It was his stillness that made the dam that was holding back her tears collapse. Or was it the sight of his face? With his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted? It was difficult to comprehend what was happening. It was too much. Everything was too much. Through blurry eyes, she tried to do something… anything to save him. This person who had willingly cared for her and saw her for just as she was. But in the end, all that was left was him in her arms as she cried her heart out.

He left me… Was all she could think of. The sobs became louder as tears fell down her cheeks. Her whole body buzzed and then became numb and all she could feel was the pain and devastation he gave her at that very moment.

The sound of sirens blared as police cars arrived at the scene. She couldn’t care enough to look up. And she only held him tighter.

“And… cut!” The director yelled but it was as if Lisa was out of her mind. It should be easy to switch back to her normal self but she simply couldn’t stop crying.

“Yah…” Seung Hyun spoke softly as he sat up. Lisa glanced at him and she sobbed even harder.

Burrowing her face in her hands, she felt a hand on her shoulder and then heard him ask, “Is it really that sad?”

Her manager handed her a towel and a bottle of water as Seung Hyun gently patted her back. Without saying anything, he wrapped a reassuring arm around her and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. It took a few moments before she finally regained control of her emotions. She looked up to see everyone watching her amusedly.

“I’m so sorry.” She half-cried, half-chuckled and the director grinned as he gave her a thumbs up. Doing the scene in only three takes just because of different camera angles was a great feat to achieve.

“You did a very good job, Lisa. You too, Seung Hyun. Let’s wrap tonight’s shoot and see you all tomorrow.” The director was smiling goofily—as if he was happy about the outcome of the shoot and couldn’t wait to rest early.

Lisa and Seung Hyun both stood up from the ground as assistants gathered around them to give more towels and bottles of water. She felt sticky and sweaty and was relieved that someone could help her. They watched the playback of the last take and Lisa did feel good about the outcome. Glancing at Seung Hyun, she saw him looking at her with red-rimmed eyes as if he was about to cry and she put on her widest grin despite still feeling in-character. She just wanted to make the atmosphere lighter and she wasn’t disappointed when he gave one in return.

“You were really amazing earlier.” He said as they and their entourage walked back to their respective trailers. “I almost cried but I couldn’t.”

“Must be nice to just sleep while I cry my heart and throat out.” They both chuckled at the same time and then Seung Hyun’s gaze softened.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I’m okay, oppa.” She smiled at him again—suddenly feeling shy at his show of concern.

Lisa felt grateful he was looking out for her. He had been so attentive since they started filming together two weeks ago. But he wasn’t particularly chatty at the beginning since he tried to be in-character most of the time—quiet and brooding. To be very honest, she found him quite intimidating when acting and in-between takes since he had a presence that would make anyone feel small. But then he would match the personality of his character based on the level of their characters’ relationship as well. Just a few days ago, they filmed all the scenes in this location in Bangkok and these were mostly towards the end of the movie. And so Seung Hyun was more talkative, more open and caring than he was at the beginning. And that night was the last shoot in this location before they move on to the next.

After changing her clothes, Lisa quickly hopped inside the van headed back to the hotel. Seung Hyun shared the van with her whenever they would film together. He somewhat looked like a different person without the blood and bruises and Lisa felt her heart drop to her stomach at the thought of his character once more.

“You just sighed very loudly.” He remarked when he glanced up from his phone.

“I just thought of Won and I’m sad again.” She referred to his character’s name and Seung Hyun smiled—his eyes glinting mischievously.

“Then you must really like Won.”

Lisa rolled her eyes as she chuckled. “Now I know how you felt like when you did your crying scene in Tazza.”

“The director teased me relentlessly because my snot kept on running down my nose.” He said so casually and Lisa found herself laughing out loud.

“You did not!”

“Yes, I did! It made me look really unattractive… tears, snot, and all that.” He was grinning then as he leaned his back more comfortably on the seat.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t drop any on your face.” Lisa commented and there was a moment of awkward silence before the two erupted into a fit of laughter—along with their managers sitting with them.

