Bo Young arrived much earlier than planned, not because she was eagerly anticipating their rehearsal, but rather, she had a restless night. Truth be told, she hardly slept. After Hyung Sik dropped her home and walked off, she felt benumbed. She didn't recall washing up and getting ready for bed, only that she was in bed looking up at the ceiling willing for sleep to come.

There were circles under her eyes, and she used enough concealer to cover these up to give her a semblance of normalcy. She drove herself and sat waiting in her car, put her headphones on and listened to nothing in particular. The skies were still dark, as dawn was just breaking.

A short rap startled her; she must have dozed off. Hyung Sik had arrived and knocked on her window waking her. She gave him a nod and made her way out of the car.

"I thought the crew would be here already," he said looking around. He drove himself too, his managers would likely be following much later when the filming is underway.

"They usually arrive closer to filming time now that it's gotten colder," she offered.

He noticed her shivering; the weather has turned chillier and winter will soon be upon them. "Let's just rehearse in the car for now; it will be more comfortable than being out in the cold."

They chose Bo Young's SUV which has more room, rather than Hyung Sik's Mercedes. They sat facing forward, thumbing through their scripts, going through the layout of their scenes.

They have a lot of episodes together starting now; this episode today marking a point in their character's relationship where they both acknowledge their marriage and taken steps to get to know each other. Their behavior is strained, even unnatural as they go through the motions. But they plodded on, adamant in keeping their reservations with each other in place, until Bo Young resignedly set her script down on her lap.

“This isn’t working, you know,” she said looking out of her window to watch the early light as it slowly filters through the overcast skies. “We have to move past our personal issues, our history somehow. Otherwise, this…” she held her hands out in a helpless gesture.

“I don’t think it's going to be a problem. We can do this. We can be cordial to each other. Maybe in due time, we can be friends again.”

She sat hugging her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Do you hate me that much, Hyung Sik?” her voice is still and controlled, but her hands that grasped herself were clenched tight.

“I don’t hate you... I don't think I could."

"Can you forgive me, then, for what I thought I did was right?"

He was quiet. His silence told her more than she cared to know. "I'm trying..."

She couldn't speak after that.

.

.

The day took forever. The tarmac scene with them standing together took several shots before PD Lee was satisfied. They would pause and look at the playback, changing camera angels to capture a natural flow of the scene. They were fortunate to grab Kim Hye Ja sunbaenim to do a cameo of the gushing halmoni. She happened to be a good friend of screenwriter Mrs. Kim. An extremely talented actress, she was also playful, bringing much needed laughter in her scene with Hyung Sik. She had them go the extra mile when putting her makeup on, encouraging the makeup artists to add wrinkles and appearance of a chappy skin to her otherwise youthful face.

“Call me anytime for a cameo if I get to drape myself over handsome young men,” Kim Hye Ja winked and bowed to everyone as she left the set, making everyone break into laughter, after her scene was completed.

They shot their goodbye scene next. On the first shot, his lips barely grazed her temple when he bent down for his first kiss. And she wasn't as stoic as she thought she would be, because she had held her breath. Pd Lee had them do the scene multiple times, with different camera positions. Hyung Sik stood and held her hands and the look they exchanged were deep and soulful. This time she felt his lips linger longer on her temple. She her suddenly dry lips and bit them unconsciously. The camera panned to catch a close up of her face as she waved at him goodbye, capturing a perfect shot of her sadness seeing him leave. 

.

[Flashback]

 

"Standby, everyone for reshoot." PD nim hollered.

Bo Young and Hyung Sik stood outside by the gate. Their characters were being lovely dovey shooting their goodbye scenes, but the two continued their "acting" while waiting for filming to resume.

"You can let go of my hand, you know. The bts camera is filming." Bo Young whispered as she stood on the other side of the gate, but her smile stayed in place and her hand didn't let go of his either. Hyung Sik stood on the other side; his hand draped over the railing entwined with hers, heads bent close as they whispered to each other.

"It's alright, we can say we're staying in character," he whispered, sparing a glance at the filming crew. "I'm going to kiss you in this scene, so you better be prepared." He was being naughty again, causing her to blush and bend her head down to hide her face from the camera.

"You better not! We've adlibbed so much already!" But her giggles belied her disapproval. 

"It will just be a quick kiss, okay, please? I'll behave. I promise it will be a chaste kiss; even the shippers won't get overly excited by it."

"You almost kissed me in the room before!"

"But I didn't! I wanted to, but you pulled away so quickly, and then Woo Yeon hyung walked in too early. Even Pdnim said so."

"Aiishh, you!"

"So I'm just telling you now be prepared and don't pull away, ok? I'm serious. I haven't kissed you since this morning."

Bo Young just shook her head in consternation, "what am I going to do with you?"

Hyung Sik just grinned and wriggled his brows naughtily, "I can think of plenty of things."

Her laughter rang out; bts camera capturing every bit from the sidelines.

 

The little kids were milling about the set still, even though their scenes with Bo Young were completed. Pd Lee couldn’t help but grin and shook his head seeing all the little boys gathered around Bo Young, while all the little girls were over by Hyung Sik. He made a comment how even kids naturally gravitate to their idols and get caught up fangirling and fanboying already.

A little boy, smaller sized for his 5 years of age, sat on Bo Young’s lap, earnestly whispering in her ears. Bo Young couldn’t help but giggle at the boy’s serious demeanor. He was intent in whatever he was saying, holding onto Bo Young’s neck, his lips in her ears. 
Her smile of pleasure at whatever the child was saying was beautiful, lighting up her whole face. She looked up and her eyes met Hyung Sik's across the room, who had been chatting with a group of kids himself. Their glance was brief as glances went but it was weighted, electric. 

