We are about to walk into the press conference room right now. I sneak a peek at the room and it is full of reporters. They are checking their cameras and recorders. I am getting supper nervous. They all look so eager like they readily eat us up the moment we walk out there. My legs turn weak. I look around to find an exit door. I am so ready to run away. But suddenly Jae Joong holds my shaking hand. His touch is especially gentle today. I look up at him, his eyes are aiming that the conference room but his hand is tightly locking mine like telling me to trust him and everything going to be ok. I didn’t know that he has this gentle side of him. My nervous pulse gets calmer from his touch. My heart feels warm as he grips his hand tier on mine. I unconsciously smile softly looking at him. He looks rather cool right now.

“Don’t screw it up.” – Again, he snaps me right back to reality. Thank you for reminding me that you are still a jerk – I really want to tell him that but my nervousness stops me. We are about to walk out there.

“Let’s go.” – He softly says, curls my hand around his arm and confidently walks to the table in the middle of the conference room. He is brightly waving his hand, smiling, and posing while I am being an idiot, trying to avoid the flash light and simpering. This is totally my worst nightmare. Why do they have to keep flashing their cameras? I am being blinded right here. The walk to the table probably only takes a few steps but it feels like a thousand miles to me.

Finally, we make it to the table. He nicely pulls out the chair for me – first time ever. He really works hard to protect his image in public. Such a two faces man!

Just as expected, the press conference is a chaos. Reporters keep asking question. It seems like they have an endless list of questions. Jae Joong answers most of it. At least he is good at something. Of course, this is his job, if he can’t even good at responding to reporters then he should give up his career.

 But to me, it is a totally different story. This is my first press conference ever. I can’t hide my nervousness. Even though most of questions were prepped but I still can’t help to be stuttered sometimes. Under the table, he gently slides his fingers to mine, softly but tightly holds my hand, keeps me calm.

“Take a deep breath.” – He whispers.

I don’t know if it is the deep inhale or his sweet gentle voice or his soft hand but I got calmer. The rest of the conference goes by pretty smoothly. My watch says the conference lasts 1 hour but my mind tells me it is probably one decade just passed. I release a long exhale as we leave the conference room.

“Good job you two.” – Ji Soo oppa happily tells us.

“Was it really good oppa? I know I made a lot of mistake.” – I ask, hesitate.

“You know you made a lot of mistake too? If it wasn’t for me, you probably already ruined the whole conference.” – Wow his jerk side immediately comes back the moment we are away from the reporters. He still hasn’t given me any appreciation word for going through all this to help him and I thought he was nice earlier. This guy really likes to confuse the crap out of me.

“What are you talking about?” – Ji Soo oppa scowls at Jae Joong. – “She did very well for a firstimer.” – Then Ji Soo oppa turns to me – “You did really good job Ji Hyo. Don’t bother about him. I think you have really good potential. You should consider joining entertainment world.”

I shake my hands and my head at the same time – “No oppa. One conference already drained my energy. I’m honestly not cut out for this.”

I didn’t lie when I said that. My body is really in shut down mode right now. Too much questions, too much answers, too much flash light. I can’t keep my head straight anymore. I walk to the car like a zombie. What I need now is a good tight sleep. Yes, that is what I need.

I claw inside the car and move straight to the folded down chair. I lay down and close my eyes immediately. I think I’m in very deep sleep. I don’t even remember for how long but I think I have many dreams. My body is moving in laying position. I am sure that I can’t fly but whatever, probably just a dream. In my dream, I feel something warm is laying next to me. My forehead is caressed by a very gentle hand. I try to open my eyes. With my blurry vision, I see Jae Joong, he is gazing at me with the most gentle look, the look that I have never seen before. But that look, something is also sad about it. I see pain in his eyes. Why is he so sad? And why am I also feeling so bad? I move my hand, gently caress his face. I want to comfort him. He holds my hand, tightly, and keeps it on his face for a long time. He smiles at me softly, but the way he looks at me, is still so sad. I want to comfort him more but I am too tired. My body is giving up, I close my eyes. It is probably just a dream. I am in my dream land.

