Okay so he wasn’t exactly good at keeping promises, especially those that involve Shin Hye. He once convinced himself to not do anything about his feelings for her, but ended up dating her. Just a few minutes ago, he told himself to just stay put and sleep, but here he was, driving to Apgujeong for drinks. And he couldn’t even hold his liquor well.

He knew Shin Hye was probably going to flip, especially since he didn’t tell her he was coming. And it doesn’t help that he’ll be hanging out with her closest friends. So while driving, he made a mental list of reasons why it was perfectly logical for him to come and that she had no reason to be mad:

He actually came for Bum. She can’t take ownership of him – since he was also his friend. He needed a drink. It’s a free country. He can drink wherever he wants, even at the bar where she was also drinking. It was group thing so she doesn’t have to be wary of rumors. Even if there are reports about it, people would just think they went out to hang as a group of friends. Perfectly plausible. If he didn’t go there, guys would be ogling her all night. He needed to protect her. He wanted to see her. (side note: this will make her heart flutter and she’ll forget all about getting mad)

As soon as Min Ho arrived, several people started whispering and pointing. Celebrities go out all the time, but he never went to bars – well, not in a long time, at least. He put on a poker face as girls smiled and waved at him and strangers stared at him. With every step, he felt more and more uneasy. He wasn’t sure if making an appearance there was the brightest idea, especially after his argument with his manager earlier. If he finds out about this night out, he’ll know for sure that the girl he's dating is Shin Hye.

He saw Bum sitting on the edge of a couch from the corner most booth. When Bum saw him, he waved and walked to greet him. Min Ho caught some people by the bar take their photos discreetly. He winced, but he figured if he was going to inevitably be photographed tonight, he might as well be photographed with Bum.

‘Hyung, long time no see!’ Bum gave him a little hug. ‘I’m so glad you called. I can't believe Lee Min Ho is free. You’re resting, then?’

‘If you call this resting. Apparently, I’m into partying now. I was at a party last night and tonight, I’m in a bar – I thought I graduated from all this already,’ Min Ho chuckled.

‘You didn’t have to come,’ Bum replied. ‘But I’m glad you did. Let’s go. The gang is over there.’

As soon as Min Ho reached the table, his attention immediately went to Shin Hye who was smiling at him. Well was curved upward but her eyes were practically daggers. He tried to play it cool and ignored her. ‘Annyeong,’ he addressed everyone. ‘I hope you don’t mind that I join you.’

‘Of course not. Oppa! How have you been?’ So Eun smiled.

‘I’m great. How about you, So Eun-ah? I haven’t seen you in years.’

‘Same same,’ she replied. ‘Seems like a lot has happened but if you think about it, nothing really happened.’

‘Min Ho nodded his head gave Shin Hye a glance again. Her death glare was unwavering.

‘Oh, hyung, have you met Go Ara yet?’ Bum introduced them.

‘I’ve heard so much about you. Nice to meet you. Finally,’ Ara nudged Shin Hye before shaking hands with him. He wondered if she knew about them.

He tilted his head. ‘Heard about me? From who?’ Min Ho asked.

Ara gave Shin Hye a sideway glance and pursed her lips. ‘Ahh… from the TV. You’re very famous ha ha ha ha,’ she laughed before taking a sip of her drink.

Min Ho chuckled. ‘You’re very famous, too.’

‘Hyung, no matter what happens, don’t get close to Go Ara. She’ll just fall in love with you and take advantage of you…’ Kang Ha Neul started to say. Ara grumbled and aggressively tried to cover his mouth but he swatted it away. ‘…that’s what happened to me. She’s mean to me now because I couldn’t accept her heart…’

‘YA!’ Ara hit his arm. Min Ho laughed and stole another glance at Shin Hye. This time, her back was leaning on the couch as she stared at her drink. He wanted to pull her aside and talk to her but he couldn’t.

‘Shin Hye,’ he called her. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her. She looked up, dazed, as if returning to her senses after spacing out.

‘Wae?’ She asked, blinking innocently as she stared around.

All eyes were on Min Ho now. ‘Are you okay?’ He asked.

It took a while for her to answer. ‘Me? Yeah, of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘You were too quiet. You’re never quiet,’ he smiled.

Shin Hye looked around at her friends who now stopped everything they were doing to observe their awkward conversation. ‘No, it was just… everyone was talking so you know, you shouldn’t be talking when someone else is talking… ha ha ha,’ she lifted her glass and gulped down her drink.

Wow, she’s really bad at this.

For a while, no one said anything so Ha Neul cleared his throat and broke the silence. ‘Ya, let’s play a game.’

‘What game?’ So Eun asked.

‘It’s a drinking game called ‘I’ve Never’. Each one of us has to take turns saying a statement that starts with ‘I’ve Never’, like ‘I’ve never… killed a person’. If you’ve done the opposite of the statement, then you have to drink,’ Ha Neul explained.

‘What?’ Ara looked at him incredulously. ‘Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?’

