9:45 A.M.

The coffee shop was not crowded at this time of the day. The only customers were two groups of students and an elderly couple. After taking their orders, Eun Ae walked to the kitchen to check up on her assistant who was decorating a chocolate cheesecake. Then, she went back to the main room where she assorted the cakes, muffins, cookies and other pastries of the window display. It was not to her liking to have nothing much to do because her thoughts automatically drifted off to Myung Soo.

Their relationship was about to be made official. In fact, the manager had agreed to their game of pretense although he was unsure of its efficacy. He had given his consent because it was their only option. Accordingly, Myung Soo and her had chosen to reveal their relationship through a video that would be pleased on his social media later in the day. She was anxiously waiting for that moment as she dreaded public exposure. She was torn between the fear of being humiliated by fans on the grounds that she was not a celebrity, and the hope of a successful announcement synonymous with the resolution of Myung Soo's troubles. Burdened by these conflicting emotions, she faced the longest day of her life.

10:30 A.M.

The kitchen assistant was on a smoke break after completing his duties, and the waitress was chatting with a customer who happened to be her old schoolmate, so Eun Ae was sitting behind the counter on her own. She was looking at 'l'étoile de miel', wondering if the flavors of ginger, lemon and honey of her new dessert would pleasantly surprise her clientele. She expected her latest recipe to sell well because it had been approved by Myung Soo.

"Aish... why can't I stop thinking about him..." she whined in a whisper.

She was not able to focus on anything apart from their revelation, hence she decided to dial him.

He picked up after the first ring, and greeted her : "what's up ?"

"What are you doing ?"

"I'm at the agency."

"Are you busy ?"

"Not really. Why ?"

"I'm nervous."

He was quiet for a while, then he asked : "should I delete the video ?" She smiled to herself when he mentioned the exact source of her anxiety. He continued : "we don't have to publish it if you're not comfortable."

"No, I wanna do it."

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend so badly ?" the sound of his laughter made her heart flutter.

So she played along : "Yes! I really wanna date you."

"I knew it. You've been planning this all along, right? You want us to end up together like in dramas, right ?"

"Yeah..." she nodded even though he could not see her.

"You should've confessed."

"I was scared, maybe."

He cleared his throat and sounded more alert when he spoke again : "I'm grateful, Eun Ae. But you can go back on your word if you want to."

"No, I wanna help you, Oppa. I'm just... afraid of your fans' reaction."

"Should I come to you ?"

"No, I have to work. But can't you just post the video now ?"

"Now ?" he asked with surprise.

"Um, I think I'll go crazy if I wait longer."

"Alright."

She thanked him before hanging up. Then, she accessed his profile and refreshed the web page several times until the video appeared in the feed. It was introduced by a short message :

Hello everyone, this is Kim Myung Soo! I'm posting a short video because I want to share my biggest secret with all of you. Hopefully, you guys will be as happy as I am. 잘 부탁드립니다. Please, take good care of us.

Her hands became moist with nervousness as she tightly held onto the phone. She shoved it in her apron, only to grab it after a couple of seconds, then she put it away again. She walked around the room and talked to customers to distract herself from the post, but her heart dropped when the phone made a sound. She hid from sight behind the counter and clicked on the notification with a trembling finger. The post had received its first comment :

Oppa's girlfriend is so pretty! Be happy L Oppa~

A burden was lifted off her shoulders as she read the words again and again. It was such a good comment that she could not decide if it was real or a fruit of her imagination, so she pinched herself and a satisfied smile flickered across her face when she felt the pain. She was grateful to the person who had written such a nice compliment, not only because she considered it a blessing, but the positive attitude of one fan could protect her from hundreds of hate comments. The kind-hearted fan's encouragement strengthened her, and she was finally able to abandon her phone and concentrate on work instead.

She carried out her duties with a light heart. Her good mood spread to her employees who worked more efficiently. Together, they welcomed new clients, provided information on the menu, took orders, served coffees and exchanged polite smiles. Eun Ae was so engrossed in her tasks that she did not notice that three students were staring at her. It was only when her employee informed her that she glanced at the group of young girls. She felt their stares on her back as she walked further away from them towards another table that she wiped vigorously in an effort to shake her uneasiness. Until she was disrupted by one of the girls who came to her and said :

"Excuse me, you're Myung Soo's girlfriend, aren't you ?"

Eun Ae looked up and was met with a shy smile. She nodded.

"My friends and I were watching your video."

"Ah, yeah..." She did not know how to react because she had not anticipated the possibility of a fan walking up to her. The situation made her feel hesitant. She would certainly not cope with her emotions if she was criticized verbally rather than through an anonymous comment.

Luckily, the student spoke nice words : "we want to congratulate you Eonni. The scandal must have been hard on you, but I'm glad we can get to know you now."

"You, are, glad ?" Eun Ae stuttered.

"Of course! Your story is so cute! I can't believe Myung Soo dated his high school sweetheart all this time."

Eun Ae was over the moon about the fan's enthusiasm, she joined the group at their table to talk some more and offered them a box of macarons as a gift for their support. But their conversation was cut short by a ringtone, and Eun Ae excused herself to receive a call from Myung Soo's mother.

"Eun Ae, my child, what's that I hear about you and Myung Soo ?" Eun Ae chose not to tell her the truth, so she confirmed that they were dating, to which Mrs Kim replied : "you should've told me about it. Does Hwa Young know ?"

"No, I haven't told Mom."

"Aigoo, little brats! You won't even tell your parents about your love life!"

She did not know whether the woman was angry or delighted, but she apologized nonetheless.

"You should come home with Myung Soo as soon as possible. I'll invite your parents too since we're in-laws now."

"Aunty, it's not-"

"Darling, your father-in-law is back now. We'll talk later, okay ? Take care!"

The call was abruptly cut off, leaving Eun Ae speechless. She stared at the phone's screen while Mrs Kim's last words resonated in her mind. The fact that she had referred to her husband as 'father-in-law' as well as her desire to reunite the families were confusing. Eun Ae had not once thought of the consequences of their relationship on their relatives, and she could not help but worry that their parents might take things too seriously.

At that moment, she was oblivious to the fact that their parents, overjoyed at the prospect of their children being in love with each other, would join forces to arrange their marriage.