What’s this moist sensation? Hmm, that feels like a tongue…Where am I? I didn’t go home last night…Ah yes! I’m at Shin Hye’s place. Did she finally decide to join me on the couch? But why is her tongue so long? And if that’s her tongue, where’s the other moist sensation coming from?

Slurrrrrp! A long tongue ran right across his lips.

That’s it! Min Ho’s eyes flew wide open, expecting to find Shin Hye’s face inches from him, tongue stuck out. Instead, she was at least three metres away, camera in hand. The “other moist sensation” came from Norri, a wet nose pressed against his right cheek. The owner of the long, wet tongue belonged to Bongji, who was perched on his chest.

Min Ho immediately sat up, ‘Yah!’ Bongji toppling over in the process. He shot accusing eyes at the laughing girl, still happily clicking away on her camera, ‘Instead of taking pictures, you should’ve stopped them! I thought it was you!’ He began wiping his saliva-sodden face with his sleeve.

Shin Hye’s camera flashed one last time as she howled with laughter. She placed the camera on a shelf and fell back on an armchair, hand clutching her belly.  

Perhaps it was because he had just been so rudely awaken, or perhaps it was because he still felt like he could use a few more hours of sleep, Min Ho just wasn’t seeing the hilarity in the situation. He harrumphed, folded his arms, and stared glumly at the still chortling girlfriend of his.

‘Not a “morning” person are you?’ Shin Hye said, finally settling down. Her face rosy from laughing, her eyes dancing with merriment, ‘I don’t know which is more hilarious—the fact that you thought it was me, or the sight of two canine’s semi-snogging you.’

‘Humph!’

‘Aww, come now! I did try to wake you.’ Shin Hye snickered as Min Ho eyed her warily, ‘But you turned over, facing out, and called me “Omma”, said you’ve been at school all day, and all you want is a few more hours of sleep.’

Min Ho covered his face with his hands, sinking further down in the seat.

She rose from her seat, walked to the dining table, and picked up a tray. ‘Who knew that your default age was a ten-year old, Min Ho-ah?’ In front of him, she placed it on the coffee table. ‘I hope your Omma has made you this before?’

Sensing her presence, he opened his eyes again and saw a scrumptious spread of French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon before him. To the side was a glass of chilled orange juice and two heart-shaped chocolates. He could feel his mouth-watering, and now that he thought of it, there was a giant hole in his belly.

‘When did you have time to make all this?’ He said, picking up the silverware. ‘…and the chocolates?’

‘Ani, the chocolates were extras from the ones I made for your Manager.’

‘Aisss—!’ He stuffed a large mouthful of bacon into his mouth, “Mmmmm!’

She picked up Bongji, who as trying hard to reach Min Ho’s brunch set, ‘You slept through the racket I made in the kitchen, and you slept through my multiple attempts to wake you af—’

He held a fork inches away from his mouth, a square piece of French toast pierced through it, ‘Aren’t you going to join me?’

‘Well, as I was saying…So, I gave up and ate first…even Bongji and Norri have eaten!’

His mouth was full, disallowing him from asking, so he set the silverware down, and signalled, ‘Why?! What time is it now?!’

‘It’s two in the afternoon. The hottest time of the day.’

Min ho choked, ‘TWO?!’

Shin Hye kneeled by his feet, patting her lap, inviting Norri to hop on, ‘Ne. I called Manager Han and asked him how to wake you, but he said, “It’s impossible!” I can now tell him that two kissing dogs will do the trick!’

Min Ho downed the entire glass of orange juice. He had slept half of Christmas with Shin Hye away! He had intended to wake at nine, and “cook” breakfast with her! He picked up his phone on the coffee table and checked, I am sure I set an alarm before I slept!

Almost as if she could read his mind, ‘It rang, and it rang, and it rang, but you just slept right through it.’ She picked up a fork and stabbed at the scrambled eggs, holding it up to his mouth, ‘Your food’s getting cold! Eat, then wash up. I left a new set of toothbrush and toothpaste on the toilet counter for you.’

Obediently he opened his mouth and let her shove the mouthful of scrambled eggs into his mouth; I’m a grown man being handfed by my grown girlfriend. He smirked at the idea; he quite liked the feeling of being mothered by Shin Hye.

