Jihyo ran to the nearest tent to find cover from the rain. She cannot get sick. They are behind schedule right now and the filming of her new drama is dragging. She expected that. She had told Gary to anticipate that and free up her schedule to accommodate that. The rain had caused the delay yet again. She can’t complain. She had to have her makeup redone and wait for the rain to stop.

“We’re taking a break now. I need a shower to freshen up and please call the make up and hair team to my trailer in 30 minutes. Can you please bring me an iced americano while they do my makeup. Thank you” the assistant assigned to her was nodding to her every words, being careful not to miss any of her instructions. She took the towel from him and headed to her trailer with him holding the umbrella for her.

“Thank you, you’ve been kind. See you in a bit… with my americano..” she smiled and saw him off.

“Always my pleasure serving you!” She smiled even wider at how excited the young man was. He has been that way since the first day he was assigned to her. She had never seen him not smiling or complaining on the job.

She settled inside her trailer. A 30-minute personal time. She decided to put off looking at her phone and get a quick shower first. Otherwise, she knows she’ll not have time for her shower when she’s absorbed with her phone or Gary on the other end.

She didn’t bother texting to ask if he was free. She knows his schedule well and knew that she won’t be interrupting much. The phone rang for quite some time before he answered. He was gasping when he spoke. “yes, baby!” She could imagine the situation and laughed.

“Were you in the bathroom?”

“Yes, just took a shower… missing you while I was at it” he was being cheeky.

“I just took a shower too!”

“You just finished a shower scene??” he sounded jealous.

“Haha! No. It’s raining so I got a 30-minute break before I have to do my makeup and hair again. I needed one.. why jealous all of a sudden?” She knew why, she wanted to hear him talk.

“Because I am all alone just wishing you’d be around, hoping to see you dozing off on the sofa..  but the people over there get to see you shower!” She laughed a little too loud at his honesty. And her laughter had an effect on him. He was calm and happily smiling on the other side.

He lay down on his bed, getting comfortable. “So how many minutes do you have left?” She looked at the clock on the bedside table. “20 minutes”

“Do you plan on a quick nap or talking to me the whole time?”

“I’m ok. I’ll sleep later. I need you more. I haven’t seen you since filming day. We haven’t talked much too. Are you doing ok?” She sounded so comforting that all his troubles seem to be lifted off him. “Did you eat well?” She continued with all sorts of questions. She was worried he would feel neglected when all she thought about was him.

He was happy that she cares. “I am as usual… miserable when I miss you. Luckily I have some friends to kill time with..”

“I am really sorry… but it’s been dragging and the weather is not helping either. I am really tired, I wish I can just go home and rest in your arms. Even your shirt is losing your scent because I’ve been wearing it to sleep for too many nights.” It has only been 4 nights since she last saw him but she has not had time to go home. They met on set. Gary was thoughtful enough to give her his shirt as usual.

They talked for another 5 minutes before Gary had to end it.

“Honey, I need to get ready for some work now. Really sorry but I have to go.”

“Just 10 minutes more please..”

“No… I have to go. Call me tonight when you’re done ok. I really need to go now.” He was rushing his words after receiving a text on his other phone. He received another text and quickly ended the call. “ok, gotta go. Byeee” and he hung up.

Jihyo was upset. He was not his usual self. He never hung up on her like that. It was suspicious.  She suddenly got jealous and wasn’t happy. She keep trying to find reasons to justify his action. But it got her even more upset. Before she thinks of worse things, she decided to stop thinking and call her makeup and hair team in so she could continue working.

..

Gary felt guilty for his action. But he could not think of any way to hide it from her. He let it pass and will deal with it when he sees her. He picked up his other phone and went to the door to open it for the person who had been texting him.

“Hello! Good to see you here!” He greeted the woman at the door. “Come on in. Let me help with that.” He took the box she was carrying and put it on the table.

“Sorry I had to come earlier. Hope it’s ok..”

“No problem at all.. it’s ok.”

He took a glass and poured her a drink. Before sitting down.

He texted Jihyo. “Sorry, honey… Somebody’s here to see me. Will make up to you. Love you.” He put away his phone to talk to the woman in front of him.

Jihyo was smiling despite still being upset with him. His text does that to her.

