“Sir,” Suyeon said cheesily.

The elder made a kind smile and looked at her.

“Don't Geunsoo-oppa and I suit each other?”

Geunsoo, who sat next to her, tried to stand up and leave, but Suyeon’s hand was quicker and grabbed him. Unable to leave, Geunsoo made an awkward smile.

“Suyeon, let go of me.”

Maru sipped a bit of the ginseng wine while exclaiming. It seemed that she had finally gotten to talk with Geunsoo properly. Geunsoo always called her ‘Miss Suyeon’, but it seemed that her persistence was effective.

“You do, you do suit each other.”

The elder, who was pleasantly drunk, laughed saying that they should get engaged. Even Ganghwan, who would usually clap and agree with him, was staying still. That was because the opponent was Suyeon. Above all, Ganghwan was unable to leave his place right now. That was because he had to hold back Miso, who had a faint smile on her face.

Miso was demonstrating just how scary a smile could be. If the elder wasn’t here, she might have flipped the table over. Fortunately, Miso was aware of the occasion, so she refrained as much as possible and stayed obedient in front of the elder. Thanks to that though, Suyeon was on a rampage.

“See? Sir Yoon says we suit each other. Geunsoo-oppa. You’ll be hated if you keep toying with a woman’s heart, you know?”

“I don’t remember ever toying with anyone’s heart though.”

“See? He ignores me despite my attempts to woo him. Sir, I’m really sad. I also feel rather humiliated as a woman. Am I that unattractive?”

“Suyeon, you are very pretty.”

“Really? Sir, let me pour you another glass. This cute junior would like to pay her respects.”

Suyeon approached the elder with a smile on her face and poured a bit of the ginseng wine into his glass. Suyeon seemed to be perfectly aware of how to suck up to people without getting on their bad side. With the elder completely doting on Suyeon, no one was able to say a thing.

“When did they get so close?” Ganghwan asked in a small voice.

“I heard that she visited frequently during Twilight Struggles. She was his conversation partner a lot of the time too. He practically gained another granddaughter. Oh, now that I think about it, she was his granddaughter in the movie too.”

“How scary.”

“It’s probably Geunsoo-hyungnim who’s the most scared right now though.”

“That’s true.”

While Geunsoo was laughing, Maru could clearly see that he was not at ease. Suyeon was perfectly toying around with Geunsoo since he couldn’t run away like he usually did. It was as though she was venting her pent up frustration.

“Uhu, uphew….”

Maru saw Sooil, who was lying down in the room next to them, open the door and crawl out. He quietly stood up and dragged Sooil by the legs back to the room. Being dragged back to the blanket, Sooil kept spitting out breaths that stank of alcohol.

“Why did you drink so much when you can’t even drink?”

“Maru, living in this world is so hard.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure it must be. Even a newborn has a hard time living in this world. Stop talking nonsense and get some sleep already.”

“All I want to focus on is acting.”

“No one’s stopping you, though?”

“God, dam… grandpa….”

Sooil mumbled that before falling back asleep. Maru warned him when the elder first gave him a glass of ginseng wine, but when he was distracted for a moment, Sooil drank a full glass before becoming completely drunk. Maru didn’t know that he would be looking after this guy in a place like this on a day like this. From the way his luck was turning out here, it seemed that this year was going to be a difficult year as well.

He always thought that drunk people should be left on the streets to fend for themselves whenever he encountered situations like this. He covered Sooil with a blanket before closing the door.

“Is the boy okay?”

“Yes. He should sober up once he gets some sleep.”

“Looks like I made a mistake. I made assumptions after drinking with you all the time. I should’ve realized that you were strangely good at drinking.”

“He’s the idiot for not knowing how much he can drink.”

The seats had changed while he went to look after Sooil. Ganghwan and Geunsoo were enjoying drinks together, while Miso and Suyeon, who were practically enemies with each other, were giving each other cold smiles. In the middle of the two groups was Junmin. It was obvious who placed them in those seats.

“Are you sure those two won’t get into a fight?”

He sat next to Junmin and asked in a small voice.

“They should get close to each other since we’re in the same family.”

“I think they might shed blood before that though.”

“Then I guess they should decide who’s superior. We can’t have them behaving like cats fighting over territory every time they meet. They should probably get things sorted out today.”

“I bet 10 thousand won that Miso-noonim will win if they fight with strength.”

“I’m betting another 10 thousand on that.”

Ganghwan chimed in. The elder was talking quietly with Geunsoo.

“That bet’s invalid. Even I would be scared of fighting Miso,” said Junmin as he put down his glass.

At that moment, Miso stood up and left the house through the door. Suyeon snorted before following her out.

“They didn’t take knives or something with them, right?” Ganghwan asked suspiciously.

Maru nodded and replied that they were empty-handed.

“I’ll take a peek. Miso might pick up a rock or something once her switch is flipped.”

From the way Junmin didn’t stop Ganghwan from leaving, it seemed that he too judged that such a scenario might happen. Of course, Miso wouldn’t actually pick up a rock to fight, but she might start pulling Suyeon’s hair out.

“When did you say the shoot began?”

When the chaotic mood died down a little, Junmin asked.

“It starts on the 8th.”

“It seems to have been delayed since I heard that it was originally going to start airing in January.”

“The get-together before the shoot was at the end of December, so I don’t think they ever intended to air the first episode in January in the first place.”

“Well, that time slot on a Saturday is usually taken up by re-runs, so they shouldn’t be that urgent.”

Junmin picked up the soju bottle. Maru grabbed his glass with both of his hands.

