Chapter 49: Ready, Action (1)

“Got the script, sending it now.”

This KakaoTalk message from Juho arrived Friday night.

We’d agreed to film from Saturday but hadn’t heard anything until now. I was about to ask if the schedule changed when they finally contacted me. They must have struggled writing the script to meet such a tight deadline.

Of course, that wasn’t my problem.

“How am I supposed to memorize this now?”

“You can memorize two or three lines at once, right? We’ll shoot in lots of small scenes so that’s all you need to do.”

Juho replied dismissively to my questioning response.

Was it really okay to split it into scenes? Well, if I couldn’t memorize my lines, Juho would be the only one suffering. If the great director said it was fine, I’d just have to accept it.

“So you’re saying I don’t really need to read it before coming?”

“Well… maybe read it once at least?”

Juho sent a bitter smile emoji along with this.

It felt like they were hiding some kind of scheme.

Though I didn’t know their intentions, I figured I should read it once. Making this judgment, I opened the attached file.

What appeared on screen was a script dozens of pages long. It included scene numbers, filming locations, scene descriptions, stage directions and dialogue. At a glance it looked professional enough to mistake for a real movie script.

The story summary was written at the very top of the first page:

‘A story of a man and woman who shouldn’t fall in love somehow becoming entangled and starting to share their hearts.’

…Somehow this plot felt oddly familiar.

Skimming through, the amount of dialogue didn’t seem too much. Well, they’d given the lead role to me who had zero acting experience. Better to minimize dialogue.

Thinking this while examining the script… something caught my eye.

I stopped scrolling and read carefully:

‘The two hold hands tightly while walking down the street. In a place with just the two of them, they wander without speaking a word. Then they look at each other and break into meaningless laughter.’

Hold hands? Well, romance couldn’t exist without physical contact but…

Whatever. Just holding hands wasn’t particularly difficult, and it was all just acting anyway. This was for Juho who’d pulled me out of crisis. I had to endure even if it felt awkward.

I flipped through a few more pages.

Again, my finger stopped abruptly in the middle.

‘The two embrace each other tightly. With expressions of longing as if never wanting to part, they maintain the hug for a long time.’

Even if it was acting, hugging was a bit…

No. Come to think of it, even friends hugged sometimes. To share joy over good news. Or as farewell when parting for a long time.

Being overly shy about this might seem stranger. Plus whatever the reason, I’d agreed to be an actor. Backing out the day before because I was embarrassed would make me terrible.

Right. Hugging was acceptable. Because it was part of acting. Because it was a request from Juho who helped me. At least it wouldn’t go further than this. …And we’d even hugged inside the winter coat before.

Repeating such thoughts in my head, I checked the end of the script.

‘The two gaze at each other tenderly. Looking straight into each other’s eyes, lightly holding each other’s waists. Then, they slowly bring their faces closer and.’

Closer and what?

The sentence cut off so perfectly. The script had one page left. With a sinking feeling, I slowly scrolled down.

The sentence on the final page read:

‘Share a deep kiss.’

…

I immediately closed the script and called Juho.

After a brief dial tone, an amused voice came through:

“Hello?”

“Are you crazy?”

“No?”

They responded so shamelessly.

“Even if it’s acting, you think I’d do that?”

“Why? Aren’t you two dating? Haven’t you kissed?”

When I laughed incredulously and questioned back, Juho replied nonchalantly.

They must be misunderstanding something. Or they knew and were just teasing.

“I told you it’s a fake relationship for rebellion. Maybe if we were really dating, but how could we kiss?”

That wasn’t all. Before dating, this school even blocked interaction between boys and girls. Even if it was for a movie, kissing would bring terrifying punishment.

Anyway, it was completely ridiculous. As I was feeling utterly dumbfounded, Juho quietly asked:

“Since you’re only refusing the kiss, seems you’ve already hugged?”

“…”

Their very accurate observation left me speechless.

“Oh? What? You really have?”

“No, forget that. Anyway, what are you going to do? Filming starts tomorrow morning, right? I absolutely can’t do a kiss.”

“Ah, hmm~ well…”

When I changed topics while evading, Juho fell into thought without pressing further. That was fortunate. It would be annoying to explain, and they’d just tease me anyway. This was much better.

Soon after, Juho said with a snort:

“But it’s strange. So-yul said she was fine with it.”

That was something I couldn’t ignore.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I sent her the script earlier and asked her to check it. She said it seemed fine.”

