Chapter 29

Tears rolled down the youthful face in little droplets.

For some reason, that face caught Yo Han Sung’s attention completely.

The moment etched itself vividly into his vision. It felt like he couldn’t look away for several seconds.

Their eyes met.

Startled, Gyeol’s face flushed bright red. He hurriedly buried his face in the script binder in his hands and wiped at his tears with his sleeve. But even if the binder hid his face, it couldn’t conceal his ears or the back of his neck.

Those are all red too.

A mischievous urge rose inside Yo Han to say it out loud.

Of course, the distance between them made conversation impossible. The lead and supporting actors occupied seats around the connected tables, while actors with smaller roles, extras, managers, and staff lined the walls instead.

The distance between Yo Han and Gyeol was about seven meters.

As both a minor actor and someone far younger than everyone else, Gyeol apparently ended up sitting on the floor because there weren’t enough chairs.

He couldn’t approach him.

For some reason, that gap bothered Yo Han.

Every set had its own unspoken atmosphere and flow. If Yo Han Sung, the lead actor, suddenly got up and approached Gyeol, every eye in the room—including the director and the cast—would inevitably focus too much attention on Gyeol instead. His random behavior would only burden him.

The fact that he was even considering something like this felt strange in itself.

Yo Han maintained the image of a gentleman strategically, but at his core he was an endlessly selfish person. He created advantageous situations for himself by any means necessary, controlled them, and took everything he wanted into his hands.

Even now, it would have been easy.

Without considering Gyeol’s feelings at all, Yo Han could simply walk over and hand him a handkerchief. Nobody would criticize him for it. If anything, people would only praise him as considerate and thoughtful for taking care of even a minor actor.

But he didn’t want to do that.

Before his own desire to go to Gyeol, he found himself thinking about Gyeol’s position first.

What kind of whim is this?

Finding himself absurd, Yo Han laughed quietly and took a drink of water. Yet his gaze still remained fixed on Gyeol. He responded to the chatter around him with occasional nods and polite smiles, but his attention stayed tied to Gyeol the entire time.

Gyeol cautiously peeked his eyes over the top of the script binder. He seemed to be checking the room.

Their eyes met again.

Gyeol’s eyes shook violently.

This time, he couldn’t even hide behind the binder. His lips fumbled soundlessly before he lowered his head all over again.

Apparently, he thought Yo Han might be displeased that he had been staring.

Even though his reddened eyes made him look painfully pretty.

Yo Han smiled again.

He smiled without even realizing he was smiling.

After freezing awkwardly for a moment, Gyeol slowly smiled back at him.

“What’s this, Yo Han? Why are you smiling so sweetly like that?”

“Ah.”

At the veteran actor’s teasing remark, Yo Han immediately smoothed out his expression.

Was I smiling?

“It’s nothing. The water tastes sweet.”

It really did.

The water running down his throat tasted strangely sweet.

***

Break time.

People crowded around the coffee the staff had bought.

Normally, Yo Han would have simply drunk the iced Americano his manager brought him, but today he personally pushed through the crowd to choose the drinks himself.

Two of them.

One iced Americano for himself.

And one White Chocolate Smoothie piled high with whipped cream that looked overwhelmingly sweet.

Unable to squeeze into the crowd, Gyeol lingered stiffly near the wall. His manager, who looked vaguely scatterbrained, had disappeared somewhere, leaving him alone. Since almost everyone there was either older or vastly senior to him, he looked completely unsure what to do.

He was doing just fine greeting everyone earlier.

When he first entered the studio, Gyeol had introduced himself loudly and energetically to every actor and staff member.

“Hello, sir! I’m rookie actor Gyeol Go! I’ll be playing Lee Jung this time! Please take care of me!”

Some people smiled warmly at the polite attitude.

Others clicked their tongues and muttered that he was trying too hard.

And some whispered cruelly, “Apparently he’s from a failed idol group.”

Yo Han had liked the sight immensely.

No matter how lucky someone got, everyone had a beginning somewhere. Seeing Gyeol go around greeting everyone reminded Yo Han of himself during his own first project.

“Gyeol Go.”

“Ah—oh! A-Actor Yo Han Sung...!”

“Haha. Why are you so startled?”

“No, it’s just... um. Yes.”

Yo Han had only spoken to him, yet Gyeol’s face instantly turned red again.

Like a tomato that ripened absurdly fast.

“Do you like sweet things?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Of course.”

