Chapter 2:

 

 

 

The episode opened with a view of an almost sparkling lobby of what looked like a hotel.

 

“Ohhhh! How pretty!” the women of the studio squealed.

 

“It’s really fancy, huh?” Jungmin asked Hwisoon.

 

“Where is that place? I want to go there!” Nayoung asked.

 

After a few more pan shots of the hotel, the camera settled on the hotel’s main entrance. The elegant glass doors opened, letting in Kwon Jiyong who was uncharacteristically dressed in a formal suit.

 

“Are they going to have their date there?!” Nayoung almost squealed in delight.

 

“He’s probably making up for their failure of a first date,” Hwisoon quipped in.

 

Jiyong stood straight, almost puffing out his chest, as he looked around the slightly busy lobby.

 

“Oooooh, he’s so handsome!” Miseon squealed, earning very eager nods from Nayoung.

 

Then, he leaps to the back of an arm chair.

 

“What is he doing?” Jungmin asked curiously.

 

The camera then showed a bunch of other cameras that probably didn’t belong to WGM. Behind the cameras were a rather abundant group of people who were all focused on the grand staircase in the middle of the room. 

 

“Actors ready?!” the director called to the top of the staircase.

 

Sparkling, faded, pink roses could be seen framing the next few scenes.

 

The camera showed Jiyong’s face, his mouth hung open in awe as he stared up at what the audience could only assume was the top of the staircase.

 

The camera then shifted to a pair of black heel-clad feet peeking out of a frilly black skirt before the view slowly climbed up to Cho Eunmin’s literally glowing face. The MCs could be heard prolonging their “oh”s enthusiastically as the camera re-introduced Eunmin as though she was Cinderella who just stepped into the ball. 

 

“Did she see him?” Nayoung asked excitedly.

 

The way her eyes weren’t looking into the camera suggested that she wasn’t aware of Jiyong and the WGM Crew’s presence yet but it was clear that the woman did not need eye-contact to catch people’s eyes.

 

“Ready!” Eunmin confirmed once the special effects had faded away and time was back to its regular pace.

 

“Okay! We will resume shooting in a few seconds,” the director informed her. Eunmin nodded before walking away from view.

 

 

“Today I’ve prepared a restaurant dinner for Eunmin-noo--” Jiyong cuts himself off, chuckling lightly at his mistake. “A restaurant dinner for Eunmin-sshi and I.”

 

“You just came in from Japan, right?”

 

“Huh? Well, yeah.”

 

 

 

Jiyong bit his lip in anticipation, excited to see his new wife act.

 

“1, 2, 3, ACTION!”

 

Almost immediately after the director called “action”, Eunmin ran back into view and hurried down the stairs. The way her lips were pulled into a tight frown and the tears she was furiously rubbing away showed that she was very upset, a sudden turn-around from her previous appearance in which she had seemed pretty calm.

 

The camera shifted to Jiyong who was suddenly frowning and craning his neck further to comprehend his wife’s sudden mood swing. 

 

“YAH! HEAJUNG!” a man’s voice boomed after her before the owner appeared at the top of the staircase and ran after Eunmin who, by then, was more than halfway towards the end of the stairs.

 

“LEE HEAJUNG!” the man yelled as he grabbed Eunmin’s arm, managing to catch up with her, and pulled her roughly back into his chest.

 

“LET GO OF ME!!! I HATE YOU!!!” Eunmin thrashed against her co-actor. She lets herself drop to the floor like a petulant child just to escape her partner’s grasp.

 

Jiyong’s frown was getting deeper and deeper as the filming progressed. He fidgeted in place in an attempt to calm himself down.

 

“Aigoo~ he’s concerned!” Nayoung cooed.

 

“Aigooooo~” Miseon agreed.

 

“She’s just acting,” Jungmin reminded both the two women and Jiyong who couldn’t hear him.

 

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” Eunmin chanted into her hands which were covering her face. She kicked her legs like a child having a temper tantrum, not even minding that she was wearing a very expensive gown.

 

“How could you do this to me...?” she sobbed while her partner could only stare at her, guilt overtaking his features.

 

“CUT!” the director yelled loudly causing all the tension that had unknowingly built up in the room to collapse. The male actor let out a sigh of relief, the guilt leaving his face along with the stiffness that had accumulated in his shoulders. Eunmin let out a similar reaction, letting her legs, which she had bent to emphasize her tantrum, fully fall to the ground as she leaned her head and torso against her partner’s legs. She let out a small sigh before proceeding to wipe off her tears.

 

His wife’s return to her normal state calmed Jiyong significantly, smiling and even almost falling onto his in relief.

