April 12, 2017
Seoul, South Korea.

It was a gorgeous spring day in Seoul. The late winter gloom of a week ago had melted away and the smell of blossoms and freshly budding shoots filled the air with a sense of new beginnings.

Nam Ji Hyun breathed in the fresh, morning air; marveling at how perfect spring could feel.  She was at an outdoor set to film a promotional trailer and they could not have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the breeze was softly blowing…

“Ah, it’s so cold. So, so cold…”

Choi Tae Joon cutely whines behind her, gripping a cup of coffee while huddled in his long puffer jacket. He shivers as a blast of air hits him. To emphasize his point he blows steam into the air and watches as it fogs up.

“My hands, they’re so cold,” he pouts holding them up for her to inspect. JiHyun laughs, knowing by now that his aegyo only goes so far. He was like that with everyone; man, woman, child, pets. Perhaps even inanimate objects.

She rubs his hands to warm them up, shaking her head slightly at feeling more like the older Noona. And speaking of noona/dongsaengs here comes her other boy.  Ji Chang Wook had spied them being all cozy near the coffee/food-craft tables and hurried over.

“JiHyun-ah, I need you to block the wind for me,” he playfully shuffles closer, pretending to hide behind her as he snuggles closely. She laughs. Ah… these two.

Anyhow, was it really that cold? The puffer jackets and shivering crew all around seemed to point out that it was; but she herself was feeling all warm and light-hearted inside.

The past few weeks had been some of her happiest times. It had been barely three weeks since she signed onto the project but with the flurry of media releases, poster shoots, script-reading  and filmings it had felt much longer. She should have been exhausted with the pace, but it felt good to be back at work and, who was she kidding, she was having a blast with the whole crew.

Director Park Sun Ho had been a very pleasant surprise. He was hilarious and the idea sketches for the promotional trailers had been spectacular. She loved the comedic vibe they were going for. There was the one with her lethal Taekwondo kick; the ‘live-moving’ retro campaign posters; and now this one, the Campaign Dance.

This last one was proving to be her favorite. As part of the promotion they were going to do a political campaign-style dance number right on the doorsteps of the National Assembly building. It was zany and colorful; fun and slightly insane. 

Earlier they’d been hard at work practicing dance moves and they had all cracked up at Chang Wook’s completely hopeless but adorable dancing.

“There it is…! that’s our Ji-Geu-Dok!!” Tae Joon had shouted out, howling with laughter at Chang Wook’s shuffling.

He was referring to the nickname Chang Wook's fans had given to his signature moves which roughly meant “The Creaking Ji [Chang Wook]”

It was amazing to her that Chang Wook, the shy guy from a few weeks ago, had been replaced by a light-hearted kid. In fact, that was perhaps the biggest surprise. Just shows, she thinks, you can spend years liking someone and have no idea at all what they’re really like.

In her mind she had always seen Ji Chang Wook the Star. He was the stylish man at the awards shows; the famous actor at the salon; the meltingly handsome lead on the screen.

But this, this Chang Wook was even better.

In the short time she got to know him, she had realized he was a mix of surprising opposites. Shy but silly; suave and glamorous one moment, yet an ordinary neighborhood Oppa the next. Playful, but when it came to work, he was 100% serious. He was exceedingly kind and she had soon come to realize, he was using his exuberance and jokes to make everyone around him more comfortable. How hard it must be for someone shy like him to do that.

She had hoped seeing him everyday and getting to know his ordinary quirks would fade away her starry-eyed crush. But, it wasn’t working. In fact, it was getting worse. Now, she had a whole treasure-load of simple, everyday moments to cherish. Like the way he needed coffee in the morning before he could say a coherent word. She would t ease him then about being Zombie Oppa. The way he would call his Omma to check in every once in a while. His exuberant love of Ramyun and Soondae Soup and his ability to consume an astonishing amount of food. How he would get cold easily especially during late night shoots. How he always made sure she and the others on the cast sat down to meals first; carefully taking care of everyone on the set. The way he would listen attentively when she talked. His fatal aegyo. All these things that made him Chang Wook she had carefully stored away. 

They’d developed a comfortable friendship. She, Chang Wook-Oppa and Tae Joon-Oppa were all pretty easygoing and more than anything loved to laugh. And so, the times when they were together felt so easy, despite long endless hours of shooting and the lengthy waiting in between.

Nara-Unnie also promised to be a great addition. The first time they met had been at the official script-reading session and the older girl had been shy at first. She was the only newcomer there who had never filmed a show before and JiHyun’s heart had really went out to her when she saw how Nara’s hands had been shaking. So she had invited Nara-Unnie over for practice sessions and as they laughed and chatted, it became obvious that Nara was a squishy sweetheart.  

