‘You should have thought of that before you broke my heart.’

That statement rang in Min Ho’s ears. It was as if a huge boulder was thrown at him. He felt like he should be on the floor, knocked out – but he still stood there gaping at her, feeling his soul leave his body.

Shin Hye’s lips were in a tight line, her jaw clenched and fists balled. Min Ho could tell that she was trying to look strong, but her whole body was trembling. And her eyes – they looked directly at him, piercing his core. What they conveyed crushed him inside.

When he had broken up with Shin Hye, it was as if she disappeared. He couldn’t see her; he couldn’t talk to her. He had no idea how she was doing, if she was okay at all. So he had been focused on his own heartache, his own loneliness. It was a pity party every day, with him feeling sorry for himself that things were much harder for him than for anyone else.

So when Shin Hye showed up in front of him, his heart jumped for joy. And all he could think about was to hold her and kiss her, because he thought he deserved it. And like the clueless jerk that he was, he thought that was exactly what Shin Hye wanted, too. But he had been wrong.

As he held Shin Hye’s gaze, he could see how much pain she had been enduring all this time etched in her eyes. He broke her heart, and she suffered for that even when she didn’t deserve to. She brought her walls down for him, but he left her to pick up the ruins.

And you’re getting mad because she wants to leave? You stupid idiot, he cursed himself.

‘I... I didn’t mean to…’ Min Ho stuttered, still tongue-tied. He wanted to take a step forward, to hug her and comfort her. But he was firmly planted where he stood. He couldn’t bear to touch her now; not when he finally knows he’d been hurting her all this time.

Shin Hye held his gaze for a while. Even as they stood close, it was as if they were worlds apart.

At that moment, they both heard someone from outside Min Ho’s pad enter the passcode. They turned to look at the door, then back at each other nervously.

‘It’s probably my manager,’ Min Ho whispered, a response to Shin Hye’s questioning expression.

Shin Hye’s eyes widened and looked around the area. Without a word, she darted to the comfort room just as Min Ho’s manager opened the door. The ahjussi was quite surprised to see Min Ho standing there, looking calm and collected.

‘Hyung.’

‘Eo, Min Ho-yah. You were here?’ His manager asked, closing the door behind him. ‘I was worried. Jung Il Woo called me to check up on you. Why can’t I contact you?’

Min Ho drew out a sigh and headed to sit on the couch. ‘I turned my phone off. I was getting too many calls and messages about the gambling articles,’ he replied heavily. ‘It was annoying.’

His manager proceeded to sit in front of him. The man looked tired and haggard. Min Ho wondered how many calls he had to make, reporters he had to talk to, and deals he had to cut just for some damage control. It was never an easy job working for someone like him.

‘About that,’ his manager spoke up. ‘I talked to President Jang and we’re releasing an official statement. Don’t worry too much about it. Even the photos look very harmless.’

When those articles came out, Min Ho wasn’t troubled, he was mad. It wasn’t like he was gambling millions in New Zealand. He just went to that small casino to pass the time. And those exaggerated articles just reminded him of how much the media is willing to spin things just to sell news. Because he was famous, he had a target on his back. He could feel the reporters just waiting for him to slip up so they can publicly humiliate him, and incite the citizens to ride the anti-Lee Min Ho bandwagon. It was exactly the type of thing he wanted to protect him and Shin Hye from. They were twice the force to be dealt with, and wouldn’t the reporters love to hit two birds with one stone?

He glanced at the bathroom door where he knew Shin Hye was, listening to their conversation. Min Ho looked back at his manager and gave him a faint smile. ‘Thank you, hyung.’

His manager was quiet for a while, looking like he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

‘Min Ho-yah,’ he spoke after a long silence between them. ‘Il Woo said Shin Hye called him, looking for you. And that she…’ he paused, ‘…was worried.’

Min Ho pressed his lips together and looked down. ‘Kure?’ He replied meekly. Up until a few moments ago, he would have been happy to hear that Shin Hye was worried about him. But now that he messed things up again, he only felt sorry that even if he had been such a jerk, Shin Hye had gone to such lengths just to make sure he was okay.

His manager leaned forward and looked at Min Ho gloomily. ‘Look, kid. I know I’ve been hard on you these past few weeks. I just hate seeing you like this. If I knew that you were going to act like losing her was the end of the world, then I would have helped you keep her.’

