“What?? We’re going to Bangkok??” Cho mentioned about shooting overseas last week but he said he was planning for it. They didn’t expect it to be so soon.

Almost one year on the show, that was the first time they were going overseas for filming.  Everybody was so excited to go out of the country for once.

“We’ll be travelling in smaller group. Each of you will only bring 2 personal staffs... your stylist and assistant. Your managers had made the arrangement. VJs and PDs will be travelling.  The rest will stay” Cho briefed the members on the travel. “We had cleared your work schedule. So don’t worry.” Most of them were not worrying. They were excited to go.

…

The flight was not full. Most of the people on board have no idea who most of them were. Gary went to the empty back row to get more space to stretch out and relax. Jihyo saw him walking back while the others are excitingly discussing about the trip, settling down in their seats for the takeoff.

By the time the seatbelt sign was off, everybody was either asleep or focusing on the movie on their screens. Jihyo walked down the aisle go to the lavatory and saw Gary reading the newspaper. He looked up, and instantly smiled the moment he saw Jihyo standing in the aisle. She signaled about her destination and he nodded. He thought she was going to sit with him.

A few minutes later he smelled a familiar scent and turned.  Jihyo was making her way to sit next to him. “I’ve been waiting for you since we boarded the flight” he whispered to her ear and kissed her cheek. He pulled up the arm rest and linked hands.

He felt something cold sliding on his finger. “Seriously??” He looked at jihyo, surprised. She smiled and nodded. He smiled his happiest smile for her. He touched the ring on his finger. He finally got it back from her. “Thank you… this is the best surprise”

“I thought we should remember our first trip out of the country with this... and I think it’s about time too… you’ve been waiting patiently.” She turned to look around to check if anybody’s watching. Assured, she kissed him with the intention to keep it short… Failing at it every time. He makes sure she fails. When they parted he saw two sets of snacks placed beside her. “Oh my God… the stewardess saw us” His worried face made her laugh softly. She was wiping her lipstick off his lips with her thumb. “What happens on the plane, stays on the plane… They won’t tell” She comforted him.

He leaned in for another kiss but she stopped him with her hand on his mouth. “Let’s nap for a while… I think the filming will last all day. She was getting out of her seat. He pulled her back down. “Just stay here… we rarely get this chance. This maybe the only time we’re out of the country. Just stay…” he pleaded softly. “What if the crews see us? PDs?”

“I think it’s about time they know too…“ She didn’t answer but leaned her head on his shoulder for her nap.  He kissed the top of her head and leaned his head against it.

Sukjin and Kwangsoo saw them on their way to the lavatory. They were shocked to see Jihyo holding his arm, napping on his shoulder. They looked at each other in confusion and later bloomed into a smile. Happy for them. “Finally…” they said in unison and high-fived each other quietly.

Jihyo was in luck. She got to choose her team mates and Gary was still available. He wanted her to choose him but did not put much hope on it because he can never figure out what she plans to do on the show.

The moment she reached out her hand for him, he was so happy, it took a lot of effort to contain it. And her next choice was obvious.  It had to be his best friend. He thought they would have some private time to enjoy in between scenes with his two favorite people. The moment they walked out to the airport’s front, they were in shock. Fans were screaming. They didn’t know they were famous. They were getting famous in Korea but they didn’t know they had fans overseas. It was chaotic and Gary is not used to being crowded by fans.  He rarely gets that much attention. He was in a daze.  Jihyo had to hold on to him to make sure he’s near while HaHa took the lead through the sea of fans.

“Wow! That was amazing… I didn’t know we’re popular!” HaHa was still amazed by the whole reception. They were all still stunned by it. Humbled by it. They carried on filming in the taxi and fans were following them to their mission locations. That evening, it was a long ride to Nickhun’s house. The VJ stopped filming to take a breather and to let them rest.

Gary got into the car and had his arm around her. “You’re tired. Nap before we reach the next location.” He softly pulled her to lean on him for the nap. HaHa looked on and was amazed by Gary’s gentle care towards her. Gary saw HaHa and held a finger to his own lips to signal for him to be quiet. He gave him a thumb’s up.

….

“That was a good shoot. We have arranged for a private river cruise tonight if any of you is up for it. Or you can do whatever you want. Just don’t get drunk. We have work tomorrow morning.” Cho wrapped up the lively dinner.