Though I asked again suspiciously, Juho’s answer didn’t change.

They’d sent it to So-yul to read and she’d accepted it saying it was fine. It was hard to believe.

So-yul was playful but meticulous and careful about everything. She wasn’t the type to brush off reviewing Juho’s script.

Above all, in a situation where she had to act with a fake boyfriend she didn’t even like. Wouldn’t she normally check if there was any uncomfortable physical contact?

I really couldn’t understand what So-yul was thinking.

But well, if So-yul agreed, there was no real reason for me to oppose it.

If I refused after So-yul accepted, it would seem like I was too conscious of it. It might hurt So-yul’s feelings. And Juho would have to struggle rewriting the script.

And… chances to kiss someone you liked were rare.

So I answered again.

In a voice that sounded guilty:

“…Fine. I’ll do it.”

From the other end of the phone, I thought I heard evil laughter.

◎

And so Saturday morning arrived.

I was walking while dressed in something resembling a suit.

Juho had asked us to come wearing our prettiest and most handsome outfits. Well, for a film club that barely scraped together enough members to get a camera, they obviously couldn’t afford actor costumes.

Though I lacked clothes and fashion sense, this was my best effort. While it might not earn compliments for being well-dressed, at least it shouldn’t draw criticism for being poorly dressed.

When I reached the stairs below the roof, our meeting spot, a familiar silhouette greeted me.

It was So-yul.

Wearing a thin dress. Her fair arms and legs were clearly visible. It was an outfit with high exposure suitable for the increasingly warm summer weather.

With clothes that captured her cheerful personality, combined with her exotic amber hair, she gave the impression of a willful princess.

Though there was time until our appointment, she was already here. Surely she hadn’t come early because she was excited like me… That would be ridiculous.

Noticing my presence, So-yul’s head turned this way.

Discovering me, her eyes went wide and she gave a small wave.

“…Hi.”

“…Oh, hi.”

The atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.

Since sleeping in the same bed due to that unexpected accident, this was the first time meeting So-yul up close.

Though we’d exchanged many messages since then, meeting face to face like this made the embarrassment from that time resurface.

Moreover, knowing what we’d have to do with each other soon made it even more embarrassing.

There were no shadows of people around. A brief conversation shouldn’t be a problem.

Hiding my awkwardness, I spoke:

“Have you been well?”

“I have, but you know that, right? Since we’ve been in touch.”

“That’s true.”

“Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mmm.”

…This wasn’t much of a conversation.

There was nothing else to say either. We’d just have to wait for Juho to arrive.

Just as I decided to keep quiet, this time So-yul brought something up:

“Oh, by the way.”

So-yul clapped her hands lightly then:

“I confirmed the girls’ dorm emergency exit is working again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I checked yesterday and it opened fine. Guess it was just broken temporarily that day.”

So-yul said while patting her chest proudly. As if showing off her own achievement.

“Bold of you to try going out again after what happened.”

Her enthusiasm for rebellion was impressive. Whether that was good or bad was questionable.

For some reason, So-yul’s expression turned sulky at my response. Though I hadn’t meant to be sarcastic, she clearly looked dissatisfied.

Then finally, while fidgeting with her fingers.

With a dejected face, looking straight up at me.

“When chances to meet someone you like decrease, isn’t it natural?”

“What…”

What was she suddenly saying?

As I just opened and closed my mouth in surprise, So-yul burst out with a “pfft.”

“…I was going to ask how that line sounded. Did it make your heart flutter?”

“You really.”

Really playing pranks at any time.

To release my rising irritation, I reached out and thoroughly messed up So-yul’s hair. So-yul pouted while saying “What are you doiiing. Stooop…” Her cuteness made me want to tease her more.

There, how do you like my counterattack? Now maybe you’ll stop playing pranks…

“My, what a close couple you are.”

In the middle of this, Juho’s voice suddenly came from beside us.

When I hastily withdrew my hand and turned around, Juho was intently watching us. Their eyes even held traces of disbelief.

What should I say? It felt like we’d shown something that shouldn’t have been seen.

“How long have you been there?”

“Since you started petting her.”

“Ah, I see.”

As I just clicked my tongue having nothing to say, Juho soon crossed their arms and asked:

“You said you two were fake dating, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mmhm.”

So-yul and I each answered this obvious question.

Then Juho smirked as if for us to hear:

“Good thing you both seem like you’ll act well.”

It was quite a pointed comment.