Min Ho’s eyes wandered to the bathroom door again. She can’t hear this. He was about to speak but his manager kept going.

‘I know that you’re under a lot of stress and pressure. Even if you never told me the reason why you broke up with her, I understood. And I agreed with your decision because I had to look at it from the point of view of the agency. Even if I like Shin Hye, I knew that separating was what was best for her, too,’ he continued. His expression fell. ‘But now, after seeing you like this, I don’t think it’s healthy at all. You’re a mess, Min Ho-yah. And I have a bad feeling you’ll continue to be like this unless she–‘

‘Hyung,’ Min Ho cut him off, looking flustered. ‘Let’s talk about this some other time. It’s late.’

His manager creased his brows, wanting to talk some more, but soon let out a defeated sigh. ‘Arasso. You rest for now. You still have filming for Lotte tomorrow.’

Min Ho nodded his head and stood up to walk his manager out the door. Before he could go, Min Ho put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. ‘I’m really sorry about my behavior, hyung. I know it’s been hard on you. I’ll try my best to not act like an idiot from now on,’ he told him.

His manager looked up at him with sorry eyes. ‘I know it may not seem like it sometimes, but I care more about you than the agency. For your own sake, talk to her, Min Ho-yah. Try to tell her how you really feel. It’s never too late.’

Min Ho gave him a half-hearted smile. He wasn’t so sure about that.

When his manager was gone, Min Ho quietly walked to the bathroom and opened the door. Shin Hye, who stood right behind it, looked up at Min Ho.

He immediately dropped his gaze and stepped aside to let Shin Hye out. ‘He’s gone.’

Shin Hye didn’t respond and let herself out. As she kept walking to the direction of the door, Min Ho felt an urge to hold her back. But he wasn’t going to do that to her again. Shin Hye was right; he shouldn’t just give in to every impulse he feels. So as much as it pained him, he was going to have to let her go for now.

He was fully prepared to watch Shin Hye walk out of his pad, but she stopped by the door and turned around with a troubled expression on her face.

‘Those articles,’ she paused and looked down, her voice tentative. ‘Don’t let them get to you.’

‘Hmm,’ Min Ho nodded.

‘And don’t skip meals anymore. Please.’

Min Ho smiled weakly. ‘I haven’t since you wrote that note.'

Shin Hye looked up to meet his eyes. ‘Good. Take care of yourself, oppa.’

Oppa. Min Ho’s heart sank. He’d been waiting to hear her call him that again, but he didn’t know it would be to say goodbye. There was something so final in Shin Hye’s statement, in her voice, in her eyes. He was genuinely scared. That if she walked out now, she could be walking out of his life forever. His heart raced at the thought, and his desire to hold on to her felt stronger than ever. But with all his might, he fought it.

Because his manager was right – he was a mess, and he needed to figure out what it was that he really wanted. Every thought that had crossed his mind so far was selfish and short-sighted. He needed to fix that. Because Shin Hye deserved someone who was going to stand by his word, and who was willing to fight all odds just to be with her. And he needed to find out if he was that person before he confuses Shin Hye again. Before he hurts her again.

So he replied with the only words he would allow himself to say for the time being. ‘Take care of yourself, too.’

Neither of them said anything more. He just watched as Shin Hye left without another glance.

Shin Hye yawned as she waited for the director to finish giving instructions to the background actors on set. She was seated at the corner; her make-up was done, and she had memorized the scenes in her head – but she was still feeling tired and sleepy. As much as she wanted to sleep early to prepare for the Tongyi Juice shoot, the encounter at Min Ho’s pad kept her awake. No matter how much she willed herself to sleep, she just couldn’t. She had half a mind taking a sleeping pill instead, but she didn’t want to be dependent on that stuff. At around 3 A.M., she finally slipped into dreamland, only to be woken up four hours later to get ready for the CF shoot.

Not only that, but her eyes were puffy, and her heart heavy. She was feeling terrible, but she’ll be damned if she lets her personal life affect work. Unfortunately, thoughts were inescapable. Even on set, she couldn’t stop thinking about Min Ho.

She knew it had been the right thing to walk out on him. She could have easily given in to his advances, given in to what she was feeling at that moment. Because she couldn’t deny it – even for just a night, she wanted to be with him again. She still loved Min Ho very much, and she had come into terms with the fact that she wasn’t going to stop loving him any time soon.

