Jihyo went into the studio and Kenji was already there waiting. She went to him and welcomed him to Seoul with a hug. “Sorry I was a little late. Got held up downstairs.” She smiled shyly and Kenji figured out it was Gary.

“It’s his studio after all. Where is he?” He had always wanted to meet Gary. Jihyo was always full of praise for him and it was Gary that told Jihyo to go ahead and sing o his song when she was quite unsure of the idea.

“I told him not to come up until I’m done. I actually don’t want him to watch me record. “ She just thought that Gary is such a big name in the music industry and had recorded with so many talented people, she will see thru him if she’s bad at it because he is not a good liar. She told him to wait at his office and come up to the studio when she calls. Gary knowing her well went with her plan. He didn’t want to spoil it for her.

They were just recording the vocals.  Jihyo didn’t have much time and recording has to be done quickly before Gary’s production team came in for their daily work on the new album. The recording needed to be done in secret and Gary was accommodating despite it being Valentine’s. “At least if we’re caught together on Valentine’s we would have you to cover up” Gary said jokingly over the phone the week before. He had been talking to Kenji on few occasions although there is a language barrier. Some English and Chinese here and there helped. Gary could actually speak basic English, he just doesn’t like showing it off and sometimes he does it on TV carelessly just to be funny.

 Kenji hooked them up with a Chinese agent and Gary got a few jobs and is paving his way in China.

Gary walked upstairs to his studio to find Jihyo and Kenji chatting away. “Hello!” He was beaming with hand out for a handshake. Kenji was happy to see him too. He pulled on his hand for a hug instead. “Finally! The man of her dreamy talks!” Jihyo blushed when Gary looked at her silently asking if she really did talk of him.  Kenji saw that Gary was clueless of how his woman talks highly of him to others.

“Man, that woman of yours talks a lot about you… and always never fails to make me think that you are the hottest male on earth that I have to live up to.” Gary laughed.  He always heard from her other male leads that she talks about him.  To know that Kenji was one of the recipients, warmed his heart.  Even with the language barrier and knowing him from other country, she still felt like telling everybody she is his woman. Gary reached out to hold her hand and pulled her close.

“How did my baby do? OK?” He was holding his thumb up trying to get a nod of approval from Kenji. He nodded with a smile. “Good, good!”

“I am going off now.. Got a flight to catch. It’s Valentine’s and someone’s waiting for me back home.” Gary went in for a hug followed by Jihyo. They bid goodbye to his team as they left. They were left alone in the studio.  Gary pulled her to sit on the sofa lining up the wall near the windows. He give her a light kiss on the lips and rushed to dim the lights and proceeded to open up his laptop and a song was filling up the studio thru the speakers.

Jihyo stood up smiling her brightest smile. She instantly knew it must be a song for her. He came to her holding out his hand. The moment she held on to his hand, he started dancing to the music, hugging her close and leading her in the slow dance. She leaned her face next to his, concentrating on the lyrics, waiting for his part.  He told her he was collaborating with Yeong Jun. She used to tell him how much she loves Yeong Jun’s voice. So he wanted to make it special, He asked for a favor just for her.

When it was his part, he rapped it to her ears along with the recorded rap playing. She moved her head backwards so she can look at him. She saw it his eyes.  The words were reflected in those eyes. After he finished the first part, she could not hold it in. tears were trickling down her cheeks while she moved in for the kiss. They stopped dancing.

“Happy Valentine’s day, baby” He was tucking her hair back and capturing the moment in his mind. “You’re more beautiful each day… This is your gift. It’s ‘Thinking of You’ because that is what I do all the time.” Her thumb was caressing his lower lip while he talked and she was smiling into his eyes. “This is beautiful. This is what most people don’t get… It’s so hard not to fall for you!”  She was squeezing his face between her palms and laughing at the face he made.  “I hope they don’t get it forever. Let it just be me. I don’t want any other woman to fall in love with you. I am only selfish when it comes to you.” He chuckled at her cuteness.

“And please don’t be this cute around other men… they are already falling for you as it is. If they see this side of you, I am going to be a mad man. You know I am the jealous type right?” She nodded against his forehead. “I am too… so don’t get tired of me being jealous. It just shows how much I love you” He chuckled again. Knowing her, he knew she was justifying for her future acts of jealousy.

