—September 2020—

Ji-hyun woke up grinning at the memory of last night. Chang-wook wasn’t next to her but she could hear him singing in somewhere in the apartment. She was going to need to consider a lot of things but for now she would enjoy the moment. 

"Morning!" he sang as he walked in carrying a large tray covered with food.

"NO! I can’t eat in bed. Eomma will kill me! Out!" 

She stood up before realising she was only wearing his t-shirt and a pair of pink and purple . What was he wearing? Oh, his boxers. 

"What?"

"Out!" she said and she pushed him into the living area. He leant back into her making it harder to get him moving, but they eventually got to the table and he put the tray down.

"I thought you might be hungry and a little hungover.”

“You didn’t have to do all of this!” she complained.

“Of course I had to make you food. You need to leave soon." 

She looked at the time. Her manager would be there in an hour. 

"Oh! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner!"

"Because I didn’t wake up sooner!" he grumped at her. 

"Urgh. Ok. Shower.”

"No. Food first. You are dirty but you are pretty,” he smiled pulling her in for a hug and gentle kiss on her forehead. 

“Oppa!"

"Food!"

“Ok," she wolfed down the breakfast. Her shower was quicker and she came out to him sitting on her sofa reading her scripts. 

"I don’t think you should do the kiss scene,” he said not looking up.

"Oppa, I’m afraid we already filmed it."

“Well, I think you should get it cut."

"Nope, can’t do that. Sorry."

“Then…"

"Wait a minute. How did you get in last night? My buzzer doesn’t work.”

"Oh. I called your Eomma."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I called her.”  She saw when he realised how out of line he had been to call her mother last night. But she knew he had been desperate to see her and anything that allowed that made sense to him.

“How do you have her number? Did Eonnie give it to you? Why did she let you up?"

"I had to apologise to her and said that I needed to beg your forgiveness and that if you didn’t want to talk to me I’d never bother you again."

"And she let you in? She went to a shaman and had a voodoo doll of you made. It is amazing you are still alive the number of things she did to it.”

"Maybe that is why she let me up? Clearly the magic wasn’t working… so try a different method? I hope she isn’t always so scary in person.”

"Urgh…Stop being dramatic, you didn’t meet her. It isn’t like you have to face her over dinner."

"I kind of do. She stopped by while I was making breakfast."

"When you were dressed like that?" Ji-hyun pointed at his bare chest.

"Ummm… I promised to take you all out for a meal. My Eomma is coming too."

"What?"

"Over the weekend."

"This is the worst possible timing! I have so much filming.”

"I know.”

He looked so sheepish that she decided to forgive him for now. While they were bickering about the desperate measures he was willing to go for her, her phone rang and her manager said he was downstairs. He was early because the traffic was bad and he didn’t want to get caught in it. 

"I’ll call you tonight.”

"No. I don’t know how late filming will be,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Ok. Let me know that you get home safely,” he said from the warm comfort of her embrace.

"Eat something good. And find a really fancy place to take us for dinner,” she pouted up at him.

"Yes, yes,” he replied with mock formality before giving her pout a sweet peck on the lips. "Kiss."

“Kiss,” she smiled. He tried to go in for one more but she scooted out and through the door before he had time to hold her once more. 

—

The minute she left Chang-wook’s world slowed down. There were consequences to his actions, the last year had taught him that much at least. And what were the consequences this time? Dinner with their families? Possible exposure at the worst time for either of them? But first, he needed to call his mother. He’d promised to have breakfast with so she was probably worried that he is passed out in a ditch, thrown from his bike in a reckless night ride. 

“Eomma?" his voice was hesitant as he waited for her wails of “You are such a bad son! Making me think you’ve died!” Instead, he could hear her smile through the phone. 

"OUR SON!!! You are going to give me grandchildren soon!"

"Eomma!"

"Ji-hyun-ah’s eomma called me this morning! We think it is wonderful. She wants you to walk through fire first of course.”