‘For example, I’ll say – ‘I’ve never…stolen money from my parents’ – if you have stolen money, you drink. If you haven’t, you don’t drink. It’s like a version of truth or dare, except it’s all truth, and we all admit to the same thing. The most important factor in this game is honesty. And everything we find out about each other stays in this circle. Do you get it now? Or do I have to spell it out for you one more time?’ Ha Neul glared at Ara.

‘Arasso, I get it now,’ Ara nodded. ‘Did you guys get it?’

Min Ho nodded along with everyone else. ‘So who starts first?’

‘I’ll start since I suggested the game,’ Ha Neul declared. ‘I’ve never… had the hots for Kang Ha Neul.’

No one moved.

Ha Neul turned to Ara, ‘YA! You have to drink!’

‘AISH!’ Ara threw a straw at him.

So Eun rolled her eyes. ‘You wasted your turn. My turn. I’ve never…been jealous of another actor or actress for getting a part I wanted.’

Everyone drank except for Kim Bum.

‘Ya! You can’t possibly make us believe that you’ve never been jealous of another actor,’ Ha Neul said to Bum. ‘I know you’re nice but no one is that nice.’

‘But I really haven’t experienced that,’ Bum smiled. ‘Your turn, hyung,’ he told Min Ho.

Min Ho looked at Shin Hye who was looking down, trying to avoid his eyes. He bit his lip and thought of a statement. ‘I’ve never…dated secretly.’

They all looked at each other and hesitated, but drank anyway. Everyone except for Shin Hye.

‘You can’t be serious,’ So Eun told her as soon as she put her glass down. ‘Shin Hye, you have to be honest!’

‘I am! I… really haven’t dated secretly.’ She replied, fanning herself.

‘So does that mean you haven’t dated at all?’ Bum asked, squinting his eyes. ‘That’s not possible. I mean, you’re… you.’

‘It’s true, guys. Shin Hye here, is afraid of men.’ Ara told everyone.

Shin Hye turned to her. ‘YA!’

Ara ignored Shin Hye. ‘She puts this wall up, and no guy has ever broken it down. I can tell you how many guys have tried, but she just won’t. They end up being friend-zoned. It’s really odd because, trust me, some of those guys were very hot.’ Ara looked at Min Ho, as if trying to send him a message.

His attention was on Shin Hye now and even if it was dark, he knew she was blushing and still trying to avoid looking at him. It was just right for her not to drink to keep their secret, but somehow, he felt a little hurt.

‘Chincha? I really thought you dated Yong Hwa,’ Ha Neul said. ‘You used to hang out all the time, right? When you stopped, I thought you broke up.’

Shin Hye frowned, ‘I haven’t dated anyone okay? Let’s move on. It’s your turn, Bummie.’ She looked at Min Ho briefly and looked away again.

‘Hmm. I’ve never…regretted not confessing my feelings to someone.’

Ha Neul and Ara drank. They met each other’s eyes as they did, and Ara almost spluttered in her glass. Everyone else was laughing.

‘Oooooohhhhhh,’ they all teased.

‘YA! CHINCHA!’ Ara hit Ha Neul’s arm.

‘WHAT DID I DO? I wasn’t pertaining to you, babo!’

‘I wasn’t either, but you’re making them misunderstand!’

Ha Neul and Ara bickered some more, while everyone listened in.

‘Shin Hye, it’s your turn,’ Min Ho suddenly said. He was very curious about her statement.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head. ‘I’ve never…’ she fluttered her eyes open and looked at Min Ho. ‘…fallen in love with a co-star.’

Without taking his eyes off her, Min Ho drank, so did Bum. Shin Hye hesitated, but took a sip.

‘Wait! You said you haven’t dated!’ Ha Neul told her.

Shin Hye put her glass down. ‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never developed feelings for anyone,’ Shin Hye replied.

‘But you didn’t regret not confessing your feelings, right? You didn’t drink on that statement either,’ So Eun added.

‘I didn’t regret it because, well, there was nothing to regret. You know how complicated stuff like that can be. Sometimes, some things are better left the way they are,’ Shin Hye explained.

‘But sometimes, things are worth a shot,’ Min Ho interjected. ‘If you’ve really fallen in love, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to be happy?’

Shin Hye looked at him, while everyone fell silent, waiting for her response. ‘I know what you mean. But timing is important, too. At that time, I just wasn’t ready,’ she told him.

Min Ho’s heart sank when he realized she wasn’t talking about him. It took a while, but he responded. ‘Let’s say you fall in love now, but the timing isn’t quite right… and you feel you’re not ready, are you just going to turn your back on it? Like you say you did before?’

He knew it was a loaded question, and he could feel everyone else looking at the two of them, trying to understand what was happening. But he didn’t care. It was the first time he found out Shin Hye hasn’t dated before. While he should be happy, he was suddenly scared.

Shin Hye sighed and looked him in the eye. ‘If I didn’t act on my feelings before, then that means even if I felt something for t