A meeting was held in MBC studio between 2 agencies. An SM entertainment representative was present as well as the Pledis vice president. The two agencies were in the final stages of negotiation to produce a blockbuster movie starring their most famous actors. 

 

 

Pledis had been approached by MBC from the very beginning of the project. Apparently, the main character, Joonu, was created to mirror a young famous Pledis actor. Mingyu had been a common name in the industry for over 10 years ever since his breakout role as a mentally impaired delinquent in his early teens. 

 

 

Now, MBC had been pursuing Mingyu to play the leading male, Joonu, a young and handsome big-shot CEO of a well-known company who runs and underground smuggling business. The basic plot of this movie revolves around the blossoming romance between Joonu and his newly hired female assistant, Minyeong who happens to be his greatest enemy's only daughter. 

 

 

Like Joonu, Minyeong's character was created with a specific actress in mind. The producer and writer of the movie had been eyeing a new rising actress from SM entertainment named Joy. Minyeong's character requires a talented actress who could play a sweet and innocent young lady oblivious to the harsh truths of the big bad world. 

 

 

This movie had been long anticipated by the public ever since rumours of a possible movie starring both Mingyu and Joy had surfaced. Apparently, it was a couple that the public greatly fantasised about, Mingyu's polished acting accompanied by Joy's raw and natural emotions seemed like a match made in heaven.

 

 

Well to the eyes of the public that are. 

 

 

Everyone present for the first meeting between the confirmed actors and movie officials knew about the initial dispute from the two camps.

 

 

Apparently, Mingyu had caused a fuss after seeing his leading lady. "Couldn't you get a better actress for the role? She is inexperienced and horrible at executing the basic techniques required in acting."

 

 

Joy's shoulders began to shake in fury. "Inexperienced, fair enough. I've only been acting professionally for 2 years now so I would understand if you think I'm inexperienced."

 

 

Joy took another breath before continuing, "However, I would not accept being called horrible by the same person who couldn't even cry on command in his first major role."

 

 

Oh burn.

 

 

A deadly silence filled the room as the atmosphere begun to turn from bad to worse. 

 

 

Mingyu was well known for being a little too arrogant. Many had speculated that Mingyu had grown arrogant due to the fame he received from the very beginning of his career. 

 

 

This was in complete opposite of Joy who literally started from the very bottom of the industry. Joy had begun her career in acting as one of those nameless extras walking on sets merely used as a prop. This caused Joy to remain grounded despite her recent success with her latest drama. Many had expressed their desire to work with her due to her can-do attitude, however, she was also well known for her fiery attitude which usually makes it almost impossible for her to back down from a fight. 

 

 

This marked the beginning of the game with the scores: Joy: 1. Mingyu: 0.

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

As usual, Mingyu had once again arrived late to the set. The first sets of filming were supposed to commence at 7am, however, their leading actor had decided to come to the filming site at 11am to catch extra sleep from their previous late night shooting. 

 

 

"You look crap, you should sleep more," Mingyu commented at the sleep deprived actress. "Once you reach my level of acting, you can arrive late to shooting and everyone wouldn't care less."

 

 

Joy head snapped to look at the leisurely walking actor, "Your level? was as in underground or none-existing?" 

 

 

"Haters gonna hate." He smiled in response, "At least I don't look sleep deprived looking like some beggar."

 

 

Joy looked at him in response before scoffing, "At least I don't have to take off my shirt to attract teenage hormonal teenage girls to my movies for it to be a blockbuster." 

 

 

"Hey, I did that because it was a dare from a friend," Mingyu replied in his defense. He stepped closer to her, leaning in with a smirking face. "You know what? I bet you were one of those 'hormonal teens' you probably enjoyed looking at my body. To be fair I don't blame you, you're not the only one who wants to touch my rock hard abs." 

 

 

Joy gave an exaggerated vomiting sound before walking to her dressing room to change. 

 

 

The staff near the two had all smiled as they watched the boy gave the retreating a girl a final glance before heading off to his own dressing room with a victorious grin painted on his face. Somehow, despite the hostility between the two professional actors, no one can deny the alluring chemistry from the two leading actors. 

 

 

Tied. Joy 1, Mingu 1. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Somehow, the filming remained ahead of schedule despite constant delays from their leading male who had always failed to arrive on time. 

 

 

Today, they were to film the final scenes of the movie where Joonu and Minyeong were to confess their undying love to each other as they were forced to separate as Minyeong's father captured the boy. 

