Chapter 1 - Arranging an Unexpected Meeting With You

March 8 2011: You’re Beautiful Duo Reteams for Festival

April 18 2011: Upcoming Drama Festival Changes its Title

May 23 2011: Jung Yong Hwa Goes From Nice Guy to Rude Hero

June 1 2011: Park Shin Hye Learns the Gayageum

*June 23 2011: Jung Yong Hwa Addresses Rumours of Relationship with Park Shin Hye

*June 27 2011: ‘Lead Singer’ Park Shin Hye Denies Rumours About Her and Jung Yong Hwa

*July 8 2011: “Heartstrings” Ratings Not Doing As Well As Hoped...

“Five point four per cent!”

Producer Director Pyo Min Soo stared in dismay at the report in front of him.  Episode four of ‘You’ve Fallen for Me’ had screened the day before, and the results for national viewership were dismal.  The director could only bang his forehead on the table in front of him in frustration.  “Five.Point.Four.Per.Cent.Nation.Wide!”

Belatedly remembering his glasses, he pulled them off to make sure he hadn’t cracked them by bashing them on the table, and sighed.  He was tired, cranky, high on caffeine, but most of all, he was disappointed.

It wasn’t fair.  He had an incredible team of artists and media professionals working every waking hour to make this show a success.  They were all dedicated and hard-working people.  By all rights the drama should be a Pan-Asian hit!

It had to be the script.

That agonising Lee Myeon Suk script.

Director Pyo could tell from the moment they had polished off episode one that the plot wasn’t as well put together as he’d thought.  The different stories of the characters weren’t tied together like his other dramas had been.  No one cared about a depressed ballerina unless the rock in her pond was sending ripples to the people around her, and no one wanted to watch Lee Shin’s dying father unless he was directly influencing his son’s behaviour at university as well as his relationship with Lee Shin’s mother.

“Arrrrrgh!”  Director Pyo mashed the report into a paper meteor and sent it flying across the tent.

It was then that he realised he wasn’t alone.

Standing on the other side of the plastic table were his main leads, Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa.  They were both looking at Director Pyo as if they were considering sending him to the mental hospital for rehabilitation.

They weren’t far off the mark.

He forced on a smile.  “Yong Hwa!  Shin Hye!  Come have a seat and talk to me!  It is too hot today to have your break outside of the tent.”  They were filming scenes for episodes five and six on the art campus set; a beautiful yet unsheltered piece of architecture and landscaping.  The crew had set up tents on the grassy fields in an attempt to escape from the summer sun.

The two leads gave each other a meaningful look before joining him at his table under the rotunda.  Yong Hwa pulled out the chair for Shin Hye without thinking, and Shin Hye accepted it with a smile.  The two had been inseparable since the project had begun.  It was no wonder that it had been so difficult for them to squash the errant dating rumours surrounding them.

“Have either of you seen the ratings for last night?” the director asked, rubbing his hands together.

Shin Hye sat forward in her chair.  “Yes.  It worries me a lot.  I couldn’t sleep well because of it.”

“I didn’t see them,” said Yong Hwa, leaning back.  “Were the stats really that bad?”

“Here.”  Shin Hye pulled up the ratings page on her phone and leaned over his arm to show it to him.  Their heads leaned into each other as they studied the screen, and not for the first time, Director Pyo admired how close their friendship was.

“I’ve been thinking about doing a little work on the script tonight,” said the elder, reclaiming their attention.  “I was wondering if you two would be able to help me?”

“Sure.”  Yong Hwa flashed him the toothy smile that made fans swoon.  “I’m in.”

Shin Hye frowned.  “Wait.  What do you mean by ‘working on the script’?  We’ve already been through rehearsals.”

Caught red-handed, Director Pyo cleared his throat.  “By-ah-working on the script, I mean we are going to make some changes to it.”

Her eyes widened.  “You mean we’re going to rewrite it!”

