‘Arasso, oppa. Bye!’
As soon as Shin Hye hung up, Min Ho searched for SALT entertainment’s Cheongdamndong address on his phone. After a few minutes of driving, Min Ho arrived in front of the building. When he pulled over, he was faced with another problem. How do I give this to her? He cursed himself for being reckless again. This was by far the riskiest thing he’s done that he considered just leaving. But since he was already there, it was worth a shot. He dialled again.
‘Oppa? I thought you were in a meeting,’ Shin Hye asked curiously when she picked up.
‘Uhm. Don’t get mad,'
‘Eh? Why would I get mad?’
‘I did something stupid,’ he replied. When Shin Hye didn’t answer right away, he continued. ‘I’m outside.’
‘Outside of what?’ She asked.
‘Outside of your building.’
‘MEO?’ He can feel Shin Hye panicking even over the phone. She whispered nervously. ‘Oppa, what were you thinking?’
‘I just wanted to give you coffee. And…see you for a bit.’ he said.
‘Are you in your car?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Alright, I’m coming out,’ she told him before hanging up.
After a short while, Min Ho saw Shin Hye exit the building and walk as fast as she can to the car. When she opened the door, she lifted the coffee cups from the passenger seat and sat down. ‘Oppa, drive to the next block. Palli!’
Min Ho did as he was told and drove a considerable distance from her agency. When he stopped the car, he turned to Shin Hye who narrowed her eyes at him. He broke into an apologetic smile, while Shin Hye hit his arm.
‘Ya! You’re not Cha Eun Sang anymore!’ He rubbed the area she hit.
‘You’re not Kim Tan either! Why are you acting like a teenager? You know this is dangerous, oppa,’ she told him, as she looked around.
‘I miss you. I keep missing you. I can't control that, you know,’ he said, pouting. ‘I just wanted to bring you coffee because you said you wanted me to,’ he continued.
Shin Hye sighed. ‘I miss you, too. But this is risky.’
‘I promise I’ll be more careful next time.’
‘Anyway, thanks for the coffee, oppa.’ she said, smiling. ‘How come you bought three?’
‘It’s for you, for me, and your manager.’
Shin Hye tilted her head. ‘That’s sweet, but he’s going to wonder who it came from.’
‘Then tell him it’s from me.’
Shin Hye laughed. ‘I’ll tell him it’s from Geun Suk oppa.’
‘AISH!’
'I’ll just tell him a friend bought it.’
Min Ho scratched his head and looked pensive. ‘I’ve been thinking about it… and I think we should date openly,’ he said carefully.
‘EH?’ Shin Hye’s eyes widened. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I mean, let's be open to the people close to us,’ he clarified. ‘I don’t think we can keep sneaking out like this. And besides, I don’t like lying. Do you?’ He asked.
Shin Hye looked into his eyes and shook her head. ‘I hate lying.’
‘So…let’s come clean. And didn’t we agree we will tell our managers as soon as the holidays are over?’
Shin Hye nodded her head before shooting him a shocked look. ‘Wait. You mean now? Are we telling my manager about us now?'
Min Ho shook his head. 'Anya, not now. We'll tell them as soon as we’re done telling the people who matter most.’
Shin Hye pulled over and breathed. Everything will be fine. She looked at her watch and saw that it was still early. She had 2 hours to calm herself down before dinner.
As soon as she strode into their family’s restaurant, she saw her Mother by the cashier’s. Her face lit up when she saw her.
‘Oh, sweetheart! I thought you were busy; what are you doing here?’ Her Mother asked as she walked to her.
‘Omma,’ Shin Hye gave her a hug and smiled. ‘I came to visit. Where’s appa?’
‘Oh, he’s in the back. We have new waiters so he’s just giving them a briefing,’ she gazed at Shin Hye’s face and traced a lock of her hair behind her ears. ‘You look dolled up, did you come from a schedule?’
‘No, I just… uh, omma, did anybody reserve the private room tonight?’
‘Tonight? I don’t think so. Why? Are more of your friends coming over for dinner? The other night, you were with Heechul and that other idol, weren’t you? What was it? Mblaq? Exo? Anya, it was… Inf… what was it? There are so many idol groups nowadays…’
‘Infinite, omma. Infinite,’ she cut her off. ‘And no—I mean yes, someone’s coming,’ she stuttered. ‘Keunde omma… can you and appa join us for dinner?’
Her Mom studied her face and she knew that her Mom knew something was up. ‘Why? Are they important guests?’
She bit her lip. ‘Sort of.’
‘Okay, I’ll tell your appa. Who is coming? Do I need to get dressed up? I can’t be looking shabby in front of important guests,’ her Mom looked at her clothes and fixed her hair.
‘No need, omma. You look great,’ she replied.
‘Arasso. You sit tight, I have some stuff to do in the kitchen,’ her Mother smiled at her before walking away.
She took out her phone as soon as her Mother was out of sight. It’s been two days since they decided to tell the people closest to them about their relationship. They only have a few days left before they get really busy with their schedules, and it was perfect that they were able to squeeze this night in. She sent Min Ho a message.
Shin Hye: Oppa, I’m here. What time are you coming?
Min Ho: I’ll be there in an hour and thirty minutes. How’s the atmosphere?
Shin Hye: Omma is in a good mood. I don’t know about appa though. I haven’t seen him yet. I’ll update you as soon as I know.
Min Ho: Arasso. Ottoke? I’m so nervous! =/
Shin Hye: Me, too. -_- But we can do this, oppa. Hwaiting!