 

 

The air on the set was tense, Mingyu and Joy had automatically arrived at the set on character almost immediately. The two had been on good terms lately, saving their usual banter after filming. So it was no surprise that the two had made a beeline to each other upon their arrival to quickly go over their lines. The two walked to her dressing room with a script in hand.

 

 

The two had agreed that this was the scene that could make or break this movie franchise. This scene required the pure emotion from the two characters who have fallen deeply in love with each other. 

 

 

"No stop!" Joy yelled to no one in particular as she pretended to trash in someone's hold. "Don't hurt him." 

 

 

Mingyu laid on the floor looking up to Joy wincing from the hit that his character would have received from the previous scene, "Minyeong? Is that you Minyeong? You're alive?" 

 

 

Joy moved closer to the boy on the floor kneeling beside him placing his head on her lap before caressing his face, "Joonu, it's me. It's Minyeong." 

 

 

 

Joy grabbed his left hand and placed it right above her heart, allowing him to feel the steady beat of her heart, "I'm alive." 

 

 

Mingyu lifted his hand and caressed her face lovingly, as written on the script held in his right hand, "I'm glad. I'm glad you're safe." 

 

 

"It's all because of you." Joy smiled bitterly pressing her forehead onto his as intimately as she could. 

 

 

In that very brief moment, Mingyu had seen Joy's eyes staring directly at his. Her brown orbs demanding his full attention. Her eyes oozed with so much raw emotion that he felt like he was drowning. Yet her eyes remained gentle, twinkling under the light as she begun to cry as planned within the script. 

 

 

An uneasy feeling grew in Mingyu's stomach. Seeing Joy cry had somehow struck a cord in his body. It didn't feel right. It made him feel restless as if he needed to do something to ensure that the girl in front of him would never cry again. His heart bled as he continued to look at her spilling tears. 

 

 

Without even knowing, his thumb moved on its own accord and wiped her tears from her cheek. 

 

 

"That's not part of the script." This snapped Mingyu back to the reality. Back to the practice, back to the script that fell from his other hand. Realising the awkward atmosphere, Mingyu quickly retreated his hand from the side of her face.

 

 

Joy looked at him with a worried expression. "You're next line is supposed to be 'I would do anything to stop you from getting hurt. Anything' Are you okay? do you need a break?" 

 

 

"I know my lines." Mingyu attempted to act composed. "I was just thinking what I should do to make the scene more believable." 

 

 

"You mean to act outside the script?" Joy looked at him with wide eyes. "You can do that? You don't get scolded?" 

 

 

"Yeah," Mingyu looked away, pretending to not care, "Once you  have enough experience, like me, then maybe directors will learn to trust you with impromptu lines or scenes." 

 

 

Joy scoffed at the reappearance of Mingyu's infamous ego, "Whatever. You are so full of yourself." 

 

 

Mingyu patted Joy's head in a mocking manner, accidentally noticing how soft and smooth her hair really was.  Joy looked at him with an irritated expression, quickly brushing off his hand from her head. Mingyu laughed at her actions before adding another statement "I can help you with that if you want." 

 

 

Mingyu smiled in triumph as the girl merely rolled her eyes before wandering off to the distance. 

 

 

Joy 1, Mingyu 2.

 

 

---

 

 

 

Mingyu worriedly glanced to his leading lady's changing room. She must have cast an ugly spell on him . Mingyu just couldn't believe that the inexperienced actress could portray such raw emotion from very get go.

 

 

Her presence suffocated him. He felt as if he couldn't breathe when he was next to her. He felt vulnerable and he didn't like it. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

A few hours had passed since the start of the shooting for the important scene. The scene itself had been filmed 20 times, each time there was something wrong with the male lead. This proves the director's meticulous nature. 

 

 

Joy stood there in awe, she had never seen her co-star commit so many mistakes. She would never say it out loud but she does look up to Mingyu, his professionalism and use of acting techniques is subpar to none. However with all the mistakes he is committing, people could easily assume that she was, in fact, the Sunbae between the two. 

 

 

Mingyu was a nervous wreck. He had never needed to have 20 takes on a single scene alone in his previous movies before. In almost all of the scenes, the director had complained about his delivery of the script and his almost non-existing facial expression. 

 

 

To Mingyu's defence, he didn't want to show any type of facial expression in the first place. He didn't want a repeat of what had previously happened in their practice. He didn't want to see her cry like she did before. He didn't want to drown in her tears. He didn't want to be so vulnerable especially in front of the camera like that.

 

 

He wasn't ready to look in her eyes and let go of his iron grip on his emotions. 

 

 

"Cut!" The director yelled frustratedly for the 21st time.