“Sssssssssh!”  Director Pyo looked around to make sure no one had heard her.  “Let’s call it ‘working’, okay?”

Yong Hwa chuckled.  “And, just so my manager knows, are we doing this with or without Lee Myeon Suk’s permission?”

Director Pyo tried to look stern.  “I am the director.  Technically, I have the final say on everything!”

“If you were in America,” murmured the CN Blue star.

Shin Hye gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth.  “He didn’t mean it, Director.  Of course we will help you.  Won’t we?”

Yong Hwa gave her an unrepentant look from over her hand.

Director Pyo shook his head.  Yong Hwa and Shin Hye were well behaved most of the time, but every now and then a reflection of their youth would come slipping through.  It was a useful resource for their characters, so he didn’t mind it if they were cheeky around him sometimes.

“I was thinking the three of us might pull an all-nighter, right here on this campus set,” suggested the elder.

Shin Hye released Yong Hwa and wiped her hand on his shirt.

“Why on the campus set?” she asked, attempting to look professional.

“Artistic inspiration,” supplied Yong Hwa.  “You need to be in the right frame of mind to create a good script.”

Shin Hye dimpled.  “And what brilliant person taught you that?”

“I was self taught,” he teased, earning himself a light smack on the arm.  “Ah!  Shin Hye!  I bruise easily.”

She ignored him and turned back to the director.  “I’ll check with Jun Oppa if I can stay tonight.  I take it you don’t want anyone else around for this?”

Director Pyo nodded.  “Us three only.  We don’t want any rumours coming out just yet.”

“And, what about the rumours regarding Yong Hwa and Shin Hye?” said a voice from behind him.

The elder spun around to observe Shin Hye’s beloved guard dog, Manager Jun.  He had his arms folded across his chest, and he was looking annoyed.

“Jun Oppa.”  Shin Hye smiled.  “We were thinking about working all night on the script due to the ratings.  Does my schedule allow for that?”

Manager Jun narrowed his eyes.  “The schedule allows it but I may not.  Director Pyo, do you know how hard it has been for the pair since rumours about her and Yong Hwa have spread?”

“They don’t bother me,” muttered Yong Hwa.

Shin Hye blushed and took a long sip from her water.

“I know,” said Director Pyo, not catching Yong Hwa’s words.  “I know every single rumour that has been going around about this show.  I have my finger on the pulse, okay?  But this meeting is going to be sealed shut.  We’ll have extra security running around the perimeter, and no one is going to know about tonight except the three-four of us.”

Manager Jun leaned menacingly over the director.  “You’d better look after her tonight like she’s your own daughter.”

“Hey!”  The elder patted the younger man on the chest.  “You have nothing to worry about.  I am the father of a cast full of kids!  Watching just two of them will be child’s play.”

Yong Hwa pulled out his phone.  “I’ll get my manager to drop off some food for us from my apartment, so we won’t even have to order takeaway.”

Manager Jun looked relieved.  “Thanks, Yong Hwa.  At least someone here is being careful.”

“You have that much food in your house that you can feed the three of us?” teased Shin Hye, her blush gone.

Director Pyo grinned.  “He’s still a growing boy!  Of course he has lots of food.”

Yong Hwa thumbed out a text and looked at Shin Hye.  “I made a huge batch of bibim guksu this morning.  Would that be okay with you?”

Shin Hye blinked.  “You can cook?”

It was Yong Hwa’s turn to blush and duck his head.  “Let’s just say I like cooking, when I get the chance.”

She gaped at him until he couldn’t stand it any longer.

“This is why I didn’t tell you!” shouted the musician.

“I don’t understand.  What reason is that?” she smiled.

He narrowed his eyes at her playfully.  “I knew you would make fun of me.”

“I pinky swear I won’t.”  She held out her little finger for him to shake.  “To tell you the truth, I’m impressed.”

He shook her pinky and tried to look cool.  “Save your impressions for the food tonight.”

Director Pyo and Manager Jun just shook their heads at them.