“So you’re smiling now!” HD, her makeup artist finally has something to say. She’s been quiet because she knew Jihyo was not in a good mood when she called them in earlier. Jihyo looked at HD in the mirror and smiled awkwardly. “I’m good now..”

“All it takes is just a text from him.. Good to know that.”

…

She finished earlier than expected. She thought it would end late but the the director said to continue the scenes the next day since it will drag on until morning if they continued. Weirdly, the director was OK with ending it earlier, which he never did. But she was happy for the change. She can’t wait to get back to her trailer and retire for the day.

“What’s my call time tomorrow?” she asked as soon as her assistant came rushing to her side.

“11am. Your scene starts at 1pm.”

“Seriously?? I can sleep in?” Her happiness was so apparent on her face that the assistant found it amusing. Then she saw HD came running to her gasping for air.

“Ya! Why are you running? What’s the hurry?”

“You can’t go yet. You got a wardrobe fitting in the city.. the designer is waiting.”

“oh so that’s why we ended early today… it’s ok, I got a late call time tomorrow.”

But her male assistant was confused. He didn’t have that on her schedule. Before he can say anything HD was already pulling her and gave signal for him to not follow. Of course, he doesn’t get informed of a few things at times so he let it go and went back to the staff camp.

…

“Where’s the fitting?” she asked as soon as they got into the car. HD was driving.

“Nearby hotel. I got the location on GPS. The designer called and asked if we can go earlier because she got a bride last minute’s request to attend to.”

“ohh ok.. Let’s get there then.” She texted Gary to inform she’ll be finishing soon. He didn’t read it. She assumed he’s probably attending dance or chinese language class.

 

“We’re here… but you go up first, I’ll go get the car parked. It’s the room on the top floor. Just one room there so you won’t be lost. Just avoid the reception, go straight to the lift. You don’t want fans gathering here.” She put on a face mask and quickly got off the car when she saw a car was waiting behind them. It was a small hotel but probably the best in the area. It was in a quiet neighborhood. The hotel didn’t have much going on. She went straight to the lift and pressed for the top floor.

She got out of the lift and saw the door already opened. She walked in and said her greeeting. She didn’t see anyone so she walked in hoping to find the designer. She was walking through the hallway of that big suite room when she heard the door close and quickly turned towards it in shock.

A man was standing before the door.

“What are you doing??” she went up to the man, tears pooling in her eyes. He went to her and gathered her in his arms. “I was here the whole day waiting for you.” He kissed her and walked her to the couch. She saw a beautiful wrapped box next to a few plates of food on the coffee table.

“I know you have not eaten. So I had the hotel prepare these…” she ignored it and sat across him, pulling his face towards her and showering kisses all over it to say her thanks while he laughed happily at her action, still holding her to him. “So you’re going to eat these first or me?” he was joking but jihyo suddenly got that smile on her face that suggested the latter.

“Oh! Ok then.. we’ll have to eat these later then.”

..

It was already midnight when they finally got to eating the cold food. She got to the box next. Gary always buys things for her. He doesn’t wait for occassions, he buys whatever reminds him of her. Gary watched her open the box. “Why did you have to wrap it so nicely? I have to open them anyway.” But she wasn’t complaining. Gary likes things to be beautiful and special. That’s how he shows his affection. He is not the type to show affections in front of people. He keeps things private because he is actually very shy. But when he gives, he gives the best.

As she opened, he explained the gift. “Remember when we filmed at the mall. You saw a bag similar to the bag you like…” She finally saw what was inside the box and squealed. She was just mentioning casually when they passed a shop while filming. The bag she saw was not even the bag she wanted but it was similar. “That looks like Celine.. In white too.” She was muttering to herself and didn’t intend for anybody to hear. Gary made a note on the brand and the bag. The next day he was describing it to his stylist and she sent a few pictures for him to choose before she was sent to the designer store to buy one. “Is it the one you wanted? I took a guess and picked that.” She was inspecting the bag, looking in and out, her eyes lit like a child receiving a favorite toy. “The exact same one I saw in the magazine!” She turned towards Gary and left the bag in the box. She kneeled on the floor, looking up at him.

