Jae Uck

G a n g n a m - g u 

A slither of sunlight peeked through his blackout curtains as Mooryang moved quickly along the hems, hissing as it tried to escape Daum's playful chase. 

The clock on Jae Uck's bedside table blinked 6:59 a.m. As the clock turned to 7, his phone buzzed - signalling that bedtime was over. Jae Uck let out a groan, and tossed his duvet over his head. A hand shot out from underneath the covers as he d around for his phone and unapologetically turned the alarm off. Mornings were no friend of his.

Daum let out a playful woof and Mooryang hissed and jumped around at the foot of his bed. "Sh**bal.....sikeuroo... two of you..." he mumbled, his head still buried in his pillows. He flipped the covers, opened an eye and sleepily reached for his phone. 2 missed calls from Seon-hae, his manager.

He swore yet again, drawing it out into yet another groan as he stretched his body. "Grrrrrr.......aaahhh". He sat up. Hair tussled, and overall, feeling very grumpy.

Hell to mornings, honestly. 

.

.

Suddenly his eyes opened wide. He recalled his last conversation with Seon-hae last night. Goddamit. The car would be here in 30 minutes.

He instinctively reached for his pack of cigarettes. Popping a stick from the pack, he lit up and took a long drag, and breathed out. That was the energy he needed to get out of bed and start the day.

Unhurriedly, he finished the stick, stubbing it in the crystal ashtray El gave him for Christmas. 

His phone buzzed again flashing the devil emoji. His longsuffering manager, Seon-hae. "Ne... I'm awake... I'll be down in abit." Jae Uck wasted no time for niceties - especially not this early in the morning.

He could hear Seon-hae sigh. This was standard routine whenever there were morning call times. Seon-hae knew he was persona non grata to Jae Uck for at least the first hour post getting out of bed.

Without waiting for a response, Jae Uck ended the call and proceeded to his bathroom to get ready. Thank god his stylist permed his hair two days ago. He ran a hand through his curled hair and rubbed in some wax. That was all that was needed for the waves to come to life. Checking the mirror one last time, he tested out his morning smile. Ugh. Abit more sleep in the car would do the trick.

Slipping on a dark blue sweater as he multitasked giving Daum and Mooryang their breakfast, his worn script held in his mouth as he used both his hands to give them their bowls of kibble, he could just hear the crackling of the gravel outside as his car rolled up the road. 

Just as the door of his black van slid open, revealing his stylist and Seon-hae, Jae Uck opened the lobby door of his apartment and walked slowly to the car. 

"Ya, yiruma, do you think you're walking the runway or something? Balli - we're going to be late, schools are in session. There will be traffic on Gangnam-daero..." Seon-hae shouted from the drivers' seat as he beckoned for him to hurry up. 

"Ssshh shhh.. hyung, the less you complain, the quicker we can leave alright.." Jae Uck muttered as he settled into the backseat and closed his eyes. 

That was the signal for the car to be quiet as Jae Uck got the last 20 minutes of sleep he needed on the way to the table read for "Her Private Life".

Min Young

T V N  S t u d i o s

As her manager, summarised her schedule for the day, Min Young flipped through her taped, highlighted, notarised script for Episode 1, trying to cut out the voices around her as visualised Deok Mi as a character in her head.

They had arrived slightly earlier than expected and decided to remain in the van whilst waiting for the appropriate time to go up. Every time her team made her sit in the van to wait for the "appropriate time", Min Young would sigh in resignation. She never understood why there was this need to ensure that, as the top billed actress, she should never be too early, nor too late. 

"So, after the table read, we've got to head back to Sinsa for that shoot with Shiseido..." manager Ji Sung droned on and on. Min Young lost focus as she spotted an early cherry blossom tree, backlit by the morning sun. She smiled. Mornings were the best part of the day. Everything seemed so much more promising, more hopeful, in the morning. 

"Cha..I think we should get out now.." Ji Sung said, checking his watch. Finally. Min Young wriggled her legs to shake some life into them, and stepped out into the crisp, early spring air.

"Ahh... cho-aa. Spring is my favourite time of year." Min Young took in a deep breath of early spring air as she walked towards the towering CJ E&M Building that housed the TVN Studio offices. As her entourage approached the revolving door entrance, she spotted a group of people walking in the same direction. Within that group, a slightly taller figure of a man stood out. Slightly slouched, with hands in his pockets. She shaded her eyes, squinting in the sun, trying to see who that might be.

Before she could figure it out, the group arrived at the entrance at the same time. 

Jae Uck 

"Oh? Oh.. Anyeonghasaeyo! Fancy bumping into you here. Just in time as well!" Seon-hoe exclaimed, stepping out in front of Jae Uck to shake Ji Sung's hand profusely as he gave a slight bow in deference to the older Korean manager.

Jae Uck, who was lost in his thoughts, mind far away into the character of Ryan Gold, was shaken from his reverie. "Mwo ya--" he muttered, slightly irritated that his characterisation exercise was interrupted by Seon-hoe's sudden movement in front of him.

"Oh Anyeonghasaeyo Seon-hoe ssi, good to see you after all this time." Ji Sung and Seon-hoe exchanged greetings, shaking hands and trying to outdo each other with their bows.

As his eyes focussed, and his brain started to function in the real world again, his gaze fell on a slight, petite female frame, standing slightly behind Ji Sung, as culture would dictate.

"After many years hearing about you, and seeing you onscreen, we finally meet, Park Min Young." he thought.

"I'm sure she needs no introduction but, Min-young ssi, this is Seon-hoe, baeu Kim Jae Uck's manager, and of course, the man himself, Kim Jae Uck ssi, mannaseo bangabseubnida, nice to finally meet you!" Ji Sung stepped backwards to give parties the chance to exchange greetings. Jae Uck, still half into being Ryan Gold circa Episode 1, made no move to shake her hand. Hands still in his pockets, he nodded slightly in her direction, "Oh, Anyeonghasaeyo." He lowered his gaze.

She was indeed, as beautiful as they said, if not better.

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