I DON'T LOVE YOU

 

REQ: Forbidden love. Doyeon & Hyewon. Drama Casting

Hyewon was never the one to fear trying out new things in fact, she will always be excited to explore new horizons every time an opportunity is given to her. But at that moment she couldn’t deny how nervous she was feeling, she keeps on fidgeting with her fingers hoping the nervousness would subside. She has been waiting inside the meeting room for about 10 minutes while her manager, Eunbi, is outside talking to people Hyewon doesn’t have any idea about.

She couldn’t help but be thankful for Eunbi, she has considered the older girl as a good friend already – especially since Eunbi has been there by her side since the start of her career. Her singing career. Hyewon debuted as singer and it has been two years already since her debut and from then on, her career just skyrocketed. Projects after projects, songs after songs, performance after performance. Everything was just aligning for her.

She also got into composing, producing, and writing her own music. At first, she was not confident with it when her producer talked to her during one of her sessions. Though Hyewon did have some of her music that she created, the thought of it being released to the world – for other people to listen to, never crossed her mind. That’s where Eunbi entered, she was the person that convinced Hyewon to try it.

Basically, Hyewon wouldn’t be where she is right now if not for the older girl. That’s why she never lets Eunbi go because the latter just knows her very well. Eunbi knows the right things to say to Hyewon, like a family member that she grew up.

Which is also why Hyewon is right there inside one huge meeting room feeling nervous for what was about to happen. Eunbi somehow convinced her to accept a role on some drama – something about it being a hit and is a nice start for Hyewon to widen and enhance her talents. When she said that she’s open to new horizons, she didn’t mean to be this open.

That’s why when she received the background and script of the drama, she quickly read it and studied it as if she was about to take her college entrance exams again. Hyewon knows the director, not personally but more on how he was just basically famous in the industry. Jung Yunho, an award-winning director always bagging awards every time he directs movies or series.

Unfortunately for Hyewon, there was no information about the people she would work with – specifically the other cast members. She tried to search it, as much as she wants to deny it, she tried to look for leaked information about the possible main actors and actresses that would be in the series. But to no avail, it seems like no one even has the slightest idea.

She then quickly whips her head to see Eunbi entering followed by the director, Hyewon quickly stands up and bowed to the renowned director. “Hi, I’m Kang Hyewon, pleased to meet you Mr. Jung Yunho.”

Just like what the articles about him said, Jung Yunho is one warm and humble person. Hyewon could finally attest to that with the smile on his face, nodding his head. “I’m very excited to work with you Ms. Kang, please just call me Yunho or whatever you prefer.”

Hyewon smiled but she wouldn’t dare to drop the formalities, he is still the director and she needs to respect him even though he was the one who suggested it.

“They’re going to be here soon.” Yunho announced taking a seat at the largest chair in the middle, “Do you know who you’re going to work with?”

Hyewon bit her lips and shakes her head, “I wasn’t briefed about it yet, that’s why I’m kind of nervous.”

Yunho nods his head in understanding, “Don’t worry, we’ll be taking care of you. This is your first acting project, right?”

“Yes, those acting in music videos do not really count as ‘acting’.’” Hyewon air quoted making the director laugh. She glances at Eunbi beside her who gave her a reassuring smile, that’s when Hyewon found herself relaxing a little bit.

Just then, the door to the meeting opened and some assistant walked toward Yunho whispering something to him. Hyewon just watched the director nods his head and whispering something back to the assistant.

Yunho then looked at Hyewon with a small smile, “They’re here.”

Hyewon straightened in her seat, feeling suddenly rigid. The nervousness suddenly came back, ten times worse than before. She then felt a hand squeezing her arms and she looks at Eunbi, the older girl looking at her worriedly. “Don’t be nervous, you can do this. It’s just a short script-reading.”

“Well, that’s because you convinced me to do this. I don’t know if I’m even cut – “

“You deserve this Hyewon.” Eunbi cuts her off with a tone that Hyewon knows. “So, stop thinking otherwise.”

Hyewon just sighs, taking a little deep breath to compose herself. She then heard Eunbi whispering to her.

“I also heard Lee Taeyong and Kim Minju would be the leads here.”

Hyewon whips her head to stare at her manager in disbelief, why did Eunbi not tell her earlier? Hyewon knows the two, mainly because they were some bigshot on the acting industry that their names are almost everywhere.

Hyewon prays that she wouldn’t make herself an idiot in front of them. Why did she even have to be a supporting cast? She could have just sung an OST for their drama and call it a day. That would be much easier for her.

“And you thought to just tell me that now?!” Hyewon hissed and she could only see Eunbi nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. Hyewon shakes her head knowing that she couldn’t do anything but to just accept her fate. She’ll embarrass herself sooner or later.

When she heard the door opening, Hyewon knows it’ll be sooner.

Hyewon didn’t look up from her folder in front of her, she could hear the other chairs being pulled out and conversations filling the once quiet room. But when she felt someone taking a seat in front of her, she knows that she shouldn’t be rude and get her act together. Hyewon looked up to greet whoever it was only to freeze.

She knows the two main cast of this drama; she has heard them before and Hyewon is not that ignorant to not know them. She has seen numerous pictures of Taeyong and Minju plastered in billboards and each of have numerous TV commercials, so it’s impossible someone wouldn’t know who they were. But one thing is for sure.

Those things don’t give justice to Kim Minju.

Hyewon felt someone nudging her and glances at Eunbi, that’s when she realized she hasn’t said anything yet. She quietly cleared and bowed her head, “Hi I’m Kang Hyewon, please take care of me.”

She sees the girl smiling at her, “I’m Kim Minju, let’s do our best.”

Before Hyewon can reply someone interrupted her, someone with a deep voice. She looks beside her to see sharp eyes staring at her and Hyewon felt intimidated. It was Lee Taeyong, she has seen pictures of him, and she couldn’t deny that the guy really has a cold aura surrounding him. She gulps and awkwardly smile but before she can talk, he smiled widely and Hyewon would have mistaken him as a kid.

“I’m a big fan!” Taeyong exclaimed, “I’ve listened to your songs and I like all of them! I actually accepted this project because of you!”

Hyewon has jaw dropped at the complete shift of his aura, Taeyong suddenly became very approachable. She could see the guy being giddy on his seat and then he just pulled out his phone, showing him her songs downloaded in his phone.

“See! This is my favorite!” Taeyong showed the album cover from one of her songs – Instagram. Hyewon remembers how she just wrote that song on a whim, just based on the title it was a weird night and she was scrolling through Instagram and everything just progressed.

Hyewon awkwardly coughs and smiles slightly, “Ah, yes. Thank you, for uhm – liking it.”

“You wrote this right?! How did you, like just thought of it?!” Taeyong’s booming voice getting the attention of the other people inside the room, and Hyewon just slid further into her seat. She didn’t expect the guy to be this excited.

“Uh, I was just scrolling through Instagram hence, the title.” Hyewon looked at Eunbi and the latter just nods her head, “Uh, just realizations that there’s a huge difference in what we see in social media and the person behind the post.”

Taeyong shakes his head in amazement and turns his attention to Minju, “See! I told you she’ll be all poetic and cool!”

That’s when Hyewon remembers the other girl listening to them and turns her attention to Minju, and she was surprised to see piercing eyes staring at her. She sees Minju raising her eyebrows as if approving. Hyewon doesn’t know why she feels nervous with how the younger girl is staring at her.

“Alright Taeyong, stop fanboying. You’re embarrassing.” Minju rolled her eyes and as Taeyong was about to retort, Yunho suddenly called their attention.

Hyewon turned to look at the front, Yunho standing and smiling at them.

“Okay, we still don’t have a title for this drama.” He announces and opened the folder in his hand, flipping through its pages. “But the casts are already assigned. Minju and Taeyong, I think you guys already know that you’ll be the main couple for this drama.”

The pair nodded their heads already reading their scripts, Hyewon opens her but to know what kind of supporting character she is when Yunho said her name.

“Ms. Kang Hyewon,” Yunho said her name and everyone suddenly turned to her. She gulped and looks at the director, waiting for him to continue.

Yunho smiles at her, “You’ll be Minju’s best friend which means you’ll have many scenes in the drama. I hope you guys get along well, okay?”

Hyewon blinks her eyes and quickly looks at Eunbi, the latter pointing at the opened folder in front of Hyewon.

Kim Seri

Hyewon gulps as she reads her script, she could see that Yunho was telling the truth – she did have many scenes.

“Let’s do our best Hyewon-ssi.” Minju softly said and Hyewon looks up, the girl smiling at her before returning to her script.

Hyewon already imagines the scolding and number of cuts she would have during the shooting. She is going to die.

 

-

 

Hyewon has two weeks to spare before shooting starts and she is currently in her apartment with Doyeon – her girlfriend for almost a year now. Hyewon knows that being into girls is a taboo in Korea, but she’s not one to follow the norm – but that also doesn’t mean that their relationship is public. They are still keeping it private since Doyeon also has a reputation to hold as a model.

In Hyewon’s case, it’s her company that controls what she can share to the public and what she can’t, and this part of her falls under the latter. Scared that it would pull the stocks and sales down if she ever comes out. See, this is one of the things that she hates – the fact that she needs to hide this huge part of herself.

