Let Me Count The Ways

2: The Trouble with Staring at Kim Goeun

He counts every time he stared at her and the trouble it brought.

They were on the set of the precinct of Squad Three when the assistants brought in the paper bills from the Kingdom of Corea with his face plastered on them in full king regalia. Lee Minho had been to some strange photoshoots but this one took the cake. He looked so pompous and serious on that 100,000 won bill that he couldn't help the bark of laughter that burst out of him.

Goeun sat across from him and stretched out her arms excitedly, wanting to see the bill herself. He handed it to her and his attention quickly shifted from his ridiculous face to hers. He watched as her eyes fell on his face on the bill and quickly darted up to his, making a lightning fast comparison before her whole face erupted in giggles. He saw her throw her head back, shoulders shaking in mirth while peals of laughter escaped from her small mouth that was shaped like an open mouthed smile.

He tipped his head to the side and rested his jaw on the back of his right hand, elbow on the table, as he watched her laugh some more.

"Sunbaenim," she said as she leaned forward once more, a teasing glint in her eyes, "can you make the same Pyeha face like this on the bill? I want to see if it's really you!

He had indulged her and given her his best serious Pyeha face.

That brought out another wave of giggles from her. But this time, he observed, she had thrown her head and torso forward, peeking time and again at his fake 100,000 won bill on the table. He found her laughter immensely interesting and tried to hide his widening smile with his fist. He had wondered what influenced the direction her body would take when laughing at something.

He could always just make her laugh all the time to find that out. They still had 8 months to shoot. There was still plenty of time to watch her.

But the trouble with staring at Kim Goeun, he realized belatedly, was that she stared right back. He found this out the hard way when they shot at the lobby of Paradise City Hotel in Incheon.

She was in character then, sitting on the lounge chairs with a scowl on her pretty face, still swathed in her serviceable black detective trench coat. Even from afar, he could feel the full force of Jeong TaeEul's irritation as he made his way to her. He felt her hard dark eyes following his long languid movements and he ended up tripping over his own feet, his right slipper flying out.

He recovered as gracefully as he could, his face remaining passive. He could've gone on with the scene but the moment Goeun's cheeks bubbled up with barely repressed laughter before finally giving in to her giggles, his face had already matched hers. Only his laugh was that of embarrassment. Apparently, even the littlest of things can make her laugh big, too, he thought, as he went back to his position to begin filming once more.

Another trouble that came with it was that her laughter was often infectious. It was especially hardest to resist her when they had to stare at each other with only a table between them. Somehow, a sturdy solid matter wasn't enough to keep them from giggling like a couple of schoolchildren.

Like that time they shot the MSD scene in BBQ Chicken and Goeun had found it hilarious that she shook the drink a little too violently in the "shaking" part of Taeeul's MSD, splashing some of it on the table, chicken, and herself.

"One shot for the king!"

She had delivered that line perfectly, with the required sarcasm. But as soon as she put the glass down, she had leaned back and away from the camera frame. Then she bit her lower lip to keep the giggles from breaking out. The lip biting was new, he noted. And as usual, he had tried to remain unflappable.