Korea National University of Arts, Seoul, 2011

*tick-tock, tick-tock*

“Yoon Ji-ah, nothing you can do will move the clock from its place.”

“Uh, eh”

Yoon Ji startled when Soo Ra, her flatmate, suddenly appeared in front of her. She knew what Soo Ra would say next, which was that she had been spacing out for a few good minutes, again.

“No, I won’t say that.”

“Say what?”

She laughed when Soo Ra acted as she was glaring at her. The slightly older girl ruffled Yoon Ji’s head and tugged her along.

“Come on! It’s nice outside!”

Yoon Ji shook her head in disbelief as that day actually was the end of autumn, and the weather was surprisingly colder than the usual. But she let Soo Ra pulled her to step into the freezing yet brightly starry evening, because deep down in her heart, she also wanted to be out there.

It helped her to recollect her precious memories, of the one man who was stolen her heart away.

She smiled softly when she saw a group of her friends already there on the park. Soo Ra shrieked when Boon Joo, her boyfriend, stepped in from nowhere and apologetically nodded to Yoon Ji that he had to take her friend away. Smiling even wider, she shook her head and told them that she needed a time alone anyway.

Yoon Ji pretended that she did not aware the sad look that Soo Ra threw her way, because she did not want to admit to her that her guess was 100% right.

Yoon Ji was envying Soo Ra’s relationship with Boon Joo.

She walked around the park until she found the bench that painfully resembled that one scene they had that cold morning. The one when both were freezing but he kept on saying funny things to make her happy and forgot about the sickening stomach ache that she was having regularly at that time.

He always put her happiness on top of anything.

She blinked her eyes when she could feel tears were already b in them. It had been months since they last meeting, but everything kept reminded her of him. Of their awkward first kissing scene to the way he hugged her head closely to his chest, to the beating of his heart that only she was allowed to hear.

Soo Ra once asked her if it was a love at first sight.

But it was not. In fact, she was afraid to meet him on the beginning since everyone she knew keep telling her that she was the luckier girl in the world because her leading man was the most beautiful man in the entire country and she would have a chance to kiss him.

After all, their series was called ‘Playful Kiss’.

She was half expected that he would be acted like he supposed to be, one of the hottest men alive. So when she entered the briefing room at the first time, she chose to walk behind Tae Sun, because for the other boy, she was kind of  a sunbae. But the moment she walked inside, she could not help but stealing a glance over the man who would be her ‘center of universe’ for the rest of shooting days.

And she wondered if he knew at that time that he would become her real center of universe.

He smiled at her. A very sincere and lovely smile as if to give a sign that she should not be too worry of becoming his leading lady. She knew at that time why everyone told her to keep sane when she finally met him, since it was easy to fall for him.

It was easy to fall into a charm of Kim Hyun Joong.

They got along that day. Her heart was still beating so fast and she still avoided looking at his face, but his genuine kindness and openly gesture that he wanted them to give the best for the series was clearly seen. Although at the moment, she thought it was because of his nature of competitiveness and the successful of their series.

But when they shoot their first kissing scene, she was beginning to hope that was not the only reason.

The kiss was not really a kiss, to be honest. It wasn’t like her first kiss or anything special; it was just a stiff brief touch of his lips over hers. But when his face was merely centimeters away from her and she could feel his warm breath, she knew that she was doomed.

She got it bad from the first touch.

She was so ashamed of herself. The usually sensible and reasonable Yoon Ji would not be like that. But it was only like few days of shooting and she felt herself losing to the fiction Oh Ha Ni, whose life was dedicated to this cold and annoyed Baek Seung Jo. That’s the first time she thought she was ever feeling stupid, because Kim Yoon Ji was a cheerful and bright girl, top student and extraordinaire disciple.

But she was Jung So Min at that time, and it was okay to be different than her usual self.

Days were gone by. Their interactions were becoming the most occupying thing in her time line. She was also aware of the fact that he started to stay beside her after the shots, laughing at her silly acts and teasing her until she cracked.

Then on the day before their ‘not-a-dream-sequence’ first kiss was happening, he pulled a chair in front of her when she was reading the script and playfully ruffled her hair. She was stunned but her usual witty retort was lost somewhere.

“I think we should spend practice time together.”

She blinked her eyes to ensure that she was not dreaming.

“Mwoa… Wae?”

She put her hand over when she realized that she was shouting her surprise that loud. He looked at her with clear amusing eyes and moved his face even closer to hers.

“Because we’ll get our first kiss….. scene.” His smile widened before continued his assault over a blushing her. “Seung Jo and Ha Ni would be starting a pull and push relationship since then. Don’t you think we should try to make it believable?”

“Oh!” She said at heart. “Of course, he wants the best as always.”

“After all, that would give us less NGs….” He continued and then patted her head. “And more time for us to chat and hang out.” He winked and rose from the chair. “See you tonight.”

She watched him went away in disbelief, but she was sure that she saw his smirk appeared.

And on how her smile suddenly appeared as well.

Since that moment, they were kind of inseparable on the set.  Laughing and shoving to each other while glancing and smiling in secret. She was not really understood what happened and why it was so easy for them to be clicked like that. All she knew that she was never been that happy and lively than when she was with him.

*tick, tick, tick*

She blinked again because of drops of water on her face. Smiling she let the light rain enveloped her in its cold drops but surprisingly brought back the warm feeling of the day when she got some of her firsts.

First French kiss.

First openly bear hug.

First being fall in love.

But then when the rain poured down heavily, she stayed still. Because she realized that now the drops on her face were no longer only raindrops but also her own tears that fallen freely since only in rain that she could let her fear being thrown freely.

That she was still in love, so very much, with Kim Hyun Joong.