Zen is held back at work and therefore unable to go with Suhee to do some much needed food shopping. He's asked her to wait for him, but will she?
"Sorry babe. I know we were supposed to go grocery shopping today but if you give me just a few more minutes we'll still be able to go together okay?" Zen told Suhee over the phone when she'd called him to ask what was holding him up.
"Yeah, okay." She replied simply.
A moment then followed where the receiver picked up her boyfriend talking with a third party on his side. "Alright. Be right there." She could hear him say before he started talking with her once more. "Listen, I gotta go. Just a few minutes and I promise we'll go. Love you."
"Love you too."
"See you later then princess."
He hung up and she flopped back onto the couch, sighing wistfully. This was almost regular for the couple now as Zen got more popular – and therefore busier. So much so that he was rarely ever home and when he was, most of his time spent was on practicing for his latest role.
Because of this Suhee was left alone most of the time.
Sure most days she would drop by Jaehee's café to help out or even work on a little bit of art, but when she returned from college she thought that they'd be able to spend more time together. Unfortunately things didn't end up working that way.
An hour passed and still Zen hadn't arrived.
Suhee couldn't wait another minute as it was getting late and she still needed to buy some things for their dinner that night, so she grabbed her purse and jacket and left for the store. She arrived there in one piece and got through most of the aisles okay, but when it came to a certain item she needed up on the top shelf the trouble started.
"Hey there sweetheart. Need some help?" Suhee heard a male's voice ask kindly while she was trying to reach for the aforementioned item.
She jumped, her heart fluttered and she turned quickly without thinking only to see a moderately attractive young man who wasn't her boyfriend. She let out a sigh of disappointment which he didn't seem to notice as he continued with, "It's this one you were reaching for, right?"
He then effortlessly took an item off the shelf and handed it to her before she could answer. Suhee gazed at the product for a moment, realizing that he'd retrieved the wrong one and was about to tell him so, but it turns out he was just helping her out to get into her pants.
"So…what's your name, sweetheart?"
"It's Suhee." She answered simply, at least allowing him that.
"Suhee! That's a pretty name. It suits you so well…" He came in closer, pinning her against the shelves. "So…you free this weekend?"
She blushed when realizing what he was doing and so tried to politely push him away while giving her answer. "Um…well…" Suhee tried to think of something, but she was getting flustered by this man she was unfamiliar with. "I…"
"Oh, this simply won't do. I commend you for helping my princess but I believe you've gotten her the wrong thing." A much more familiar voice spoke up, interrupting the man's advances.
Suhee knew this was Zen before she saw him but she didn't know whether to be happy or upset about his late arrival. She watched silently as the man backed up while her knight in shining armor approached, gently took the item she was holding, placed it back on the shelf, and grabbed the correct product to give to her with a soft smile.
She accepted it and he turned to the other male, exuding icy politeness. "Thank you once again for helping out but next time maybe you should have a bit of self-control when trying to pick up other men's girlfriends…"
The young man got the picture and so clicked his tongue with annoyance before stalking away angrily.
Once he was out of earshot Zen turned to her with concern and asked, "You okay, Suhee? He didn't do anything strange to you, did he?"
His girlfriend remained silent for a moment as she noticed that his cheeks were flushed, meaning that he rushed from home to catch up with her. Still, he had broken his promise – therefore upsetting her more. So she pursed her lips and turned her back on him, placing the item he handed to her in the cart and continuing with her shopping trip like he wasn't even there.
"Suhee…?" he called after her in a confused tone, following her through the aisles. He reached out to stop and confront her, but paused as he didn't want to cause a scene.
"Look, if this is about me being late then I'm sorry…" Zen continued in a low voice next to her. "But please don't shut me out like this."
He noticed her pause, and it seemed like she was finally going to turn and face him, but she was only choosing another product to put in the cart. The actor sighed, realizing that it was futile to try and reason with her so he only followed in silence and helped only when he was absolutely needed.
It was only when everything was purchased and the couple were on their way home that Suhee let all of her bottled feelings flow out in the form of tears. Zen was glancing over at her to make sure she was okay with carrying her bags when he noticed that she was crying and had to take a double take.
"Suhee?! Why are you crying?" he asked urgently while approaching her.
She shook her head, trying her best to wipe away the tears with her bag laden hands.
