Min Ho knew he had to see Shin Hye today. It hasn’t been an hour since her plane landed from Hong Kong but he was already on his way to her apartment. He was leaving for China tomorrow, which means he and Shin Hye only had today to meet. He looked at the stuffed animal on his passenger seat and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see her.

Shin Hye opened the door with a bright smile. She looked down and saw Min Ho holding the stuffed tiger in front of him.

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s me,’ he replied.

She furrowed her brows. ‘Aren’t you a lion? I mean Minomi is a lion. Not a tiger.’

‘But Kim Tan is a tiger. I like being a tiger more,’ he smirked as he took two steps inside her place and closed the door behind him. He craned his neck and moved side to side, examining her place. ‘Where’s Joon hyung? I thought he’d be here.’

‘He needed to get something from the agency.’

As soon as he heard that, Min Ho immediately wrapped his arms around Shin Hye and kissed the top of her head. ‘I don’t think I can be away from you for too long anymore.’

She hugged him back and buried her face on his chest. ‘Don’t get any ideas. Joon oppa will be back soon,’ she replied, her words muffled by Min Ho’s sweater.

He let her go and kept a hand on her arm. He leaned in, ‘as Kim Tan would say, we can always lock the door.’

Shin Hye chuckled. ‘That won’t work, Joon oppa knows my pass code.’ She grabbed Min Ho’s hand and walked to the couch. They sat beside each other with barely any space between them. ‘I really missed you, oppa,’ she said softly.

Min Ho sighed and played with her fingers. ‘Should we just skip our schedule this week and go somewhere?’

Shin Hye perked up. ‘Call! Let’s go someplace where no one will find us. Or recognize us.’

‘That’s going to be hard since we’re really famous.’

She pouted and leaned back on the couch. Min Ho smiled. ‘You’re especially famous lately.’

Shin Hye bit her lip and looked up at him shyly. ‘You saw the article? I was hoping you’d be too busy to notice.’

‘That’s impossible. I search you every hour,’ he chuckled.

She smiled weakly. ‘You don’t mind?’

He looked down at her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. He honestly was conflicted about it the night before, but he knew better than to be mad at her for something beyond her control. ‘As long as you’re comfortable, then I’m good. Of course, I want to rip every guy’s head off who even dares look at those photos. Unfortunately, I can’t blame them because you looked really stunning.’

‘I’m really embarrassed by those articles though. I even topped the search list,’ she wrinkled her nose and looked down.

Min Ho creased his brows. ‘Why are you embarrassed?’

‘I don’t know. It just feels like the wrong type of thing to be known for,’ she replied. ‘I don’t like it when things like that get blown up. And I have you to think about now, too. It makes me feel so much worse.’

Min Ho stared at Shin Hye looking dejected and cursed himself for even being bothered by what she wore – when here she was feeling bad about a bigger thing. He didn’t realize until now that it must have been harder for her to be scrutinized that way, not just by the media but by every single person who’s seen those articles and photos. He wanted to protect her, but he knew that it was one of the downsides of fame.

He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so she was leaning on his side. ‘I’m sorry.’

She snuggled under his arm and lifted her feet up to tuck them under her legs. ‘For what?’

‘For being insensitive. I should have known those articles were making you feel bad.’ He sighed and kissed the top of her forehead.

Shin Hye wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled even closer. ‘You’re here now so I feel so much better. I’m also sorry if those articles made you feel uncomfortable, oppa.’

Min Ho lifted up her chin and looked at her. ‘You don’t have to worry about me. Those things will never change how I feel about you,’ he replied softly before planting a kiss on her lips.

At that moment, they both heard someone enter Shin Hye’s passcode. They looked at the door and saw her manager take off his shoes and come in. When he looked up, he froze upon seeing Min Ho and Shin Hye huddled close together.

Min Ho stood up clumsily and bowed. ‘Anyeonghaseyo, hyung.’ He glanced at Shin Hye who stayed seated and was now grinning. ‘I just came to visit Shin Hye. I hope you don’t mind.’

Shin Hye’s manager cleared his throat before walking to Min Ho. He patted his arm and smiled. ‘Of course not. It’s good to see you. She won’t stop talking about you and quite frankly, I think I might be starting to fall in love with you too.’ He smirked.

Shin Hye laughed. ‘It’s true, oppa. He asked me several times when you were going to visit.’

Min Ho smiled and sat back on the couch while Shin Hye stood up and turned to her manager. ‘Did you bring the updated one?’

‘Yeah. Script reading is in more or less two weeks.’ Her manager handed her an envelope. She said her thanks as her manager made his way to the kitchen. Shin Hye sat beside Min Ho again.

‘Is that for your movie?’ He asked her.

She nodded while she took out the bound pages. ‘I’m playing a queen,’ she grinned.

‘It suits you,’ he smiled. ‘When will you start filming?’

‘Maybe February or March. Probably around the same time as you, oppa,’ she replied as she flipped through the pages.

