The next morning, Qi Huai, whose shoulders bore fresh fingernail marks, woke up perfectly content. The floor of the top-floor bedroom at GATE was strewn with Yoon Nam-hyuk’s clothes, along with some dried liquid of unknown origin.

The two of them hadn’t been able to go home last night, using the excuse that Qi Huai had a high fever. It was a very reasonable and sympathy-inducing excuse.

But now, judging by his appearance, Qi Huai’s “illness” seemed to have gotten better. The one who was uncomfortable had become Yoon Nam-hyuk.

President Yoon was fast asleep on his stomach, both sides of his face marked with red imprints from sleeping on wrinkled clothes. If Qi Huai hadn’t retained some sanity and shown mercy, his eyelids, lips… in short, he would have been swollen from head to toe.

They hadn’t done it.
But it was as good as if they had.

Qi Huai lingered, planting kisses all over Yoon Nam-hyuk’s neck, and was rewarded with a punch from his still-not-fully-awake partner.

“Touch me again and you’re dead…”

President Yoon mumbled with his eyes closed and brows furrowed, the words carrying no threat whatsoever. He had already said this no less than ten times last night, but Qi Huai had yet to die. The one who had been dying and coming back to life was someone else entirely.

“We have a shoot today.” His senses returning, Qi Huai kissed Yoon Nam-hyuk, inhaling his partner’s scent as he spoke. “I’m going to wear your clothes, Hyung.”

“You still remember we have a shoot… you mad dog,” Yoon Nam-hyuk sneered. “If I ever believe you’re sick again, I’m an idiot.”

As for clothes, he himself would have to wear Qi Huai’s. If that guy could pick out something wearable from the floor, then whatever. It wasn’t his own reputation on the line, anyway.

In the top-floor hall, the production team had already begun preparing for the shoot. Today was an outdoor scene, so there wasn’t much to prepare.

The camera panned across the closed bedroom door, and a line of text floated by: Will the loving couple, who insist on filming even through illness, be cuddling and comforting each other?

[Netizen: Aigo, he’s still filming with a thirty-eight-degree fever, even though he’s already so rich…]
[Netizen: He’s richer than me and works harder than me. Shit, instead of inspiring me to work hard, it just sparks my desire to spend money on him. This is why poor people like me can’t save money!!!]
[Speaking of which, Actor Qi is indeed very professional,] Director Lee suddenly said. [Back when we were filming Witch’s Law, in order to make him look tormented and fragile, we asked him to lose weight quickly. He lost over ten pounds in a short period. He looked so pale and spoke without any strength.]

Screenwriter Kim: [That’s right! I remember that too. But once filming started, his explosive power was incredible. Many scenes were done in one take. The director would be behind the camera muttering, “A genius, a genius,” hahaha. That’s why Director Lee was so regretful when Actor Qi couldn’t continue acting.]

[In that case, I suddenly feel like they’re really the same type of person,] Choo Min-young mused. [President Yoon is also like that. He feels that every project is the culmination of many people’s hard work, so he doesn’t want to delay the original schedule because of himself. He often forgets to eat and sleep.]
 

PD Seo: [Best Actress Choo, you must have signed with Wooshan Entertainment after President Yoonn took over, right?]
 

Best Actress Choo: [That’s right.]
 

Curious netizens did a quick search and discovered that the artists personally signed by Yoon Nam-hyuk after he took over had, for the most part, become highly acclaimed young talents, the pillars of the entertainment industry. They were also the ones who stood firmly with the company when Wooshan faced its recent crisis.
[Netizen: How wonderful. It feels like a good person getting a good reward.]

While the netizens were still exchanging thoughts, Qi Huai and Yoon Nam-hyuk emerged from the bedroom, having changed their clothes.

Because today’s schedule was the amusement park, President Yoonn was wearing a rare casual outfit. The clothes were very familiar—a thin sweatshirt, casual pants, and a baseball cap, a very distinct Qi Huai style. As for Qi Huai, his muted T-shirt and track pants practically had Yoon Nam-hyuk’s name written all over them.

[Netizen: Wow, they swapped clothes today!]
[Netizen: Are their underwear swapped too?]
[Netizen: Damn it! How is someone’s mind always so quick?]

Beep beep—

A remote-controlled toy car delivered a mission card, nearly driving over Yoon Nam-hyuk’s foot like a mouse. Startled, Yoon Nam-hyuk took half a step back. Qi Huai suppressed a laugh and steadied President Yoon, then squatted down to open the card under his partner’s irritated gaze.

The micro-camera filmed from bottom to top, a very peculiar angle. If the couple didn’t have flawless, picture-perfect faces, they would have received a fresh batch of reaction memes within a minute.

