Unexpected

Part 58

I wake up in Berlin and get ready, doing my makeup and hair, dressing in yet another vintage inspired outfit. This time it's a cherry print dress and red sandals. As I put on red lipstick I think back to last night, when we returned shortly before midnight, Sangil and I shared a long kiss inside his room before I retired for the night. It was emotionally deeper than our previous kisses.

But now I have to remember that WGM will be filming, so while I will be genuine, I also have to dial down my desire for skinship sometimes. Not too much. And not more than PG-13.

When Sangil sets eyes on me he smiles. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You look handsome." He must coordinate his clothes to match mine. Why else would he ask ahead of time what I'll be wearing, and then show up with similar colors and styles?

"I can't take credit. My stylist chooses my clothes when I'm on camera."

"Do you have any input?"

"Oh yeah. I told her I want to look similar to you."

"That's because he has no fashion sense," butts in Woosung. "If it was up to him he'd be in all black, probably sweatpants."

"I'm not that bad," grumbles Sangil.

"Sochi, you also said you weren't interested in fashion, right?" asks Woosung.

"Not exactly, what I said was that I can't tell one designer from another. But I own expensive clothes. My style is mostly vintage inspired and classic. So that's what I buy, regardless of who makes it."

"I saw the pictures from your photo shoot," Woosung continues. "You guys looked good."

"They were exquisite," gushes Airi. "The one where you guys were kissing" — she makes a kissing gesture with her fingers and lips — "Perfection."

The photos did turn out good, even the one with the tie pulling. I have a couple copies of the magazine at home. And the photographer released a behind the scenes picture of the two of us on Instagram that made the fans go crazy. I've received more photo session offers.

We visit historic buildings, including the Reichstag, Sanssoucci Palace, and Berlin Cathedral, and then tour Museum Island. For lunch we go to the restaurant at the top of the Berliner Fernsenturm, a TV tower which also has an observation deck. Woosung says we may be used to them, but he isn't. Speaking of Woosung, he and Airi have quickly become a "couple," holding hands and acting cute.

In the afternoon we start with the Brandenburg Gate, a reminder of the formerly divided nation. We climb the Victory Column and take a rowboat out on the lake at Treptower park, finishing with a look at the Soviet War Memorial.

After we eat soft pretzels, Woosung hands us a box of Pocky sticks and says that depending on how short it is when we finish nibbling, we may hold a wedding during the summer break, which starts in a week after my next race in Hungary.

Piece of cake, I think. I open the box and take one out.

Sangil covers both our microphones and leans over, whispering very softly in my ear. "Do we kiss on camera? I mean, as we're biting off the Pocky?"

"I think that should be okay," I whisper back. "We kissed during the photo shoot and that went over well with the fans."

He nods and leans back, removing the chocolate stick from my grasp and placing it between his lips. "I'll start, you stay still."

I nod and gingerly bite my end. Sangil places his left hand on the back of my neck and closes the distance between us as the Pocky shortens in length. At last I feel the brush of his lips against mine. Sangil leans back and removes the bit of Pocky we have left.

"Maybe three centimeters?" guesses Woosung. "You can do better."

I'm pretty sure it's much closer to two. As I roll my eyes I accidentally look over at the film crew and see that they are nodding in agreement. Usually they stay out of our affairs since we are entertaining enough on our own, but sometimes they have suggestions.

"Sure," I reply, removing another one. "This time you stay still." I place my hands on his shoulders as I move in, nibbling away until we touch again. I quickly take one more bite with our lips pressed. Comparing the two, this time it is shorter.

"Once more?" proposes Airi in an innocent tone.

"Oh, wonderful idea!" I exclaim, deliberately misinterpreting what she meant. "Here, Woosung, you guys have a go."

I hand him the box. He looks flabbergasted.

"If yours will be shorter than ours, then you can be best man at the wedding," says Sangil, knowing full well that they won't get close.

"Heh heh heh," laughs Woosung nervously.

"I'm willing to try if you are," says Airi, leaving the decision up to Woosung. "Then do I get to be maid of honor?"

"Of course," I consent.

Woosung blinks a couple times, then nods. "Okay." Sangil and I watch as they navigate the tricky situation, starting out nice and slow. And they continue slow, with Woosung barely breathing, it seems. Poor guy. He must really be nervous about the outcome. I think that on the one hand, he can't have too much left over, but he most certainly doesn't want their lips to touch, either. When they pull back and show us the Pocky, I estimate it between three and four centimeters.

"Well, I guess I'll stick with Sangho," says Sangil, making us laugh.

We finish up our trip in Berlin with a quick show at Konzert Haus and dinner, where Woosung sips German beer for the last time and mournfully declares that he will miss it. 

***************************

I had no idea how unmotivated I was hoping to be with Snuper inactive. I'm actually debating how I should finish this: quickly, with a summary of the next few months, or very slowly, as I stick to the original plan of writing about every race weekend. 

I was going to promote Snuper, but they don't have anything new. And I'm listening more to Jpop nowadays, so here's Kis-My-Ft2 with Luv Bias.