Chapter Nine

Donning a dark coloured hoodie with jeans and a plain snapback, she headed out to the place filled with snoring of various tones with no trace of any rhythmic pattern. She caught the only pair of glistening eyes in the dark and he proceeded to crawl out from under the warm duvets. She extended her hand to support him and he held the warm, small hand that unexpectedly had a great deal of strength as she pulled him up. 

She then reached for a bunch of house keys from her pocket and fumbled with it, searching for the right key to the front door. Inadvertently, the bunch of keys slipped out from her delicate fingers and a clang pierced the dead silence. Gary and Jihyo swiftly turned their heads towards the guys only to see 5 figures lying motionlessly, and subsequently turned their heads back to each other. 

"Jo shim hae(be careful)!" Gary whispered softly as he gently picked up the bunch of keys and placed it in her hands. Holding the key to her front door between her index finger and thumb, she then used her other three fingers to wrap around the remaining keys, preventing the loose keys from creating any unwanted sound. She then unlocks the door with a click and the pair silently and cautiously slipped out of the house, with their eyes fixated on the 5 exhausted souls. They slid their feet into slippers and locked the ajar door. They walked slowly, trying not to drag their flip flops on the floor and sneaked out towards the lift. 

But little did they know that a pair of eyes was peeking at the duo from under the heavy eyelids. 

"Cafe?" Jihyo asked quietly while waiting for the lift. Gary nodded his head and replied, “why are we so sneaky? Nothing wrong with filling stomachs right?" 
"Wait till Dispatch (a Korean internet media outlet that often releases news about celebrity couples) spot us and we'll regret not taking precautions."

"Sigh, the life of celebrities."

"What's 58?"Jihyo questioned after they sat on the sofas facing each other, waiting for their juices and brownies to be served.
"Take 15 08(august) and take the last digit of each number."
"Ahh" she finally realised how 58 came about. "But why my birthday?" 
There was a pause.

Jaesuk hyung told me to be brave. I wouldn't want to regret. Besides, there's nothing to lose. Gary mustered his courage and took a deep breath.
"Because you're the most incredible girl I've ever known. You're gorgeous, smart and strong, and you make me laugh like no one else can. And I know after all this, I don’t deserve you, but what I'm trying to say is I like you. Very much. "
He heaved a sigh of relief. It was over. 
"Oppa..." That was all she could say. Honestly, confessing in a neighborhood cafe at 3am isn't one of the most romantic things, especially when it was coming from a usually romantic guy. However, the unexpected confession that caught her. It came out of the blue and she had always taken the Monday girlfriend as a role, as just a character. 

"I'm not expecting any reply. You're an actress and have to always be on your toes. I'm just relaying my thoughts and feelings." He ended with an awkward smile that showed his often shy and faint dimples. 

"Here you go. Your food is here!" The waitress disrupted their supposedly romantic moment.
"Song Ji Hyo! You're Song Ji Hyo, aren't you? I'm a big fan of you and Monday Couple! Sign?" She took out a piece of paper and pen for Jihyo to sign on it. "Gary oppa and you look really compatible. Are the two of you together? Have you considered being an everyday couple instead of just Monday couple?" She asked ignorantly, oblivious to the fact that Gary was right there. The too-common face of Gary created an awkward atmosphere. Jihyo merely smiled politely at her fan. Daebak. What great timing! Am I supposed to break the ice between us? But what the fan asked sparked a train of thoughts. Are we really that compatible? After all, we are just a variety couple, an onscreen couple, aren't we...? Or rather, weren't we?

They silently poked their forks at the edges of the brownies they ordered, nibbling the crumbs that fell off, and occasionally peek at what each other was doing.

"Hyung, noona, is this for me?" A lanky figure clad in black approached them.
"Oh! Kwangsoo ya, why are you here?" Gary was flabbergasted and craned forward to face the unusually tall figure with his mouth ajar. Oh great, now the plan to spend time together is wrecked.
"How did you come here?" She added. Could he have followed them, and eavesdrop, hearing every single word exchanged between them? 
"Someone dropped something in the house and woke a light sleeper like me. I saw someone exiting the house and followed suit with noona's spare house key." He explained as he grab a fork and sat on the same safa as Gary.
"So did you hear everything we said?" She asked apprehensively.
"Aniyo (no), a fan asked me for an autograph while I was trailing behind you. Then, I lost track of both of you and slowly found my way here." 
"Wait, what we're the two of you talking about? I want to know. Were you talking about me behind my back?"Kwangsoo added.
"Fancy a fan asking you for an autograph at 3am!" Gary brought out a fact and the trio sniggered. He had to think of something witty to say in order not to answer the last two questions that Kwangsoo asked.
"Fancy the two of you eating at 3am! Aren't you afraid of paparazzi?" Kwangsoo tried to liven up the atmosphere.
"Kwangsoo ah, eat faster. Both of us haven't slept much." Jihyo requested, trying to change the topic.
"Ne(yes)!" Kwangsoo ended the conversation brightly.
The trio polished their plates and cups and made a beeline back. 

Back in Jihyo's house, Gary seemed to have read Jihyo's mind and wondered if Jihyo only thought of Monday Couple as on-screen characters that will never become a reality off-screen.  In an attempt to cast his worries away, he sent a text to Jihyo, just in case she had such a thought in mind.

[Text message]
Gary: The person confessing just now wasn't Kang Gary, but was Kang Hee Gun.

Jihyo saw the message. But was the person he confessed to Song Ji Hyo or Cheon Seong Im? And she didn't know how and what to reply.




I'm not sure how this chapter turned out because i thought of the plot and wrote(typed in my phone) while working at my workplace. This chapter was created and posted from my workplace, so i'm not sure if a change in environment affects the quality of the fanfic. My workload isn't heavy, actually it's very light that i barely have anything to work on these few days. So do feel free to comment so i can work on it!(: And do follow my fanbase on twitter at @mongxgae . Have fun reading!!