Rebirth: King to Superstar

"Oh! Did you get the script for your performance? How is the script? How often does your drama house perform if you guys did one yesterday itself? What's the name of the drama house?" Jung-hwa instantly became excited about the script. 

"The drama house is called Roses Drama house. It's pretty popular in the city and worldwide. Yes, I got the script today so that I can audition on Wednesday for the role and we perform every Sunday, two times. One in the morning and one in the evening. It's pretty cool." He shrugged and replied to all her questions. 

"Wait a minute. Did you just say you joined Roses dama house? The Roses Drama House? The one which is said to be the toughest for any aspiring actor to get into because the boss is really demanding. I heard she is a beast-like person who treats her people as slaves. Are you ok there? We can talk to Mr. Hwan and get you to another place. I'm sure." she used her own imagination once again to make baseless deductions.

He quickly closed her mouth and made her sit once again. He looked around and noticed no one noticed her outburst before sighing. He wondered how he made a loudmouth like her as a friend. 

Keeping her mouth closed, he whispered, "Do not shout like that Jung-hwa. People will think you are either crazy or some victim of my harassment and will call the police. Now can you be quiet or do you need me to continue holding like this?" He released his hands when she nodded and continued. 

"Yes, I did join THE Roses drama house. I think there is only one of its kind in the inner city. And where did you hear all these rumors about the owner of that place? I keep telling you to never believe those rumors blindly, but you do not listen at all. Do not go around talking shit like that. If anyone hears you, you will have a terrible impression on people. The boss is pretty kind, too. She values talent a lot and is helping me out. So now be quiet and do not believe baseless rumors again." He clenched his forehead and tried to explain. 

She nodded and said, "Well it's good to see you are alright there. Now tell me about the script you got. How is the story? All the performances in that theatre are awesome." 

He shrugged and said, "I don't know much about it either. It seems like a modern setting and a tragic love story of sorts. Before I could even read it, you sent me a message wanting to meet. So I had to keep the script aside and come here." 

Jung-hwa slouched a bit when she heard even he didn't read it. She was very curious about how the scripts and stories were in the top drama houses, and this was a good opportunity. She won't be able to sleep if she doesn't know now. 

After a few seconds of silence and just as Joon-won thought to console her, she sprang and suggested, "Alright then, let's go to your apartment. Aren't you living alone anyway? Let's go there now and go through your script together. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I don't know how the scripts are in top drama houses." 

Her suggestion stunned him. He was living alone, but it was not a good suggestion to invite a girl over at all. Especially when both of them were only friends. As he was about to reject it, she continued begging, "Come on, don't be so fast to reject it. We both are responsible adults who know how to take care of ourselves. So it's ok and I don't think you will do anything to me, anyway." Hearing her reasons, he didn't know if he had to be offended. What did she mean by him not being able to do anything? He was also a man, but a man who chose not to do anything. 

He knew what she said was true and hence no reason to reject. He shrugged and said, "Alright then, let's go. Let me tell you now. You do not tell anyone where I live. Alright?" 

"Sure. Now let's get going. We have a whole script to read." And grabbed his arm before dragging him towards the university gate. Joon-won reacted quickly and broke free before anyone could see him getting dragged away. He didn't want to lose dignity because of the airhead before him. 

Joon-won led her towards his apartment but stopped before a supermarket first. He turned towards Jung-hwa and said, "Alright, I need to get a few groceries. So wait a few minutes." Jung-hwa quickly agreed and asked him to bring her some ice cream while he was at it, making him roll his eyes. 

He went in and brought a few vegetables and other groceries like flour, meat, and condiments. He didn't forget to grab some ice cream for both of them and also a bottle of juice. He paid the money and walked out with the bag in his hand. 

Jung-hwa took a small peek into the bag and exclaimed, "Do you know how to cook?" 

Joon-won nodded and replied, "Yes, I do know how to cook. Now don't act too surprised." 

"Well, how can you blame me for being surprised? I never knew some boys could cook, especially a person like you who is a freak. Is the food you make edible? I don't want to take leave from the drama house for the first week because of food poisoning."

Joon-won's face became black as she dissed him and retorted, "If you don't want to eat, then don't. No one is asking you to eat, anyway. Later I won't give you any food even if you beg me for it." And carried the bag, on the other hand, away from her. 

"Alright, alright. Don't get too angry about it. I'm sure it's good enough." 

Joon-won ignored her and continued to lead her towards his apartment. After a while, they were in front of the building and Jung-hwa looked around before saying, "You really do live in a bad neighborhood. I mean see those people over there, they are giving out drugs in broad daylight. You should move away from here." Even when it was actually night. 

Joon-won ignored her comments and walked inside the building. Both of them walked up the stairs and eventually reached his floor. The whole way, Jung-hwa was constantly looking around like she was in a zoo. He took out the key and opened his apartment door.

"Stop looking around like that. It's rude if someone sees you."

Jung-hwa shrugged her shoulders and walked inside before saying, "You can't blame me for this. I mean even if I am not rich, I never lived in a shady place like this. So I just wanted to see how it's like and it's exactly like I thought." 

Joon-won didn't even bother asking what she thought and pointed at the couch before telling her to take a seat as he had some small things to do before he could join her. He went into the kitchen and opened his bag of groceries and set them all in their respective places. 

He didn't forget to take the dried clothes away from the hanger after that. He threw the clothes onto his bed and finally turned towards his guest to only see her taking pictures of his house. 

He raised an eyebrow seeing her and said, "What do you think you are doing? I will throw you out of the building if you do something idiotic like this." pointing at his balcony. 

Jung-hwa immediately put her phone down and tried to defend herself, "Hey it was your sister who asked me to take a few photos and send her. She wanted to know how you live. Don't blame me." 

"I don't care, just don't tale photos. It's just weird. Yun-hee doesn't need to know how the place looks. Now give me that phone so that I can delete those pictures." extending his hand towards her. Jung-hwa didn't try to argue and just handed him the phone. He quickly deleted all the pictures she took and didn't forget to delete them even from 'recently deleted' so that she doesn't restore them.

Jung-hwa took her phone and checked her recently deleted before clicking her tongue and muttering, "Tch, he isn't as dumb as I thought he would be." Joon-won ignored that comment. 

She looked around the house once more and said, "This house is really small and neat. I didn't expect a boy's house to be this organized and neat. You are giving me more and more surprises as I get to know you better. I want to dig everything out and expose you." 

Joon-won sat on the couch beside her and said, "Now you are being more and more of a sexist than I thought. So shall we start reading the script?" taking the script from the coffee table.