It was incredibly hard to come out to her parents and she could just be thankful when they still accepted her, but to be forced to go back to the closet once she debuted – it was a sacrifice she needs to make. She doesn’t even understand why it was needed, why is was still a taboo. It’s not like they are doing something bad, but Hyewon has no say in that.

When she debuted, she thought that she would have a hard time to be in a relationship though that was the least of her worries at that time. But when she met Doyeon in some event where she sang, everything just clicked. Almost a year in their relationship, and everything is going well.

Though Hyewon wants to shout that Doyeon is her girlfriend to the world, she couldn’t. It would ruin Doyeon’s career and her relationship to her parents. Hyewon is not one to do that, as long as they are happy then she’ll be fine.

“Hey, you,” Hyewon smiles and leans to the body behind her. She could see Doyeon reading her script and she just lets the girl. “Woah, you got so many lines there Hyewonnie.”

“That’s why I need to keep reading this or I’m going to be a complete mess.” Hyewon sighed but giggled soon after, Doyeon was giving her butterfly kisses on her neck.

“You’re going to be a cute mess then.” Doyeon teased and snatched the script from Hyewon, she reads it thoroughly and sees the main casts of the drama.

“Lee Taeyong and Kim Minju?” Doyeon asks her girlfriend with wide eyes and a smile forming on her lips, “Hyewon, this is a big project!”

Hyewon sighed and hugged Doyeon, “Yeah, that’s why I’m really nervous for our first day.”

Doyeon chuckles finding Hyewon’s sulking face utterly adorable at that moment, she couldn’t help but to steal a quick peck on the girl’s lips. “You’ll do good, trust me.”

Hyewon grins and closed her eyes, “Well, can you kiss me again, then?”

Doyeon chuckles and puts aside the script pulling Hyewon in for a kiss, but before they can do anything other than a kiss her phone suddenly rang making the both of them groan out of frustration. She looks at the caller and immediately stands up, Hyewon also saw the caller and just sighed.

She picked up her script from the table and continued to read it, though half of her attention is on Doyeon. Hyewon could hear them talking and she could assume that Doyeon’s father is asking her whereabouts, and she rolls her eyes when she heard her girlfriend’s answer.

“I’m at a friend’s apartment.”

Hyewon feels the slight clench on her heart, that’s what Doyeon’s parents know about her – just a mere friend. It was alright at first, during the first few months of their relationship. But now that they’re almost a year already, she’s kind of hoping Doyeon would introduce her as her girlfriend. Hyewon doesn’t know how to tell it to the girl since she doesn’t want Doyeon to be pressured.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Hyewon turns her full attention to her script when she sees Doyeon ending her call, she could feel the girl approaching her and she looks up with a small smile. “Need to go?”

“Yeah, dinner with parents.” She said apologetically and kissing Hyewon really quick. The latter returned it and watches Doyeon go out of her apartment, promising that she’ll visit again since she doesn’t have much schedule. Hyewon just gives her a smile and sighs when she heard her door locking.

Hyewon shakes her head before sitting up properly, removing the thoughts about their relationship lurking inside her mind and focusing on her script. She reads line after line, and if she is being honest, the plot was too cliché for her. It was a typical meeting of two people and as usual, they would fall for each other.

Hyewon sighs again but because of a different reason, she knows there would be cringey lines in the script. Hyewon could already feel that she would be present in some of those scenes and she needs to act properly – she needs to conceal all the cringe she would feel.

One line made her raise her eyebrow though, it was her character Seri talking to Minju’s.

Seri brushes Hyeri’s hair and tucking it behind her ear, she smiles softly to her best friend.

Seri: I’ll always be here for you, so stop crying and smile for me. Okay?

Hyewon stared at it for a moment already thinking how she would act that scene out, it’s not like she doesn’t have friends. But she was that kind of friend that consoles them sweetly, she was that friend that gets straight to the point and not beat around the bush. She reads the scene again and frowns, thinking if that’s how friends act to each other.

Then she remembers one important thing that she almost forgot; she would act this out with Minju – the Kim Minju. Hyewon may have done a little bit of research about the two leads and it’s not a secret that Minju has a really big potential – with the compliments of past directors and producers she has worked before. Hyewon could feel the pressure building inside her at that moment, just with that scene she read. She thinks it would be really a serious scene and as a person who can’t handle serious situations without laughing – she is 100% screwed.

She groans out loud and closed the script, rubbing her face to wake herself up. Hyewon still has a few more days to spare before their shooting starts, and she could already feel the impending death. She decided to go and relieve her stress – she walks over to her own room and sat in front of her laptop. Turning on her keyboard, she randomly presses keys on it until she got the feel.

Hyewon quickly puts her headphones and starts bopping her head, constantly switching to her laptop and keyboard – music will never let her down in times like this.

 

--

 

It was the day of filming and Hyewon already had her lines memorized for the scene they are going to film, but she didn’t become complacent and continued to read her own lines. Eunbi was with her looking through her schedule, Hyewon was frowning on her script and turns to the older girl. She may have her lines memorized but she still doesn’t know how to execute – she doesn’t have someone she can practice with.

“Unnie, how can I execute this?” Hyewon said pointing at one specific of her walking with another cast and just talking randomly – should she be happy? Well, according to the scene they were just simply talking – no specific dialogues or what. It was with some supporting cast too, Lee Chaeyeon. Hyewon doesn’t have a problem with the girl, she seems approachable. But she doesn’t want to burden the latter and feel the awkwardness seeping out of her.

Eunbi read where Hyewon was pointing and looks at the latter, unamused. “Hyewon there’s a reason why I didn’t pursue this kind of career.”

Hyewon groans and slaps the older girl lightly with the script on her hand. Eunbi wouldn’t be much help for her so she just lets the older girl be, she looks around the set and she was amazed by the bustling place. It was very much different when she was filming her music videos but what she misses right now is her coffee.

“Is there any near coffee here?” Hyewon asked Eunbi, “I haven’t got my daily caffeine yet.”

Eunbi looks up from her phone and stands up, “There’s one near – “

“Coffee?”

The two of them looked at the direction of where the voice came from and were surprised to see Minju handing her an iced coffee. The younger girl smiled and urged Hyewon to get the coffee, Hyewon just bowed her head and slowly grabs it from the younger girl. She blinks at the beverage on her hand and was surprised to see that it was her usual – well, it’s not like she has some complicated taste. It was just some simple iced americano and the right amount of sweetness.

“Oh, you got it right.” Hyewon was supposed to say that to herself, she quickly looks at Minju and backtracks. “I mean, you didn’t have to! I could get my own, I’ll pay you – “

“No, it’s okay.” Minju chuckles and took a seat beside her, “I was in the coffee shop and decided to grab some for you, you know. Since we need to be close and all.”

“A way to break the ice.” Minju smiles at Hyewon before sipping her own beverage. The older girl nods her head and looks at Eunbi, the latter smiling at her encouragingly and going back to her phone. Sometimes Hyewon wonders if Eunbi was seriously doing her job or just scrolling through social media.

“Oh, thank you Minju-ssi.” Hyewon says softly, “I’ll make it up to you.”

Minju just grins at her and Hyewon couldn’t help but to be amazed by how the girl could look like that. No wonder everyone seems to be whipped for the younger girl, her beauty screams innocence and elegance. It’s not that kind of beauty that would surprise you, but the kind where it slowly grows on you.

“How’s the script?” Minju asked Hyewon glancing at the paper the singer is holding. “Having troubles?”

Hyewon didn’t hesitate to nod her head making Minju laugh, she could also hear Eunbi chuckling beside her making her nudge the older girl. She needs to be honest and she is very much having trouble even with this simple scene, and if Minju was there to help her – then she will accept all the help that the latter could give.

“Yeah, I memorized the lines already but I still don’t know how to properly act it.” Hyewon pouts and puts down her drink on the table, flipping through her script. “It’s just a simple scene with Chaeyeon’s character and you’ll suddenly appear – “

“Oh, that one?” Minju cuts her off gently and scoots closer to read Hyewon’s script, “Typically you’ll just gossip anything, any conversation will do. It would sometimes be cut anyway since it’s just a filler scene.”

Hyewon nods her head slowly making an ‘oh’ with , that means she could just talk any random thing with Chaeyeon. Maybe she could talk about dancing, she has heard the girl going through some dance class where she sometimes goes as well.

“Oh, and you’ll just suddenly pull me away right?” Hyewon questions again pointing at that scene she’s talking about. Minju nods her head with a small smile.

“Though there’s no dialogue for it maybe you can adlib.” The younger girl suggested, “You know, saying goodbye to Chaeyeon and something like that.”

Understandable, why didn’t Hyewon think of that? Right, because she wasn’t an actress to begin with. She nods her head and already thinking how she would properly execute the simple scene before remembering that she would have another scene with Minju – now that’s not a simple one. They would exchange a few lines about Minju’s family in the drama.

Typical Korean dramas with family problems when the character is rich. But before she can talk it seems like Minju already read her mind.

“Want to practice our scene?” She said with a smile, “It’ll help lessen the jitters, trust me.”

Hyewon looks up at the younger girl and smiled, nodding her head. “That would be great.”

Minju stands up and gestures for a minute saying that she’ll just get her own script. Hyewon watches the girl walk over to her manager talking to her, she looks at Eunbi beside her, the older girl also watching Minju from afar. “She seems really good. You should be thankful that you’ll spend most scenes with her.”