She returned the fork to the plate, stabbing at the scrambled eggs again as he began conversationally, ‘So….you’re really not going to come to the SBS awards show with me?’

‘I told you why I cannot, even if I wanted to.’ Shin Hye replied, stuffing another mouthful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

‘Are you sure you can’t pull out?’

‘Positive.’ She picked up the knife and sliced a piece of French toast, ‘Oppa~ Do you know you snore?’

‘Aisssh! Can you ask for a female co-presenter?’

‘Nope.’ She brought the fork back to his mouth, ‘And you drool a little too.’

‘Can you present the award alone?’

‘Have you ever seen that done before?’ She brought the fork back to the plate again, reaching for the bacon, ‘If anyone saw how you looked this morning, sprawled on the couch, sticking out, they may rethink your Hallyu sta—’

He snatched the fork and the knife back from Shin Hye, and began slicing the bacon hotly, ‘Yah! Who asked you to watch me sleep? Are you a voyeur?’

Shin Hye giggled, getting up, ‘Eat well, Min Ho-ah! I have to clean up in the kitchen.’

Not wanting to eat the remaining of his brunch alone, he picked up the tray and followed her to the kitchen, appreciating the slight swaying of her hips. She wore a loose, purple knitted sweater, and a pair of nice-fitting jeans that hugged the gentle curves of her fanny. He gave her a low wolf whistle, earning him raised eyebrows.

He set the tray down on the bar counter, and plopped down on the stool, watching her busy herself around the kitchen, cleaning up the mess she had made. He studied the kitchen, and realized, there wasn’t much of a mess really. Rather, it was very organized. A stark contrast to what he had expected, at least. He had watched his sister cook plenty of times, and even his mother, and the kitchen never looked this orderly after cooking. She seemed to have a nice little rhythm going, first washing the utensils, then clearing the small sized dishes, then the medium sized ones, and lastly, the large pots and bowls. She had set the smallest ones closest to her, and the biggest one farthest from her. To make the task a little less mundane, she whistled a happy tune, forgetting that she had company.

Not wanting to interrupt, he sat quietly and finished the rest of his home-cooked brunch, silently declaring this the best Christmas he’d ever had, even if he did waste half of it sleeping…

~.~

‘Stay safe.’ She said, watching him put on his New Balance sneaker the second time that day. He had stayed for dinner, and it was time for him to head back. She had been sure not to let him have any wine, just in case she had to deal with another puppy dog, namja chingu.

Norri and Bongji were curled up on the sofa, no longer interested in the guest.

‘I will.’ He felt reluctant to leave. Her place, together with Shin Hye, felt like a safe haven, wonderland, and he didn’t feel ready to face the reality of life so soon. Inside the four walls of her home, they didn’t need to worry about family, friends, media and fans. It was just them. They were free to get to know each other better, free to be a normal couple.

‘Let me know when you get home safely.’

Min Ho nodded, and pulled Shin Hye into a tight embrace. He wasn’t sure when they’d get another time like this, and there’s no time like the present. ‘I wish I didn’t have to go.’ He said into her hair. She had changed her shampoo. Her hair now smelled like cherry blossoms.

‘Na do.’ She pulled out of his arms, and looked up at him, ‘I’ll see you New Year’s Eve, arasso?’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to wear matching ensembles?’ He had spent the entire day suggesting possible couple outfits, each time he was rejected by Shin Hye.

When she shook her head, he sighed in defeat. There’s no convincing this girl. Instead, he reached for her hand, and pulled it towards his lips. Holding her gaze, he lightly grazed his lips on the back of her hand, before leaning in closer, and pecking her on her nose, ‘Sleep well.’

Min Ho pulled the main door open, and a gust of harsh, winter air surged in.

~.~

[31^st December 2013]

Manager Han crossed the large room of dinner tables, and whispered something into Min Ho’s ear. Quickly, Min Ho reached into his pocket and sneakily peered at his phone under the table. The screen lit, and he blinked at the image on his glowing screen. Manager Han had sent him images of Shin Hye arriving to the awards show, and Min Ho was positively awed.

She looked gorgeous. She was a vision in white.

Despite his pleas, she had refused to show or tell him what she was wearing. Her answers were always vague,

‘Long!’ She said on one night,

and

‘It’s a dress.’ On another.