But just as she was about to admit defeat, she suddenly remembered the hurt. Why should it be so easy for him to kiss her again as if nothing happened? Did he really expect her to stay after what he put her through?

Then again, he wasn’t the only one to blame. She shouldn’t have gone there in the first place. No matter how worried she was, there were other ways to check up on him. In her heart of hearts, she knew she was making up an excuse to see him. But her pride refused to acknowledge that her resolve has been weakening the longer they were apart.

She was lost, and confused. And the more that she tried to ignore her nagging thoughts, the more they gnawed at her.

‘You look distracted.’

Geun Suk’s voice roused her from her inner ramblings. She didn’t even notice him walk up to her. He looked like he’d just finished hair and make-up.

She sighed. ‘That’s because I am,’ Shin Hye replied truthfully. Again, there was no use lying to Geun Suk.

He took a seat on the folding chair beside hers. ‘Ex-boyfriend problems?’

Shin Hye looked around to see if anyone was listening. When the coast was clear, she nodded. ‘Hmm. I went to see him last night.’

Geun Suk’s eyes widened. ‘You did? And?’

‘I was just worried about the gambling articles that came out. But he seemed fine.’

‘That’s all?’

Shin Hye pursed her lips, wondering if she should tell him. ‘Well, the thing is, we sort of kissed…’

Geun Suk creased his brows. ‘So you’re back together?’

‘No!’ She snapped back, a little too loudly. Several crew members looked in their direction. Shin Hye hung her head low in embarrassment.

‘So why did you kiss him?’ Geun Suk folded his arms and looked at her suspiciously.

‘He started it,’ she whispered, although even to herself, she sounded very defensive. ‘Anyway, I shouldn’t have kissed him back. It was a momentary lapse in judgment.’

He scoffed. ‘Or more like a brief moment of truth.’

Shin Hye shot him a puzzled look. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

The set suddenly got louder, as the director started shouting instructions to everybody causing the staff and crew to buzz around. ‘Jang Geun Suk-ssi, Park Shin Hye-ssi, we’re ready for you,’ a production assistant who appeared from behind informed them.

As soon as the PA was gone, Geun Suk stood up from his seat, looking annoyed. ‘It means you’re not over him yet,’ he said before walking away.

All of the staff and crew were in high spirits as soon as they landed in Jeju Island. It was a bright and sunny morning, that even if everyone was busy preparing for the shoots, they were laughing and smiling. The sight of a beautiful beach and the feel of the cool sea breeze certainly have a calming effect on people.

Shin Hye, on the other hand, was playing with the Corgi they were going to shoot with as she waited for Geun Suk and his staff to arrive. She was a bit worried about the filming, to be honest. Just a few days ago, she and Geun Suk shot their CF for Tongyi, but he seemed to have been irked at something and gave her the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. The last time he gave her an attitude was a few years back, when he got mad at her for taking a week to return his call. She grovelled a lot, but he gave in after she showed up at his studio with pizza and the promise of spending the entire afternoon with him. Of course, she wasn’t sure if she was the reason he was so moody that day. But since he didn’t try to contact her after that, she couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid.

However, when Geun Suk arrived at the location, he had a bright smile on. ‘Shin Hye-ah!’ He greeted cheerfully. ‘How was your flight?’

She breathed a sigh of relief. He’s in a good mood. She smiled back at him. ‘It was good. The air is really different in Jeju, huh?’

‘Yeah,’ Geun Suk sat in front of her, still beaming. ‘Let’s take a photo. I’ll upload it on all my SNS accounts. This is, after all, an anticipated reunion for Hwang Tae Kyung and Go Mi Nam,’ he said excitedly.

The shoots went better than Shin Hye expected. Except Geun Suk still seemed a little distant, even with his happy mood. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he seemed a little fidgety. And she also noticed that he kept stealing glances at her, and whenever she’d catch him, she’d give him a curious look to which he always responded with a smile. He didn’t seem annoyed with her, but something was definitely up. Except he couldn’t ask him what was wrong since they were never alone.

When they were on break after the second shoot, she finally pulled Geun Suk aside with the intention to interrogate him. But before she could say anything, Geun Suk began speed-talking about how beautiful the scenery was and how he’ll definitely come back for a vacation. He didn’t even give Shin Hye time to respond, because he started a monologue about how actors should retire in Jeju. Before she knew it, the brief break was up and they were being called back to set. Geun Suk just grinned and left, leaving her bemused.

When they finish