「Good morning, sweet lovers. Welcome to the mission card. You have two activities on your schedule today: a sweet date at the amusement park and a romantic time at the beach. Please complete the following tasks to check in~」

[Netizen: Sigh, it seems neither artists nor bosses like to look at the camera.]
[Netizen: Right? If at least one of them were an idol, they would have at least winked at the camera.]
[Netizen: It would be nice if they winked at the camera after every kiss.]
[Oh! A mission card?] Choo Min-Young said in surprise. [Did the event flow suddenly change? It didn’t seem like this yesterday.]
 

[Yes,] PD Seo nodded. [To be honest, if it were an ordinary entertainment industry couple, we would arrange a seven-day shoot to have plenty of material for editing. But these two are just too busy. If we let them improvise completely for three days, we were afraid we wouldn’t have enough footage or highlights. So, when planning the show, we set Day 2 for announcing tasks.]
 

[But in fact, Day 1 had so many explosive moments, hahahaha.]
 

[It was unexpected. The two of them are my lucky stars. I’ll be begging to work with them again in the future.]
 

[Netizen: Ahem, if you keep up this explosive level, I’ll keep paying for this old men’s show.]
[Netizen: You can do it, PD Seo.]

A mission schedule?

Qi Huai and Yoon Nam-hyuk were completely baffled. They only knew the rough schedule for these three days but had no idea it would involve missions being announced. It was a bit of a surprise.

The couple’s shocked expressions were also part of the show’s entertainment value. The netizens loved to see it, and PD Seo was quite pleased.

The back of the card detailed the missions.

On the left were the amusement park tasks: buy a cute animal-themed hat for your partner, and ask five passersby to take a photo of you kissing. On the right was the single beach task: pretend to be strangers and hit on each other at a beach bar.

The production team had set up so many kissing missions because they were originally afraid that the Day 1 work schedule would be too serious and the audience wouldn’t get enough sweet moments. But looking at it now, these tasks seemed rather childish compared to the sweet moments that had already happened on Day 1.

A miscalculation!

Yoon Nam-hyuk stared at the mission card. His first reaction was: Kissing again? My lips are about to be kissed raw! His second reaction was: What the hell is this “pretending to be strangers and hitting on each other at a bar”? What a weird sense of humor.

Qi Huai, on the other hand, found it quite interesting.

He wanted to see a certain president get flustered.

It was a Friday, so the amusement park wasn’t crowded. The accompanying PDs were all filming with small, handheld cameras, looking like internet celebrities vlogging their day, so they didn’t attract too much attention from passersby.

Only Qi Huai and Yoon Nam-hyuk themselves were a bit eye-catching. After all, the two were the absolute core figures of recent hot gossip on the Korean internet. Passersby couldn’t help but glance at them a few more times.

“Animal hats? You mean those headbands?” Yoon Nam-hyuk couldn’t quite imagine what an “animal hat” was. He only knew that during company Christmas events, some colleagues wore reindeer antler headbands. Just two antlers, not that strange.

The follow-cam PD was far away, and Qi Huai suddenly felt that this scene was truly like a normal date. He and Yoon Nam-hyuk had never been on a date like this before.

Usually, it was at the company, at a banquet, at home, or on a plane. It was mostly focused on work, and they would only get intimate when no one was looking… Could this be what triggered his susceptibility period?

Was it from being repressed?

Qi Huai pinched Yoon Nam-hyuk’s chin, rubbing it gently. “Hyung, let’s go on a date every week from now on.”

“Hm?” Yoon Nam-hyuk was taken aback.

Qi Huai smiled. “Wooshan and GATE will only get better and better. They’ll have room to grow until the day we die, but by then, we won’t have any time left.”

It was just like the world Qi Huai grew up in. Humanity still had so many ambitions and desires to fulfill, but extinction always arrived before perfection, creating an irreparable, flawed beauty at the cost of billions of lives.

If the end of life was destined to be imperfect, why not spread the task of pursuing perfection across every single day?

“Whatever you want…” Yoon Nam-hyuk’s heart thumped in his chest as Qi Huai looked at him. He subconsciously looked away, but after averting his gaze, he felt his response seemed a bit too casual and was afraid of disappointing the other.

So he leaned closer to Qi Huai, kissed the corner of his lips, and said thoughtfully, “I’ll plan next week’s date. I’m… quite looking forward to it.”

“Oh,” Qi Huai’s lips curved into a smile.

Oh???

Just ‘oh’?

“Ha!” Yoon Nam-hyuk scoffed and turned to walk towards the hat shop.

Qi Huai laughed behind him, chasing after him. “I’m teasing you. It’s more than just ‘oh.’ I’m very happy.”

He took Yoon Nam-hyuk’s hand. Yoon Nam-hyuk, ears red, just “hmphed” but didn’t pull away. The two entered the shop side-by-side, leaving the follow-cam PDs behind them, their hearts as still as water and their faces composed.

