Eunji thought that it was both luck and misfortune that brought her to emcee in Thailand.

On one hand, she was happy to be near Yoseob, who was performing for the event and on the other hand, she just had to be paired with Hoya. While Hoya may not have starred opposite her in Reply 1997 and Yoseob was not as sore with Hoya (especially since he had played a gay man) as he had been with Seo In Guk (he had begrudgingly admitted to her once), she knew how sensitive and jealous Yoseob could get when men were near her, especially after going through some HoJi fanfictions and the realization that she was pretty much shipped with any men near her.  (She had discovered him reading fanfictions of the two of them once, aptly named EunSeob and she thought that both the name and Yoseob were quite adorable.)

Eunji had just been minding her own business when Hoya came close to her to ask some things about the script. The next thing she knew, Yoseob had come close to where she had been positioned. He did this little gesture that she was sure spelled, “You are in for it later.”

Eunji had been unable to concentrate on anything else Hoya had asked her afterwards.

Eunji cooed as a small puppy pressed its nose against the glass window. “How cute!” She squealed when the puppy started jumping and wagging its tail at her. “Oppa! Look at it.”

“Uh huh.” Yoseob said, matter-of-factly. He was busy checking his phone for messages. Eunji, however, was not mad that he was ignoring her. She knew that he was worried about whether his landlord had received his rent for the month as Yoseob had hurriedly slipped the cash under his door before meeting her.

That’s right. Yoseob had finally gotten an apartment of his own, but Eunji has and would never stepped foot in it unless she was with others. It was not that she wasn’t curious about where he lived now. Rather, not only was it improper for a woman to visit a man’s apartment alone regardless of their relationship, but his apartment was also consistently swarmed by both paparazzi and fans.

Eunji continued to observe the dogs when one caught her eye. It was a small white Chihuahua with brown spots and the cutest eyes. It was lying in a corner of the puppy pen and was watching her curiously. She took a glance at Yoseob who was now yawning and another at the Chihuahua who did the same. Eunji started giggling.

“Jagiyah, what’s so funny?” Yoseob asked, finally looking up from his phone to stare at her. “Oppa, look at that one.” She said, pointing to the white Chihuahua. “It looks just like you!” She said, giggling again.

“Mwo?” Yoseob approached the window and the Chihuahua did the same. He pouted at Eunji. “Aish, you. I’m not that small.” He poked her forehead playfully. She knew that he was anything but scrawny anymore at this point, but even if he now had a manly body, he will always be her cutie.

“Aniyo, Oppa! He really looks like you.” Eunji exclaimed, pointing yet again to the dog that was now wagging his tail with interest. “Look at that cute smile. I know that G.Na-unnie’s Tokki was a bad experience, but you’ve been wanting a pet, right?” She looked at the dog that now had pressed itself against the glass window. “Tokki may not have been the right fit, but perhaps this little one will be.”

Yoseob observed the puppy again. It had stood on its hind legs and was wagging its tail happily at them. “Look, oppa. He’s asking you to take him home.” Eunji said, hoping that he would indeed take the dog home.

Yoseob thought about it. The puppy was adorable and it was practically calling out to him. Getting a puppy would not only keep him company at home, but it would make Eunji happy as well. Plus, his building allowed pets, so why not?

With resolve, he dragged Eunji inside the pet store to pick his new friend up. That dog was later named Yanggaeng.

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“…French kiss.”

Yoseob sang gently to Eunji, his hand held hers in a tight but comforting grip and his smile was warm. Eunji could feel her heart pounding as he drew closer and closer. She closed her eyes, anticipation brewing within her.

She felt him sigh against her lips before she felt a familiar wet feeling on her forehead. She opened her eyes to see that Yoseob had kissed her forehead instead. He proceeded to kneel down on one knee and opened a box that she knew was in his pocket.

“Jieun, will you marry me?”

That’s right. This wasn’t real life. In real life, they would not have been allowed to date and marry openly.

Eunji became painfully aware of the numerous eyes on them and although her heart had long sank into her stomach, she still had a bright smile on her face, like the good actress that she was, as she drew out a long “uuuuuummmmm” which made the audience laugh before she answered. “Yes.”

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They retreated to backstage, awaiting their curtain call.

This was their last performance together for this musical. She stole a glance at Yoseob, who was looking at the stage as the first group entered stage right. She reached for his hand stealthily.

She noticed that he had flinched when her hand touched his and she was about to pull away, but his grip on her tightened. Her heart started pounding again.

“Our Eunji did well today.” Yoseob said, finally facing her as the second group took a bow. A playful smile was etched on his face and it took her a moment to realize why. He had boxed her against a wall where his entire back had covered her. While there were many people running around backstage, Yoseob had subtly picked a spot near the curtains where they were partially hidden from the chaos of the backstage, but still visible enough to be seen so they can be cued on stage.

“Oppa, wha-?”

He pushed her closer to the wall, so that the only thing she could see was his chest.

“I was not kidding about that kiss, jagiyah.” Yoseob said, his eyes darkening. Eunji’s heart felt like it would burst from her chest at this point. “I fully intend to kiss you before we leave for curtain call.” He started leaning in.

“Eunji-ssi, Yoseob-ssi, 1 minute to walk.” Someone announced from nearby, but Yoseob wasn’t budging and he kept leaning in.

“Oppa, she said…” Eunji whispered, though she was strangely out of breath and half-heartedly pushing him away.

His lips fell on hers.

“30 seconds!”

Her lips tentatively moved against his, the need to go on stage slowly retreating to the back of her mind.

And just as she was enjoying the kiss, Yoseob pulled away, a devilish smirk on his lips as he brought their intertwined hands to his lips before they started heading for the stage as the girl started counting, “5,4,3,2,…Cue!”