Page 33 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
Hanee gives him a thumbs-up sign which seems to satisfy Mr Choi and he finally departs.
‘I never thought I’d say this, but GOD I HATEthisNICK CARTER!’
‘Seonbae, are you all right? Can I get you some water?’
‘Some? SOME? The entire ocean won’t be enough for me to dive into and drown in. What sort of sodding luck does one need to have to deserve this?’
Hanee, who still doesn’t know the nature of Timira’s relationship with Rodrigo, is watching her crumple the coffee cup after abandoning the pen when its clicking butt-end got stuck after being repeatedly violated. She makes a feeble attempt at intervening but can only manage a sound that is midway between a gurgle and a snort. This makes Timira laugh.
Chortling, she asks, ‘What was that? Was that a snort?’
Hanee looks embarrassed and mutters a few unintelligible sounds as a way of denial.
‘You know, this one time when I was a rookie television producer, I was interviewing a top film actor whom I also used to nurse a crush on. That impossible guy,uff, he cracked a really lame joke and over-enthusiastic me started to laugh. But what came out was a snort. And he called me a piglet on air. ON THE GODDAMNED AIR, can you imagine? Well, you can imagine what happened next, though. Myjjagsarangdied a sudden death and I became a viral meme!’
Hanee, still on the sofa, is staring at Timira with an incredulous look in her eyes.
That was not even a funny story. Why is she telling me she was a dwaeji meme in India? Otteoke? Otteokaji?!
‘Um, Seonbae, about earlier …’
‘Wae? Mwo?Aaah,meolla meolla! [Why? What? Aaah, I don’t know] We have work to do, don’t we? Chop chop! What are you doing on the sofa still? Up, up,ileona, Honey-ya!’
Holding her arms, Timira lifts Hanee off the sofa and gently squeezes her arm. Taking the papers that Hanee had been guarding until now, she walks back to her chair and plonks herself down. Hanee continues to stare blankly, questioning yet again (and, concerned about) her Seonbae’s mental health.
Still looking down at the papers, Timira smiles lightly.
‘I know. I know, Honey, I know. Don’t worry about it, okay? I know you must’ve tried telling me, but Bujangnim beat you to it. Don’t beat yourself over it,arasseo?’
Feeling guilty, Hanee curls her toes and turns her gaze towards them. She’s also curious about something.
‘Seonbae, how do you know so many Korean words?’
‘What?’ Timira is taken aback by the randomness of Hanee’s question.
‘I’ve been curious … you use Korean words every now and again. And all at the right places. I was wondering how. Did you learn before coming here?’
Feeling rather chuffed and thankful to Hanee for changing the topic, Timira smiles. ‘My best friend’s wife … well, she is also my best friend now … is Korean. Korean-American. She’s made me watch a lot of dramas and listen to a bunch of K-pop artistes. I’m good with languages. Just picked up words and phrases here and there!’
‘Oh, you have a Koreanchingu! Daebak!’
Timira smiles widely. ‘Yes. Daebak, indeed!’
‘It’s nice to see you smile, Seonbae. I’m sorry about earlier …’
‘What for? Why are you sorry, dear Honey? It’s no big deal. It’s not like they’ve signed him up yet. And, so what if they do? I just have to tolerate his cheating ass for three months.’
This is news to Hanee. Lifting an eyebrow and fixing her gaze back on Timira’s face, she waits for more. But nothing comes out of Timira’s mouth.
‘Seonbae, are you really all right? Can I get you …’ But she’s been cut in.
‘Honestly, though, it’s not like the first time in history two exes will be working together. Who cares about him? I’m like Bridget Jones—busy and important. Huh. Honey, why are you still standing there? Come sit. Let’s go over these points, quickly!’
But Hanee can only gape in astonishment.
Timira Seonbae and Rodrigo the famous footballer used to be lovers!
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