Hyewon rolls her eyes, “I wouldn’t have trouble if you didn’t put me in this drama.”

“You’re perfect,” Eunbi shrugs, “It’s not my fault that they liked your audition tape as well. Though it was practically a hidden camera for you.”

Hyewon rolls her eyes because what Eunbi said was true. The audition that she sent was basically a prank for Hyewon, giving her some sort of script saying that it will be a part of her music video. Being passionate about it, she acted it out since she wants to release a good music video. Then one thing led to another and Eunbi was suddenly telling her she was casted in a drama.

“Anyway, how’s Doyeon?” Eunbi asked and Hyewon glances around. Eunbi knows about Hyewon and Doyeon, she considers the girl as a close friend already, so it was normal for her to tell it to the older girl. Hyewon sighs and shrugs her shoulders, she remembered how Doyeon still hasn’t been telling their relationship to her parents.

“We’re fine.” Hyewon shrugs and continues reading her script. Eunbi raised her eyebrows and shakes her head.

“That’s not how a person happy with their relationship will answer.” Eunbi points out because she knows Hyewon is having a small trouble with it. She knows that Hyewon is questioning herself and her worth. Eunbi is aware that Doyeon still hasn’t come out to her parents, and to maintain a relationship with Hyewon for almost a year now – it was a miracle.

She also salutes Hyewon for giving the girl the time she needs before she comes out to her parents, but Eunbi knows it’s been so long already and it seems like Doyeon is still not planning to do anything about it. She wouldn’t be surprise if Hyewon would release a song about what she’s feeling right now.

“We’re fine, just the same thing. Busy with work and schedule.”

“You mean, busy with hiding from her parents?” Eunbi nonchalantly said earning a glare from the singer. She just sticks her tongue out before turning her attention back to her phone, “Minju is coming, get that sulking face out.”

“Your fault not mine.” Hyewon retorts and quickly straightens herself on the seat, smiling slightly at Minju. The latter took her previous sit and opens through her own script.

“Sorry had to talk to Chaewon.” Minju said, “My manager, but let’s start okay?”

Hyewon nods her head, “So, what’s the plan?”

Minju hums and reads her script, thinking of how they can act it out later. “Well, it’s just about me ranting about my family. You, being a good friend should listen and worry, but your character is kind of…” She trails off.

Hyewon chuckles because she was also weirded out by her own character. Seri, her character, seems to have some soft spot for Minju’s character. “Right, I think I’ll just worry about you in Seri’s own way.”

Minju chuckles and nods her head, “In a protective and soft way.” She adjusts herself in her seat and stares at Hyewon, “Okay, let’s start?”

Hyewon was amazed with how Minju got into character in just a second, she couldn’t help but to stare in awe at the younger girl. She could the emotion from the younger girl’s voice, channeling what Hyeri – her character was feeling during that scene. Maybe Hyewon was too immersed with how Minju says her lines that she forgot to say her own. Because she felt someone nudging her beside and she knows it was Eunbi.

That’s when she was pulled out from her thoughts and could see Minju looking at her with her large eyes and waiting for her to do her lines. Hyewon could see the hint of amusement in those eyes and she couldn’t help but to feel embarrassed. “Oh, .”

“That’s not your line but it could be an adlib.” Minju teased and Hyewon blushed even more, elbowing Eunbi when she heard the latter snickering. Shaking her head and she clears and smiles awkwardly at Minju.

“Okay, one more time. Sorry.”

Minju chuckles and shakes her head in amusement, “It’s alright, I’ll start now.”

Hyewon nods her head and waited for Minju to start, only staring at the space on the younger girl’s shoulder. She knows she wouldn’t get it right if she actually stared at the younger girl, though it would be needed in the actual shoot but that’s a problem for later. She’s waiting for Minju to talk but she heard the latter clearing making Hyewon look at her.

She could see Minju with an eyebrow quirked, “Please pay attention.”

Hyewon blushed but she didn’t have time to dwell on it because Minju immediately started with her lines. Hyewon hopes she’ll get it right and won’t screw it up.

Why didn’t they just let me sing an OST for this drama? Hyewon thought to herself, acting is so damn hard.

 

Thirty minutes after and Minju was right, the practice really lessen the jitters and nervousness and now she’s about to do her scene with Chaeyeon. She bowed to the girl and the latter smiled at her widely.

“I’m a huge fan!” She excitedly said, “Let’s do our best with our scene.”

Hyewon smiled and bowed, “Please take care of me.”

Without warning the girl hooked her arms with Hyewon, surprising the latter. It seems like Chaeyeon is really friendly as the girl starts to talk to her. Hyewon thinks that this scene would come as a breeze to her since Chaeyeon is handling it really well, with that Hyewon decided to just go with the flow.

“So, are you working on new songs right now?”

Hyewon looks at the girl in surprise, “What?”

Chaeyeon chuckles, “We can talk about anything, it won’t be heard in the final edited scene. Don’t worry.”

Hyewon nods her head and the two of them hears Yunho signaling that the shoot was about to start. Hyewon quickly smiles and gets in to character, looking at Chaeyeon who is giving her an expectant look.

“Well, yeah. I actually am, though it was put on hold because of this drama.” Hyewon answered, “But I’ll still work on it during some free time.”

“That’s too bad, do you find it hard balancing singing and acting?” Chaeyeon asked and the both of them noticed that Yunho gestured for the rolling and they could see the camera already. Hyewon suddenly felt nervous but with Chaeyeon’s hand squeezing her arm reassuringly, she relaxed a little bit.

“Sometimes, but you got to do what you got to do.”

Then they could see Minju standing in front of them behind the camera, it would be around this time that she would pull Hyewon away. The younger girl smiles at Hyewon and mouthing an encouragement to her, Hyewon quickly looks at Chaeyeon because she might smile all of a sudden and would need to retake.

Chaeyeon raised her eyebrows and talked, “Oh, did you hear – “

“Seri!” Minju calls out Hyewon’s character and the both of them looked at her direction. They could see Minju approaching them and Hyewon quickly went into character, putting in a surprise face.

“Oh, Hyeri why – “ Minju’s character didn’t let Hyewon finish her and pulled her away, muttering an apology to Chaeyeon. The two of them walked away but Hyewon remembered her adlib and looks back at Chaeyeon.

“Hey, sorry! I’ll call you later, okay? Take care!” Hyewon shouted and Minju tugged her again until they were out of the frame.

“Cut!” Yunho shouted and clapped, “That was perfect no retakes needed.” He smiles and Hyewon breathe in relief, she feels someone patting her shoulders and looks at Minju.

“You did great.” Minju said, “Such a natural.”

“It was just a minor scene, chill.” Hyewon rolled her eyes, “Wait for our scene and prepare yourself for my stuttering self.”

Minju shakes her head and walks over to where Chaewon was standing, the latter talking to Eunbi. Hyewon followed the girl and looks at Minju when the girl asked her something.

“So, what were you guys talking about?” Minju questions and Hyewon looks at where Chaeyeon was standing, already preparing for her next scene. The girl looked at her and smiled, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

“About me balancing my singing career and acting.” Hyewon shrugs and Minju nods her head.

“Oh, right. I’m actually curious about that too.” Minju wonders out loud and looks at Hyewon, “Taeyong has been gushing about you since we started working, saying that he’s hoping for a comeback.”

Hyewon chuckles, “No comeback yet, need to focus on this drama.”

“Would it be a mini album?” Minju asked curiously, “To be honest I don’t always listen to your song, but some of it are really good.”

“I mean no offense though!” Minju suddenly panics and Hyewon laughs waving her hand dismissively.

“It’s fine but I don’t know yet if it’ll be a full album.” Hyewon answers and actually thinks about it, she hasn’t released a full album for about 6 months already. With all the songs in her drafts, it would just need little tweaks and she could produce a full album already.

“Maybe I could talk about it with Eunbi-unnie.” Hyewon wonders to herself and looks up the said manager already looking at her as if she has a sixth sense.

“What is it?” Eunbi asked approaching Hyewon, “You called me?”

Minju looks at the two and nods her head to Hyewon before walking over to her own manager. She smiles at Chaewon and accepted the bottled water with a grateful smile. “Seems like you’re having fun with your new friend.”

“It’s my first time working with an actual singer,” Minju shrugs, “I haven’t even heard her perform yet.”

Chaewon nods her head in understanding, “Heard she’s good. They’re even thinking about letting her sing an OST for this.”

Minju raised her eyebrows at the information, “That’s something to look forward to.” She says and watches Hyewon and Eunbi talking about something. The singer showing something on her phone and Eunbi was nodding her head, completely listening to what Hyewon was saying.

“I feel like we’re going to be good friends.” Minju tells Chaewon.

“Good because I’m already friends with Eunbi.”

Minju chuckles and glances at the two again only to catch Hyewon glancing back, the latter smiled at her and did a playful salute making Minju laugh at the childishness. She sees Hyewon being pulled by Eunbi the singer following her manager and they’re immersed in another conversation.

 

--

 

Weeks ago, no one knew about Hyewon being casted in some drama but ever since the PR team of the drama started posting pictures of their first script-reading and the first shoot, it spread like wildfire. Since the leads are also a big name in the industry, it just boosted up the anticipation more – same thing goes on Hyewon’s side. Her fans are starting to flood her social media accounts asking about her thoughts about it, and it was just stressing her out.

