Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know

“Yoo Jung-ah? Gwaenchanha?”

It was past midnight and the crew was getting ready to leave the set. He was about to leave, too, and was looking for Yoo Jung to say goodbye, when he found her curled up in the corner of the dressing room. She was sitting alone, in the darkness, clutching her phone in one of her hands.

As soon as he approached her, he could see that she had been crying. They hadn’t filmed any sad scenes that day, so he knew that her tears were real, and it broke his heart.

“Bo Gum Oppa?”

She quickly wiped her cheeks and put on a bright smile before turning around to face him. “Are you going home now, Oppa?”

Bo Gum couldn’t be fooled, though. He had seen her tears and he was now utterly worried about her, feeling her pain as if it was his.

“Yoo Jung-ah, you’ve been crying. Please tell me what’s wrong.” He sat down next to her and instinctively cupped her face in his hands as he wiped the remaining tears with his thumbs.

“Oppa, gwaenchanha.” She looked down, as if she wanted to cry again, but held it in. “I just saw some awful posts online, and it made me feel bad. That’s all. Sometimes people think I won’t read what they write about me...but I do.” She looked him straight in the eye and smiled, this time more confidently. “Anyway, I’m fine now. It’s nothing new, right?” Yoo Jung wrinkled her nose as she smiled and Bo Gum sighed with relief.

“Gwaenchanha, Yoo Jung-ah.” He let go of her face but hugged her instead. He rested his face on top of her head and smiled when he felt her clinging onto him as well. “Just remember it’s okay to feel bad about these things. We’re human, and we can feel sad, too. It’s okay if you’re not always smiling.”

Yoo Jung softly pulled away and looked up at him as she held both of his hands.

“Gomawo, Oppa. For worrying about me.” She looked down at the ground and up at him one more time. “I usually don’t like people to see me cry, but with you, it’s okay. Jinjja gomawo.”

Bo Gum squeezed her hands and gave her a warm smile. He felt better because she was feeling better again. They said goodnight with another hug and went their separate ways. On his way home, he could only think about how strong Yoo Jung was, every new thing he was learning about her and how much his feelings for her were changing him for the better.

It was most amazing, however, how his happiness now depended entirely on hers.