“You know, you don’t have to buy me all these stuff for me to love you…” She reminds him of that often. “but to know that you watch over me, taking note of what I like, it is very thoughtful. And I know that besides spoiling me with gifts, you want me to know that you care…”

“I do care.. a lot.. and I know you’ll love me anyway but we know money is not a problem for you and me… so it carries no monetary values but the thoughts I have buying it for you.”

“You’re lucky I am not like other women.. Otherwise you’d be out of money sooner than you think.” She joked.

“by the way, how did you get the director to end it earlier??” She got up and sat next to him. She knew it was all his plan to get her to him. “Everybody was surprised that he moved my scenes to tomorrow. He doesn’t do that…” Gary smiled. “Well, I have the talent to talk people into things… I just talked to the producer and asked him to talk to your director.”

“Oh no… he must be upset having people telling him to do things.. and to disturb his work..” She sighed realising it may have caused trouble. She turned to look at Gary sitting back, smiling lovingly, admiring her. He admires that she is always considerate of others even if she doesn’t have to. He reached out to caress her cheek.

“You’re here with me and you still think of work?” He said it softly and got her smiling guiltily. She put her hand on his thigh turning towards him and kissed him briefly. “sorry..”

“It’s OK.. I actually have valid reasons to have you here with me. The director is OK with it. It won’t affect your work so don’t worry.”

“Thank you for coming..” she remembered she had not thanked him yet. “ But I’ll be seeing you in 2 days anyway..”

“yeah right.. as if you got time for me when you come back to see me.. The only time I got to spend with you is when we have breaks during our filming.. And still it’s so hard to get you to myself with all the other people also trying to catch up with you..” He was whining and she loved it. She hugged him and stayed in his arms.

“OK OK.. I get it. So what do you want to do now that you’ve got me alone. I have to report back at 11 tomorrow so I have some time..”

“I just want you to have a good rest. You’re tired. I came here to take care of you. We’ve eaten so what would you like next?” His voice was so calming that she didn’t want to do anything else but stay there in his arms.

“Nothing. Let’s go lie down in bed and talk ourselves to sleep…”

…

Gary sent her back on set and drove back to Seoul for work. He had postponed his schedule to go to her. He was happy to see her doing ok. It has been bothering him to see her so tired during their short video calls and in her photos she sent to him. He had to make sure that she is OK so he can focus on his work. His chinese teacher and dancers was happy to get the day off too.

“So how is she? All OK? But looking at how happy you look, I assume she’s better than ok huh” His pretty teacher asked the moment he walked in for class. He smiled shyly.  The rest of his friends are not there yet. He made his friends atend class with him so he has people he can practise with.

“I had to make sure. Sorry for postponing the class.”

“It’s OK. You have your priorities right. I would want my boyfriend to do that too”.

And he is back to his normal routine of chinese and dance class. She’s back to getting busy on set. They saw each other during filming but private moments were very brief that they tried staying close as much as possible.

“Oppa, I’m going to be very busy. I’ll come home the night before I have to go to Malaysia.”

“But your filming is just around here, can’t you stay home?”

“It ends late and starts early. I have to consider the staff too. They work even longer hours. It’s just for a few weeks more.”

“It’s been so many weeks..”

“oppa you have your work too right…” she tried consoling him. He doesn’t look happy that she didn’t want to go back to him after filming. “even if I come home, we’ll both be very tired anyway..”

“OK. Bye then.” He walked away leaving her at her van. She shook her head feeling sorry, knowing how sensitive he can be. But he didn’t show he was upset. She knew he was. He just didn’t want to fight with her.

He kept himself busy. He practiced til late. He even dragged his chinese teacher to join the dance class. He was busy signing up to new SNS and uploading and going live. Jihyo knew he was showing it to her. He acts that way when he is upset with her. She thought at least that makes the fans happy. She got what he was trying to do. He wanted her upset by being busy til late and had no time to call or text her. He wanted her to understand how he feels. She understood him well. She just didn’t have the time to make it up to him.

The day before she went to Malaysia, she texted him. “Will you be busy with classes tonight? I may end late tonight…”

The moment he read it, he thought jihyo was not coming to him. But he wanted her with him.

“I have classes tonight, as usual. You’re not coming home are you?” he regretted texting that the moment he pressed send.

