Chapter 11 - The Monster Feints Slumber

Morning slipped into early afternoon, and while the ‘flashback scene’ was being shot, Shin Hye kept looking around for a sign of Yong Hwa.  He had disappeared not long after playing the green-eyed monster in front of Hyun Jin (It had been humiliating, but she had enjoyed that brownie).  Perhaps he had taken her advice and gotten some shut eye.

She was mind-blowingly angry with him for almost exposing their secret in less than a day, but she wasn’t surprised that he was finding it hard.  Coffee and sleeplessness aside, Yong Hwa had always followed where his feelings led him.

Yet he wasn’t the only one that had been finding it difficult.  She’d wanted to talk and laugh with him many times during the morning, but under Manager Jun’s stern watch, she had reigned herself in.  Instead, she’d had to settle for reading the words written on the inside of her hand.

Miss you right now.

The words had been written across her two longest fingers, and she had been careful not to rub them off.  They had been her sustenance when her tired body had threatened to crash and burn.

God help her, it had only been eight hours into the day’s schedule, and she missed him too.

“Anyone seen our Lee Shin?” asked Director Pyo when he was satisfied that they had taken enough shots of the flashback.  “We’ve got a funeral scene to do.”

“He was taking a rest, Director,” said one of the assistant producers.  “Hyun Jin-ssi said he was acting strange this morning.  Look, there he is.”

“Where?” said the senior, adjusting his glasses.  “What the-”

Someone gasped.

A couple of female stylists whispered and giggled.

Shin Hye gulped, and turned around, expecting the worst.

What she saw made all the blood rush to her cheeks and her pupils dilate to the size of saucers.

Yong Hwa had spent his free time well.  He looked more refreshed than he had this morning, and his stylist had clearly attacked him harder than a psychopath with a chainsaw.

In short, he looked ed up.

Shin Hye pulled her hair over her face to hide the red cheeks.  First jealousy, now this?

He was trying to destroy her from the inside out.

As an ambassador of The Suit House, Yong Hwa’s stylist had a wide selection of tailored formalwear to pick from, and although his clothes were an appropriate funeral black, they were anything but boring.  Flashes of silver, white, rough and soft textures caught the eye as he purposely strode down the grassy slope.  The angles were strong and masculine, a reflection of the toned body underneath.  He was carrying a slanted hat in one hand, while his bangs had been separated piece by piece so that they flattered his dark eyes.

Eyes that were looking straight at her.

Shin Hye whimpered.

“Are you okay, Eonni?” asked the camera-woman standing beside her.  “Wow!  That’s Lee Shin’s funeral garb?  It looks like our ratings are going to shoot through the roof.”

“What in the free world is that?” shouted Director Pyo, looking irritated.  He too was worn out from the all-nighter.

Yong Hwa brushed past Shin Hye, his fingers and cufflinks lightly touching her hand on his way to the elder.  It was so brief that she wasn’t even sure whether he’d done it on purpose.

Director Pyo eyed Yong Hwa’s outfit and sighed.  “This won’t work.  Lee Shin’s single mother can’t afford Armani.”

“It’s The Suit Shop,” corrected a junior stylist.

“Whatever!  Take those bits and pieces off and button up his jacket so that we don’t see the vest.  Lee Shin is supposed to be a poor university student.”

Some of the stylists protested, and the director held up a hand to silence them.

“What is this?  Am I shooting a fashion show?  Is this the set of Boys Over Flowers?  Do as I say!”

Yong Hwa stood still as two of the stylists buzzed around him.  His eyes wandered around, looking bored, until he spotted Shin Hye.  He gave her a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Better,” approved the director as the stylists stepped back to show him their work.  “Now let’s get this scene done.  Yong Hwa, are you ready to show me some misery?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem, Director,” said the star.  “I’m just going to ask my teacher something before we begin.”

Director Pyo unfurled a secret smile.  “Sure-sure.”

Curious eyes and cameras followed Yong Hwa as he walked over to Shin Hye.  She held her breath and prayed that he wouldn’t do anything crazy.

Something tickled the crown of her head, and she realised that he had put his hat on her.  It smelled like him; cedar and anise.

“Hold my rejected prop for me?” he asked in a tired voice, and then pulled out his scabby notebook.  “I did some more work on the script on the last pages.  I was wondering if you would you take a look at them if you have the time, Shin Hye.”

Taken aback by how withdrawn he seemed compared to earlier, Shin Hye blinked.  “Ah...yes, of course I will, Yong Hwa.  I will take a look at it straight away.”

“Thanks.”  He gave her the book and walked off to do the scene, leaving the women on the set to fan their blushing cheeks in his wake.

Shin Hye frowned.

She didn’t like the way Woo Ri was eyeing off Yong Hwa’s rear end.

Wanting to hide her tears from Suk Hyun, Yoon Soo quietly exits during the rest of the talent show and hurries out into the gardens.  It is dark outside, and a strong wind blows, making her shiver.

“Yoon Soo!  Wait!”  Professor Kim comes hurrying up to her.  “Are you feeling well?”

“I’m tired,” she lies, rubbing her hands up and down her creamy white shoulders.  “I decided to go to bed early.”

“Stay a little while.  This is the first time I’ve had you to myself since we arrived.”

Yoon Soo weeps without making a sound.

“Yoon Soo.”  Suk Hyun urgently puts his hands on her shoulders.  “What’s the matter?  Are you unwell?”

She shakes her head and pulls away from him.  “It’s nothing.”  She can’t tell him.  It would be selfish to hurt his feelings.

“Don’t say that,” he responds.  “I know you’re lying.”

“I can’t tell you.  Just leave it alone.”

He pats his pockets for a tissue.  “You’ll make me think it’s something serious if you talk like that.  Come on.  I am the great Suk Hyun!  I can fix anything.”

She doesn’t laugh, and it unsettles him.

“Is this your way of breaking up with me?” he asks bluntly.

“No!”  She wipes at her eyes.  “But I don’t deserve you.”

That makes him angry.  “So you are breaking up with me?”

“Didn’t you hear me?  I don’t deserve you!”

“So, you’ve done something that I wouldn’t like.  Is that right?”

“Good night, Suk Hyun.”  She gets up to leave.

But he’s not letting her go just like that.  He turns and grabs her in a tight hug.

“I still love you,” he says.

That jabs her in the heart, and she breaks out into fresh tears.

“I still love you too,” she cries.  “But can you forgive me?”

“Heaaaaaaaa,” he groans, and presses a kiss to her head.  “You know.  I have my pride.  It would be nice to know what you’ve done wrong.”

She says nothing.  It would not be nice to tell him just to ease her conscience.

“Okay,” he says, rubbing her back.  “I trust you, and I forgive you.  You could be a North Korean spy and I would still forgive you.”

She frowns and leans back to look at him.  “You’ll let it go, just like that?”

“Well I’m not saying that you can do whatever-it-is again,” Professor Kim scolds.  “Whatever-it-is stops now!  But I choose to trust you, Yoon Soo, because I love you.”

He doesn’t know it, but his words remove a huge burden from her soul.  She gazes at him through her blurry eyes and she feels so happy.

“Thank you,” she says, really meaning it.  “If I were you, I probably wouldn’t have forgiven what I did.  From now on, I’ll treat you right.”

He smiles.  He’s too old to hold grudges.  “I believe you, Yoon Soo.”