SHIN MI YEON

I am just about to continue eating my ramyeon when my handkerchief flies off my lap, landing on the floor around the table beside me. I hurry out of my seat to get it when I hear a crash behind. I turn back to see Suho lying on top of my fallen chair. I gasp.

“Are you okay?” I ask anxiously while helping him up. Thank God there aren't many people in the tent anymore or we'll have a scene right here. Most of the people here are drunk anyway so I doubt they will care about us. Looking at his face, I notice the blush on his cheeks and I chuckle. “Are you drunk off food? You didn’t even drink soju or any alcohol.”

He rubs the back of his head sheepishly, looking very embarrassed. “I-I just lost my balance...”

I laugh at him. We settle down and quickly finish off the food since it's getting late. Since my apartment is really near the pojangmacha, we reach my house in no time. I step out and he does the same.

“Let me walk you up,” He grins and I nod.

Right as I reach my apartment, the door flies open, revealing Luhan. I roll my eyes at his uptight behaviour. I turn to Suho and smile. He smiles back and bows slightly to Luhan, who unwillingly returns one.

“Thanks for today, even if I was the one treating you,” I wink. “Don’t sleep too late!”

He chuckles. “Thank you Mi Yeon-ah. You sleep early too. I’ll see you soon then!”

I am about to enter the apartment when Suho pulls my wrist, causing me to spin around. He hugs me swiftly before smiling charmingly and walking away. I am stunned but the hug feels nice, comforting, and warm even if it’s for a few seconds. A smile is playing on my lips as I turn around to go in. Luhan is frowning at me and I just roll my eyes at him. I’ve been rolling my eyes a lot nowadays and it’s all because of him.

“Did you drink?” He asks me and I scowl at him.

“Do I smell like alcohol or something? No I didn’t dare drink. I do not dare to disobey my manager, you know,” I say, sarcastically. I walk to my room to change into my sleeping clothes and he walks in after me. I give him a look that tells him to get out.

“I have to tell you your schedule because I know that once you change into your  sleepwear, your mind is automatically tuned to sleep.”

I laugh slightly at that. He’s right about that.

“I’ll listen, I promise. Let me change first.”

“No.”

I know what to do next. Without caring that he’s in the room, I strip myself off my dress and down to my lingerie. I hear a gasp and smirk to myself a little. It's not that I don't care that I’m half in front of him. It's just that I’ve been a lingerie model before so the entire country has seen me like this on CFs, magazines, and even newspapers. I turn around to see Luhan gone and I laugh out loud. Although I do feel kind of shy because it's been awhile since a guy has seen my body -even though not entirely bare- in real life, I can't help but find it amusing due to how innocent he is.

“Stop laughing!” He shouts from outside the room. I squat down to laugh even more. I can feel my abs forming.

“I never thought I’d say this but Lu manager, you’re really cute,” I say in between my laughter. After I calm down, I put on my nightgown and go outside. He is sitting on the couch. His ears are bright red and I stifle my laughter. I feel so mean. “I promised you, now talk.”

He look up and gesture me to sit down. “I’m going to tell you your schedule.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Tomorrow, you’ll have to leave here by nine in the morning to a CF shooting. And afterwards at about six in the evening, you have to film some drama scenes.”

“Okay I got it.”

“I’ll be here at seven to wake you up and get you ready so go and sleep now. Also, the CF director is kind of a jerk so I hope you won’t be your usual cranky self tomorrow.”

I nod and narrow my eyes at his last sentence. “Okay I won’t be. Good night Lu manager. See yourself out.”

“Wake up!” I hear a guy’s voice say. I groan and roll to my right while tightening my hold on the toasty and soft quilt. “No, wake up now! I’m going to yank the quilt away.”

I grumble and tighten my hold on the quilt even more. I’m quite awake already but I refuse to let him win, that jerk. Without warning (okay... he did warn me), the quilt flies off, exposing me to the cold air and I shiver, curling up into a ball. I hear a heavy sigh and I crack one eye open to see a pissed off Luhan glaring at me. “Fine I’ll get up,” I mumble while shooting him a glare of my own. I quickly take a cold shower to wake me up and do my usual skincare routine. I put on some black eyeliner, white eyeliner for the waterline of my eyes, mascara, and etude house’s cute eye maker to make my aegyo sal more prominent. That’s my usual makeup. I don’t like putting cakey makeup on my face. I don't need any foundation or base so it's less money spent and less work to do in the morning.

I slowly open the door to see where Luhan is. He’s making me some breakfast, apparently. “Lu manager, what should I wear?”

“Something warm? It’s a pretty cold day.”

I decide on a mint-coloured pullover and a pair of white skinny jeans. Leaving my room, I can already smell the fragrance of kimchi jjigae. I quicken my pace towards the kitchen to see kimchi jjigae, half bowl of brown rice, two sunny side ups, and several side dishes on the table.

