I smooth down the front of my dress and check my reflection in the hall mirror one last time and take a deep breath.

                Is this really a right choice?

                Is it really okay to do this?

                I want to head back into a chair and re-think my decision but my sister’s standing right in the middle of the hall with her arms crossed.

                “Stawwwwpppp! Just go out there and do it!” She opens the door for me and nudges me gently out of the house. “You’ll be okay.” She adds with a gentle, reassuring smile.

                I’m still too nervous to even thank her, but someone else thanks her for me. “She’ll be in good hands.” A young man who’d introduced himself earlier as Yun PD shakes my sister’s hands and leads me towards a waiting black limo.

                I feel like a bride being escorted to her own wedding, what with the bodyguards and all.

                “Should I do it now?” A man dressed sharply in an ivory suit stops waving to his fans as someone hands him a clapboard. He grabs the clapboard and announces, “Date with a Star Episode Two; 1, 2, 3!” and claps the board. Several onlookers applause in response, which made Siwon laugh as he hands back the clapboard to the production staff.

“Hello and welcome to ‘Date with a Star’! I’m your host Siwon and today, we’re filming at one of our country’s most famous shopping centers, the Esiapolis Lotte Mall in Daegu. Last week, our winner Hana Hwang had a date with SHINee’s Lee Taemin on Samcheok Beach. If you’ve missed it, be sure to check it out on our YYMTV’s online site.”

                The man turns to another camera and continues, “Today, we have a surprise celebrity appearance. I’ve heard that a very big star is coming, but I don’t really know who he or she’s going to be. Jung PD-nim, are you going to let me know sometime by today?”

                The PD in question grins widely from underneath his visor and hands him a dark blue envelope.

                Siwon takes it with a smile and says, “The celebrity must be a REALLY big star if you won’t even tell me beforehand. A world star, perhaps. Anyone want to take a guess before I open this?” He waves the envelope in the air and the other people in the mall nearly went crazy with their guesses.

                “SNSD!”

                “DBSK!”

                “2PM!”

                “Wonder Girls!”

                “JYJ!”

                “EXO!”

              Siwon snorts and looks slightly upset. “How come you guys mention newcomers EXO and not mention Super Junior? I mean, I’m a fan of them too, but-”

                “JUST OPEN IT!” A rough voice comes out from the audience and almost made Siwon drop the envelope.

                “Okay, okay, I’ll open it now.” After fumbling for about five seconds, Siwon opens the envelope successfully. “Why did you have to glue this? Anyway, our star for today is... Super Junior!” Siwon makes a O.O face at the camera. “Is Leeteuk hyung here? He has like, five wives already, isn’t that enough?”

                Jung PD makes some motions for Siwon to come over and Siwon approaches him. “Where’s the star? And where’s this week’s winner, PD?”

                “This week is a very special episode, Siwon-sshi. We’ve decided that it’s about time we give you a proper incentive as the MC. So this week, YOU’re going on the date.”

                Siwon immediately laughs like there’s no tomorrow. “Did the celebrity you guys choose cancel or something? And you just decide to make me fill in for him? Is that what happened? That’s okay, you can be honest with me.”

                Jung PD decides to ignore Siwon’s questions as he turns to his assistant and declares “Bring out the lucky girl.”

                And... there’s my cue.

                I wish my sister’s here to nudge me again as I can’t find the strength to walk out there into the open by myself, even if that means I’m going to go on a public date with Siwon.

                Thank goodness for the nice people on the production crew. Ivy the stylist who helped me pick out my best outfit earlier (she was really nice about the lack of pretty clothes in my closet) gives me a “Fighting!” and hugs me. “Knock him off his feet, Hyera-sshi.”

                And with a heart that feels like it’s going to fall off, I step out of the backstage area to meet my perfect man.

                It’s hard to describe Siwon’s  expression when I walk towards him. I can almost see him thinking, ‘This is freaking unbelievable’.

For some reason the crowd goes quiet when I appear. And Siwon just turned into stone. Jung PD basically had to slap another cue card into his hands before Siwon notices that the PD’s trying to communicate with him.

                “Umm, okay. So my date’s name is Im Hyera.” Siwon reads from the card just handed to him. “She’s my age, she apprentices at a bakery... and apparently, she’s really pretty dressed just in jeans and a sweater.” He says, much to my embarrassment.