“I was just asking to tell you I’ll be late. But since you assumed I won’t come, so be it then.” She had work to finish and was not ready to deal with him. She was upset too. He didn’t text or call her for many days before.

He didn’t reply to her. He was not in a good mood. He continued dancing to get it out of his system.

It was past midnight and still no sign of her coming home. She had been quiet.

She didn’t plan to go home to him. She thought of spending the night at her apartment. Her staffs stay there so they wouldn’t have to wake up early to make arrangment for her to go to the airport. “HD, I’ll spend the night at the apartment.” HD saw that she wasn’t in her best mood.

“Again??” and Jihyo nodded. “You’re both busy and missing each other.. you’re both sensitive.. but just text him. He’s probably waiting. I know you’re going to regret not going home when you miss him badly tomorrow.” HD checked her SNS accounts to see updates from him. As expeted, she found his update and showed it to her. “See. He’s getting restless. He’s not sleeping yet.. he wants you to know this.” She looked at it and knew it was intended for her.

“Shall I send you home?” HD offered. She nodded in silence.

…

She walked into the house. Lights were on, the house was bright as day. “and you complain you can’t sleep!” she muttered under her breath.

He was nowhere to be seen yet. She put her bags away in her closet room and changed into her sleeping shirt after washing her face and brushing her teeth. She continued to look for Gary as she headed to the bedroom. She opened the door to the bedroom and he wasn’t inside.

She went to his studio room. She opened the door slowly to peek in. She heard a female’s voice so familiar to her. Gary was facing away from her, facing his Macbook. A video of her playing on the screen. She smiled. He could have had her back if he had at least texted her back, but he decided to be stubborn and watch videos of her instead.

She creeped in slowly. The sound from his macbook was loud enough to cover the sound of her feet on the wooden floor. She shook his chair and he jumped out of it, shocked at the sudden movement “Oh God!”

She moved back and laughed at him. He stood facing her.

“So you’d rather watch me on video than have me here huh? All it takes is just a text and I’ll rush home to you. But you had to post it on your SNS, hoping I’d see it?”

He was avoiding her eyes, rubbing his neck for no reason. She went to him and held his face to face her. “Look at me..” He looked. Those eyes melt her instantly. “Oppa..” she started softly. “I know you’re upset with me. But ignoring me won’t make things better.” He was still quiet. She pulled him out to the kitchen and make him sit on the stool.

“Are you hungry?” She was looking in the fridge.

“Yes.” He fell in love with her all over again, looking at her trying to make up to him. She was searching for something to cook for him. She took out a few vegetables and some chicken meat and started prepping to cook. He watched on. She looked very tired.

“What are you cooking?” He moved towards her and leaned back on the counter next to the stove. She looked at him. “cooking up some love for you.. I see that you didn’t have enough…” Her words hit him right on point that he chuckled.

He went behind her and hugged her, chin resting on her shoulder. “thank you.” And kissed her cheek.

She served the noodle on a plate. And pulled him to the dining table. She sat beside him to watch him eat.

“Why aren’t you eating?” He was admiring the dish. It was a normal dish but the fact that she made it for him made it look so good. He noticed she didn’t have some for herself. “Don’t you want to eat?”

“I’m OK. I had dinner. I need to sleep so I can’t eat now.”

“Oh OK.. I’ll finish fast. Or you can go ahead and sleep..”

“The reason I am here is to sleep with you.. I had to cook this to make sure you’d want to share the same bed with me tonight. So eat up. I’ll do the dishes while you eat.” She started standing up but he held her by the hand.

“No, sit here with me. I’ll do the dishes tomorrow. Let’s talk.” She sat back down and he made her laugh as he normally does with his updates on life and work.

…

She turned in her sleep to find warmth in his arms. The bed was empty beside her.

“Kang Gary!” she was calling out for him. Gary could hear her. He left the door open so he would know when she wakes up. She doesn’t like waking up alone when he’s around. He rushed into the room. “Good morning sunshine!” She sat up and went into his arms like a child would.

“I didn’t want to wake you up so early. You need the sleep.” He explained himself.

“Why are you up so early? Come back to bed.”

“I cleaned the kitchen and was packing your bag for today…” he was already getting in beside her. “but that can wait.”