“I heard Yehyun-ssi comes to this cafe often.”
“To be precise, it’s a cafe that my lover, myself, and Yehyun-ssi—the three of us—come to often.”
At Yujin’s retort as if it were absurd, Onyoung scoffed.
A cafe the three of them come to often. The only thing one should feel from those words would be a sense of exclusion.
“So what? Are you saying I shouldn’t even set foot here because it’s a cafe the three of you frequent?”
What could be felt from Onyoung, played by Yuchan, was a sense of inferiority.
“Cut! Yuchan-ssi, too much emotion went into that. I told you to just moderately mock him.”
Thanks to that, it was already the fourth NG.
“I’m sorry. Please let me try once more.”
Haesung, sitting across from him, lowered his eyes as if bored and crossed his opposite leg.
“A junior who will surpass me…”
It was something other people wouldn’t have heard, but it was a story that would clearly stick with Yuchan.
Yuchan, who had been standing up and bowing his waist, turned his head toward Haesung.
Frustrating, but there were no words to counter with. He bit his lips tightly and plopped down in his seat, then straightened his back again.
Director Na’s signal came in, and the two started acting again.
“I heard Yehyun-ssi comes to this cafe often.”
“To be precise, it’s a cafe that my lover, myself, and Yehyun-ssi—the three of us—come to often.”
“So, are you saying I shouldn’t even set foot here because it’s a cafe the three of you frequent… surely you’re not telling me such a childish story?”
This time he got through it easily. At Onyoung’s appearance speaking with a bright smile, Yujin seemed flustered for a moment and lost his words.
Haesung, who had been silent for a moment, adjusted his posture and quietly watched Onyoung sitting in front of him. No, Yuchan who was acting as him.
No matter how much I think about it, it’s no different from myself, Dohyeong, and Yuchan.
I should remain only as a good hyung, a senior to Dohyeong. I don’t even have the right to stand in the way of Yuchan approaching Dohyeong, just like Onyoung’s feelings.
Thinking about that made my insides boil again.
“You’re right. It’s a childish story but… I don’t like you approaching Yehyun-ssi.”
“Why, do you want the three of you to play house forever?”
“No. I just wish you wouldn’t approach him with half-hearted feelings.”
“That’s what I’m calling playing house. What are you to Yu Yehyun?”
He lost his words at Onyoung’s line. This was the same feeling both as Yujin and as Haesung.
“Do you know what that feeling of yours is called?”
Perhaps the line he least wanted to hear.
And the line he thought might be the most dangerous.
“Pathetic possessiveness.”
Even though he knew he shouldn’t apply it to reality, it was a line that kept overlapping with reality and piercing his heart.
“I heard it from Yehyun-ssi. Of course, it was something said while drunk, so you probably don’t even remember.”
“A story?”
“A story about how there was a woman he had a one-sided love for over 10 years, but in the end he ended up wishing for that woman’s happiness. What’s more, the person standing next to that woman was so wonderful and outstanding that there was nothing he could do.”
Is this similar to Dohyeong too?
He always said I was a wonderful person. That it didn’t feel real that such an outstanding person suddenly became his husband. That it felt like he had entered someone’s written script.
Was Yehyun’s heart the same as Dohyeong’s heart?
I end up thinking such things.
“But…”
Eventually, Onyoung’s gaze follows, looking him up and down. Even though I know it’s stage direction written in the script, that gaze only looks like Yuchan’s.
I really didn’t like that.
“Now that I’ve met you, you’re nothing special.”
Ha! A scoff burst out without realizing it. He uncrossed his legs and placed both arms on his knees.
This wasn’t stage direction in the script. Cupping his face with both hands, then wiping down his face as if washing it dry.
Director Na seemed flustered for a moment too, but didn’t cut off Haesung’s acting. He thought it might be similar to Yujin’s feelings as well.
“What do you know?”
And Haesung’s following voice had some strength in it.
“I don’t know anything.”
“Right, what confidence do you have to speak as if you know something when you don’t know anything?”
“It’s something I can say because I don’t know anything. An objective evaluation.”
“Usually that’s called meddling. In more accurate Korean, it’s called being a busybody.”
According to the script, Yujin should have stood up. He should have ended with words telling him not to approach since there was nothing more to say.
“Let’s not stab with feelings that won’t work out. One person hurting him—me alone—is enough.”
After saying a line not in the script, he ended up standing up.
But Director Na was watching the monitor as if satisfied. Sometimes an ad-libbed line by an actor fits more exquisitely.
Now was exactly that kind of feeling. Rather, Haesung’s line was closer to Yujin’s heart, so he felt there was no need for him to cut it.
The moment Yujin was about to leave the cafe, Onyoung stood up.
What could be heard through the silence flowing between the two was Onyoung’s voice.
“If you hurt him, not meddling anymore is also a method.”
Those words pierced deep into his chest, and Haesung ended up clenching his fist without realizing it.
Fortunately. The camera wouldn’t be capturing his hands.
“The minimum line allowed to you is just wishing for Yehyun-ssi’s happiness, who must have had enough difficulty because of you.”
Yujin should have left the cafe without giving any answer.