The crowd goes, “Woo~! Date her! Date her! Date her!”, which really surprised me, because I thought they’d all stone me to death or something for going on a public date with Shisus. I try to de-awkwardize my smile as I stand there without a word, waiting for Siwon to do something.

“I HAVE to date her, people; that’s why she’s here today.” Siwon says and the crowd laughs. I can only smile weakly, trying to keep my knees from buckling. It’s totally a bad idea to agree to this.

“So, umm... Did you apply to the crew and picked me as your date or did they promise you another person only to replace him with me?” Siwon comes closer and finally speaks directly to me.

I glance at Jung PD, who tries not to meet my eye.

“I chose you.” I reply Siwon.

“Okay.” Siwon says shortly.

It’s funny how the atrium that’s gotta be filled with at least 200 people can be so quiet (not funny in a ha-ha way, in a weird way). But then the same guy who yelled at Siwon to open the envelope earlier shouted, “Kiss her!” out of nowhere. Bless him.

The atrium erupts with laughter which turned into bated breaths and cries of “NO!” as Siwon advances towards me with a serious look on his face. He touches one side of my cheek and puts his face closer to mine. What? Is he really trying to kiss me? This early in the date?

His face inches closer but at that moment I lose my self-composure and burst out laughing in Siwon’s face. I bet he’s got some specks of my DNA on his face now but I can’t even stop laughing to apologize. Siwon laughs too, saying, “Look at all of them! They really thought I was going to kiss you!”

“Can we just go on this date already?” I turn to the PDs for some help. I can’t take more of this community-involved show that vacillates from being a silent movie to a comedy faster than anyone can say “SMTown”.

Siwon lets out a deep breath and says, “That’s a good idea. PD-nim, I think I’m gonna need that activity sheet that you guys prepared earlier, because right now, I can’t even think straight.”

“So we have to look for a dress for you, right?” Siwon asks again as he looks around for a suitable store. I just make an “Umm” sound in agreement. After all, this is the third time he asked that in the last couple of minutes since we left the atrium.

Can he really not find anything else to say to me?

“How about Prada? They’ve got some nice dresses.” Siwon suggest as he points to the store location on the mall’s directory.

“Prada? You’re kidding me, right?” I shake my head and scan the directory for other clothing stores.

“You don’t like Prada?”

“I can’t afford Prada. And besides, I’m just gonna wear that dress today. I don’t NEED a Prada.”

“Well, don’t just wear it today. Keep it! And I’m sure that the crew is more than happy to pay for the dress on your behalf.” Siwon says with a sly smile towards the PDs.

I scoff at his ridiculous comment. “WHERE should I wear it to, Choi Siwon-sshi? In case you weren’t listening to yourself earlier, I work at a bakery. Oh, yeah, maybe I can wear that Prada dress as I’m rolling out the dough or baking a bun or something. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Siwon grins. “Wow, you’re finally showing your true, feisty colors, huh? What about Zara then? It’s not too expensive, but it’s still luxurious and classy.”

I shrug, trying to shoo these butterflies in my tummy that appeared suddenly. “As long as it looks good when I’m walking next to your suit, I’m fine with it.”

I walk out of the changing room wearing a silvery dress that Siwon himself picked out for me, feeling very foolish to be shopping on camera. Siwon claps at once and takes my hand to show me off to the cameras, though. “This is perfect! This is perfect! This is perfect!” He broadcasts proudly, repeating the same sentence over and over again.

“This is perfect, right, Hyera?”

This man. He doesn’t even bother with honorifics.

“Yeah, I like it.” And I really do. “The dress doesn’t really go well with the ivory of your suit, but it sets off a very nice contrast, I think.”

Siwon nods enthusiastically, and his face reminds me of the time he went Christmas shopping on Running Man. He’s acting EXACTLY like he did then.

I try to keep the disappointment in my voice as I say, “I’m not getting it though.”

“WHAAAT?” Siwon’s face falls. “Why?”

I keep silent and just shrug. Siwon seems to understand nevertheless. He marches to the store counter but marches right back and states simply, “Wait, you’re gonna need shoes too.” He flashes a glance at my worn-out pumps.

