The day before, it was an entire mush of materials coming in and out of the classroom. Those in charge of the backdrops and effects were frantically working whereas the stylists went to the mall to shop for the outfits of the characters. Some of the prop makers also followed suit to get some materials they needed like extra paint, glitter, and more. True, the budget was limited but they made use of it wisely, improvising and finding the best deals in every nook and cranny. Yura still ran on bitter espresso, drinking and refilling Jinyoung’s tumbler constantly. She never got to eat a proper meal, eating only simple snacks to suffice her hunger. That day was the ultimate hustle and bustle atmosphere. Everyone bumping against each other and crankiness was so common that those who fall victim were always replied with indifference, but despite all that, getting the work done was mandatory. It was already very late when they went home, their bodies weighing them down like heavy dumbbells as they carried themselves back to their beds.

Today, Yura came into the set very exhausted yet still trying to not go insane in front of everyone; that was the last thing she planned to do. There was a lot needed to be done that day so there was no room for any drama whatsoever.

Patience is the key here. Patience is a virtue, chanted Yura to herself in her head.

Good luck.

She stood center stage wearing a loose light blue sweater paired with pastel pink culottes and her favorite winged shoes. To her, those were already her “simple” clothes. That girl would cross mountains just to be in style, and exhaustion wasn’t legit enough to stop her.

“Today’s goal is to finish the dress rehearsal and have a good run of the entire play. I expect all the props to be completed and that the actors have already memorized their lines,” she said. “Please be on your respective positions. We will begin once I give the cue.”

The class scattered around the place then went to their spots. Soon, the lights dimmed. Sitting on the director’s chair, she gave the cue. “Begin.”

The stage lit up accompanied by a surprisingly loud moan. The spotlight focused on center stage where the queen could be seen giving birth. The king, his servants, and a random doctor were encouraging her by screaming “Push! Push!”

The queen, legs spread beneath the sheets, sprang up upon seeing Jinyoung and the doctor sticking their heads in to check on her baby.

“Cut!” shouted Yura. The lights instantly went up.

“What’s up, Jong?” she asked.

Still trying to recover from that, Sungjong covered himself with the sheets and said, “Can’t you see they were invading my personal space? Can’t you change the script or something?”

Jinyoung chicly stepped up to defend himself. Shoving his hands in his kingly pockets, he added, “Well, I don’t like looking at your non-existent either; I’m just being professional about it.”

“Why I oughta—“

Before a fight was about to erupt, Yura silenced them by asking the SFX crew to spew out the thunder sounds in the highest volume. The entire room became silent, and it was clear to the two guys that they had to pipe down.

She leaned forward and with her chin resting on her hand, she ordered, “Just deliver the freakin’ baby, yes?”

The lights dimmed once again and they started from the beginning until the giving birth part had been reached. Luckily, it was a success the second time.

“C’mon, it’s almost out, dear!” yelled the king who was staring wide-eyed at the queen’s opening beneath the sheets. The doctor shoved him and easily delivered the Baby Alive donated by Dongwoo.

Cue the crying baby sound effects as Jinyoung held the baby up in the air and slowly rotated. The funny thing was that Sungyeol actually fed the baby beforehand so it peed on Jinyoung’s face.

“The hell?!” exclaimed the president, wiping the piss off his face.

“Phew! My best prank yet.” While the prankster was proud of himself, Jinyoung issued a coffee ban on him for the day.

The rehearsals vigorously went on with a ton of road bumps along the way. Since Sungyeol was unable to meet his caffeine demands, his temper led him to endlessly bicker with Sunggyu. They kept bumping into each other and blaming each other for saying the wrong lines. They were a team but had a lack of coordination at that. Jinyoung and Sungjong weren’t any different either; the two kept sabotaging each other on stage, tipping one another’s crown off, stepping on the each other’s feet and so on. The effects crew on the other hand struggled a bit due to the lack of space backstage but despite that, made up for their minor mistakes. The most decent people were CL and Dongwoo as well as the other minor actors who put their game faces on in every moment. By the end of it all, a frustrated Yura finally decided to call for a lunch break to let off some steam. She was just planning to have some peace and quiet by eating alone until the rival duo came along.

Jinyoung, without even asking permission, sat beside her and ruffled her hair. She moved a bit away from him. Persistently, he scrunched his nose cutely and said, “My princess.”

Yura chuckled uncomfortably. “You cheater.”

Sungjong stepped into the scene looking quite annoyed. He pushed Jinyoung aside and sat on the newly emptied space beside Yura and said, “Yeah, you’re my king. How dare you cheat on me?”

“I only married you because my mother said so!” retorted Jinyoung, starting a role play-fight.

