It had been several days since Myung Soo had announced his relationship, and his life had changed drastically. It was peaceful again. He went back to working on the drama project he had joined before the scandal, the media did not link him to Sun Hee anymore, and many of his fans were glad that he had a girlfriend. In other words, he had saved his career thanks to Eun Ae.

He had not properly thanked her yet. He wished to give her an unforgettable gift since she had done a lot for him. He was thinking about taking her on a trip but he still had to study their schedules to choose an appropriate time. The two of them were very busy, so much so that they could only meet briefly and mostly communicated in texts or calls. On the one hand, Myung Soo was relieved to live according to his old routine. On the other hand, he regretted the days Eun Ae visited him on a daily basis. Her absence caused him to feel empty. He expected to see her every time he went back home after work, and he always faced disillusion.

Once more, he came back to an empty house. He took off his shoes, put away his belongings, and walked to the living room in the dark. He sat on the floor with his back against the couch. It was the exact position that Eun Ae considered to be the most comfortable. He remembered that he had watched over her when she had slept there in the last weeks. He longed for her company and their late night conversations now that he was left all alone. He missed her, a lot.

. . .

On the next day, his schedule included the filming of an outdoor scene nearby Eun Ae's coffee place. Thus, the director insisted on taking Myung Soo and other staff members to the shop during the pause. Unfortunately, Eun Ae was working in the kitchen at that time so they could not meet. Later, they were busy with the shooting of an action scene. The tenth episode of the series was a turning point in the plot as the male lead engaged in a car chase to save his love interest from his nemesis. Myung Soo loved these scenes because they were the most thrilling. They also represented a challenge to actors who should focus on conveying the right emotions despite the rush of adrenaline. After the chase came a fight sequence, a moment he liked too as it reminded him of the choreographies that he learned together with Infinite. The performance required stamina, synchronization and concentration.

He was sweating profusely after the third take, so he took advantage of the short rest period to enter the tent where the staff were working to get a bottle of water. He was about to go back outside when he heard a woman mention his name, she was gossiping about him with her colleagues. Apparently, a well-known magazine suggested in one of its articles that his relationship with Eun Ae was not as idyllic as it seemed. That theory was based on the fact that they had not been seen together since the release of their video. The author provided evidence in the form of photographs of Eun Ae going to and from work on her own. Some of the production staff implied that the hypothesis was plausible while others did not believe it to be accurate. A man, whose voice Myung Soo did not recognize, told of how the actor had not met his supposed lover when he had visited the coffee shop earlier. According to him, a boyfriend should not have minded interrupting his girlfriend's work for a surprise, particularly in the case of Myung Soo who could have used the opportunity to introduce her to the crew. The man was still talking when he was called away, and the group discussion ended there. Myung Soo then took his phone to search for the relevant article. It had been published earlier in the morning so there were many views and comments. He was distracted from reading them when a message box appeared in the screen. He had received a text from Jun Seo :

Let's meet up.

Myung Soo typed his location, put his belongings away and went back to work.

. . .

Jun Seo reached the filming set at the same time the schedule was cleared. He waited for his friend to wrap up his stuff, then they went to a nearby park where Myung Soo comfortably settled on a bench, finally sitting down after the exhaustion of a long day. The breeze felt refreshing against his skin. The atmosphere was calm and comforting, until Jun Seo's words brought about a change of mood.

"You shouldn't have dragged Eun Ae into this. You don't know how harsh the media can be."

"Well she-"

"Have you read that article ? I'm sure you didn't even notice that journalist was following her around. And that's the first step. Now they'll try to interview her, they'll ask inappropriate things, they'll dig up her past, they'll persecute her. How do you think she'll feel about that ?"

"I'll protect her." he answered confidently.

"How ?"

"I'll stick to her."

"They say you haven't met in days."

"Well, I was working and she-"

"Hyung, people are curious about her now." Jun Seo warned softly. "You should look out for her, or else her life will become intimidating."

And as if fate had planned it, Myung Soo got a call from Eun Ae at that very moment.

He felt his chest tighten at the sound of her distressed voice. "Oppa, I don't know what to do."

"What's wrong ?"

"There's a crowd of journalists in front of the shop. What do I do ?"

"I'll be here!"

He signaled Jun Seo that he could not stay longer and immediately sprinted off, running with all his might despite having intensely exercised for the purpose of the drama. For the umpteenth time that day, he ran at full speed to save the female lead from the villains, the only difference was that he truly felt worried this time. He forgot about his weariness for Eun Ae became his priority. In that moment, his strongest desire was to protect her from the dangers of the world, and in order to do that, he promised himself to remain by her side and offer her a life filled with care, trust, warmth, and essentially, a life of love.