 

“You worked hard!” the staff congratulated the pair as they began to pack up for the night.

 

“Thank you!” the two actors called back. The male actor then trudged to Eunmin’s front, offering his hand to her, probably to pull her up.

 

Whatever relief Jiyong had attained from his wife’s wellbeing was quickly wiped off his face when he saw this. 

 

Eunmin leaned back on her arms, staring at the hand for a few minutes as she tried to catch her breath.

 

It was when she reached out to take her partner’s hand that Jiyong finally decided to jump out from the armchair he was hiding behind.

 

“Eunmin-sshi!” Jiyong called both actors’s attention as he jogged away from his hiding place.

 

“Jiyong-sshi!” Eunmin cried in surprise, completely forgetting her partner’s outstretched hand at the sight of her virtual husband.

 

“Are you okay?” Jiyong asked, purposely ignoring male actor who had drew back his hand awkwardly, probably realizing that Eunmin has forgotten about him. Jiyong pulled Eunmin up by her elbows. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It was just acting,” Eunmin reassured him, smiling at his concern.

 

“You worked hard,” Jiyong congratulated her as he fussed over her, pulling back only when he was satisfied with her condition.

 

“Are you finished here?” he asked Eunmin, looking towards the packing camera crew.

 

“Yeah, that was the last scene for the day,” Eunmin confimed, a small smile creeping it’s way onto her lips. “You’re dressed rather fancily. Going on a date?”

 

“Yes. With Eunmin-sshi, actually, but you have to keep this from her. It’s a surprise,” Jiyong teased, causing Eunmin to laugh.

 

“Ahem,” the male actor made his presence known to the couple.

 

“OMO! A confrontation?! Is is going to be a confrontation?!” Nayoung exclaimed.

 

“Oh dear,” Miseon mumbled, her voice showing concern while her prying eyes showed curiosity.

 

“Ah, Dongsun-sshi,” Eunmin acknowledged with a small smile. Dongsun, the male actor, smiled back before letting his eyes wander to Jiyong who had put on a poker face and, rather than looking at him, was staring off to the side.

 

Eunmin noted her co-actor’s stare. “Ah! Dongsun-sshi, this is Kwon Jiyong.”

 

Dongsun bowed to Jiyong civilly. “Good evening, my name is Park Dongsun.”

 

“I’m Kwon Jiyong, Eunmin-sshi’s husband,” Jiyong introduced himself boldly with a bow of his head.

 

Dongsun blinked, unsure of how to react to that.

 

“Confrontation! Confrontation!” the men cheered happily.

 

“SHHHH!!!” the women hushed them, both focused on the screen.

 

Eunmin laughed at Jiyong’s borderline shameless introduction. “You did good work today, Dongsun-sshi. Rest up and see you tomorrow!” she bid him goodbye in a friendly manner.

 

“Ah, yes, tha--” but before Dongsun could even decide what he wanted to say--

 

“We should hurry, Eunmin-sshi. I made a reservation for 7pm,” Jiyong told his wife as he led her away from the dumbfounded Dongsun.

 

 

 

“No, I didn’t think of him as my rival,” Jiyong denied the claim coolly. “I didn’t think of him as anything, really. He didn’t stand out to me enough. He should work on that if he plans on being a successful actor.”

 

 

 

“Is that so?” Eunmin asked, amused by the situation. “Can you wait here for a few minutes, though? I’ll just change and we’re ready to go.”

 

“Sure, sure,” Jiyong nodded. Eunmin smiled sweetly at him and left to change. Jiyong watched her walk out of sight before standing straight and pretending not to see Dongsun who was still there and watching their exchange.

 

 

“So we’re going to eat here?” Eunmin guessed as she and her virtual husband walked to the hotel’s restaurant.

 

“Actually, yeah. Are you sick of hotel food already?” Jiyong asked, suddenly nervous as he didn’t really feel like screwing up their second date like he did at their first.

 

“Don’t worry. We only film in hotels. The food we ate, on the other hand, shouldn’t even be brought anywhere near hotels,” Eunmin reassured him as they entered the restaurant area, the aroma of delicious foods infiltrating their senses. “Aaaah, I’m so hungry~”

 

They were immediately led to slightly secluded table in the restaurant and served food the moment they sat on their seat.

 

“Wow, you really did prepare this time,” Eunmin complimented as the waiters laid various dishes on their table.

 

“It’s not very good to eat a lot during dinner so I didn’t order a big meal but I made sure that it’s got a lot resistant starches so you won’t get hungry through the night,” Jiyong explained smartly.