“Nuna.. you’re going on the cruise?” Kwangsoo was next to her but Gary was busy talking to Cho at the other end of the room. She is not sure if Gary wanted to. “Nuna! I asked you a question.” Kwangsoo knew what she was thinking. He looked where she looked. “Oh… Let’s go then” it was awkward she had to agree and he pulled her to hurry to the dock.

When Gary turned, she was nowhere in sight. He looked around and could not locate her.

“Jihyo ya… where are you?” He got her on the phone.

“At the dock.. Kwangsoo just pulled me here. You wanna come on the cruise?” He was already walking hurriedly towards the dock by himself. “Ya Kwangsoo! And he didn’t call me to join!” he sounded a little upset.

Kwangsoo felt a push on his back and turned to see the angry Jihyo glaring at him. “What did I do?! I was just walking in front of you!” Then he saw a person running towards them. “Hyung! You’re just in time!” Jihyo was happy the moment she saw Gary approaching.  He was out of breath.

“Ya! Kwangsoo!” he was gasping for air bending down. Jihyo his back to calm him down. “Why hyung??”

“Why didn’t you call me!” he raised his voice. Kwangsoo laughed. “I am trying to prove something. I just need to pull one of you and the other would come running. I am a genius!” He boasted.

“Ya!” He got hit from both sides by the couple. “I saw you sleeping on the plane. I just want to see it for real”. He held her hand and walked on to the cruise boat, leaving Kwangsoo behind. HaHa and Sukjin were the only ones on board besides them. “I guess everybody else chose to be in bed.”

“I wanted to go to bed…” Gary sighed. He was tired. They had been filming the whole day. “Don’t you want a romantic cruise with your new girlfriend?” Sukjin patted him on the back. He looked at him in shock. Jihyo too looked at him with the same expression. “I saw you on the flight.” He explained. “We purposely told the others to go elsewhere.” He winked at Gary. “We’re going to sit in the room below. I want you to enjoy a date up here. It’s rare that you get this chance.” Jihyo was touched she gave each of them a hug. “Thank you so much!”

“Let’s sit and enjoy the view” He pulled her to the back end to the circular comfy lounge seat aligning the sides of the top deck creating a romantic atmosphere underneath the clear sky. The river was not as busy as it was during the day. Lit-up buildings lining both sides of the river provide a scenic view.  The stars above give off the perfect lighting for a romantic date.

Gary took out his phone to capture the surrounding on video. He turned it to photo mode and took pictures of them together.  They look tired but happy. She circled her arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss for the picture. Multiple shots were shot but the kiss didn’t end. It lasted the whole duration of the cruise. The sudden stop of the boat made them stop.

“Oh God…” Gary bent down, elbows on his knees and both hands buried in his short hair. Jihyo is familiar with this situation, she made him lost his control. It happened often recently. She let him calm himself, leaving him alone, she stood up and walked over to the side of the boat to take in the view for the last time.

Gary was still sitting when their three friends climbed up the deck to get off the boat. He took Jihyo’s clutch and stood up to walk over to her. “I am OK now” he smiled reassuring her and took her hand to walk with him. They were escorted by the hotel’s security through the service lift to avoid being seen. Gary and HaHa were on the floor above them. They said their goodbyes at the elevator.

“Did you have a good time hyung?” HaHa was happy for him. “As long as she’s there, it doesn’t matter where, I would have a good time.” He chuckled realizing it was cheesy. “But that was great. Sukjin Hyung is right… That could have been our only chance to go on a date like that. Today, I realized we have gained fame but I am losing the freedom I have always had. It comes with it.” He was actually scared of that fact. He is a free spirit. That is how he does music. He just realized now that he is a public figure being watched by everybody, He would not be as free to express himself.

“Well, hyung. This is part of the job. We take the good with the bad. Just enjoy the good stuffs so you don’t feel that bad at the end of the day.” HaHa is younger but he had more experience in the mainstream show business. He had his ups and downs and had learned aplenty. “Get your rest. We still have work tomorrow” Gary went into his room and HaHa walked on to his room at the end of the corridor.

He threw himself back on the bed after taking off his clothes. He gets the better room compared to others. His manager made sure his contract specifies details of his requirements which include the suite accommodation. He didn’t realize he had signed the better arrangements compared to the other members until he sees the difference in the rooms. His manager accepted lower fees for the extra splurge on the other things. Just as the hiphop lifestyle suggests.

His doorbell rang. “Must be Donghoon…” he lazily walked to the door in his boxer. He opened the door and was surprised by what he saw. She was surprised by what she saw. He pulled her in and she knew there was no way out.

