As I was sitting in the secluded back area of the coffee shop, my eyes spotted Eli instantly as he dashed across the street outside. His form disappeared toward the right and I knew he was circling around to enter through the backdoor, which the store owner had graciously allowed us to use. Sure enough, Eli popped up behind me a few moments later with a big grin on his face. He hugged me without hesitation and I relaxed. 

This was our first time meeting after officially becoming a couple, so I was nervous that we would be awkward meeting up, but Eli did a good job of erasing that fear the minute he arrived. We hadn't seen each other in one and a half weeks due to busy schedules. 

"You look beautiful today." His eyes were sincere as they held mine. 

I could feel myself blush and I looked away. "You look pretty fine yourself," I smiled back. He was wearing a faded blue button down with dark jeans. 

"How was RM filming?" He asked after we ordered our usual drinks. We were sitting across from each other in a small, two person booth with no windows nearby. 

"Tiring, but definitely worth it. They did the format where the losing team had to walk home in the morning," I laughed, reminiscing. "Daehyun and I were on the winning tea-"

"Daehyun?" Eli's eyebrows rose once he heard a guy’s name. “BAP’s Daehyun?”

“Yup!” I answered happily. “The one and only. He's quite good-looking, and he's an amazing singer,” I teased Eli. "But no worries, no one can beat you."

“Uh huh…” he pouted but let me continue after hearing my compliment.

“So like I was saying, we won… but then the producers screwed us over and made us stay too. We had to walk home with the losing team, but we didn't have to wear the embarassing clothes the producers had prepared,” I scrunched my nose at the thought. “It was fun, I must admit. I like them. How was your filming? Besides for the whole Mina thing.”

He tilted his head slightly as he recalled the events of the previous day. “It was fun. We played a lot of games, so I got to know the other cast. The filming wasn’t as long as yours, so I wasn’t as tired when we finished. Oh! And then it started raining on us at the location we were at. That was interesting. And Mina was Mina, but you already know about that. Seohyun asked about you! She asked how you were doing. I don't know why she'd ask me, but I guess she has a feeling? That girl is special, I tell you.”

"Seohyun Unnie's the best! I love how she's so different-- her and her 'self-improvement' books. I haven't seen her in a while! I should call her up soon.. hmm.." I tapped my chin. "I haven't seen the Beast oppas in a while, either! I need to thank Junhyung for helping me write some of my songs."

Our normal waiter brought our drinks. He was Eli’s friend from America, and we trusted him to keep our secret. So far he’s kept his word.

“When’s your debut?” Eli asked after taking a sip.

I thought for a moment. I had finally completed my first full Korean album! I wrote nine of the songs on the album and co-wrote the other four. I also had composed five of them with the help of the composer I usually work with. “My first single is released tomorrow. The music video comes out the day after that. Then the physical copy of the album comes out on Sunday, which is in five days. The digital copy comes out in a week. Then I hold my first stage in two weeks.” Everything was very fast paced.

“I’ll be there! And I’m buying your album,” he grinned. “How did you work out your name and all that?”

“For now I’m debuting as Christina. One day I’ll reveal that I’m also Xina, but that won’t be any time soon. Everyone knows my name already, but I’m not giving out my last name. I’m sure it won’t be long before they figure that out though. Luckily my entire past is hidden, since I don’t want people bothering my family and friends.”

“I see.” He took another sip.

“Any more questions?”

“How's your new drama? Is your co-star as handsome as your co-star from 'Danger'?" His eyes curved as he smirked. 

"The new drama is a lot different. It's very much on the action side, so I'm really excited. My co-star is quite amazing, thank you very much. Yoo Seungho has been helping me a lot. The first episode airs today at 8:00! I hope the response is good." 

"I'm sure people will love it because you're in it," Eli reassured me. "Is Seungho your character's lover in the drama?"

I opened my mouth to answer when I caught a glimpse of an all-too-familiar object—a camera, pointed straight at Eli and I. The flash followed seconds later. The reporter, who was standing outside, had managed to take a picture of us through a window that was five tables away.

He scurried away when he realized I had seen him.

Great.

Just great.