Let Me Count The Ways

If Today is the Only Day We are Allowed to be Scandalous (Part III)

He walks around the four-poster bed, chewing on a piece of gum.

Kim Goeun sits on the right side of Lee Gon's bed looking very much like she belonged there. Her slight figure in simple cornflower blue cotton pajamas, buttoned demurely up to her throat, rests delicately on top of luxurious royal blue brocade silk. The sea of blue on blue only serves to highlight how she is all smooth vanilla skin and cherry lips with eyes as dark and soft as the waves in her hair.

She fiddles with her script.

The director approaches them and sits on the edge of the bed to address them both. Lee Minho stops pacing and moves to stand on the side of the bed. Then the director holds up four fingers and says, "All in all, this entire kiss is made up of four parts— the beheading kiss, the warning kiss, the serious kiss, and the last kiss."

He looks back and forth between Kim Goeun and Lee Minho, waves his hand from side to side, and tells them, "The only thing that's set in stone is that the beheading kiss has to land on her neck, but in a very tasteful manner. So we are going for intimate, but tasteful. Everything else is up to the two of you."

Then he asks them a question he already knows the answer to, "Do you think you can work it out between yourselves how to carry out the last three kisses?"

Lee Minho looks at Kim Goeun and at her hands that still fiddle with her script and he wonders if she still gets nervous about kissing scenes, their kissing scenes. He waits for a few seconds, trying to see if she can look him in the eyes. And when she doesn't, he decides that yes, even Kim Goeun still gets nervous about kissing scenes. So he takes a page out of Lee Gon's book and decides to annoy and amuse her all day. Because if she's laughing at him, then isn't worried about kissing him.

So he pats Kim Goeun's shoulder and tells their director, "Of course! She likes telling me what to do when we kiss. We'll manage."

Kim Goeun's eyes widen and she sputters, "What the— I didn't! I never—"

Their director laughs as he recalls their first kiss from the 5th episode. He nods to himself and rubs his hands together, leaving the two of them to work their magic on a scene that needed to be as organic and natural as possible. All too often, kisses on television appear too staged and contrived, the passion they were showing becoming as manufactured as the romance they were selling. He wants this kiss to break the mold and the key to it was setting loose Kim Goeun and Lee Minho on each other.

"It's just that it feels like I'm being kissed by a fish!" she yelps at him.

Lee Minho puts his hand over his heart in mock hurt and says, "Me, a fish? Just because I don't close my eyes!?"

She nods slowly and patronizingly at him. "Yes, it's very off putting," she says, then wrinkles her nose at him.

He just shakes his head and laughs at her. Then he sits on the side of the bed with a flounce of his robe and says, "Alright, let's do this. Four kisses, one non-negotiable and three negotiable."

She leans back on the pillows, fingers tapping restlessly on the script. She stares at him intently, openly. He meets her gaze and holds it steadily.

"If the second kiss is a warning, it has to look and feel intimidating," she begins.

"But tender," he says as he slowly leans towards her. "Remember? Intimate and tasteful."

His face inches even closer and asks, "How does this feel?"

She chews on her lip and assesses the centimeters of space between their noses, looking a little troubled because she felt too warm, too comfortable.