Believing

They sit next to each other over dinner. That has been their habit now every time they dine together.

They meet to review the set list and program for the upcoming A.N.Jell FM. Wanting to spend the most time as possible with her prior to beginning filming for his "Pet" movie, he scheduled twice weekly meetings with her to go over the plans for their reunion FM in Japan. "Oppa, isn't that a little overkill?" she tries to debate with him about the sense of doing multiple meetings for a fan meeting that will only last one day.

Shin Hye-a, do you not want to make this FM great for all the people who will be there? They are spending a lot of money for this. They even fought tooth and nail to get tickets, which if you don't know yet, is already sold out. Keun Seuk reasons to her. She sighs, obviously defeated.

He reaches for her hand, And besides, I want to cherish the available time we have before I start filming the movie.

She squeezes his hand in hers. "Ah, so you can remind yourself as much as possible to ignore Noona and remember me?" She tells him playfully.

He rolls the pasta on his plate and feeds it to her, Just eat. You know I don't need reminders now. I know where my loyalty lies.

In between chomps of the pasta she was fed, "I know. Oppa, more than you know." She gives him a huge grin.

Keun Seuk is getting very anxious with how Shin Hye is taking their situation. In front of the cameras and under the klieg lights, he projects this cool and adorable person, who has no cares whatsoever, especially about his lovelife. But when the cameras stop rolling, he goes home and worries about how Shin Hye interprets everything he says. Can she really read between my lines? Can she really understand? he often catches himself thinking. And for that evening, he just wants to clear the air about this if he could. He's just waiting for the right opening to ask.

"Oppa, I find it really awesome that this many people are still clamoring to see us together" Shin Hye tells him, pondering over the sell-out fact. Wae, I guess they want to really see us share the same stage and directly ask you the questions they've been asking me about you. He tells her, as if lecturing her.

"I wonder though, who are we going to be for the fans? Should we be ourselves Keun Seuk and Shin Hye or Go Mi Nam and Tae Kyung?" Shin Hye asks.

That's actually a good question. And what do you think the answer should be? he replies.

"I guess we can be the best versions of these two selves. I can be the Go Mi Nam that most resembles me as Park Shin Hye. That way I won't have problems purging the character out of my system. And at the same time, this will be believable enough for the fans." Shin Hye declares and chuckles a bit.

Are you telling me that sometimes you still think of letting go of Mi Nam? Didn't we already talk about this before? Keun Seuk asks concernedly, and seeing this as an opening for his nagging question, he continues by asking Are you still finding it hard to grasp the concept of "us" right now? Are you still thinking that we are just acting out our characters?

"What makes you think this, Oppa? I only meant what I said as a joke. Jeongmal mianhae if you felt otherwise. " She says squeezing his hand that had been resting in hers for a while.

Well, I'm glad that's how you feel right now. But I'm more concerned with how you feel in general. In public, I don't get to ask this to you straight up, but during moments like this, I feel we still need to discuss it. It's like this giant elephant in the room. And it's bugging me a bit sometimes. Keun Seuk tells her honestly.

He continues telling her. I've always prided myself in being very open with relationships. That's why I can't keep my mouth shut obviously. So, ours is a very new situation for me. Because sometimes I feel we spend too much effort trying to keep it from view than the effort we need to be making celebrating it.

"I know, Oppa. This is a delicate situation. It's new. It's tough. It's challenging. But I signed up for this too, didn't I? I knew what I was up for. And I'm taking that challenge by the horns." She tries to assure him.

He smiles a dry smile, still not at ease. He wants to do more for her. And his heart aches a bit that he is limited to do just that, not for his own sake but more for hers.

She lays her head on her shoulder, squeezing his hand, twiddling the table napkin with her other hand. "My Oppa thinks too much. What can I do?"

I guess, Shin Hye, your silence sometimes frightens me. Although most times I can tell from your eyes, I still am not sure whether you're keeping anything in. And I want to make sure I address those, it's the least I could do. He opens up to her.

"Oppa, I am quite known to be an open book as you as well. I just express it differently, maybe by writing, capturing photos and what-nots. Lately, I have been silent as well about matters like this. And, you know why? Because my heart rests in this calm place. I am content." She tells him.

Keun Seuk looks at her, searching for the truth in her eyes. He finds it and warmth envelops his heart seeing and hearing this.

She continues, "You can tell them whatever you have to. You can act however they tell you to. I will understand, because I know the truth. And since my choices are the only things I have control over, I choose what to believe. As always, I only believe in what I know."

He looks at her, set at peace by the serenity marked on her face. She looks him straight in the eye to ease his anxiety. "Oppa, fans may get confused on what they will have faith in. Antis will always have their doubts. As for me, I can say that you have endured enough and earned my trust. I have faith in you. I believe in us. Let my silence attest to that."

She leans her head on his shoulder again as they sit together quietly for a while. With his worries melting away from the stillness of the moment, Keun Seuk looks out the window and sees the moon shining its radiant light. He smiles in reflection. Like her, he also knows what to believe. And really, that's all that matters.