He flicked through the images, and marvelled at how she could look so pure and yet, so sensuous at the same time. Her head adorned with a sparkling, white headband, and her hair tied back in a low ponytail. Loose tresses of hair fell such that it framed her face perfectly. The gown sported a slight twist from the usual sweetheart neckline, as delicate, luminous lace was strategically placed to cover the wearer’s bosom and arms.

He took a sharp intake of breath when his eyes caught sight of the last image; the blooming dress had a large diamond-cut out in the back! It was showcasing her soft, curved line of her spine. He gulped.

Min Ho felt his jaw clench reflexively, She did this on purpose! Does she know how many lustful people are admiring her smooth, curvaceous back right this very minute?! Present viewer excluded… Ultimately, he chuckled lightly to himself, reminded of the conversation they had less than a week earlier,
 

‘Aisssh! Last time, arasso? You cannot wear such a dress again!’ He had growled into the phone.

‘Wae? It was a decent dress!’ Shin Hye had retorted, ‘You’re worse than Appa!’

‘Why does your Appa disapprove of me, but approve of such a dress?’

‘Because he’s a modern man who’s protective of his daughter!’ Shin Hye giggled, ‘See, but do not touch!’

‘Andwe! That gown was too low! Too low! If I had known earlier, I would’ve made Woo Bin wear opaque glasses! And anyone else who wanted to look at you.’

Shin Hye had chuckled, she’d never grow tired of dealing with the green-eyed Min Ho, if he always acted like a ten-year old kid. ‘Arasso, I’ll feedback to my stylist that I’d like to try something less revealing. Will that make you happy?’

His reply was a simple grunt.

So this is her idea of a “less revealing”. Aisssh! This yeoja. Just when you think you’ve won, she goes and—

‘Ah, Min Ho-ssi! Congratulations on the success of your show!’ Min Ho quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood to greet the newly arrived guest

.

~.~

[1^st January 2014, 2245]

‘Shin Hye-ah! Didn’t we agree on something less revealing?’ This must’ve been the tenth time today Min Ho had asked that, unwilling to let the matter rest.

‘Mwo?’

‘The next time you wear something so deliciously sed—’ Min Ho cleared his throat, ‘Basically, the next time you wear something like that, you can’t fault me from doing certain things.’

Shi Hye shifted the phone from her right ear to the left ear, they’d been talking for an hour now, and her ear was beginning to heat up. ‘Certain things?’

‘Well, whatever I did last night, what Manager Han nagged at us for doing…those are some of the certain things…You were lucky last night! We were on national television—it being televised worldwide. I was up to my neck containing myself.’

‘Containing yourself...’

‘Yah! Do you really not understand or are you pretending to not understand?’ His tone sounding a little miffed, ‘When that Lee Jong Suk kept looking at you, I really wanted to throw my jacket over your head.’

Bewildered, Shin Hye asked, ‘Mwo? Why my head? Why must I suffer when he’s the one looking at me?’

Min Ho tsked, ‘So he’ll stop looking at you!’

Shin Hye snickered, the green-eyed monster was back, ‘Well, good job for not doing so. You didn’t show an ink of green.’

‘Aisssh! Of course I couldn’t show any! We were on live television! Manager Han would’ve given me an earful after.’ In the background, Shin Hye could hear him opening and closing what seemed to be a door. ‘But you did look really beautiful last night.’ His voice softened, ‘I couldn’t help but feel giddy with sheer exhilaration that my yeoja chingu was just several inches away.’

‘Or as Manager Han had put it, “acting like a giggling teenage boy.” Isn’t that right?’

‘Yah! You were a “giggling teenage girl.” too!’

‘Only because you were being a giggling teenage boy first. How else was I supposed to respond?’

‘Admit it, you thought I looked dashing.’

‘Oppa~! All I have to do is look at the pictures of Bongji and Norri kissing you, and that dashing image gets thrown out the window.’

‘Aissssh!’

Abruptly, she shifted the conversation, ‘Appa called earlier today. I think he knows.’

‘Mwo?’

‘He didn’t come right out and say it, but he mentioned it, said I seemed different…I’ve never behaved in such a way before, at least not on live television. Asked if I was okay.’

‘Ah...how did you reply?’

