12:00PM is always a busy hour for Sweet Chopsticks. Since there are a lot of offices nearby, the restaurant have always been full during lunch break. It’s always been that way even before Hwangjoo started working there 2 years ago. But, he has never seen it this full.

The usual costumers on their office uniforms were there, but there were also varieties of strangers whom he had never seen before. Some random vendors from the nearby market seemed to have left their products unattended. A couple of ajusshis on their soldier uniform were unusually smiling from their table which reminded Hwangjoo of his time at the army. Sweet Chopsticks weren’t anywhere near any school, so he was also surprised to see a pack of students to be hanging around.

Hwangjoo was about to conclude that it was just a blessed day for the restaurant until more students suddenly came in, along with a bunch of more random civilians. He found it weird that they all seemed so exited. He scanned the room and realized that everybody else seemed to be feeling the same way.

“Hwangjoo-ya~”, his fellow waiter called from behind him.

“Ne, Sunbae…?”, he turned to face Wanhae, another employee of Sweet Chopsticks that treated Hwangjoo like a brother.

“Why don’t you take care of the orders in table 12? I really want to go but I think you deserve the honor more than I do.”, he flashed a smile to Hwangjoo and nodded toward table number 12.

He didn’t know what Wanhae was talking about. But then he noticed that the weird strangers were checking out whoever it was at table 12, and they weren’t just checking them out. They were taking pictures.

An idea suddenly struck Hwangjoo. Could it be? But, no… there’s no way. He thought to himself. He gathered himself together and started towards table 12, his heart still pounding in his chest as he pushed through the crowd.


T-ara Ham Eunjung still wasn’t sure about them eating on a public average restaurant. They just finished their morning schedules and there’s still a lot more in the afternoon, and she just doesn’t get why Qri wanted to stop here for lunch. It’s just very unusual of her to be interested to something like this. But, she had no choice but to just go along since the rest of the girls seemed to be enjoying the food, especially Jiyeon. Wherever there’s food, it’s Jiyeon’s heaven.

But another thing bothered Eunjung. The average-looking waiter that took their orders earlier, acted very weird. He was shocked to see T-ara sitting on their restaurant just as everybody else in the room was, but the way he looked at them was different.

He was frozen for about 5 seconds before he took their orders. As he listened, he was scanning every member’s face trying to make weird eye-contacts, like he was someone they were supposed to know. Eunjung wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the waiter seemed to have made longer eye-contact with Qri. At first, she thought he was just a fan that really liked Qri, but before he left with their orders, he gave them another creepy look. He stared at them for a while, long enough for Eunjung to read his expression, “I don’t want any of you here. You should leave now.”

After the waiter took off, Qri stood up saying she had to go to the bathroom. Without waiting for any reply or asking any of the girls to come with her, she pushed through the crowd and went.


Qri knew Hwangjoo wouldn’t like the idea of T-ara stopping by Sweet Chopsticks. She just thought that maybe it was about time that he meets the girls.

“Hey! Over here~”, she silently called Hwangjoo at the corner private enough for nobody else to see them.

“I can’t believe you… Why would you do this? I told you not to, didn’t I? Which part of it wasn’t clear to you?”, Qri knew it was coming, which is why she had to talk to him.

“I know! I know! It’s not that bad, okay? None of them knows yet.”, she replied trying to keep her voice low.

“And you’re planning to tell them?!”, if yelling by whispering was possible, that was how Hwangjoo talked to her.

“Yes… They have to know, okay?”, Qri herself wasn’t sure about it too, but she has to tell someone.

“Why does it matter for them to know? It’s not like it would change anything. And, look at all these people!”, she tensed as he motioned toward the crowd. “What if they find out, huh? You know what’s gonna happen to you, you know what’s gonna happen to me, and you know where it would lead us to. And it will all just be over right there… everything…”

Qri thought of the same thing to herself for hundreds of times, but hearing it from Hwangjoo out loud was different. It was like little knives piercing inside of her. The words were left hanging in the air, abandoned without receiving even a word of reply. Qri didn’t know what to say. Because she knew that it was all true. Idols weren’t supposed to date.