“It’s almost 5 now. Where do you want to go?” He wanted a private date with her. It is not that often that they get to spend time together with their busy schedule.

“I made dinner reservation for us.” She was tying up her hair and hiding it in her cap. He helped her put on his jacket. The normal routine when she goes over to his office or studio.  It’s her cover. She dresses up as a man. He pulled the hood over her head. “I wish I can walk out of here with you proudly…” She just smiled at that. They both have the same wish. She doesn’t mind if it comes sooner. He does. He doesn’t want her to later regret not having the success she deserves just because of him.

…

The two hour drive was to a place Gary had never been to.  She rented the riverside villa for 2 nights so they can spend time in privacy. Without friends or family. Just the two of them.

“Baby, don’t you think we’re like them?” He asked. She was cuddling up to him in front of the TV watching her favorite drama. He doesn’t watch much TV but when she is around, he watches with her. He does not enjoy the drama much but he does enjoy having her glued to him with all her cute emotional talks revolving the drama every now and then.

“I think every other couple in love are like them, honey” she pointed out the obvious.  “yeah, I guess. But we’re more like that Emergency Couple”

“Of course! That couple was created with you and me in mind! I made them write us.” He remembered it but he wanted her to remind him of that. “I know, I know.” He smiled because she has the habit of repeating things to him as if he forgets things although she knows he remembers

. “I’ve always wanted to ask you, what made you want to tell our story to the scriptwriter. You rarely tell anyone anything.”

“Because they wanted me to do a drama so bad. As you know the writer is my friend.  And you’ve always written songs about me and most of your work then was about me. I kind of wanted to give it back to you and have you ‘living’ in my work. So that was my requirement. I decide how it goes. And to make it greater I made you as my character,” She was explaining while watching the drama.

“Then you learned me better… and understood me better because you were playing me” It dawned on him that she put so much thought and effort, It improved their relationship too. “Thank you for doing it, baby” He kissed on top of her head and hugged her close. He was writing lyrics in his mind.

….

He was reliving the memory of the Valentine’s day. Looking at the woman sleeping beside him while he was taking a break from finishing off some  work on his laptop. Earlier in the morning, the room was decorated with her favorite chocolates and candies when she walked in. She just got back from a meeting for a new drama. Gary was not home. But he prepared the room before he left for work.  He had love notes & red roses scattered all over the room. She took a panoramic photo of the room and sent it to him to let him know she had seen it.

He called her up. “Why are you back so early?? I wanted to be there” but he was smiling because it had made her happy anyhow.  “In case you have not known it already… I love you” He was being his cheeky self. “And in case you have not known it already.. I love you too.” She replied back. “Thank you for all this, honey. When are you coming home?”

“I hate to tell you this but I am recording right now. It should be 2-3 hours. You get your rest. I’ll wake you up when I’m home.” He didn’t wake her up. She looked so tired he didn’t have the heart to wake her up.

He put the laptop aside and lay down facing her. He fell asleep watching her sleep. When he woke up she was already sleeping soundly on his chest. She has a habit of doing that in her sleep as if she could sense him near her.  She also seem to be very sensitive to his breathing pattern too because she will always wake up soon after he does.  She leaned upwards and kissed him under his chin.

“How was your day?” She asked in her soft voice trying to get him to talk to her. He looked up the ceiling, smiling. “It was long and tiring but all is good. Got some work done. So when do you start your drama?”

To them it is just normal conversation. They didn’t need sweet romantic words all the time. They can just talk normal things while enjoying each other’s company. She updated him on her schedule.

“Damn. You’ll be so busy. I guess you’ll be leaving me to sleep alone quite often.”

“That’s the price you pay for wanting to keep this a secret. The sacrifice you have to make for wanting me to put my job over our relationship. Remember?” She was reminding him that it was him that made the decision and secretly she wished he didn’t put her career first. She wanted to be able to have him around whenever he feels like dropping by her shoot location. She wanted to show her affection freely.

She sighed and hugged him close, her ears listening to his heart beating calmly. He closed his eyes, trying to convince himself he made the right decision.