"Oh god…That guy did do something to you!" he assumed, becoming angry and continuing in a low growl. "When I find that perverted punk I'll…"
Zen trailed off when he noticed his girlfriend's head shaking violently. She tried to answer between sobs and his gaze softened.
"Let's wait until we get home to talk about this princess. It's getting cold and I wouldn't want you getting sick…"
Suhee paused and then nodded, so the couple continued on their way silently back home. Once they arrived Zen didn't waste any time in saying, "So tell me what's eating at you."
"It's…It's nothing Hyun. It's not really important anyway." Suhee answered, trying to be casual about it but failing. "Let's just start putting everything away, okay?"
She started to sort through everything but her boyfriend stopped her by taking her hands in his and gently turning her to face him. "It can't be nothing when it's caused you to cry. I need to know what's going on so we can figure this out. Together…" He smiled softly and the waterworks started once more.
"I-I'm sorry…Hyun!" Suhee uttered loudly between sobs. "I'm such a…selfish person! I feel so…horrible!"
"Shh…Take deep breaths. It's okay…" Zen remained ever so calm and comforting as he took her in his arms and held her tightly. "Tell me why you think you're so selfish."
She paused for a moment to calm herself a little before letting out a defeated sigh. "…It's just that…when I came home from college I thought we'd be together more, but it's been the complete opposite. Nothing's changed in the last two years and I feel like…like we're growing apart…" She trailed off and gazed up at him with tearful eyes. "I'm calling myself selfish because I want nothing more than all of your time to be spent with me. Do you think…I'm bad for thinking that way…?"
"Suhee…" Zen chuckled. "If all you wanted was more time with me, then you should've told me earlier!"
She pouted. "I tried! Remember when I asked you to kiss me when I was sick? That was my cry for your attention."
His gaze softened and he told her in response, "I…I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier. But I have to tell you that I can't easily fulfil your selfish request, princess. That is unless I cancel the jobs I've been offered…"
"No, I don't want you to sacrifice your job for me! Not when you've come so far from where you've started…"
"Then I'll be busy for a while, but in the meantime we can make the most of what time we can spend together, okay?"
"O-Okay…"
"Let's get this stuff put away then."
Suhee agreed and while they were putting away groceries, Suhee finally decided to take a chance and make a proposal. A business proposal to be exact.
"Hyun?" she said, immediately gaining his attention. "There's…actually another reason I was crying earlier…something else I've been agonizing about…"
"What is it babe?" Zen asked curiously.
"It's…really embarrassing though…"
"Nothing can be as embarrassing as the time I played for you my DVD version of Promiscuous Jalapeno Topping…" he blushed but smiled all the same because it was a precious memory of his to see her reaction of it.
She blushed too, grinning sheepishly. "Well…How should I put this? It's…hard to put into words."
"Just take your time with it."
"Okay…Remember when I told you I signed up for those classes in my second semester so I could help you?"
Zen's interest was piqued. "Yes I do."
"When I told you I wanted to help, I meant with time management. For your job."
"Like…a talent manager?"
"Yes…but it's really just a silly idea I had. I don't think it will really help…"
"No! It's a great idea! I was actually starting to think I needed a manager to help me keep track of everything that's going on. And we'll be able to spend more time together. You'll even get to accompany me to my jobs and they won't be able to say anything against our relationship~"
He winked and she blushed but was still a bit worried. "So you think it's okay for us to go on like this?"
"Yes! I'm all for it babe!" Zen beamed happily. "In fact, I would like for you to hear me out on my first request, Ms. Manager."
"And what would that be, Mr. Ryu?"
The actor became giddy at the fact that his girlfriend was playing along and it showed in his excited crescent shaped smile.
"I know my schedule is pretty full at the moment, but if you could just permit me to spare a little time with my beloved girlfriend…"
"Permission granted." Suhee replied with no hesitation, not giving him a chance to finish due to her excitement.
Zen then immediately closed the gap between them to give some much needed love to his girlfriend, thus bringing a perfect end to an otherwise problematic day.
.
"So…I know you took management classes now," Zen mentioned later out of the blue. "But what were those club meetings for?"
"Oh. I was…" Suhee answered, red with chagrin. "Attending a masseuse club, learning how to give massages…" – she noticed the bemused expression on her boyfriend's face and became defensive – "It's just…after that call I didn't want any other woman giving you a massage but me okay?! Let's just…not talk about it anymore!"
"Oh God…" he gushed, reveling in the fact that Suhee was showing a jealous side. "You are too cute babe~"
