1. Three Months 

A/N: I wanna start this smooth and easy, with paragraphs containing just a few lines. Enjoy!

She could watch the news all day, and even read countless articles all night; all the stories that were pointing towards her and her co-star Song Joong Ki rummaged celebrity news, trending and being talked about in and outside the nation.


Hye Kyo had never thought the drama would be a huge success. Sometimes she thought if it was hers and Song Joong Ki's chemistry on and off-screen, or their skill to portray their assigned characters flawlessly that made everyone love them.


 All of a sudden, her phone rang. From her peripheral view, she could see the three-syllable name that appeared on the phone's screen.



Calling: Song Joong Ki



Without hesitation, Hye Kyo picked it up, "Yeoboseyo,"



"Noona, it's me,"



"I know it's you," She grinned at the sound of Joong Ki's sonorous voice on the phone, "What's the matter?"



"I..." Joong Ki paused, "I just...wanted to thank you for the coffee truck you sent on set,"



She giggled at his seemingly coy tone, as it has been a while since she have talked with a this man. Lately, she and the rising Hallyu Star Song Joong Ki haven't had the usual, casual conversations they would occasionally have on the phone because of their busy and conflicting schedules—all prohibiting them from catching up. Joong Ki was living his dream as an actor, accepting product endorsement deals here and there, doing interviews, working as a tourism ambassador, and working on a huge movie project set for 2017.



These days, Song Joong Ki was a busy man; he never had a decent break after he was discharged from military service. Three months shortly after his two-year mandatory service, Joong Ki geared up for a project set up for him, leading him to portray the captain Yoo Si Jin in the Korean hit drama, Descendants of The Sun.

Since then, he had been showered with so much that a personality could ask for.

 

"You're welcome," Hye Kyo replied, and she heard him chuckle on the other line. Shifting towards the right side of her bed, she asked him, "How is everything? What are you doing?"



"I just got home, some scenes took so long to take," At his reply, Hye Kyo glanced at the digital clock that perched on her bedside table; it was 2:30 AM.

Poor Joong Ki… she sighed, and then suddenly heard him follow up a question to her.

“What about you? What are you doing this late?"

 

"I'm just reading a few articles,"


 

"About us?"


 

"Ne," Hye Kyo said as her fingers moved skillfully around the laptop’s touchpad, clicking and opening one article in a new tab, and then another, "The photoshop edits amuses me a lot. They’re getting really interesting. Sometimes it looks real,"

 

"Yeah," Joong Ki agreed, "Real,"

 

Real...just as what everybody thinks they are.

But not everybody knew that what they all were actually speculating about the renowned SongSongCouple, all the articles, the news—they were all true.
 

"Are you still there?" Hye Kyo heard his voice again, making her reply in a surprised, flustered tone.



"Y-Yes, I'm still here. Mianhe," She bit her lip.



He sighed, "Noona, are you sure you're comfortable with this? I also called you for this reason,"



"About what?"

 

"You know... Hiding our relationship to the public,"



She wasn't comfortable with it, to be honest.




Hye Kyo wanted to tell the whole world how much she loved Joong Ki; after years of waiting for the opportunity to open her heart once more, she had finally found someone who saw her not just as a woman, not even as his noona, but more importantly as someone who wanted to spend a lifetime with her.


Right after Baeksang Awards Night, Joong Ki asked her if she would give him the chance to open her heart once again—but he didn't know he had opened it long before the drama ended. Since then, the two started dating in secret, saying sweet, yet vague compliments during interviews, maintaining that good noona-dongsaeng relationship, added with a little sweet gestures that would stir up the fans.


When they had spared time for themselves, they dated either at a remote shop or at his house together with his family.


The incident in New York, however, was truly a chance meeting; Hye Kyo by any means did not expect to meet her boyfriend there. Gladly, their managers were with them that time, which is why they did not have hesitations in having dinner in one of the city's restaurants.



Joong Ki would often try to free his schedule just to spend time with Hye Kyo but before he could do so, a project would always come along and bring them apart again.


Joong Ki was at the peak of his career, if not trudging towards it still; he was living his dream of becoming an actor loved by many, and Hye Kyo did not want to take that away from him--it was too selfish of her to demand time. And instead of being the possessive girl, Hye Kyo chose to support Joong Ki at his overwhelming success. Everytime a misleading rumor or scandal came about, Hye Kyo was quick to defend Joong Ki through her agency.



She also understood why Joong Ki wanted his relationships away from the public to know, so she chose to endure and give way to the man's decision.



She loved him so much, and all that she had ever wanted was for Joong Ki to be happy because of his career, and because he had a supportive girlfriend watching over him.



Watching over her younger boyfriend for three months straight...


 

...that was one thing a noona would do, right?





"Don't worry about me, Joong Ki," She mused, "Just do your best always. I'll be supporting you,"



"You're making me feel guilty though," He voiced. "If you're not that comfortable, we could just open it up—"



"If there's anything you should feel right now, let it not be guilt," Hye Kyo replied while she went on scrolling down on one article on her laptop, "I know you value your privacy a lot, and I respect that. Just keep doing what you do. I'll be here. Okay?"



"Noona... You're really sweet,"



"Isn't that the reason why you fell in love with me?" Hye Kyo teased, "It's been a while since we met. When was the last, was it during the DOTS Director's Cut commentary?"



"Geurae... It's been a while,"<