"Of course.”

"Of course she wants you to walk through fire for her darling Ji-hyun-ah! Our Ji-hyun-ah is special. Now, Son. I need you to think of how you will prove yourself. I agree. It will need to be a big thing. Not fancy. That does not show sincerity. No. But you must walk through fire. Seriously. Walk through fire for my Ji-hyun-ah.”

“Eomma…”

"Oh. I explained about the jealousy. I did a bad job of raising you. You always got what you wanted. Yes, our son worked hard for everything and Eomma is so proud of you but still. You never had to work for the ladies. That was always something I worried…"

“Eomma! Stop. I need to… Eommoni, Ji-hyun-ah’s eommoni called you? I don’t think I could be more embarrassed."

"What is wrong? Of course she would call me about something like this. It isn’t like this is the first time we’ve spoken.”

For a minute Chang-wook, international heartthrob and goofball, was bowled over by the fact his mother was discussing his love life with the mother of the love of his life. 

"I don’t believe it," he said to himself.

"Whether you believe it or not it doesn’t matter. Now come home to wash. You will need to go to the company and talk to them."

“I’m not telling them…"

“Oh, you stupid boy. No. You need to talk to them about your new contract. Improve it! I have grandchildren that need to be taken care of!"

Suddenly it hit him. His mother was having a joke at his expense. Yes, it was serious, he would have to walk through fire to show Ji-hyun and her family that he was the right person for her. But this was his eomma’s way of telling him that she was there for him. She would walk through this fire with him. Because they were a team. A team that could possibly get a third player and then little players as well. Up to that point he had not thought of children. Of course, they were always a possibility but he had never thought about holding his own child in his arms. He didn’t even know if Ji-hyun wanted children. She might not. There were many actresses, and actors too, who chose careers over children. Being a mother and a professional actress in Korea was hard. It was hard everywhere but the Korean system was more gruelling, live shoots would keep you away at odd hours and children needed a stable and loving home—like the ones they had grown up in. Being with Ji-hyun was no longer something he could selfishly strive for but something that would require planning and thoughtfulness. 

"She was right," he murmured. "I need to start thinking about the future."

Getting home was going to be tricky. In the dark of night it would be easy to come and go from these neighbourhoods but in the daylight it would be harder. He worried that a fan had seen his bike, which he’d stashed behind the garbage cans. Maybe a neighbourhood Ahjumma had called the police to report it. He needed to get out quick. And the best way to do that was to send out a signal that would get his fans rushing to the other end of Seoul. 

“Instagram…" he pulled out his phone and found a week old picture of blood sausage. Chi-gu had sent it to him. He found another photo taken yesterday of their new shoes. He posted this to his insta-stories with the caption. "Feet Up, Feed me." He didn’t wait to see the reaction before heading for the elevator. 

“Stop!" 

Chang-wook realised that there was nothing more terrifying than the sound of your girlfriend’s father telling you to stop. In the 90-degree bow of a man ready to confess all of his sins, profess his innocence, and beg for forgiveness he turned. 

"I will drive you,” her father said.

“Uh. Thank you Abeonim.”’

"You will not speak.” 

“Yes.” 

In the modest family car, Chang-wook tried to think of what he could say to ease some of the tension. 

“I…”

“My wife would have preferred that you made your way home,” Ji-hyun’s appa said. “But I have some things to say to you first.”

“Yes, Abeonim.”

“You will stay away from Ji-hyun until her drama has finished. I cannot stop you from seeing her. She is a grown woman. But I do not want a whiff of scandal… There has been enough of that already.”

“Yes, Abeonim.”

“We will not go to dinner this weekend. There is time enough for that later.”

“Yes, Abeonim.”

“Ji-hyun’s eomma wants you to prove yourself. And I agree. But I have no interest in large gestures. If you are going to do something for Hyun-i, then that is between the two of you. The world does not need to know.”

“Yes, Abeonim.”

