For Keeps

* Photo from K-Star-Holic. (Sorry for interspersing my writing with some Korean phrases I know.  Apologies for any misspelled words.)

                Hyun Bin was finally able to catch a break and escape friends and friends of friends who had come to congratulate him and the cast of Rampant. He searched the crowd, hoping finally to be able to approach Son Ye Jin and thank her for coming. She said she wouldn't be able to come because of her mother's birthday celebration in Daegu, and after the events of the past two weeks with him confessing, and she being uncertain about her own feelings, he wasn't really banking on her appearance, but it was such a pleasant surprise when she showed up. He guessed that she had come straight from Daegu. She was dressed too casually for a VIP premiere although by any standards, she still looked like the celebrity that she was. Hyun Bin made his way around the crowd slowly, scanning faces, looking for that familiar smiling face, but his progress was too slow, impeded by people stopping him, wanting to congratulate him or just simply spend a few minutes with him.

In spite of the fact that people kept talking  around him, Hyun Bin's thoughts kept returning to Ye Jin. Hyun Bin was wondering what made Ye Jin change her mind to attend his movie premiere. He considered it a progress of some sort. His confession on the last night of their promotional tour for The Negotiation (TN) had taken Ye Jin by surprise. He had been certain of his feelings for her for quite some time now, and although he thinks that Ye Jin felt the same way about him, he also knew that she was cautious and careful, and guarded when it came to matters of the heart. This he learned during their many dinners and drinking sessions together during and after filming TN.  Although there had been no scandal of any kind about her relationships, it was only because of the excellent management of her agency and PR team. That, however, didn't mean that there were no problems along the way. He learned that something happened in the past to make Ye Jin wary of getting into a relationship with another actor. If he wanted Ye Jin to acknowledge his feelings, he needed to be patient and let her come on her own. It was a good thing that he was a patient man, especially when he wanted something, in this case, someone very badly. 

 The sound of laughter around him brought Hyun Bin's thoughts to the present. He had scanned the crowd, practically had gone around the venue but she was nowhere in sight. He saw Dong Gun hyung and his wife, Ko So Young whom Ye Jin had been talking to earlier. He approached them casually and made small talk before casually asking about Ye Jin. It was Ko So Young who told him.

"Oh, wasn't she able to say her goodbyes? Hagin, you were always surrounded by a group of people." She smiled warmly, and he gave an embarrassed smile. "She said she had to go ahead as she had had a long drive and that she has to be up early tomorrow. She must be tired."

"Ahhhh." Bin said, though he didn't buy Ye Jin's last excuse. He knew she didn't have a schedule tomorrow. He was planning to see her then, even if she hadn't come tonight, so he had asked for her schedule from her manager.

Bin knew he had to see her. Tonight, no matter what. He glanced at his watch, impatient to leave and be where he knew he should be.

                                                                                             ---oOo---

Ye Jin let herself in her apartment at just a little after 11 p.m. After driving from Daegu to Seoul in a spur of the moment decision to attend Bin sshi's movie premiere, she was exhausted but oddly also wired. She watched and enjoyed the movie from start to finish, but didn't stay for the after party. There were too many people, too many women associated with Bin, and too many eyes zoomed in on her, with each and every pair closely watching her, for she was currently the one being linked with Hyun Bin, what with their incredible chemistry on and more so, off-screen. People said they looked good together, and the media started speculating whether the two of them were dating. She and Hyun Bin grew close while filming TN, and honestly, she had never felt so comfortable and attuned with another man than she was with him. She didn't really know when she started to have feelings for him, but she acknowledged that they were there. She just didn't want to analyze it nor to look closely into it for she didn't want to complicate things and end up losing a good friend. But then, Hyun Bin had to confess, and that threw her off. Big time! She wasn't expecting that, although she knew that Bin cared deeply about her, as much as she did for him.