 

 

 

“I read in the internet that Eunmin-sshi’s really concerned with health-related matters so I thought she would appreciate a healthy but filling dinner,” Jiyong explained to the interviewer.

 

“Aigoo, so he searched the internet about her?” Jungmin said, tsking in disapproval.

 

“He should’ve waited and learned these sort of things about her by himself,” Miseon frowned.

 

“You researched about her?”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“...”

 

“People do this all the time, right? I mean, if the answers are in the internet, why not look, right?”

 

“...”

 

“Should I have... not...?”

 

“You shouldn’t have, you shouldn’t,” Nayoung nodded.

 

 

 

Eunmin hummed in satisfaction as she took a bite from her dinner. It wasn’t very hard to guess that she was impressed by Jiyong’s explanation and this made the young man smile proudly. His satisfaction, however, was short-lived.

 

“So... that Dongsun guy...” Jiyong started, suddenly remembering the events from earlier that evening. Truth be told, he didn’t really have much a problem with the guy. It’s just that he got close to his Eunmin in ways even he hasn’t been and Jiyong knew that the marriage was fake but that didn’t stop him from considering Eunmin his.

 

“Hm?” Eunmin asked, noting Jiyong’s change in mood and regarding him with calmness.

 

“Are you... close?” Jiyong asked.

 

“I work with him in a drama so I suppose we are, at some point,” Eunmin answered.

 

“Is he... a good actor?”

 

“For a newbie, yes,” Eunmin asked, her lips forming the first signs of a frown.

 

“Oh no, she’s getting irritated,” Miseon observed worriedly.

 

“Do you... like him?”

 

“AISHHH!” the MCs of the studio exploded.

 

“Really, this kid,” Hwisoon sighed. Even he was feeling sorry for Jiyong’s inexperience.

 

“Do you like that foreign girl from your music video, whose side you were caressing, in the way you’re implying?”[1] Eunmin countered coolly. 

 

“Of course not! That was work...” Jiyong trailed off as he learned the error of his argument by himself.

 

“Exactly,” Eunmin said, sipping her tea calmly.

 

 

 

“You seemed upset when G-Dragon started questioning you about your co-actor.”

 

“Well, at first I was but then I realized that Jiyong-sshi’s still at a stage in which he doesn’t know how to maturely deal with his jealousy so I let it pass,” Eunmin answered calmly.

 

“I see. Also, you mentioned before that you haven’t heard their songs so how did you--”

 

“I looked up some of his music videos when I got home after our first date,” Eunmin answered the interviewer’s unfinished question.

 

“Ah.”

 

...

 

“He seems to enjoy working with women quite a lot, doesn’t he?” Eunmin asked, a sort of coldness ringing from her words.

 

“Ah... haha....” Even the interviewer was uncomfortable with her mood.

 

 

 

“Oh, speaking of music videos,” Eunmin started before she began rummaging her purse. 

 

Jiyong looked at her curiously when she pulled out a phone which was different from the one he had seen with her in their previous meeting. 

 

“Smile~” she told him, holding her phone up to take a picture of him. Jiyong obeyed, albeit still a bit confused. He heard a click and lets go of his pose. He is surprised when he hears another click.

 

“Yah--”

 

“I never told you stop, did I?” Eunmin asked, continuing their little picture-taking session.

 

“But--”

 

“Yah Jiyong-sshi, your pictures are really coming out ugly. I wonder how much trouble your company goes through with such unphotogenic idols like you?”

 

“Yah! Who are you calling ‘unphotogenic’?!” Jiyong asked before striking a pose he must have considered y. Eunmin laughed and continued taking pictures while Jiyong did all sorts of poses.

 

“Alright, I think that should do,” Eunmin said, compressing her giggles. She pressed some buttons on the phone before placing it on the table while she dug into her purse.

 

Jiyong smiled as he saw his face on the wallpaper. His smile slipped from his lips and confusion once again took over his face when a “Goodbye~” message popped up on phone’s screen before it faded to black.

 

“Hey, Eunmin-sshi, your phone died,” Jiyong told Eunmin.

 

“Ah, no, I turned it off,” Eunmin replied.

 

“Oh? Wae wae?” Jiyong was really confused now and Eunmin pulling out the phone she had brought on their previous date did nothing to help. The new bride stared at her dead phone for a few seconds before a blush appeared on her cheeks.

 

“I’m not sure if I’m confident enough to say this...” she mumbled, suddenly unable to look her husband in the eye.

 

“Eh? Wae wae? What is it? Just say it,” Jiyong urged, wanting nothing more than to be cleared of his confusion.

