성재:  “Hey Sungjae,”

“Oh?”

“Is that kid alright now?” Ilhoon-hyung asks when I move a little to the left to make room for him to sit. His eyes dart from the seat to where Se Na is.

“I think she is,”

Hyung smirks, and tugs the end of his long sleeve down. He folds his arms. “That’s great news, then,”

“Indeed.”

The next moments are, surprisingly, somewhat taciturn. This doesn’t usually happen. I just sit here, staring at something that is located across the room and then it’s late when I realize that I am gawking at it so when someone calls—

“Places, everyone! Places!”

I tear off my gaze away from Minhyuk-hyung and Se Na who keep on bantering at each other with much fun.

I already do have the intention of rising from my seat but Ilhoon-hyung’s double pat on my forearm beats me to it. “Yeah.” is what I mutter, and I rise, and walk to where the next scene should be filmed. The kitchen counter, where all apparatus for cooking are present, along with some ingredients for delicious viands. I put my hand on the counter, stare down at the light brown, almost yellow, surface of the counter. I wonder how we will do this.

“Ah, oppa, you look so gay in that apron,” I’m a little startled when Se Na is suddenly beside me, sticking her tongue out at Minhyuk-hyung who is on her right.

Minhyuk-hyung manfully takes this with a laugh. “But I am very yeppeo, am I not?” he says, batting his eyes while his hands are on his cheeks.

Se Na just rolls her eyes at this with an amused snicker, and just curtly nods her head. “I know,”

The director announces the positioning of all the cameras around in the set, and everyone who are not yet posted in their stations run frantically to go to their area. When everything is set—lights, camera, we do the action.

“Oh, what is Sungjae doing here?” Minhyuk-hyung asks Bo Mi, looking at her for half of the sentence then at me at the next.

“I…” I eye the ingredients before us. “Well, I…don’t know how to cook so I figured…maybe hyung could teach me,”

“Oh come on you can’t refuse him on this one, “ Bo Mi huffs.

“Alright then,”

“Get your apron,” Bo Mi, or Se Na, whispers to me with a convincing twinkle of the eyes. She motions to a certain corner in the kitchen where aprons are hung, and I take on, and don it on.

“How do I look?” I ask my best friend, both in the story and in real life.

Bo Mi looks away while covering , making rough sounds at the back of her nose.

“Come on there was nothing else!” I whine, and feel smug and natural at the same time as to how I am delivering all of these very well.

“Ya Bo Mi why are you such a bully?” Minhyuk-hyung nudges his supposed-dongsaeng, with a reproachful look on his face. “It’s okay. Come, let’s start cooking,”

And before I even know it, Minhyuk-hyung starts to teach us how to cook the basics of Korean cuisine. With of course with a few cuts here and there, because we’re on a filming, but in all honesty everything just feels so natural. Like I’ve been with my element all this time. And Bo Mi and Se Na not being so far apart in character just even makes me more convinced by the idea that nothing is the difference.

It takes us only fifty-two takes to complete that scene, and taking probably two hours.

“Cut!” there’s a huge click that echoes and of course we all hear it. At that monosyllable all three of us snap our heads to the direction of where the director is sitting, and we’re genuinely relieved that he is wearing a contented expression on his face. “Good job!”

All three of us hiss a blissful ‘yes’ with a fist pump, and Se Na and Minhyuk-hyung and I all exchange double high-fives with each other.

“All cameras proceed to location A!” one PD exclaims.

Minhyuk-hyung, Se Na, and I remain in our positions, feasting our eyes on the food set before us that we ourselves had made. “They don’t have to clean this up, do they?” I ask.

Se Na never tears her gaze off the spicy rice cakes. “If they do I’m gonna cry,”

“Dig in!” Minhyuk-hyung recommends, or more like commands, stifling a laugh.

“Heeheeheehee,” then here come the remaining five people, marching in a train-like manner while giggling and checking out of curiosity what are on the counter. Changsub-hyung even laughs getting a piece of meat and chucking it into his mouth. It’s funny because whilst they invade our space, the three of us have to make room for them and, Minhyuk-hyung, unconsciously making room for Donggeun-hyung, makes me want to thank him because simply putting it, I ship these two. Se Na and Donggeun-hyung, that is.

“Oh, goody, who made this one?” Peniel-hyung asks with a smile, while chewing on something which I think is a vegetable.

Minhyuk-hyung nods with the same expression and interjects, “Se Na!”

