EFB Chapter 52 On the first workday of the new year, someone delivered coffee.
Chapter 52 On the first workday of the new year, someone delivered coffee.
January 2nd, Thursday, 7:00 AM.
The New Year holiday was over. When Su Yu arrived at the company, a delivery guy was standing at the door with two cups of coffee in his hand. "Mr. Su Yu?"
Su Yu took the cup and glanced at the label—one hot Americano, no sugar; one latte, extra foam. There was no signature, but he knew who it belonged to. The hot Americano was his, the latte was Cai Xiubin's. There was only one person who could make this combination.
He pushed open the door and put the coffee on the table. His phone vibrated.
Shirley's message: [Did you receive the coffee?]
Su Yu replied: 【Received.】
The hot Americano is yours. The latte is for that silly girl. First workday of the new year, don't oversleep.
Su Yu looked at the screen and typed a few words: 【How did you know she drank a latte?】
[I saw her order this on set last time. Lots of milk foam, lots of sugar, like drinking milk tea.]
Su Yu's lips twitched slightly. [You're quite observant.]
[Nonsense. I'm a woman. Women are naturally observant.]
Su Yu didn't reply. After a while, she sent another message: 【Oppa. 】
【Um. 】
Happy New Year! Wishing you success at work.
【The same to you.】
At eight o'clock in the morning, Cai Xiubin pushed open the door and came in. She was wearing a gray coat today, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she was carrying an insulated bag. "You brought breakfast again?" Su Yu leaned against the table.
"My mom made this. She said you should try some." She opened the insulated bag; inside were two boxes of seaweed rice rolls and a box of stir-fried vegetables. Su Yu glanced at them. "Your mom knows about me?"
"Yeah. I told her my boss is really good to me, making me seaweed rice rolls every day. She said I should bring her some too." Cai Xiubin laid out the lunchbox. "Oppa, try some, my mom's cooking is better than yours."
Su Yu took a piece of seaweed rice roll and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed it a couple of times. "It's alright."
"It's alright?" Her eyes widened. "My mom will be heartbroken if she finds out."
"It tastes better than yours."
She paused for a moment, then laughed. "Of course. My mom did it for twenty years, and I've only been learning for twenty days."
Su Yu took another piece. "To be able to reach this level after studying for twenty days, you're quite talented."
"Then teach me, and I'll go home and make it for my mom."
"Okay. But the tuition is very expensive."
"How much?"
Give me a kiss.
Her face flushed instantly, and she grabbed a piece of seaweed rice roll and shoved it into his mouth. "Su Yu, shut up! In broad daylight!"
"What's wrong with kissing during the day? Can't we kiss during the day?"
She glared at him, then lowered her head to eat, her ears so red they looked like they could bleed.
10:00 AM, on set.
The last eight episodes were filmed, but there were still some reshoots. Yoon Shi-yoon came today to reshoot a scene where he climbs over a wall—a 2.2-meter-high wall. He had climbed over it once before, but the director said the camera angle was wrong and they had to reshoot it. He stood in front of the wall, dressed in all black, expressionless.
"How many times has this happened?" Su Yu walked over.
"The fourth time." Yoon Shi-yoon cracked his knuckles. "I could scale this wall with my eyes closed."
"Then close your eyes and flip one over."
Yoon Shi-yoon glanced at him, then truly closed her eyes. She took a few steps back, sprinted, braced herself against the wall, turned her body to the side, and stepped over, landing steadily, lightly, almost silently. Standing on the other side of the wall, she opened her eyes.
"Is it over?" he shouted.
Su Yu nodded. "Passed. Passed in one take."
Yoon Shi-yoon flipped it back over and dusted off his hands. "I told you I could flip it with my eyes closed."
"You're impressive. But your expression was too serious when you were scaling the wall, like you were about to kill someone."
"When Kim Do-gi scaled the wall, he was actually chasing a murderer. His serious expression was justified."
Su Yu laughed. "Fine. You're right."
Noon, in the lounge.
Cai Xiubin sat in a folding chair, holding the well-worn script in her hand. She turned to the first page, which had the words "Ahn Go-eun" written on it, with a smiley face drawn next to it.
"Oppa".
"Um."
"I want to keep this script."
"It was always yours."
"Could you write a sentence on it?"
Su Yu took the script and pulled a pen from his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he wrote a line on the title page: "You are the first. And the only one."
Cai Xiubin's eyes reddened as she looked at the words. "Oppa."
"Um."
"I'll cry if you write something like this."
"If you're going to cry, then cry. Once you're done crying, wipe yourself dry and move on to the next movie."
She smiled, and a tear fell from her eye. Su Yu reached out and caught it.
You owe me another tear.
"Remember that. Pay it back slowly."
In the afternoon, Shirley sent another message.
[Oppa, is the reshoot over?]
Su Yu glanced at her phone. [Not yet. Yoon Shi-yoon is using a VPN.]
[Is that taciturn guy still rummaging through things? Wasn't he doing a pretty good job?]
The director said the angle was wrong.
Your director is really strict.
Strictness is good. Without strictness, you can't produce good work.
Are you strict with me?
Su Yu stared at the line of text, his finger pausing for a moment. He knew she wasn't asking about filming.
[Not strict. Because you're not my actor.]
There was a moment of silence on the other end. Half a minute later, a reply came: "Then what am I to you?"
Su Yu thought for a moment, then typed: 【Good friends.】
She didn't reply. Su Yu put her phone in her pocket and looked up at the sky. The sky was blue, without a cloud.
That evening, Su Yu returned to the semi-basement.
He pushed open the door and went inside; water was still dripping from the ceiling. Drip, drip. He lay down on the bed and took out his phone. There was an unread message from Cai Xiubin.
Oppa, are you home yet?
【arrive.】
Oppa, I've read that line you wrote in my script so many times today.
Tired of seeing the same old thing?
No. The more I look at it, the more I like it.
Su Yu looked at the screen, a smile playing on her lips. 【Then you can watch it every day. Tell me when you get tired of it, and I'll change it.】
What to change?
Replace it with "You are the last one."
She sent an eye-rolling emoji. Then another message came: "Oppa, you're really something."
【What can it be?】
[She knows how to flirt.]
I'll only flirt with you.
She sent a smiley face. Then she sent another message: 【Goodnight, Oppa.】
Su Yu replied with two words: 【Good night.】