…

“Thank you” were the last words she heard before she slept. She woke up to find herself lying facing him. His hand still on her back. She traced his eyebrows and caressed his face. She felt peace watching him sleep. “Oppa…” he stirred in his sleep but could not open his eyes. “oppa… I have to go now.” He didn’t say anything but hugged her closer. She attempted to release herself but he would not let go. “oppa.. I have to go back to my room. They will be looking for me in the morning…”

“No,” he buried his face in the nape of her neck. “Stay here… wake up earlier..” he was mumbling in his sleep. She set her phone alarm and slept on.

Before her alarm went off, her phone is already ringing. “Jihyo ssi… where are you?? They went to film in your room but you’re missing!”

She got out of his hold slowly to not wake him up and placed a pillow in her place before getting herself dressed. “Where are they? Bring my makeup pouch to Gary’s room. Don’t ask anything just come up here this instant!” She whispered on the phone to her assistant, panicking. She went into the bathroom to freshen up. In 2 minutes the assistant is already at the door, knocking softly. She pulled her in. “I’ll explain later.. Stay with me.” She grabbed her makeup pouch and applied her lip gloss. She tidied up her hair. Her assistant at the door saw Cho PD. He signaled for them to get out of there. She pulled Jihyo out. “You’re in trouble right now... they’re near”.

True enough they bumped into the other members near the lift. A few of them had been to her room. Jongkook was at her room. He knew she was missing. He suspected something fishy. She was on Gary’s floor. HaHa guessed what happened the moment he saw her. But he could not help her out of it. She was caught.

Jongkook questioned her whereabouts and she could not come up with a good answer. She told them she went for breakfast so they get the clue that she’s covering up something and need their help.  It was unusual for her to wake up early. She is known to have a hard time waking up. Jongkook saw the blush on her cheeks. “You applied makeup for breakfast?” he decided to make her miserable. He was still unsure of what she did but since it was Gary’s floor, he could guess what happened. They told the VJ to stop filming and told her to go get ready.

The moment they entered Gary’s room. It was in a mess. Clothes thrown everywhere. HaHa helped arranged a few things very quickly to make it less obvious. Gary was shocked. He was under the blanket. He remembered the night well. He was worried for Jihyo. He knew they could smell her perfume in the room. Luckily, they assumed ignorance although it was apparent in their face they knew something. After they had finished shooting his scene, Jaesuk went up to him. “So it had gone this far…” he was sighing. He never agreed to them dating. He never opposed too. He didn’t expect it to have progressed so far. Too late for him to save Gary.

After breakfast, they were given time to pack up before moving to the next location.  He told his assistant to deal with his things and went to Jihyo’s room. Her assistant had done packing and was moving her bags out of the room. She was applying light makeup.  He greeted the assistant at the door. And went inside and shut the door.

“You’re done packing your things?” She was greeting him as usual. “I told my assistant to do it. I have to talk to you…”

She finished applying her makeup and kept her things in her bag. He was leaning against the table facing her. “I’m sorry for getting you in trouble this morning…” he held her hand. She gripped his hand. “It’s OK… I was panicking this morning but I guess sooner or later, they’ll find out anyway.” She kissed him on his cheek. “Don’t worry… it’s all OK now. Stay close to me today?” He nodded and hugged her before getting out of the room.

…

“Were you jealous with Minjung?” He had to ask her in the bus en route to the airport. She blushed. When she saw Gary next to his ideal type, she forgot they were shooting at that moment and it was obvious that she was jealous. He held her hand and whispered “I like it when you’re jealous”.

“What was in your bag oppa? We never saw it during filming.” She was curious. Before departing for Bangkok, everybody listed what they wanted to have most in Bangkok. She listed aircond thinking it would be something related to the game in the humid weather. It was a strategy.  Most of them thought on the same line. But nobody knew what Gary had listed. He handed his light pouch to her.

Gary never thought of the game when the question was asked. Almost a year into filming, he has yet to catch on the game. She found the thing in his pouch amusing. “I believe you didn’t think it was for the game??” she laughed quietly, looking at his innocent face that she fell in love with. “you wanted me??”

“Well… If you look at it, none of you got what you actually wanted. But I got what I wanted didn’t I?” he said sheepishly. That got him an elbow in his chest.

He sat back in his seat, took out the ring from his pocket and put it on his finger. “In life… if given a choice, always ask for the best. You’ll never know when luck is going to be on your side.” He was admiring the ring on his finger. She was admiring him. She was in love with him before she met him. She was certain she has luck on her side all along.