Gyeol’s eyes widened into circles.

Yo Han held out the drink in his hand toward him.

“Drink this.”

Gyeol couldn’t accept it immediately. Instead, he alternated staring between the drink and Yo Han with wide eyes and parted lips. His eyes sparkled brightly.

Like they were filled with stars.

“Go on. I got it for you, Gyeol Go.”

“Thank you, Actor Sung.”

Carefully, Gyeol accepted the drink with both hands. Their fingertips might have brushed briefly.

Gyeol took a sip through the straw. His pink lips rounded softly around it.

Without thinking, Yo Han found himself staring at those lips.

A little white cream clung to them.

Gulp.

After swallowing the drink, Gyeol smiled brightly.

“It’s good.”

“Gyeol Go. Your lips.”

“Huh?”

“You got cream on them.”

“Ah!”

Gyeol fumbled around his lips with his finger, skillfully missing the exact spot every time.

“Would it be okay if I wiped it off for you?”

“Huh? I feel really bad about that...”

Hesitating awkwardly, Gyeol finally nodded.

Having gotten permission, Yo Han brushed his thumb across Gyeol’s lower lip.

“There. Got it.”

“...Thank you.”

Gyeol’s face turned red all over again.

Yo Han unconsciously almost licked the cream off his thumb, but stopped when he noticed Gyeol’s eyes shaking violently. Instead, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his fingers clean.

Gyeol looked both adorable and pitiful as he awkwardly struggled to figure out what to say next.

Yo Han could have simply left.

But he didn’t.

“You were crying earlier.”

“Ah. Ah... um, sorry. I wasn’t trying to stare at you or anything...”

Yo Han let out a quiet laugh at the confession-like rambling.

“Oh. So you were staring.”

“Huh? Ah! No! That’s not what I meant!”

“You’re an honest person, Gyeol Go.”

“N-no, really! That’s not it! Your acting was just so good...”

Biting down on his lip and mumbling uncertainly for a moment, Gyeol finally looked up at Yo Han and finished speaking.

“I got completely absorbed in it, so I couldn’t look away.”

How could someone’s eyes be this clear?

“I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable. It’s just... the emotions from the scene really wouldn’t leave me...”

Yo Han had heard people praise his acting countless times.

But it had never sounded this pleasant before.

Gyeol had a beautiful voice.

Soft and warm, with precise diction that made it feel like he could listen to it for hours.

Maybe that was why.

Why words he’d heard so many times sounded completely different coming from Gyeol.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. Honestly, hearing you say that makes me grateful. I’ll have to analyze the role even harder so I don’t disappoint you, Gyeol Go.”

Clutching the drink tightly with both hands, Gyeol’s eyes widened again. Every shift in his emotions flashed openly across his face.

He was absurdly innocent.

How was someone like this planning to survive in an industry overflowing with filthy people?

After gulping down several more mouthfuls of his drink like he was gathering courage, Gyeol finally spoke again.

“I think I’d like any performance you gave. I always have, so I’m sure I always will.”

“Always?”

The wording caught Yo Han’s attention immediately.

Gyeol nodded hard, answering with complete certainty.

“I’ve watched everything. Even your indie films and audition videos. There’s never been a single performance I didn’t like.”

Yo Han stared silently into Gyeol’s shining eyes for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Taking a long drink from his iced Americano, his tone turned openly teasing.

“So you were actually my stalker all along, Gyeol Go.”

“Huh?! No, I’m not...!”

“You’re not? Scary. Guess I should be careful around you?”

“I-I’m really not! Please stop teasing me...!”

“Hm. What should I do? Next session, I have to act opposite our little stalker.”

At this rate, the poor thing was going to explode.

Looking down at the perfectly ripened tomato in front of him, Yo Han laughed.

A lot.

Very, very much.

***

“All right then, Scene 78. Taehee and Lee Jung’s scene next. Ready?”

The director examined Gyeol’s expression.

“Yes...!”

Now seated across from Yo Han, Gyeol looked frozen solid with nervousness. The tension in him was painfully obvious.

The director glanced at him with dissatisfaction.

“You understood the scene, right? We’re only reading the script for now, but this is the part where you climb into his lap and seduce him. We’ll be shooting it close-up.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lightly tapping the back of his neck with the rolled-up script binder, the director signaled the start.

“All right. Starting from Taehee’s lines. Action.”

Taking one deep breath in and slowly letting it out—

Yo Han Sung delivered the first line.