Ji Hyo is startled awake when she suddenly feels a heavy weight dip the bed beside her, her arms immediately raising to shield her face and as much as the rest of her body she could reach, as opened in a loud scream.

“Ji Hyo-yah, hey! Hey! It’s me!” a familiar voice says in front of her. She could feel the person’s hands grasp her arms; gentle, familiar, warm.

She peeks through with one eye open and finds the smiling - almost laughing - face of her boyfriend. Kim Jong Kook.

“Ah, oppa!” she smacks him on the chest. “You scared me!”

“It was supposed to be a surprise, yeobo,” he chuckles lowly.

“Is this the reason why you absolutely refused to answer my calls last night and even declined my request to sleep over?”

“Yes, and I have an exciting day planned for you, yeobo,” Jong Kook reaches down to nuzzle his nose against hers in an eskimo kiss. He leans down even more to press a soft kiss on her lips, “Happy birthday, my Song Ji Hyo.”

“Thank you, oppa,” Ji Hyo smiles against his lips.

He drops another quick kiss on her lips before reaching an arm under her thighs and another on her back to haul her up in his arms. “Now come on, my queen deserves to start the day in a warm, inviting bath with the optional addition of having me as the bath mate.”

The giggle that bubbled up turns into loud laughter once he starts to run towards the ensuite, horsing around.

_____________________________________________________________

Jong Kook deposits Ji Hyo on an island chair and accompanies it with another kiss.

“I’m feeling very spoiled right now, oppa,” Ji Hyo announces sweetly, a goofy, lovestruck smile creeping up her lips.

“Well, Ji Hyo-yah, you’re about to get even more spoiled because I, Kim Jong Kook, am going to cook a Western-styled breakfast feast for you!” he snatches a spatula and holds it up like some sort of magical scepter, rising out another laugh from Ji Hyo.

He then starts to busy himself around the kitchen; cracking an egg here, grabbing the bacon from the refrigerator there, taking out a pan from the cabinet, and pouring enough oil on to it to cook his ingredients. In all honesty, watching him bustling around makes Ji Hyo dizzy, but it warms her heart as well that he is doing so much, exerting so much effort to make her day special.

Once the bacon and eggs are sizzling on two different pans (which she is surprised about because if she knew Jong Kook, he’d never use more than one pan if he could help it,) Jong Kook turns back to Ji Hyo and leans on his elbows in front of her. He gives her a beaming smile and says, “I love you.”

“Nado, oppa. I love you,” she replies with an equally bright smile.

“So what would my queen like to do today, aside from my plans for her?” he asks after giving her another kiss.

“Wah oppa, you have other things planned for me aside from this?” her eyes bulge out slightly in surprise. She honestly hadn’t expected anything.

“Of course! My queen should feel loved and spoiled on her special day, right?” Something about her lips must have done something on him because he just can’t stop depositing kisses. He plants another one which makes her titter like a giddy schoolgirl.

“Well, my king, you are right, but it seems that your queen’s breakfast is already slightly burning behind you,” and as if it’s on cue, loud sizzles erupt from the pans on the stove, smoke rising out from the surfaces.

“Aish!”

_____________________________________________________________

Jong Kook and Ji Hyo are now on a car together after having resorted to just buying food from Ji Hyo’s favorite cafe nearby, which she obviously doesn’t mind as long as she gets to eat.

“Ji Hyo-yah, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Jong Kook tries to apologize but Ji Hyo gently shushes him with a hand on his arm.

“Oppa, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t like you burned the food on purpose,” she says with a chuckle. “I do have a question though.”

“Ask away, yeobo.”

“Am I just that pretty that you momentarily forgot about what you were cooking?” she asks teasingly, an obvious playful glint in her eyes.

“Yah!” he smacks her hand on his arm lightly as she lets out a loud laugh.

“But I’m serious though, oppa. Am I really so mesmerizing that you didn’t even hear the bacon and eggs burn to a crisp?” she teases again, but he just responds with a small smile.

While keeping his eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel, he speaks, “Ji Hyo-yah, you are the prettiest, most breathtaking woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Just a moment with you, holding you and looking into your eyes, is enough for me to forget about everything that happens around us. I’m the luckiest man in the world for having been picked by you, and I’ll devote myself to showing you how much I love you everyday.”