It also didn’t help that their shooting location at the moment was set outside which means that there would be people watching them. It was great really, but unlike actors and actresses wherein they could go on with their shoot without being disturbed – it was a different case with Hyewon. Being a singer has its perks but this one is definitely a downfall of it.

She could see phones raised in her direction and some fans trying to talk to her, Hyewon looks around for Eunbi to handle the situation but it seems like the older girl is already doing it, but it was futile. She could see some staff getting stressed by it, the shoot is taking longer than expected all because of Hyewon.

She clicks her tongue in disappointment and looks around, she could hear some girl calling her name and she looks at the direction and smiled awkwardly and waved. Hyewon then walks away to talk to Yunho, maybe to apologize for the disturbance she is practically the cause of.

“Yunho-ssi,” She called the director and she was expecting an annoyed look but all she received was a small smile. “I’m really sorry, I’ll try talking to – “

“Don’t worry about it. We already expected it.” Yunho says dismissively, “But we didn’t expect it to be this crazy.” He jokes at Hyewon trying to loosen her up.

“Don’t worry, back-ups are coming, and we’ll start shooting again. Just spend time with Taeyong and Minju, okay?” He said before patting Hyewon by the shoulders and walks away talking to the production team.

Hyewon sighs and looks around and she could see some flashes being directed at her, she just shakes her head walks away. She could see Eunbi at the side of her eye talking to some staff and worriedly looking around, Hyewon just hid her face in embarrassment – wanting this to just end.

“Hey!”

Hyewon looked up to see Taeyong calling her, the guy asking her to come over. She smiles slightly before walking over him and she noticed Minju sitting beside him, nodding at her.

“What’s with the long face?” Taeyong asked and offered her some sweets and Hyewon politely refused, not really in the mood to eat.

“Just,” Hyewon gestures to the people, “This.”

She hears Taeyong chuckling and looks at him in confusion. The guy looks at her and as if he was surprised, he suddenly gasped. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how popular you are?”

Hyewon frowns, “What? Some people just listen to my song, I’m not that popular.” She shrugs nonchalantly. Hyewon then looks at the direction where she heard her name and could see some students waving at her, she smiles slightly and waves back before turning her attention to the other two.

“Right, not that popular.” Taeyong rolled his eyes and as if he wants to prove something he sat up and stares at Hyewon intently. “You got people on their knees with your songs, having sales that only a few solo artists can achieve. You also have this aura surrounding you, like you’re…”

“What?”

Taeyong nods his head and smirks, “As if you’re not one to follow rules and you know how girls prefer that.”

Hyewon stares at the guy first before ignoring his statement, “I don’t know where you got that but okay.” She could see Minju watching them with a small smile before catching her eyes and returning to her script.

“Sometimes I’m actually curious if you really haven’t had any relationship,” Taeyong suddenly voiced out, “I mean you could get boys and girls with that look.”

Hyewon choked on her saliva with the insinuation that she is into girls – but she quickly hides it with a cough. It’s not like he’s wrong but she remembers that it should be a secret, so she chose the safe answer. “Thanks for the compliment.”

Taeyong shakes his head in amusement, “Damn they were right about you being private.” He then looks up and stands up from his seat, “Well, duty calls. Which means them retouching my light make up, bye girls.”

Hyewon feels like she could breathe properly now that Taeyong left, she looks at her phone and sees Doyeon’s new message to her. She smiles slightly before opening the message.

Hope you’re safe, saw some articles about you shooting outside.

Doyeonnie

We’re safe but shooting is taking longer than expected because of me.

Hyewonnie

Please take care of yourself okay? I love you, need to go now.

Doyeonnie

I love you too. Take care.

Hyewonnie

“Okay Ms. Rulebreaker, want to practice some lines?”

Hyewon looks at Minju, the younger girl smirking at her before raising her script to show at Hyewon. “We have scenes here, don’t want your fans to be disappointed right?”

Hyewon groans at the teasing, “Not you too, I trusted you!” She scrunches her nose before chuckling at the mischievous look Minju is giving her.

“Seems like a personal problem.” Minju shrugs and taps her script, “Now come on, let’s practice and swoon them with your acting skills.”

“Shut up.” Hyewon rolls her eyes and scoots closer to Minju, she frowns at how good the younger girl smells at that moment despite being outside. She smells like freshly picked strawberries and it just suits Minju so much. “Don’t have a script with me, let’s share.”

Minju nods and scoots closer to Hyewon putting the script in the middle where they could see it. It was a simple scene of Minju and Taeyong finally meeting, Hyewon was just present and she’d somehow save Minju because Taeyong’s character would humiliate Minju. In all honesty, it seems like Hyewon’s not just a simple supporting cast with all the things she shot already. It was like she was actually part of the main plot, but who knows?

“So, I’ll be my protective self?” Hyewon asked and looks at Minju, the girl chuckles and nods her head.

“And I’ll be my useless self.” Minju adds and looks back at Hyewon, the singer suddenly couldn’t help but to be amazed with how the sunlight was hitting Minju’s features at that moment.

“You know main girl leads tend to be useless in front of their romantic interest.” Minju rolls her eyes, “Makes me sick, but it’s my job.”

Hyewon laughs and pats Minju’s head softly like a dog, “Aw, that’s okay. Seri will be there to always pick you up when you’re being useless.” She teases and Minju playfully slaps her hand away.

“She’s kind of useless too, you know!”

Hyewon gasped at the statement, putting her hand on her chest for the dramatic effect. “How dare you insult my character?!”

Minju laughs and slaps Hyewon’s arm, “You couldn’t even properly comfort Hyeri!”

“It’s in the script!” Hyewon retorts back and pointing to the script they were holding to prove her point.

“Well it seems like you weren’t acting at all.” Minju mockingly said and Hyewon stuck her tongue out.

“Not my fault that Seri just resonates with me.” Hyewon raised her eyebrows, “I mean, you seem pretty useless too like Hyeri.”

Minju said a loud ‘hey’ and gave Hyewon slap after slap, the latter laughing at the offended look of the girl. She tries stopping Minju, but the girl keeps slapping her and without thinking she grabs Minju’s hands and that successfully stopped the actress. The both of them were laughing and Hyewon couldn’t help but to stare at Minju.

Only to be pulled out from the flash coming from behind them, she quickly lets go of Minju’s hand and looked at the person holding a camera. Hyewon closed her eyes and Eunbi quickly walks over to them scaring the photographer. She looks at her manager and the older girl just clicks her tongue, “God, your fans are really crazy.”

“Hey, they’re still my fans.” Hyewon threatened, and she could see Eunbi rolling her eyes and quickly dialing someone on her phone.

“Well, that makes you crazy too.” Eunbi nonchalantly said, “But go practice your lines, I need to control the situation.”

Hyewon clears and walks back to her seat, Minju already composed and waiting for her. Hyewon suddenly feels uneasy with everything, she doesn’t know why but it seems like that photo will do something to her. She doesn’t know if it was a good thing or bad thing.

 

-

 

Hyewon drinks from the glass of water that’s been getting lukewarm since she arrived. She was in some fancy restaurant, just with how sophisticated it looks with the big chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to the very expensive uniform that the servers are wearing. A perfect place to celebrate an anniversary. Another factor is that she wouldn’t need to worry about the possible paparazzi lurking around since this place is really famous for its high security.

That’s why she was excited for this dinner to celebrate it with Doyeon, but she has been waiting there for an hour already. She would have cancelled it, but her girlfriend texted her that she was on her way already – which was 20 minutes ago. Hyewon doesn’t have any choice but to wait for her, she’s been playing with her phone to waste time and not get bored.

The place was too big, and it doesn’t help her not to feel lonely. She could see the glances that the servers giving her, but she just ignores them.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.”

Hyewon looks up and quickly smiles at Doyeon, she could tell that the girl just came from a shoot – judging from her make-up and attire. Hyewon stands up to kiss the girl but Doyeon dodged it discreetly, it would have seemed normal for other people but not to Hyewon.

“We’re in public.” Doyeon whispered and gave Hyewon a peck on her cheeks, good enough to be considered as a friendly kiss. Hyewon swallowed the lump on and the disappointment, instead she smiled at the girl.

Hyewon then signals the waiter to serve their order, it’s not that hard since they always order the same thing. Doyeon’s taste is really of that for models, light meals that are enough to fill her.

“So, how’s the shoot?” Hyewon asks the girl but before Doyeon could answer the server already arrived with their orders. That’s one thing they like about this place the service was really fast, but their presentation and the quality is still the best.

Doyeon smiled at the server and turned her attention back to Hyewon, “The shoot was tiring as usual, but it was fine. I actually have something big but I’m not yet sure since I haven’t heard any confirmation.”

Hyewon nods and cut into her steak looking up at Doyeon, “I heard you’re going to be covering for some big magazine.” She says with a proud smile, to see Doyeon slowly climbing up in her field is something she couldn’t help but to proud of. Hyewon knows how hardworking the girl is, and for Doyeon to slowly achieve her dream is something she wouldn’t trade for anything.

Doyeon grins at Hyewon and nods her head, “Is this what this dinner for?”

