Kate

                I swallowed hard as I pushed the door open to studio 10 where Andrew’s taping for a drama. The room was huge with lots of cameras and big lights all focused at the center, where the main set was arranged into some kind of a living room. People were all walking back and forth and past me. They must be the whole crew.

                I fixed my eyes on the set where a scene was being shot. The actors weren’t familiar to me. Truth is, I don’t really know lots of Korean celebrities here, only Andrew. Speaking of him, where could he possibly be? I couldn’t find him anywhere. I looked around and there was no Andrew in sight. Maybe he was already done filming.

                Suddenly, I got startled when someone bumped into me. I jerked away at its impact. A guy with thick eyeglasses on turned around to face me. He seemed older than me. I sensed that he’s one of the writers here or something. I bowed my head to say sorry. Then, he walked away.

                I sighed. What do I do now? He’s not here. Maybe I should just leave it here. But, I didn’t know anyone here. Darn! I gave up. I marched my way to the door. As I was about to pull it, the door suddenly opened. I was shocked when I saw Andrew facing me. He seemed pretty shocked as well. “Kate-ssi, what are you doing here?” he asked.

                “I… I just wanted to give you this,” I said, handing him the paper bag.

                He received it. “What is this?”

                “Food.”

                He laughed. “Ne (Yeah). I know it’s food but why are you the one giving me this?” he asked. “Aunt Ivy usually sends me this.”

                “Uh… I volunteered to bring it here to you,” I stammered.

                He stared at me. “Wae (Why)?”

                Why did he have to have so many questions? “I… think you better go back in your set,” I said. “I’ll go back now.”

                I was about to step forward but then his hand stopped me. I froze. His hand gripped my wrist. I didn’t look at him. Why was I suddenly feeling anxious?

                “Kate-ssi, don’t you wanna stay?” he asked.

                I turned around to face him. “Wae (Why)?”

                “We’ll eat this together after my last scene. Is that alright with you?” he asked, smiling.

                Why was he seriously being this nice to me? I mean, I knew he was really nice ‘cause it would be surprising if he weren’t since his dad and mom are nice. I waited for my brain to get for an answer. Why was it taking it so long?

                “Kate-ssi?” he called my attention.

                “N-ne (Y-yeah) alright,” I finally said.

Andrew

                After the last take, I said my thanks and goodbyes to the staff and crew in the set. Kate was motionlessly looking at me on one corner of the room. When she saw me glancing at her, she bowed her head. I smiled at her innocence. I was about to approach Kate when my manager, Nathan Kim suddenly called me. “Andrew-ssi, who is that girl?” he asked.

                “Her?” I asked back pointing at Kate.

                He nodded. “You know you can’t date anyone right now especially after the rumors that went out last time. Remember?”

                Yeah of course I remembered. Someone actually wrote an article saying that I was just using Casey Park, my co-star in one of my shows, just to sell out my movie which was not really true. The media is watching my every move so I don’t have any freedom right now. I have to follow their orders.

                I turned to Nathan who was still waiting for my answer. “Manager, we’re not dating. Besides, you know what kind of girls I like and she doesn’t qualify. You know that, right?”

                “Ne. Arasso. Just be careful on everything that you do,” he warned me.

                “I will,” I said. Then, he left me.

                I made my way towards the corner where Kate was standing. She gave me a quick smile when I reached her. “Sorry to keep you waiting Kate-ssi. Kaja (Let’s go)!” I said, as I led the way out of the building.

                As we walked at the hallway, she seemed amused of everything around the building. I laughed a little at her expression. She looked at me and frowned. “Wae?” she asked.

                “Ani (Nothing). I just noticed that you seem to like everything around here,” I said.

                She smiled. “Mianhe (Sorry). I’m just not really used to these kinds of places. Everything seems so precious and fragile.”

                “You’re right. I had the same feeling when I first went here.”

                “How is that possible? You’re used to living a luxurious life, Andrew-ssi,” she said.

                I stopped at what she said. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to live in my own apartment. I wanted to have a life away from my parents’ shadows – a life that is normal and ordinary. But they wouldn’t allow me to, unless I could prove them that I could live my life on my own.

                “Andrew-ssi, mianheyo. I didn’t mean to offend you…” she paused, when someone spoke from behind us.

                “Andrew-ssi, you’re finished taping already?” the guy who poked me asked.

                I turned around and saw Alex Lee, my co-star and friend smiling at my face. He looked at me then he turned to Kate. “Who is she?” he asked.

                “Uh… Alex-ssi, this is Kate. Kate, this is my hyung(older brother) Alex,” I said to Kate. “He is also an artist here.”

                Alex punched me on my arm. “Yah. I already told you don’t call me ‘hyung’. You make me feel like I’m really old.”

                Kate laughed a little. So did I. She bowed her head to Alex. “Nice to meet you, sunbae (senior).”

                Alex retorted. “Just call me oppa, Kate-ssi.”

                Kate smiled shyly. “N…ne oppa.”

                He smiled at her then turned to me again. “So, where are you two going?”

                “We’re gonna eat. Wanna come?” I offered.

                “Ani. I still have a show coming up later. But, thank you anyway,” he said. “I’ll go ahead.”

                “Ne,” I said, as he left.

                “Let’s hang out sometime, Kate-ssi,” he managed to say out loud before disappearing in front of us.

                I turned to Kate who was still standing still. “Kwenchana (Are you alright)?” I asked her.

                “N… ne,” she said.

