Chapter One

'Ah, Shin Hye, ssi...

Shin Hye glanced up from her phone and knit her brows at her manager. "Oppa?"

"Uh, while I was outside talking to the writers, I met the manager of the other guest."

"And?" Shin Hye wasn't sure if she should be worried. Jungmin-oppa had a habit of getting worked up about useless things.

He glanced around and stepped closer. "It's Kang Jaemin!"

"What?" Shin Hye ground her teeth. "That miserable, useless, over-confident, little-"

Jung Min looked like he was about to faint. "Hye-ah! Don't be like that.  Someone might hear you."

"There's no way half of the industry doesn't know how we feel about each other, oppa." But Shin Hye fell silent, contemplating the awkwardness that was about to ensue once she and Kang Jaemin were on set together.

A staff member knocked on the door. "Five more minutes."

"At least it's not a live show," she offered weakly as she stood.  "They'll be able to cut it so it doesn't showcase quite so much of the uncomfortable scenarios that will play out."

======

Jaemin smoothed his hair one last time before pasting his signature smile on and sliding smoothly on set.

"Jaemin-ah."  One of the hosts greeted him enthusiastically with a space-invading hug. Jaemin rather doubted whether they'd even met before, but apparently they were supposed to be a team on the program? He wasn't sure.  He never really paid much attention to his manager when she was talling about his schedules.  He preferred to just show up.

"안녕하세요," Jaemin bowed to the other hosts.

They exchanged brief greetings before one of the other hosts stood up. "I think I hear the footsteps of my companion challenger approaching."

Jaemin barely refrained from rolling his eyes. What was even happening right now?

The next moments would always play out in slow motion for Jaemin.  The door slid open, and Oh Shin Hye stepped onto the set with a wave and a flip of her hair. She looked straight at him, and her eyes narrowed slightly in challenge before she turned to greet the host.

"Okay." One of the other hosts clapped her hands together.  "Now that the greetings are finished, it's time to get down to business."

This remark was greeted by an unnecessary roar of laughter.

"Ah, Ji Ah-ssi. You're just bitter because you picked Chang Yeol as your partner."

A few more inane remarks were tossed around, but Jaemin managed to tune them out.  Unfortunately, that meant that he missed the beginning of the game's explanation.

"You're an actor, Jaemin-ah , so this should be easy for you."

"Ah, 예," Jaemin smiled weakly.  Was it too late to bring up the fact that he hadn't been paying attention?

"Don't worry." The host he presumed was on his team slapped his back amidst a roar of laughter.  "We'll take them all down."

The rest of the program passed in a bit of a blur until Jaemin abruptly found himself singing a duet with Oh Shin Hye.  She was staring at him in a bit of shock as well, which he didn't understand until he realized that the karaoke machine was playing Urban Zakapa's "I don't love you."

Not the best song to be singing to the one person you wanted to avoid.  To any girl, really, if you were a young male actor...  But people sang romantic duets all the time.  That's what acting was all about, right?

=====

Shine Hye wiped her damp palms on her skirt. When the hosts had suggested she sing, this had not been what she had imagined.  She would never have picked this song if she had known they were going to force her to sing it with him.

Her eyes locked with Jaemin's, but they both hastily focused on the hosts staring at them impatiently.

Shin Hye took a deep breath.  She was a singer after all.  She had to live up to that. Maybe the guy wouldn't be able to sing well, anyway.

Kang Jaemin sang like an angel, and she would gladly listen to him sing all day, any day.

There was a bit of a stunned silence when they finished, but the hosts quickly came back to their senses and burst into applause.

"Wah, Jaemin-ssi. I didn't know you could sing like that.  I want to hear you sing all the time."

"Ah," Jaemin ducked his head.  "I'm not very confident.  I'm singing an OST for my next drama, though."

"Well, I'm certainly looking forward to it!  And Shin Hye-ssi! Every time I hear you, I'm sure you get better at singing.  I can always feel the emotions in your songs."

She was almost, but not quite, sure she heard Kang Jaemin snort under his breath, but she tried to ignore it.

"아, 감사합니다," Shin Hye tucked her hair behind her ear.  "I always strive to be an artist who can convey the emotions of a song really well."

"Jaemin-ah," the main host roared.  "Why don't you sing us one last song before we end the program?"

Shin Hye stiffened immediately.  Really? They were going to end the program without letting her sing the new song she had come to promote and without even a solo song?

"아냐, 아냐," Jaemin shook his hand. "I'm not a singer.  I just came to promote my movie."

"Nonsense," another host chimed in.  "You sing like an angel. I'm sure your fans want to hear you sing more."

"Ah, but Shin Hye-ssi is the real singer.  I'm sure people want to hear her new song."

Shin Hye fidgeted.  Would it be weird to go sit down at this point? It was really awkward just standing here...

"Ah! Wouldn't it be cool if you sang Romance of Life?"

Shin Hye glanced around for her manager.  They were going to let someone else sing the song she was supposed to be promoting? She let her face go blank, gently replaced the karaoke microphone, and slipped back to her seat.  No one noticed her go.

"No, I couldn't do it justice." Jaemin shook his head.

"Then, how about that OST from your movie?"

Shin Hye avoided Jaemin's gaze. Why was he searching her out? She wasn't going to start screaming at him.  Not in such a public place.

"We'll closeout with this song, so you can get going if you have another schedule," one of the hosts leaned over to whisper.

Shin Hye turned and met her manager's eyes off set. He looked as shocked as she felt.

"Ah, o-okay."  Shin Hye stood as the first strains of music began to fill the studio. What had even just happened?

=========

"Blacklist them," Jaemin threw his jacket down on the waiting room couch.  "I refuse to appear on this show ever again."

Hyejin scowled. "I never really liked it anyway. I can't believe the writers let the hosts suggest that you sing Romance of Life, especially when they didn't let Shin Hye sing it, or any other solo."

"When they suggested a duet, things were thin." Jaemin scowled. "But the amount of disrespect in their treatment of her. Just wait until it airs, she'll probably only appear for five minutes. And they made her leave early."

"Shh," Hyejin put a finger to her lips.  "I agree completely, but let's not cause a scene. I'll talk to her manager as well, and get some more feedback."

Jaemin nodded. "That's a good idea. This is a very popular show, and the company won't let us blacklist without a solid reason"

Hyejin left, and Jaemin sank into a chair.  He rubbed his hands through his hair. He wished he had handled the situation better, but thinking on his feet had never been his strong suit.

He sighed,and rubbed at the ache in his chest. Would she cry? Shin Hye always seemed so strong and vibrant, but he'd seen the tender and awkward sides to her.

Jaemin stood and strode across the waiting room. Honestly, he really wanted to hug her and make sure she was alright. He shook his head and rubbed at the mark on his wrist. He really needed to stop thinking useless things