Sungjong chicly flicked his long hair and scoffed. “Mama’s boy.”

“Stop it you two. I just want some rest from all the childish bickering.” Yura sighed as she sipped a cup of espresso. Still, her tiredness was taking its toll making her tip to the side, her head falling on Sungjong’s shoulder. Upon contact, she jolted back up. “D-Don’t m-misunderstand.”

Amused, Sungjong patted her head and smiled. “Aw, sorry Yura. You’ve been working so hard to catch up with our douchebaggery. Even though it’s hard, I won’t fight with that cocky king ‘till the play’s over. And don’t worry, once you see it truly come to life tomorrow, you’ll feel very proud of yourself.”

She grinned. “Thanks, Dude. I mean, my queen.”

The two chuckled. Jinyoung was instantly left out.

Lunch break went by like that. It was just Yura and Sungjong subtly yet comfortably talking while Jinyoung continuously failed in trying to get into their little conversation.

The afternoon set of rehearsals began immediately after lunch with no dillydallying. They still had a lot more to rehearse and Yura was already beginning to fall asleep unintentionally. At some point, she snoozed for twenty minutes but luckily, no one noticed so she let that be her little secret.

During the mid-afternoon five minute break before they were gonna rehearse the kiss scene, two of the fairies went up to Yura begging that they want the kiss scene to be removed. That turned into a negotiation instead.

“We object to that kiss scene,” the two said firmly.

While casually browsing through the script, she replied, “I know. ‘Cause your beloved people are paired with each other.”

If you know then why’d you do it, you sadist, they both thought.

She added, “The essence of the play is the kiss scene that will make the crowd go ‘Oh my gosh! They look so cute together!’”

“No, they don’t look cute together! It’s disgusting! No one will kiss. I can’t approve of this! I am the leader of 60 Seconds and I command you to remove that scene right now!” The entire set heard his little tantrum to his dismay. Everyone chuckled. He shriveled in embarrassment.

Yura was finding it hard to speak amidst laughing her off. “Oh-okay. Tell you what, since you made me laugh, I’ll make Myungsoo kiss something else instead, okay? But tomorrow, it’ll be the real thing.”

“Well, fine,” Sungyeol answered for them both. “We’ll settle for that. For now.” He reeled in Myungsoo who was coincidentally passing by and hugged him so tight that it was suffocating. “’Cause my precious Myungie is precious—“

“Don’t call me Myungie—“

Sungyeol hugged tighter. “Precious Myungie.”

Yura then called for Hyuna then asked her, “Is that alright with you, Hyuna?”

Hyuna approached them and amusingly patted Sunggyu’s back. “Yeah, definitely since Sunggyu obviously dislikes it so much.”

Sunggyu was still too humiliated to say anything.

Yura snapped once to call Sungjong. “Jong, get me your bear. Myungsoo will kiss it as Hyuna’s substitute.”

“Ew! No way!” he complained while stomping loudly. “My bear is special! Myungsoo can never touch it! Never, never, never, never!”

“You wanna be the substitute, then? I bet not so get that bear, please.”

“Fine.” Sungjong gave up, went to his room, and returned with his teddy bear on set.

“Thanks man,” said Yura as she handed the teddy bear to the prod crew.

“I put a mask on it so Myungsoo wouldn’t contaminate it,” Sungjong said.

“Hey, there’s nothing contagious about me,” Myungsoo intruded then did a very handsome pose. “Except for my handsomeness.”

“Then show that so-called “handsomeness” on stage as you kiss that teddy bear. Once we do that, we’re done. We all want to rest so chop chop!” Yura pushed all the actors to the stage then gave the cue for the scene to start.

The teddy bear was laid on the bed with its big black eyes innocently staring at Myungsoo who, on the other hand, was feeling really awkward. As he slowly approached the teddy bear, he looked uneasy. When he pressed his hands against the mattress to support his weight, he closed his eyes and kissed the face mask gently for two seconds then jolted up to yell, “There! It’s done!”

“That was good,” Yura commented. “Even if it was just a bear, I saw some jaws dropping in awe from the prod crew’s side.”

“Cool. Just don’t make me do that again.” Myungsoo stepped out of the stage to drink a ton of water to get rid of the awkwardness within him. The class proceeded to clean up.

“I thank you all for the awesome work and for putting up with me even if I may be lacking. Thank you so much, guys.”

They all applauded with big smiles, happy that they were able to complete the preparations.

She then added, “Please be here at 6 AM. Let’s do great tomorrow!”

The crew raised their fists in the air and shouted, “Yeah!” 

The play is nearing. Let's see how the scenes will play out, yeah? :)

Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoyed it~! :D