“So if your feelings are half-hearted too, you shouldn’t approach either. Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
He ended up spitting out a line that should have come in the next episode.
If someone saw it, it would be Jeong Haesung who was too immersed in Yujin.
From Director Na’s perspective, it would look like Jeong Haesung with personal emotions mixed in.
Though he didn’t say it explicitly, he would be the first person to notice the strange current flowing between Yuchan, Dohyeong, and Haesung.
“Cut! You two, cool your heads and let’s film again. You know that last one is an unusable scene, right?”
In the end, Director Na didn’t acknowledge their acting.
Looking only at the emotional flow, the line coming early wasn’t a problem.
But considering the scenes that would be attached before and after, it was clearly an emotion that had rushed too suddenly.
“We have exactly 2 hours left to use the cafe, so let’s cool our heads for 30 minutes. No, Haesung-ssi and Yuchan-ssi. You’ve filmed dramas more than once or twice, so why are you like this today?”
Though he was asking with a smile, it was nakedly revealed that Director Na was reaching his limit.
In the end, Haesung and Yuchan had to sit side by side and go over the script. There was no need to test Director Na’s patience any further.
“Why did you put so much emotion into it?”
It was a question Yuchan threw while slightly tilting his head toward Haesung after examining the script for a while.
“…I’m pretty sure Director Na was talking about both you and me, Choi Yuchan-ssi.”
“Yes, I know that. That may be true for me, but sunbae-nim… it’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”
“What’s strange?”
“For me, Dohyeong keeps getting superimposed onto Yehyun. So I get angrier. Of all things, the role of Yujin who cherishes Yehyun is you.”
“……”
“But what about sunbae-nim?”
There were no words in response to the question thrown back.
Why am I putting so much emotion into this? Thinking about it personally, it was a story I could fully understand, but if others saw it, they would surely say it like Yuchan did.
Why are you acting so emotionally?
“I think I should make it clear so sunbae-nim won’t interfere anymore, may I speak honestly?”
At words whose meaning was hard to grasp, Haesung slightly turned his head to look at Yuchan.
“It seems like sunbae-nim is also confusing reality with the role like me. No, should I say you’re superimposing them?”
“Don’t beat around the bush and get to the point.”
“I’m not pestering Dohyeong with pathetic feelings.”
I don’t know why my head feels like it’s shaking like this. Silently swallowing dry saliva, I quietly watched Yuchan.
“I like Kim Dohyeong.”
No, just up to there. The words that popped out without realizing it, I only repeated inwardly.
“I confessed too.”
At those words, I gripped the script tightly.
The sound of the bundle of paper crumpling all at once rang in my ears, but there was no time to even care.
“I’m just waiting for an answer.”
“…An answer.”
“Yes. I think it’s still too early. Of course, I heard something like an answer.”
He said he’d think about it again when he stood on his own two feet a bit more, but it’s not a story with a very different context, so wouldn’t it be okay?
Thinking that, he even smiled leisurely.
“…Didn’t you say you were friends?”
“I thought so too. All those feelings of taking care of Dohyeong especially more, thinking of him, cherishing him tenderly. It wasn’t all because we were friends.”
Haesung turned his head to look at the thoroughly crumpled script.
He put more strength into his hand for a moment, then slowly loosened it and fiddled with it so it could become smooth again.
“May I ask when it started?”
“You’ll regret it if you hear it.”
“Regret…”
Why was he asserting that I would regret it?
Haesung, twisting up one corner of his mouth, nodded his head.
Yuchan, who had been quietly watching such an appearance of Haesung, opened his mouth as if to show him. He answered clearly and precisely so his confident voice could pierce clearly.
“Right after you broke up with sunbae-nim.”
Even as the gaze slowly turned toward me, Yuchan didn’t forget his composure. He still wore a smile on his lips.
“While catching the collapsing Dohyeong, pulling him up, holding onto him, I felt it. The feeling that I might like Kim Dohyeong.”
“……”
“Of course, I became more precisely awakened to it at the production announcement.”
At Yuchan’s appearance still wearing a smile, Haesung let out an empty laugh.
So that’s why he said I might regret it.
It was me who let Dohyeong go in the first place, and it was me who went around in circles without properly holding onto him, talking about an actor’s mindset.
“You created the confession timing too, sunbae-nim… should I say thank you for this?”
“…What do you mean I created—”
“I don’t know if you remember. The day we took the poster photo, sunbae-nim said to Dohyeong. That he was foolish.”
Thud. The sound of my heart sinking could be heard. But Yuchan, as if he wouldn’t allow even such a gap, quickly continued speaking.
“Thanks to those words, a gap opened up in Dohyeong. Whether it was lingering feelings toward sunbae-nim or a speck of remaining affection. You helped him gather it all up and throw it away.”
Smack! Yuchan, who closed the script with a sound, stood up. Someone was looking down at him. It was something that could never happen, something he would never tolerate.
Strangely, Haesung couldn’t move his body.
“Now that I’ve said it, I’m more certain. Thank you. Thanks to you, I confessed to Dohyeong. When things work out, I’ll treat you big. Jeong Haesung sunbae-nim.”
