They didn't go skating after all.  

Shin Hye discreetly buttoned up her shirt and picked up her backpack from where he had dropped it.  Her mind was in turmoil.

"I think I'll call it a night.  I've had too much excitement and I'm a bit tired."  She couldn't look at him, not yet. She didn't wait for his reply. She walked back into the hotel.

Min Ho watched her walk away.  He didn't know what to say.

She left behind her skateboard, the skateboard he gave her.  Symbolic?

He picked up both their skateboards, but instead of going back to his room, he went for a walk to cool down and clear his head. 

Thirty minutes later, he felt calm, his head was cleared.  He wasn't in love with Shin Hye.  He was attracted to her.  He enjoyed her company. They've been spending a lot of time together.  They were having a flirtation.   That was all it was.

He had overstepped the boundaries though.  He broke the unspoken rule of their flirtation. No kissing. No falling in love.

It won't happen again. He wouldn't allow it to happen again.

He didn't have time to be in love or have a relationship right now.  He had to concentrate on his career.  It would be unfair to his partner when he had to devote more time to work then to her. 

He wasn't ready for marriage.  He hadn't even done is mandatory military enlistment.  He would be away for 2 years for that. He couldn't ask his partner to wait for him.

Then there was his embarassing reputation of falling for his co-stars.  He already had one dating scandal. Even if it was short lived, it still taught him a valuable lesson about relationships and how hard it was for him to have one. 

As he became more popular, he lived his life in a fishbowl. Always being watched.  Never being able to go out in public without being mobbed.  If he were to date, his partner would be overly scrutinized. Netizens were cruel. Fans were often not supportive or understanding.  It would eventually drive a wedge in the relationship.

In his estimation, he wouldn't be able to have a love relationship or even get married until he was 35 years old.

There was only one small problem he couldn't shake.  He wanted Shin Hye.  He could still taste her kisses. He could still feel the softness of her skin on his hands. He could still hear the sounds she made when he touched her. He had never been so quickly or so explosively before.  He should have known it was going to be like that with Shin Hye. She was just so damn responsive. Just like everything she does, Shin Hye just gives it her all, with enthusiasm and passion. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shin Hye woke up to the sound of her alarm. 

Please god, let it be a dream.  Let last night only happened in my dreams.  Please, please, please.

With resolve, she opened her eyes, got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom.  She avoided looking at the other bed as she passed.

She hopped into the shower and let the cold water cascade down her head.  Hopefully, it would cool the heat that was consuming her.

Stepping out to the shower, she grabbed her robe and put it on, taking care not to look at herself in the mirror.

She could brush her teeth without looking into the mirror too. She decided.

Urrrgh…this is ridiculous Shin Hye.  You can't go around avoiding things.  Just confront it and let it go.

She walked out of the bathroom and headed to the spare bed.  She looked at the contents scattered on the bed.  There it was.  Her shirt.  The one she was wearing last night.  The one missing a button.  She looked around for her skateboard, but she knew she wouldn't find it because she had left it downstairs.

She walked back into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.  Yup.  That was the face of a shameless hussy.  She started to open her robe, then thought better of it.  Not everything had to be confronted at once.  She'll deal with that one later.

Last night was not a dream.

She had practically threw herself at him, begging for a kiss when she raised her smiling face up to his.