Shin Hye closed her eyes and leaned her head on her palm. She was alone in the board room as the men had more to talk about. Min Ho had gone out for a bit to grab coffee for the two of them. She didn’t know it was going to be that stressful – just talking about how to avoid getting caught. She wondered if other celebrity couples had to go through so much.
‘Are you okay?’
She opened her eyes and saw Min Ho sit next to her, as he put two coffee cups on the table. She looked up at him and smiled.
‘My head hurts a little.’
He went nearer and put his palm on her forehead and neck, as if checking her temperature. When everything seemed fine, he caressed her cheek. ‘I’m sorry.’
She frowned faintly. ‘Why do you keep saying sorry for things that you shouldn't be sorry for? This isn’t your fault, oppa,’ she put her hand on his.
‘Then why do I feel shitty?’ He replied weakly. ‘I feel like I’m causing you trouble.’
Shin Hye looked him in the eye. ‘We knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I willingly signed up for this, oppa. You didn’t force me to do anything.’
Min Ho pulled her into a hug. ‘Just tell me when it gets hard for you, okay?’
She put her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. ‘If you promise to tell me if it gets hard for you, too.’
When they pulled away, Min Ho cupped her cheek and kissed her. Shin Hye closed her eyes and savoured the moment. For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness. As if at the pit of her stomach, she knew it was just going to get harder. She honestly wanted to just melt into his arms and forget everything.
‘Are you crying?’ Min Ho asked as he pushed her off gently to look at her face.
Shin Hye opened her eyes and realized that there were tears on her cheeks. She wiped them away and chuckled in between sobs. ‘Meoya… I don’t know why I’m like this.’ She looked at him and saw that he had a grave expression. She tried to stop the tears but they just kept falling. ‘Oppa, seriously, I’m not doing this on purpose.’
Min Ho wiped her cheeks with his fingers as he studied her face. ‘I guess your tears can’t lie,’ he told her gently.
Shin Hye looked down and bit her lip. ‘We’re going to be okay, right?’ Her voice was trembling.
Min Ho hugged her again, and this time, Shin Hye could feel that he was doing it with all his might. She hugged him back, unwilling to let go.
‘We’re going to be more than okay,’ Min Ho said. ‘We’re going to be very happy.’