13 March 2013 1:30 PM

“Sit and eat.”  Jo In Sung heard the command clearly as he made his way downstairs from the guest bedroom and into the kitchen.  Earlier, the memories came flooding back to him when he jerked awake and momentarily didn’t recognize his surroundings.  And then he remembered…the kiss…how he had lost control…and how she had kissed him back.  He had been unsure at first, but when he started to pull out of the kiss, Hye Kyo pulled him back into it.  The move, her insistence, was so subtle that no one else knew…but he had felt it.  That’s why he had to leave, to run out without an explanation to anyone.  And then, somehow, after driving around for hours, he had ended up here, at her mother’s house.  As always, she had taken him in.  She held him as he sobbed, trying and failing miserably to explain what had happened.  By the time he had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day’s travails, the first rays of sunshine were slowly creeping through the windows.  It was now well past noon, and he knew he a few messes to clean up when he showed up again on the drama set tomorrow.  Luckily, he wasn’t needed on the set today…because he didn’t think he could handle it.  He needed time to calm down, to gain control again.

“I’m…I’m sorry again for coming here,” In Sung found himself apologizing once more.    

“Not another word.  I have told you, you are always welcome in my home.  There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Hye Kyo’s mother countered as she turned around and faced him.  “Now sit and eat.  You’re getting too skinny again.”

Before In Sung could reply, the doorbell sounded. 

“That must be Kwang Soo.  He called this morning after you had fallen asleep.  He was frantic because he couldn’t find you last night.  I told him you were here but not to come until this afternoon because you needed some rest.  And he’s being useful and bringing you a change of clothes.”  Hye Kyo’s mother said as she moved to let the new guest into the house.  Kwang Soo had been beyond panicked when he couldn’t locate In Sung in all of Seoul the night before.  He had held off calling Hye Kyo’s mother for as long as possible and was so relieved when she told him that In Sung was sleeping in her guest bedroom. 

“What the frak happened last night!?!” The words exploded out of Kwang Soo’s mouth as soon as he saw In Sung.  “I told you not to do that scene…I warned you that it was not going to end well….”

“Lee Kwang Soo…” Hye Kyo’s mother admonished quietly.  “Leave my sawi alone.  He will explain if he chooses to. Don’t pressure him.”

So Kwang Soo waited for In Sung to finish eating.  There were so many questions unasked, so many answers needed, but Kwango Soo was not going to risk incurring the wrath of Hye Kyo’s mother again. 

“She kissed me last night.” In Sung finally said, barely above a whisper.  “Hye Kyo kissed me last night.”

“That’s…that’s impossible!” Kwang Soo was too stunned to say anything else.

SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK | SJK SHK |

14 March 2013 9:50 AM

“Oppa…do you have a minute?”  Hye Kyo asked anxiously as she stepped into In Sung’s dressing room.  The events of the previous 48 hours were still playing in her mind.  The kiss…In Sung running off the set and into the night, disappearing completely…In Sung showing up on the set this morning, bright and chipper as if nothing had happened.  She had no idea what had come over her or him, but she felt that they needed to talk about it before filming another scene together.

“Sure…what’s up Woody Woodpecker?” In Sung answered, earning a slap on the shoulder from Hye Kyo.  She was glad that he seemed to be back to his old self again, but she also has known him long enough to recognize that he used humor and sarcasm as a defense, a shield whenever he didn’t want anyone to get too close.  And she also knew that he rarely used it on her…which made her all the more careful in choosing her next words.

“About what happened the other night…the kiss scene,” Hye Kyo began.  “I…I think I owe you an apology.  I…I got carried away with the emotions.”

“Don’t worry about it,” In Sung replied, almost too quickly.  He had managed to get himself under control, barely, by the time he showed up for work earlier that morning, but Hye Kyo was not making things any easier by wanting to do a post-mortem about it. “We both got carried away.  I guess Kyu Tae was right to shoot it all in one take.  The crew would have shouted ‘get a room’ at us if we had done another take of that kiss!”

“Are…are you sure?” Hye Kyo pressed.  “You…you ran out of here pretty abruptly….”

“It’s fine,” In Sung said reassuringly.  “The truth is, I had a migraine that entire day and it just kept getting worse.  I left in a hurry because I was getting nauseous and needed my migraine medication, which was at home.  Besides…I didn’t want the rumor to start that a kiss from the Goddess Hye Kyo made me throw up!” 

Relieved, Hye Kyo let his last remark slide without the obligatory playful slap.  Hye Kyo thought everything was resolved, at least for about 2 hours.  And then In Sung had to film the high stakes poker game scene, where he had to threaten his nemesis, and where he accidentally slammed the glass of scotch down too hard on the table, breaking it and having the shattered glass slicing into his hand.  Hye Kyo had not been present when In Sung had injured his other hand earlier in the month, but she was a witness to this latest injury as she was watching from behind the scenes.  And as the crew rushed to attend to In Sung, the sight triggered something in Hye Kyo’s mind…but she didn’t know what.  A bleeding In Sung was something that she should have remembered.  It was something that she needed to remember, but the memory was just too far beyond her reach…at least for now.