….

“Please don’t get jealous today. I wouldn’t be able to do this shoot if I know you are going to be.” He asked her before they begin the filming of the couple race. “I promise I’ll try my best.” She gave him a reassuring smile to tell him she will be okay. She herself is not sure if she can but she knows Gary can’t act well and making him worry about her will affect the filming.

Half way thru, she was already raging with jealousy inside her cool exterior.  She didn’t know how much longer she would be able to contain it. She tried hard. Gary didn’t see it but he did try to not get too much into the game.   His partner was understanding too.  She didn’t overdo it with him. But she knew for sure that Jihyo will be jealous over the kissing game. Any woman would, even if it’s just an act.  As a woman she could see Jihyo was trying to distract herself thru it all.  She apologized and talked to Jihyo after filming ended and rushed off to her drama shoot.

Jihyo saw Gary was laughing with the rest of the male members talking about their female partners for the day.  She got annoyed.  He was ending his laugh, approaching her. “Hello, baby!” His tone was too happy for the occasion. She smiled but he knew it wasn’t her normal smile. He put his arms around her shoulder. “You’re upset aren’t you?” He talked softly. She remained silent. And walked on beside him. He knew better to not talk much and walked in silence together. 

“Let’s go home and get our rest. It’s been very tiring.” He let her climb into the backseat before doing the same. His manager and stylist are sending them home.  They were chatting away.  The manager is a fan of his partner so they mostly talked about her the whole drive, to Jihyo’s annoyance.

She went straight to the bathroom and locked the door to get some alone time. Gary was putting away their bags and separating their dirty clothes for the washing machine. When he tried opening the bathroom door, he was surprised to find it locked.  She never locked the door of the en suite bathroom.  He knew something was wrong.  He used the other bathroom to bathe and he was lying on the bed waiting for her to talk it out. She took too long and he fell asleep. He was really tired.

Although she was upset, she didn’t want to disturb his sleep because he looked tired.  He would never sleep before he talks to her if they have issues. It meant he was really tired.  She got in bed and put the blanket over him and kissed him goodnight before sleeping. She loves the man but she just wants him to know that she was actually jealous.

She woke up early the next morning and left a note for him on her pillow. “I am off early. See you there”. She didn’t need to be there early. They both knew that. He sighed, getting ready alone. He blamed himself for dozing off before they got to talk. He was not in his best mood. He will be seeing her in a while but still his heart aches from missing her and not being able to settle things.

During the break between the shoot, he just can’t hold it anymore.  He was like a lost puppy when she ignored him. If only he knew she had been watching him when he was not looking. He went up to her with a cup of coffee.  She was sitting by herself going thru unread messages on her phone.

He pulled a chair and held out the coffee to her when she looked up. She was staring into his eyes waiting for him to speak. She reached out for the coffee, unwavering. He didn’t touch her but he was close. “Baby… stop tormenting me like this. I can’t handle it.” He whispered, bending down to let out his breath. She felt her heart going soft at the sight.

“I am sorry if I hurt you yesterday.  I know you can’t stand seeing other women close to me. I know because I get jealous over other men too. I am sorry I slept without waiting for you to settle things.”

“Oppa,” she called out softly as her hand lifted his face up by the chin. A brief touch lest people passing by noticing them. “I know. I just wanted you to talk to me and make up for it. I was upset.” She was smiling with a hint of tears in her eyes. He smiled. “I want to kiss you right now but this place isn’t appropriate.” He was whispering it happily. She nodded understanding the situation. “I am sorry too for making you miserable the whole day. Let’s make up for real later ok?” she winked at him and his smile got wider. He saw people walking by and tried to act normal by leaning back and looking at his phone. She contained a laugh watching him.

He took out his phone and was busy typing as she watched him in front of her. Her phone vibrated and she smiled the moment she looked at the screen “I miss you”. It was a text from him. He wasn’t done talking. She  stood up to walk away leaving him confused. His phone rang and he was laughing at himself.

“I love you” he answered the call and heard her laughing softly on the other end.  She was further away but looking at his back still sitting in the chair. “Knowing you, I know you want to hold me badly right now… “

“Desperately!” he admitted with desperation clearly visible in his voice.

