“We’d like to thank our managers and our staff, who support and take care of us, and most importantly, our fans!” A significant portion of the crowd waved their neon green, leek-shaped light sticks up in the air as they screamed their hearts out in love and admiration. “Wayzenni! This award is all thanks to you, and we dedicate this to you! We hope that you continue to support us in our next projects. One, two, WayV!”

“Thank you!” The six men onstage, wearing their bedazzled black suits, bowed deeply to the crowd in front of them before walking away from the microphones and towards the backstage.

Hendery looked at the award in his hands in reverence, like he still couldn’t believe that he was holding it. “Best Male Group. Can you believe it, guys?”

Even Ten, who barely cried, wiped a stray tear from his cheeks. “All those flights back and forth were worth it. Let me take a selfie with it!”

The group continued to gush about the award as their leader, who addressed the crowd just a while ago, smiled at them. Amid all the challenges their group faced, they finally won the Best Male Group award in the biggest music awards show in China. He couldn’t wait to send a message to the fans on Weibo and Bubble, and to update their teammates back in Seoul of the award. He smiled fondly at the memory of Chenle betting against them, and now the young one owed all of them hotpot.

As they walked through the backstage to their waiting room – they were set to perform in twenty minutes, Kun’s way was blocked by a gorgeous woman in a short, fuchsia, satin dress. She was the epitome of beauty that every man salivated over, but instead of brightening, or even staying neutral, Kun’s face twisted into one of disgust.

When the woman saw the man standing in front of her, her delicate features warped into one of disdain as well. “Get out of my way, Qian Kun.”

“You blocked me first, Qiao Xinyan.”

“Hmph! Just because you won that stupid award, you think you’re all that,” Qiao Xinyan fake gagged.

Kun nodded to the award she was holding, his eyebrow lifted, “Aren’t you insulting yourself with those words?”

She looked at the award in her hand, bearing the words ‘Best Female Group’, and held it closer. “Everyone knows that we actually earned our award, unlike you.”

“Kun ge! Come on!” Yangyang poked his head out of the waiting room door and called.

At the same time, Xinyan’s member, Xiangxiang, called to her, “Xinyan jie, we’re up in three.”

The two leaders glared at each other for two more seconds before going back to their respective groups.

Funnily enough, even though the two of them were always only two seconds away from ripping each other’s throats out, Qian Kun and Qiao Xinyan were the most heavily shipped idols in China.

Qian Kun. Leader and vocalist of NCT’s Chinese sub-unit, WayV. Writes, composes, and produces music. Plays the piano. Knows how to cook and do make-up. Licensed pilot and sky diver. Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pop Vocal Performance. Not to mention handsome and charismatic. Fans call him the ideal husband; a man written by a woman.

Qiao Xinyan. Leader and vocalist of the Chinese girl group Eve’s Kiss. Writes, composes, and produces music. Plays the piano. Knows how to cook and woodwork. Licensed scuba and free diver. Graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Performance Arts. Not to mention beautiful and charismatic. Fans call her the ideal wife; the blueprint of the perfect woman.

Kun announced his sky diving license by jumping out on an airborne plane alone for one of his vlogs.

Xinyan announced her scuba diving license by posing with deep-sea creatures for one of her vlogs.

With the two of them practically being perfectly multi-talented and aesthetically pleasing, fans just can’t help but put the two of them together and ship them as the perfect couple. They would edit clips of the two of them cooking similar dishes in variety shows and online content, or their behind-the-scenes content in producing music and directing recording sessions. Fans called them each other’s counterparts, soulmates, and shipping the two of them was the only point of agreement between Wayzennies (WayV’s fans) and Lipsticks (Eve’s Kiss’ fans).

No one was more perfect for Qian Kun than Qiao Xinyan.

No one was more perfect for Qiao Xinyan than Qian Kun.

Too bad, though: the two had hated each other’s guts and had plotted each other’s murders ever since before they debuted.

The two of them attended the same school at the same time and, albeit having different majors, always heard about each other from different classmates and professors.