They were used to it. This was just how these two were. Any dispute was resolved within thirty seconds. If it weren’t for the 24-hour follow-cam, they wouldn’t even have time to capture it before it ended. It didn’t even last as long as their kisses. Ha! So funny.

[Netizen: This is the first time I’ve seen the legendary ‘flirtatious bickering.’]
[Netizen: They’re loving when they argue, and even more loving when they’re not. Isn’t this what true love is?]
[Netizen: When my ex and I argued, we would look at each other with venom in our eyes, as if the other was a spy from North Korea. I wish I could have called the police to have him arrested.]
[Netizen: Actor Qi and President Yoonn’s love is true love, but the commenter above’s love is more like a normal love ^^]

“How about this one?”

The shop in the amusement park was a paradise for young people, with an endless variety of IP merchandise. Yoon Nam-hyuk analyzed the mission card’s requirements strictly, even trying to find a loophole. “An animal-themed hat, but it doesn’t specify what kind of hat. A baseball cap with an animal print should also be okay, right?”

It was okay, but if he really did that, PD Seo would probably burst into tears: Variety sense, variety sense, variety sense! I spent ten minutes explaining what variety sense is to you before we started filming, President!

However, the next second, a fluffy brown puppy hat landed on Yoon Nam-hyuk’s head.

“Since it’s a date, we should be wearing this kind of thing,” Qi Huai said with a grin, taking off Yoon Nam-hyuk’s original baseball cap and putting the puppy hat on him properly.

“It’s too hot…” Yoon Nam-hyuk frowned.

And it was so childish.

He thought this in his heart but didn’t refuse, obediently letting Qi Huai fix it for him.

Qi Huai hooked a finger under his partner’s chin. “It’s just for five photos, it won’t be hot for long. The audience definitely wants to see it too, right?”

[Netizen: Yes!]
[Netizen: Yes!]
[Netizen: Yes!]

PD Seo clasped his hands together. [Actor Qi, my true lucky star.]

“Then what about you? What are you wearing?”

As Yoon Nam-hyuk asked, his eyes scanned the surroundings. When he saw the softest, cutest white fluffy cat hat in the corner, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t move.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk grabbed Qi Huai’s collar, making him lower his head slightly, and just as meticulously placed the cat hat on his head, a hint of amusement in his dark eyes.

This mission is pretty fun~

After putting on the hat, he cupped Qi Huai’s cheeks and pulled them sideways, deliberately imitating an old uncle’s voice. “Omo, our little Huai is so cute. Marry this uncle when you grow up.”

Qi Huai couldn’t help but laugh. “I know, uncle who’s six years older.”

“Yah! Damn it…” Yoon Nam-hyuk glared. “You dare mention the six years again, just you try!”

[Sigh, Actor Qi, really. Calling himself an uncle can be seen as a joke, but how could he bring up the age gap at such a romantic moment?] Choo Min-Young lamented.

Screenwriter Kim laughed. [Haven’t you noticed? Actor Qi has a personality that loves to tease his partner. He provokes first, then coaxes. It seems President Yoon enjoys the process too.]

Director Lee wiped his sweat. [The world is vast and full of wonders, full of wonders.]

PD Seo nodded. [There’s a lid for every pot.]
[Netizen: If he has this kind of personality that likes to play with people…]
[Netizen: He must have a lot of tricks up his sleeve, right?]
[Netizen: Sigh, I have a lot to say, but it’s really not convenient to say it here.]

And so, the refined and handsome Yoon Nam-hyuk wore a brown puppy hat with its tongue sticking out and panting. His cool expression was a stark contrast to the starry-eyed, enthusiastic puppy.

The sharp-featured and handsome Qi Huai, on the other hand, wore an incredibly sweet white cat hat. His wild, mixed-race features were also a complete mismatch with the soft and docile kitten.

The two of them standing together were a feast for the eyes. The staff and customers in the store were all secretly watching them.

Some were guessing their identities, as their faces were just too recognizable. Others astutely sensed they were filming some kind of show and immediately opened KakaoTalk to spread the word to their friends.

Qi Huai scanned the area and smiled at the nearest clerk. “Excuse me, could you help us take a picture?”

“Me? Me?” The chubby female clerk nearly jumped on the spot. She muttered “Omo, omo,” then scurried over. “Don’t worry, you two, my photography skills are ve—ry good!”

The characteristically Korean, drawn-out vowel sound was used to its full effect by the young lady. She took Qi Huai’s phone, carefully framed the shot, and then shouted, “3, 2, 1—”

The moment her voice fell, the two people in the frame turned their heads at the same time, their lips lightly touching, leaving a close-up photo of a sweet peck with smiling lips in the camera.

The clerk was dumbfounded. “Daebak…”

The ship I stan just kissed right in front of me, but I only saw it through the screen??? What a huge loss.

“If it’s okay, could we do it one more time? The last photo was a little blurry,” the young lady said with a mysterious smile.