“You are actually doing better than I expected. I feel like I’m profiting since you keep looking for your own work by yourself.”

“I do owe you 300 million won. I have to do my worth at least.”

“I see. I hope you continue that and raise the value of our company. I’ll give you some stock options once we decide to go public.”

“I guess I should do my best then.”

He turned his head to drink before picking up the soju bottle. Junmin reached out with his glass.

“Have you talked to Suyeon?”

“Not regarding the shoot, no.”

“You should learn from her once the shoot begins. They say that TV programs are a battle of money, but the ones that survive that battle are the ones with skill. Suyeon managed to gain a lot in a short period of time. Not all of it is from making men fall. There are her acting skills and her social skills too.”

Junmin emptied half of his glass before continuing to speak,

“Suyeon does not make enemies. In that sense, Miso’s rather special. This is the first time I saw someone express their hate so much to Suyeon. That’s why I thought that the two might actually become good friends. Well, from the way things are going now, I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

“I think the reunification of the country might come sooner.”

“Maybe. Anyway, you should watch her. I’m a little worried about you since you seem to draw the line too well, but it won’t be that bad to learn a thing or two from her. Well, I’m sure you know better though.”

Junmin smiled in satisfaction. Just then, the door opened before Miso came in with a refreshed expression. A while later, Suyeon appeared with a rather sour face. Just from that, the outcome of this ‘battle’ was clear.

“Let’s get along well from now on.”

“Yes, yes. Unni.”

Of course, the two were still glaring at each other.

* * *

“Be careful on your way back.”

Maru said goodbye to the elder standing in his yard before turning around. Junmin, Ganghwan, and Geunsoo remained behind as they seemed to have something to talk about.

“I wonder if Sooil went back properly.”

“Byungchan-hyung is probably having a hard time.”

“True. I should beat Sooil up in the future if he grabs a drinking glass. He’s someone who shouldn’t drink,” said Miso while sighing. 

“Ah, what do I do about the car?”

Miso crossed her arms in front of her car. She couldn’t drive since she drank quite a lot. Maru and Miso naturally looked at Suyeon.

“I’m going to take the taxi though?”

“Don’t say that. Why don’t you drive for me?”

“Why would I?”

“Listen to this unni’s words for once, hm?”

Miso opened the door to the driver’s seat before forcefully pushing Suyeon into it. Suyeon did not drink saying that she had a bad stomach. Well, she did drink until she passed out the day before, so she probably didn’t want to drink.

“I’m going to get some sleep. I feel dizzy. My house is on the GPS so please take me there.”

Miso lied down on the back seats and soon fell asleep. She looked completely fine when she left the elder’s house, but it seemed that she was only acting tough in front of the elder.

“I really hate this.”

Suyeon started up the car.

“I’ll take the taxi home.”

“Shut up. Get on.”

“What? I live in Suwon though.”

“My studio is in Suwon too, you know? Forget about it if you want to have an easy time.”

“Let’s minimize the casualties, shall we?”

“Oh, you’re going against me?”

Suyeon narrowed her eyes and stared at him. Maru got in the passenger seat with drooping shoulders. He had a hard time ignoring her gaze since she looked like she might actually do something bad if he left her alone.

After starting the GPS navigation, Suyeon started driving.

“Oh yeah, what did you talk about outside? I feel like something happened since you’re obediently giving her a drive.”

“I was hit.”

“I see, what?”

“I was hit.”

“Ah… really?”

“I’m joking. We can’t fight like kids until the end of time. It’s not like that ahjumma is completely incompetent, and she has a lot of connections too. There’s nothing to be gained from being at odds with her, so I made some sacrifices.”

Miso, who was lying down in the back, said that she wasn’t an ahjumma. Suyeon retorted that all married women were ahjummas.

“You should try to get along with her.”

“That’s the plan.”

Suyeon opened the window slightly.

“How long has it been since the car was cleaned? Why is it so smelly?”

“I guess it is a little bad.”

“Sheesh, whoever is marrying that woman is not sane.”

“I think Miso-noonim will say the same thing about you when you get married.”

“Me, married?”

Suyeon chuckled.

“Why would I marry anyone when I don’t trust men?”

“You’re going to live by yourself then?”

“I might get married since I don’t know what the future has in store, but right now, I can’t imagine such a thing.”

“What if Geunsoo hyung-nim wants to marry you?”

“That sounds attractive.”

“What a light-hearted person.”

“People think that everyone else other than themselves are light-hearted. But marriage, huh. Would I be able to get married at all?”

“If you live a quiet life from now on and spread rumors about how your dream is to become a faithful wife, I think it might be possible.”

“Maybe. Men are all idiots who believe me when I say that I’m not the person they think I am and that they should trust me. Just like how I trusted that man. Maybe this is why first love is important.”

“What good is complaining about past matters? You won’t get anything from it.”

“Ooh, I felt better now since you tried to console me in some way.”

“I’m only telling you that to tell you that we should get along well in the future. I feel good since I scored some points.”

“Right, do just that at the shoot too. This big sister will dote on you.”

“I’m asking this just in case, but you won’t actually touch the kids, right?”

As soon as he finished his words, Suyeon turned the wheel violently. The car shook a little and Maru shut himself up as he grabbed the handle above the window.

“I can’t guarantee what will happen if you touch the sensitive part of this big sister.”

“Yes, I will shut up now.”

“That’s right. That’s a good boy.”

After looking at Miso once, Suyeon kept driving while singing a pop song.

Maru thought that he should really have taken the taxi home as he made an awkward smile.