Chapter 7: Spilling The Beans

“I want to say the right words and do the right things for him. Does he like me? Is there a chance that someone like him can find a simple, boring girl like me attractive? ”

CHAPTER 7

SPILLING THE BEANS

It is rehearsal day for the Melon Awards and Shin Hye cranes her neck towards the entrance of the music hall every time someone enters the door. She sits at the side of the stage and tries to remember what the production staffs are telling her regarding her blocking and spiels. Hasn’t he come back from his vacation yet? She wonders silently. He couldn’t be missing in this rehearsal if he is back in town already, right?

“Am I late?” the voice, that she has been waiting to hear these past few days, calls out to her from behind. She turns around, a ready smile on her lips. “Keun Suk-oppa!” That’s a little too cheerful, Shin Hye.

She looks at his face and immediately spots something different in him. “Wow. Nice tan,” she jokes. He certainly looks a little darker than his original complexion.

He smiles at her warmly, touching his cheeks a little self-consciously. “Is it that noticeable? Omma says I’m still too pale.”

“I can spot the difference. Wait, something is in your forehead,” she says, reaching out to flick a tiny speck of white from his forehead.

“What’s that? Am I having dry skin in that spot again?” Keun Suk self-consciously asks, rubbing his forehead.

“Must be the wind, Oppa. The cold dries up my skin easily, too,” Shin Hye observes, still looking at his face.

He looks at her, holding her gaze a little longer. I missed you, you know that? “Hey, your hair seems to have grown on this side quite fast!” he reaches out to touch the hair that covers her ears on the sides and he laughs as she expectedly jerks her head from the contact. “What? I’m just touching your hair, so silky,” he teases, enjoying the moment.

“Oppa, stop!” Shin Hye cries out, trying to escape from him but feels pinned by his hands holding her head. If there is something that could make her yell to no end it would be when someone touches her ears like that. It is the most sensitive ticklish part of her body. And ever since Keun Suk accidentally learned of this when they were filming the drama, he has never passed up any chance to torment her with it.

Keun Suk is laughing so hard at her cute little cries for help. He loves tormenting her like this because of the expressions on her face every time her ears get touched. She struggles to fight back but his hands are way too strong. “Oppa, please, stop it,” she said, half-laughing and half-pleading. “I will do anything you say, just stop!”

“Anything?” he asks, a mischievous glint in his eyes, stroking her ears again.

“Yes!” she cries, jerking her head and laughing uncontrollably.

“Okay, then,” he finally let her go, a wide grin on his face. “Let’s have dinner later. Your treat.”

The rehearsals wrap up quickly a few hours later. Was he serious about having dinner with me? Shin Hye asks herself as she packs up to leave. Her assistant is already waiting for her at the parking lot and she is deliberating whether to ask Keun Suk again if they will really be going out for dinner or not. He is still speaking to the director and the production crew at the opposite end of the hall. She sits quietly in the gallery and waits. I will just wait for him to finish and say goodbye. It will be too embarrassing to ask if we are still on with the dinner. Too forward, she tells herself. But I sure won’t mind having dinner with him right now. She hears her stomach grumbles. I’m starving.

From where he stands talking with the director, Keun Suk sees from his peripheral vision Shin Hye sitting just a few feet away, toying with her phone. She is waiting for me. He feels giddy at the thought. That’s a good sign.

“I always keep you waiting,” he says to Shin Hye, walking up to her. He smiles apologetically. “So where will you treat me for dinner?”

Shin Hye beams at his question. So he was really serious about their dinner date. “Anywhere you want, Oppa. Just keep your hands off my ears!”

He playfully reaches out for her ears again but she docks at the right time and runs ahead of him. He watches tenderly at her retreating figure. What is it about you that leaves me warm and giddy whenever I see you laugh or smile? He asks her wistfully.

At their dinner, Shin Hye basks in the presence of Keun Suk. She remembers how Go Mi Nam used to feel in front of Hwang Tae Kyung and marvels at how art has started imitating life, on her part, at least. Keun Suk is always a good conversationalist, never running out of stories to tell and never boring to be with. He makes her laugh and she also learns a lot from his stories. But what makes her feel special tonight is how Keun Suk tirelessly pays attention to her, teasing her, asking questions about her, giving her lingering glances that makes her heart beats at an insane rate only to stop unceremoniously whenever he flashes her a smile. Is he putting her under his spell?

“Do you like clubbing?” Keun Suk asks her, picking at a sushi roll on her plate. She grabs the hand holding the roll quickly towards her mouth and eats it before he could pry his hand away from her grasp. “That’s mine, Oppa,” she crinkles her eyes, feeling triumphant.

“I know that’s why I was about to feed it to you. You just beat me to it,” Keun Suk grins at her, obviously not wanting to be outwitted.

