Times like this, Victoria wished she had her bed for company.

As the dark sky continued to pour, here she was; all cooped up in the salon getting her hair done for the next schedule.

The environment was definitely mundane and her eyes glanced over the members that were falling asleep even with the hot iron glazing over their hair. The girl pouted, staring mindlessly into the mirror to her front as she waited patiently for the hair dresser to finish.

“Are you bored?” The woman suddenly started speaking and feeling slightly bad, Victoria nodded her head meekly. “Do you want me to switch on the TV for you?”

“It’s okay.” The girl rejected politely. “There doesn’t seem to be any nice shows going on at this hour anyway.”

“Really? They’re playing The Vow right now, though.”

Her eyes lit up instantaneously at the mention of watching a movie and the girl waited for the TV to turn on.

After all, this was the very same movie that had Channing Tatum in it.

For who wouldn’t like Channing Tatum?

“Ahhh.” Victoria muttered regrettably. “It’s finishing soon.”

“Oh?” The hair dresser seemed surprise at this revelation. “You’ve watched this before?”

“Countless of times.” Truth was, this was the very movie that she loved so dearly.

“Me too.” The woman turned excited that Victoria had similar tastes as her. “I think we’re getting to the good part though.”

Glued to the television screen, Victoria watched as the scene unfolded to how Channing’s character, Leo, confronted his wife as she stood there frustrated on her memory loss.

The sudden low tone he displayed as compared to his outburst right before tugged onto her heart softly and Victoria embraced herself for the tears that may come her way from this familiar scene.

That’s right; there was nothing to be ashamed off.

This was Channing Tatum they were talking about. She can cry if she wants to.

“How do you look at the girl you love and tell yourself it’s time to walk away?” The audio from the movie boomed clearly in her ears.

Like a movie would, her heart stopped; allowing the words the character said to ingrained her mind.

“Leo.” The wife started calling out to him right before he left. “I hope one day I can love the way that you love me.”

As if hitting right on spot, Victoria turned away from the screen, not allowing herself to continue watching the movie any longer.

She was right.

This was the very scene that she loathed from the movie she loved, just because it meant so much more to her.

This was the infamous scene that started her misery.

This was how she and Nichkhun turned awkward.

--

Flashback: (episode 47)

“Thank you for hard work!” The staff cheered as filming for the episode came to an end that late night.

“Thank you for your hard work too!” Both Nichkhun and Victoria bowed and greeted at the same time.

“Ahh, but today was really a pity.” The PD shook his head at the pair while laughing. “Why did you have to kiss her hoodie?”

“H-Huh?”  Nichkhun turned flustered as he averted his gaze to the ground. “I… I wasn’t so sure if she wanted it. A-After all, it was going to be our first kiss.”

“I’m pretty sure my hoodie liked it!” Victoria teased the already blushing young man.

As the scene cleared, the two were left alone, seating at that same bench they were already sitting on before concluding their filming. This was a normal occurrence for they were always left alone to wait for their respective managers to pick them up. Today, however, seemed a little off.

“But I’m quite glad as well that you didn’t.” The girl spoke up to ease the silence.

“D-Didn’t what?” Nichkhun was clearly taken aback and puzzled at her sudden sentence.

“Well, you know… Kiss.”

“Oh.” He felt himself frowning. “Why?”

“Because Tiffany would probably flare at me, knowing how easily jealous she gets.” Victoria chuckled. “Not that I care much because I know that deep down, she still loves me anyway.”

“T-Tiffany?” For a moment the name sounded strange and unfamiliar. “Oh, Tiffany.”

“Not to mention I’ll probably have to deal with an overly attached Changmin.” Nichkhun’s moment of forgetfulness went unheard. “But you know what they say. This is only for variety.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Her words seemed to hit him slowly and he felt his shoulders drooping from the lack of confidence. Nichkhun knew that what they had were only for show but he couldn’t help but feel dejected.

Stop it. You already have a girlfriend. Yeah, a beautiful one at that.

