I want to be your boyfriend.

Do not be scared. Say yes.

Only to you, a man like me is so kind.

There is no other that is same as me, you should know.

Shin Hye woke up with a start and rubbed her eyes, trying to locate the source of the singing.

So will you be my girl friend? Don’t keep me in suspense.

‘Phone…Where is the phone?’ Shin Hye muttered to herself, feeling around her Queen-sized bed.

Say yes.

I will not see other girls.

She located the buzzing phone at the foot of her bed and she flipped it over. The glow of the screen partially lit up the room, and she squinted at the sudden brightness. She quickly checked the time before sliding the bar to answer, ‘0258’

Hey, are u willing to be my girl?

‘Yeoboseyo? Oppa? What’s wrong?’

‘Shin Hye-ah…’

‘Wae? Why aren’t you sleeping? It’s almost three in the morning!’

‘Did I wake you?’

‘Ne…but, is something wrong? Are you having troubles sleeping again? Did you take a cold shower again?’ Why anyone would want to take a cold shower to try and sleep is beyond me…No answer…Hmm…Did he fall asleep?! Does sleep calling exist? ‘Oppa? Are you there? Yeoboseyo?’

‘Ani, I just finished watching a movie.’

‘Mwo?’

‘I just finished watching A Frozen Flower.’

‘Eh? Did you call me to tell me you watched a movie?’ Shin Hye could feel irritation building, ‘Yah! Oppa! You know I have an early day tomorrow!’

But it seemed like he didn’t hear her, instead, he asked, ‘Have you watched it?’

‘No, I have not.’ Her irritation was growing.

‘Have you heard of it?’

‘Vaguely.’

‘It’s a Sageuk.’

Shin Hye stifled a yawn, ‘Why are you telling me this?’ She wanted to end the call as quickly as possible. As much as she adored Min Ho, she also adored her sleep. She’d play the part of the loving, attentive girlfriend in the morning, after she’s had her much-needed sleep. ‘Is it important?’

‘The Queen…’ Despite her sleep-addled brain, she could still sense some sort of frustration in his voice, ‘The lonely Queen…’ He cleared his throat, ‘Lovemaking…’ He cleared his throat again, ‘Lovemaking…Queen…A lot of—’

‘Oppa…you sound like you watched a very inappropriate show…and it caused you discomfort. You shouldn’t watch such shows late at night, Oppa.’ She scolded. ‘But more importantly, you shouldn’t call your sleeping girlfriend at three in the morning because you inflicted discomfort on yourself!’

She heard him chuckle softly on the other line before clearing his throat again, when he spoke, his tone was serious again, ‘That’s not the reason why I called!’

‘Then?’

‘I…I….it….I…’ He stuttered, struggling to produce the words he had planned to say before he made the call, ‘Aishhhh, it’d be so much easier if were familiar with the show…not…not that you should watch the show…now…now that I’ve seen it. Don’t watch it, arasso? You shouldn’t…’

‘What on earth?’ Shin Hye thought to herself, choosing to remain silent, and allowing Min Ho to carry the conversation forward…though at the pace he was going, there’s probably no chance she’d get any more sleep.

‘Do..do…do you know your movie script entirely?’

His question startled Shin Hye, ‘My movie script? The Royal Tailor? More or less…wae?’ She could not see how her movie related to Min Ho’s current “Frozen Flower” dilemma.

‘Do…do you have to do any odd Queen duties?’

‘Oppa, I cannot tell you the story! I signed a confidentiality statement!’

‘Ne…but, just tell me if you need to do anything….ah…more than just sitting down, looking regal and pretty…and Queenly…?’

‘You’ll have to watch and find out.’ Shin Hye said dismissively. She was sleepy, and annoyed. She could not comprehend Min Ho’s three a.m. thought process, and she could not be bothered to do so at this hour. ‘Is this serious? Can we continue this in the morning?’ She was mad, but she knew better than to end the call without saying goodbye. ‘I really need to get some sleep, and you should too.’ Her words were curt, and short.