“I told you, I’m not going to get this!” I cry out. “How about we go to a different store?”

Siwon just shakes his head and surveys the shoes section quite feverishly. I’ve never known that he has this side of him. A greed, I guess you can call it, to make someone look good enough to stand next to him.

I give up trying to appeal to a more economical side of him and take a seat on one of those pouf things where you sit on while you try on shoes. I settle on watching the other shoppers marveling at Siwon’s good looks as Siwon picks up one shoe after another, holding it up in my direction to see if they fit the dress I’m still wearing.

He doesn’t even ask me for my opinion. Instead, he pre-selects them for me and brings two different shoes to me. One is a cream one, with a metal-encompassed toe, and the other, the one that I fall in love with, is a black court shoe with a cream heel and a red triangle on the heel.

But I’m still trying to be stubborn. “I don’t like any of them.”

“Pfft, I can totally see that you like this one.” He says, putting on the black shoe on my foot. The sales assistant closest to us actually sighed as Siwon did that before hurrying to take the other side of the shoe for me. I have to admit, this guy knows fashion. The shoe even fits me perfectly.

“I don’t want it.” My voice sounds strained and even a stranger can tell that I’m lying. “And plus, the shoes almost cost as much as the dress!” I say in a whisper.

“That’s not for you to worry about.” He says reassuringly. “Besides, I can tell that you love this shoe more than even this one.” He says, pushing my old pumps, now to be known as my ex-favorite footwear away.

I feel a bit guilty as I agree with him internally and proclaim my love for these new shoes. “And how do you know my shoe size, anyway?” I wonder in amazement as he kneels to put the other shoe on.

Siwon started for a minute before looking at a camera confidently, saying, “I can tell a person’s shoe size just by looking at their foot.”

“SHOE size? What about dress size, then? It was you who picked this dress for me too. Can you tell a woman’s measurements just by looking at their... body?” I pressure him, trying to extract some fluster from this man.

He does get flustered for a second, but he just brushes me off and marches yet again to the counter. Jung PD tries to stop him in vain as Choi Siwon takes out his credit card and swipes it smoothly on the machine.

The cashier clears his throat and says, “Sir, I haven’t even checked out the items yet.”

“Oh, right, I knew that.” Siwon covers his face in shame as everyone watching laugh at him.

“Where do we go next?” Siwon asks me, slinging the shopping bag filled with my old clothes and shoes over one shoulder. He thinks he’s so cool. But yeah, he does look kinda cool doing that.

“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask him, avoiding his eyes. My stomach’s been grumbling since I left my house, and perhaps if I look into His Majesty Siwon’s eyes, he’ll be able to hear them. Okay, so maybe that’s not the most logical reason for me to avoid his eyes. It’s definitely not honest.

The truth is, I feel kinda shy around him after leaving Zara. The way that he just paid for those things out of his own money like it was nothing... It wasn’t to be unexpected, of course, since any fan of his would know that he’s the richest member of Super Junior. He’s loaded as he is without needing to count on his also-loaded parents.

But I don’t know... It suddenly hits me how different our backgrounds are. I’m just a simple girl who sprinkles raisins over dough for a living while he acts and sings sometimes. The most expensive piece of clothing that I have in my closet is probably my grandma’s old cardigan, since it’s now an antique and all that. Siwon’s met Karl Lagerfeld personally, and I don’t even dare to dream about the kind of closet that he has. I bet it’s the size of my whole house. Siwon’s just as happy to be stripped down to his boxers for a photo shoot or cover up for a runway, while I... Well, I’m fairly comfortable with my body, and judging by the reaction when I first appear in the atrium back there, I guess I’m pretty... pretty. But I can never be up to modeling or anything like that.

Now that I think about it, our strong sense of faith might be the only thing we have in common, Siwon and I. Even our sense of humor is different. He’s kinda childish at times, uploading pictures of him holding on to Eunhyuk’s legs to Twitter and whatnot, and I’m a snarky, laugh-at-you-not-with-you kind of gal.

And yet, being here with him, walking perfectly in sync... It’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Oh, look, a bakery! Wanna check out some of your competition?” Siwon says, gripping my hands tighter. When did he even start to hold my hand?

                Before I can even object, he’d already dragged me into the bakery.