“I’m just glad that we’re at that stage where we’re good friends and we can confide in each other on almost anything.” Victoria continued talking to herself. “And I have to say, our other halves are amazing as well for not letting a variety show affect the relationships that we share with one another.”

But what if it affected me instead, Victoria? What if?

“Speaking of which, Tiffany told me that you haven’t been in touch with her lately. I know that you guys are busy and overseas calls are expensive, but KakaoTalk is free, you know? It’s a great way to keep in contact!” She continued babbling before noticing that something was amiss. “Nichkhun? You okay?”

No I’m not. I’m confused as hell. “I… I am.”

“Oh. Okay. So like I was saying, you should really text her soon. Knowing Tiffany, she’ll never make the first move thinking that she’s a bother to you.” She paused before warning lightly. “Which she better not be.”

The man continued to keep mum and Victoria sensed that his mind had already drifted away. She gave a small smile, knowing that something was in fact bothering him.

Oh, how easy it was to read him.

“Come on, Babo.” She somehow managed to get through him. “Something’s wrong. Hit me with it.”

It was a little strange as he heard her calling him an idiot. Sure, it was their on-screen nickname but she never seemed to use it once the cameras were done rolling. The nickname itself was a special code that both he and Tiffany shared in real life.

In fact, as apologetic as he was, the word sounded more pleasant on Victoria’s tongue rather than Tiffany’s.

And he felt really sorry because he never meant to feel this way.

Not at all.

“It’s just…” The man was unsure on where to start.

Was it even right to bring such a topic up?

Was there even a topic in the first place?

“Hmm?”

“I… I love Tiffany with all my heart.” Nichkhun spluttered out his words awkwardly.

“Okay… I know that.” He noticed the amusement laced in her eyes. “And then?”

“I’m in love.”

“I know that.” Victoria raised her eyebrows in confusion. “You told me that just now.”

“No, you don’t understand.” He sighed in exasperation. “I’m in love.”

“H-Huh?”

“I’m in love with someone else.”

It took Victoria a moment to register what the man was saying as she blinked her eyes continuously, thinking that she heard it wrong.

“B-But you said that you loved Tiffany.” Her once puzzled expression turned into a deep frown. “How can that be?”

“I don’t know, okay.” Nichkhun ran his hands through his own hair. “It just happened.”

“Who’s the girl?” Victoria’s voice turned solemn. Here she was, thinking that Nichkhun would never break the heart of the girl that she treated like a sister. Guess she was wrong.

“Who’s the girl, Nichkhun?” She repeated herself impatiently when there was no answer. “How can you even think of-”

“It’s you.” He mumbled softly, but loud enough for her to hear. “I’m in love with you.”

Silence ensued as the girl continued staring at the man to her left, her state of mind in a frenzy. It felt as if he had just splashed cold water in her face, leaving her in shock still.

How could she possibly react to that?

“It’s a little ironic, isn’t it?” Nichkhun gave a dry laugh. “Saying that you’ll make me love you and having it happening for real.”

“T-That was just for the s-show. T-This is reality and-”

“Who are we to judge what’s real and what’s not?” The man was definitely bitter. “That’s the dangerous thing about this program. I knew it was dangerous and yet I still voluntarily put myself in such a situation.”

“I…”

“Tell me.” His gaze pierced right through her shaky self. “Tell me that you have not once felt something more for me by being on this show. Tell me that this is all acting on our own parts.”

“Nichkhun.” Victoria regained her composure by keeping calm. “You can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“You can’t fall in love with me. You… You have Tiffany and that’s what matters.”

If there was a word to describe how he felt, Nichkhun would have liked to think that the word was sorrowful.  It was all so obvious in her eyes.

There was definitely a time where she liked him, somewhere deep down in her heart.

The girl was just being stubborn in admitting it like she always was.

“And let me guess. You have Changmin, right?” He saw how her head bobbed up and down. “That’s fine with me. Let’s pretend this never happened then.”

“O-Of course.”

“Let’s pretend this never happened and live in regret for the rest of our lives.”

“Nichkhun…”

He honestly shouldn’t have felt this way. With all due honesty, he didn’t know what drove him to be so confident and vocal about his feelings for her.

