A/N: there will be a lot of inside jokes here too that only readers of the first part can understand.
3rd Person's POV
"Hey, hey, listen to me." He cupped her face gently with an amused smile.
"You don't need to worry, okay? I will fetch you after work. I will be as discreet as possible. We cannot attract any media attention. I'll be the one to visit you in your apartment and I'll make prior arrangements if you want to go somewhere else."
He then held her hands and continued.
"The media knows that I am preparing for my enlistment so I'm a private individual after our fan meeting in China which will be scheduled next week. So let's just make the most out of that trip okay? Just relax. Everything will be fine."
Alex felt warmth in her heart after hearing all those words from him. They are working in the same industry and they are aware that relationships in the same circle have a lot of pressure and not many people end up together. But she knows that theirs would be different. It won't be easy but as long as they will strive and want to keep this "secret love story" they could endure.
Keeping it private is the best option, for now.
She then hugged Sage tightly, she could no longer do this when this guy enlists. She sure as hell would miss him terribly. So she decided in her heart that they would make as many memories as possible before that time comes.
"Be sure to pick me up after work and I too would try my best to shorten the time for my shoots so that I could spend more time with you, at least even before you enlist." Alex then broke free from the hug and looked at him lovingly.
"No problem. And just work at your own pace, no need to be in a hurry. I'll be available for you anytime before I enlist."
This time Sage initiated the hug and sunk deeper into Alex's neck, his favorite spot.
"I will miss you terribly. But I promise this will be the last one that I'll leave you for that long." He whispered to her ear and then tightened the hug, as Alex reciprocated with an even tighter hug.
Moments later, Alex broke the hug and said,
"I know what to do. We can't just sit here and do nothing all day."
"What? Want to do something?" Sage answered while giving her a meaningful gaze.
"Ani. ani.! It's still early for that."
"Okay... But we could, you know..." Sage paused then whispered, "... anytime?"
He instantly received a smack on the arm from Alex.
"Aigoooo, now you could joke about it? Coming from someone who asked are-you-sure for what, three or four times last night?" Alex retorted while rolling her eyes.
"Okay, okay! So what now?" Sage asked while pinching her waist.
"Since you are here and you're just flexing your muscles a while ago, let's put that in use and help me clean the house."
The two stood up and did their very first bonding as a couple, general cleaning.
It was Alex's idea and she's the one who asked for "help" but it turned out to be Sage's "workout".
Sage willingly obliged though. He knew that she might still have some discomforts. So he didn't mind nor complain about doing everything. But he suddenly asked.
"What are these for? It's a lamp but the light is blue..." Sage asked curiously while wiping that thing.
"It's... It's for the mosquitoes." Alex answered nervously.
"You have a mosquito killer lamp? Are there a lot of mosquitoes here?" Sage worriedly asked.
Of course, the over protectiveness in him is on high alert again. He stopped what he was doing and waited for Alex's response.
But in his mind, he already planned to thoroughly clean the house or to even contact a mosquito buster for fumigation.
"Uhmmm... Aira bought it... Because I had a mosquito bites one time." Alex stutterly response.
She even had to look away from Sage. One thing she was not good at is lying, especially in front of Sage. Also, she was really caught off guard.
Alex decided to go to the kitchen and wipe the counters instead to hide her face that is slowly turning red. Luckily, Sage didn't mind her stutterings as he was more focused on the "mosquito" situation.
"Oh, okay. Aira is surely always one step ahead. It's a good thing that she bought this for you."
"I know. But that isn't that effective as the big mosquito is here and I have a lot of mosquito bites again." Alex whispered the last part while containing her laughs and a red tomato face.
The two spent the rest of their day on their little world inside Alex's home like a normal couple, not minding the reality of the outside world waiting for them... while they can.