By the time they all got together for this campaign video shoot, the chemistry between the actors and the crew had meshed together beautifully.

Ji Chang Wook smiled with glee as he slung one arm cozily around JiHyun. They were waiting for the dancers to take their places for the rehearsal and for PD Park and his assistants to show them the pacing. All around, everyone was focused on the stage set before them; but he was busy taking this moment to sneak in some time with JiHyun.

Step One of his plan was going very, very well.

Sure, they were still just co-workers; but he had a masterplan in mind. His attempts for them to get comfortable around each other seemed to be working. No one was suspicious at all. It was expected that the lead actors would try to be closer to make the on-screen chemistry believable. 

Step Two was to make her fall in love with him.

Step Three was to live happily ever after.

Step Four was to have cute babies and maybe another dog. But maybe that was also part of Step Three?

As cheesy as it sounded, he was dead serious about this girl. He'd never met anyone like her. Had never in his life felt so comfortable with another person before.

He could spend the rest of his life happily with days like these. Sometimes they talked; sometimes they sat companionably together with no words needed. No matter how ridiculous he was being, she would laugh joyously. On days he was exhausted and tired, she was ready with a comforting pat. He kept forgetting how much younger she was, for she was far more thoughtful than many of his same-age peers.

The conversations they had sometimes astounded him. Whether it was music or movies, their dreams or their past; the things she said or asked would make him think deeper about his own answers. Here was a girl who would never stop learning and searching or living life. And he wanted to see it all with her.

But first he had to get to Step Two. And how to get there was a harder question.

Chang wook had dated before, of course (though not as often as the press seemed to believe). And yet the mind and workings of a woman were still  a mystery to him. Until a few years ago he hadn’t even realized that Valentine’s Day required a special celebration. He’d gone to an all-boys high school and had been completely clueless about women. That, coupled with his shyness, had led to some truly awkward first dates in his college days. Then, as his career picked up, he found himself disappointed by the hanger-ons,  frustrated by the logistics of simply going out with a girl and eventually wary of the fame-chasing glamour girls.

A few years ago he had decided to focus on his career instead, finding companionship with his friends and family. Adopted a dog. But even he had to admit, it was lonely when it was just him and his fantasies. He didn’t want to be that way forever.

He didn't quite know how the magic should work when it came to falling in love. The movies made it look easy. Boy meets girl and vice versa.  They see each other and it's love at first sight. Or they bicker then fall in love. Or he rescues her in an epic adventure full of car chases, drug lords and vengeful stepmothers and they fall in love.

But in his real life, it never happened like that. He'd felt attraction to women before, of course. He was no saint. But attraction fizzled out pretty quickly once personalities clashed or life got too busy. The woman he felt he could spend his life with had been elusive.

Until now.

Here he was, head over heels with a beautiful girl. She was everything he had wanted, and then more. Funny, gorgeous, playful, kind, smart, mature. There were at least 101 reasons to love her and he didn’t want to screw this up.

Part of him wishes he could call Seo In Guk to talk. Aside from his longtime friend and manager, In Guk was the only one with whom he could confide some of his deepest secrets and desires. His friend had had a hard life growing up as well and they were joined in their ambition to be the best. Over the years this had led to many late night talks which didn't always come easy to men like them.

But unfortunately, In Guk was currently going through a rough time and Chang Wook didn’t feel right to burden him further.

Earlier that month, his friend had been surprisingly released from the training camp and sent home. The news was a shock to everyone and Chang Wook had immediately called to check on him. All he could get, however, was that In Guk had an old injury that he needed to recover from.  Beyond that his friend refused to say; and any mention of his days at the training camp would lead him to completely shut down.

Chang Wook was worried. Something bad must have happened to his friend. He could feel it, and the fact he felt helpness to do anything was frustrating.

A speaker starts blaring music, breaking him out of his solemn thoughts. JiHyun, who is still standing next to him, giggles as PD Park gamely tries to demonstrate the dance moves to the crew for the final rehearsals. Chang Wook looks down at her, feeling that joyous sound to the very bottom of his toes. It breaks through the melancholy he was feeling.

She starts cracking up even more as the PD exaggerates his moves until she is bent over with uncontrollable laugher.

Chang Wook can't help himself. Her joy is so infectious that he laughs along helplessly, arm still around her.  

He would do it. Step Two. 

He would make her fall in love with him.