Chapter 07: Grandmother

"Thank you for everything," Avery said, standing on the platform at the hospital's front entrance with Aidan. 

"Are you sure you don't want me to send you back" Aidan asked her. Avery could sense his eagerness through his words, but she shook her head to decline his offer. "Then, I'll head out first." 

Avery watched as he stepped into the driver's seat of his car, smiling a bit when he nodded at her before the car he was in started to disappear from the vicinity of the hospital. 

She took a step forward with her phone in her hand when her agent called her. 

"Hello?" Avery said, looking around to see if any taxis she could ride were nearby. 

Su Tang's worried tone spilled from the speaker. "I've been trying to reach you since earlier, what happened to you? Did you go to the hospital? What did they say?"

"My phone was put away while I was being checked in the hospital," Avery easily lied to her. Her phone was not turned off or placed far from her, but she was unconscious the whole time inside the hospital. "I'm fine. It was just my fatigue overwhelming my body. They said I'll be fine after resting a few more days." 

Avery heard her agent release a sigh. She felt bad for lying to her, but the truth about her pregnancy could not be revealed to anyone. Aidan was another thing; he didn't seem like a person who would spill a stranger's secret to someone. He also didn't look like he liked to gossip. Most importantly, it was inevitable for him to find out that she's pregnant. 

She trusted Su Tang as the person who helped SERA during their days of peak and when trouble took over them like a storm, but she was an employee under JJ Entertainment. 

"I'm glad that you're fine. Actually, I didn't just call to check up on you…" Su Tang hesitated for a brief moment before she continued. "I met the casting director of the previous film in the party. He asked me if I could bring you to the set this week." 

Avery frowned. Her role for that film was done, and it was only one scene. "Why did he say?" 

"He wants to ask you to join the production team again. The author of the novel where the film was adapted from liked the way you portrayed the role, so she asked the casting director to ask you to check if you want to have more scenes."

She couldn't help but blush at the sudden praise. Avery didn't aim to be an actress; it was actually the agency's plan for her after the group SERA was put on hiatus for a long time. Since they deemed her face valuable, they wanted to take advantage of this chance to keep SERA fans engaged through her. 

Truth to be told, Avery had once thought of quitting the acting scene. The scathingly harsh criticisms and scoldings she received from each director when she first started out still haunted her. So, receiving a compliment from the author of the novel made her heart skip a beat. 

Taking a deep breath, reminding herself to not get overly excited over a compliment, Avery clenched her fingers around her phone. "How many scenes did they propose to give me?" 

She had to ask this question first. Depending on how many scenes they gave her, Avery might or might not accept their proposal. And as much as it sounds wasteful, she had to think of her own condition first. She didn't want to trouble the production team if another attack like the one earlier ruined everything.

"Three more scenes," her agent stated the number of scenes, and she couldn't help but feel relieved. It wasn't too little or too many. She could accept their proposal.

Avery shifted on her feet. "Alright, I'll accept it." 

…

There was no enemy harsher than the sun in summer. 

At least, that's how it seemed to Avery and the others who stood below a tent while several cameramen and production staff with headsets on their heads continued to stand under the cruel sun. 

"Haa… I'm surprised you even returned to this crappy production team." Sam Park, another actor-idol like Avery, wiped the fat beads of sweat from his forehead. He gave Avery a suspicious glance. 

Avery smiled. "What about you? I thought I heard you say you're going on a tour with your group members." 

"Tch. The tour was postponed." Sam kicked a pebble in front of him, irritated. "Erik ended up hurting himself after a fan chased him, so the agency had to decide to either continue the concert or wait for him to recover." 

Now thinking about it, Avery seemed to have heard about this incident a couple of days ago. Erik, another member of the same group as Sam, was followed by a die-hard fan. In order to escape, he had to hide in the public men's restroom. But who would have known the fan would follow him there? In the end, he came out of that place injured. 

Avery certainly didn't want information from him, but with the surrounding heat, she couldn't help but find something to talk about, something to take her mind off from the raging heat. "What about the fan?" 

"What about her?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, I don't know much since I wasn't there at that time. But I think she was released and blacklisted from our fan sites."

Their conversation ended on that note. There was nothing interesting to talk about, and the sun's heat was getting more and more unbearable. Just when everyone thought that the film crew wanted to roast them alive for dinner, the director called for a break and instructed everyone to meet at the nearby restaurant. 

After such a long day, Avery returned to the RV car. But she stopped getting inside it when she noticed a familiar looking woman sitting comfortably on one of the seats. 

As soon as their gazes met, the woman tilted her head at her in greeting. Avery nodded back before turning around to leave. Or at least, she planned to…

"Please stop. I have something important to tell you," the woman spoke as immediately as she sensed Avery's intention to leave. 

Avery's stomach tightened. "I have nothing to talk with you." 

The woman chuckled. "I supposed not to me. But you must know that your grandmother's health is deteriorating."

If the woman's plan was to take her attention, it was definitely working. Avery abruptly turned around to face the woman and asked, "What happened to her?" 

"You'll know once you return."