‘Is she here yet?’ Min Ho asked his manager for the second time.

‘Her manager called and they’re probably outside parking by now.’

Min Ho nodded and went back to reading the script. He was worried about the scene; he thought that maybe talking to her about it would help. The sooner they get this over with, the better. He’s been thinking about it nonstop since he received the script and it bothered him. A lot.

After a few minutes, Shin Hye walked into the prep room, where Min Ho was. Shin Hye bowed slightly and gave him a smile. He smiled back at her as she took the seat across him. He immediately looked down at his script.

She’s here. Talk to her. Min Ho looked up at Shin Hye again and saw that she also begun reading her script while getting her makeup touched up. He sat there, watching, thinking of what he should say. When Shin Hye looked up at him, he looked down instantly. YA! What are you doing? Are you some teenage boy? He lifted his head to look at her but this time, Shin Hye looked away.

This is getting silly.

He stood up and walked to where Shin Hye was sitting. He bent down to whisper, ‘Do you want to talk?’

Shin Hye nodded and got up to follow Min Ho. They walked to a corner where there weren’t a lot of people around.

‘Are you ready?’ he asked.

Shin Hye shook her head and looked down, ‘I don’t know. I’m mentally prepared, but I’m not sure I’ll do a good job.’

Min Ho thought she looked so nervous and felt bad. ‘Shin Hye-ah, you trust me, right?’

‘Of course, oppa.’ She looked up to meet his eyes.

He felt something stir in him. He was never tense around her – until today. Her nervous expression unnerved him. He liked that Shin Hye was innocent, but it also made kiss scenes rather unsettling. Somehow, he felt like he was violating her or something. His gaze fell on her lips. YA! Are you a ert? He closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself.

‘Oppa?’

‘Oh? Uh, I was trying to think of a way to loosen you up,’ he replied. Yeah, right. YOU need to loosen up, he told himself.

‘I’m sorry, it’s just…’ she stopped herself and sighed. ‘Oppa, I promise I can do it. I won’t let you down. Just do what you usually do.’ She smiled determinedly.

This worried Min Ho even more.

'Lee Min Ho!' His manager called him over.

'You can't possibly let me down,' he smiled at her. 'I have to go do whatever that ahjussi wants me to do now.' He patted her back before walking away.

......................

Shin Hye looked at Min Ho from the corner. She hadn’t been this anxious about a scene in a long time. On one hand, she’s an adult and it’s about time for her to be mature about kiss scenes. It’s clearly been holding her back. On the other hand, it’s Lee Min Ho. On this front, she was afraid of so many things: 1) her feelings getting muddled again, 2) he might think she’s an awful kisser because of her inexperience 3) the fact that she cares about what he thinks of her kissing ability bothers her enough.

Just then, she saw Min Ho walking towards her. She tensed up. Oh no, he’s giving me a pep talk again. This is so embarrassing.

Min Ho stopped walking and stood beside her. ‘Shin Hye, I have an idea,’ he whispered.

‘Really? What is it?’

He turned to her, ‘Let’s find a spot somewhere and practice.’

Shin Hye was wide-eyed with shock. She didn’t know how to respond. She opened but no sound came out.

After a few seconds of dead air, Min Ho smiled mischievously and stifled a laugh. Shin Hye realized that he was joking. She exhaled heavily and hit his arm. ‘Oppa! You scared me.’

‘Wae? Want to do it? I don’t mind,’ Min Ho shrugged. He grabbed a hold of Shin Hye’s wrist and pretended to scan the area. ‘Where should we do it? Upstairs?’ He grinned.

Shin Hye pulled her hand back and scowled at him. Min Ho chuckled.

‘I’m kidding. Just trying to lighten up the mood. You look so nervous, you’re starting to scare the crew members,’ he said.

She smiled. Whenever she was having a hard time, he always attempted to make her feel better. She was grateful, but it also became one of the reasons why she’s getting too attached to him. She liked and hated it at the same time. I must be crazy, she thought.

‘Keunde oppa,’ Shi