They both looked away simultaneously.

.

Tomorrow seemed like it's going to be an easy filming day. They would be in the studio instead of on site. Hyung Sik would be shooting his military base scenes, while Bo Young has her own scenes to shoot. The crew recreated the outside of the small cottage in the studio easily enough. Fortunately too because they learned there might be snow in the forecast tomorrow. It made shooting a whole lot more comfortable being indoors in the studio.

The crew placed a green screen overhead so they could simulate the night skies. They were in the sound studio of JTBC,  recording the phone conversations between their characters. She wasn't as good with adlibing as Hyung Sik is, but she is adaptable, and by following his lead, held her own.

"I'm going to have to workout to keep my figure if you're planning on cooking my favorite foods all the time," his character Jung Hwa said.

"I would love to cook for you. I can make that ggul tteok (sticky rice ball) that you used to like, remember, a long time ago."

"Hmmm, those were delicious; yes, I remember, with lemon honey.  I can't wait to see you; I know you'll take good care of me..."

Though she expected his lines, it still made her stammer; he's just too good with these types of things- the looks, the romantic lines; but she was quick to recover and acted as if her reaction was intentional.

They had a short break in the afternoon. There were various snacks set out for the whole production staff. Bo Young sat drinking tea with a few of the cast and crew in the lounge. She could hear Hyung Sik chatting with the assistant director, Yu Chan Woo. Apparently the two had worked together before in Hyung Sik's other projects.

"Hyung Sik-sshi," the visual effects editor hollered; his head popping out from the screening room that was across the lounge. "Can you come over and check something please? I think we found what you were looking for."

"Did you? Oh good. I'm coming."

.

Bo Young laid herself down on the simulated stoop looking up the green screen. Off to the other side of the stage, Hyung Sik sat propped over a set window. Pd Lee wanted to simultaneously film this heartwarming scene to capture "real time" situations. He had 2 camera crews filming the two sets that they staged next to each other. It brought about quite a realistic scenario as both actors are indeed looking at a projected night sky on the green screen.

"Quiet on the set on three, everybody. Hana, dul, set...Action!" 

"Here, look, it's easy. You're facing North. That's the Little Dipper; the tip of his handle is the star Polaris. Follow to the west and you will see there's bunch of stars like an M sitting sideways. Do you see it?"

"I think so. It's like an E, right?"

"Yes, exactly. That's Cassiopeia. Above her slightly to her left is Perseus; it looks like a Y."

"I think I see it, but it's faint. Isn't that from Greek mythology?"

"It is. Perseus rescued the beautiful Andromeda, the love of his life, after he killed a monster sea serpent. Andromeda is the daughter of Cassiopeia. If you follow the tip of the tail of the Y of Perseus, you will see Andromeda; its like a V that faces Perseus."

"They are lovers." Jung Hwa continues, "He went through battles to win and keep her heart. They fell madly in love and got married." He paused, then added, clearing his throat, "so when you're feeling lonely, find Perseus and Andromeda in the night sky. Find them and think of how Destiny brought them together despite the odds..."

.

.

Minki dropped her off that evening. With winter season upon them, the skies has been getting darker much sooner. Tonight, even though it's only 6pm, the skies are so dark already.

She is restless again, even after soaking in the tub to chase some of the chill she's feeling. After a quick meal, she sat on the little alcove in her room with a glass of wine in her hand. She's due to do a vlive broadcast but was feeling too pensive and tired to do so. She didn't want her fans to worry in case they were able to gauge the mood she's in. So she grab a book instead thinking she might read. But, sitting by the window, she couldn't help recall their last scene instead. She was suprised to learn Hyung Sik really did know about constellations. The script didn't specifically say anything, and it took her aback when they filmed the scene and he started talking knowledgeably about them. That must have been what the visual editor was talking about that Hyung Sik was searching for, she thought.

She went and grabbed her tablet and looked up this particular greek mythology. After a while, she sighed. She looked up in the sky, unable to stop herself from thinking about him, of their scenes. And her eyes couldn't help but trace and follow the stars to search for Perseus and Andromeda, the two lovers in the sky, together even until now, inseparable even in the vastness of the universe.

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Sources:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cb/e1/ce/cbe1ce65de4fc37d57dc2ce56c1f3f9a--perseus-constellation-constellation-tattoos.jpg

http://media.nj.com/inside-jersey/photo/njsky-03-22-15png-bb9f31c03df3f3f7.png

For more about Perseus and Andromeda story: (excerpt below)

http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/andromeda.htm

The Roman poet Ovid tells us in his book the Metamorphoses that Perseus at first almost mistook her [Andromeda] for a marble statue. Only the wind ruffling her hair and the warm tears on her cheeks showed that she was human. Perseus asked her name and why she was chained there. Shy Andromeda, totally different in character from her vainglorious mother, did not at first reply; even though awaiting a horrible death in the monster’s slavering jaws, she would have hidden her face modestly in her hands, had they not been bound to the rock. 

Perseus persisted in his questioning. Eventually, afraid that her silence might be misinterpreted as guilt, she told Perseus her story, but broke off with a scream as she saw the monster ing through the waves towards her. Pausing politely to ask the permission of her parents for Andromeda’s hand in marriage, Perseus swooped down, slew the sea-dragon with his diamond sword, released the swooning girl to the enthusiastic applause of the onlookers and claimed her for his bride. Andromeda later bore Perseus six children including Perses, ancestor of the Persians, and Gorgophonte, father of Tyndareus, king of Sparta.