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Like Fate we meet again.

What are the chances of being cast opposite your dearest friend for the second time in a show? To think instead of looking from afar, you get to romance the girl! 
But Yong Hwa was a bundle of mixed emotions. He was worried. He loved it. It made him nervous. It thrilled him. He was excited. He was worried, honestly. His excitement however was so much more than he wanted it to be. 
His life couldn't be more perfect if he had written it himself. Main lead role in a musical romance drama opposite his most beloved girl in the whole wide world. He was clearly destiny's favorite child. 

There was awkwardness when they met for an entire duration of ten seconds. Then they fell into routine. Their routine. Where they were best buddies, who had no qualms about joking, laughing, pulling pranks, hitting each other and talking nineteen to dozen. 
The already friendly set of Heartstrings was hit by double cheering charms in the form of the two leads. 
Everybody looked on in awe as the two leads got along like a house on fire. Doused in petrol. Helped by swift winds. And dry wood. 

There were even moments when they forgot there was shooting going on and had to be asked to keep quiet. Like a pair of teenagers caught talking in class while the teacher's back was turned to them. 

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When he sings on stage..

Shin Hye always said that Yong Hwa was charming as an actor but as a singer on stage - he was pure magic! However, even though she knew he was abundantly talented and that he created beautiful songs; this song was beyond anything she had heard. When they shot the song, her character was supposed to be in the audience falling in love with him. It was the easiest bit of acting she had done. As she heard him sing Because  I miss you.. His voice and his emotions tugged at her heartstrings. She was falling in love. That whole day she tried to convince herself that she was falling for the character Lee shin and not for her best friend, but at night as she lay awake, she wondered hadn't Yong Hwa composed that song and sung it so beautifully too? Aren't her feelings for her best friend similar to that of her character's  if not more intense ? 

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Are you alright? 

Gwencchenna?

She had stayed strong until he uttered the simple words - are you alright? The tears wouldn't stop flowing. He would've felt less pain if someone had ripped his heart out. He held her hand and wiped her tears, it felt like an intimate gesture and it was. All his feelings kept locked away deep inside had come tumbling to the forefront. Only his respect for their friendship had stopped him from kissing her forehead. They were very very close but there were still limits they maintained and he didn't want to cross it. Not when she was so vulnerable. 

She didn't know why she cried when she saw him. After the accident everything went past in a whiz. Maybe, it was because her last happy memory before the accident was the both of them going to get garlic shots, talking and giggling nineteen to dozen. When she saw him, she wanted to hug him tight and cry her heart out. Since she had too many broken bones to do the former, she settled for the latter. She was surprised at how comforted she felt when he held her hand. Such a simple gesture, but the warmth that encompassed her heart was beyond anything words could describe. 

She refused to let go of his hand. He didn't complain, he stayed on until she fell into deep sleep due to the effect of the medicines. Though, if you asked her, she would say it was the warmth, not the medicines that helped her sleep.

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Between friendship and flirting 

They flirted with each other. They knew it too. It wasn't intentional but when it happened naturally, they never stopped themselves. If they took a quiz that says 10 ways to see if you are flirting with your friend or if your friend was flirting with you, they would get a full score. 
Never the less, they were also mostly unaware of their actions. The smiles were unintentional and the touching innocent. 
That their eyes sparkled when they talked to each other was entirely incidental so what if it  meant : you are in love with your best friend. 

It only got embarrassing when they had to kiss. On screen. Of course. This was one instance where knowing the other person really well didn't help. They were very embarrassed to admit to even themselves that they were looking forward to it. Imagine having the other person know that. 

In between their many retakes for a simple kiss scene, she was sure she saw him smirk. Instead of being mad at him, she found herself being mortified turning a bright shade of red. Because she knew him only too well, the smirk just proved that her feelings at the moment were painfully obvious to him. Even though she took a few swipes at him, it was more of a cover for her own embarrassment. Worst part ? He knew that too.

They had an unspoken pact that they would never bring up their reactions while acting into their real life conversations. That's how they kept going. So even when they discussed their characters endlessly there was still an invisible barrier that kept their own feelings away from reality. That is how their friendship survived.

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Painful parting 

If they were miserable parting after YAB, this was ten times worse. Even though they pretended to be alright on the last day of shooting. There was an overwhelming sense of loss clouding their senses. 

He wanted to hug her many times that day but had to make do by either patting her back or shaking her hand. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he simply wanted to hug her and never let go. He could think of nothing else. She seemed equally distracted so she didn't read him like she normally did.

Shin Hye wanted to cry. In spite of the accident, she had enjoyed filming the show so much, she knew she would miss everybody but specially Lee Shin. She thought she couldn't have an happier time than the shooting of YAB but she had felt even happier on sets of HS and the large part of the credit went to her best friend. Even when she had an accident, he cheered her up and made her world brighter. He would sing her songs and tell her stories. 

With everyone else, she was the one who set the mood. With him, she could just be, he would know how to react whether she was happy or sad, angry or embarrassed. She could smack him or box him playfully, he would never get mad at her. 

He knew all along that he would miss her but the final day seemed to intensify the feeling. He always made friends everywhere he went but with her it was a different sort of connection. He never felt burdened around her. It was a sort of comfort that he craved in any relationship. He could sulk or crib; laugh or cry; sing or just be silent; without being judged. Right now he wanted to cry and sulk or just create a painful song on separation. He would miss her so much. 

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After party 

Heartstrings team had an after party that wasn't widely publicized. There were hardly any pictures, if at all. However, it was one of the most eventful parties that they had attended. It was a close knit team and they were heartbroken to be parting but not as much as the leads of the show.

Yong Hwa and Shin Hye barely managed to smile through the farewell speeches and drunken banter. After a lot of singing and dancing, most of the team was either totally wasted or on their way home. Both JYH and PSH were drunk but they had barely said anything to each other all evening. She suddenly stood up unsteadily to go somewhere. He mirrored her actions following her.
She called her manager oppa to pick her up. She felt somebody tapping her shoulder from behind. She turned around slightly startled to find  him standing there looking at her with beseeching eyes. They stood there staring at each other for a moment before he engulfed her in a bear hug, she responded immediately clinging to him earnestly. 

They stood hugging in the empty corridor for the longest time. They jumped apart only when the phone rang again, it was her manager oppa looking for her. They looked at each other again noticing the tear streaks even in their drunken haze. Then they parted ways. Just like that.