Her flippant tone must have finally done it because he was quick to apologize, ‘Mianhae, Shin Hye. I just…panicked and called. I didn’t realize the time.’

His words confused her, but she really was too tired. However, she made an effort to lighten her tone, her annoyance hadn’t gone away, but he did say he was sorry, why add fuel to the flame? ‘Arasso…I’ll be all ears when we’ve both had some sleep.’

‘Ne. Goodnight, Mianhae.

‘Mmm, goodnight.’ She ended the call, tossed the phone by her feet and fell back onto her pillow, letting sleep take her.

~.~

[Later that morning, 1145]

Hong Ki—How’s your love life going? I’m jealous ah, Shin Hye!

Shin Hye—Aigoo! What about Jin Sung-ssi? No sparks? ^^

Hong Ki—Not everyone falls for their co-star, Shin Hye-ah!

Shin Hye—Chicha? I didn’t know. ^^

Hong Ki—Ugh! Your happiness is making me sick! Yah! Didn’t we cheers over being single and lonely together?

Shin Hye—Hul! Trying to play guilt games. You broke that promise first!

Hong Ki—Hehe. Is he being good? Do you need A.N.GELL to shape him up?

Shin Hye—We’re doing great. I’d be worried if there are problems now! It’s too early! Keunde…I did get annoyed with him this morning. He called me at about three in the morning! Did you do that to her last time? Is it normal in a relationship?

Hong Ki—Why did he call? Maybe he missed you. (shudders) I got Goosebumps saying that.

Shin Hye—He talked about the movie ‘A Frozen Flower’. Have you watched it? Then he started mentioning about my role in ‘The Royal Tailor’, wanting to know what exactly my role entailed…

Hong Ki—I’m calling now.

Seconds later, Shin Hye’s phone began ringing. She excused herself from the CF filming set and stepped into the privacy of her changing room, ‘Yeoboseyo? Wae?’

Hong Ki’s familiar, deep, husky voice replied, ‘Yah! Shin Hye-ah! Are you daft?’

‘Wae? What is with all the oblique calls today?’

‘First off…do you know what A Frozen Flower is about?’

‘Ani. Is it about a flower that is frozen? Sounds like a modern day Beauty and the Beast story.’

She heard Hong Ki Tsk on the other line, ‘Do I have to teach you everything?’ He said more to himself than to her, ‘Yah! It’s a Sageuk—’

‘Oh!’ Her memory ignited, she called Min Ho mentioning that, ‘I think he mentioned that!’

‘How do I tell you this?’ He shifted the phone from one ear to the other, ‘Long story short, to put it bluntly…it’s about “romance” within the palace, and…there’s a neglected Queen’ He coughed a little, ‘…basically, there’s a lot of baby-making scenes.’

Shin Hye’s mind began to work like clockwork, desperately trying to recall the entire phone conversation with Min Ho. In her doing so, she had forgotten to reply to Hong Ki.

‘Yah! Are you still there?’ He barked.

‘Ne.’

‘Have you figured it out?’

‘Not exactly…aside from the fact that both my movie and this flower movie is a Sageuk…and I’m the Queen.’

Hong Ki sighed loudly into the phone, ‘He wants to know if you’ll be sharing skin with anyone in The Royal Tailor!!’

Shin Hye choked, ‘Mwo?’ She began coughing uncontrollably after having choked on her saliva, ‘He…meant…—?’

‘It looks like the leading man in your life is worried about you and the leading man in your reel life.’ Hong Ki spelled out more clearly. ‘Do you, or do you not have to film a love scene with your King?’ There was no need for pretences and polite words between Shin Hye and Hong Ki. They’d known each other for so long, and he had always treated her like another one of his bro’s—and that meant talking to her like one. ‘You have a lot to learn about men, Shin Hye-ah.’

Her coughing had subsided, and she managed to respond with ease, ‘I know men.’