Hyewon stilled for a moment before quickly recovering from the question, she smiles slightly at the girl, but she could feel the dull pain slowly spreading through her chest. “Yeah and for our anniversary.”

Hyewon quietly said and smiles slight before returning to her food, she could see Doyeon looking at her surprised and it seems like the girl suddenly realized the date for that specific day. She could hear Doyeon apologizing but Hyewon smiles, shaking her head in understanding.

“No, it’s fine. You’re really busy, don’t worry.” Hyewon said before continuing to tend to her meal, she could see Doyeon hesitating and Hyewon shoots her a reassuring smile.

The conversation after that somehow turned strained, she could feel that Doyeon is being careful with her words and Hyewon just ignored it. She knows if she points it out there’s a slight chance that it would turn into a fight and that is not ideal especially that day being their anniversary. She then hears some vibration coming from Doyeon’s bag, the both of them looked at it and Doyeon pulled out her phone – it was her father.

Hyewon quietly inhales and nods her head at Doyeon, encouraging her to answer phone. But she could hear the faint words coming from Doyeon when she walks pass Hyewon.

“I’m having dinner with a friend.” “Yeah, Hyewon.”

Hyewon tightened her hold on her fork and looks away from Doyeon, she clears and grabs her water to take big gulps from it. For the first time in a long while, Hyewon couldn’t help but to be annoyed by the fact that Doyeon still hasn’t even come out to her parents. Maybe it was also because the girl forgot that it was their anniversary and it just piled up from there.

Hyewon is not really sure what emotion is building up inside her, was it anger from the fact that Doyeon forgot their anniversary? Disappointment because the girl couldn’t at least introduce her to her parents as a girlfriend? But maybe Hyewon could generalize all of it as pain – she’s been feeling it a lot lately with Doyeon, to the point that she became immune to it.

There would be times that they would be really happy together, spending just like a couples would spend their time with each other. But maybe it was the fact that they always spend it inside closed rooms, away from the public eye – to avoid judging stares and everything. Hyewon always listens to Doyeon, she doesn’t want the girl to be disappointed and be pressured – Hyewon will go with Doyeon’s pace, she’ll just follow Doyeon.

But she just hopes that the girl would somehow introduce her to her parents, a small stepping stone in their relationship. Hyewon has been waiting for it to happen, the girl always reassures her that she’s getting there but getting where exactly? Because it seems like as they go and continue their relationship, Doyeon is taking one step backwards from coming out to her parents.

And it just hurts Hyewon because she could see all of it, how Doyeon changed unlike before. Earlier in their relationship, everything was going great – Doyeon still goes with outside but they keep it low, enough to not raise suspicion. She will also be open to Hyewon about her parents, and sometimes Doyeon invites Hyewon to some family dinners – as a friend, but it’s still something special for Hyewon.

She then hears steps coming from behind her and it’s weird how she memorized Doyeon’s sound when she walks. The girl then sits in front of her, putting her phone in her bag. “Sorry, my father just wants to eat with me again.”

Hyewon looks up from her plate and nods her head, “Oh.”

“I’m sorry Hyewonnie, I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Hyewon wonders how many times she has heard that promise since last month, and she already lost count. “It’s fine. Did you drive here?”

She sees Doyeon shaking her head, “I asked my manger to drive me here and I was planning to sleep in your apartment but my fathe – “

“Don’t worry, I’ll drive you.” Hyewon cuts her off softly, she just quietly raised her hand to get someone’s attention and gestured for the bill. Immediately, someone went to them and Hyewon didn’t bother to look at the receipt and just gave her card. It’s not like she spends money on herself, that’s why she doesn’t have a problem when she did spend her money.

“We could have split the bill.” Doyeon frowns at Hyewon.

“It’s okay, it’s my treat for our anniversary.” Hyewon knows she’s being passive aggressive but it’s not like she could help it. Doyeon forgot the important date and now, she needs to go to her father. Well, maybe Hyewon can insist that they finish their dinner, but she knows how Doyeon will be – she’ll be really uncomfortable and in the end they’ll just fight.

“I’m sorry for forgetti – “

“It’s fine, we can have it another time.” Hyewon said with a smile, “Right?” She’s implying that they’re going to be having a second anniversary and it hurts how she could see the slight hesitation from Doyeon.

Hyewon is just thankful that the server just arrived with her card and she smiled gratefully. She stands up and Doyeon followed, they walked out of the restaurant but Hyewon couldn’t get out one thing in her mind.

Doyeon still hasn’t answer her question.

 

The drive was quiet between them, Hyewon just used some music to fill in the silence. She couldn’t even breathe properly with Doyeon right at her passenger seat, everything just hurts for her. The fact that Doyeon never opened their last conversation at the restaurant is just at the front of her mind – mocking at her. This wasn’t how she planned this day would end.

She slowly pulls up to the side and Doyeon clears , “Thank you, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

Maybe it was all the overflowing emotions inside her that she blurted out the thing that has been bothering her. “When will you introduce me to them?”

Doyeon looks at her with a frown, “What do you mean? They already kn – “

Hyewon sighed loudly and looks at the girl sharply, “You know what I mean Doyeon.”

Silence.

“I’m just finding the right time.” Doyeon quietly said, the music much louder than her voice.

Hyewon clicks her tongue out of annoyance, she needs to calm herself down. “You’ve been saying that for so long now, it seems like you’re not even trying.”

“Hyewon please, don’t ruin this day.”

Hyewon scoffs and glares at Doyeon, “Sorry then, it’s my fault.”

“No, that’s not what I me – “

Then her phone started ringing and the both of them sees Doyeon’s father. Hyewon looks away and unlocks the door of her car. “You should go now.”

“Hyewon, please.”

The ringing of the phone got significantly louder despite its volume staying the same, Hyewon just nods her head at Doyeon. Wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible. She couldn’t handle it anymore because another second she’ll spend with Doyeon, she knows that her tears are going to fall.

“I’m sorry for the things I said, it’s my fault.” Hyewon said through her strained voice, “You can go now, we’re good.”

“Are you sure?” Doyeon asked worriedly, and Hyewon just gave her a nod. With that, Hyewon could hear the girl’s seatbelt clicking and leaning over to her side to plant a kiss on the cheeks.

“Happy anniversary Hyewonnie. I love you.” Doyeon said softly before pulling away.

Hyewon looks at the girl, “I love you too, take care.”

Hyewon watches Doyeon walking away from her car, and she thinks about when they started sputtering those three words and it slowly became their routine. Hyewon is not sure anymore if they are just saying it because they actually mean it or just for the sake of it.

Without second thoughts, she drives back to her own apartment and quickly went to work – creating music to relieve all her suppressed emotions for that night. For all the months that she started questioning their relationship, because from what she’s seeing – the both of them are watching it fall and break. Neither of them doing anything to fix it, maybe it was because of their work – the little time they have for each other.

Hyewon couldn’t help but to just write her thoughts in her notebook, slowly creating a song and she could already melodies in her head and she just knows – it will be a very painful song. Hyewon doesn’t want to forget the happy memories they have, but all the subtle pain is piling up making this huge boulder inside her chest slowly rolling down to her heart and gently breaking it.

Hyewon knows in herself that she’s trying her best, her very best to make everything work – to understand Doyeon and her position. But sometimes, she couldn’t avoid the thought that there’s no progress at all. How she doubts that Doyeon would actually come out, because Hyewon just wanted to be free – maybe not to the public for Doyeon’s sake, but at least to the people close to them.

She’s waiting for Doyeon to do something, after all the ball has always been in her court since the very beginning. It was never on Hyewon’s, she’s just a mere person waiting for the next move. She’s just there waiting and following Doyeon’s every decision, but she doubts that Doyeon would make a move sooner.

With the conversation earlier in the restaurant, Hyewon also started doubting that their relationship would last long. But she’ll do her best, she’ll do anything just to make it work.

 

--

 

Hyewon is sitting beside Eunbi at the back of the van, they’re currently on their way to the set where the pictorial will be held. The PR team has only been releasing snippets from their shoots and the pictorial will be for the official poster of the drama. Eunbi has been talking and scolding Hyewon for oversleeping and she knows it’s her fault. She spent all night creating a song and she plans to put it on the next album, at the same time – she cried all night.

Which is why she has a massive headache and is currently wearing a cap and shades even inside the van. Hyewon just kept quiet and maybe Eunbi thinks that she’s listening to her, but in all honesty she’s not. Hyewon is just staring into space, her mind floating around – thoughts from the dinner last night invading her again. It’s not like it left permanently, she just decided to ignore it – and her work helps her with that.

“What happened to your fancy dinner anyway?” Eunbi asked after her long rant at Hyewon and the singer already expected that she would ask that question soon. Hyewon hoped that Eunbi will just assume that it went well, but it seems like the girl is waiting for her answer. She knows that whatever answer she would give, Eunbi would read through it.

“It’s fine.” Hyewon answered and adjusts herself on her seat, leaning her chin on her palm. “It was cut short but it’s good.”

Eunbi gave Hyewon a look, she is entirely sure that an anniversary dinner that was cut short is anything but fine and good. That’s when she noticed Hyewon’s shades and cap, and Eunbi can just shake her head at herself and at the singer. She’s disappointed that she didn’t notice it earlier and just continued with her long rant, and for Hyewon to not tell her the truth or say anything.

