The cafe door opened and a woman who came out from inside cautiously called out to Hwi-gyeom. When Hwi-gyeom made eye contact with the woman, her pale face turned bright red.
“If it’s okay with you, would you like to sit at our table together? There’s one seat available…”
Looking at the table the woman pointed to, her friends waved their hands slightly. After thinking for a moment, Hwi-gyeom accepted the woman’s offer.
“Then I’ll impose on you.”
“Yes.”
He headed to the table following the woman. After entering this body, he had become somewhat accustomed to receiving people’s stares, but right now even Hwi-gyeom was a bit flustered. With a little exaggeration, it felt like his face would be bored through.
“Hello.”
Hwi-gyeom greeted them and sat in the empty chair.
“What would you like to drink? I’ll buy it for you…”
But the woman who had suggested sharing the table suddenly said she would buy him a drink. Flustered, Hwi-gyeom shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. I’m grateful enough that you gave up your seat. Is there any dessert you’d like? I’ll buy it.”
There was still a lot of money left that he had received from Seo-jin. At Hwi-gyeom’s words as he picked up his wallet, the women exchanged glances with each other.
“His manners are good too. This is crazy.”
“Why is his face so small? I think it’s similar to our Hye-ryeong’s?”
“Hey, my heart is pounding so much right now. I am breathing properly, right?”
Their voices were quiet enough that Hwi-gyeom couldn’t hear them whispering. Hwi-gyeom went to the counter without interrupting their conversation, paid for one hot Americano for himself and two slices of cake, and returned.
A moment later, a cafe employee came to the table carrying a tray with the drinks and cake.
“Here you go. En-enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
When Hwi-gyeom smiled and thanked her, the employee returned with a happy smile.
“I thought cream and chocolate would be safe choices, so I got these two. Please share them.”
Hwi-gyeom, who only placed the mug of coffee in front of himself, pushed the desserts toward the women. Then he took out a script collection from his bag.
He had already memorized everything, but he planned to keep practicing until the audition. Since this was his first audition in this body, he kept getting nervous.
Even though he was confident in his acting, you never knew. In the past, he had never once been cast in a proper role. Even though he received compliments that he acted quite well, that was all.
“Um, excuse me. Are you here today for a drama audition at that building?”
It was while Hwi-gyeom was slowly looking through the script from the first page. The woman who had spoken first asked with sparkling eyes.
“Ah, yes. How did you know?”
His concentration was broken, but Hwi-gyeom’s expression was gentle. The script was already in his head. Thinking the woman in front of him might also be here for the audition, he felt pleased.
“Actually, we’re fans of ThirTease’s Hye-ryeong. Everyone in this cafe is a fan. Hye-ryeong is auditioning today, so we gathered to support her. You know Hye-ryeong, right?”
“Of course I know her.”
Contrary to Hwi-gyeom’s expectation, the woman was Hye-ryeong’s fan. Considering her SNS follower count, it made sense that this many fans had gathered.
“And I majored in theater and film, so shall I read the opposite role’s lines for you? It’ll help you relax too.”
“Oh, really?”
Hwi-gyeom’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Certainly, acting practice was better when there was someone to play the opposite role than doing it alone. That’s why Hwi-gyeom would deliberately record the opposite role’s lines and practice as if there was someone there.
Hwi-gyeom didn’t pass up the opportunity. Since he had memorized all the lines anyway, he handed the script collection to the woman. While they were at it, they also introduced themselves to each other.
The woman who introduced herself as Lee Na-ri grinned and took the script collection. Her friends casually mentioned that Na-ri was from Korea National University of Arts.
Hwi-gyeom’s eyes sparkled. Korea National University of Arts was the school Hwi-gyeom had really wanted to attend in the past. Due to various circumstances, he hadn’t even been able to submit an application.
“I’ll be in your care.”
Hwi-gyeom bowed his head politely. Na-ri cleared her throat and opened the script collection. Na-ri and her friends were impressed seeing the notes densely written on the paper.
Hwi-gyeom’s appearance while they were eagerly waiting for Hye-ryeong to arrive was shocking itself. They had never seen someone this handsome in their lives.