Se Na, having heard her name, quickly looks, abruptly ending her little banter with Eunkwang-hyung over the rice cakes. “Bwoh?”

“This is really tasty, Se Na-ssi,” Peniel-hyung says, looking down at the one in the middle of us two.

I expect her to react just like it. “Why, uh, thanks,” she says, and immediately channeling her attention back on the rice cakes and I don’t know which is redder—the soup on this table, or Se Na’s ears.

We continue to eat and eat, and, because the next scenes are to be filmed, the actors for it are called for:  Changsub-hyung, Minhyuk-hyung, and Hyunsik-hyung. Ilhoon-hyung, though, is called by the stylists, leaving our leader and our trio for this feast.

“Se Na, geez, you eat too much,” I say to her with ill surprise, gagging at her greed.

She continues chewing and says, with full but her hand is covering it, “Life is short, Jae. I should eat as much as I want,”

Huffing at this I just toss the idea of how ridiculous her comeback is.

“Ah, Se Na-ya, there’s something on your face,” Eunkwang-hyung looks at her and points the corner of his own mouth. He scratches it very lightly, making the gesture more convincing.

“Where?” Se Na touches the wrong side.

“Ani. There,”

“Here?” she points it wrongly.

Peniel-hyung, who ostensibly is on her right, finally teaches her where the dirt lies exactly. “Here, Se Na-ssi,” he touches her right cheek, and wipes the smudged area with his thumb. I didn’t know hyung would do that; I almost gasp, as a matter of fact, but all in all, really, I just want to squeal in joy but that would be quite inappropriate to do. As if that isn’t enough, he frames her jaw with a hand and taps away the few remaining morsels on her face.

“A-ah, ya,” Se Na flinches, drawing away and away from him. “It’s okay now,”

Finally, hyung realizes what he’s doing—that he’s not doing this with just someone, but definitely, ultimately, the girl he likes. He quickly removes his hands off of her. “Sorry,”

I take a look at Eunkwang-hyung who’s just smiling slyly while shaking his head, and takes in another piece of food. “Though admit it we’ll have to prepare ourselves soon, don’t you think?” my best friend jests, though the pink of her face is already shading to scarlet.

“Right,” Hyung answers, twice the shyness; forgetting that food is supposed to be eaten, not to be stared at.

“Should we?” taking a rice cake piece Se Na almost drops it because her hand is shaking violently.

“Yeah; should we?”

What these two are talking about is really obvious. Well, the chapter three kiss, yes?

“Pyo Se Na-ssi?” someone comes to the rescue; a PD noona. “Please come with me; the stylists need you,”

I don’t know if the other two hear it but I do, Se Na’s sigh that is, and she gives us a bidding smile before leaving.

“Peniel-hyung,” I call him, a playful smile hanging on my lips. He turns, and I start nudging him with my elbow. “Yeeee,”

He knits his brows. “What?”

“Yeeeee,”

He gets what I mean and finally, he sasses, “Cut it out,” but he’s on the verge of laughing.

I start poking him on the sides. “Hyung has a crush on Se Na, hyung has a crush on Se Naaaa,” I coo, and laugh manically.

“Really, Sungjae, stop that,”

“Yeeee,”

He laughs. “Seriously!”

“But really, Donggeun, are you and Se Na really going to…you know?” Eunkwang-hyung, of course still present in the room, inquires.

“I don’t know. We haven’t seen the script yet,” he sighs.

“That would be Se Na’s first kiss,” I giggle. “Ooooh that must mean you’ll win the cake! Congratulations, hyung!” I continue teasing.

He gives me a glare for that, which causes me to stop, but my mouth is just forced down to prevent the smile.

“But are you prepared for that?” Eunkwang-hyung asks him.

Shin immediately lost eye contact. “I think she would really mind,”

“Go and talk to her,” I recommend, all of a sudden a tad serious.

“How?”

I shrug my shoulders up. “Ask her if she’d mind,” but she wouldn’t, definitely, because she likes you too!!! I squeal internally.

“Alright then,”

Later that day, the shooting ends at an hour earlier than it should be. We choose not to question about it though. As usual we choose to hang out at the office, eating, playing—the usual. But inside me I don’t know why I’m not feeling so well. Something is making me not so comfortable. Whatever that is, I don’t know—I absolutely have no idea, but I’m sure it’s really unnerving that it’s making me cross.