‘I said I was more than okay.’ Biting back a chuckle, ‘It isn’t really a lie.’ Shin Hye quipped.

On his end of the line, he chortled, ‘Because Oppa has been making you so happy!’

‘Hul!’

‘But are you going to tell them…your parents?’

‘Ani…not yet. I want to check with the managers if they’re okay with it. I do want to tell them so badly…and I think on some level they already know…but it’s best that I don’t anger Manager Han further. On the otherhand, Jun Oppa’s just been really amused by us up until now…says that with you, he gets bugged less often.’

Her words brought a smile to his face, and even though she couldn’t see it, she could hear it in his voice, ‘Aigoo~! How annoying were you before I came around?’

‘Yah! He meant that endearingly, I think he misses me!’ She absentmindedly flipped through her weekly planner, ‘What’s your January looking like? My first few weeks are packed!’

‘Same here. Lots of flying in and out of the country. I’ll barely be in Korea for more than a few days at a time, now that I think about it…and my Korean global tour is on January the 18^th…so I’ll also be preparing…’

Shin Hye felt her heart drop a little, but chose to remain positive, ‘Isn’t it great that we live in a world of modern technology? A person can be so far, but still so near.’

The less optimistic Min Ho mumbled under his breath, ‘They also can be so near, and yet, so far.’ He was referring to the night before. They sat together, but a large, circle table separated them. He was closer to So Ji-Sub Sunbae than he was to her, all because of the blooming table.

‘Are we back to that now?’ Chuckled Shin Hye. Min Ho had whined for hours after the awards show, blasting the table for its mere existence, ‘Perhaps you should feedback to SBS, telling them that their table sizes are unacceptable.’

‘Pfft!’ The tables really were far too large. He could hardly hold any kind of conversation with her over the mere span of the blasted table. ‘We should have offered our condolences for not being able to attend, and sat at home together.’

‘That would’ve been too suspicious, Oppa. Besides, if we did that, you’d have missed out on receiving all the awards you got last night!’

‘I’d also have saved Korea…and the world the chance of seeing your .’ He muttered in return.

Diplomatically, Shin Hye tried to reason, attempting to appease the still sulking fifteen-year old in him, ‘As a celebrity, it’d be expected that I’ll be wearing such outfits from time to time. If you had wanted a girlfriend who covered herself from head to toe, you wouldn’t be me!’

He harrumphed.

Recalling a tactic she used to use on her parents every time they reprimanded her for doing something they didn’t quite approve of, ‘Yah! Oppa! It could’ve been much worse! I could’ve worn a dress with a high slit like that Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie! Or I could’ve worn a dress with a deep, cutting neckline! In fact, the hole at the back, could’ve been bigger!’

It seemed to have worked, because she heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a loud, ‘Yah! Jugulle?’

‘Aigoo, where is your mind racing to?’

He offered a low growl in return, unable to manage a response more eloquent. The idea of Shin Hye in a gown so low, with a slit so high…

~.~

[9^th January 2014, 0430]

Manager Han chuckled at his phone, they were in Min Ho’s van, heading back to his serviced apartment. He had been practicing for his concert all week, and had just wrapped up practice for the night.

Little had happened since the start of the New Year. With the exception of meeting the Presidents of both Shin Hye’s and Min Ho’s company to discuss their relationship status, Min Ho hadn’t seen Shin Hye since.
 

The Presidents had taken the news of their relationship well. President Jang even commenting that he had an inkling of two after watching Shin Hye at the SBS awards show.

Individually, President Kim of Starhaus Entertainment had congratulated the young pair and wished them well, merely warning them that the life of a celebrity can sometimes take a toll on both the relationship of the celebrity, and the individual’s career.

The more jovial, President Jang of Salt Entertainment had chuckled in glee. Min Ho could see why Manager Jun had been less anxious about Shin Hye’s relationship status than compared to his own Manager. The first word President Jang had uttered was a joyous, ‘Finally!’ Clapping his hands in mirth. To Min Ho he saluted, ‘Good job, son!’ When questioned, he had jauntily explained, ‘Shin Hye has been with us for so long…since she was a young teen! I was beginning to worry that aside from work, she didn’t have a life! I don’t want to be the reason why Shin Hye never gives her parents a grandchild!’
 

