three: songs at twilight
strange bedfellows03
songs at twilight
The sky was a dark velvet, illuminated faintly by fluorescent streetlights scattered across the almost-empty carpark. Jaehyun’s black sedan was the only vehicle left, its owner tapping his gaunt knuckles against the leather steering wheel.
He guessed that Seulgi was still at practice. It was fine – anyway, the dead of the night was the only time they could meet. Blame it on their ridiculous sixteen-to-eighteen-hour schedules and all the persistent tabloids reporters lurking at every street corner in broad daylight. Not that they ceased to exist at night – their pictures were just fuzzier. No good pictures, no good story.
Over the years, Jaehyun had accumulated his fair share of scandals. Every time he was out and about with a lady, the tabloids would somehow spin it into a romantic dalliance, even if the woman in question was genuinely, just a friend. It would then spiral into a full-blown scandal that would involve company action, various changes in schedules, and a sharp dip in his popularity. He had grown accustomed to dealing with such instances, but being familiar didn’t mean he liked it. Seulgi never said a word about how meetings were limited to ungodly hours or how tinted his car windows were, mostly because she understood how a lack of precautions could morph into inconvenient situations. It was second skin to her, as it was to him.
Seulgi: Be there in five. Sorry, I owe you.
He chuckled. He could not give her his daylight, and so she was also allowed to be late. That was their mutual understanding.
Jaehyun: You do. We have the whole night for you to make it up to me.
“What’s that?”
They were huddled in his car, munching on some cold veggie kimbap that Jaehyun had quickly whipped up hours before, parked near the edge of the vast, glimmering Han River. A soft pulse of light had crept over what seemed like a book splayed on Jaehyun’s dashboard, distracting Seulgi from her food.
Jaehyun followed her gaze. “Oh, that,” he said. “Screenplay of a drama serial I’m auditioning for.”
Seulgi turned to him, interested and mildly impressed. Sometimes, it slipped her mind that Jaehyun had made a foray into acting. Not everyone was a one-trick pony, like her. “Wow. What’s it about?”
“A ballet dancer and her journey to stardom,” he smiled. He wiped a grain of rice from her lips, chuckling softly. “Quite the poignant story, really.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Let me guess,” she said amusedly, “she meets another dancer who shares her dreams and aspirations, and they fall in love and live happily ever after, post sixteen episodes of tribulations.”
“Yes and no. She does meet another ballet dancer, and they do fall in love, but they don’t live happily ever after.”
“Oh, that’s sad.” Seulgi recoiled, wearing a small pout. She popped another kimbap into . “Although, I don’t really see you as a melancholic ballet dancer. Seems like quite a stretch, no offense.”
His chest shook with a rumble of laughter. He had to agree. “None taken,” he chortled. “That’s why I’m not auditioning for the male lead.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope,” he replied. “I’m trying to be the ballet company's CEO, the second lead who helps her on the sidelines. At the end of the story, the female lead realizes that the other guy fits better into her life than the male lead does. Sometimes a passionate romance isn’t everything – it’s the person who fits seamlessly into your life that matters.”
Seulgi nearly spat at him, choking back peals of laughter. Jaehyun sported an exaggerated expression, holding his hands up and pretending he was some kind of profound prophet. There were times she truly thought he was one of the strangest and most amusing people she would ever encounter in the entertainment industry.
Jaehyun rushed to pat her back and offer her his bottle of water. “Christ, Seulgi,” he laughed.
“I’m sorry! You’re just so ridiculous.”
He grinned. “Well, if I can make you laugh, I think I’ve won half the battle.”
His smile was wide and incandescent, shining brightly in the darkness. When she saw that smile, she could see why he made for such a scene-stealer. There was always something iridescent about Jaehyun, whether he was a charismatic idol on a grand stage or a shy trainee in a small practice studio. Being an actor just seemed like a natural progression.
“Did you always want to go into acting?” she asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “I just fell into it.”
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