I didn't expect the photos to spread that fast.
It was just one dinner.
One quiet night in Gangnam.
We were both wearing black, both kept our heads low, and still, Dispatch got us. Again.
This time, there were no blurry angles. No grainy zooms from across the street. They got a perfect shot, me smiling at him, him reaching across the table to tuck my hair behind my ear.
The kind of photo you could only take if you were close.
Too close.
I stared at the screen of my phone as the messages poured in like bullets.
"Margaux?? Are you dating Sebastian???"
"OH MY GOD DISPATCH DROPPED THE BIGGEST BOMB THIS YEAR!!"
"K-Pop's Global Icon and the Philippines' Queen of Comebacks???"
"Is this real?! Please say it is."
"I KNEW IT. I SAW HER AT THE CONCERT!!!"
I was still in my pajamas, standing in my kitchen in Seoul, coffee growing cold in my hand.
The world had found us again and this time, there was no point pretending.
The apartment door opened behind me, followed by the unmistakable sound of his voice, still breathless from his morning jog.
"You saw it?"
I turned to him.
He already knew what i was going to say.
He walked straight to me and gently set down his phone next to mine on the table, showing the same Dispatch article.
Then, without hesitation, he reached for my hand.
"I don't want to hide anymore," he said.
And neither did I.
The statement was posted within the hour—through both our teams.
"We are in a relationship. We've been quietly supporting each other behind the scenes for a long time. We hope you allow us the space to continue growing, both as individuals and as partners. Thank you for the love, always."
No dramatic press con.
No tearful interviews.
Just the truth.
Finally.
At first, there was silence.
Then chaos.
Then, something we didn't expect.
Support.
Real, overwhelming support.
"If they're happy, let them be."
"We grew up watching Margaux… she deserves love too."
"Sebastian's always been private. If he chose her, then i trust him."
"This is giving power couple energy."
"Honestly, I love this for them."
The hashtags began trending within minutes:
#SebgauxIsReal
#NoMoreHiding
#QueenAndKingOfAsia
And just like that, the fear that had held us hostage for so long… began to crumble.
We sat on the living room couch that night, the city lights glittering through the windows, our phones forgotten for once.
"It feels unreal," I whispered, my head on his shoulder. "I thought they'd hate me."
"They already tried that," he said softly, fingers threading through mine. "And you survived it."
"I'm not the same girl i was before," I admitted.
He tilted his head toward me. "Good."
I looked up at him. "Really?"
Sebastian smiled, the kind that barely touched his lips but reached deep into his eyes. "I'm not in love with who you were. I'm in love with who you are."
My breath caught.
He said it so plainly, like it wasn't the most terrifying truth in the world.
He was in love with me.
And i was in love with him.
Being public didn't make things easier.
If anything, it made them louder.
Fan sites flooded with edits of our old photos, even the ones they didn't know were us.
Paparazzi staked out the entrances of both our buildings.
Some reporters flew all the way to the Philippines just to interview random people about "the couple of the decade."
We were no longer just headlines.
We were the symbol of something bigger—two people who found each other through storms, distance, and silence.
But we knew how to protect our peace now.
-
He had to go back on tour the following week, Japan, Thailand, then LA.
I had a shoot in Cebu, followed by a press tour in Singapore.
Long-distance again.
But it felt different this time.
There was no aching silence, no guessing game.
Every night, we called.
Every morning, we texted.
Sometimes it was just a photo of our breakfast or a blurry shot of our faces, half-awake and still wrapped in the warmth of the other's voice.
We were apart, but not alone.
-
One night in Cebu, after wrapping a full day of filming, I opened my phone and saw a message from Claudia.
Claudia Gutierrez:
"You looked stunning on the red carpet today. I'm proud of you."
I blinked at the screen, unsure if i was reading it right.
Claudia, who once stared at me with unreadable eyes in her Lueur office.
Claudia, who was now… quietly cheering me on.
Before i could even type a response, another message followed.
"Don't let the world take away your softness again. Keep choosing love."
I smiled.
My eyes watered a little and I knew… she wasn't just talking about fame.
Sebastian sent me a selfie later that night from the tour bus.
He looked exhausted.
His hair was damp, his hoodie pulled over his head.
But his eyes? Still the same.
"1am here. Just finished rehearsals. Wish i was home."
"Home is wherever you are," I replied, before i could stop myself.
He didn't answer right away.
Then finally—
"I love you."
-
Weeks passed. Months blurred.
Photos of us holding hands at Incheon Airport.
A leaked video of us laughing while grocery shopping.
Rumors of an engagement (which weren't true—yet).
One day, a journalist asked me, "How does it feel to be in a relationship with the most famous man in Asia?"
I looked at her and smiled.
"He's not 'the most famous man in Asia' to me," I said. "He's just… Sebastian."
There were moments when the noise got too loud.
When the headlines twisted our silence into drama.
When my past mistakes were dug up again just for clicks.
But he always held my hand through it.
Even when i didn't ask.
Especially then.
-
We got to see each other again in Seoul during one of my endorsement trips.
I was filming a commercial for a luxury brand, and he cleared his schedule just to pick me up from set.
I was still in full makeup when he walked in.
The staff gasped.
Even the director looked starstruck.
"Is that—?"
I nodded, laughing. "Yes, he's real."
He walked straight to me and wrapped his arms around my waist like he hadn't seen me in years.
"You smell like roses," he murmured against my hair.
"That's the skincare brand's new scent," I teased.
"Fifty thousand won per spray."
"I'd still buy it," he said, pulling back just enough to kiss me.
The cameras weren't rolling anymore, but my heart was.
-
We had dinner at our favorite quiet spot, hidden in a narrow alley, known only to locals. No paparazzi.
No flashing lights.
Just us.
He reached across the table, holding my fingers.
"I don't care where this goes," he said quietly.
"I just want it to go the distance—with you."
I smiled. "We're going."
-
One of the last photos Dispatch posted of us was blurry, not staged, not posed.
Just the two of us walking under the rain, one umbrella between us.
My head was resting against his shoulder. His hand was in mine.
There was no caption.
There didn't need to be.
We were no longer the scandal.
We were no longer the rumor.
We were the story.
And this time, we weren't afraid to tell it.