“Dating?! As in serious DATE dating? Like Date DATE?”, Jiyeon wasn’t sure if she heard her unnie right. Dating is dangerous to idols as much as chocolates are to dogs. Oh, poor doggies…

“Yeah~ Date DATE…”, Qri replied in a silent voice. She always had a kind voice but Jiyeon never heard her speak in a tone like this before.

“Unnie! This isn’t a joke!”, T-ara’s mother, Eunjung, said giving their unnie a worried look.

“I know… I told you… It’s a mission from Sajangnim, okay? He’ll explain it to you guys once he gets here.”, They’ve been waiting in the CEO’s office for quite a while now, Jiyeon lost track of the time.

“He’s not that handsome, though…”, Soyeon said from the corner.

“Sajangnim???”, Jiyeon asked in confusion.

“Yeah… he’s not…”, Hyomin said sadly, looking at the CEO’s picture from the nearby desk.

“Yeah… and he’s quite old now…”, Eunjung followed.

“No, you guys!!! I meant the waiter!!! The waiter isn’t that handsome!”, Soyeon said, trying to clear the conversation.

“Oh~…”, Hyomin and Eunjung said in unison, looking slightly guilty. Jiyeon felt guilty herself since she almost agreed before Soyeon cut in.

“Y-yeah~ he’s not that handsome…”, Jiyeon said trying to shake the guilt off of her.

“Yeah! Yeah! I don’t think he’s handsome either…”, said Hyomin, doing the same thing as Jiyeon is.

“Yeah~ He’s not my type…”, Eunjung agreed once again.

“He seemed fine to me…”, Boram said in contrast.

“Guys~ don’t talk about him like that.”, Qri finally said breaking the dabate.

“Do you really like him that much, unnie?”, Soyeon asked the same question Jiyeon had also been curious about.

“He’s not that bad, you know… He’s really nice and he takes care of me a lot.”

And with that, their CEO came in.


“I came as soon as I got your message.”, CCM CEO, Kim Kwang Soo, said to Qri the moment he walked in. “How much have you told them?”

“Not much Sajangnim… I thought it would be better if you’d tell them from the beginning.”, Qri said.

And so he did. Rumors about idols dating behind the camera to develop emotionally aren’t just rumors. All companies had heard about it, and lots of idols have proven the results. After he finished explaining to the girls, he turned as the door opened.

“Oh, about time…”, he said to the young man in a business suit that just entered the room.

“Good Evening, Sir. Good Evening, Ladies.”, the young man bowed respectfully as he greeted them.

“Girls, this is Lee Yeongwon. He is an expert in Psychology and he will be helping us in this project.”, the girls bowed and greeted Mr. Lee as he introduced him.

“I’m having an appointment in 8 minutes, so if you’ll all excuse me, I’ll be going now. Mr. Lee here will tell you the rest.”, the girls along with Mr. Lee bowed as Kim Kwangsoo left.


“It’s nice meeting you again, Qri-ssi.”, Qri and Lee Yeongwon have already met before. On the day she received her mission he was there with their Sajangnim.

“Ne~ same here.”, Qri said with a polite smile.

Though still confused and were still having trouble processing everything in their head, the rest of the T-ara members listened carefully as Yeongwon explained more about the situation, things that Qri already knew. She couldn’t blame the girls. She felt the same way the first time she heard it.

“So does that mean that all of us will be dating too?”, Hyomin asked.

“Yeah~ that’s right. You’ll all be receiving missions soon.”, the young psychologist briefly replied.

“And… all we have to do is make the guy fall for us and date him ‘till he says ‘I love you’?”, Eunjung asked.

“Yeah… pretty much. But, he has to be sincere.”, Qri remembered asking the same questions before and receiving the same answers.