 

Eunmin looked down and contemplated her options. She looked up at Jiyong but looked down again in what seemed to be embarrassment.

 

“You said it in your song, right?” 

 

Jiyong blinked. “What song?” he thought.

 

“I’ll still still be there~” Eunmin began to sing. She picked up her phone and showed it to Jiyong as she continued her song, “Kkeojin ni jeonhwagie~”[2]

 

“Oooooh!” the MCs said, finally understanding.

 

“So even people like Eunmin-sshi has this side to her too,” Miseon smiled. “That must have taken some effort in her part since she isn’t really the type to say those things.”

 

“Women are different to the man they like~” Nayoung explained to Miseon.

 

“So cute~” Jungmin and Hwisoon cooed.

 

Jiyong blinked, a light blush beginning to appear of his cheeks. Then, he dunked his face into his hand as he let out a choked laugh at the silliness of it all. 

 

Eunmin’s blush became darker as Jiyong’s laughter grew harder.

 

 

 

“So cute, so cute, so cute...” Jiyong chanted to himself as he hid his giggling face in his hands.

 

“So, how did you feel when Eunmin-sshi made that Heartbreaker reference?”

 

“So, so, sooooooooo CUTE,” Jiyong continued.

 

“He’s liking this too much!” Nayoung giggled at the sight.

 

 

 

“Don’t laugh so much...” she mumbled weakly.

 

“What is this? You want to be my heartbreaker?” Jiyong teased, wiping the tears that had accumulated in his eyes due to laughing.

 

“Well, I should have the power to be. I am your wife, after all,” Eunmin pouted, turning away from him indignantly though the impact of her anger came rather weak due to the blush that refused to leave her cheeks. Jiyong smiled wider.

 

“Did you buy this phone just for this purpose?” he asked, taking the phone into his hands.

 

“For some reason, when I heard your song, that line just really stuck to me so I thought it would be a nice gesture. But then I realized that my own phone is already full with some other important things so... yes, I did buy the cell phone for this purpose,” Eunmin explained, trying to hide her nervousness but horribly failing.

 

 

 

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Eunmin reflected, rubbing her neck. She was obviously embarrassed but maintained a small smile. “Ahh, that was so embarrassing.”

 

 

“Cute, cute, cute, cute, cute,” Jiyong continued to chant.

 

 

 

“You really filled that phone with me?” Jiyong asked, unable to help the grin that was threatening to become a permanent feature on his face.

 

“Let’s not talk about this...” Eunmin almost pleaded, picking up her fork, hoping to end the conversation.

 

“Please! It’s just a question,” Jiyong begged cutely.

 

“It has a lot of... well, you.”

 

“Can I see it?”

 

“No.”

 

“Pl--!”

 

“NO.”

 

Jiyong laughed but conceded defeat.

 

“But I haven’t done anything for you yet,” he suddenly realized.

 

“It’s alright, you don’t have to. I didn’t do this for you anyway, I did it for myself,” Eunmin spoke defensively, probably still embarrassed at the events that had transpired earlier.

 

“I’ll do something for you next time,” Jiyong stated sp resolutely that Eunmin just really had to smile.

 

“Okay. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

 

The smile sweetly at each other before returning to their food.

 

“At least they ended the conversation on a good note,” said Miseon, earning nods all around the studio.

 

“How sad,” Hwisoon sighed.

 

 

The next scene then showed Eunmin washing her hands in the hotel’s restroom. She retouched her powder silently before placing the compact back into her purse. Then she sighed and took out the phone she had used in her Heartbreaker reference. She stared at the gadget for a few seconds before sighing and touching her hand to her cheek.

 

“Aaaah~ how embarrassing,” she whined to herself.

 

Eventually, she packed up and walked out of the restroom and back to their table. Surprise was evident in her face when she found Jiyong sleeping on his crossed arms that he had placed on their table. Slowly, Eunmin approached the table with a small frown. 

 

“Oooooh no~!”

 

“That’s really bad manners,” Jungmin shook his head.

 

“Jiyong-ah,” she called once she was settled on her seat.

 

“Yah, Kwon Jiyong-ah,” she called again softly but loud enough for Jiyong to jolt up.

 

“Ah! Eunmin-noona,” Jiyong cried in surprise, his eyes slightly puffy from his nap.

 

“Are you alright?” Eunmin asked, displeased.

 

“Ah, yeah. I’m just a little bit tired from the plane ride,” Jiyong explained, trying to minimize rubbing his eyes as he was so tempted to do.

 

“Plane ride? You just came from outside the country?” Eunmin asked, her frown getting deeper.