“No anniversary dinner cut short is fine Hyewon-ah.” Eunbi softly said putting a comforting hand on Hyewon’s shoulder, “What did you do last night?”

The singer adjusts her cap, pulling it closer to her face. It’s not like her face was that expose, but she does feel with Eunbi asking that question. Hyewon knows she can tell everything with Eunbi, after all she is a close friend already but that doesn’t mean she should. But being a close friend also has its perks, because even without telling, Eunbi could read and tell that their relationship – Doyeon and Hyewon’s, are not going to the right path.

“Music.” Hyewon answered shortly and felt her phone on her pocket, remembering the thing that she composed last night “Call Yena and tell her that we’ll meet up either today or tomorrow.”

Eunbi sighs and nodded her head, squeezing Hyewon’s shoulder before letting go. “You can tell me anything, okay?”

Hyewon glances at the older girl and gave her a small smile, “I know, thank you.”

Feeling the van slowly stopping, Hyewon could see the building where they’re going to shoot at. Various trucks all parked which probably holds the equipment for the shoot, and it seems like they are really late. She hears Eunbi opening the door and getting out of the van and she followed the older girl, Eunbi was walking fast and Hyewon quickly walked after her grabbing her by her shoulders.

“Hey, we might have a slight problem.” Hyewon mumbled and didn’t let Eunbi talk because she suddenly pulled her shades off her face – revealing her bloodshot eyes from all the crying. Hyewon gulped as she sees Eunbi’s jaw dropping and she just knows that she is giving the older girl a headache.

“You said you just did music?” Eunbi hissed pulling Hyewon harshly and walking inside the building.

“I got carried away.” Hyewon shrugged, and she just smiles innocently when Eunbi glared at her. Walking up the stairs she could hear Eunbi muttering some curses and she would have died right then and there if words could kill – well it can actually, but she knows Eunbi is just annoyed with her. Reaching their designated floor, she could hear people talking and it seems like the shoot is about to start.

“Go to the restroom and wash your face.” Eunbi ordered and didn’t wait for Hyewon to answer, she quickly walked inside the room. Hyewon just sighed and walks to the nearest restroom, thankfully no one was there.

Being alone inside that restroom with just the lights and unoccupied cubicles, the silence was just screaming at her. Hyewon’s thoughts are all going to one place, and it’s not a place she wants to go especially when she’s about to work. She stares at herself in front of the mirror, focusing on her eyes and wincing at how red it was – how empty it was. She doesn’t know when it started looking like that because she could remember that her eyes were always full of life – especially when she met Doyeon.

But right now, it was anything but alive. Empty, dead. A void. It’s not the eyes of someone who is happily in a relationship, and Hyewon wants to ignore that. She wants to convince herself that she is happy – that they are still happy. But every time she closes her eyes, she always sees the slight hesitation of Doyeon, she could hear the voice of her girlfriend introducing her as a friend. She could feel how Doyeon’s presence and warmth in their relationship starting to fade.

She gripped the sink tightly and inhaled sharply but ironically, it came out shakily. Hyewon wants to make this relationship work, but she has been doing her best for a long time already and it seems futile. She’s not even sure if Doyeon is aware of what is happening with their relationship – or even if she is aware, was she just trying to ignore it?

Hyewon doesn’t know what would hurt more if she discovered the answer.

Turning on the faucet, she washed her face roughly. Gathering enough water that could lessen the redness of her eyes, she washed he face up to her neck. Wetting her hair in the process, making her feel refreshed. She hopes that as she washed her face, all the problems and heavy thoughts were also washed away – but sometimes hopes will be turned into wishes. Because she knows it will never go away.

As she stares back at her reflection, the faucet echoing inside the restroom – the thoughts are still there. Mocking her and her emotions.

As soon as she enters the room where the shoot is being held, she was quickly whisked away to the dressing room, giving her clothes for the pictorial and she stares at it for moment. Thankfully, her character is not that into dresses which means she could have comfortable clothes like the ones she usually wears. Removing her cap, she quickly changes into the clothes given to her and she as pulled to do her make-up.

She sees Eunbi standing behind her from the mirror, the older girl with her arm crossed and looking at Hyewon. The singer just smiles and nods her head and she could see Eunbi huffing out before walking away.

“You really have nice skin Hyewon-ssi.” The make-up artist said and Hyewon just smiles awkwardly. She doesn’t know that having a nice skin would be thrown as a compliment, but with the girl’s profession – maybe it was true. After all, faces are their forte.

“Thanks. I would compliment you too, but I don’t really know how to differentiate skins.” Hyewon jokes making the girl laugh. Hyewon observes her through the mirror and she could tell that she might be a few years older than her, though she couldn’t deny that the make-up artist looks young. She could even pass off as an actress if she wanted to.

“You’re really honest Hyewon-ssi.” The make-up artist said, “There, you look perfect. Not that your character is into heavy make-up.”

Hyewon looks at herself and chuckles, it’s really a simple look for her which matches Seri’s personality in the drama. A protective girl when it comes to any one and is protective on the outside yet her best friend – Hyeri, can see all her soft sides. She’s not that rich type of friend, but more on the middle class.

“You’re really good at your craft…” Hyewon trails off, waiting for the girl to say her name.

“Joy.” She said and smiles, revealing a heartwarming eye smile. “I’m an unnie, you can just call me that.”

Hyewon grins at the older girl and nods her head, “Just call me Hyewon then, we’re going to be working more with each other anyways.”

Eunbi then entered the room and looks at the two of them before her eyes landed on Hyewon, she walked over to the younger girl and checks her appearance. “Be thankful that Joy managed to hide your swollen eyes.”

They could hear Joy chuckling and the latter fixing her things, “It’s not that hard, a little dab here and there did the magic.”

Hyewon smiles at the help and sticks her tongue out Eunbi, the manager rolled her eyes and bowed to the make-up artist. “The shoot will start in 5, come on.”

“Yeah, sure.” Hyewon says and looks back at Joy, waving her hand. “I’ll be going now unnie, wish me luck!”

 

-

 

Hyewon didn’t notice it at first since she was immediately whisked away to a room when she stepped in, but now that she has a full look on the place, she realized that it was bustling with people. She could see several high-end cameras being set up, the lightings for the shoot, the backdrop that they will be using and some props to add into the poster. She brushes her hair with her fingers and looks around, that’s when she saw the other casts already in their character’s attire.

Before Hyewon could even walk over to them, she sees Minju looking at her way and smiling. The actress excused herself to the conversation and quickly walked over at Hyewon, the latter smiling at the girl. “Hey, am I late?”

Minju laughs and shrugs her shoulders, not sure if the singer was late considering that the call time was around 8 in the morning, but she arrived 10 minutes past the call time. “Well, the shoot hasn’t started yet so, you can’t be that late.”

Hyewon chuckles at the tone and was about to talk when Minju suddenly leaned closer making her look at the younger girl. She doesn’t know what Minju’s looking at that she needs to be this close to her, but Hyewon could feel the slow breaths coming from the actress and she just suddenly became hyperaware how Minju’s eyes look at that moment.

Before she could ask the younger girl, the latter beat her to it. “Did you cry?”

Hyewon choked on nothing and slightly steps away from the girl, she thought that Joy hid her swollen eyes properly. But Minju quickly saw it in just one glance, and Hyewon could feel the girl staring at her obviously waiting for an answer.

Hyewon’s mind is running several miles per hour at that moment, thinking of an excuse to say. Maybe she could tell her that it was just an allergy, but she’s very much sure that one search on the internet and Minju would know that she doesn’t have one. She could just outright deny it but somehow, it doesn’t feel right.

Hyewon opens but nothing comes out and she sees Minju smiling at her, nodding her head understandingly. “Here, chocolate makes everything better.”

Hyewon sees Minju giving her some Lindt, she raises her eyebrows and accepts it without a word. The girl has a point that chocolate does make everything better but, “I’m more of a KitKat fan, but thank you.”

She sees Minju rolling her eyes and she laughs, opening the chocolate and eating it in one bite. She loves how the chocolate melts in slowly, it makes it even better. “Yes Hyewon, you are very welcome.”

Hyewon just grins at Minju, and suddenly Minju just looked at her with those hypnotizing eyes of her. Hyewon is weirded out by how she almost lost her breath at that moment, and she feels slight tingles coming from her fingertips – as if she wants to just trace Minju’s face. Hyewon doesn’t know what was happening, she couldn’t keep up with her own reactions and could just only stare back at Minju.

The thoughts that she had since last night was magically pushed away at the back of her mind, and all she could think about it is how Minju looks at that moment. The simple white dress she’s wearing, hugging her body at the right places. The natural flow of her hair as it rests on her shoulders, the way how Minju looks so simple at that moment and yet so, ethereal.

Just like that, the sad melody from last night that has been ringing inside her changed and it turned into soft ones. A soft kind of melody that gives her a sense of calmness, removing all the heavy feelings inside her and replacing it with, what? She couldn’t pinpoint but it’s something that she wants to feel every day.

Maybe they were staring at each other for too long, without any words being exchanged because Hyewon was surprised when someone suddenly called her. She slightly jumps from her position, tearing her eyes away from Minju only to see a familiar face. Hyewon closes her eyes and wanted to quickly walk away, but she knows it was too late.