“Let’s finish this shoot and talk later ok. Smile a little. The fans will be worried if you don’t”

…

“Are you going to ride with me?” HaHa asked Jihyo since he knew she was not on good terms with Gary. She was packing up her bag while Gary was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s OK Oppa, I’ll go with Gary.. He’s probably waiting in the car.” HaHa smiled. “You are always at it then you make up. I guess that’s how your relationship works. Does it bore you to stay peaceful for a long period?” HaHa asks the same question again and again expecting to hear different answers. Jihyo smiled while still packing her things into her backpack.

“You know your bestfriend well and you know me well too… You should know we are very possessive people. I don’t like fighting and I believe neither does he. But it just happens. I guess making up is always good” she winked.

“Try not to get so jealous. He is madly in love with you, I don’t think he’ll want any other woman. The moment he decided on you he stopped seeing all those girls.”

“But some of them are still in touch with him. That’s the problem. And some even came on the show… or their friends get on the show. I am not comfortable with that” She sighed and sat on the bench next to HaHa. He gave her a pat on the back. “I know… but you should also know that he is a kind man. He is not used to treating people badly unless the start. Those girls have not given him reasons to do so. You were one of them once. Remember?”

“That’s exactly the problem!” HaHa realized he hit a wrong point.  “He hated me so much and yet I could get through to him. It’s not impossible for any of them too. Things happen.”

“You know… he never hated any woman so much. In fact he doesn’t hate anybody else. It was just you. He was badly hurt because he was desperate for you.” She found comfort in those words. “Let me tell you a secret.. if u have not known it already,” He continued to try and cheer her up.

“He got drunk and cried himself to sleep for 3 nights. I thought he would continue to be that way so on the fourth night I was holding him by the neck threatening to smash his face and ends the friendship. I guess he didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t drink but the tears keep coming out tho he tried hard to hold them back. I have never seen him so bad, it wasn’t half as bad with the previous girlfriends.”

Jihyo did not know of that story. She was stunned. “Seriously?” She spoke after the long silence. HaHa nodded. “So don’t you ever doubt him. He tries his best to be with you. He had changed a lot since. He told me he wanted to be the best man you’ve ever had so you will not think of others. But I do admit he’s really jealous when it comes to other men. That’s why I don’t mind being paired up with you often. It helps him.” She suddenly hugged him. “Thank you, oppa.  You’ve been a great friend to both of us.”

“Let’s go. Gary will be waiting. I’ll walk with you. You’re not skipping the dinner right?” Jihyo shook her head. “We’re going. Can you please arrange for cover?” He smiled like he usually does. He is their cupid, he is their bestfriend.

The moment Jihyo got in the car she pulled him in for a long kiss. HaHa used to it, left them alone. “Wow! What was that for?” The kissed felt extra special. “It’s just our normal couple fight”

“I just missed you so much,” she smiled, sit back and pulled her seatbelt on. He smiled looking at her and started to drive off.  He pulled her left hand to his lips for a kiss and held it to his cheek. She pulled their hands to rest in the middle so he can drive comfortably.

“I think we can skip the talk. I’m over being jealous.” She announced happily.  He was happy hearing her words. “Besides, I am foreseeing us fighting a lot in these few months.”

“But why??”

“Because I won’t have much time with you because of the drama shoot. Mondays may be the only days you get to see me. And you’ll be writing your songs and getting emotional.” He sighed but admitted the truth in her words. “It will be hell for me. And I know I’d be very upset from not having you around.” She gripped his hand tighter. “But can you please not give up on me? Can you please make up to me when you see me? I don’t think I’ll be in a good mood often but can you handle me with care? Because I know I’d be ridiculously annoying.”

“I will try to make it up to you as long as you don’t shut me out. Leave some space for me ok?”

They’ve reached the basement parking of the dinner place. He parked the car and turned to face her. HaHa was already waiting for them with Kwangsoo.

“I love you.” He kept it short and simple before getting out of the car and opening her door for her. She was happy because his face showed what he meant.

_______

This is based on the Kenji Wu single recording and the episode with Shin Se Kyung as guest