'“Wah! Lu manager jjang,” I grin, giving him two thumbs up and quickly sit my down on a chair. I thank him and dig in, savouring every bite of the delicious food. “Lu manager, you’re really a great cook. Maybe after I retire, you can open a restaurant.”

“Silly,” He remarks and I glare at him.

“I mean it. You really are a great cook. You make eating clean enjoyable.”

We then eat in silence and leave house once we’re done. We arrive at the shooting scene and I already know why Luhan said what he said. I’m not even out of the car but I can hear shouting and things breaking. Luhan and I exchange a knowing glance.

“Be careful,” He whispers as we walk over to the scene itself. I nod and turn to greet all the staffs. I may seem y (sometimes) but I'm actually polite.

“Mi Yeon-ssi, you’re here,” The director, Kim Suk Man says. He is sweaty and his face is red and oily. Honestly, how is that possible when it’s so cold out here? I turn and bow at him. “Go get your outfit changed.”

I see my coordinator walking towards me and she gives me a small smile, a forced smile that says she’s pissed. I return her a knowing smile and we walk to the changing room. She whispers to me angrily. This coordinator, Joo Yoon, has been with me since I’ve first debuted as an actress. We are pretty much close friends now and she’s really quick to see past my tough façade. I really, really like her.

“It’s okay, someday someone will put him in his place.”

“What are you going to do?” She asks me, worried that I’ll do something that will harm my reputation.

“I’m not going to do anything, or even waste my saliva on him. He’s just not worth it.”

“That’s good. Here, put this on,” Joo Yoon says as she passes me a white gown. I look at it and raise an eyebrow.

I look up at Joo Yoon, dumbfounded. “Isn’t this a… wedding dress?”

She looks at me in shock. “You didn’t know today’s CF is about bed?”

“B-Bed?” I spit out in utter shock. “Did you say bed?”

Joo Yoon nods and shakes her head. “Right. Kim Suk Man changed it this morning. I think you were supposed to do a CF on healthy juices but he changed it last minute. I think even your manager has no idea.”

Just then, the most annoying director shouts, telling me to hurry up because I am taking up too much of his precious time. That arrogant bastard, thinking like he’s the boss. I breathe heavily because of the anger growing inside. ‘Bastard, bastard, bastard,’ I chant in my head. I quickly slip into the wedding gown and I must admit it fits me very well. Looking in the mirror wistfully, my heart breaks at the thought of me never ever being able to get married. Dejected, I go out to see Luhan in a suit, looking – may I say – handsome as hell. Why isn't he a celebrity yet? I feel like my mouth is going to drop open so I bite onto my lower lip, forgetting that I have lipstick on. The makeup artist rushes over to touch up my lips and wipe the lipstick stains on my teeth.

“Because of the sudden change, we can’t find any guy to be a couple with you so I chose your manager. He seems to be the most suitable out of all the guys here,” Kim Suk Man says. “Let’s start.”

“Smile, smile!” Suk Man bellows. “What’s with your faces?! Did you do botox in the morning?!”

'Calm down... Calm down. Don't let him get to you,' I tell myself repeatedly. We do as we're told. I sit on the soft bed in between Luhan's legs. His arms snake around my waist as he pulls me to his front so that my back is lying on his chest. His embrace warms me up. It is, of course, awkward yet it somehow feels really nice, and not to mention my skin feels hot where he touched. He leans down to peck my cheek and the light flashes, signalling that the moment is taken. My cheeks warm up and the place where he pecked is tingling.

“Good!” Suk Man nods and sends us to change into sleeping wear. I slip into a woolly and fuzzy pyjamas that’s white with little pink heart shapes. I come out to see Luhan in a similar one except the hearts are blue. It’s really a funny sight yet it’s adorable and goes well with his doe eyes. He looks innocent and very much like a little boy with a full-grown male body. “Lie on the bed now! I want a playful look, like ones you’ll have when you’re on a honeymoon.”

“Excuse me, but I’m not married,” I tell him. He rolls his eyes.

“Don’t you watch dramas? Aren’t you a professional actress?”

I roll my eyes, knowing that he's right and so I oblige. We quickly get on the bed, and try to gaze at each other with a playful look. We are kneeling on the bed, facing each other. I really want to get this thing over and done with so I do what a professional would do – I push him down aggressively and lie front down while he is lying on his back. The top part of my body is on his chest and my lower body is next to his. His face is full of shock. I wink. Click, flash, click, flash.

“Well done! We’re done. Good job,” Suk Man flashes a rare tiny smile before walking off. I feel proud as he is not a person to praise people often. I turn to Luhan who is still in a daze.

“Come on, let’s go,” I say before getting off the bed. I walk over to the changing room with Joo Yoon and she says something that surprises me.

“You guys look like you’re in love,” She winks. I literally gasp at that.

“What?” I ask in disbelief. “You’re crazy.”

“No I’m not. You can check the pictures when they’re out.”

I brush off what she said and continue changing my clothes. I don’t know about Luhan but I’m not in the position nor am I able to love anyone. With all the things going on in my life, love is the last thing I’d worry about.