Shouldn’t he be sad and apologetic that he had long thrown his feelings away for Tiffany?

Shouldn’t he feel guilty that he’s actively pursuing another woman while still in a relationship?

Shouldn’t he be depressed for even acknowledging the fact that he was in love with the woman whom his girlfriend trusted?

And yet here he was; angry and in grief that Victoria would rather play it safe than accept that some way or another, her heart had already been possessed by him once.

“No, it’s okay.” The words his brain programmed started to roll off his tongue softly. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

“Let’s just pretend this never happened.” He repeated his words again. “I… I’ll take care of Tiffany. I’ll love her right.”

“Nichkhun!” The sudden shout from behind had the pair turning around in surprise.

Fortunately, his manager arrived to break the tension and Victoria felt relieved that he came in at the right timing. At least she wouldn’t have to think of words to say rather than just a simple goodbye.

“I have to go.” His tone remained low but Victoria remained unmoving.

What could she possibly say?

“I just…” Nichkhun paused in his tracks, his back still facing her. “I just want to know how you do it. How can you restrain yourself so easily? I mean, I find it so hard to walk away right now when I’m with you.”

“Nichkhun…”

“I… I’m sorry.” He refrained himself from saying anything further. “I… I’ll go now.”

--

“Isn’t it cute that they’re making new memories together?” The hair dresser’s words brought her back to reality. “I guess she did managed to figure how to love him again. Just like what she said before.”

“U-Uh. Yeah.” Victoria kept her cool, pretending that she had been engrossed in watching the entire movie. She will never know how she could possibly have zoned out all the way until the ending. “It’s great, honestly.”

“It’s more than great!” The former exclaimed excitedly. “When you love someone, there’s just no way to deny it, you know? This movie was a great example.”

“Yeah, but it’s a movie.” A voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Turning around, Victoria met the eyes of Amber who was already awake. “And like all movies, they tend to exaggerate things.”

“But love itself is an exaggeration.” The hair dresser looked on kindly. “It’s an under estimation, an exaggeration and yet a perfection. That’s just the way it works.”

At that sentence, the tomboyish girl scoffed, her eyes never once leaving Victoria. “Yeah, maybe. But I would hardly call it perfection. Not when it takes a toll on your sanity.”

She pursed her lips together, knowing that somehow the comment was directed to her.

But she was still sane, wasn’t she?

She still cooked for her members and she still attended schedules as per normal. She was definitely more than sane.

“Sanity has nothing to do with it.” Victoria chuckled softly. “Love… love had always been a little hard to comprehend but I get it now. If two people really loved each other, no rational reasons can tear them apart. If it can, it simply means that they’re lying or they’re afraid.”

“Wow. You had that takeaway just from the movie alone?” The hair dresser teased. “Not bad.”

“Oh please.” Amber rolled her eyes before leaving the room. “It was more than that movie.”

And somehow, deep down inside, Victoria knew that the girl was right.

It was her experience that taught her that.

To think she realised it this late.

“You should go after him.” Luna who had been observing them suddenly spoke up.

“P-Pardon?”

“Khun Appa.” Her eyes turned kind and yet Victoria swore she saw a hint of pity. “You should get him back. He’s taking a toll on you and it’s not a pretty sight.”

“R-Rubbish.” Victoria felt embarrassed by the younger one’s words. “I…”

“Don’t fool yourself, unnie. It has already been more than a year. When are you ever going to realise that you love him?”

Having no words to say, the girl simply averted her gaze back to the now black TV screen.

When was she going to realise that she loved him?

Maybe… Maybe she had already realised all along.

And maybe, just maybe, it was already too late to admit it.

A/N

Woohoo! 2nd Chapter is up haha. As I was re-reading this, I figured that some parts relating to the movie might not make sense so I do encourage everyone to spare a few minutes and watch the trailer for each respective movie if you don't! (: If you have already watched the respective movies, I hoped it rings a bell as well.

Thank you for reading everyone! Lots of love! ♥♥♥