“If you want a hint for impressing Ji-hyun and showing her you are serious… You could start with a trip to the jjimjillbang. Our Ji-hyun is simple. She wants a man who will give her everything in the world. But not presents. Not material things.” 

“Yes, Abeonim.”

“Most importantly, I do not want to hear about you spending the night at my daughter’s apartment until her drama has finished and the two of you have decided, together, to be public with your relationship. If you respect her, then it will be easy… When you have a daughter, if you are lucky enough to ever have a daughter, you will understand,” the older man said.

“Yes, Abeonim.”

Fathers, he realised were fierce. But inwardly he smiled. For whatever reason they were protecting his relationship, No they were protecting their daughter’s relationship. 

They accomplished the rest of the drive to the villa in Pyeongchang-dong in silence.  Chang-wook bowed to the car as it drove away. He pushed open the gate and walked up to the house that sat in a modest courtyard garden. The house was built into the hill so that it had an unobstructed view towards the Han River. 

Inside, his mother was sipping her tea as she read the newspapers.

“Go wash up and then come eat,” she ordered.

When he came back she had set the table for him. Chang-wook didn’t say he had eaten with Ji-hyun because the most important thing right now was being the best possible son.

“Eomma…” 

“Eat,” she said pointing to the food in front of him. “Now, our son. I think that the most important thing for you to be thinking about is how you are going to protect…”

“She doesn’t need protecting,” he said through a mouthful of porridge. “I need to show her that I…”

“She needs protecting. Think this through… Ah! Chi-gu! Good, you are here.”

Chi-gu came over to the table and sat down. He had iced coffee for everyone. 

“I got your bike. It is in the garage.”

“Thanks. I…”

“Listen to your eomma. Eomonim, sorry for interrupting.”

“No. You were wanted. Wook-i, Ji-hyun is very sweet. She is not going to think…”

“You are wrong, eomonim,” Chi-gu interrupted. “Ji-hyun used to be… but she is tough now. I wouldn’t try to… I think that the one we need to worry about is lover-boy.”

The three of them went back and forth trying to figure out the best way to advance the relationship while ensuring the privacy of the two stars.

—

Meanwhile, Ji-hyun was busy on set. One of the most challenging aspects of her role was the amount of time that it took to get in and out of her costume. This meant that every moment of filming was very precious. It also meant that filming could go late into the evening. This was one such day and she didn’t arrive home until two in the morning. She was desperate to go to bed but when she came through the door she saw her eomma sitting on the sofa with a large mug of tea and a plate of fruit on the coffee table.

“Wash up first and then join me,” she said as if it was her own house instead of her daughter’s.

“Eomma… I want to… explain,” she began when she came back from washing her face. “We…”

“Ji-hyun. My little daughter. Eomma isn’t… You are a grown woman and living on your own. I am not making any judgement about how you live your life. Your appa and I will always be proud of you. What I wanted to talk about… I want to know that you and Chang-wook… that you will be careful.”

“Eomma…”

“Not like that! I know you will be careful about that! But remember you had that, well, scandal. Soop and Glorious did a lot to make that go away and for their hard work to go to waste would be a very disrespectful thing.”

Ji-hyun nodded. While their companies had not commented on any dating rumour, they had worked very hard to disappear and go after comments that suggested that anything inappropriate had happened between them when she was younger.

“If this lasts long enough that you decide to go public, then you will have to think about when you reconciled. It cannot just be any time. It has to…”

“If it lasts long enough?”

“Do you think that just because you have…”

“I know it will be hard work. I was hurt. But I also love him. And he loves me.”

“Of course he loves you! I wouldn’t have given him your passcode if I thought for one minute that he didn’t. But you never know. With your schedules, with the fact that you live separately… it makes it difficult.”

“Eomma. Do you think that we won’t fight for this? Do you know how much I want this to work? How hard it has been? How much I worried about how he would feel when I filmed the kiss with Kang-joon oppa? How…”

“I guessed some of it.”