The person was already approaching them and then Hyewon could feel an arm wrapping around her shoulder pulling her body to the said person. Hyewon could only huff a breath and hugged the person back. “I didn’t know you’ll be here!”

“Now you know,” Hyewon rolls her eyes, “I’m taking that you’re the photographer?”

The older girl in front of her gave her a signature eye smile, and everyone would find it adorable since it greatly resembled a bear. But Hyewon grimaced at the sight and shivers in disgust earning her a light smack.

“That’s not how you greet your cousin!” Hyewon rolls her eyes and looks at Minju, the latter still standing there watching them. Hyewon clears to get the girl’s attention, she then gestures for the other person.

“This is Kang Seulgi, my cousin.” Hyewon introduced, “Unfortunately.”

She turns her head to Seulgi, the older girl smiling at Minju and shaking her hand. “It’s a pleasure to work with you Minju-ssi.”

Minju smiles at the photographer, trying to hide her surprise that the two people in front of her are related. Kang Seulgi was a renowned photographer and to know that she’s Hyewon’s cousin is a surprise. It seems like talent runs in the family.

“I’m excited to work with you Seulgi-ssi, please take care of us.”

Seulgi laughs and waves her hand annoyingly – in Hyewon’s opinion, and the photographer pulls Hyewon to her side. The singer groans and tries to pull away from her cousin but to no avail, Seulgi’s hold was really strong. “Don’t worry, Hyewonnie will take care of you. She knows how I work already, we worked together before.”

Hyewon whines and was able to get out of Seulgi’s hold when the older girl was called. The three of them looked at the direction only to see the photographer’s assistant. Hyewon smiles and waves her hand, “Irene-unnie, hey!”

Irene smiles at her and nods her head in acknowledgement before turning to Seulgi, “Shoot will start, you prepare yourself and think about the set now.” With one look from the older girl, Seulgi didn’t bother to retort and followed the order. Hyewon chuckles and waves her hand at her cousin.

“Your first acting stint Hyewonnie?” Irene asked and before turning to look at Minju, “Is she giving you a hard time?”

Hyewon stomps her foot before pushing Irene away, “You’re ruining my image, you go help Seulgi-unnie.”

Hyewon then turns around and sees Minju looking at her amusedly, she could just offer a smile at the younger girl and a simple shrug. She walks over to Minju, “Well, that’s my cousin and Irene-unnie.”

Minu chuckles and nods her head, “I wanted to talk to them more, but it seems like you’re going to die from embarrassment.”

“Minju! Hyewon!”

The both of them looked over to see Taeyong wearing a very expensive looking suit, showing off how long his legs are. The usual grin on the guy is plastered on his face as he approaches them, “We’re going to start soon.” He then turned to Minju. “We’re going first.”

Minju nods her head and looks at Hyewon, “Will you watch?”

Hyewon raises her eyebrows at the odd question, it’s not like she has anything to do – well other than to talk to Irene and Eunbi. “Yeah, I don’t have anything to do anyway.”

“Please guide me then, Seulgi-unnie said that you’ll take care of me, right?” Minju said and winking at Hyewon, she looks at the singer’s stunned face before laughing and walking away.

Hyewon watches Minju walking away, the girl talking with Taeyong while the guy seems to be telling a story exaggeratedly. Hyewon then walks over to where the other people are, she could see Irene and Eunbi already talking to each other. She then glances at the side to see Seulgi all professional now, with the latter changing the settings in her camera.

Yunho, and the writers were also present to supervise the shoot – to give instructions on how the posters should feel like and whatnot. Hyewon turns around to walk over to one cast that she’s close with, Chaeyeon. The girl is just standing at the side, all alone. Hyewon smiles at her when she noticed her approaching.

Hyewon stands beside Chaeyeon and with their position, they have the full view of the set – she could see Minju and Taeyong getting ready having their final retouch. “So, getting nervous?” She decided to start a conversation.

Chaeyeon chuckles and Hyewon could see the girl fidgeting with her fingers, a definite sign of nervousness. “Kind of, Seulgi-ssi is someone I look up to not as a photographer.”

Hyewon quirks an eyebrow and immediately knows what Chaeyeon is talking about, “Oh, dancer?”

Chaeyeon looks at her with wide eyes but nods her head slowly. “Yeah, she’s really good.”

Hyewon chuckles and nods her head, it was not a lie that her cousin is a great dancer. If ever Seulgi didn’t pursue photography, she would have been a dancer. The moves just come to her naturally and it wouldn’t be difficult for her to pursue it. “You can talk to her about it, she won’t bite.”

“How do you know?”

Hyewon glances at the girl and gave a small shrug, “I’m her cousin, she’s kind of annoying and not really serious.”

“What?!” Chaeyeon whispered but before Hyewon could answer their attention went straight to the people in front, the shoot will start. Seulgi is already giving order for how Minju and Taeyong would pose, like the typical romantic couple they are going to be in the drama.

The conversation all forgotten as the shoot starts, everyone also stopped talking and only the camera shutters could be heard. Hyewon watches how Minju would lean her head on Taeyong’s shoulder, with how Seulgi directs the guy’s hand on where to hold. From time to time, Seulgi would walk over to the couple and change their position, putting their heads in a certain angle.

Hyewon watches it all but her focus is on Minju only, how the girl changes her gaze from time to time. The way she could gather all kinds of emotion in her eyes, and how she could make people believe that she’s in love with Taeyong’s character. She couldn’t deny that the two looks good, their chemistry in the drama is good. But off-cam, people can also tell that they are just good friends.

“They look good, don’t you think?” Hyewon voiced out her opinion as she watches the shoot continue. Yunho sometimes telling Seulgi how he wants it to look and Seulgi nodding her head. Just then, she caught Minju’s gaze on her. Hyewon didn’t notice how her heart skipped a little bit instead, she sees Minju tilting her head questioningly at her and gesture for an ‘okay’ sign – as if asking her if she did good.

Hyewon smiles at the girl and gave her two thumbs up, she then brushes her hair for Minju to follow. The latter got it and fixed her hair and Hyewon smiled nodding her head approvingly, but in all honesty – Minju could nail this shoot effortlessly.

“They do look good.” She heard Chaeyeon answering her question from earlier, but there’s something in her tone that made Hyewon look at the girl – waiting for her to continue. “But I don’t know, their chemistry is good in the drama but it’s not that good.”

“What?” Hyewon laughs at the statement, because in her opinion Minju and Taeyong’s chemistry is to die for. “Their chemistry is topnotch.”

She sees Chaeyeon looking at her and Hyewon feels weird with how the girl is looking at her, so she avoids Chaeyeon’s eyes and watches the shoot again. She was slightly surprised that Minju seems to be staring at her at that moment, but she continued to stare back – she’s not even sure if the girl is actually staring at her since she’s in a shoot.

“You’ll see in the trailer they’ll release tomorrow.” Chaeyeon said beside her, “Have you read your script Hyewon?”

The singer looked at the girl in disbelief, but it seems like the girl is not asking her in a bad way but more of a curious way. Chaeyeon looks genuinely curious and Hyewon thinks about the question and the answer was obvious. “Yes, of course.”

“And you haven’t thought of anything about it?” Chaeyeon asked Hyewon as she tilts her head, “About your character?”

Hyewon looks up and remembers how her character – Seri, acts in her script. The description and how she handles situation and the way she talks to each character in the drama. “Well, she’s kind of a hard nut on the outside but is actually really soft. Unless they get into her bad side.”

“Right, and the only time they get on her bad side is when it involves Hyeri.”

Hyewon hums, “Right, very best friend like. I even cringe sometimes when I see our scenes together and dialogues.”

Chaeyeon chuckles making Hyewon look at her questioningly, the former just shakes her head before patting Hyewon’s shoulder. “Just wait for the comments, okay?”

“What?”

“You and Minju really act effortlessly with each other,” Chaeyeon said, “For a first-timer, you’re really good.”

Hyewon didn’t think much of what Chaeyeon said and just gave her a big smile and nods her head, “Minju’s a great help for me, she always makes things easier.” She said mindlessly and she looks in front, catching Minju’s eyes again and unlike before, she gave the actress a huge grin and mouthing something.

‘You look beautiful’

Hyewon was suddenly called by her manager and she quickly avert her eyes and pats Chaeyeon on her shoulders, walking over to where Eunbi and Irene was. What she didn’t notice is how Chaeyeon saw the interaction, and how the latter saw Minju getting flustered.

Chaeyeon is not sure but it seems like a real-life drama will come into life soon.

 

-

 

Hyewon groans as soon as she steps her foot in front of the frame, she knows that Seulgi is having a great time judging from the grin that the girl is wearing. She watches her cousin go to the side and she could see that Seulgi is fishing out her phone, Hyewon just closes her eyes at what her cousin is planning. She has a feeling that she’s going to smack Seulgi after the shoot.

She suppressed a groan when she heard the first beat coming out from the loudspeakers, some photoshoots always have music and somehow, Seulgi used it as her advantage the moment Hyewon stepped into the frame. She could see the older girl grinning and walking over to her camera. “I work better with music, if you don’t mind.”

Hyewon would not mind, really. She appreciates music as she is a musician herself, but she does mind when her cousin is blasting Hyewon’s songs for all of them to hear. It feels awkward to see people listening to her songs unless she’s performing or in a concert. Not in this kind of setup.

