140 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.140 #140. Learning I had to have another meeting with the casting team leader to discuss postponing my contract, but luckily, the team leader agreed to accommodate my needs. When I confessed that I wasn’t yet confident in my acting skills and wanted to observe a bit longer, he suggested we revisit the contract discussion formally a month later when it's set to expire. He gave me a grace period. It was a relief and a blessing. Perhaps my increased popularity influenced the company to be more lenient. After surviving the nerve-wracking meeting, I went down the familiar stairs and opened the door to find, as expected, my acting teacher waiting for me. "Tae-min." "Yes." I never really had one-on-one tutoring during middle or high school. I found these prolonged sessions quite challenging. More accurately, they seemed burdensome rather than difficult. "As I mentioned, you read the script, right?" "Yes, I read it twice thoroughly." The drama I got involved in now was entirely different from the previous one. The storyline felt somewhat common, but it was my first time participating as an actual actor. Even though I wasn’t an extra this time, it was still my first supporting role, so I had gone over the script multiple times. "Before we dive into acting, how did you find the script?" When my teacher gestured to a chair for me to sit, I pulled the script book from my bag and placed it on the desk. "Uh... I think it's a solid piece." I noticed its twists and the multifaceted depth of characters. "The cameo role you did before lacked a bit in terms of being substantial as an actor, right?" I nodded, understanding. "This time, you'll need to delve much deeper. Into the project itself. And the character you have to portray." The role assigned to me was the youngest son of a chaebol family, someone spoiled by wealth. This character enjoyed luxury and indulgence, and his arrogance was ingrained. In a way, it felt somewhat similar to my previous role as Kim Eojin, but his actions and speech needed to feel much more refined. There were moments when he flaunted his overwhelming power unnecessarily, and scenes where he behaved so crudely you’d question if he really belonged to a chaebol family. You could say he was a significant villainous character. After discussing the overall context of the work, we flipped through the pages to delve into the character 'Baek Kyung-ho,' which I'd be portraying. "How do you think you'd express this part?" "Here... from my perspective..." Finding it hard to articulate, my teacher suggested I try acting it out. Having learned a few things, I strived to express it earnestly. "How much is it? That." "Such a trivial amount of money, I can cover it. Why cause a fuss?" "Are you still not aware of whom you're speaking with?" Isn’t this about right? There were multiple differences between practice and actual performance, and I was struggling mostly with the absence of a dialogue partner. Having conversations while talking to oneself was still awkward for me. "Hmm... it's quite close to what I envisioned." When my teacher demonstrated the same part, I recognized my shortcomings. "How does it feel? Did you sense any difference?" "Ah... yes...!" Understanding the character, researching, immersing in what the character might have felt. With a serious intent to improve, these sessions no longer felt purely grueling. Surprisingly, they flew by fast. "Thank you!" From morning until sunset, I practiced and then headed home. Despite spending the entire day on it, my teacher gave me homework. Even with the scheduled first filming date approaching, I still felt pressed for time. If I head in now, it's 6 PM... Do-ah’s broadcast starts at 8 PM... After thanking my manager for the ride, I immediately called Do-ah. [Hello?] [Hey, Do-ah. I just got home.] [Want to come over?] [I was planning to. I'm on the first floor now.] Taking breaks and practicing could wait until Do-ah left for her broadcast. It was a sad truth, but lately, I was joining Luca’s streams less frequently. It’s not that I grew less fond of Luca, the virtual YouTuber, but due to practical reasons. Even if I wanted to stay up late watching, I had classes during the day, so pulling all-nighters was out of the question. If I had free time, I preferred spending it with Do-ah rather than watching streams. When I knocked, I heard footsteps approaching from inside. “Welcome back~” Do-ah greeted me while wearing a light pink apron, seemingly in the middle of cooking. “What’s up? What are you making?” “Uh, it’s kind of an experimental pick, but I'm trying to make tomato stew.” Following a popular chef's instructional video on her phone, she was diligently adding the ingredients as instructed. “Smells promising so far.” “I watched this video before bed last night, and I just really wanted to try it.” As I hung my coat, Do-ah approached, blowing on a spoonful of stew to cool it. “Try it.” “Is it hot?” “I haven’t tasted it yet, so I can’t tell you.” Honestly, wouldn’t it be fair to try it first before offering it to someone else? I almost remarked on it but softened when I saw her rabbit-like eyes watching me expectantly. I slipped the stew from the spoon into my mouth. “Ah... hot...!” Ah, Kim Do-ah! You... darn, it’s really hot... It was so hot, I couldn’t even speak properly. “How is it? Does it taste good?” Can’t you tell your boyfriend here is burning up? Unlike my scrunched-up expression, Do-ah's eyes sparkled brightly like stars. "Wa... water!" Only after I desperately signaled for help did Do-ah hand me a bottle of water. "So, how did it taste?" "I don't know. I burnt the roof of my mouth." "It was that hot?" "Why don't you try it?" Thinking I was exaggerating, Do-ah scooped some stew into her mouth... "Oppa! Wa... water...!" The meal had suddenly taken on a more solemn tone. There we sat, with our scorched mouths, facing each other across the table with the pot of stew in the middle. "...Oppa. How could you?" "What do you mean?" "You knew it was scalding hot, so why did you make your girlfriend eat it?" For some reason, Do-ah was blaming me. Normally, I would've just laughed it off, but I was a victim here too. "Did I shove the spoon into your mouth, or am I the one who cooked it? How did I make you eat it?" "Hmph..." Unable to counter my argument, Do-ah ladled some stew into my bowl. "But it tastes good, right?" "...Yeah." Despite the stinging pain on the roof of my mouth, it was indeed delicious. "So, how was your day?" The catch-up talk began, having been postponed due to her kitchen antics. "I practiced with the new script, and it's tough." "Is it? When exactly is your shoot?" "Next Monday." "Wow... that's soon..." Munching on her potato like a gentle herbivore, Do-ah seemed thoughtful. "You'll do great, right?" "I have to. Anything new with your work?" Since we saw each other and talked on the phone daily, there weren’t really many updates. "Um... oh! There's this thing." "What is it?" "For my solo concert, they're making a congratulatory video to play during breaks." "Ah." Indeed, Do-ah couldn't be singing non-stop, so there had to be other content. "So, other members and staff are making videos, but a real idol group member said they'd make a congratulatory video for my concert!" "Wow... really?" "Our senpais. They're from a YM girl group. Who do you think it is?" "How would I know?" Did she really expect me to know that? The only idol group I was really familiar with was Closer. "Aww, you're no fun. Ta-da! It's this person!" On her phone, Do-ah showed me a picture of a singer I recognized posing. "So, she’s the one making your congratulatory video?" "Yep." Do-ah truly was incredible. For an active idol to personally make her a thank-you video—it definitely felt like she was living a successful life. "I could make one too... you know." Although I said it jokingly, fully aware my fame didn’t compare. As I trailed off with a teasing grin, Do-ah scooted closer to me. "Don’t bother, oppa." "Why? Afraid of triggering dating rumors or something?" "Nope." She shook her head softly from side to side. "If you have the time to make a video..." Her hand stretched my cheek gently. "Why not just give me one more kiss?" ...If we do it now, it might taste like tomatoes. But surprisingly, a tomato-flavored kiss wasn't bad at all.