                Aaahhh... Home. One can never mistake the smells of a bakery, even if one were to travel to another part of the Earth. Especially not if you actually work in one and come home with your hair smelling like pumpkin bread all the time.

“Care to give us some tips on how to select the best bread?” Siwon asks off-handedly as he picks up a selecting tray and tongs. There comes the crazed look in his eyes again. He’s frowning as he examines each of the descriptive cards carefully, sniffing every once in a while. Wow, Choi Siwon can be embarrassing at times.

I try to conceal my smile as Siwon completely pays no attention to me as he goes on his bread-hunting journey. He looks cute that way, though. A six-feet-something-tall man, crouching now and then as if trying to hide from a predator when in fact he’s just sniffing bread. Oh, Siwon.

I go over to his side, crouching next to him as I point out a pinkish bread to him. “Cranberries... Yum!” He smiles at me, grabs it at once and adds it to the pile of baked goods already on his tray.

He gets distracted by a turtle-shaped bread and declares that he must get it for Yesung. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Yun PD shaking his head at his hyung for acting like a kid in a toy shop.

“That’s enough, now, leave some bread for the other customers.” I tug on his elbow and steers him to the cash register. Siwon grins at me and it makes my heart melt a bit. Who knows that this six-packed guy will go jelly at the sight of the humble bread?

“Don’t you want some more bread? Cake, maybe? That lavender one looks pretty.”

“Nope. I’ve had enough bread for a while, you know.” I smile up at him as he takes out his wallet. “Okay, I lied. A baker can never get enough bread. It’s like an addiction, a never-ending quest to eat and consequently produce the perfect bread.”

“Yeah, I saw that longing look in your eyes as you looked at that carrot bread earlier. Are you sure you don’t want anything?”

I step closer to him and say quietly, “I’m REALLY hungry, okay? Bread’s not gonna cut it for me.”

Siwon turns to the camera and destroys all my attempts to appear as a ladylike young woman as he states directly into the camera, “Hyera said she’s hungry. I can hear her stomach and it sounds like a lawnmower, I tell you.”

“If you can hear it, why don’t you take me out to lunch sooner?” I bash him with my favorite handbag. Oh, yeah, it’s new, too. We got it from Zara earlier. Siwon was almost done paying when he realized that I don’t have a new, overly-priced bag to go with my new, overly-priced shoes and my new, overly-priced dress. So he just opens his mouth and utters a single word, “Bag”, and all of a sudden six bags materialized in front of us.

Maybe he IS the Shisus after all.

He’d let me choose the one I want, though, and I’m really happy with the bag I’d bought. It matches the red on my shoes. And now I love it even more as the studs on it seem to really bring the pain when I hit Siwon with it.

See, I told you that I have a darker sense of humor than Siwon does. Apparently, the cameramen do too, as they keep zooming in to the spots where I’d hit Siwon.

“Okay, okay, I’ll let you have a heavier lunch. Dinner. Lunner.” He makes up a new lame word and looks at me proudly like he’d just discovered a new element. This man. This boy. This moy.

Oh no, my fangirl feels are almost coming out now.

Must. Resist. Fangirlity.

“Wanna go to Krispy Kreme? Or how about Natuur?” We’ve reached the directory again.

It must be the hunger in me that caused to me to be this unlady-like. I hit him repeatedly with my bag, practically screaming, “DONUTS AND LUSCIOUS ICE CREAMS ARE NOT GOING TO CUT IT EITHER!”

Siwon doesn’t seem to be hurt by all my bag-slinging, though. He just clutches his abs and laughs at me. “Why is hunger making you so violent? Oh my gosh, this is so funny! I’ve never seen... a woman acting like this!” He stops laughing just as suddenly as he starts. “Well, looks like you’re going to have to settle for sandwiches or these breads... There’s not really a restaurant in this mall...”

I almost jump on the directory to see it better (all the cameramen are busy getting shots of the directory that even I can’t see it). “There’s really nothing?”

“Nope. Ooh, there’s Samsonite, but that sells luggage bags.”

I am on the brink of strangling Siwon with my new bag. “This isn’t time to joke around, Choi Siwon-sshi.”

He thinks it’s an appropriate time to joke, though, as he laughs again. And then, just like before, he stops abruptly. “Oh, no, what if you get gastritis?” He says suddenly, putting an arm around my shoulder and starts walking towards the Lotte Department Store.