She then sees Minju and Taeyong all changed up for their next shoot, and she watches how Taeyong got excited hearing her song. Somehow, Hyewon couldn’t look at Minju because she feels embarrassed. She quickly looks in front and looks at Seulgi unamused. “What pose would I do?”

The photographer smiles at her and she doesn’t if Seulgi is playing with her or in the zone. She remembers the first time she worked with her cousin; the setup was the same – loud music coming from the speakers. Seulgi telling her to just feel the music, it was not a problem since that was a photoshoot for her album but this it’s different.

“Be your character.” Seulgi unhelpfully suggested, “It’s almost the same as you anyway, come on.”

Hyewon nods and looks behind her to see the chair as a prop, she points at it. “I’ll use this?” She sees Seulgi nodding her head.

“Sit there nonchalantly.”

Just then the music changed and Hyewon released a breathy laugh, coincidentally it changed to her Pour Up – some song to vibe with that bougie feel. As Seri, she swings her leg over the chair, the back part of it against her front as she leans her chin against her palm. “Like this?”

Seulgi nods, “Now look at the camera like a bored person you are. It would come naturally; you always look bored anyways.”

Hyewon rolls her eyes and closed it for a second and inhales before opening and tilting her head to look at Seulgi. Just like that, the both of them get into the rhythm of the shoot. Seulgi directing her sometimes, with Yunho watching from the side and nodding his head with agreement.

“Brush your hair with your hands and look at me.” Seulgi ordered and Hyewon nods her head, adjusting herself from the seat. She did just what her cousin told her, and her eyes caught Minju, she could see the girl looking at her and Hyewon suddenly felt nervous and conscious.

A few shots later, Yunho talked to Seulgi and Joy walked over to her for some retouches. “How did I do, unnie?” She asked Joy, the girl smiled before doing her job.

“You’re a natural.” Joy complimented her, “Why didn’t you take modeling?”

Hyewon shrugs, “Not for me, I get awkward and conscious.” She answered closing her eyes for Joy and tapping her foot to the beat of the music, mouthing the words from her music.

“For a singer, you’re really good with your eyes.” Joy chuckles, “You can get anyone with those gazes of yours.”

“Just make some sleepy eyes and tilt your head, it does all the work.” Hyewon jokes, opening her eyes when Joy told her to do so. The make-up artist satisfied with her work steps away from Hyewon.

“Yeah, it seems like it got someone’s attention.” Joy grins making Hyewon confused.

“What?”

Joy glances at Seulgi, the photographer waiting for them. She then turns to Hyewon patting her shoulder, “Keep up the good work, but don’t be too good. Someone might fall.”

Without waiting for a reply, she walks away making Hyewon scratch her head, she then turns around to look at Seulgi. “Now, look innocent.”

“I am innocent.” Hyewon retorts back, walking over to the center fixing her hair and putting her hands in her pocket. She looks up catching Minju watching her intently, and when she sees the girl looking at her straight in the eyes, she smiled widely at Minju.

Suddenly a flash came from the front, surprising her. “Good, that’s the end.”

“Hey, I was not ready!” Hyewon exclaims and stomps over at Seulgi, seeing if the latter is joking but it seems like she is really satisfied with the shot. One thing is for sure when it comes to Seulgi, she never ever jokes around with her work – she’ll be frank if it’s not good or if it is. She sees Seulgi looking over to the monitor where the camera is connected, scrolling through the photos.

“It’s good, look.” Seulgi said pointing at the picture and Hyewon pauses and looks at it, she couldn’t deny that it indeed looks good. But the point is, she was not looking at the camera at that time, she was looking at –

“Your smile is amazing, haven’t seen that smile in a while Hyewonnie.” Irene voiced out loud, and zooms in to the picture, “It looks just like when you were just starting.”

Hyewon cleared and she could see the other people checking the picture and nodding their head, she steps away from the crowd. “You did say innocent.”

Seulgi chuckles, “Change up, you’ll have another one.”

“What?”

Seulgi nods her head over Yunho, the director talking with the writers seeming to discuss something. “They wanted to highlight your character and Minju’s, the friendship and all that.”

Hyewon frowns at what she heard and looks at her manager, Eunbi just shrugged her shoulders obviously not having any idea with it either. “Oh, that’s weird but okay.”

“Please don’t be awkward with each other, I don’t want to have a hard time.” Seulgi begs and Hyewon slaps her arm.

“Seulgi has a point Hyewonnie, we all know how you get awkward when you shoot with someone.” Irene chimes in and Hyewon huffs out. She just walked away from the two as they laugh, walking to the dressing but was stopped when someone called her.

“You did really good.”

She looks behind her to see Minju approaching her, now wearing some business clothes that screams power. Hyewon raised her eyebrow, “For a useless character, you’re making a statement with that.” She points at the clothes.

Minju rolls her eyes, “We’ll be having a shoot together, did you know that?”

Hyewon hums walking to the dressing room and was surprised that Minju was following her, but then realizes that the shoot won’t start since they are still changing the backdrop and the props. “Yeah, kind of weird if you ask me.”

“Well, if you actually piece it together it seems like out friendship will play a huge part in it.”

Hyewon looks at the younger girl and thinks about what Chaeyeon said, maybe she didn’t actually read the script properly. “Oh, really?”

Minju gives her a disbelief look and Hyewon just gave her a grin. She sees the younger girl shaking her head in amusement, “I actually like your songs after listening to them.”

Hyewon groans out loud at the topic change, it is very awkward talking about her songs unless it is for an interview. “Please.”

“Any recommendations?” Minju grins wiggling her eyebrows.

Hyewon glances at the younger girl, twisting the knob to the room. “Scenery, give it a listen.” She smiles before entering the room.

Hyewon looks at herself in front of the mirror, now sporting some really soft long sleeves and black pants. She touches the long sleeves and was amazed how soft it was, thinking that she needs to buy the same brand. She walks out of the room and could see that Chaeyeon and Minju’s shoot was about to finish, Taeyong is currently nibbling on some snacks – the guy noticed her arrival and waves at her.

“Hey, you already finished?” Hyewon asked and shakes her head when Taeyong offered her some snacks. The guy is surprisingly a good company during the times they shoot some scenes together, Taeyong would sometimes help her and is really patient. He knows when to crack some jokes in the set when everything gets too serious, making the atmosphere good and relaxed.

“Yeah, you and Minju will go next.” Taeyong nods his head, “To be honest, I don’t think this drama would be a hit.”

Hyewon looks at the guy incredulously, she didn’t expect that coming from Taeyong especially since all the drama he has been casted were all a hit. What’s the problem with this drama that he thinks like that?

“That’s impossible, you and Minju are here.”

Taeyong scoffs and shakes his head, making Hyewon confused a little bit more. “No, that’s not what I mean.”

“What?”

Taeyong glanced at her then turned his attention to the snacks on the table, looking for something. “It won’t be a hit because of us, I think there would be another factor.”

“What do you mean?” Hyewon asks again but before Taeyong could answer she is already being called to the set. The guy just gave her a grin and Hyewon rolled her eyes at how Taeyong stuck his tongue out, she sees Chaeyeon walking away and smiling at her.

“Goodluck Hyewon.” Chaeyeon said to her with an encouraging smile, “I’ll be cheering for you at the side.”

Hyewon chuckles and says a quiet ‘thank you’ she then looks ahead to see Minju fixing her clothes, she smiles at the younger girl. There’s a big contrast between their clothes at that time, where Minju just gives off some high-maintenance vibe while Hyewon is just like a normal citizen. But that’s how their characters are, a weird friendship and dynamic between Hyeri and Seri.

Minju looks at her and waves her hand, Hyewon walks over to Minju standing beside her. “Yes, Ms. Hyeri, what can I do for you?”

The younger girl rolls her eyes but went with the act, putting on some bored face. “I’m hungry, buy me some food Seri-ah.”

Hyewon chuckles at how Minju whined and pouted, “You’re the rich one here, don’t look at me.”

“You’re useless.” Minju sticks her tongue out playfully and just then, Seulgi cleared to get their attention. The two of them turned to the photographer and Seulgi stares at them for a moment before nodding her head, observing the set and the desk behind them as a prop.

“Hyewon, you sit on the desk while Minju leans on it.” Seulgi instructed and the two immediately followed, the older girl watching the two and looking at them through her camera. “Move closer to each other, yes okay.”

With Hyewon sitting on the desk she’s a few inches taller than Minju since the latter is leaning on it, her body slightly slanted – a perfect vibe for how Minju’s character is uptight while Hyewon is a bit loose though gives off a protective aura. She looks at Seulgi waiting for an instruction, and the latter looks at them again. “Okay, now act like two best friends. Just like how you two were talking earlier.”

The two of them looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders, Hyewon raised her eyebrows at Minju since the latter seems to be thinking something. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Minju looks at her, “I don’t know how to execute what she wants; I mean we just talk?”

Hyewon laughs and she could hear the camera shutter, but she just ignored it. “We are talking now, and Seulgi-unnie is not complaining so, I think we’re doing good.”

Minju nods her head slowly, “So, can I ask you something?” She leans closer and squints her eyes, Hyewon pulled away sl