“But, how do we know when he’s sincere?”, Jiyeon asked. And again, it’s something that Qri also asked before.

“That is an excellent question.”, he smiled as he went through his brief case.

T-ara looked amazed as Yeongwon took out 5 cool-looking wristbands. The same as the one Qri asked Hwangjoo to wear the day she started her mission. Yeongwon distributed the wristbands as he explained how it works, and again, she saw the same amazed expression on the girls as she herself had when Yeongwon gave her the wristband for Hwangjoo.

“So this tells us that the guy is sincere? That’s so cool…”, Boram said in amusement.

“Well, basically no. It actually tells you that he is lying… It is easier to tell that a person is lying through micro expressions, but it would be very hard for us to use that method. When a person is nervous, or angry, or in sudden change of emotion, his pulse rate changes, and it is something that cannot be controlled. When he is not telling the truth, pulse rate also changes. And those wristbands that you have there are specially designed to detect specific changes in pulse rate. And when it does, those two lines…”, he pointed to the lines on the wristbands that seemed more like a design, “those will glow red, thus indicating a lie.”

“So that’s why Qri unnie’s namja was wearing one too…”, Hyomin said, realizing the point.

“I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT HYOMIN UNNIE IS PRETTIER THAN ME!!!!!”, on Qri’s surprise, Jiyeon suddenly scream out of the blue, raising her arm like yelling ‘Fighting!’.

Everybody’s attention was caught by the maknae.

“Oh~ It works!!!”, Jiyeon cried happily. The wristband she was wearing was glowing bright red.

“Yyyaaaaaa~!!”, Hyomin yelled, trying to protest.

The rest of the girls started laughing. The whole thing was so hilarious, even Qri started laughing herself.


As the night fell deeper, Qri didn’t stop calling Hwangjoo, but all she hears is his voice on the answering machine “This is Nam Hwangjoo. I’m kinda busy right now… please leave a message.”

She gave it up and closed her eyes as she lied on her bed, reminiscing her times with Hwangjoo. To be honest, it’s true that Hwangjoo isn’t that handsome. He wasn’t Qri’s type either. She dated the guy simply because of the mission, and sometimes, she feels guilty about it, just like how she’s feeling now.

He’s the sweetest thing ever. He was very nice when they first met. That day, Qri borrowed a lot of weird clothes from Hyomin. Almost three weeks ago, Qri made her way to Sweet Chopsticks for the first time. She was never good at making disguises, but luckily, no one recognized her at all. No one… except Qri’s target himself. Being such a nice guy, Hwangjoo kept quiet about it.

Qri would stop by Sweet Chopsticks everyday whenever she gets the chance. Constantly recognizing her, Hwangjoo would always be the one to take her order, and sometimes he even sits with her and they would chitchat for a while. They would talk about their lives, how Hwangjoo dropped out of college, how he ended up working at the restaurant, what it’s like during busy hours, and sometimes Qri would also tell her life as an idol and the difficulties behind it. It went like that ‘till Hwangjoo asked her out for the first time.

Qri called her Sajangnim and asked for a day off, saying it was for the mission. The rest of her schedules for the day were postponed and she had her first date with the guy who owns the heart that she was going to break when the time comes.

Remembering the thought, Qri began to feel guilty again. Whatever things she had with this guy would all be gone soon. All those precious moments that he is trying to protect would soon be destroyed by Qri herself. She’d been thinking about it, how it would happen, and no matter how hard she does, she can’t think of any less painful way. But she has to end it one way or another. She had to.


Qri imagined her phone vibrating as she pushed all her fearful thoughts away. But she wasn’t imagining it. Her phone vibrated again on top of her bedside table. She picked it up and thought she was dreaming as it continually vibrated on her hands flashing Hwangjoo’s name on the screen.

“Hello?”, Qri said, answering the phone call.