‘You have male friends. It’s different.’

‘How is it different?’

‘A boyfriend has some kind of claim over you, and they’ll feel protective.’ Hong Ki explained.

‘That sounds like over protectiveness…possessive…’

‘You could see it that way, yes. But at the end of the day, a man doesn’t like anyone touching what is his.’

‘So…he called me in the wee hours of the morning for that?’ Shin Hye finally sat down, ‘Yah! He’s filming a love scene for his movie!’ She protested, ‘Why is he panicking about a possibly that I’d be doing one?!’

Hong Ki chortled, ‘You’re just like your innocent girl roles! Yah! Do you not know anything about men? Think! You’ve acted in so many romance shows, and probably watched a fair bit too…! What usually motivates the male protagonist?’

‘Mwo?’

‘Aigoo! This girl!’ Hong Ki exulted, ‘So smart, but so blur! Hul! I wish Min Ho-ssi the best of luck! He’s going to need it. I’ll leave you to sort it out, Shin Hye-ah!’

‘Yah! Lee Hong K—!’

Hong Ki’s voice grew softer as he muttered his final words, ‘That poor punk, doesn’t know he’s got himself a blank canvas.’ And the call ended.

‘Aissssh! This namja! Always calls and ends calls whenever he wants.’ Shin Hye griped, shoving her phone into her pocket. She stood up, quickly checked her reflection in the mirror, and pulled the changing room door open. She had a lot to think through in between filming…

~.~

The familiar chime of her laptop startled Shin Hye. She looked over at her laptop, and saw the incoming Skype call. ‘Lee Min Ho’ They hadn’t had the chance to talk properly all day. Aside from the short text messages sent back and forth in between their own, respective filming’s, there had been absolutely no time. She moved her cursor over to the large green button, and pressed, ‘Answer with video’.

Within seconds, a small Min Ho appeared on the other end of her screen, ‘Annyeong!’ He greeted.

His hair was ruffled, and one side of his cheek was redder than the other, ‘Did you just wake up, Oppa? You look like a cockatoo!’

‘Yah!’ He quickly tried to tame the standing ends of his hair. ‘I fell asleep as soon as I got back. I was so tired…’

‘That’s what you get for being up at three in the morning watching inappropriate shows!’ Shin Hye teased.

Min Ho grimaced, and ran his hands across his face, ‘About that…I—’

‘It’s okay, Oppa. Hongstar explained it to me.’

His hand dropped, and so did his mouth, ‘Mwo? You spoke to Hong Ki about our phone call last night?’

‘Ne!’

‘Yah!’

‘Wae?’

‘Do you want to die?’

‘Wae?!’

He lifted a pillow to his face and shouted into it. There was probably some serious, inner turmoil going on inside of him, but to Shin Hye, it looked all too comical, and she began snickering.

‘Yah! What are you doing telling other people about our late night conversations?’

‘Wae? Was there something to hide?’ She watched him lift a full glass of water to his lips and empty it in four large gulps. He’s either flustered or nervous. She had noticed he did this whenever he was experiencing feelings of nervousness or anxiety. He did this when Appa asked him what he liked about her, he did this when she quizzed him about Kim Bum’s present, and he’s doing it again. ‘Aigoo! Did you eat a lot in your dream?’

Hearing Shin Hye mentioning the word dream made Min Ho choke a little. Now probably wasn’t the good time to be reminded of his recent Shin Hye dream…

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ She probed.  

‘Will I survive this conversation?’ He said more to himself than to her.

But she answered anyway, ‘I think it’ll be fine!’ She glanced down at her phone and giggled at the text that had just come in.

‘What are you looking at? Who is that?’

‘Hong Ki.’ She locked the phone and tossed it back onto the couch, ‘He told me to be tactful.’

That was all it took for Min Ho to slap his forehead, ‘You tried.’

‘Yah! We haven’t even started discussing it yet!’

‘No…no we haven’t, and already I want to sink into a giant hole.’

