Ep. 2: The first date

“So, Yugyeom, can you tell us why you agreed to do this program? It’s not exactly a show with an easy concept, putting two same celebrities together as a married couple, and I’m sure, as an idol, it must have been difficult to make the choice to come on such a show.  But I heard you agreed almost immediately once you got the offer. Any reasons why?”

Yugyeom stares at the floor for a while, before he looks into the camera. “Well, as some of you might know, I’m from HOT5. One my members, Mark, recently came out as gay to the public. He has always wanted to present himself as truthfully as he can to his fans and the public, which included his ual orientation. I’m glad he’s able to do that now that he’s 31 years old and HOT5 is established enough as a group. Our fans have been supportive so far, and when I heard about Wedded! and its concept, I thought coming onto the show would help show my support for Mark as well. So when I actually got the offer to appear on the show, I agreed immediately.”

Part of Yugyeom’s interview from last week had been uploaded as a preview clip for the first episode that is being released tomorrow, and it had gone viral. Jinyoung’s lost count of the number of times he’s been told that he got lucky with who he was paired with for the show, or the number of times he’s been tweeted to by fans (mostly from HOTTIE5, the HOT5 fans) about it. He hadn’t kept up with the social media buzz about it, but his manager had told him on the way to today’s shoot that it’s such a hot topic these few days that Jinyoung’s name is actually one of the popular search terms on Naver and Daum.

“It’s good publicity,” his manager had said. “Maybe we’ll get some acting offers soon.” Jinyoung had nodded in reply, but he had felt numb, not entirely sure why he didn’t (still doesn’t) feel very good about the whole thing. Maybe it’s because he’s just riding off the fame of Kim Yugyeom. Or maybe it’s because he doesn’t have as glamourous a reason why he’s doing this show as Yugyeom did. Or maybe, maybe he’s still not come to terms with the fact that he’s being paired with Yugyeom, a face he hasn’t seen since he was 23.

He tries not to think about it as he nears the area where the cameras are already set up. Jinyoung spots a figure sitting on the bench, probably Yugyeom from the way he sits, slightly slack posture with a head of freshly dyed maroon hair. It was a dark brown the last time they filmed, Jinyoung recalls, not that he had taken the effort to remember. Of course not. He pulls his coat tighter around his body as he walks into the camera’s view, putting on a slight smile.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Jinyoung,” Yugyeom smiles. It makes his face look younger, though he doesn’t really look his 27 years to begin with. In fact, Yugyeom looks almost the same as he did when he was 20. Jinyoung tries not to remember how Yugyeom had looked then, the face he had made the last time Jinyoung had saw him at that age, focusing instead on Yugyeom’s nose so he won’t have to look into his eyes.

“You dyed your hair a different colour,” Jinyoung says, because he figures it’ll be rude to immediately ask what they’re doing today. He picks up a few strands between his fingers without fully realizing what he’s doing, lightly the hair which feels rougher than they look. It’s only when Yugyeom tilts his head up slightly to look at him does Jinyoung realize he’s probably not supposed to just go around touching Yugyeom. Putting the lock of hair down quickly and ignoring how it looks out of place on Yugyeom’s carefully tousled hairdo, Jinyoung mutters, “It’s not good for your hair you know, constantly changing colours.”

There’s a short laugh before Yugyeom replies, “Well, after so many years of bleaching, it just feels rough no matter what I do, even if I leave it undyed.”

Jinyoung thinks that’s the end of it, and he’s getting ready to ask his original question of what they’re doing on the date – this episode of filming, not a date, he corrects – when Yugyeom runs a hand through Jinyoung’s hair. He freezes, until Yugyeom comments, “Yours feels really soft. I guess not drowning your hair in chemicals really does make a difference. Did you always leave your hair black?”

“...I dyed it brown once or twice,” Jinyoung answers after overcoming his surprise, slightly shaking his head so Yugyeom would move his hand. He does. Jinyoung follows the movement of Yugyeom’s hand as it slides away from his head, expecting it to travel to Yugyeom’s pocket for warmth, but instead it is placed in front of him.

“Want to hold hands?”

Jinyoung makes the mistake of glancing into Yugyeom’s eyes instead of keeping his gaze on Yugyeom’s nose, and he almost splutters when he realizes that Yugyeom’s actually asking sincerely. Jinyoung contemplates saying no, thinking he might be able to get away with it if he acts coy for the cameras, but Yugyeom doesn’t give him time to reject, picking Jinyoung’s hand up by himself after there’s no answer for too long. The grip’s strong enough that Jinyoung doesn’t get loose when he tries to pull slightly, and Yugyeom grins.

“Come on, let’s go for our date.”

“What do you think about your new husband?” the PD asks from behind the cameras.

Jinyoung blinks a few times, contemplating his answer before he speaks, “He’s… not who I’ll have expected.” That much is true, at least. He gives a short laugh, trying to diffuse the tension before he adds, “I mean, I’m just surprised that my husband is Yugyeom. He’s really popular and I didn’t think I’ll be paired with someone like that, you know.”

He thinks for a bit more, before he says, “He seems caring though, and to be honest he’s quite cute. , did I say cute? I mean good looking. I shouldn’t use the word ‘cute’ on him when I told him not to use it on me, right?”

They’re in an accessory shop, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’re here for.

“Are we getting couple rings?” Jinyoung asks, wondering if Yugyeom had planned today’s date beforehand, because he looks too happy, almost smug. But honestly, even with all his popularity, Yugyeom’s not an arrogant kid, and Jinyoung can’t imagine him being smug, so he assumes it’s just Yugyeom trying to contain his grin. It’s pretty likely, given the way Yugyeom’s excitedly peering at the display here and there, dragging Jinyoung along because he still hasn’t let go of his hand. If it wasn’t so cold, Jinyoung would have gotten damp palms 10 minutes ago, but right now, his hand clasped tightly by Yugyeom’s slightly bigger one just feels nicely warm, and he stuffs his free but much colder hand into his pocket.

“Yes, I wanted something special so we can think of each other even when we’re not filming,” Yugyeom answers, cheeks colouring slightly when he says