 

 

"Hey Mingyu, are you sure you're okay?" Mingyu's manager had approached him with a worried look. "We can take a break if you need it." 

 

 

"No, it's okay," Mingyu replied with a weak smile. "I'm just new to all this." 

 

 

His manager had laughed at his reply. " New? What are you talking about? You've done a million of scenes similar to these. Heck, you even had a bed scene in one of your previous movies. How is this scene any different?"

 

 

"I don't know," Mingyu replied while absentmindedly looking at his female co-star reviewing her script. "I really don't know." 

 

 

Once the short break was over, Mingyu had walked back on the scene with a new mindset. The director had a small chat with him. The director had given Mingyu instructions to 'let go'. Mingyu didn't necessarily understand what he had meant with those words but he took it as a sign to be vulnerable. To be fully immersed into his character who was madly in love with Joy's character. 

 

 

Taking a deep breath, Mingyu went to his position and begun shooting the most important scene.

 

 

Joy had begun to film with tears in her eyes, fully immersed by her grieving character. "No stop." She yelled seeing the man of her dream getting beat by her infamous father's henchmen. "Do not hurt him!" 

 

 

Putting up a brave face, Joy orders the men to leave them alone in his cold and clammy cell. The men looked at each other and hesitated between following the boss' orders or risk upsetting the boss' precious daughter. The men gave Joonu a  kick to his beaten side before quickly exiting the room to give the two a much-needed privacy.

 

 

Mingyu's body were laid on the floor, beaten and bruised all over. Seeing the once cold and all power business tycoon so beaten made Joy wince. Her hands carefully checking up on all the visible bruises that the boy displayed on his black and blue body. 

 

 

Mingyu's eyes widen in surprise. She wasn't supposed to touch him until much later in the scene. Her actions were out of the script. 

 

 

He flashed a small smile to no one in particular. He can definitely see that the girl was a quick learner, however, her somewhat intimate action had him cowering. Her actions felt genuine and her solemn face echoed his speculation. This scared him. 

 

 

If Joy didn't know better, those bruises looked real enough to make her touches even more gentle than possible. Her fingers would send electricity across Mingyu's body leaving him with a swarm of butterflies dancing wildly to the increased beat of his elated heart. Mingyu closed his eyes shut for awhile, once again attempting to control his raw emotions.

 

 

"Minyeong? Is that you Minyeong? you're alive?" Mingyu responded hoping to quickly finish filming. 

 

 

Mingyu's eyes locked with Joy's tearful ones. He could see the pain in her eyes, it was a pity that the camera couldn't capture such excellent acting. 

 

 

Once again, the leading lady took things into her own hands and deviated from the script. Joy took Mingyu's hand and flushed it right against her tear stained cheek. 

 

 

If Mingyu had thought that their previous skinship had bothered him slightly, then this loving gesture caused his chaos in his mind and body. He could literally feel his stomach flip, his heart race and his mind going haywire. This girl had made him feel even more uncomfortable in this scene than any other talented co-star in more intimate scenes. And he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. 

 

 

Leaning into his cold palm, Joy continued with her practiced dialogue, "Joonu, I'm me. It's Minyeong." Closing her eyes, seemingly savouring his hand on her face, Joy moved his hand from her cheek to her chest where her beating heart lies. "I'm alive." 

 

 

Mingyu had felt even more uncomfortable (if possible) with the change of position. His hand was dangerously close to brushing against some of her private body parts. However after awhile his uncomfortable feeling had eased away after feeling and listening to the steady beat of her heart. 

 

 

It had somehow taken over all of his senses. Closing his eyes, Mingyu attempted to memorise the rhythm of her heartbeat, fully emerged by the peaceful reassuring thump of her life. 

 

 

A smile crept on Mingyu's beaten face fully content while listening to her heart beat. It was so intoxicating that he felt as if he was being drawn into the unknown yet very addicting territory. He suddenly felt the need to constantly listen to the rise and fall of her chest. 

 

 

Mingyu removed his hand from her chest to hold hers tightly, "I'm glad. I'm really glad you're safe. I feel like I've done my job." 

 

 

The two had now basically thrown the script into the air. Acting upon the cues that both the actors gave off each other. And little by little the line between fake and reality begins to blur. 

 

 

Mingyu couldn't hide the fact that her hand had oddly fitted in his. Their hands almost seemed as if it was created to be in each other grasp.  Mingyu looked at his co-star and felt her hand return his light squeeze, he knew that she most definitely felt the same.