That’s what I thought …

Morning sun ray is soft but bright enough to wake me up from my tired sleep. I slowly open my eyes. This room is familiar. Right! This is my maid room.

Wait! How did I get here? The last thing I remember is sleeping on the car. Who brought me here? It was not possibly Jae Joong. With his personality, he probably would just wake me up and make me walk to the room by myself. Did I sleepwalk last night? Probably! But how about the image and the touch that I felt last night? Was it really Jae Joong? I shake that thought off my head. No way was it real. I probably just had a dream. Only in a dream, he can be that nice and gentle to me. But why did I dream about him? I hit my head. I am such a bad girl. How could I dream about another man while I already have such a wonderful and handsome boyfriend? I probably had too much irritation toward Jae Joong yesterday so he haunted me even in my dream.

Talking about my boyfriend, I need to call him. I promised to call him yesterday after the press conference but I felt asleep. I take my phone out and there are about 10 missed calls and 20 messages from my prince. I am guilty to admit that I smile a little seeing how worry my prince was. I read the messages first.

“How is the conference?”

“Are you ok?”

“Do you need me to go there?”

“Are you sleeping?”

“Sleep tight princess.”

“Call me when you wake up”

Things like that. They are just simple messages but I can’t stop smiling reading them. He genuinely cares about me and it makes me happy.  I lay back down on my bed and dial my prince. He picks up right at the first ring.

“Are you ok?” – He asks, concerned.

“N-ne. Sorry I dozed off last night so I didn’t know that you called.”

“It’s ok. I just want to make sure that you are ok. How was the press conference?”

“It was really tired. How did you do it all the time oppa? I really don’t want to do it again.”

He laughs softly. – “Even celebrities like me doesn’t like press conference neither. We only do it when we have to.”

“Really? I am so tired now.”

“Do you want to eat something good? I know a good place for ginseng chicken soup. It will definitely help to make up for your lost energy yesterday.”

“Really?” – I squeal happily. I haven’t been able to eat out for a long time. Since the day I came to Korea, I stuck working for Jae Joong. I only ate inside the house. I enjoyed my cooking but still, I want to be outside, enjoy Korean cuisine. My father always said that ginseng chicken soup was good but I never had a chance to enjoy the authentic one. This is just perfect. I am happy.

“Of course, get ready ok? I will come by and pick you up in 30 minutes”.

“N-ne.” – I excitedly answer and jump straight out of my bed to take a shower. I sing a little in the shower too. I finally can eat ginseng chicken soup and my prince is the one taking me too. It is so refreshing taking a morning shower. I change my clothes and happily walk out of my bedroom door.

“Where are you going?”

I forgot that I moved back at Jae Joong’s house but still I am no longer his maid. I don’t have to report to him where I am going

“Out” – I arrogantly answer

He clears his throat. – “Eat something first.” – He says, gesturing me the smoking bowl of soup on the table. I walk to the dining table out of curiosity and it is ginseng chicken soup. It looks good and smells delicious as well. I really want to just sit down and dig in but the doorbell stops me. Probably my prince. Wow! What with today and ginseng chicken soup? They probably are really close friends so their tastes are the same. But why is Jae Joong being so nice to me anyway? Even bought a soup for me so early in the morning. He probably finally realizes that he needs to thank me. It is a little bit late but I give him a point for his effort. However, I can’t eat that. My prince has driven all the way here to take me out. I feel really bad but I have to tell Jae Joong – “Sorry but I have a plan to eat out with Si Won oppa.”

His face immediately turns dark. He is upset, I can tell.

“Fine, just go. I will eat it all by myself.” – He says and sits down on the table digs in the bowl immediately. I feel bad but I can’t do any different. My boyfriend is waiting for me.

“I’m sorry” – I mumble then run to the door. My prince is brightly waiting for me with a smile but why my heart feels heavy?