Presently I am seated silently while Ilhoon-hyung talks about a funny account of what happened today. “And the director was like, take 20, action! But still Hyunsik-hyung couldn’t snap out of his NG,” and everyone hysterically laughed, including Se Na of course, and I look at her intently, trying to examine myself if she had caused any of this discomfort. Then I feel alarmed all of a sudden when I realize she is. I further want to cogitate on why, but my thoughts are rudely interrupted when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I excuse myself from the crowd, and go out to answer my mother’s call.

“Yobosseyo?”

“Eomma,” I say. “How are you? Have you eaten?”

“Sungjae-ya…ah, ne, ne; eomma has eaten. There’s something I need to tell you,”

By the sound of her voice I suddenly feel myself tense. “What is it?”

“It’s about your noona. There’s a little…problem,”

And, as my mother relays to me the account of a certain matter about my sister, I feel as if I’m being mauled by animals. Now this was a serious matter. When I put the phone down since the call’s ended, I feel like I couldn’t feel happy properly. It was serious. What’s more is that my sister is far away from us now. I come back to the room with no intention of telling this matter to them. It’s a private family matter.

This is how she knows me perfectly that as soon as I am back in the room my best friend immediately recognizes my change in nature just by looking at my face. I don’t know what she really sees but she instantly mouths, what is it?

I just tighten my lips and do a curt shake of the head, shutting her out of my life on this matter.

Of course she feels a little injured at that but Se Na is an understanding person; very considerate and conscious when it comes to the matter of self space, so she lets it go. Up until she goes home, while she bids, she doesn’t ask again but whispers in my ear before she leaves, “Tell me when you’re ready,”

And I feel guilty because I accuse Se Na of giving me a bad mood. I don’t even know the reason.

Thirty hours after my mother had delivered me the bad news of my sister’s dire state I am still not in the proper spirits. They’re starting to wonder why I’m a little languid, and Se Na seems like she doesn’t care. Maybe she isn’t curious enough. Maybe she just lets me wallow in the tragedy of this problem. Maybe she doesn’t care because she’s too absorbed in these other people—especially Peniel-hyung!

Another day passes. I’m given an update about my sister’s condition. The doctors are still monitoring her intently, but even though my mother assures me that she’s fine because that’s what the doctors had told her, I’m still dubious. I still feel alone.

The next day I’m really cranky because, for one, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and, another, my lingering problem about my sister that’s etched at the back of my mind that comes resurfacing whenever I don’t get to distract myself. However I maintain a good acting façade, goodness knows, but now my performance in acting is slightly affected and my NGs are nothing if not increasing. Also the fact that I’m waiting for Se Na to approach me is driving me nuts and I’m like, what kind of best friend are you?!

However, suddenly, while we’re filming the last few scenes of chapter two she confronts me. “Jae,” she says, a serious, almost angry look exhibited by the way her brows and mouth are fashioned.

I just look at her.

“I think I’ve given you well enough time and I think you should tell me,” maybe it’s the way she says it. Or maybe because I’m just really peevish today, or maybe because I don’t want, yet at the same time I do—want to talk about it; just…I feel like I don’t want my internal chagrin to be verbally expressed though inside I’m begging to be comforted. I don’t know! I’m trapped in a whirlwind of emotions I don’t know how I should feel.

“Noona,” is all I say, and Se Na steps closer to me.

“What? Why?”

“She’s been involved in an accident and other than that…lately, she’d been running into trouble,”

“What did she do?”

I sit down hastily and cover both sides of my head with my hands. “Ugh, I don’t know, Se Na! Whenever we talk I keep on telling her to just break away from those bad habits but she just wouldn’t listen! She keeps on drinking!”

Se Na snickers in disbelief. “Eonni? Why, that sounds like she’s fallen out of character,”

I don’t respond to this.

“But it’ll pass, too, Jae,” she says, recommending a laugh, maybe with the intention of lighting up my mood, but I misinterpret this, taking it wrongly—making the worst mistake of my life ever.

"You'll never understand," I heave a tired breath, covering one side of my face. "It's a family matter. You don't--"

But she takes this wrongly and I admit: I might have said that in an indeed tactless way. She just stares at me with hurt in her eyes, and she stands abruptly, saying, accompanied by a huff, "Fine." and she leaves.

And thus my greatest offense against her, that she doesn’t talk to me for the days that follow.

AND DROLLEY UPDATES!!! I had to because I'll be having exams this week and also, sorry for taking long. I want to study but ajkhfahsd okay. I'll try to update later this day. okay farewell! let's see how the quarrel of the best friends will turn out! :D

best wishes,

b