I notice how at ease he seems to be with all this skinship. Isn’t he worried about the hoarde of E.L.F.s that might come at him with pitchforks for it?

If he isn’t, can he at least be worried for ME?

But I say nothing about my anguish-filled epiphany and just let him lead me to the readily-cooked foods section. He picks up a chicken and pasta for himself while I settle for some kimchi fried rice.

See, even our food choices are comparable. And I’m not talking about how his is more western while mine is traditionally Korean, I’m talking about how his is generally healthier than my greasy fare.

Then again, he sprinkles WAY too many cheese on that pasta.

We head outside the store, looking for a suitable place to eat. I’m relieved that we’ve finally got ourselves some heavier food. I can feel the lady-like part of me coming back already.

But soon another wrinkle manages to make its way between my brows as we fail to find a proper table. Siwon closes his eyes tight, as if getting rid of his irritation, too. He must be just as hungry as I am.

“I guess we’re gonna have to settle for this place.” He puts down all the shopping bags that he’d been carrying for me and takes out the handkerchief from his pocket. He lays it out on a low brick wall, and gestures for me to sit on it.

“Where are-“ I start to say, but he waves me off.

“I’ll be fine.” He says and sits on the bare brick wall.

I bite my lip. “No, I was actually gonna ask you about the food. Where’s the food?” The look on his face when he realizes that he just got trolled is priceless.

“Here, my lady.” He keeps his gallantry in check, though. That’s another thing that I love so much about this guy. He never seems to get mad, no matter how mean I treat him.

We start eating, speaking only to ask for the napkins and such. Wow, we’re both really hungry.

“Look at us. All dressed in a suit and a fancy dress. We end up eating by the sidewalk.” Siwon says, breaking the silence.

I almost choked on my kimchi. He calmly pats my back, much to the distress of the fans surrounding us.

“Why can’t we go outside of this mall to get some food?” I would love some street food right now, even if they’re not very filling. At least they’d fill me up better than donuts would.

“It’s because we had permission to film here. We can’t just film on the streets suddenly, we need to issue an official letter first.” Yun PD’s the one who answers me.

The PDs who’d been silent since we left Zara announce that the crew’s gonna take a break too. Jung PD sends Yun PD to get some drinks and Siwon smacks his forehead, almost stabbing himself with a fork in the eye. “We forgot to get drinks!”

“It’s fine, world star, I’ll get you some!” Yun PD calls out from some distance away.

World star.

I’m not even close to being a world baker, heck, I’m not even a real baker yet!

Thinking about this makes me lose my appetite.

I glance at Siwon, who seems to be watching me with scrutinizing eyes. “What’s wrong?” He asks, but not with his mouth full. Such good manners, this kid.

“Nothing”, I say, pretending to tuck in into my fried rice. Siwon just casually reaches over with his fork and scoops some of my rice into his mouth. He then feeds me with some of his pasta, taking care to include some chicken too.

It flabbergasts me. “What are you doing?”

“What are YOU doing? Just eat, or do you want me to spoon feed your every bite?”

“Will you really feed me if I ask you to? On camera?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that on LIVE camera, even. On international TV.” He confesses, his eyes not leaving mine.

Okay, it seems like my appetite has suddenly returned. I quickly eat up the rest of my rice, much to Siwon’s amusement. Yun PD comes back moments later and tosses us two cans of soda.

“Why did you toss us that? What if it explodes?” Siwon gets up, mad at the young PD. Yun PD just snickers behind the safety of Jung PD’s back, though.

“Okay, how about this. Let’s just open the cans, and the person who gets sprayed has to fork out cash for ice-cream.” Jung PD suggests.

“Ice-cream for just us or for the whole crew?” Siwon enquires suspiciously.

                “For you two, of course. We haven’t even eaten yet. Man, these guys are just like Taemin and Hana next week, always so thoughtful.” Jung PD jokes to his colleagues.

                I breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t afford ice-cream for the whole crew.

                “Ready?” Siwon turns to face me; fingers on the tab. “Go!”

                “Ack!” I scream as my soda splutters out of the can. Siwon’s had exploded too.

                “I guess we’re buying for each other, then?”