He pursed his lips as he watched her read. ‘Why do I suddenly miss filming with you?’

Shin Hye put the pages down and looked at Min Ho. ‘Me, too. Can’t you be my king instead?’

‘I can’t. I have to be a gangster from now on.’

Shin Hye frowned. ‘Do you know who your female lead is yet?’

‘Casting isn’t final, so I don’t know. Wae? Do you want to do it? You told me you wanted to try an action genre. I think you'll be great in it,' Min Ho tilted his head, imagining it already. Shin Hye as a y femme fatale. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Shin Hye chuckled, breaking his thoughts. ‘I think people might be too tired of seeing us together already.’

Min Ho lifted her legs up and placed them over his. Shin Hye giggled but didn’t protest. ‘That’s their problem. I’ll never get tired of you,’ he told her and slowly leaned in.

‘You kids know I’m here, right?’

Min Ho pulled away as soon as he heard Shin Hye’s manager’s voice. He looked around awkwardly while Shin Hye covered her face with the script.

Her manager looked down at them and shook his head. ‘I don’t know if I should leave you two alone or if I should stay and make sure you two don't get into trouble. Come on, I brought food.’

Min Ho and Shin Hye looked at each other and chuckled. They followed him to the kitchen and sat down. They ate silently, while Min Ho and Shin Hye kept giving each other meaningful glances.

Min Ho: Make him leave.

Shin Hye: Later.

Min Ho: But we don’t have a lot of time.

Shin Hye: You do it, then.

Min Ho: Don’t challenge me, I really will.

Shin Hye: I dare you.

Min Ho narrowed his eyes. ‘Hyung, did Shin Hye ever go on dates before?’

Shin Hye almost choked on her food and glared at him. ‘Ya!’

Her manager let out a laugh. ‘That depends on how you define a date,’ he replied. ‘But she hung out with a lot of guys.’

‘YA!’ Shin Hye turned to her manager.

‘Really?’ Min Ho scoffed at Shin Hye. He put his chopsticks down and pulled out a piece of folded paper from his pocket. He opened it and showed it to her manager. ‘Hyung, I need you to tell me who they are from this list,’ Min Ho told him.

Shin Hye tried to grab the piece of paper but Min Ho’s hand was too quick. She sighed, annoyed, and crossed her arms.

‘What’s this?’ Her manager asked, taking the paper from Min Ho.

‘It’s my blacklist.’

‘Let’s see,’ her manager leaned his elbows on the table and studied the piece of paper. ‘She hung out with the You’re Beautiful boys a lot… especially Yong Hwa and Hong Ki. She’s also really close with Seung Gi and Ji Hoon,’ he looked up at Min Ho. ‘I actually thought that Lee Jong Suk was courting her…’

‘Oppa!’ Shin Hye stood up. ‘Are you done eating? I think you should go. Shouldn’t you be preparing for my fan signing tomorrow?’ She smiled at him menacingly.

‘Ah, wae? Min Ho and I are still chatting.’

She held her manager’s arm and pulled him up. ‘This isn’t chatting, this is gossiping! She grumbled. ‘Don't worry, I’ll give him a more accurate list. Bye, oppa!’ She waved her hands, while simultanously pushing her manager lightly. Min Ho looked down, laughing to himself.

‘Aish! Admit it, you just want to be alone with him. I can take a hint,’ he picked up his coat and phone and started walking out. ‘Don’t forget your salon appointment tomorrow!’

Shin Hye and Min Ho escorted him to the door. He was about to leave when he turned around one last time. ‘And you two, don’t do anything reckless! Just stay here. Kanda.’

As soon as the door was closed, Shin Hye turned to Min Ho, scowling. ‘Neo, chincha!’

'Ottoke? Joon hyung just told me to stay here.' He wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled mischievously. ‘I told you I could make him leave. And get information out of him, too.’

‘Wait ‘til I chat with your manager!’ Shin Hye continued to glare at him.

‘You can’t. I haven’t told him about you yet,’ he replied. ‘I’m still torturing him.’

Shin Hye furrowed her brows. ‘Are you sure it’s because you’re torturing him and not because you just don’t want to tell him about me?’

He released her waist. ‘Of course it’s just because I’m torturing him. I was the one who said we can’t keep this a secret anymore, remember?’

She sighed. ‘Arasso. But please tell him fast, oppa. He might get angrier if you keep him waiting.’

Min Ho drove back to the agency for a run through of his events in China. He didn’t want to leave Shin Hye but he figured that she must also be tired from the trip and needed to rest. He, on the other hand, will have to brace himself for work ahead.

As soon as he entered the board room, his manager was talking to their agency’s president and the head of the marketing and publicity division. They looked like they were in a deep conversation. When they heard him come in, they all turned to him, their expressions sombre.

‘Min Ho-yah, you’re here. Sit down,’ President Jang told him in a serious tone. His manager’s phone rang and he moved to a corner to answer it. Mi