Qian Kun heard about how this student called Qiao Xinyan was the best of the Performance Arts students, was talented in singing and dancing, and was set to debut in a girl group under the huge Yuehua Entertainment.

Qiao Xinyan heard about how this student called Qian Kun was the best of the Pop Vocal Performance students, was talented in singing and dancing, and had already debuted as part of the new boy group NCT under South Korea’s huge SM Entertainment.

By the time the two had met during their senior year, their gazes were already spitting rage towards each other, and neither of them really knew why.

In front of the public and the fans, WayV and Eve’s Kiss were amicable groups, equal in talent, respected each other, and even threw the casual compliment or two each other’s way. The rest of the members were also quite friendly privately, and would even chat with each other amicably during similar schedules.

Except Qian Kun and Qiao Xinyan.

The last time their members tried to get them to share a private meal together to finally settle their differences, it ended up with Yangyang using Xiaojun as a shield for a spicy squid dish thrown their way (it took a week before Xiaojun stopped smelling squid wherever he went) and Xiangxiang with a sprained ankle from evading a hot bowl of malatang from burning her skin. Of course, the company passed it off as her getting sprained from rigorous practice for their then-upcoming comeback.

Since then, none of the members tried to get them to be on friendly terms again.

After the award show, the members were going on their own ways for three weeks: Winwin was filming a new Chinese drama; Ten and Yangyang were involved in a new Korean YouTube show; Xiaojun had voice and dance lessons lined up in Seoul; and Hendery was all set to play games in their dorm and take care of the cats (Xiaojun signed him up for some lessons, too, but his attendance was still TBD).

Kun, meanwhile, in true Kun fashion, decided to use the time to learn how to ski and get to a professional level.

After the New Year (and his birthday), he went up to a luxury resort near the mountains. The slopes were Olympic-level, and the private instructors there also competed professionally. Aside from the slopes, the resort also boasted high-end massages, a sauna, a hot spring, and other amenities that would make his stay more relaxing.

He arrived just before noon with his manager and assistant. Although he could’ve gone without them, it was a perfect time to shoot content for WayV’s YouTube channel as well. The fans always wanted to see him try out new things and become really good at them, so even though this was supposedly recreation time for him, there was still an aspect of work he had to fulfill.

This was part of the job that wasn’t really part of the job, but still necessary. Sometimes, he loved it. Sometimes, not so much.

While his manager checked them in, he sat himself on one of the couches and put his drone case in front of him on the coffee table. He was about to take his drone out for a spin to get some good shots of the mountains when he heard a scoff to his right.

“Surprise they let trash like you in here.”

He looked and saw, to his surprise and disgust, Qiao Xinyan glaring at him. He already felt his bubble of peace burst. “What the hell are you doing here, Qiao Xinyan?”

“I’m here for a vacation, of course! Don’t tell me you followed me here so you can ruin my break?”

Kun scoffed, “As if I want to know anything about you. If anything, you’re the one ruining my break here.”

“There’s nothing to ruin if it’s already trash.”

“You-”

“Kun ge!” Although older than him, his manager still called him ‘ge’ (older brother) out of habit. “I got our room keys.”

Kun took his drone case and stood up, “Hope to see you never, Qiao Xinyan.”

“For once, I agree with you, Qian Kun.”

Of course, they were bound to cross paths. Aside from the fact that both were staying in the same resort for ten days, they had also both signed up for skiing lessons under the same instructor (the only one who didn’t already have his hands full teaching kids). So, the next day, the two of them found themselves as begrudging classmates for their first skiing lesson.

“Alright,” the instructor clapped his hands together, “let’s start with the basic stances.”

Their first day of lessons consisted of them learning how to maneuver the ski equipment on a flat surface at the base of the mountain. Although the instructor had planned to kiss up to them with compliments beforehand to properly promote himself and the resort, fakeness ended up being unnecessary: both Qian Kun and Qiao Xinyan were fast learners, and went through the entire lesson smoothly. By the middle of the session, the instructor was showering them with genuine compliments. Both Qian Kun’s and Qiao Xinyan’s managers and assistants were also happily filming the session, both on high-quality cameras and smartphones for short videos. They always had fun filming content for their respective leaders because of how good they were at almost everything. Not to mention that with these two in one frame, they could boost each other’s popularity by playing into the fans’ shipping. They were almost certain that the views for these videos on Weibo would reach a hundred million in 24 hours.