Ignoring him, Shin Hye began, ‘So…Hong Ki gave me a half recap…more like sentence in regard to what A Frozen Flower is about. Which by the way, I’d like to ask, Why are you watching such a movie?!’

‘I…I…I was given a list…of shows…to watch…in preparation for—‘

‘It’s alright…anyway, after which, he explained that you called possibly because… you’re concerned with my staring in the a sageuk…and how it has some similarities with A Frozen Flower. Though, I don’t see how you managed to panic just because it’s a sageuk, and because both shows has a Quee—’

‘A unloved Queen!’ Min Ho looked absolutely frustrated, flustered…

‘Yes…right, “unloved” Queen—’

He couldn’t wait for her, and he decided to jump right to it. ‘So are you or are you not?’ Except, he didn’t know how to phrase it.

Shin Hye blinked, ‘Am I or am I not what? Yes, I am a lonely Queen. Everyone knows that.’

‘Will you…or will you not be…doing…?’

‘You mean, will I be filming scenes in The Royal Tailor similar to those that was filmed in A Frozen Flower?’

Min Ho nodded wordlessly.

Shin Hye grinned slyly, ‘I don’t know, Oppa. I haven’t watched it. How would I know whether or not my scenes will be similar?’

His eyes widened, face turning a bright shade or red, ‘Mwo? Does that mean you’re going to fil—’

‘I don’t know~ I just told you, I didn’t watch it! There’s no way I can know whether it’d be similar or not!’

‘Yah! You said Hong Ki explained everything to you!’

‘Ne.’

‘So?’

‘So what?’

He growled at her widening grin, ‘Are you playing a game? Yah! It’s not funny! Shin Hye-ah! Do you want to die?’

‘Do you really want to know?’

He nodded his head like a eager puppy, ‘Yesssssss!’

‘Then let’s trade information.’

That familiar, cheeky look on her face made him wary. Through narrowed eyes, he asked, ‘What?’

‘Explain to me what Kim Bum meant in his card, and I’ll set your mind at ease.’

That was all it took for Min Ho to pick up the pillow and roar into it again, ‘PARK SHIN HYE! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU…--!’

Shin Hye whooped with amusement, ‘Your problem will be solved if you’d just cooperate!’

After a long minute of shouting, followed by another minute of lying lifelessly, face down into the pillow, he sat up and straightened himself, ‘Andwe. Either way, I lose.’

‘Wae?’

‘How was your day?’ He was trying to change the topic. In that one minute of “lifelessness”, he decided he’d just have to it up for now. There was no way he was going to discuss Kim Bum’s present with Shin Hye…maybe sometime in the future…but not now.

‘Are you changing the subject?’ Shin Hye asked incredulously, ‘What happened to that niggling need to know more about my movie filming?’

‘I’m setting it aside for the greater good.’ Min Ho said in all seriousness. The look of dejectedness painted across his face just made Shin Hye want to laugh all the more. ‘This is the part where you take pity on me, and tell me anyway…’

Shin Hye scoffed and crossed her arms, ‘You wish! You’re not getting away with information so easily.’

‘Are you really not going to tell me?! Do I really have to find out by watching?! What am I going to do if—?’

‘Are you going to tell me about Kim Bum’s card?’

‘No…but—!’

‘Then, yes, you’ll have to watch The Royal Tailor like everyone else to find out what my wifely duties are…’ She leaned back the chair, satisfied smirk plastered on her face.

Min Ho was less pleased, ‘When I get my hands on you…—’

Shin Hye brought a thoughtful finger to her chin and began it, ‘Your behaviour has made me very curious…perhaps I should watch this flower movie—’

‘Yah! PARK SHI—!’ Min Ho managed to shout into the laptop before it toppled off his lap. 






















Author's Note:

Clearly I've been procrastinating and not doing my work. 

Anyway, here's another chapter of the MinShin I have in my head :P
I hope it didn't disappoint!