Kyuhyun embraced her. He smiled as they stood, her slim, petite frame enveloped in his arms. Min Soo nuzzled his neck, hugging him tighter.

“Stiff.”

Hyun Hee surveyed their movements, traipsing around the couple. Her gaze travelled up and down, taking in even the littlest details.

“Kyuhyun,” she called.

He broke away from Min Soo, grateful that it was over.

Hyun Hee leaned close to his ear and lowered her tone, “Do me a favor and try to stop looking constipated.”

He frowned.

“Go back and do it right.”

They were well into the final days of rehearsal. All morning they had been perfecting each scene. The last one seemed a little difficult, mostly because it involved a romantic exchange between the two leads. It seemed as if both actors woke up on the wrong side of their beds. Kyuhyun was not at all comfortable with the whole concept. Even Min Soo, who was usually the one with the strongest personality within the four walls, had a diminishing presence.

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Hyun Hee said, confronting the both of them at the center of the room. All eyes were on them.

 “This is supposed to be a happy scene and you are making it extremely depressing. We’re so close to opening night and I have no use for two amateurs right now. I thought you were professionals.”

Kyuhyun kept his head down, apologetic.

Min Soo met Hyun Hee’s eyes and then dropped her gaze.

“For the last time, go back to the final scene.”

With a wider stretch of effort, Kyuhyun and Min Soo got into their characters. Hyun Hee was too absorbed in being a director at the moment that she was fully detached from her emotional persona. She did not really notice their lack of distance, only the romance between Emmett and Elle. She paid no attention to the hand that hugged her closer to him. She was not really seeing Kyuhyun and Min Soo, only Emmett and Elle.

Hyun Hee stood next to them, a little more satisfied with the development.

“This is the part where both of you go for it.”

It took Kyuhyun so much effort to draw this particular part of the scene out of his thoughts. He so badly wanted to flush it out of his system.

“This kiss has to be realistic,” the director said, patting both actors on the back.

She faced Kyuhyun, “I don’t care if you want to modify it for the sake of your fans, just make it look realistic. Understand?”

For a girl who was just fuming with jealousy a couple of weeks ago, this surprised him. He hated it a little since he loved the green-eyed Hyun Hee so much.

With reluctance, Kyuhyun nodded.

“Good,” Hyun Hee said, clapping both of her hands together. “I guess that’s it. Let’s take a break then.”

The couple broke away from each other, with both feeling a sense of relief. Wordlessly and without her usual lashing comments, Min Soo left the room. Hyun Hee watched her and sighed; this must be a good sign. Maybe she was finally coming into terms with the magnitude of the project.  

Kyuhyun stayed where he was, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at Hyun Hee and shook his head, disgruntled.

“The things I do for Ms. Park.”

Hyun Hee chuckled.<