Prologue

31 December 2016, 7:45 AM

“Stop staring at me.” She couldn’t help but smile as she heard him murmur in his half-conscious state.  Even without opening his eyes, he could always tell when she was staring at him.  She propped another pillow underneath her head to get a better view of his face, his eyes, his lips.  She had been awake for almost half an hour, trying to stay as still as possible as she admired the Adonis snoring lightly next to her…in her bed, in her house.  No…that’s not right.  It’s not her house…it’s their house.  This is the reason why she bought the place, why she had discretely dragged him around half of Seoul for 10 months on the house-hunting search from hell, as he called it, before settling on this place, with its security, its privacy, its exclusivity. 

Her thoughts turned back to the sleeping figure before her.  She knew that he had had a very long day on the set of his movie Battleship Island.  She remembered seeing the nightstand clock registering 3:30 AM as she heard him come home and climb into bed next to her, not even bothering to take off his clothes.  It took her few minutes to get him into sweatpants and a t-shirt so that he could at least sleep comfortably.  Now, barely 4 hours later, she had to get up to take care of some business, but she wanted to let him get as much rest as possible before they both had to be at the KBS Awards later that evening.  There was no doubt that their drama Descendants of the Sun would win everything in sight at the ceremony, but they still had to show up and thank the fans for their unwavering and unconditional support.  She had learned early on in her career that those were the folks who really mattered…not the studio bosses, not the management firms, certainly not the so-called critics.  It was the fans who had made her career, and his, a success, and for that she was forever grateful.

“What time is it?” He asked as he snuggled closer to her.

“Go back to sleep, it’s still early.  I’ll wake you in a few hours.” She whispered, bringing her left hand to caressing his baby-face features and giving him a soft kiss on the forehead, eliciting a contented smile from her sleeping prince.  She lightly traced her fingers around his chin, up his cheeks, and lightly touched his eye brows.  An amused smirk crossed her lips as she felt the fuzz that passed for his hair these days.  He always had the problem of looking much younger than his 31 years, but the extreme buzz cut that he was sporting for this movie made him look like a teenager again.  As she moved her fingers, the pale sunlight coming through the window briefly made the sparkle on her ring finger shine all that much brighter.  She paused, admiring the ring that she had not taken off ever since he had asked, and she had answered, six days earlier in Paris.  She continued to softly trace the features of his face, still in awe that he belonged to her, she belonged to him, they belonged to each other.  Even now, after everything that has happened in the past 5 years, she still can’t quite believe that they are where they are.

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

31 December 2016 9:45 PM

‘The day had been long, but rewarding,’ Song Hye Kyo thought to herself as the KBS Awards ceremony was drawing to a close.  There was only one award left to be handed out, and she was already looking forward to the reunion party for the cast and crew of Descendants of the Sun later that evening.  Truth be told, she could barely pay attention to the happenings onstage given the man next to her had been trying his damnedest all evening to distract her and get her to laugh.  He had completely broken protocol earlier in the evening by insisting that he sat next to her, instead of across from her, at the table.  They knew that they would be the target of jokes this evening and were happy to play along, but if the world only knew what truth.  She and Joong Ki had been able to keep everything completely private until now, but that will change in the new year.  She was not going to hide any longer; she was ready to shout from the rooftops of her love, her devotion, her adoration, for the man sitting next to her right now.

“And the Daesang Award goes to…our Song-Song couple!  Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo!”  He heard Jo In Sung and Park Shin Hye call out, and Joong Ki smiled happily as he helped his leading lady out of her chair and toward the stage.  He patiently played second fiddle to his Goddess as they accepted the Daesang trophies and flowers from the presenters.  He patiently waited as he heard the thunderous applause die down and Hye Kyo give a heart-felt thank you speech to the audience, both live and at home.  And then he approached her…with Jo Il Sung moving in right behind him to exchange a microphone for the trophy and the flowers that were in his hands, just the way they had rehearsed it earlier in the day.  And then he knelt on one knee before her, not able to control the smile on his face as he saw her shocked face.  At precisely 9:53 PM that night, the entire Hallyu world exploded.