The only one faking anything were the stars of the show themselves. They had to smile and speak kindly as they took the class together, and hold their tongues every time the instructor complimented the other.

Everyone might’ve been having a good time, but the two of them were one step away from combusting into flames of annoyance. After the session, they both made sure to stay in their rooms, to prevent another unnecessary meeting that may end up in a catfight.

The second day was a bit more bearable for them both, since the instructor was letting them try out the smaller slopes. By the end of the second day, the instructor felt confident to send them out to the mid-level slopes, which both leaders crushed on the third day.

On the fourth day, Kun decided to take his time riding up and then skiing down the slopes. They were trying higher slopes, and he decided that this would be a good time to film some more content for the channel. He took his drone with him to take some shots of the mountain, as well as of himself skiing down.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xinyan was eager to get as many tries as possible, so the instructor could okay her to try the highest slopes the next day. By the time Kun had finished setting up his drone, Qiao Xinyan was ready to ski down for the third time already.

Since both of their teams were down at the base of the mountain, as was the instructor, Qiao Xinyan didn’t need to hold her tongue, “You’re taking longer than a girl to get ready, ugh.”

Kun raised his eyebrow, “And you’re speeding up too much.”

“I only have six more days here; no time for dilly-dallying.”

He smirked, “Not my fault you don’t know how to enjoy yourself.”

Qiao Xinyan scoffed and, putting her goggles on, pushed herself down the slope. Kun only watched her for a second before starting his drone up to take videos of the snow-covered mountains. It was like a scenery from a fairytale, and he was sure that the fans would be thrilled to see it, too.

After about 20 minutes of filming, he packed his drone up and got ready to ski down. He would scope for a spot to place the drone, and then ask his manager to help with the controls on the base before he went up again. Only a minute into skiing though, he changed the angle of his feet to break, seeing a lump of black to his left. He carefully glided towards the lump, and to his surprise, it was Qiao Xinyan. She had ditched her ski equipment to the side, and was holding onto her right ankle for dear life.

Kun immediately bent down to her, “What happened?”

Qiao Xinyan looked at him, and he was surprised to see her eyes behind the goggles wet with tears. “I twisted it.”

He cursed, and then reached for the ankle, giving it a little squeeze, “How much does it hurt?”

She yelped in pain and slapped his hand off, “A ten, goddammit! Why did you squeeze?!” She caressed her ankle again, now sniffling.

Kun looked around and, upon seeing that there was no one around to help them out (most of the instructors would be at the lower levels, teaching younger kids), opened his backpack. He took out his own ski equipment, bundled it up with Qiao Xinyan’s, and then tied them altogether with his jacket. Once everything was secure, he looped his backpack to his front and crouched down in front of Qiao Xinyan, “Get on.”

“What do you mean?” she sniffled.

“You’ve already been here for too long, and if I ski down to get you help, it’ll take way too much time. Get on,” he repeated, “I’ll get us down.”

“Are you sure your scrawny body can carry me?”

He rolled his eyes, “Better I try than have you freeze to death and be blamed for it.”

A warmth glowed inside Qiao Xinyan’s chest. Although Kun was still bantering with her, she felt his concern. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, after Kun carefully got both of them up and tested out his balance, they started their journey back down. On his front was his backpack. On his back was the injured Qiao Xinyan. His right arm carried the ski equipment. His left arm supported Qiao Xinyan. Although it was difficult for him, Kun silently carried the burden and trekked on.

Qiao Xinyan felt sorry towards him, but also felt helpless. “Do you want me to carry anything?”

“No need, just keep still. Make sure you don’t fall.”

“I could carry your backpack. It must be hard with it on your front.”

