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They meet at a speakeasy, hidden in the depths of the busy streets and from watchful eyes.
He was her brother's friend's friend, or something similar to that, and had been in the spotlight for far too long that he had forgotten what it's like to date - or so she was told. She, on the other hand, was a pretty girl with wholesome values and simple tastes - discreet and away from the spotlight but not clueless enough to be out of the loop.
"Kang Daniel," he introduces himself, and she smiles. She knows him from Produce 101, from Wanna One, and through the hundreds of advertisements, and is surprised by the amount of humility he possessed even for someone so famous. The conversation is easy, he asks her appropriate questions and smiles bashfully at her. He doesn't treat her like a fan, doesn't try to hold her hand, keeps her at a respectful distance. At the end of dinner, they exchange numbers and he offers to take her home but she rejects it. They shake hands inside the closed doors and take turns to leave. She thinks that's that, and hails a taxi and goes home.
She checks her mobile phone as soon as she closes her apartment door, swipes at the notifications and is surprised to see messages and a missed call from an unknown number.
'This is Daniel' - the first one, 'Are you home?' - the second. She types a quick reply, throws her phone on the bed and proceeds with her nightly rituals. When she finally checks her phone, her eyes widen at the number of the notifications she has received. She blushes as she reads each one and when she finally types 'yes' to the most recent one, her phone rings and she picks it up.
"Hi," he whispers, and she says hi back softly. She settles down on her bed, unsure of what was happening but she falls into the same easy conversation and his soft chuckles and when he finally says goodnight, she can't help but feel that she's already in over her head with Kang Daniel.
Their first kiss happens as she's trying to reach for the handkerchief he's waving above their heads - a quick tap on her lips and their laughter fades and she's looking into his eyes and all she can see is her own reflection. He gives her a soft smile before dipping closer, taking another quick kiss, and another, and another until she takes the next step, wraps her arms around his neck and deepens it, opening her mouth, letting his tongue in.
She knows, she knows that she's lost herself to Kang Daniel.
She meets Ong Seongwoo three months into her relationship with Kang Daniel.
Daniel is excited, too excited, so excited that he couldn't contain himself. He planned a small dinner party for them, single-handedly preparing everything even to the tiniest details. He made sure that the floors sparkled, the food to his Hyung's taste and that the wine had been the other male's favorite with a good vintage.
He hasn't seen his Hyung in half a year - he tells her, she knows that he's been busy with his upcoming movie, another big budget Hollywood film, the third one in two years. Daniel holds her hands and tells her that she's going to adore him and she smiles, sharing his excitement. She has heard so much about Ong SeongWoo, has followed the both of them since Produce 101 and has heard a million and one stories about him, them. She waits patiently for their guest as she watches Daniel fret over the smallest things, flittering from the kitchen to the living room.
When the doorbell rings, Daniel jumps up and runs much too quickly to the door, opens it too wide and throws himself at the other body much too enthusiastically. She stands up politely, waiting to be formally introduced to the other man. It takes them five minutes to walk from the doorway to the living room and they are a mess of bodies when she sees them. It's Seongwoo who pushes Daniel off, scraping off the other's limbs from his and Daniel actually whines and pouts from the action. Seongwoo pushes Daniel down still, even as he acts years younger than his actual age. Daniel tries to cling to Seongwoo once more but Seongwoo moves and stops right in front of her. He introduces himself to her with a bow, a warm smile and he both of her hands into his and gives them a shake.
He cracks a joke at Daniel's expense and has the younger boy sputtering and they start and end the night like that.
"Sorry, I can't tonight," his voice sincere over the phone, "Seongwoo-hyung is leaving in the morning and I promised we'd have some drinks with the others." She sighs, she really doesn't want to be demanding in this relationship but he hasn't spent any time with her since Seongwoo's arrival, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow? Please?" Another sigh escapes her lips and she acquieses. Soon, papparazzi photos of Daniel, Seongwoo, Jisung and the others come in at alarming rates. Hot topics on Naver and she scrolls through each and every one of them. She purses her lips as the image of Daniel's and Seongwoo's lingering touches burn into the back of her eyes and she blinks away the building tears, turns off her phone, places it under he pillow and she falls into a fretful sleep.
When she wakes up in the morning, she feels strong arms wrapped around her body. It's warm so she closes her eyes once more and leans in closer but she can't help but feel that this warmth was anything but hers to keep.
Flash.
Flash. Flash.