 

 

Joy leaned in flushing her forehead intimately against Mingyu's, "It's all because of you." Leaning even closer, the tip of their noses had touched, sending another wave of electricity throughout their bodies. "I have never thanked you properly for what you've done for me. I know you have been protecting me from my father in secret. I know that you kept me close because you were afraid that I might disappear one day. I know it all now. Thank you." 

 

 

With a graceful dip, Joy had planted a short kiss on Mingyu's lips, "For everything you've done for me, thank you." Breaking their kiss, Joy had resumed her previous position, foreheads flushed against each other, noses brushing against each other with a genuine smile plastered on his face. 

 

 

Mingyu was in a daze but he was still sober enough to see the glint of satisfaction in her eyes. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The staff remained quiet. Some of the staff were, in fact, holding their breaths in anticipation for what would happen next. When the actors began to go against the script, the atmosphere had begun to change. It was as if their chemistry was away all the oxygen from the air, suffocating the staff with their bold yet real actions. 

 

 

The director had a small smile on his face as he watches the scene eagerly looking forward to the next turn of events. He smiled to his producer who looked at the two actors with her jaw hanging wide, she didn't expect these to happen yet she dared not to interrupt the two immersed professionals. 

 

 

They were in their world. And at that time no one else mattered but each other. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

"I am willing to do anything to keep you safe," Mingyu smiled in return, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride once he saw her cheeks redden slightly. "Even if it means getting beaten up black and blue." 

 

 

Mingyu knew that the filming for the scene should have ended long ago. However, their gazes kept each other interested. Mingyu's eyes remained glued to Joy's taunting lips which curved up in a teasing manner not visible by the cameras. 

 

 

Not liking feeling inferior, Mingyu leaned in and covered her smile with his lips. His remained glued to hers in an intimate manner. The kiss started off as innocent and unmoving, however as a couple of seconds passed, the kiss developed into something more. It became hungry, needy to the point that it felt greedy. Their initial tension was released into waves of intoxicating chemistry that had the staff suffocating. 

 

 

"Ahem." The director had coughed louder than necessary grabbing the attention of their two actors. "I have yelled cut over 3 times now. As much as it is nice to see you guys in good terms, if you want to continue your 'little something' then I suggest you get a room...preferably after shooting." 

 

 

Their intoxicating fantasy quickly came crashing down.

 

 

Joy: 1. Mingyu: 2. Director: 1.

 

 

This caused the two to instantly untangle their body from each other. With a visible blush behind their faces, the two bowed their heads and apologised to the now giggling staff. 

 

 

The director smiled at the two, "I didn't expect that from you two but good job. It was unexpectantly emotional." He walked closer to the two actors standing side by side on set, "Just next time don't repeat it again. I seriously thought you were eating each other. Too much tongue movement for a film directed for late-teens to mid-twenties audiences. 

 

 

The eyes of the two widened in response to their director's statement. If possible, the two begun to blush even redder. 

 

 

The director walked off with a smug on his face. 

 

 

Joy: 1. Mingyu: 2. Director: 2. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

It wasn't a surprise to see the two actors arriving at the set hand in hand the very next day. Albeit, the constant yelling and tantrums between the two, the staff had all expected the two to 'fit off' after their previous incident. 

 

 

"All right, let's get the show on the road folks. Last take." The director had signaled the staff to head on over to the set to shoot the final scene. "Someone call the lovebirds before they have too much time on their hands and begin each other's face off." 

 

 

Mingyu pouted as he walked to the set, "Hey we never did that." 

 

 

"Whatever, I thought you were some sort of vacuum." The director sassily replied to the tall leading man. The staff had all laughed after hearing the director tease the actor. 

 

 

Who knew that the director can be this sassy. 

 

 

Joy: 1. Mingyu: 2. Director: 3. 

 

 

But at this point, who was counting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A/N: 

Hey, what's up, friends! I know this one took ages!!! I was really busy so I had no time to sit around and write this chapter bu I still finished it so yay! 

I am so terribly sorry for those who expected this to be about a collab between the two characters but my mind just couldn't fathom how to do it. Like I had to re-white this chapter 3-4 times. So I sincerely apologise to everyone.

Once I get around it I would want to write about this couple again. I have a plan for them for my next project. 

Anyways I will be back to school again soon so goodbye to quicker updates! (PS. someone needs to demolish my school. Please I don't want to go back to school.)

PLEASE DO COMMENT BECAUSE I LOVE COMMENTS!! THEY MAKE MY LIFE SO MUCH BETTER! THEY ENCOURAGE ME TO WRITE BETTER SO LET'S LEAVE LOTS OF COMMENTS BELOW OKAY?? 

(P.S I will update my other fic next. I miss Joy and Scoups.)