She stays silent at that, and when he takes a peek of her out of his peripheral vision, he could see her ducking her head to cover the massive blush that spreads from her neck up to her cheeks and the shy, bright grin that crawls up her lips.

“Aish, you’re so cheesy, oppa,” she tries to deflect, waving a hand in the air dismissively. “I don’t know what to do with you and all your cheesy lines.”

“Even though I meant every word, you had asked for it, yeobo,” he says with a nonchalant shrug.

Soon after, they arrive at the cafe and alight together. Ji Hyo’s hand immediately reaches for Jong Kook’s to lace their fingers together. They enter the establishment hand-in-hand and greet the teenage cashier at the counter who just looked shocked and star-struck at seeing two of Korea’s biggest stars enter her workplace.

“Yah, Hye Jin-ah, why are you acting so surprised that I’m here? I’m a regular!” Ji Hyo asks in confusion, but her tone is teasing.

The teen, Hye Jin, snaps out of her daze and shoots back a playful reply, “Ah, unnie, it was always just you who came in. And to be honest, it made me think you were just a decent lady who probably had a hundred cats in her house and had no friends outside because you’ve always come alone for as long as I started working here.”

“Yah, you -“ Ji Hyo mock-lunges towards the girl, but Jong Kook holds her back with a laugh he couldn’t quite keep in.

“It’s not funny, oppa,” Ji Hyo pouts as Jong Kook raises a hand up for Hye Jin to high-five despite only meeting today.

“You’re right. It’s not funny, yeobo,” Jong Kook agrees, but then he turns to Hye Jin. “But that was a good one, Hye Jin-ssi.”

Hye Jin blushed slightly at being addressed by a star, which Ji Hyo sees and quickly thinks up a tease for it.

“Ah, Kim Jong Kook-ssi, just Hye Jin will do,” Hye Jin says shyly. Jong Kook smiles at her innocence, nodding.

“Is this really happening? Is this really what I’m seeing? The great Han Hye Jin being all shy and blushy around Kim Jong Kook?” Ji Hyo teases with a playful gasp. “Wah, daebak! Someone should call the authorities, it should be put in our history books!”

“Unnie!” Hye Jin whines, rising a laugh out of Ji Hyo this time.

“Ah, I’m just messing with you, Hye Jin-ah.”

Hye Jin huffs, but nonetheless cracks a grin. Jong Kook grins back as he scans the menu above her head.

“What do you have on the breakfast menu today, Hye Jin-ah?”

“We just sold out actually. Sorry, unnie and Kim Jong Kook-ssi. We still have the drinks though.”

Ji Hyo hurriedly turns to Jong Kook to see his reaction, but before the corner of his lips could tug down in a frown, she speaks, “Oppa, why don’t we just go to a fastfood place and get burgers for breakfast, then? I’m really craving for a big, juicy cheeseburger right now.”

Jong Kook’s eyebrows knit in confusion. “Oh? I thought you said you wanted a sandwich and a croissant from here.”

“It’s okay, oppa. I change my mind. I want a burger and some fries now,” she says.

“Okay then, whatever you want, yeobo,” he concedes with a kiss to her temple.

Meanwhile, Hye Jin’s jaw drops in shock at the display of affection. The couple had yet to announce their relationship to the public, so being this showy in front of a non-celebrity was definitely surprising, even if the cafe they were in was currently deserted with only one or two customers here and there.

“Y-you...unnie and Kim Jong Kook-ssi...you two?!” Hye Jin accidentally exclaims which catches the attention of the other three customers in the cafe.

Ji Hyo and Jong Kook rush to quiet her as the other customers disregard the earlier disruption and go back to their businesses.

“Yah! Keep your voice down, Hye Jin-ah!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mianhamnida, unnie,” she bows repeatedly and then whispers what she’s going to say next, “But really, unnie? You and Kim Jong Kook-ssi?”

Ji Hyo can’t help but smile at her, while Jong Kook merely plants another kiss to her temple, bringing her closer to him. Hye Jin squeals at their cuteness, but then she stops and tilts her head.

“You were together the whole time I made a fool of myself trying to convince you you would look good with Kim Jong Koo