Her boyfriend was a busy man and she's only just realising it.

 

After his interview ended, he went straight to the studio to rehearse for his upcoming concert, then met his old classmates for dinner. And now he's on the field, playing a friendly match with his bunch of football pals. He's all about living life to the fullest. 

 

By contrast, her morning was spent lounging in bed, followed by that awkward lunch with her family, then more lazing around at her friend's cat cafe. She wasn't expecting to meet Oppa today, but his impromptu invitation over text sent her running to this makeshift soccer field in an obscure neighbourhood. Situated right next to a rather modest-looking elementary school, it wasn't so much a soccer field as it was a wide clearing, so beaten off the path she had to check her GPS a few times to make sure she was at the right place.

 

With no proper spectator stands or benches around, she plopped down on a grassy patch next to a bunch of chattering ahjummas, who paid her no heed. She was after all dressed plainly in an oversized T-shirt and denim cutoffs, her long, thick hair tucked underneath a black cap, her face partially covered by a mask. She even hid her eyes behind a pair of wide-rimmed black glasses. To put it simply, she looked incredibly unremarkable.

 

Though in hindsight, her disguise might have worked too well because he hadn't looked once in her direction since she arrived halfway through the game. She contemplated giving him a subtle wave, but decided that might make her look too much like a lovestruck groupie, so she wisely kept her hand to herself, choosing instead to admire her Oppa from afar.

 

She wasn't a football expert by any means, but she knew the game fairly well. Her father was a huge fan and she grew up watching the sport on TV, sometimes even catching 'live' matches in stadiums with her family or friends.  From what she could tell, he was a pretty decent player; while he hadn't scored any goals, he had made several assists. He also had boundless energy, chasing after the ball with long strides and masterful dribbles.

 

Her eyes lingered on his long lean legs, appreciating the way his muscles bunched up as he sprinted across the field. His shirt was pulled taut across his defined chest, sweat dripping down the sides of his face, which he wiped off roughly with the back of his large hands.

 

She was mesmerised, not by the beauty of the game, but by his rugged beauty. He's quick on his feet, had great stamina and knew his way around balls...okay maybe that didn't come out right. Squelching her unladylike thoughts before she involuntarily made any swoony sighs, she sat up straighter, noticing with a start that someone was staring at her. 

 

"You look familiar." A pair of dark eyes peered up at her curiously. Caught off guard by the unexpected question and proximity of her inquisitor, she took a reflexive step back and averted her face. "Oh, I've a common face," she mumbled as her eyes darted around looking for an escape. 

 

Her inquisitor was undeterred. Planting her hands on her hips, she scrutinised her openly, her sharp eyes roving over her from head to toe and back. The unabashed way only a brash ahjumma like her could pull off. The intensity of her glare made Jihyun squirm. She had no good excuse as to why she's here at this godforsaken place at this hour, if anybody asked. If not to meet her oppa.

 

She weighed her options. She could either make a run for it, or engage the stranger and pray that she wouldn't recognise her. 

 

"You're Nam Ji-Hyun, right?" Too late. Her cover had been blown. With a jerky shake of the head, she croaked out, "No, I'm not Nam Ji Hyun", then she turned and hightailed it out of the field without once looking back.   ++++   Sitting in her car with a hand pressed against her pounding chest, she willed herself to take deep, steadying breaths. That was close. Too close, in fact. If the ahjumma blabbed to media about running into her in a random neighbourhood where Ji Chang Wook was so coincidentally spotted at, they would become instant gossip fodder. Something which they both didn't need at this point in their relationship and career.

 

So lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise her phone was buzzing with an incoming call until it almost vibrated off her seat. It was her Oppa.

 

"Hey, where are you?" His smooth, low voice drifted through the line.

 

"Oh I'm in the car." She said lamely, as though it made perfect sense that she was in a car instead of at the field where she should be, watching him play.

 

"My game's over. Meet me at the field?" She nodded absentmindedly. Oh wait, he couldn't see her. "Yes, alright. Okay, noted," she said aloud, cringing slightly at her rambling self.

 

In an attempt to stay inconspicuous, she pushed the door open ging