On My Side

Chapter 4

Finally, the moment arrived that Paloma had been dreading. She was called on to make her choice. When she reached the center of the platform, the studio audience began to chant, "Vuleta! Vuelta!" Paloma reluctantly gave them the spin they were asking for. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why they needed a 360° view of absolutely every contestant. But for about the thousandth time that day, she pushed down her feelings and tried to play along for Azul's sake.

Estefanía wrapped her arm round Paloma's waist and asked, "¿Qué buscas en un hombre?"

"Ah, que sea leal y honesto," she replied, indicating that she was looking for loyalty and honesty from a man.

"¿Quieres robarle a uno de los chavos de allá?" the host asked, motioning toward the couples that had already been formed.

"No, gracias," Paloma declined. She had no interest in trying to steal a man who had already been spoken for. And even if she could steal one, she would always wonder about his loyalty if he had shown so little to the woman who had chosen him first.

She had known since the beginning that she would choose Eunwoo if given the opportunity, but the question was whether he would accept her or choose to leave the show without having chosen anyone.

"If you remember, nuestro chinito said that he liked girls with curly hair, tan skin, and green eyes," Estefanía pointed out. "So, he was pretty clear that he liked you," she said before asking pointedly, "¿Te gusta Bruce Lee?"

"Sí, me gusta Eunwoo," Paloma replied, stressing his real name. She allowed her eyes to meet his again, despite her trembling legs.

Eunwoo smiled at her. He was impressed that she actually remembered his name. He had not fared well, overall, at the show in terms of escaping its casual racism. But he could see that this girl was a good person. Even though he had no intention of continuing a relationship with her, he decided it would be cruel to reject her on television. So, he walked toward her slowly until he was facing her. Up close, her green eyes were even more striking. She really was a lovely girl. He almost wished he actually could get to know her.

Estefanía grabbed their hands and placed them together. So, Eunwoo held onto Paloma's hands gently. They were slightly damp and trembling from the stress of the situation. He gave her hands an encouraging squeeze.

"¿Es Piscis tu corazón?" the host asked. Eunwoo had finally figured out that this question was to determine if the man would accept the woman.

Eunwoo decided to use the only Spanish word he knew and said, "Sí."

The audience broke out in cheers that turned into a chant of, "¡Beso, beso, beso!"

"They want us to kiss," Paloma explained unnecessarily since Eunwoo had already gathered the gist of the chant from the reactions of the previous contestants.

"May I?" he asked as he leaned his head closer. It's just like a K-drama kiss, he assured himself. It was acting. He had acted out kisses plenty of times before, but somehow, this kiss made him nervous.

Paloma nodded and lifted her head so that she could see his 6-foot frame better. Eunwoo leaned down and touched his lips to hers. He had intended it to be a peck, but once he felt her soft lips, he felt reluctant to pull away. In addition, she seemed to be responding to his kiss. Somehow, his hands betrayed him and came up to touch the sides of her face. For a moment, he forgot about the show, and the lights, and the audience. He was just kissing a pretty girl who seemed eager to kiss him back. Finally, he remembered where he was and pulled away reluctantly. He took her arm and guided her off the raised platform to the couple's seating area.

"¡Aplauso para nuestras parejitas! ¡Aplauso para Ricard O.!" Estefanía directed the audience to applaud for the couples and for their resident astrologer. As soon as the director called, "Cut!" everyone seemed to get up from their seats and begin to move about.

"Well, I guess this is it," Eunwoo said to his fake partner. "I appreciate all your help in getting me through that show. It was unlike anything I've ever seen in Korea," he said.

"Oh, yeah, no problem. I was glad to help. I apologize for how chaotic it was," Paloma replied.

"No, it's not your fault," Eunwoo answered. "I will be having words with my agent though. I can guarantee that," he said firmly.

"Oh," Paloma sighed. "About that, the producer who contacted your agent is actually my sister," she admitted. "If it's possible, could you spare her a scolding from her bosses?" she requested, knowing that it probably wasn't fair to do so.

"Oh, which one is your sister?" he asked, truly curious to know.

"She's the one with the long, wavy hair in the black hoodie and leggings," she replied, pointing in the direction of Azul.

"She's young," Eunwoo observed.

"Yeah, I don't know if you noticed, but this show isn't running a really tight ship. As a 'junior producer', she mostly ends up doing the coffee runs and making copies," Paloma admitted. "But getting you to agree to be on the show is her crowning achievement to date, and I'd hate to see her get in hot water for it," she added with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Oh, okay, I see," Eunwoo replied, lowering his anger level significantly as a result of Paloma's request. "I suppose, I'll get going then," he said, holding his hand out to shake hers.

"Yes, right, well, I imagine we won't meet up again. It was a pleasure working with you," Paloma said with a rueful little chuckle.

"Yes, it was a pleasure," Eunwoo replied, almost wishing they didn't have to part ways. Well, technically, you don't have to say goodbye yet, he thought silently. After all, he was on vacation. What did he really have on his plate? His only plans included a hot shower and some room service, but he could ask her along for those plans --- well, the room service part, not the shower part, he quickly amended in his mind.

"Actually, do you have plans?" he suddenly found himself asking.

"Not really," Paloma answered, wondering where this was going.

"Yeah, me either," he replied. "I was just going to go back to the hotel and get some room service or something," he said. "Are you interested in joining me?" he asked.

"In your hotel room?" she asked, trying not to sound like a prude.

"Oh, wait! That didn't really come out the way I meant it," Eunwoo replied apologetically. "I just meant to eat, nothing else. I swear," he said quickly, waving his hands back-and-forth nervously.

"Oh, yeah, right," Paloma replied, wishing she hadn't sounded like such a baby about going to a man's hotel room. "Well, I guess I could come by for a while," she said, praying to God it wasn't a mistake, but her curiosity had won the day. She really did want to get to know Eunwoo better, not as a fan, but just a regular girl. "I can meet you outside when I get out of these clothes," she said, pointing helplessly at the uncharacteristic clothing choice that had been foisted upon her.

So, Eunwoo waited in the parking lot of the studio for Paloma to emerge. He found it odd that they hadn't asked him to use one of their on-set costumes but had only required the women to do so. Yet another red flag he should have noticed.

When Paloma approached him, he almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a summery floral blouse and denim shorts. Her curls had been pulled into a topknot and she was wearing black-framed glasses. But even the dressed-down version of her was lovely. He hesitated for a short moment, wondering if it was unwise of him to be spending time with her since he knew he was in no position to be in a relationship, but then, he reasoned to himself that it was never a mistake to get to know people. I have the most innocent of intentions, he told himself as he took her elbow and led her to the street where they hailed a cab.