Lady Spring

Wooyoung gaped and stared at Saeun.

“Hey! What the heck are you talking about…”

“Isn’t that why you’re feeling so awkward? I mean, she’s only 18, which means she’s practically a baby. So doing a kiss scene with her… This must be why you’re finding this so hard, right? But then, how are you going to become an actor? You need to see her as her character when you’re acting. Even if you don’t know her well and you aren’t close to her, this is work. You’re acting.”

“You got it wrong! Do I look that stupid to you?”

When Saeun raised her eyebrows and looked at him, Wooyoung panted angrily before turning away. He crumpled his script in frustration, but Saeun remained silent.

Finally, after a few minutes, Wooyoung groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Dammit, maybe. Is it that obvious?”

“Kinda.”

“The thing is… I’m really trying, but it’s not working. I mean, it’s not like she suddenly changes into someone else when the director yells ‘Action’. She’s still the same young girl! And this is my first time acting, so I just don’t know how to do this.”

Saeun watched him for a moment before patting his head again. She replied, 

“You know very well that your inexperience in acting isn’t a good excuse. This world is a very cold place, Wooyoung. There is only success or failure, and nothing in between. You just gotta remember that you’re doing what you wanted to do, so you need to do your best to succeed, right?”

Sadly, Saeun was failing in her own life. She couldn’t even remember what her dream used to be when she was younger. She went to work every day, but she always couldn’t wait to leave. At least right now, she had Wooyoung, but there was no way of knowing when he was going to leave her. Part of Saeun always felt afraid that today might be the day he finally abandons her. 

Saeun continued,

“You know… If you find it so hard, just think of what we did yesterday. It’s just a kiss scene, right? And we were kissing yesterday in your room, just like in the scene.”

When she whispered to him, Wooyoung turned toward her quickly. Desire crossed his eyes briefly and his chin twitched a little.

“Yun Saeun, who could you be talking about that now…”

Wooyoung flinched and glared at her before turning away. He straightened his script and began reading it. Saeun grinned secretly and murmured,

“You can do it, Min Wooyoung.”

When she patted his head again, Wooyoung grabbed her hand and narrowed his eyes.

“Saeun, don’t touch me. If you do, I might just jump you right here right now.”

“Hmph, right. The director is right over there, so just keep practicing your lines, Mr. Min Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung stared at her for a long time before getting back to his script again. 

***

The kissing scene resumed in the afternoon. Wooyoung has been reading his script all morning and when he was called, he took a deep breath and headed towards the set. Saeun murmured to him,

“You can do this, Wooyoung.”

He paused and turned around to look at her. An odd expression crossed  Wooyoung’s face, and before Saeun could say anything else to him, he left. The director threw away his cigarette and turned towards Wooyoung. 

“Let’s get this right this time. We just need to get through this. You’ve been doing well until now, Wooyoung, so just do this right, okay? Did you think about your character’s emotions?”

The cameras moved to point at the set and the actress positioned herself. Wooyoung sat down on the bed. Saeun stood up from the chair and sneaked closer to the set. Jingyu came to stand by her side, but he didn’t say anything to her.

“Ready, action!”

The actress burst into the door angrily. She screamed, 

“How could you give up so easily? I had no idea you were so pathetic!”

Wooyoung turned around to look at the girl. He had a rather blank look on his face, and Saeun began to worry again. Wasn’t he supposed to look angry? Saeun clenched her hands together and gulped. If the director stopped the scene again… Wooyoung had to do this right.

“What do you want me to do?”

Wooyoung replied in a suppressed tone and stood up. He slowly walked towards the girl, and the director narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. He watched the scene with an obvious interest. 

“I just can’t do it. Fine, I’m pathetic! So what?!”

Wooyoung raised his voice. It was clear he was getting angrier. Saeun bit her lower lip and watched intently. The actress seemed a little surprised. She hesitated for a second before speaking her next line.

“You idiot, you’re… you’re… Why are you so weak? Why can’t you endure it to the end? I trusted you!”

Wooyoung glared at her with fury. The actress took a step back and murmured,

“I… I loved you.”

Huh? Saeun felt her heart throb and blinked in shock. She knew very well this was just acting, so why did she feel this way? When Wooyoung asked her if she was jealous yesterday, she just laughed at him. But now that she watched Wooyoung with a pretty young girl who confessed her love for him… Saeun couldn’t help feeling upset.

And Wooyoung’s expression… He looked exactly like when he asked her to date him. When he told her he would never let her go… It was the face Saeun knew she could never forget.

Wooyoung grabbed the actress’s arm. He covered her lips roughly. The actress tried to back away, but she must’ve remembered where she was. She grabbed onto Wooyoung, who kissed her even more deeply. The actress seemed to relax because she wrapped her arms around Wooyoung’s neck.

The director was nodding. It seemed that he liked what he saw. Saeun sighed in relief and continued to watch the two kissing. 

Three seconds…

Five seconds…

Seven seconds…

Why wasn’t the director stopping the scene? Saeun frowned and glared at the director, who finally shouted,

“Cut!”

Wooyoung immediately took a step back and inhaled deeply. The actress was panting with a red face. It seemed that the girl was genuinely surprised. Or perhaps she was aroused…

Wooyoung apologized to the actress,

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. By the way, you’re an amazing kisser.”

The girl giggled and walked away. Wooyoung rubbed his face tiredly and turned towards the director, who said in satisfaction,

“See? I knew you could do it. Why couldn’t you do it like this earlier, Wooyoung? Just keep up the good work.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

Wooyoung walked towards Saeun and as soon as he saw her, he frowned. Saeun blinked as he murmured to her,

“Your lip’s bleeding.”

Saeun licked her lower lip. She could taste her own blood. She must’ve been biting her lip the whole time. With an embarrassed smile, she replied,

“See? I told you that you could do it.”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes when Saeun tried to act cool.

“How can you say that when your lip is bleeding like that? Just be quiet. You’re gonna make it worse.”

“But I’m fine. See? I just need to lick it off…”

Saeun couldn’t finish her sentence. Wooyoung was staring at her with fire in his eyes. He leaned towards her and whispered,

“Keep your lips safe so you can lick me later tonight. I’ll let you eat me again.”