finally exclaimed. "Before this day is over, you two should get your act together and drop the honorifics. Joonah, you might be her boss in some respect, but she's your senior. You should treat each other like equals."
"Mind you, we will follow the development of this relationship closely", Jinho enthusiastically added. "Mainly because our lives are boring and we don't have anything better to do. But still."
Sang Ji silently glanced at Senghi and Joonah for a few seconds, his eyes filled with mischief, before he blurted out:
"Agreed, let's see the two of you bond and become a team. Joonah hyun and Senghi unnie!"
"Enough now", Joonah chuckled. "Leave my poor manager alone. You're acting like a bunch of pre-schoolers."
"Forgive us, Senghi-ssi", Inseong instantly apologized, giggling. "Joonah is right, we're like kids when we get together. It was very nice to meet you."
With a sigh of relief, Senghi excused herself and returned to a wide-eyed looking Hana, who had been witnessing the entire spectacle.
Immediately after Senghi got out of hearing distance, Ji turned to Joonah with a dazed expression on his face.
"Well, now I've seen everything. Do you know how much talent is wasted by that woman being your manager?"
Joonah shrugged.
"I thought it was strange too, but if it works for her... she seems to take the job seriously enough, and she gets along with Hana. I know she's a talented writer and all..."
"Not just talented, but beautiful too", Ji muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried not to stare in Senghi's direction. "Charismatic girl, to say the least."
Mangko, the older one of the actors, confidentially leaned in towards Joonah, speaking in a low voice:
"I hear she is a feminist, and single by choice. Make sure to protect her while she's working for you, Joonah, she's the type that bad men like to conquer, just for the ego boost."
"Or, even better", Jinho interfered. "You should conquer her yourself. Ask her out and have a little fun. The two of you are almost the same height, you'd look so cute together."
"Thanks for the lovely suggestion, but we work together, she's five years older than me and we just met", Joonah replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh well, you're usually not one to beat around the bush", Inseong snorted. "I remember how fast you fell for that other female manager of yours, what was her name... Nam Yuree? Did even a week pass before you started sneaking around, holding hands and going on dates?"
Joonah opened his mouth to reply, but Jongwoo hurried to his defense:
"Now now, don't encourage him to go after that sort of thing again. Goodwin should focus on finding his future wife, not run around having affairs with managers. Besides, if she's single by choice, she probably doesn't even like men."
The other members muttered a little, not entirely agreeing with Jongwoo and still a bit wounded up by the peculiar meeting with Joonah's manager.
Joonah himself secretly glanced at Senghi. She was standing between Hana and a young man he identified as Jinho's manager, small talking with them and looking more relaxed now. Jinho's words kept ringing through his head. You should conquer her yourself.
He shook his head slightly, before redirecting his attention back to the other members.