Chapter Text
“Good morning, love. I miss you.” She read the message he sent as she lay in bed, unknowingly smiling as she stared at her screen. Since he was also awake, she FaceTimed him instead of replying to his text.
“Annyeong, sunbae.” She teased, slightly bowing to the screen. He rolled his eyes, but he no longer found it annoying when she called him that, he thought she was rather cute every time she teased him. “Hi love.” He replied, his eyes glued to the screen, admiring how beautiful she looked despite only waking up a few minutes prior to the call.
She tipped her head to the side, slightly confused why he didn’t complain about being called sunbae. “Hmmmm, you’re in a good mood, sunbae.”
He chuckled at that. “Of course I’m in a good mood, I’m seeing you first thing in the morning.”
It was her turn to roll her eyes, he always made cheesy remarks, but she secretly loved it.
“Nado.” Finally replying to his I miss you.
Despite having more breaks between filming days for Yumi’s Cells, her days off from filming began filling up with preparations for promoting Yumi’s Cells as the premiere date neared. They hadn’t seen each other in two weeks, which was the longest since he returned from Canada. He was also preoccupied with his own schedule, though Pachinko remains a mystery to the public, there were behind the scenes work that required his effort. On days where he didn’t have photoshoots, he actively researched for future leeminho film productions.
“What does your schedule look like today?” He asked, as they both began preparing for their day.
“I have a photoshoot with Hong Jang Hyun-ssi. I’ll be wearing the new CHANEL collection.” She said with much pride. She was honored to be an ambassador for the brand. The brand’s simplistic elegance resonated with her.
Her schedule for the entire day was allotted for the preparation of her feature in W Korea’s September 2021 issue. Before heading to Hong Jang Hyun’s studio, she was to meet with her hair stylist and glam team at a nearby salon.
“Heol!” He said with exaggeration, causing her to jump. “CHANEL really knows what they're doing. They chose the most beautiful woman to model their pieces in Korea.” He said as he continued to watch her pick out a comfortable outfit she’ll wear at the salon.
“Yah! Why did you need to react like that? It’s all thanks to my team who make everything work.” She was always grateful to everyone behind the camera, they really did all the hard labor.
“You’re too humble, love. You have to give yourself some credit, not everyone can make CHANEL pieces look elegant. Plus working in front of the camera also takes hard work” He complimented.
She always gets butterflies in her stomach when he reminds her of how beautiful and committed she is with her work.
“Ani, ani…” She really was too humble.
“What about you, love, what plans do you have for today?” She returned his question as she continued to prepare for work.
“Not much today, love. I have an important meeting later…” His voice trailed away, hoping she wouldn't ask any further.
He was not surprised when she did though, she always paid attention to what he said. “What’s the meeting about?”
“Sorry, love. It’s confidential, for now. Noona will kill me if I tell anyone.” He used his noona as an excuse even though she really had no involvement with his meeting.
She appeared on the screen, her brows furrowed and her lips in a pout. “Why can’t you tell me?” She whined like a toddler. He laughed at her response. “Is that the concept CHANEL is going for in their new collection?” He teased. “You’ll find out soon, love.” He added, but her expression remained the same.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to get it out of him, so she let it go. “Arasseo, I need to shower before my manager arrives, I’ll call you later. I love you.”
“Should I come over now? We can shower together.” He teased, causing her to roll her eyes and end the call.
After she got ready, she texted her manager to confirm his arrival.
“Annyeong manager-nim! Let me know when you’re here so I can head down.”
Her manager accompanied her in all of her schedules, even during her pre-shoot preparations at the salon.
“Oh, arasseo. Head down now Go Eun-ssi.” Her manager’s reply was curt.
She was confused when she didn’t see her company van outside the lobby of her condo. Instead, Min Ho pulled up in his Bentley Continental GT. Even from a distance, her confusion was visible on her face, her head tilted to the side, her eyes narrowed.
He pulled the passenger window down, “Annyeong, love.” He beamed with delight when he finally saw her after two weeks.
She was flustered at his sudden appearance, but she was also joyed seeing him, her smile erasing her confused expression. She entered his car, instinctively leaning to his side and placing a peck on his lips. “What are you doing here, are you really that determined to shower together?” She teased, giggling when he smirked.