 

“Yeah, from Japan. I’m really sorry about falling asleep, though,” Jiyong said, genuinely sorry for his blunder.

 

“We should go home, then, if you’re tired,” Eunmin stated.

 

“No, it’s alright! Let’s eat dessert, okay?” Jiyong was panicking now. He upset his wife and he knew it well.

 

“I don’t want to eat dessert. I want to go home,” Eunmin stated flatly, sipping her tea. Jiyong bowed his head sadly but conceded to her wishes.

 

 

 

“Did it upset you a lot that he was sleeping on your date?”

 

“Honestly, I was more upset by the fact that he forced himself even when he was tired,” Eunmin confessed unhappily.

 

“Ooooh, so that’s it,” Nayoung and Miseon nodded.

 

“I appreciate his efforts but a person should sleep when he is tired, no exception.”

 

 

 

Jiyong and Eunmin sat inside Jiyong’s company van. Eunmin was staring in front of her calmly but it was easy to see by Jiyong’s nervous fidgeting that the air around them was tense.

 

They were quiet for a few seconds, Jiyong not even daring to start a conversation as he knew that he was the reason behind his wife’s mood.

 

Eunmin sighed, aware of the tension herself, and looked at Jiyong.

 

“You should sleep,” she told him gently.

 

“No, I’ll see you off at your house. It’s the least I could do,” Jiyong replied, his voice soft and remorseful.

 

“But I want you to sleep,” Eunmin said with a small smile. “I’ll let you use my lap.”

 

Jiyong’s eyes widened, obviously unaware of the exact reason his wife had been upset.

 

“Really?” he asked with barely concealed excitement. Eunmin laughed softly before patting her thighs.

 

With a small, excited smile, Jiyong gently lied his head on his wife’s lap.

 

“Aish! This kid is too lucky!” Jungmin complained.

 

“Leave them alone already! They’re cute!” Nayoung scolded her fellow MC.

 

Jiyong had closed his eyes but the smile that refused to leave his lips made it obvious that he wasn’t really sleeping.

 

Eunmin laughed. “You’re not sleeping,” she told him, gently caressing his hair.

 

Jiyong immediately opened his mouth and pretended to snore, a smile threatening to pull at the corners of his lips.

 

“You’re still not sleeping,” Eunmin giggled, poking his cheek.

 

“I’m too... excited to sleep,” Jiyong pouted, eyes still closed.

 

“Please try. For me.”

 

“Okay...” Jiyong mumbled.

 

Only a few seconds needed to pass before he finally drifted off to dreamland. Eunmin smiled at him and combed her fingers through his hair the whole time.

 

 

“Jiyong-ah. Jiyong-ah, wake up. We’re at the dorm now,” the manager shook him awake. Jiyong rises from his position, torso sprawled on the car seat and feet on the floor. He stretched his arms before he realized that he was alone at the backseat, a state he wasn’t suppose to be in.

 

“Where’s Eunmin-noona?” he panicked.

 

“I brought her home already. She didn’t want to wake you so she let you sleep,” the manager explained. Jiyong groaned and let his head sink into the car seat’s cushion.

 

“She left you a note, though,” the manager informed him. The aforementioned note was barely out of his coat before it was grabbed by Jiyong who almost ripped it in his hurry to open it.

 

His eyes scanned the letter, a blush slowly creeping onto his cheeks. He puts down his arms and leaned back, giggling to himself shamelessly.

 

 

 

“I don’t want to read it to you. It’s mine...” Jiyong pouted, looking away from the interviewer.

 

“Ooooooh, how cute~” the women cooed.

 

“Already feeling possesive?” Miseon teased.

 

“You have to, it’s for the show....” Jiyong frowned but pulled out the note anyway.

 

“‘I’m sorry that I didn’t wake you up before I left but... you just really looked cute when you slept. Rest well...’” Jiyong interrupted himself, giggling giddily.

 

“‘Rest well...?’”

 

“‘Rest well... my Yeobo looks best when he’s healthy.’” By the time Jiyong finished the note, he was already giggling shamelessly into his hand.

 

 

 

Jiyong let his eyes slide close as he leaned his head back. It was no secret that he was very happy.

 

 

~//~

 

Author's Notes:

1. She's talking about GD and TOP's music video for Knock Out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5s2XFZxf6w

2. The line can be translated to: "I'll still, stll be there (inside your turned off phone)". So yeah. Hihi.

 

A thank you to victorialow and dandeli0n for being this fic's first subscribers. :)

 

And a thank you to YOU for reading~ (I cannot believe I said that, somehow...)

 

Comment and Subscribe~

 

-FunkEater