                “Kaja (Let’s go)!” I said, as I led the way out.

Kate

                As Andrew drove the car, I couldn’t help but feel awkward. I couldn’t stay still. I couldn’t think straight. The aircon inside the car made it even worse. My body was freezing in the cold. The temperature here in Korea is already less than zero and yet they still have this aircon in their cars.

                Suddenly, I heard Andrew speak. “Kate-ssi, I’m sorry about Alex earlier.”

                “Waeyo?” I asked. Why was he apologizing?

                “He acted a bit cool. He even told you to call him oppa,” he said.

                “That’s okay. He’s kind of nice,” I said, which was true. And to think that his face was like an angel who has fallen from the sky was a big bonus. I thought Andrew was already gorgeous but after seeing Alex oppa, I had a sudden change of heart. J

                He nodded at my remark. “Ne (Yeah). He is. He’s like an older brother to me. We’ve known each other since we’re kids. My dad is the doctor of his mom.”

                I just nodded. I didn’t know what else to say.

                “So, where do you wanna eat?” he asked me.

                “Uh… anywhere. I don’t really know the places here so… “ I paused.

                He nodded. “Arasso.”

                After how many minutes of driving, we arrived at a strange place. I stepped out of the car and saw that we’re in some kind of a bay port. Andrew led the way as we approached a cemented bench facing the bay. I looked around as we took a seat. There were no other people here but us.

                I got startled when he said, “I usually go here when I’m not in a good mood.”

                Wow! I never thought we’d have something in common. He goes here at the port while I go to the green park at our university. “Why did you want to go here now then? Are you in a bad mood?” I asked, looking at him.

                His eyes were fixed at the bay. Then, he smiled. “Ani (No). It’s because we can’t go to a place where people can see us.”

                I smiled. “I understand. You’re a celebrity.” But, I knew and I felt that there was something inside him that he doesn’t want me to know. “You can always tell me your problems Andrew.”

                He faced me with a stunned look. I smiled. “Let’s eat,” he said, trying to shift the serious conversation into a lighter one. “What did Aunt Ivy cook for me?”

                I opened the lunch box. It was a Korean dish. “I don’t know what this is.”

                He laughed. “This is a bibimbap. Here, eat,” he said, handing me a pair of chopsticks.

                I slowly held the chopsticks in my hands. How could I possibly eat the rice with this thing? I swallowed hard. Andrew looked at me. “Why are you not eating?” he asked.

                “Uhm… I don’t… I mean, I can’t eat with this sticks,” I confessed.

                “Here, I’ll show you,” he said, as he demonstrated me how to hold the chopsticks.

                I imitated him but it was no use. We did this for about ten minutes and I still couldn’t get it so I just gave up. I used my bare hands to eat. He laughed. “This is better than using chopsticks Andrew-ssi. You should try it.”

                “But… my hands are not clean.”

                “Oh come on! Just a few bacteria won’t harm you, you know,” I said, as I grabbed his chopsticks and put it down.

                He tried to grab a little rice and placed it in his mouth. He chewed it as he nodded his head. “Mmm… it’s good,” he said.

                I smiled. “I told you.”

                After eating, we stayed for a while and enjoyed the view. There was again an awkward silence between us. I could almost hear our breathing. I glanced at him. His eyes were closed. Maybe he’s thinking about something. I wondered what it was.

                Suddenly, he spoke. I straightened up from my seat. “Have you ever felt like you wanted to be free and just do whatever you like?”

                I was stunned at his question. Actually, I’ve never felt that way before. I was always free my whole life. “No,” I answered.

                He opened his eyes and looked at me. “You’re lucky, Kate-ssi,” he said. “It’s tiring living my life.”

                “How can you say that? You have a wonderful life,” I said.

                “I couldn’t say no to my parents. I always have to follow what they want. My life as a celebrity is the only thing that they approved of. They wanted me to run the business. I’m glad my noona (older sister) had the courage to run away and live her life on her own,” he explained with a serious look on his face.

                “You’ve never seen her since then?” I asked.

                He shook his head. “I knew that she hated dad because ever since then, he was controlling our lives,” he paused. “I hope she’s doing well now.”

“I’m sure she misses you all a lot too,” I said. “I know I will if I were her.”

“So you missed your family as well?” he asked.

I nodded.

                “I remembered the first time I saw you at Kona Beans. You were talking on the phone. I guess it was your mom.”

                “Yeah. The main reason I went here is because of your dad. The other reason was…” I paused, thinking of whether or not I should mention about the cherry blossoms.

                “What?”

                “Uhm… I really wanted to see the cherry blossoms.”

                “Jincha?” he asked surprised. “Then you should have gone to Japan then.”

                Now that he mentioned Japan, I suddenly remembered about the excursion. “Our class is having a trip to Japan. Sadly, I can’t go.”

                “Waeyo?” he asked.

                “I… don’t have enough money to go.”

                “Is that your problem?”

                “No not really. I mean, it’s alright if I can’t go. I’ll just have to wait till next year to see the cherry blossoms here in Korea,” I said.

                “Kate-ssi, I can help you go.”

                “No I don’t want to owe you Andrew.”

                “You don’t have to Kate. I’m helping you because I want to.”

                ∞∞∞

A/N: Sorry for this boring chapter. I’ll try to make it more interesting on the next chaps to come. Hope you’d continue to support this. Thank YOU for those who are really inspiring me to write even more...

Next chap: The Prince’s Associates 

-theLEXical-