“Well, as much as I would love that, I’m going to accompany you to the salon and drop you off at the studio.” He laid out his morning plans to her, both their eyes sparkled at the thought of being able to spend some time together.
She broke her gaze, “oh, really? My manager just texted me that he was on his way…” Her voice sullen, she really wanted to spend time with him, it’s been so long since she’s seen him.
“Surprise!” He exclaimed, opening his arms for a hug. She was confused and locked her gaze to his eyes, communicating her thoughts in silence.
“Your manager allowed me to accompany you to your morning schedule, I told him to text you when I arrived.” He was still holding his arms open, waiting for her to return his gesture.
“But I thought you had a meeting…” She was still very confused, she really didn’t expect to see him until next week.
“I do, but it’s not until the afternoon, plus it’s near the studio.” He clarified most of her confusion.
She finally entered his embrace, leaning over the center console to envelope him in her arms. “I missed you so much.” She said as she nuzzled his neck, his scent comforted her.
He rubbed circles on her back as he heard her sniffle against his neck.
“I miss you too, love.” He whispered as he continued to console her.
She pulled back, quickly wiping her eyes before he even saw her tears. “Yah! You should’ve just told me, you could’ve spent the night at my place.” She later rolled her eyes, realizing how he could interpret that as her asking for sex. “I mean, we could’ve spent more time together.” She corrected herself, whining when he only replied with a chuckle.
“You’ll be late for your salon appointment, buckle up.” He kept one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand intertwined with hers as he drove. He couldn’t stop stealing glances as he drove, she reprimanded him for taking his eyes off the road, warranting a smack on his arm.
After he parked at the salon, he asked, “do you want me to wait in the car?” Though they were an open secret in the industry, he always made sure she was comfortable to be seen with him, they still wanted to keep what they have away from the attention of the public.
“It’s okay, love. We rarely get moments like this, we should savor the moment.” She said as she gave him that smile that made her nose scrunch up and her eyes into a crescent.
He gave her a content smile before they both made their way out of the car and into the salon.
The staff were surprised to see him again. The last time they saw him was last year when Go Eun got her temporary perm, while he walked to SSG Food Market, returning empty handed because the market was closed for the day.
She was the only client at the salon for that entire morning, all the staff were aware of their relationship, some felt tensed at the presence of Lee Min Ho,, but didn’t attempt to make any comments.
He skimmed through fashion magazines as he waited for her in an adjacent waiting room. He unconsciously smiled whenever he heard her giggling with the staff, amazed at her ability to brighten up the atmosphere.
After two hours of hair and makeup, his breath hitched when she appeared with full length extensions. Her hair now reaches above her waist, her hair in waves, even her bangs. She cupped her face and beamed at him, “how do I look?”
He was awestruck at her transformation, “you look amazing, love.” His mouth slightly parted as he continued to admire her. She cleared her throat to snap him back from his reverie. “It feels so strange having long hair again, I’ve gotten accustomed to Yumi’s hair, my head will probably fall off from all this weight.” Him, along with the staff, laughed rather loudly as she joked.
“Aigoo~ I should talk to your stylist for making my baby suffer.” He teased and placed a peck against her forehead, the staff were taken aback by his gesture, exchanging looks as they stifled an ‘aw’.
The ride to Hong Jang Hyun’s studio was silent. Their hands locked, rubbing circles on each other’s hand, carefully maneuvering with the other. She kept her eyes on him as he drove, “I’ll miss you.” Her tone somber, not wanting to part from him and wait another week to see him again.
He pulled her hand to his lips and let it linger there. “I love you.” He said against the back of her hand.
She felt her heart sink as he drove up to the studio. Work was her priority, she never mixed her personal emotions with work. But with him, her heart felt so attached to his presence, parting from him made her feel empty.
She clung to him, nuzzling his neck once more. She broke their embrace just as she felt tears in her eyes, she didn’t want to ruin her look, her glam team didn’t need the additional work to re-do her makeup.
“I’ll see you soon, love.” He said as she closed the door, rushing her way into the studio.
He snickered as she made her way into the building, his afternoon was about to get interesting.