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People say that what’s meant to be will always find a way. Perhaps, they’re bound together by fate, and the universe is working to lead them back to each other even in unexpected situations. The meaning behind their names is connected too.
Lim Dong Hyun—which translates to “the sky of the eastern forest”, and Yedam Go Min Si—which means “just move forward on a flat ground and always look up at the sky from a high place”. It’s all written in the stars. They were destined to meet.
They had played siblings in Sweet Home, and there wasn’t much going on at the time other than the fact that they were just really close friends.
But the staff would often tease them, cooing about how much they looked like a couple more than siblings and that their chemistry was too good for a brother-sister relationship. It was funny, because they portrayed the roles without the slightest hint of romance in mind.
They once suggested to play as lovers in a melodrama after 3 years or so, and got it with Youth of May within a few months. It was as if the universe had heard them. The director didn’t even watch Sweet Home.
Neither of them were expecting that they’d actually fall in love on set, as much as their characters did.
How could they not? Minsi was almost exactly like Myunghee, and Dohyun was almost exactly like Heetae. They kept things strictly professional while filming, but the adrenaline rush they felt in the romance scenes was real.
He loved her as Hwang Heetae when the cameras were rolling, and as Lee Dohyun when they weren’t.
Dohyun and Minsi both wished to film Youth of May longer so they could spend more time, but frequently had to remind themselves they were actors. They obviously know the struggles and consequences of dating as famous celebrities, and the public may find out about it in the future. Still, this didn’t hinder them from being together.
Now they’re announced as presenters at a music award show, and it was just a week after she revealed in an interview that he was her ideal type.
Of course she chose Dohyun over Kang. He’s her boyfriend.
She misses him. Way more than she’d like to admit.
So when he got inside the car with her on their way to the venue, her face lit up tremendously. He missed her a lot too; the only thing he was looking forward to that day was to meet her again. Seeing her smile so big was enough to put all his stress and exhaustion away.
She was wearing a big coat around her so he couldn’t fully check what kind of outfit she was wearing, but one thing’s for sure, she looked breathtakingly stunning. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. How did I get so lucky to have you as my soulmate?
Due to his sleepy state, Minsi encouraged him to take a short nap while they were still far from their destination. He leans his head against her shoulder and closes his eyes for a couple of minutes.
When they got to the venue, she wakes him up and proceeds to hop out of the car with him to go straight backstage. They didn’t have to worry about getting caught because security was strict.
They enter the building and are greeted by their respective staff, who was already there waiting for them.
Minsi takes off her coat and Dohyun immediately gasps in awe. She had on a long, silk green dress that perfectly hugged her body, and the thin straps exposed her beautiful shoulders. To say he’s smitten would be an understatement; this man is madly, deeply, hopelessly head over heels in love with her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he swoons, looking at her with nothing but pure admiration.
Her cheeks turn bright red, actually brighter than the blush she’s wearing, “Oh come on, you look beautiful too.”
“Aww, these two lovebirds!” one of the staff chimes in as he hands them their cue cards, “Here are your cards. Make sure not to get too distracted by each other on stage.”
“What did you say a while ago again? Isn’t Dohyun your ideal type?” says another staff.
Both of them get flustered as the whole room starts playfully teasing the two.
“Everyone, this is my ideal man,” Minsi responds coyly, pointing to him.
Dohyun covers his face, feeling all shy and giddy that the love of his life is professing her feelings to their co-workers like this.
As soon as the joking subsides, Dohyun and Minsi begin to practice their lines before the start of the event. They were going to be the first presenters, so they’re doing their best not to mess up their words. She was stuttering a bit. He could feel her nervousness.
“Hey,” he places his hand on her shoulder and rubs circles around it with his thumb, “Everything will be alright. You’ll do well.”
She gives him a soft smile. Reassurance is most comforting when it’s coming from Dohyun.
“Thank you. I’ll do what I can.”
“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I got you.”
They proceed to their designated spot as their names get called, walking across the stage together like a million-dollar couple.
“Hello, I’m Lee Dohyun.”
“Hello, I’m Go Minsi.”
They alternate between looking at the audience, at their cue cards, and at each other.
“Myunghee, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Of course. Dohyun and I were siblings in one drama, lovers in another drama, and now we’re working together as presenters. Heetae, it’s been a while. It’s so nice to see you.”
She continues to say her lines as he fondly watches her. He fixes his gaze on her face, and she returns the gesture while speaking, staring at one another with love in their eyes.