“He has promised not to get jealous.”

“Oh, Daughter! He will always get jealous. If you think that he won’t…”

“I have to trust him. Isn’t that what you taught me? That I needed to be with someone I could trust completely.”

“I just worry… I worry that you are seeing the handsome man who is in love with you without thinking about what you want. You have always said you want someone you could go to the sauna with. That won’t ever happen if you are with him. You will always have to deal with his fans, with his image—all of that.”

“And he will have to deal with the fact that I won’t compromise my career for him. I won’t take on roles because he is uncomfortable with me kissing a costar. Or if I want to do something overseas,” Ji-hyun heard her voice crack. She had wanted her mother to support her relationship, or rather her starting again from the beginning with Chang-wook. But instead she was hearing words of caution, words that made her feel that her family would be challenging her every step of the way. 

“I just want your happiness…”

“But he makes me happy. He is the one who…”

Her mother didn’t wait for Ji-hyun to wipe away the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. She reached and brushed them away with her own cool hands. 

“Seriously, my daughter. Enough of this. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. He loves you. As a mother I worry. We worry. Not just me and your appa. But also his eomma. She and I have been worrying about you two for… oh, since last June. But we couldn’t do anything. This was your business. Now though…”

“Eomma? You spoke with her?”

“She reached out to me. She apologised for not raising her son well. Of course she raised him well. He picked you didn’t he? So shhh… don’t cry.”

Ji-hyun buried her face into her mother’s shoulder and allowed the comforting smell of lemon and soap clear her senses. 

“We support you. But I… I just want to protect you. I…” Ji-hyun heard her mother start to cry as well. 

“Eomma! Don’t cry!” she sat back and kissed away her tears. “Ha… haha… Look at us! Crying!”

“Aish! I never cry. What will your appa think?”

“He is probably asleep.”

“Omo! The time! You need to be in bed. What time do you start tomorrow?”

“Early.”

“Then get to bed right now. You should have told me sooner!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll go to sleep. Sleep well, eomma.”

Her mother refused to leave until she saw Ji-hyun safely tucked into bed. The minute she heard the door lock, Ji-hyun sat up and called Chang-wook. She wasn’t sure if he would be up at this hour but she had promised to call him and if he didn’t pick up she could always send him a message. 

“Jiji! It is late! You should be in bed,” he said without waiting for her greeting. 

“Oppa, honestly. You are up as well.”

“I… I did wait up. Of course I did… but still!”

“No, it is ok. I had a conversation with my Eomma or I would have called you sooner.”

“What did she say?”

“Just that we need to be careful. If it comes out, when it comes out, we need people…”

“Yes. I think… I’ve been wanting to… since you were sick, no probably before that. But, anyway, I have been wanting to reconcile for a long time. I think that if people… they will want to know and I think…”

“We cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said with emphasis. “Right now let us just spend time together. Maybe we can do dinner with the “Suspicious Partner” cast? It would be good to see everyone. Find a time when Tae-joon oppa is on leave.”

“I would like that,” he said. It wasn’t her friends but they were “their people”. The ones who knew them the best as a pseudo-couple. “Oh, Abeonim drove me home. He said that we wouldn’t have a family meal just yet…”

“He drove? Of course he did.”

“You aren’t mad?”

“I’d be mad if he didn’t!” Ji-hyun laughed. Her laugh turned into a yawn.

“Ji-hyun! Get to sleep! Now! That is an order from your sunbae.”

“Sunbae! Orabeoni. I think you forget that I am your sunbae!”

“Jiji, don’t change.”

“Sleep well.”

“I will. You too. Sleep well and dream of me.”

“Aish. Your ego… I want to talk more but I think I should sleep.”

“Please do.”

She hung up but quickly sent him a cute video message reminding him to dream of her as well. He responded that he always did. She smiled. Then groaned when she realised that she would need to be ready to leave in four hours. It was going to be hard to see him but they would make it work. Both of them would make it work.