Paint is cracked on Soyul's door. Elevators frighten her and apartment walls are too thin, so instead she resides in a very old, very cheap house. She prefers gardening over cleaning, and the spiders that drop from their web to peer over at Minyoung are met with barely a flinch from the woman who has seen it all before. Old and rusted or not it was still her second home, and as the door creaked open and Soyul's warm eyes met with the actress, her shoulders relaxed for what felt like the first time in a century.

"He actually said it? Just-- straight out in the open, just like that?" Soyul later interrupted over a bag of chips to Minyoung, who was busy hitting her head with pillows as she retold the events of the afternoon.

"Yeah."

"I knew it! I totally knew it, I-- and then what did he say?!"

There was a whine in her voice as she spoke. "He just basically said... that he was sorry, y'know? That... when we were kids... he wasn't really a nice kid, and he didn't learn to change that until he got a bit older... and he said that it that we can't change the past, but-- until he can figure out how to build a time machine, we're kind of stuck with the present that we've been given." She scoffed, dropping the plush onto the floor as she dragged her feet toward the kitchen, hoping to find anything that would occupy aside from this story.

Soyul clearly wasn't ready to allow her such a privilege. "And--?"

"And he thinks... he thinks we should make the most of it."

The younger paused, taking a moment to calm herself as she let the words sink in. "I think that maybe he's right."

Minyoung merely glanced.

The air was filled with an uncomfortable silence unfamiliar to the best friends and the elder was quick to change the topic. "I'm so annoyed they made Kang lose his memory after everything that happened. This always happens in dramas! If it's not death, it's memory loss-- every single time!"

"I don't know. I feel like it kind of works in this case," Soyul decided, realising she could use the drama as a comparison. "It puts Minkyung in a position where she could easily walk away-- I mean, Kang had given her this genuine, serious confession, and it put such a burden on her because she was afraid to admit she liked him... and then he gets hurt and forgets who she is. Her life could go back to normal now if that's what she wanted. If she really wanted it, they could be strangers."

Minyoung paused, a frown forming on her face as she spun back around to face Soyul with a bottle of banana milk in her hand. She had a feeling her friend hadn't really moved on from the previous subject of conversation at all.

"But she doesn't do that. It helps her realise that she doesn't just have feelings for him because he liked her first... she just honestly likes him. She doesn't even care about the superstitions any more, because she's realised that the only thing worse than walking away from love is pretending that you don't want to look back."

"I know what you're doing, Soyul."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Minkyung's situation is different. I don't want to look back. I'm not pretending."

Soyul wrinkled her nose in disapproval before giving a bitter laugh. "You're amazing. You've gotten so used to acting that now you're even trying to lie to me."

She groaned, storming back toward the sofa where she flopped herself back down in defeat. "Listen. I have the chance to make him pay. This is it, Soyul-- don't you get it? Fifteen years of thinking I wasn't good enough... now I finally have the power!"

"Yeah. You have the power to make things right. Unnie, if someone treats you like garbage, you're not meant to avenge them. You're meant to pity them and hope that their life gets better, because nobody would behave like that unless they were used to receiving the same treatment themselves."

"But--"

"And it was once. He was a kid. You were a kid. You can't-- how many times do I have to tell you? He apologised! He's trying to make it up to you, and you're not letting him! It's like-- it's-- alright. You're being an idiot, so I'm going to explain it another way. Remember the dog I used to have, Luffy? Remember that time when he was a pup and he bit your hand so hard that it bled?"

Minyoung pulled a face at the memory. "Yeah, I remember. Lucky he was cute, the little punk--!"

"He was a difficult pup, yes - and then I trained him and he began to learn right behaviour from wrong. He ended up liking you a lot, didn't he?"

"Who wouldn't..." she joked with another sip of her milk.

"So just because he bit you before he knew it was wrong, did you hate him for the rest of his life? When he got sick, did you bite his hand for payback?"

"No, of course n--" she began, though as she realised the analogy Soyul was getting to, she decided it best not to finish the sentence at all.

"My dog was a pup. Hakyeon was seven. Why are you still acting as if we're in elementary school?"

Soyul had a point. She always did, but Minyoung couldn't help but give a weak sigh as she rested her drink on the table. "I've already gone too far. I don't... know... how I can turn back now." 

"So let him help you. Let him buy you coffee sometimes and share jokes together. He's not a bad person, unnie, and neither are you." She folded her arms. "I know that you like him, and he's been working so hard for so long just to give you guys a clean slate... are you going to accept it or not?"

* * *

It was the second last script-reading the Vanishing Points cast would have, and it was no secret that the staff were feeling sentimental. They were making an effort to make the day as enjoyable and memorable as possible before everyone would, in a few days time, be forced to part ways. That was why when the main writer noticed the look of nervousness on Hakyeon's face as the director narrated the kiss scene that would occur in the episode, he decided to suggest a game.

"It's called the paper kissing game," he explained enthusiastically, walking over to a cabinet to take out a fresh piece of paper. "You have to pass the sheet between each other and then drop it onto the table, but you aren't allowed to use your hands. You have to use your lips."

Hakyeon ran the back of his thumb against his lip subconsciously as his fellow cast members laughed their approval. "We don't have to do this," he whispered to Minyoung, whose brows were furrowed deep in thought.

"Wait, let's film it! Use this plate to drop the sheets-- the fans loved the behind the scenes footage. Hold on a second - I'll call in the camera crew."

"We're filming it?" Minyoung repeated in disbelief and her co-star winced. He could only imagine how uncomfortable she must be to have to do this after what he had told her the previous day; it had, after all, been the reason she had stood up and left the cafe without even finishing her drink. He sighed at the memory. Had he known the crew would force them into such a game, he wouldn't have confessed in the first place - and from the other end of the table, Eunyoung lowered her head sadly in the same thought.

Two cameramen entered the room and the moment they signalled filming had began, Minyoung made her decision as to how she was going to behave: as a professional, not an elementary school student.

...Though perhaps it would have been wise to have informed Hakyeon of that in advance.

Shouts of "Are you alright?!" "Careful, careful!" and "Look at Eunyoung's face!" later, the cast and crew had left laughing while the two co-stars remained in the room with the suggestion that they go over the script a few more times.

As the door closed, Hakyeon hung his head in embarrassment for a few moments before standing up almost accusingly. "What was that?!" he couldn't hide the tug of a smile from his face, oblivious to her walking briskly towards him. "I saw your face when he brought it up, so I was trying to get us out of it, but--"

His words were cut short by Minyoung's hands cupping his cheek and the back of his head. It felt like barely a split second when suddenly her lips were against his and he dropped the script in shock, stumbling back slightly. He couldn't help but wonder for a moment whether she had slipped and this was an accident, though as time ticked past and Minyoung's fingers were still softly running through his hair, he found his hand slowly reaching to meet her lower back as he finally allowed himself to enjoy the taste of her lips. They broke apart gently and Minyoung lowered her gaze for a moment before saying quietly, "Practice."