‘What are you laughing at?’ Min Ho asked the chuckling Manager Han, his arms folded, his legs stretched out, eyes closed, head leaned back.

‘At how you’re going to react when you see this.’ Manager Han replied, eyes plastered to his mobile screen.

‘What is it?’

‘When was the last time you spoke to Shin Hye?’ Manager Han asked, trying to find a way to breach the topic.

Min Ho gave it some thought, ‘We missed talking to each other the past few days. She’s been flying in and out, and me with dance practice. But we greet each other every morning and before we go to bed. Wae?’ Sighing when he realized how much he missed talking to her. Perhaps he’d give her a short call before heading to bed later. He remembered her mentioning that she’d be back in Korea on the 9^th around two in the morning.

‘Aigoo! You haven’t even reached 6 months, and you’re already missing calls with each other!’ Manager Han sympathized. He quite liked the girl.

‘Exactly! Can’t you throw some schedules out the window?’

Min Ho’s eyes were still closed, but he could almost see Manager Han’s frowning face, ‘Yah! Do you think I can magically clear up your schedule without getting into trouble with the partner company and President Kim?’

‘Arasso, arasso, I was merely joking. You still haven’t told me what you were laughing about just now.’ He wasn’t really interested; he was much too tired. But it was an easy topic to divert Manager Han’s attention away from his flopped joke.

‘Shin Hye told me about how you whined for days about the dress she wore to the Chinese awards show’

Confused by the sudden shift in topic, but too lazy to ask why, Min Ho simply responded with an, ‘Orh.’

‘Then you whined for days after that because of the dress she wore to the SBS awards show.’

‘What’s the point of this conversation, Hyung?’ Min Ho stifled a yawn, ‘Are you trying to tell me that you’ve had more time to talk to my girlfriend than I have?’

Manager Han peered over at his half-sleeping companion. It was like watching a sleeping dragon. The calm before the storm. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to do this, but he’d be ready to capture the moment. With a snicker, he clicked ‘Send’ on his smartphone.

Seconds later, Min Ho’s cellphone chimed, with groggy eyes, he peeled his eyes opened, and dragged the phone out of his jeans pocket. ‘Aisssh! Why do you have to send me messages when you’re right next to me?’ He complained when he saw that the message was from none other than Manager Han himself.

He flicked the screen, to the left, and then blinked once, twice, thrice and then, widened his eyes as wide as it could possibly go, just in case his sleep addled brain had made him mistake the image before him. On his right, Manager Han had his smartphone pointed at him, what for, Min Ho could not care less.

On his screen was a lovely baby faced beauty, seated on a tan felt cushion, an ankle tucked beneath the other. The girl’s hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and the dim lighting made her normally brown hair appear slightly red. Perched strategically around her shoulders, was a beautiful pale grey-blue winter coat. To the camera she offered a playful peace sign, while her other hand clutched the grey purse on her lap. The dress she wore was intricately designed with tiny beads adorning most of the top, and shiny tassels cleverly placed just below the midriff. However, the most eye-catching thing of all was the décolletage of the dress. It was too low.

He groaned inwardly, What was this girl trying to do to him? There was a reason why he had told her not to wear such dresses…

‘Search her name.’ Manager Han offered.

And so he did. He probably shouldn’t have. In hindsight, Manager Han had said that in too devilish a tone.

The search engine was filled with her; she was the top most searched Korean female celebrity for the night. Her pictures splashed front, left, right and centre.

With darkened eyes, he growled deep inside his throat.

To the driver he spoke, voice gruff, ‘Jin Ho-ssi, change of course. I just remembered I’ve got somewhere to go.’

Manager Han barked with laughter, this was better than he had expected, ‘Drop me off first.’

















Author's Note:

I'm not too sure if you were looking forward to the SBS Awards Show...but after writing and rewriting, 
I decided I wouldn't dedicate one entire chapter to it. Simply because, each time I did so, 
it felt like I was merely transribing all that transpired that night into words. 
(Also, I got a headache looking for the english translations of the Minshin bits!)
Either way, I'm really sorry!

So I thought, what comes next? 
So let this chapter be a sort of a prequel to what is to come?
Ha ha ha, I don't know~ After rereading it, it seems like it is.

Thank You for reading anyhoos!