“Clubbing?” she repeats his question. “A little. Depends on my mood, actually. I love dancing but I feel dizzy being around a large crowd. I only go to clubs occasionally.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could go chill out in a club sometime with Hong Ki and Yong Hwa?” he suggests, his eyes sparkling. “So you can show us more of your dance moves. You dance really well.” He knows how good she dances. She can really bring the house down.

Shin Hye covers her eyes in mock embarrassment, obviously flattered. “Now, you are pulling my leg, oppa.”

She is beaming tonight, looking especially beautiful. Cheeks flushed with laughter, her eyes shining with vitality. The little make up she usually wears has worn off and her flawless skin shines through. He knows how soft that face feels in his hands. He perfectly understands why this girl is one of the most sought after endorser of cosmetics in South Korea. She is just naturally beautiful.

He looks at her steadily, his mind full of all the things he wants to tell her. You look lovely tonight. I like you. “I want to know you more,” he blurts out, thinking out loud. And as he realizes what he just said, he feels his ears burn at the same time he sees Shin Hye’s cheeks flush in deep crimson.

She looks at him, her eyes full of all the things she cannot bring herself to ask. What did you just say? Please don’t make me beg you to repeat it. Make yourself clear, oppa.

They lock gaze for the longest time since they have known each other. Each so afraid to ruin the moment, to make a false move, to do anything other than just look at each other’s lovely faces.

Shin Hye breaks the spell first. “Oppa, shall we get the bill?” She asks in a cheerful, shrilly voice. Strained, forced. Shocked.

“I want to get to know you more, Shin Hye,” he repeats himself, ignoring her question. “I need to see you often. I don’t know if you like me more than a dongsaeng does but I like you. And I’d like to be with you from now on.”

His words are clear as a spring day. His voice unwavering, soft and tender, just like the expression on his face. Then he bows his head and forces out a laugh. “I scared you.” But it has to be done sooner or later, he reasons out. I need to tell her before I explode.

Shin Hye’s lips move as if to speak, then closes abruptly. What is the proper thing to say? Will I nod? Will I say yes? But he didn’t ask a question! Will I tell him I like him, too? Shin Hye, speak up!

“Aniyo. I’m not scared,” she ultimately quips, in a small voice. “Keun Suk-ssi…” she says his name and sighs silently. The words are really harder to say when they are your own, not from a script.

Keun Suk cups her face in his hands and gawks at her playfully. “I don’t need you to tell me anything right now. Take your time. Just be ready with an answer when I finally ask you the question,” he warns meaningfully. He looks at her eyes warmly, holds her gaze for a second and pinches her chin before he lets her go. I definitely caught you off-guard, didn’t I? I would like for you to open yourself to me on your own. Not because I told you I like you first.

Shin Hye follows him with her eyes. My heart is bursting, oppa.

The ride home is expected to be awkward but Jang Keun Suk knows how to handle an awkward situation when he is in control. And now that he has finally let her know what he feels, he can act more openly, less guarded and uninhibited. Now he can express how he feels towards her without checking himself if he’s being out of bounds or not. The cat is out of the bag. I can finally act on how I feel.

It is Shin Hye who grows suddenly shy and quiet in the car and Keun Suk finds it adorable to watch her act a little jumpy whenever he steals a glance at her. She doesn’t look annoyed, only shy and somehow a little lost, he observes keenly. If that’s any indication of how she feels about him, he suddenly feels excited on what she would answer when he finally asks her the inevitable question.

But first, I need to put her at ease and calm her nerves.

“Shin Hye, can I see you again tomorrow?” he pulls to a full stop in front of her house.

She snaps back from her deep thought at his question and gives him a little smile. “Oppa, we will definitely see each other again tomorrow at the Awards.”

His face breaks out into a knowing smile. “I know, Avant-Hye. But I meant seeing you off camera, off work. After the show. Just Keun Suk and Shin Hye.”

She blushes, smiling impishly. “Oh. Of course, Oppa. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you longer than I want to. I have to catch an early flight the morning after.”

“You’re leaving?” He feels dejected all of a sudden.

“To Nepal. I’m going for the volunteer project for a show. I believe I mentioned it to you once,” she explains. She sees how his face fell a little when she mentions that she’ll be away and her heart swells a little more.

“Ah,” he says as he suddenly remembers. “Has it been scheduled this week already?”

She nods. “I will be away for six days.”

That long? He looks at her hands on her lap and gently envelops them with his own, pouring out his yearning for her in that small gesture. Shin Hye looks at him, startled. But she does not pull back her hands from his grip. He brings her hands to his lips and kisses it.

“Keun Suk-ssi…” Shin Hye calls out softly.

“Good night, Shin Hye. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Good night. But it will be miles to go before I sleep tonight, Oppa. No thanks to you.