Lisa’s phone buzzed and her face instantly lit up as soon as she answered in a chirpy, “Ma!”

The other people in the car were quiet as Lisa conversed in Thai with her mother. The phone call was quite short and Lisa was beaming once it ended.

“I know it’s kinda late in the evening but my mother wants to invite you all to dinner.” The hopefulness in her voice was apparent and Seung Hyun and their two managers were just staring at her. “We’re leaving Bangkok tomorrow morning and this would be the last chance I’d get to see her before we fly back to Seoul on Friday.”

“Okay.” Jung Hwa replied in a lively tone. “I love your mother’s cooking.”

“Actually, my dad’s cooking tonight.”

“Whoa! Really? A global master chef cooking for us?” Her manager’s eyes went wide and Lisa chuckled.

Seung Hyun perked up at that information. “Your dad’s a master chef?”

“Yeah. He specializes in Thai and Swiss cuisine.”

After agreement from all the party involved, Lisa quickly told her address to the driver and they arrived at her house in twenty minutes.

Her mother greeted them from the foyer with a smile that Lisa mostly resembled. After a tight embrace, her mother’s gaze fell on the visitors—her eyes widening at the sight of the handsome man standing awkwardly at her doorstep.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. TOP!” Her mother held out a hand as she shook hands with Seung Hyun who bowed politely. “I’m Chitthip, Lisa’s mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. Please call me Seung Hyun.” He spoke in English as well and Lisa thought how attractive he sounded in that language.

“Ah, yes. Mr. Seung Hyun. I’m a fan.”

“Just Seung Hyun, please.” His face flushed and Lisa could only suppress her giggle at his embarrassment.

Lisa also introduced Seung Hyun’s manager, Hong Il, and all of them went inside. Their house wasn’t particularly big but it was warm and homely starting right from the front door. The bright walls framed with pictures of their family had been an integral part of their house for as long as Lisa could remember. And those pictures weren’t taken for granted as three curious pairs of eyes roamed from one photo to the next.

“You looked like a boy.” Hong Il pointed at a photo of a 12-year-old Lisa and she instantly cringed at the fact that there were so many childhood photos of her displayed for them to see. “Puberty really hit you like a truck, eh?”

“Tell me about it.” She replied with a laugh and then ushered them to sit around the dining table.

A very tall gentleman came in from the kitchen wearing a chef’s uniform and Lisa had to stand on her tiptoes to hug him. He seemed scary at first glance with his imposing height and sharp features. But Lisa’s father was a big softie, an actual teddy bear who had come to love and care for her as his own daughter. Even at almost 70, he was still strong and astute—spending most of his time working in the kitchen and managing his business.

After another round of introductions, Lisa’s father did a menu briefing and the guests were clearly excited at the idea of having a master chef’s food in his own home. The four-course meal was served by none other than her dad himself and Lisa almost felt like crying at how she missed his cooking. The caviar gourmet was exquisite and they spent most of the dinner in conversation—with her mom asking a lot of questions.

“What made you accept the movie role?” She asked Seung Hyun who was quietly eating a piece of lamb meat.

He finished chewing first and his lips formed in a straight line as he thought of his answer in English.

“I already considered it and I decided to do… because I wanted to work with…” He paused as his eyes briefly glanced at Lisa. “...the director and the cast.”

“I see. Lisa doesn’t want to tell me about the story because she wants me to be surprised when I watch it.” Her mother chuckled and Jung Hwa suddenly choked on her food. Hong Il was the one who handed her a glass of water.

“So they don’t know?” She asked in Korean as she eyed Lisa suspiciously.

Lisa seemed to be at a loss. “Don’t know what?”

“That you two will be filming romantic scenes together?” It was Lisa’s turn to cough out the wine she was drinking. Her eyes found Seung Hyun who was looking down at his food and chewing very slowly and then to her parents who were looking at her confusedly. She was glad neither of them spoke Korean or else…

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter