Blind Date

"Remind me again… why are we driving to Pyeongchang?" I asked Kim Sohyun who was doing her make up in the car.

It's been two days since my time with Mamamoo ended. Now it was up to them to develop their dance. I've recorded the video of the choreography for their dances. I'm pretty sure if they'll be strict with their practices, they'd be able nail it and top the charts. Especially now that there are no more hurdles in their company.

After a long week with them, I went back to my dorm to do some actual work for my own company. I also prepared the list of songs that I was going to start producing after working on the Christmas album. I know that even though we had 2 weeks of break, I didn't actually feel that I was on break. I was still immersed with work.

Not only that, Ji-Eun and I have been talking again. Not as lovers but as friends. She said that she wouldn't pester me anymore and will just wait for the time when I'll come back to her naturally. Mina and I are also starting to become good friends again. She was still looking forward to seeing Dominic again. He hasn't been home ever since that night at the company. He's been at his hospital and was drowning himself with work. I didn't bother bringing him back because I knew that it was his way of coping with what he was going through. I know that eventually, he'll come back.

"Just shut up and drive, will you oppa? If you want to be there on time, you better step on it." Kim Sohyun said.

"Ya… why do you talk informally to me, huh? I'm still way older than you." I told her.

She rolled her eyes. "Ya… old man, drive faster."

We continued to bicker like that on our way to Pyeongchang. Apparently, Kim Sohyun set me up on a blind date with someone. I had a schedule tonight since one of the producers that I knew called me up to star on a drama that they were going to film. But I couldn't reject Sohyun's request because she already said yes to my blind date without informing me. His current boyfriend, Song Kang, said that his friend wanted to have a blind date. That's why they asked me to go with them and be that blind date.

Well, whatever, let's just see how this goes. I can't believe that I've been set up into two blind dates this year already. I mentally sighed at the fact that my fans were starting to think that I was a playboy. Blame my friends for letting that happen. If I don't try being nice to the women that are being set up with me, people would think that I was a snob and mean. But if I did try to be a gentleman, I would look like a playboy. It was a lose-lose situation for me. So I'd rather go with helping out a few friends by saying yes to the dates that their setting me up with.

We soon arrived at Yongpyong ski resort. We were soon greeted with cameras and crewmen. I began to panic and thought how these people knew that we were here. I was about to shield Kim Sohyun from them when she started smiling and calling out to a person. She was calling her "Director".

After talking to her, she then turned to me and gave a wry smile. That's when I knew that something was definitely up, and she was at the center of it. After sitting down somewhere with the director and Kim Sohyun, they explained that I was going to be in a show called "Dating With Stars." It was a show in this world where idols were sent on a blind date with other idols for a day. They would see what idols would do behind the scenes.

I turn to Sohyun and glared at her. The last thing I want be in right now is to be on a dating show. Especially with what's going on between me and Ji-Eun lately. I just want to move on with being in a relationship first, and she knows that. That's probably the reason why she hid everything from me.

"So basically… I'll have a date with someone today… in a TV show." I clarified in a monotone.

They both nodded at me.

"Okay, I'm out." I stood up but Sohyun grabbed my hand and practically whined for me to stay.

"Alright. Give me one good reason why I should stay," I told her.

She thought about it for a while before she answered, "You're going to meet my boyfriend today."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

She was starting to panic. "And the person that he'll be bringing over is pretty famous. She's also beautiful."

I could not believe this girl. These were all really lousy excuses. But what I can't stand is that look in her eyes. I sighed. "Fine. Kim Sohyun… you owe me. But the next time you pull this kind of stunt, I'm ending my friendship with you."

She started clapping her hands and exclaimed happily. "Great! Let's prepare for the shoot! We'll be meeting them now!"

"Wait… what?! Now?" I reacted.

She nodded. "Yeah. Now. Let's go!"

She started dragging me out of the restaurant and into the renting booth. There were a lot of skiing gear and equipment that we need to borrow. According to the director, we have to meet both of them at the top of the mountain where there is a restaurant. Then we had to ski downwards. It took us about 30 minutes to get ready. I was outside waiting for Sohyun to finish her make-up. She was doing her retouch right now with the stylists.

"Ya… Sohyun-ah… I have a script reading for a drama tonight. If don't make it in time, I'll blame you." I told her in a serious tone.

She laughed. "At the end of the day, you'll probably thank me."

She patted my shoulder before grabbing her snowboard and head for the exit. I really can't understand what's going on in her head. I just wanted this to be over. But I had to do well.

_______

Filming began and we were riding up the cable car towards the top of the mountain. I was pretty much nervous while the person beside me was practically all giddy and excited to see her boyfriend. She looked like child about to enter a playground.

I chuckled at the sight. "Relax a bit, would you? I'm becoming more nervous because of you."