Actually, Na-ri and her friends couldn’t chase after all of Hye-ryeong’s schedules. Since they were in their mid-twenties, each had their own main job.
However, since they had become friends through their shared love of Hye-ryeong since high school, when they occasionally had time like this, they would meet to catch up and satisfy their fan urges by seeing Hye-ryeong’s face once.
When Hwi-gyeom first stood at the cafe entrance, a momentary silence fell inside the cafe. Everyone prided themselves on having seen quite a few celebrities, but there was definitely no one at Hwi-gyeom’s level.
Especially Na-ri, whose father was a famous film director, had many opportunities to see renowned actors from a young age. Among them was a film actor who, even now in his 40s, was still called a legendary handsome man.
Even then, Na-ri had just thought he was handsome. But Hwi-gyeom wasn’t at a level where she could just admire and move on.
Her heart trembled just watching him blink his eyes right in front of her. It was as if he wasn’t a person of this world. What on earth had he eaten growing up that his skin showed not a single pore, not a single blemish, and the harmony of his eyes, nose, and mouth set in his tiny face was astounding.
It was a face that would overwhelm even standing next to foreign actors. A beautiful face that transcended gender. She lamented where someone with such looks had been hiding.
With looks like that, just walking down the street, casting managers from various agencies would probably chase after him asking to sign with their companies.
“I’d like to practice Scene 3, is that okay?”
“What?”
“If you look here, there’s a scene where the female lead Lee Seo-jin talks to Cha Da-on.”
Na-ri, who had been thinking about other things and hadn’t properly heard Hwi-gyeom’s words, hurriedly moved her gaze to the script. A nice smell came from Hwi-gyeom as he leaned forward. It had a sweet scent mixed with a slight floral fragrance, making her want to ask what perfume he used.
Realizing she was being too much like a pervert, Na-ri focused on the script. There were only a few lines. After quickly memorizing the lines, she glanced at Hwi-gyeom. Even though it wasn’t her first time acting, she was very nervous.
Moreover, according to the script, the male lead had a one-sided crush on the female lead, but with this face, she thought it couldn’t possibly end as unrequited love.
Phew, get it together, Lee Na-ri.
In an instant, Na-ri’s eyes changed. The excited mood disappeared and she became a fresh college student with a freshman-like innocent atmosphere.
“Huh? You’re Cha Da-on, right? You sat behind me in liberal arts class last time.”
At Na-ri’s suddenly thrown line, a smile spread across Hwi-gyeom’s lips.
The emotions he had felt while reading the script came back to life. Currently, he was Cha Da-on, who had a one-sided crush on Lee Seo-jin standing in front of him. Cha Da-on, who had kept her in his heart from the moment he first saw her at orientation and was frozen in nervousness because the girl suddenly talked to him.
Hwi-gyeom’s expression also changed instantly. The face that had been wearing a calm smile became stiff like a robot. At a glance it looked expressionless, but his thick eyelashes were trembling finely.
“…Yeah. Right.”
“Are you very busy right now? I have a favor to ask.”
Na-ri clasped her hands together and looked at Hwi-gyeom with a desperate expression. At her lovely appearance that made it impossible not to grant her request, Hwi-gyeom forcibly put strength into his head that was reflexively trying to move.
Standing in front of the person he liked, he was conscious of even his breathing. Not wanting to show an absent-minded appearance, he put strength into his expression and ended up looking angry.
Na-ri’s expression clouded. At her dejected face, Hwi-gyeom wanted to stamp his feet.
“You’re busy. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just about to go to a cafe.”
Blaming himself for his poor way with words, he barely managed to stop Na-ri.
“Huh? Then can I buy you coffee?”
“…Yeah.”
His heart was pounding. He couldn’t believe the reality that he was conversing with his unrequited crush whom he had only watched from afar.
“Um, you know. You’re a media studies major, right?”
At the cautious voice, Hwi-gyeom nodded. Na-ri’s cheeks flushed.
“Do you know Kang Min-seong?”
Even while acting, Na-ri couldn’t understand the character. Of course, Hwi-gyeom hadn’t been cast as the drama’s lead, but she couldn’t understand Seo-jin’s psychology of leaving aside this appearance to like someone else.
