"And action!"

Kyungsoo in a breath, sighing as he looks out at the bright lights and cameras briefly before he looks down at his hands, just as the script says. "Does it still hurt a lot?"

He feels Minseok scoot closer to him, the air cold where it brushes against his bare skin. Touch delicate, Minseok presses his fingers to his chin and makes him look up. Kyungsoo's heart nearly stops, the buzz of the lights only white noise in the background. "I'm okay, Kangwoo, really," he says, smiling nearly as bright as the industrial lights. Minseok kicks his left leg out and wiggles his ankle around, grimacing a little as he does so. "See? It's fine."

Kyungsoo sighs again, knocking Minseok's hand from his face and almost missing the sparking warmth that was there before. "You can't lie to me, Dojeon." Kyungsoo clenches his fists around the soccer ball in his lap. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone after the soccer ball--"

"Hey!" Minseok cuts him off, flicking Kyungsoo's forehead to get his attention. Kyungsoo looks back up, the mock rage dead as soon as he looks at Minseok's soft smile. "It isn't your fault, but if you feel that sorry, buy me ice cream for the next week and I'll call it even."

Kyungsoo laughs, breathless because Minseok is laughing beside him. Minseok was the star in this drama, caught in a love triangle with his co-stars, and Kyungsoo was just his best friend. However, there were scenes like this, and so much backstage help, that was making it harder and harder for Kyungsoo to just act like he only wanted to be Minseok's friend. Minseok had spent so much time helping him with lines, acting through scenes over and over until they were perfect, teaching him soccer enough to look like he could actually play rather than having two left feet. They had spent time getting coffee together for their breaks, eating out at 3 in the morning when filming had finally ended, sharing lunches when their fans bought food trucks in support of their drama. 

And to Kyungsoo, Minseok would always be more than just a friend. He has been in love with him since he'd been hit with it during a scene where they stared up at stars together, talking about how Dojeon was in love with the lead actress. He's been so in love for months that it hurts just pretending to be his friend. It's easier to act being hurt when Dojeon gets his heart broken by the supporting actress, but it hurts so much that Kyungsoo almost pulls Minseok away from the directors, studio lights, sound engineers, and makeup artists and kisses him.

Kyungsoo never thought he'd fall in love with his co-star, but it feels like it’s been tearing him apart in scenes like this, where it’s just him and Minseok and all the cameras seem to fade away.

He knows what comes next. Minseok takes his hand, unclenches his fist and tugs on his fingers. "Kangwoo," Minseok says, swallowing thickly, holding Kyungsoo's hand tighter in his. Kyungsoo wonders wryly how the sound system isn't picking up his heartbeat because it sounds like a drumline blaring with an amplifier in his head. It's silent outside on the soccer pitch where they're sitting, and Kyungsoo wouldn't be able to take his focus off of Minseok even if they weren't acting. "Kangwoo, what do you think I should do about Siyeon?"

And Kangwoo is supposed to push Dojeon playfully, about his feelings for Siyeon, and tell him that he should follow his heart. Kangwoo is Dojeon's best friend and will always be there to have his back. But Kyungsoo wants to pull Minseok close and kiss him and tell him that Kyungsoo isn't any Siyeon but he's been swallowing his heart down for weeks and he loves Minseok. He loves Minseok more than any Siyeon could.

He pushes Minseok playfully, smile feeling so fake on his face he almost feels sick. "You like her a lot, don't you?"

Minseok blushes heavily, hiding his face in his hands, just as the script reads.

Kyungsoo shoves down his heart and smiles knowingly. "I'm not you so I don't know what to tell you, but just follow your heart, right?"

It's the same thing Dojeon had told Kangwoo when Kangwoo was auditioning for the lead role in a movie. It's the same thing Kyungsoo says now and wishes with all his heart Minseok would notice him for more than just a friend.

Something flashes in Minseok's eyes, just as the director calls for the scene's end. Kyungsoo flinches, taken out of the moment too quickly. He glances over to see the director looking at the scenes uploaded to the viewing monitor.

"Come on," Minseok says, taking Kyungsoo's hand and tugging them both up off the grass, the soccer ball rolling off towards one of the sound microphones. He's a little disoriented as they weave through staff, Minseok calling out to both of their managers behind them that they're both taking a quick break.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Kyungsoo says, stuttering because Minseok still hasn't let go of his hand. But Minseok doesn't say anything until they've reached one of the university buildings they're filming by, ducking into the dark alley by it.

Minseok presses him against the wall, looking at him so intensely Kyungsoo's heart stops entirely. It's suddenly eerily silent, their breathing loud with no one around, no one watching.

"Minseok?" Kyungsoo asks. "Is there something wrong?"

And Minseok leans in, closes the space between them, no hesitation as he kisses Kyungsoo. Heart thudding heavily and so overwhelmed so suddenly, Kyungsoo lets his eyes flutter shut and he kisses Minseok back with everything he's been holding back since he'd found out rising star actor Kim Minseok had been announced as the lead actor in this drama. It's chaste, shy almost, but not awkward at all until Minseok pulls back far enough to breathe, lips red and kiss swollen and ghosting over the centimeter of space between himself and Kyungsoo.

"I..." he starts and swallows, glancing away nervously for a moment. "You can't lie to me, Kyungsoo," he says, looking at Kyungsoo with so much emotion that the world could crash down around them and he wouldn't care about anything else than this. Kyungsoo almost wants to laugh at the use of his own lines against him.

"Do you like me?" he asks. "Because I think I... I think I like you a lot, more than a co-star or a friend or a best friend or anything else. And I thought you--"

Kyungsoo closes the space and kisses him, the air from his lungs as Minseok gasps into his mouth. It feels like an eternity before Kyungsoo can catch his breath afterwards. "I do, Minseok."

For once, Kyungsoo doesn't feel like the bumbling best friend that this drama has made him out to be. This time, in this rom-com style of a predictable confession with almost too much love that it’s painful to experience, Kyungsoo is Minseok's equal, more than a co-star or a best friend, and loves him with everything in his heart.