"Then be nervous. I'm excited to see my Song Kang-oppa. It's been almost a month since we haven't seen each other." Sohyun said.

It's funny how I know how she feels. It was the same for me and Ji-Eun back when we were still together. As soon as our date would end, we really didn't know when we would see each other again. It helped us become more excited when we were about to meet again. It was truly a fun time for us.

"Well, I just hope that I won't feel too neglected by you guys." I smiled wryly.

She giggled. "Don't worry. I'm sure your date would keep you company."

We soon arrived at the top of the mountain and slowly started heading for the restaurant that the crew were directing us in. After a few shots outside the restaurant, we finally went inside. I was slowly freezing to death because of the cold.

As soon as we got inside, Kim Sohyun immediately rushed towards her boyfriend and placed her hands over his eyes.

"I know it's you, Sohyun-i…" He said with a smile on his face.

Before she let go, she gave him a peck on cheek which made Song Kang blush. Even the girl sitting across her, who I assume was my date for today, also had goosebumps and curled her fingers from the short interaction between the two.

I feel like I'm being forgotten here.

When Sohyun saw me walking slowly towards them, she suddenly remembered me and introduced me to them. "Ah! Right! This is my friend who's like a brother to me, Kim Jinbo-oppa."

I stretched my hand out to him to shake his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"My name's Song Kang. Same here. I'm very pleased to meet you too. Sohyun-i has been telling me a lot about you." He said as he also grabbed my hand to shake it.

I chuckled. "Good things I hope?"

He smiled. "Great things actually. Oh by the way… this is my friend. She will be your date for today."

She immediately stood up before she bowed and smiled at me. "Hello, I'm Park Shinhye. I hope we'll get along."

"Same here." I told her with a smile on my face.

I actually knew her from the previous world but we didn't have a single interaction with each other because we were in different industries, AND she was older than me. I'm surprised that we're about the same age in this world.

We all sat down and started talking to relieve the awkward atmosphere. I was seated beside Shinhye. It was a little awkward between the two of us, but we tried our best to talk to each other comfortably.

"By the way, JayB-oppa. Aren't you the only one who's an idol among us?" Sohyun said.

I was surprised with her question. "I guess you're right, Sohyun-ah. Wow! I didn't even notice that."

"What are you talking about, Sohyun-i? He's an actor too, you know? He acted with you before. He was also in Dream High, which was awesome by the way." He said.

"Thanks, Song Kang-ssi." I replied with a smile.

He shook his head as he chuckled. "Don't be too formal with me. We're at the same age."

"Really? Then please speak comfortably with me too, Kang-ah." I replied to him which made him happy.

"Why are you being so quiet, unnie?" Kim Sohyun asked Shinhye.

She lowered her head a bit. "It's just… it feels weird sitting beside your idol."

"Me?" I pointed to myself with wide eyes. I was pretty much surprised with what she said.

She slowly nodded her head. "Yes. I'm actually a fan of Alpha and you are my bias."

I turn my body to face her this time. I was still surprised with what she said. "Really? I didn't expect that I'd be able to date my fan one day. I guess I'm checking that off my bucket list."

Everybody laughed at the joke which eased the atmosphere. We continued like that for a while before the director decided for us to take a short break before we head down.

_________

"Are you sure this is safe?" Shinhye asked for the 8th time today.

We were standing on top of the path that we were about to ski on. It was a long way down and I'm pretty sure that this was Shinhye's first time to go skiing. Otherwise, she would have never asked the same question more than once.

Sohyun giggled. "For the last time, unnie. It's fine."

She sighed. "Why am I not convinced?"

I grabbed Shinhye's hand which probably surprised her. "Come with me for a while."

Sohyun and Song Kang were both shocked with my gesture. Even the directors were having goosebumps when they saw what I did. Shinhye on the other hand just followed me without saying anything. When I turn to look at her, she tried her best not to look me in the eye. Her red cheeks were betraying her though.

After dragging them away from the other couple, I then turned to her and asked the cameramen to stop recording for a while. "Listen, Shinhye-ssi…"

"You can be informal with me." She interjected in a low volume.

I smiled at her. "Alright… Shinhye-ya. There are 3 ways for you to get down there."

She was practically still distracted with the way I addressed her. But she still tried her best to listen. "I'm all ears… JayB-ya."

I gave her a small nod. "Alright. Your first option is to go down using the path with your board."

"Out of the question. Next." She immediately rejected the idea.

I chuckled at her response. "The next one would be using the cable car."

She turned to see where I was pointing. "It wouldn't look good when the audience sees it."

"That's right. Which leaves us with option number three. But you probably won't like it." I sighed.

She shook her head. "Any idea is still an idea. Let's hear it."

I pointed to one of the renting booths nearby that says couple skis. After seeing that, her eyes widened in surprise before she snapped her head back at me. "You're kidding, right?"