He stopped. She made sense. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

So, they stopped for a little bit to adjust themselves, and Kun was able to securely tie the ski equipment to his backpack with the jacket and some cables he had before putting it on Qiao Xinyan. Now, with both his hands free, he could hold onto Qiao Xinyan better, and get his balance much easier. The trek back down suddenly felt smoother, even though it would take them at least another 25 minutes before they got to the resort.

In the middle of the trek, Kun suddenly heard Qiao Xinyan’s voice, “You were right.”

“I usually am,” he blinked in surprise. “About what though?”

“Going too fast.”

He softened, “It wasn’t your fault. You were doing well.”

“I wanted to get more tries in,” she continued. “At least more than you.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been bragging rights for you,” he chuckled.

“And now, instead, I owe you,” she pouted. “It’s annoying.”

“Well, you’ve always been annoyed with me, so what’s new.”

Qiao Xinyan blinked, “Well only because you’ve been annoyed with me!”

“What? You were the one who hated me first. When we met during senior year in college, you already hated me!”

“I didn’t!” From her tone of voice alone, Kun knew she was pouting. “I felt shy and insecure because people were talking about how you already debuted and were so talented. I thought you were looking down at me for still being a trainee.”

“And I thought you hated the fact that I was still getting my bachelor’s even after already debuting.”

“That’s not true, I-” she stopped, then spoke in a soft voice, “I thought it was commendable, that you insisted to get your degree here, even though you were already signed and debuted in another country.”

Kun smiled, “And I thought it was great that you chose to debut after college.”

Qiao Xinyan’s cheeks blushed, and it wasn’t from the cold, “Huh, I guess we misunderstood each other, after all.”

“Looks like we did.” Kun suddenly felt a weight disappear from his chest; he didn’t know where it came from. “I like the way you produced ‘Panther’s Paw’, by the way. No wonder you won this year.”

“Thanks,” her cheeks turned a deeper pink. “I liked your ‘Phantom’ remix, too. Are you producing any more songs on your new album?”

The rest of their walk down was filled with friendly conversation. They talked about everything: from work to hobbies to the first and last time they went out for dinner (and how much of a fiasco that was).

Before they reached their teams, Kun suddenly asked, “Do you wanna have dinner later? After you get your ankle checked up?”

Qiao Xinyan blinked in surprise. “Oh. Yeah. Sure.”

Qiao Xinyan had staff to fuss over her, but Kun still insisted to carry and accompany her to the resort’s clinic. Afterwards, they got a private room in the resort’s restaurant, wherein they spent the entire evening dining and talking. After they cleared things up in the mountains, it was like an invisible barrier between them broke: conversation flowed like water, and neither of them wanted to leave until the waitstaff had to force them out. Kun walked Qiao Xinyan up to her room, where they both lingered by the door.

“You should go to sleep,” Kun nodded to the room. “It’ll help you get better.”

“I will, thanks,” Qiao Xinyan blinked, smiling sheepishly.

Kun took one step forward, and Qiao Xinyan’s eyes widened as he leaned closer to her. Her heart beat loudly in anticipation, but he stopped short, and instead, took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll pick you up for breakfast tomorrow.”

She took a deep breath in and nodded, not trusting her voice at that moment. Kun smiled, seeing first-hand how this feisty woman whom he bickered with every time they met was actually soft and gentle at the end of the day. He bid her good night, and turned around to walk back to his room. With every step he took, the anticipation of seeing her again tomorrow grew.

Four months later, the entirety of China was treated to shocking news: a trustworthy paparazzi site released exclusive photos of Qian Kun and Qiao Xinyan on multiple dates over the past months. The photos were of them wearing disguises, walking hand-in-hand, sharing food in the park, and kissing when they thought no one was looking. Ten minutes after the story broke out (and receiving over 500,000 likes and replies), Label V and Yuehua released official statements that confirmed the relationship between the most heavily shipped couple in China. While there were some who expressed their disdain in finding out that their delusions turned out to be just that, the overwhelming majority of the Chinese population rejoiced.

No one was more perfect for Qian Kun than Qiao Xinyan.

No one was more perfect for Qiao Xinyan than Qian Kun.

And after years of fighting and animosity, they were finally, officially, and publicly together.