Chapter 55
You Smoked, Didn’t You?
One of the hosts voiced a concern.
Even though the guest was Jung heera, it felt wrong to start the shoot without her when more footage would only help.
“She’ll be back soon, right?
There’s no way it’ll take more than thirty minutes. She already changed clothes.”
“Yeah, I don’t get why she isn’t back yet when changing should’ve been quick…”
Hearing them debate whether to start without heera, Yoo Lee Yeon spoke up quietly.
“Why don’t we wait about fifteen more minutes?”
“Huh?”
The PD asked again as if he hadn’t heard right.
“What if, in the meantime, we ask the employees who come in to sit near us instead of spreading out?
If they’re gathered around us, it’ll look like there are more people.”
The PD listening to her nodded.
“You’re right.
Starting without actress Jung heera wouldn’t sit well with the MCs or us, and she might have a reason for being late.
It’s better to wait a bit.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea!
Let’s wait a little longer then.
Thanks to you, Lee Yeon, we’ve got a solution!”
“No, not at all.
I just thought of it and shared the idea.”
Lee Yeon said with a shy smile.
“You’re modest too!
You’re quick on your feet because you’re smart.
Okay, let’s wait a little longer.”
And so the food on their trays slowly grew cold.
***
“This restroom is huge.”
There had to be at least eight stalls.
Seeing the doors wide open, Jung heera figured the bathroom was empty.
She slipped into one of the stalls and dug through her handbag.
An e-cigarette was fine, the smell faded quickly, so no one would know.
There wasn’t enough time to sneak to another floor, so she had hurried into the restroom.
It’s lunchtime. Who would come in?
“Haa…”
She could breathe again.
The suffocating frustration that had piled up thanks to Lee Yeon seemed to drift away a little with the smoke.
Seriously, what is Yoo Lee Yeon’s deal?
From the start everything had gone wrong, and the stress that had built up finally pushed her to smoke in the middle of filming.
She preferred real cigarettes, but to avoid the smell being noticed, she had to settle for the e-cigarette.
Just as she was easing her stress, Ji-won’s voice rang from the restroom entrance.
“Excuse me?
This is the women’s restroom!
Men aren’t allowed in here.”
“I’m from the building’s general affairs department.
Is anyone inside?
I’ll be coming in for a minute.”
A booming male voice came from outside the door.
He was coming in here?
“No, you can’t just come in.”
Ji-won crossed her arms in a big X, blocking the way.
She was determined to protect her actress.
“I won’t be the first inside.
A female staff member will check first.
We were told someone’s been smoking an e-cigarette here, so we came to confirm.”
“But the only person inside is our actress. Who else could it be?”
Ji-won stood guard in front of the restroom, but no one had come in or out.
She had been worrying whether she should text heera if someone did enter, but since no one came, she had felt relieved.
And then — smoking?
“There’s another entrance.
On the other side.
We’ll go in.”
A female staff member went in first, spoke with heera, then came back out quickly.
“It’s okay to come in.”
“There’s another entrance?”
Ji-won’s face went blank as she looked around the restroom.
Sure enough, opposite the door she had been guarding, there was another entrance.
Only then did she realize she had been standing like a fool, watching just one door.
Who would’ve thought there were two doors?
“Unni! Are you okay?”
Inside the cramped stall, heera panicked, unable to sit or stand.
She had been sure it was empty.
Had someone actually reported her?
“Excuse me!”
Knock knock.
The sound of someone rapping on the door made her jump so badly she nearly dropped her e-cigarette.
“S…someone’s in here.”
“I know. Did you smoke an e-cigarette?”
“N…no?”
Heera pinched her nose to force her voice to sound different.
“I can smell it.
Don’t deny it.
There are designated smoking areas!
You know the restroom is smoke-free.
Female employees are especially sensitive to the smell, especially if they’re pregnant.”
Damn it… She was caught.
There was no way this conversation would end until she opened the door.
Damn it, I should’ve at least worn a hat.
In a rash decision she had thought only of hiding and smoking.
Now she had to step out with no disguise at all.
If she went out there, her carefully built image could collapse in an instant.
Times had changed, women smoking was more accepted, but for a female celebrity it was still judged harshly.
Her innocent, pure, clean image could be ruined.
But she had no choice.
All she could hope was that there weren’t many witnesses.
Click.
Heera carefully turned the knob.
Keeping her head low, she tried to hide her face with her hair.
“The person inside was a pregnant employee.
She complained about the e-cigarette smell—”
The staff member recognized her seconds later.
“Ah! Actress Jung heera?”
Even at the sound of her name, heera couldn’t lift her head.
The employee stopped speaking and stared at her.
Nearby, a few female staff members started murmuring.
“So it was you, Jung heera.
Even if you were embarrassed to go to the smoking area, the restroom is off-limits.
That pregnant employee said she couldn’t even wash her hands before leaving.”
Heera’s eyes darted around in panic.
All she could think about was how to end this fast.
Ji-won stared at her in shock, mouth hanging open.
Ji-su was still missing.
Desperate to get away, heera nodded repeatedly, muttered apologies, and grabbed Ji-won’s hand to leave the restroom.
“Unni, you smoke?
If you had told me, I would’ve taken you somewhere else.”
“No, only once in a while!
Just when I’m really stressed, maybe a puff or two… I didn’t think I’d get caught today.”
Her eyes welled with frustrated tears.
She had never been this reckless before.
Why had she smoked in the restroom?
She regretted it bitterly.
“Were there a lot of people watching?
Did anyone film it?
What if some weird clip goes viral calling me brainless or something?”
Her voice rattled off in a rapid stream.
“They looked like a few staff and a woman who seemed pregnant.”
My image…
“Let’s think about it later, unni.
We need to get back to the shoot.
They’ve been calling like crazy!
They have to film before the employees finish lunch.”
Ji-won dragged the unfocused heera back toward the set.
“Sorry for being late.”
Heera returned in a short skirt, bowing and apologizing.
Her face was stiff, but no one said anything.
No one knew what had happened, but her eyes looked empty, like her soul was gone.
Lee Yeon gazed at her silently.
.
.
.
“This food is amazing.
Most of the employees’ trays are spotless. So, Secretary Yoo, what do you think is the best benefit this company offers?”
The shoot resumed quickly, making up for lost time.
After eating, it was time for Lee Yeon to introduce what she thought was the company’s best benefit.
“I think most people already know this one. It’s one of Wuseong Group’s most famous perks.
It’s right here!”
She spread her palm toward the salon.
“It looks like a regular salon. Is it only for employees?”
“Yes, only Wuseong Card employees can use it.”
“If you stop by after work, the whole evening disappears. It must save a lot of time.”
“It’s great for that.
Employees often come during lunch for a quick cut.
The director is skilled, so most are satisfied.
The only limitation is that they only do coloring, perms, and cuts.
No treatments or blow-dries.
But that’s not really a drawback.”
“True, treatments and blow-dries aren’t needed often.
Just offering cuts is already great.
Jung heera, wouldn’t you love to join a company like this?”
The host turned the question to her.
Heera jolted, not expecting it.
“Wusepng Card is a dream workplace.
If I had the chance, of course I’d be grateful.
Even getting a treatment during lunch would be nice.”
“Ah, unfortunately they don’t offer treatments.
Only cuts, coloring, and perms.”
“They stick to what’s essential.”
“Come on, heera.
Secretary Yoo just said treatments aren’t available.”