                The fangirls standing nearby go, “Aww...” and I just shake my head. What’s there to be “Aww”-ing about, anyway? The fact that we’re buying each other ice-cream? Does that sound romantic?

                DOES IT?

                It turns out that it is kinda romantic to shop for ice-cream with someone. The way that we have to bend a bit to look at the ice-cream in the freezer reminds me of jewelry stores. Just imagining shopping for jewelry with Siwon brings a huge smile to my face.

                “Look at you. Do you love ice-cream that much?” Siwon smiles softly next to me.

                “Who doesn’t?” I response. “And you dare to say that about me. This is the first time you noticed me since we come in here, you know that?”

                Siwon laughs, and the sound makes me get pre-brain freeze brain freeze. We both are more laid-back now that we’ve had lunch. It’s easier to talk when you’re not telling your stomach to shut up.

                “What do you want to get?” Siwon asks me, going over the selection with his eyes.

                “Emerald Choco Mint”, I answer much too quickly.

                “Haha, careful, Hyera, you’re showing sign of weakness. Bow down to your dairy product masters!” Siwon raises both of his arms in an evil emperor-like way.

                “Stawwwp! You’re embarrassing meee!” Jung PD hisses from his standing point near the windows.

                Meanwhile, I just stare in admiration at my moy. Look at him, all fangirly over ice-cream.

               The wide-eyed girl from behind the freezer scoops my Emerald Choco Mint into a glass cup before turning to Siwon. “And you, Your Majesty?”

                The whole parlor erupted with laughter and the cameramen had a hard time keeping the cameras steady. Siwon clutches his sides, trying not to keel over in laughter.

                “Your Majesty?”

                “Well, you look princely enough.” The girl says, her wide-eyed innocence disappearing and turning into a coy flirtation. Oh shoot. This girl better back off.

                “He’d like a Maple Walnut Castle, please. And make it a triple scoop, please.” I say to her, making sure to shoot out fires from my eyes.

                Again, Siwon puts his arms around me as he thanks me for making the perfect choice of an ice-cream. I let his arm rest on my shoulder for a little bit, just to annoy the girl working there. After making sure it worked, I wriggle my way out under his biceps and sits on one of the wooden benches at a table. Siwon sits himself in the cushy green chair opposite.

                “Okay, so now who’s gonna get the ice-cream if we’re both sitting?” I wonder audibly.

                “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that too.” Siwon says, dragging me back to the counter to pay up my share. The girl from before still looks miffed, that I don’t even regret ordering a triple scoop for Siwon and having to pay for it.           That’s right, girly, right now, this world star is on a date with ME.

As I sit at our table and shmush my ice cream with a spoon so that it’s all meltedy before I eat it, my eyes meet Siwon’s for a fleeting second. A second’s enough for me. Because despite my now-calmed fangirl feels, I still can’t believe that I’m eating ice-cream with Choi Siwon. In front of all these people. And I can’t believe how comfortable and not-scary it feels.

                This is MY place. Right in front of him.

                So that his eyes can only see me.

                Yup, I definitely made the right decision to join this program.

                I touch the silvery fabric, loving how it feels in my hand. Bye, lovely new shiny dress of mine. Tomorrow morning you’re going to the dry-cleaners.

                Oh, more money to be spent!

                Oh well, at least the date went splendidly. Fabulous, if I might say so myself.

                “Hyera, there’s someone here to see you!” My sister opens my door without so much of a knock.

                “Who?” I ask to the air, since my sister’s disappeared into her own room.

                I trudge down the hall, all dressed for bed in my pajamas. It might be Anna, my friend from work. She’s always dropping by to tell me the latest gossip about our boss at the most random times. Anna’s fine, she’d seen me in my pajamas a million times. Sometimes she even comes here wearing one too.

                I open the door to the familiar back of my boyfriend.

                “What are you doing here? Someone might see you!” I pull him in as quickly as possible.

                “LOL, you’re in your pajamas. I’m gonna post this to Twitter.” He says, whipping out his cellphone. And he actually said LOL, ladies and gentlemen. He didn’t laugh out loud, he said LOL.

                “No!” I block his camera with my hand. It’s pretty hard to resist the strength of someone his size though. “And why are you here? What if my neighbors saw you?”

