WGM; fake a smile

It had been a week since the 'Find Your Husband' competition. Su Ji had placed 4th -- not that she particularly cared. She supposed it had something to do with her complete inability to figure out the riddle on her own. She did feel a bit bad, though. Jong Suk'd had to wait in that horrifyingly hot sauna room. If Su Ji were in his shoes, she probably would have passed out. So really, she had to give credit where it was due. Jong Suk had some toughness that his skinny frame didn't showcase right off the bat. It almost made her respect him more. Almost. She was still on the fence about the whole We Got Married thing and Madam Manager wasn't helping any.
 
After watching the first broadcast, Madam Manager had stormed into her room, face a tomato red. "What is this?" She demanded, shoving a printed article into Su Ji's face.
 
Su Ji stared at it blankly. The headline read: Rookie Actress, Bae Su Ji, Seems Different? Su Ji stared back up at Madam Manager after scanning the article.
 
"So?" She asked.
 
Madam Manger glared. "Don't 'so?' me, Su Ji. I TOLD you not to act like this," she gestured at Su Ji's disheveled appearance. "on national television! Articles are popping up left and right. You cannot keep this up. Next filming, you are GOING to change this."
 
"Oh, really? Are you going to shadow me now? I don't want you there."
 
"Too frickin' bad. You've lost your freedom until I can be sure I'll trust you again (and god knows when that'll be)."
 
Su Ji huffed and stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth. "Whatever," she muttered.
 
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
 
Su Ji only bared her chewed up chip filled mouth in reply. Madam Manager threw a slipper at her head.
 
"Get dressed. The camera crew said to meet at the park in a half-hour."
 
Su Ji merely belched in reply.
 
--
 
Jong Suk sat on the park bench, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. The air was a bit chilly, carrying with it the last vestiges of winter. The bright sun, however, warmed him somewhat.
 
He sighed and craned his head upward to absorb more of the sun's rays. He felt himself grow drowsy. Just when he felt like he was going to slip into a deep sleep, he was shaken awake.
 
He yelped and glared at whoever shook him awake.
 
"Su Ji?" He said, rubbing his eyes.
 
She grinned at him. "Of course it's me, silly~ Who else would it be?"
 
Jong Suk paused. Something was off with Su Ji's behavior. She seemed... weird. Granted, he'd only met her twice, but the Su Ji he'd first met was dramatically different from the one standing in front of him.
 
"Uh, yeah, how're you?" He asked.
 
She giggled. "I'm just great! I saw the cutest puppy today and I really wanted to pet it, but my manager told me that we were already late, so we couldn't stop and that really made me sad, but I guess it's okay because I can see you now and isn't it just beautiful out?" Her words strung together in one long breath.
 
Jong Suk briefly wondered if she'd hit her head. This was definitely not the Su Ji he'd met before. The girl in front of him was... well, scary.
 
Regardless, he smiled. "Yeah, it really is nice out, isn't it?"
 
Su Ji nodded like a bobble head. "I wish the weather could be like this all the time! I think I'd probably live outside!"
 
'This is going to be a long filming...' he thought to himself, trying to hold back his grimace.
 
Little did he know, Su Ji was thinking the exact same thing.
 
--
 
After a few hours of walking through the park, the PD instructed them to take a break.
 
"We need to change film," the main PD said.
 
The cameramen headed back to the production vans, leaving Jong Suk and Su Ji alone. Madam Manager approached Su Ji with a terse smile.
 
"I'm going to go get a coffee," she said. "Will you be okay by yourself?"
 
Su Ji smiled back at her. " Of course~ I'll be just peachy~"
 
"Good. I'll be back in 10 minutes."
 
And then she was gone. Once she was out of sight, Su Ji let a relieved sigh pass her lips. She ripped the headband out of her hair and pulled the heels off her feet, tossing them into the grass. She wiggled her toes and leaned her head back to bask in the sunlight.
 
"I thought she'd never leave!" Su Ji said.
 
Jong Suk merely stared at her.
 
"Hey, you want some cookies? I had them stored in my bag. I'm not supposed to eat 'em 'cuz Madam Manager is such a friggin' dictator," she stuck her tongue out in the direction Madam Manager had gone.
 
Again, Jong Suk stared at her.
 
Su Ji laughed awkwardly. "No? More for me, then."
 
"What is with you?"
 
"Hm?"
 
Jong Suk looked her straight in the eyes and said with all seriousness, "What. Is. Wrong. With. You."
 
Su Ji swallowed the handful of cookies she'd been eating and sniffed. "You'll have to be more specific. There are a lot of things wrong with me."
 
"I mean, what's wrong with you? First you act like this weird, annoyingly cheerful girl and now you're this laid-back, still weird girl that talks like a guy."
 
Su Ji smirked. "That's my image," she replied. "Or rather, that's the image Madam Manager wants me to have. On camera and set, I act the perfect dim girl. Off camera, you get this. I'm being punished, y'know."
 
"For what?"
 
"For acting like this on camera last week. Madam Manager did not like that. Nope, not one bit. So now she's hovering around me like a freaking hawk. This is my punishment for acting like myself."
 
Jong Suk chewed on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. It seemed plausible. His company had been trying to manage his image, but not to that extreme. He certainly had a lot more freedom than Su Ji did.
 
"So, you're just playing it up for the cameras?" He asked.
 
Su Ji nodded, shoving more cookies into her mouth. As she chewed, cookie crumbs dusted the corners of her mouth. Jong Suk noticed this with a small smirk. It was at this moment the production team came back.
 
"Alright then," he whispered in her ear. "I'll help you out a little."
 
"What do you--" Before Su Ji could finish her sentence, Jong Suk had leaned over and brushed the corners of her mouth with his thumb. The cameras trained on them hungrily.
 
"Aigoo, you're such a messy eater!" Jong Suk simpered.
 
Su Ji sat blankly for a moment before her mouth stretched into a too wide smile. With a small laugh, she said, "Whoops~ My bad~"
 
The two shared a secretive smile. It was then Jong Suk decided that maybe Su Ji wasn't so bad after all.
 
---------
 
Meh. Updated.
Not exactly where I wanted to go with this, but I'm too tired to care right now. ha