Our Story - Binjin

Chapter 52: LA - Second Round of Dating Rumours

Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin were at Hye Rin's house when the news broke.

The day had started well enough, Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin cooked up a sumptuous breakfast in their apartment and enjoyed it while admiring the wild beauty of the Pacific Ocean from their balcony. They then made their way to Hye Rin's house. It was the day before Sophie's birthday party and they were there to help with the children's party packs.

Amid laughter and conversations around how lucky children were these days, Hyun Bin's phone rang. He paused when he saw that it was Dong Wan. He looked at Ye-Jin and saw that she was engrossed with trying out one of the games in the party pack. Hyun Bin then slipped out of the room to answer the call.

"Hyung, it's not good this time." Dong Wan said in a serious voice. "A couple of hours ago, a Taiwanese user posted photos of you and Nuna in a supermarket, supposedly in LA. The news has spread like wildfire. Even though it's night time in Seoul, I've been getting calls from all the major media outlets asking us to confirm. I've just sent you the photos. It's clearly the two of you."

"Have you spoken with Manager Kim?" Hyun Bin asked.

"Not yet Hyung. I called you first. I'm going to call them now." Dong Wan replied.

"They have not contacted Ye-Jin yet. Give them a call and let's speak in half an hour to sort out the story." Hyun Bin told Dong Wan before they hung up.

Hyun Bin frowned as he looked at the photos. It was from the morning on their way to the Grand Canyon. He didn't recall seeing any Asian shoppers, how did they get the pictures. And this was more than a week ago, why did they wait until now to post the picture? And then it struck him, yesterday was the final episode of Memories of Alhambra. The person must have waited till the drama was over so that it won't impact the show.

Hyun Bin shook his head and smiled ruefully, on one hand, he was annoyed they were caught but on the other hand, the photographer was likely a fan and a considerate one who waited for the drama to conclude before sharing the news. He didn't know if he should berate or thank the individual.

In truth, the worry about getting caught had been weighing on his mind. Now that it had really happened, Hyun Bin actually felt a sense of relief. Anticipating a problem could sometimes be more tiring than facing the problem head on. Now that they have been caught, it was time to find out if it can be managed.

Hyun Bin went back to the room and saw Ye-Jin laughing with Hye Rin. He felt a surge of emotions and a tightness around his heart. Ye-Jin's reaction was actually the only thing he was really worried about. He hated to see her worried or in tears. He wanted her to laugh and smile, exactly like what she was doing now. He sighed to himself and normalized his expression.

"Eon-Jin," Hyun Bin called. "Can you come out? I need to speak with you for awhile. Nuna, I'll use your guest bedroom."

Ye-Jin looked up in surprise. What was it that he couldn't say in front of Hye Rin. She stood up and followed him to the guest bedroom.

Hyun Bin held Ye-Jin's hands and said, "Dong Wan just called me. A fan posted some photos of us in the supermarket. It was from that morning on our way to the Grand Canyon."

Ye-Jin froze. It has finally happened.

Hyun Bin gently rubbed her hand, "the photos are actually not too bad. They had one shot of us standing together looking at a shelf and a couple of individual photos. But its obvious we were in the same place and hence the public interest."

Ye-Jin took Hyun Bin's phone and looked at the pictures and heaved a sigh of relief. He's right, they looked like they were just shopping for groceries. They had been careful not to have physical contact anyway, so it was unlikely the photos would be compromising.