                “Let them see me, Hyera. And let me tell you this. I don’t regret you coming on that dating show at all. I’m okay with it. In fact, I think that the date was the best thing any of us could’ve done to push this relationship forward. The only thing that I regretted was... not being brave enough to do this.”

                “Do what?” I sound like a ghost. A nervous ghost.

                “This.” He drops to one knee, and takes out a small box from his pocket.

                I hear a loud sniff and I turn to see my sister standing in her doorway, carrying a box of tissues. Siwon had always been her bias too.

                “Im Hyera, would you marry me?” He holds up the box, but before he can even open it, I snap the lid back shut.

                “Siwon, are you... are you sure? There’s a lot of things to talk about. Your parents, my parents, your career, your fans... I mean...”

                “That’s why it’s such a brilliant idea to have you on the show. Jung PD told me all about it. You didn’t enter any competition, did you? You were invited, exclusively by the writer and the directors. They know about us, Hyera, they weren’t trying to prank me or you. Instead, they were trying to help us. I don’t care if I lose all my fans. I don’t care if SM wants to kick me out of the company.”

                Seeing the panicked look on my face, he continues hurriedly. “No, don’t worry, honey, they’d never do that to me, they know how important I am to them. And I know you worry about money all the time. Just don’t. I’ll let you become whoever you want to be. Become a baker, become whatever... If money makes you uncomfortable and you don’t want my money, don’t take it.”

                “I want your money.” I don’t mean it, but I can’t help saying that, if only to lighten up the moment. It’s all getting very serious too quickly.

                Siwon understands though. He always does. “I don’t care if you want my money. Take it, then. Take it all. Just let me have you by my side in return.”

                His words sound reassuring, and I believe everything he says, but... “Your fans are really scary though! I know, because I’m one of them!” I say, treading his fingers through mine, trying to make him stand up again. “I’m scared.”

                “We’ll just get engaged first, and try to keep it a secret for as long as we can. If we’re found out, then, it’s about time. Let’s just go with it. What do you say?” He opens the lid, and my engagement ring sits inside there, all sparkly silver, with a little golden flower on top.

                How can I even pretend to say no? I’d say yes if he gives me a hula hoop instead of a ring. I’d say yes even if HE’S the one wearing pajamas. How can I reject him when all this time we’ve been fighting so hard to keep our love a secret from the public eye and now he’s saying that he doesn’t care; he’d rather show me off to the world.

“Hyera? Would you marry me?” He asks again, his lower lip trembling. Oh, my poor moy.

“I’d say... I’ll marry you.” I kneel in front of him and hug him with all my might as my sister starts crying very openly. I’m sure she’s crying out of happiness.

                Siwon stands up with me still in his arms. He put on a mock thoughtful face as he asks, “Remember this morning when I tried to kiss you on national TV? Well, I didn’t do it then, but I think I’ll take that kiss now.” He presses his lips to mine, and my lips join his in the perfect kiss with the perfect man.

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This story was supposed to be the first one, but I mixed up the PMs and so I wrote _hana_’s first. Not your fault, _hana_, it’s entirely mine, and I’m sorry, DamiaqixiaAnnabella!

That’s why Siwon’s the MC of the show. When I first got the request, I’d imagined him as the MC & the first date to be the MC’s date with his secret girlfriend because he has networks in the TV business and everyone wants to see him happy. But due to my fail, this ended up as the second ‘episode’ of the TV show.

I don’t think that it makes so much of a difference, though.

And sorry for not doing proper pretty layouts for you.

Another thing I have to apologize to you about, DamiaqixiaAnnabella, is because I fail at making this a fluff. I have to admit that I love this fic and the way it turned out is exactly as I wanted it, but it's supposed to be  the way you wanted it, not me. You wanted fluff, and you deserve fluff, but somewhere in the middle it turned angsty? And somehow crack-y. Maybe I should stop writing in the middle of the night when my brain’s begging me to stop.

I guess that a good fluff will give you... a fluffy feeling in your tummy as you read it, and reading this didn’t do that to me at all. I’M SORRY I REALLY AM!

By the way, this has been a-first-public-date-with-a-secret-girlfriend date. The last episode had been... Well, just read the title (which was named by  _hana_ herself, WOOT WOOT!).