"The cable car it is." I made a decision for her.

"No, wait. It's not that I'm scared or I hate the idea or anything like that. It's just… Is it okay for you? What about your fans?" She said in a concerned tone.

I chuckled at her words. "I wouldn't be suggesting it in the first place if I wasn't okay with it."

_________

"You ready?" I asked Park Shinhye who was behind me. She was practically still shaking from the fear.

After our talk, the cameras started rolling again as we went to the renting booth. I taught her what to do when we would be going down the path of the mountain. She really listened attentively and got the basics down. I told her that I will do my best to protect her and she didn't need to worry. All she needed to do was listen to me when we're going downhill and to not panic.

"I-I am." She said in a shaky voice.

I patted her shoulder. "It's going to be fine. I got you. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Here we go." I said as I pushed us off using the ski poles. As soon as I did, she immediately grabbed my coat before she started screaming.

"Open your eyes, Shinhye-ah!" I screamed as I enjoyed the trip going down. I hasten the speed and did a zig zag. Shinhye on the other hand was hugging me tightly from behind. I asked her to open her eyes one last time.

She slowly did so, and I could feel her tension slowly fading away as she started screaming while enjoying the moment. She inserted her hands inside the pockets of my coat absentmindedly. I didn't mind it though.

As soon as we reached the bottom of the hill, she told me that she wanted to have a go again. I laughed at her reaction because now, she started talking more openly to me. Not wanting to mess this moment up, I gave her a thumbs up before we went up again using the cable car.

On our way there, we talked a little more about ourselves and got to know more about each other. Soon, the invisible wall between Shinhye and I was gone. The date progressed a lot easier and more exciting, and before I knew it, we were now closer than ever. It started with her allowing me to hold her hand while we walked around town. The fans were slowly crowding us. It was starting to get uncomfortable for her.

She was also very touchy as she clung to my arm effortlessly. There were times that she would apologize about it but I told her that it was fine. We were putting on a good show. Who knew that in less than a day, we would end being good friends to the point that skinship was possible? It was probably a world record if I say so myself.

The crowd got bigger and I was afraid that she would be bashed by sasaeng fans so I asked for us to end the shoot in the ski resort. After filming our goodbyes, we were back in the ski resort to gather our stuff. Shinhye went back to Seoul immediately because of a schedule that she had. I stayed a while because Song Kang and Sohyun wanted to talk more. I didn't even realize what time it was.

"Crap! I really need to go now!" I told them as I checked my watch.

Sohyun then turned her phone on and gasped. "You can still make it if you go now. Go! Go! Go! Thanks again for today, oppa."

"Sure thing!" I said as I slung my back pack on.

"JayB-ya, Fighting!" Song Kang said.

"Thanks! I'll be going first!" I said as I dashed off to my car and drove back to Seoul.

________

"Sorry being a bit late…" I said as I entered the room to where the director, the producer and the writer for the drama I was going to star in was sitting.

Because of the traffic, I was about 5 minutes late. I still apologized to them because it was rude of me since I was the star. I didn't want to look all arrogant in front of them.

"It's fine, JayB-ya. You're manager called in advance saying that you had a sudden schedule prior to this." The producer chuckled and waved it off.

"Still, it's rude of me to come and be late for the first day of the script reading when I've already committed for this drama. I'm really sorry." I bowed towards my superiors.

The director patted my shoulder. "I see that you chose a very humble actor, Lee Sunghoon-nim."

"Of course! Yoon Jaehyuk-ssi was practically bragging about him when he was on High School 2015." The producer, Lee Sunghoon, said.

The director then made a gesture for me to sit. "It's fine, JayB-ssi. Have a sit. The female lead just excused herself to head to the rest room."

"You can speak comfortably with me, junmoo-nim." I smiled and bowed at them before I headed to take a seat.

I immediately grabbed a copy of my script and introduced myself to the other two lead cast members who were sitting with us. They gave me a warm smile. It made me smile as well. It's really weird that these two people were at the same age as me. They were practically older than me in the previous world.

"Nice to meet you both, Kim Woobin-ssi, Kim Jiwon-ssi." I stood up and bowed at them.

Woobin chuckled and waved it off. "Come on. We're practically the same age. Let's be friends, JayB-ya."

I smiled at him since he was being so friendly towards me. It was nice that he took the initiative to do so. "I'd like that, Woobin-ah."

As soon as we sat back down, someone went inside the room. She must be the female lead for this drama. I hope that both of us won't be awkward with each other. Good chemistry for the leading roles is important after all.

She turned around to apologize to the superiors. All of them chuckled. I on the other hand was dumbfounded. When she saw me, her eyes widened in surprise "Oh?! JayB-ya?! You're the male lead?!"

I smiled wryly at her. "Nice to see you again… Shinhye-ya."

_________