*This chapter contains references to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If you are not familiar with it you may or may not want to google the synopsis.

Jjung, Ssul, Suzy, Luna, and AJ: Age 18/19/20

I slowly grew to accept Ssul and AJ hyung being together although it still felt like my heart was being ripped out every time I saw them together. They told me that they were taking things slow as well. They didn’t want to rush into anything. It was unfortunate that Luna was still angry about the whole situation and she had stopped having lunch with us. Sometimes I would wonder what would have happened if I really couldn’t accept them. How would I show up to class and have to sit next to her the entire day, every day? But for me, I could never be so angry at Ssul that I never wanted to talk to or see her again. I was happy just to have her by my side even if she was just a friend.

The year was coming to an end and everyone was busy with their finals and other end of school activities. Part of the school’s tradition was that a play would be held after finals which all senior students were required to participate in. This was in conjunction with the drama club and all other students were welcomed to volunteer or audition. It was a huge annual production.

Suz was in the drama club and was given the task of directing the entire production. She and I were an official couple now; almost everyone in school knew we were dating. It was the biggest responsibility she had ever been given so I told her that I would help her in any way she needed. The next thing I knew, I had somehow been roped into auditioning for the play. Apparently, no one wanted to audition for the main roles so she was pretty desperate for volunteers. I then convinced AJ hyung to audition as well since he was a senior and was required to participate in some way. In turn, hyung made Ssul audition as well to keep him company. Great, we’re all going to be stuck together yet again…

It turned out that the play was going to be Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was a really complicated story but apparently hyung knew the story well so Suz begged him to take the male lead in the play as Lysander. Suz gave Ssul the part of Helena the supporting female role. It turned out that Ssul was actually quite a talented actress. Shockingly she gave me the part of Puck which was basically the character that held the story together, probably because no one else wanted to do it. If she wasn’t my girlfriend, I would have absolutely refused to do it. It was a huge responsibility though and I was starting to regret having auditioned. Finally, Luna was cast as Hermia, the female lead. Luna was also part of the drama club so she and Suz had a relatively good relationship. However, when she found out that AJ hyung was playing Lysander, she nearly flipped out. She protested to Suz but Suz held firm on her decision. It took awhile but Luna agreed to put her feelings aside for the good of the production. She didn’t want to ruin it for everyone else especially since she was a senior too.

Since most seniors were busy preparing for finals, practice for the play were only held once a week before finals but after finals were over, we met up to practice every school day. It basically meant that Ssul, hyung, Luna, Suz and myself were spending A LOT of time together. Luna was being surprisingly mature about having to work with Ssul and hyung. I had expected her to refuse to cooperate. I kept a close eye on everyone just in case unnecessary drama arose. I had told Suz about the entire situation with hyung, Ssul and Luna but I didn’t think she really understood how it affected all four of us. It was better if she didn’t know. Every now and then I saw how Luna looked at AJ hyung. I could tell she still really liked him and cared for him. I wonder if that’s how I looked at Ssul…

Suz was really intense as a director. She took her job really seriously and wasn’t afraid to tell us what she wanted from us.

“Jjung, your character needs to feel more urgency. When he realizes that he had made the mistake of putting the potion on Lysander instead of Demetrius, he wants to fix it immediately before things got more and more complicated. But the character still needs to be playful and mischievous.”

“AJ oppa, when you’re under the spell you need to forget about Hermia completely and you need to look at Helena as if she was the only thing you saw. You’re completely infatuated with Helena like it consumed your entire being.”

“Ssul, as Helena you love Demetrius desperately but he’s in love with Hermia instead. So when both Lysander and Demetrius suddenly abandoned Hermia for you, you think they are playing a prank on you.”

“Luna unni, with Hermia, she and Lysander were in love and planning to elope but when he suddenly leaves you for Helena, you’re completely broken hearted and you think it’s because of your short stature.”

Her directions were very specific and to the point. Nothing was left to chance. Every part of the play was nitpicked at and we ran through each act over and over until it was perfect.

I was oddly attracted to this side of Suz. She was confident and intimidating, everything I wasn’t but secretly wanted to be. She was such an amazing girl; I never understood what she saw in me.

“So in this act, Puck’s mistake of putting the potion on Lysander had taken affect and he is now in love with Helena instead of Hermia. He chases after Helena and Hermia follows,” Suz explained.

We rehearsed the scene a few times but it felt a little flat.

“I think that Lysander should try and kiss Helena and when Hermia sees it, all hell would break loose. That would make it more interesting!” suggested one of the other actors.

WHAT?!

“Hmmm… that’s interesting. I don’t know if that was what Shakespeare originally intended but I’ll think about it. For now let’s stick with this and let’s move on,” Suz replied.

I let out a sigh of relief.

(A few days later…)

“Let’s revisit the scene where Lysander leaves Hermia for Helena…” Suz announced at the beginning of rehearsal that day. “I think we should do the kiss. We need to make the play more modern and update the story a little.”

A loud murmur broke across the room. Everyone was either excited or shocked.

“NO!” shouted Luna from the corner.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“No way! No! This is ridiculous!” she ranted.

“Unni, why don’t we just try it and see if it fits. If it doesn’t than we won’t do it,” Suz responded calmly but firmly.

Luna stormed out of the room without another word.

I turned to Suz. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked her because I didn’t think so. I didn’t want them to kiss either, especially not in front of the entire school…