After announcing the award winners on the first bit, Minsi walks to the wrong direction with the trophy in her hand. This was a slight mistake, as Dohyun quickly taps her arm and extends his other hand, signaling her to give the trophy to the group.
Minsi moves back to the side, this time with Dohyun. She brings her hand up to grab his shoulder out of reflex, but instantly shies it away before they could make contact.
They had to keep their relationship a secret for obvious reasons. She has gotten so used to their nonchalant skinship that she almost forgot they were live.
Focus. Don’t let them know you’re dating. She thinks to herself.
They walk back to the center as the group leaves the stage, handing the second trophy to another set of winners. He continues to guide and assist her so she doesn’t get lost.
“It is the final category that we will be awarding. Dohyun, you shed tears when you received the rookie award. Now that you’re giving the award, I see that you’re not crying. I hope that you get to shed more tears!”
He lets out a chuckle and tilts his head downwards as she giggles. Up until now, receiving compliments still makes him flutter, especially if it’s coming from her. It didn’t matter that it was scripted. She’s genuinely proud of him for accomplishing so much.
“Minsi, you’re also going to release the drama Cliffhanger and the movie Smugglers, right?”
He, too, promotes her next projects and gives her compliments; he has always been in awe of her talent and skills in acting, and couldn’t be more grateful to have worked with her in more than one series. He’s certain that she’ll get bigger in the future. She deserves it
They leave the stage after handing the last trophy to the next group and heads backstage. As expected, they’re greeted with the constant playful teasing of their respective staff, gushing over how adorable they looked on the screen.
The picture taking begins, and one of the staff captures a photo of their backs while they hold their cue cards. She posts it on her Instagram story afterwards.
“You should have captioned it with ‘my boyfriend’, not ‘it’s been a while’” he furrows his eyebrows jokingly.
She chuckles, nudging his arm, “I’d like to see you do something as brave as that.”
Dohyun offers to take more photos of Minsi and gestures her to one of the chairs draped in black cloth.
“One, two, three. Smile!” he says while flicking the phone camera.
“I’ll take pictures of you next,” she stands up with enthusiasm and grabs the phone, setting it at a nice angle to capture his outfit.
She swipes her fingers across the screen as they swiftly check every photo, “That will do.”
“You should post them. You look amazing.”
She grins, “Which ones?”
“All of them, actually. But I don’t think they’ll allow that right?” he picks out four photos from the camera roll, “I’m picking these in case. Can you post them?”
“Hm, okay. I’ll ask the staff later.”
She holds the phone a little bit upwards and sets the front camera. They start taking numerous selfies, each pose being different from the other.
Two monoblock chairs are placed behind what seems to be a black railing, and they were told to sit there together for more pictures. The lighthearted chatters and bantering echo through as the lighting of the room turns purple.
He soon gets up and holds the camera, cracking a joke that made her laugh so hard, she had to cover her mouth with the cards. Her eye-smile shined through, and he took the perfect shot.
But she wasn’t looking at the camera, she was looking at him.
“Ah, that eye-smile again. You know how much it makes me weak,” his cheeks redden.
“Like this?” She rests her chin in the palm of her hands and stares at him with glimmering eyes.
Everybody continues capturing images of the couple. Most won’t even make it to social media but they’ll keep them for memories. A staff from Dohyun’s agency had taken a photo of his side profile, one where he sits in the monoblock chair with a soft smile on his face. Minsi wasn’t in it, but his eyes were fixed on hers. He had his head slightly tilted up to look at her standing in front of him.
Dohyun and Minsi are usually the same height when he’s sitting, but she’s wearing high heels now, so she looks a tad taller.
After thirty minutes or so, the staff packs up, and everybody says their goodbyes to each other. He still has filming to do afterwards, while she’s busy with her own activities.
“Get some rest after this, okay? You look like you haven’t been sleeping well,” she breathed as their hands intertwined.
He smiles, “You should too. Let’s see each other again soon. I’ve missed you a lot.”
“I’ve missed you as well.”
They wrap their arms around each other in a tender embrace. The vehicles soon arrive and the two lovebirds go their separate ways. It’s not like they haven’t seen each other in a long time; they’ve been secretly meeting up every now and then despite hectic schedules.
It’s been a while, they said.
But really, Dohyun and Minsi went out on a date just several nights before. It hasn’t really been that long, but time runs slowly when he’s not around.
Still, they always find a way to make things work.
It was as if the universe had heard their wishes again and again; what else could be the reason why they end up getting pulled back together, when circumstances like this are rare for most?
They are, without a doubt, each other’s soulmates.