“Hey~ it’s me.”, she heard Hwangjoo’s voice say from the other end of the line.

“Are you okay? I’ve been trying to call you, but you weren’t answering your phone.”, Qri started.

“Yeah~ I’m sorry about that. It’s just that I’ve been thinking you know… about all of this, you and I.”, she could sense the seriousness of his voice.

“Me too…”, she replied as all her thoughts about them started to coming back.

“So you must’ve come up with the same conclusion as I did.”, her heart started beating faster.

“I don’t know. What’s your conclusion about it?”, it was all she could say trying to hold back the tears forming in her eyes.

“I think it’s just so stupid, and that it isn’t not gonna last or even stand a chance…”, with that, Qri couldn’t help it. Tears started falling from her eyes. She knew where this conversation is going, and she’s not sure whether she likes it or not.

Qri knew that what he said was all true, but she didn’t know what to say. She just let her tears drip on her pillow and waited for Hwangjoo to say more.

“You know that too, don’t you? I know you do. And I also know that we both know that we will be ending this sooner or later…”, Hwangjoo says the word with a very steady tone, almost like they were having a normal conversation, but they weren’t.

“The longer we wait,”, he continued, “and the longer we let time pass by, the more it would hurt. And I think it would be the best if we just end it here right now.”

Qri couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Those are words that she’d been thinking how to say, and Hwangjoo is saying it all for her. A part of her felt relieved that she didn’t have to be the one to say it, but another part felt guilt. She couldn’t imagine what Hwangjoo would be feeling right now. He is not a guy who deserves this kind of pain. She just doesn’t get why it had to be someone like him.


“Hwangjoo-ya~”, Hwangjoo finally heard Qri’s voice as she cried on the phone.

“Don’t say my name like that… please stop saying my name like that…”, he always loved it every time she call his name. But as much as he loves the way she does, he hates it right now. He didn’t want to hear it anymore, because he knew that it would be the last.

His tears kept falling. He tried to hold it back but he just couldn’t. He never felt so happy just being with someone. It was something that only Qri gave him. It was like every new memory that they make was always better than the last ones. She was his princess, the last thing he would be thinking before he sleep, and the first one when he wakes up. He didn’t want to lose her. But Hwangjoo wasn’t a prince. He was just some waiter with no college degree. He didn’t deserve a girl like her.


“I’m not the guy for you, Jihyun-a~”, Hwangjoo kept saying over and over that made Qri cry even more. “You’re way too good for me, and you deserve better…”

Still… Qri couldn’t find her voice to reply.

“But don’t you dare think that I don’t love you, okay? I always did and always will.”, Qri’s heart skipped a beat as he said the words.

“What?”, she finally said. “What did you say?”

“I love you Lee Jihyun.”, she heard him say very clearly.

There was a long pause before Qri realized what was happening. It was over. He said it and that ends it all.

“Hwangjoo-ya~ do you still wear the wristband I gave you?”, it was a very weird, out of the blue, reply to someone who just confessed, but Qri had to ask.

“Huh? Yeah why?”, Qri couldn’t blame him to be very confused right now.

“Is it glowing?”, she just had to make sure.

“Uuhhh… no~”, and that made it official. Qri’s mission was over. “If you want it back, don’t worry… I’ll send it to your place first thing tomorrow.”

Qri can still hear the sadness in his voice, something she just wasn’t used to.

“I’m so sorry Hwangjoo… I really am…”, it was all she could say.

“Don’t be…”, and that was the last thing she heard him say.


Qri didn’t even remember sleeping, but she forced herself to get up. As promised, a package came in first thing in the morning. She opens it to find Hwangjoo’s wristband, and some photos of them together. She gave time to look at them for a while. Once again, she thought of their times together, every photo was a memory to treasure. After scanning every picture, she tucked them back to the box and started to get ready for today’s schedule. But this time, she knew she wouldn’t be stopping by Sweet Chopsticks anymore.