Too many blinding lights in her eyes and she's pushing through a body of people with a firm hand wrapped around hers, pulling her with effort. It was a riot, noisy voices, questions, exclamations, incomprehensible screaming.
Daniel dusts her off when they reach the inside of his agency's building. She didn't know what to make of everything. It was too fast, she wasn't ready, but people wanted her - wanted to know everything about her. Daniel and his eye smiles and soft kisses and his warm words had finally convinced her that he wanted her and that they should be married, she cried happy tears that day but really, no one could have prepared her for the frenzy that was to come. He held a press conference, simultaneously apologizing, asking for their acceptance and hoping for the fans' best wishes. He had not even introduced her, but photos of her had come out the next morning and soon the press was lining up, camping out in front of her apartment building.
It was Seongwoo's idea to introduce her formally to the public, to soften the blow, he says. And they do. They are glad for it because things ease up now that everything is out in the open and there was nothing about her left to uncover.
Honestly, she has much to be grateful to Seongwoo for. It's him who holds her hand as she receives and opens her first hate mail and after that it's him who she turns to for help when everything gets too much. She can't let Daniel see the toll it's taking out on her, so she turns to Seongwoo for help.
It's the night before their wedding, she has been staying with her family for a week now, having given up her apartment because she was moving straight to Daniel's after the wedding. She watches her mother pack away the last of the food she has prepared. Her father and her brother are in the living room with her and they all sit there and she pats her mother's hand and they all cry for a little bit. In the middle of the night, she wakes up and she is itching to see Daniel so she wears her warmest coat, takes a cab and rushes to his home, their home. As she opens the door, she hears voices and while she would have announced herself normally, she feels something different in the air so she takes caution in her steps, making as little sound as possible.
What she sees doesn't really surprise her.
Daniel and Seongwoo in the throes of a heavy, emotionally charged kiss and she feels as though she's intruded so she backs out as quietly as she's come in. She hits the down button repeatedly and when she's out of the building, she runs and runs and runs until she's beside a vending maching in the middle of a random park and that's when she feels herself shaking, breaking, out of breath and crying.
What she saw didn't really surprise her, but it still hurt like hell.
The first time they do it as a married couple, they were both drunk out of their minds. She was on her tenth mojito and he was on his nth shot of whiskey and they were giggling and giggling and they do it on the bed beside the pool of the private villa they rented for their honeymoon. When Daniel reaches his climax, releasing within her, he pushes himself off her and the both of them lay flat on their backs and they gaze at the stars. He gently points out the constellation he sees, mapping out the ones that match his Hyung's face and he reaches out for her hand and intertwines their fingers and she ignores the fact that it wasn't her name on his lips at that final moment.
The problem with a husband who's famous is that he is almost never home.
She has been watching one of his shows, throwing popcorn at the screen everytime his face appeared, muttering something about stupid, insensitive husbands when she feels a sharp pain on her stomach. She reaches out for her phone and presses speed dial number two.
"Oppa, the baby is coming."
"Right, meet you at the lobby, can you handle it?"
"Of course Oppa."
Seongwoo ushers her into his car less than ten minutes after the call.
Daniel kisses her forehead gently as Seongwoo cradles the baby in his arms. They've decided to make him the godfather of the newborn and they've already started bonding.
She doesn't talk about the sharp pain she feels at the back of her head.
Another drunken night (for him) and all the love there is to give in the world (for her) lead to another baby. But as the complications arise, the doctor calls in both of them and breaks the news.
"You have to choose," he says and her mind is set. She has chosen. She doesn't share her thoughts with Daniel. He is distraught, and babbles and falls short for words as he tells the doctor to save his wife and that they already have one beautiful child. But she has made up her mind and she tells the doctor when Daniel takes a call on his mobile phone.
'Oppa, can we talk?' she sends a message to Seongwoo who has taken a break from projects. She is on her bed, their bed, and she waits for Seongwoo to come like he always does.
"Take care of him, will you?" She whispers, as soon as he enters the room, "and the babies?" He is confused, he shakes his head, coming closer and closer.
"What do..." She shoots him a sad look as he sits beside her. She puts her hand on top of his. "I know Oppa," she smiles, "I've always known."
"I'm glad it's you Oppa."
The words hung heavy in the air and Seongwoo just sits there holding her hand.
Four figures in black stand in front of the columbary.
"Say hi to Eomma," the taller one commands and both children obey. They are sombre in front of the grave but as they step out into the sunlight, the four of them link hands and walk towards their car together.
"Daddy, can we go for ice cream?"
"Only if Appa allows us to."