143 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.143 #143. Rookie Even without an alarm, my body instinctively woke up. Is it because I’ve been waking up at 8 every single day? Despite having sweated so much yesterday, my eyes popped wide open like magic. Next to me, Doa lay softly breathing in her sleep. Without a word, I reached out my fingers to adjust the hair covering her face. Her warmth radiated through the thigh draped over mine. I thought about getting up but found no reason to, so I stayed still, admiring her face. Her cheeks were as white and soft as glutinous rice cake. Her lips were a pale pink without anything on them. The person I liked so much, Luca's true form, seemed like a living creature made entirely of cuteness in real life. When I started poking my girlfriend’s cheek with my finger, she tried to turn her head the other way as if telling me to stop. “Kim Doa.” I quietly whispered her name. “Hey. Kim Doa.” Knowing how adorable she was when half-asleep made my playful urges rise even more. “Stop it...” Even in her sleep, she responded earnestly. “Stop what?” Ignoring her, I continued tickling the back of her neck, and she let out a small laugh. “Ah... I said stop it...” “Why stop?” “It tickles...” Alright. Now that I've had my fill of cuteness, let’s go shower. Just as I was supporting myself up with my arms to get up— “Where are you going?” The sleepy girl was gone, and Doa looked at me with surprisingly alert eyes. “I’m not going anywhere?” “Then where are you going?” “Bathroom.” Answering her with a slightly awkward face, she too slowly sat up. The only thing covering our bodies fell away. “Together.” “...Go together?” “Yes.” Seeing her alabaster skin made me instinctively swallow hard. “No, I’ll go shower first.” Feeling slightly guilty for waking her, I told her to go back to sleep and headed to the bathroom. As I turned on the shower and squeezed out some shampoo, I heard a sound behind me and turned around. There stood Doa, trying to enter with just a towel wrapped around her. Stunned into stillness, I blinked slowly as if asking what this meant. “I said let’s shower together; why do you keep running away?” The bathroom was cramped and seemed too small for both of us inside. We playfully washed each other, relishing our shared touches. In that small, unimpressive space, a cotton-candy-like love melted at the mere touch of lips. “Will this do?” I handed Doa a white t-shirt that was slightly small for me. Lifting her arms to put it on, she looked at me as if asking how she looked. “You look like a kid wearing her dad’s shirt.” “I don’t like dads.” “Why not?” “I can’t marry my dad.” Her unexpected answer was so endearing that I bent down and kissed her forehead. “True. Then let’s not make it dad.” “Will you dry my hair?” Recently, I had been visiting the hair salon often before shoots, so this situation felt amusing. I never really had the chance to dry someone else’s hair. “Does it really take that long to dry a girl’s hair?” “Right? It usually takes me about 20 minutes.” “Wow... In 20 minutes, I could shower, brush my teeth, and dry my hair.” Doa slightly tilted her head up to make eye contact with me. “See? I put in a lot of effort to see you.” “You don’t have to wash your hair to visit. I don’t mind.” “How can I do that? You’re my boyfriend.” Since you’re my boyfriend, isn’t it fine? If avoiding showing unkemptness was an excuse, I had plenty to say. I’ve already confessed to being overly enamored with you, so what’s a little more? Once her hair was mostly dry, it was Doa’s turn to sit me down and dry my hair. “This is such a scam.” “Even if this is average?” “How can you finish drying in less than two minutes?” “When I was in the military, I didn’t even bother drying it.” She seemed indignant, as if something was terribly unfair. Seated on the bed, she pulled me down to sit beside her. “You said you have a shoot today.” “Yeah.” “Have you practiced well?” If I were busy, I would have simply said yes and moved on. Feeling a bit soft-hearted, I shook my head. “No. It hasn’t gone well.” “Really? Shouldn’t you be practicing now then?” “I really should.” But I'd rather spend just a bit more time here with Doa, if possible. “Want me to help? I'm great at reacting.” “But there are a lot of scenes where I have to be angry this time.” “Aren’t you bad at getting angry?” “Yeah. That’s why it was harder. I’ve never yelled in anger, so I don’t know how.” What opportunities does a typical university student have to scream out of rage? Even if such moments existed, they were probably insignificant compared to the reasons in Baek Kyunho’s dramatic script. “Hmm... Then I’ll try to make you angry.” “How?” “Can I have your hand?” Handing her the left hand resting on the bed, she brought my index finger to her mouth. “Bite.” Startled by the slight sharp pain, my body flinched but that was all. Even as she held my finger in her mouth, Doa asked me, “How is it? Are you angry now?” A laugh burst out at the absurdity of it. “Yeah. I’m furious. I feel like shouting out loud.” “Really? Then do it!” “Alright, hold on.” Closing my eyes, I leaned in closer to Doa with a very serious face. Feeling intimidated, she slightly backed away. But even as she retreated, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers, hearing her make a small noise as she surrendered to the kiss. Though I thought it was quite a romantic moment, Doa suddenly appeared very bewildered. “What’s wrong?” “It... isn’t, right?” “Huh...? What isn’t?” “There’s no acting involving kissing... right...?” Could she really think that what I just did was me acting angry? My head shook side to side, as if on a motor. “No, no, no! I did that because you’re cute, okay? There's no love line like that in the script.” “...Really?” Doa gazed at me suspiciously. Seriously, why was she doubting this? “Hey, it’d be weird for this unlikeable character to have a girlfriend.” “But isn’t he the son of some rich family? He could have a drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend, right?” “Well, yes, but no. At least, it’s not in the script.” Anticipating she might ask for proof, I quickly pulled out my script from the bag. “You’re welcome to check.” “Hmm...” She seemed curious enough to flip through my script, even if she wasn’t seriously checking. “It’s fascinating.” “I thought so at first too.” “It’s really thick. How do you even finish shooting all this?” “Right?” As the talk shifted toward work, I gradually started feeling the tension I had momentarily forgotten. “Ah! I should really practice now!” Messing around any longer would probably cause me to forget my lines. “Okay. I need to head out too. I’ve got stuff to handle for my solo concert.” Doa began putting her jogging pants back on. Glancing at her t-shirt, she turned to me. “Is it okay if I just take this shirt with me?” “Oh, of course. You can keep it.” It’s just a white tee, after all. “If you say that, I really won’t give it back.” “I’m really okay with that.” Doa zipped up her hoodie and paused at the entrance. “Hug.” With this command, she spread her arms wide. I also extended my arms to embrace her. “Kiss.” We were like robots following some programmed routine. Laughing, Doa stepped into her shoes, flattening the backs as she did. “Do your best. Fighting!” “Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m done.” After waving her off, I took a deep breath as the door closed. “Phew... Time to really get to it.” I had only three hours left. * * * Today's shoot was indoors, not outside. The scene involved the entire wealthy family gathering for a meal. We were allowed to actually eat the food to enhance realism, which was a bit surprising. And, surprisingly, the food was quite tasty. Though some cast members were familiar face, some were first-time collaborators. The actress playing Baek Kyungho’s mother was Choi Mikyung. “Kyungho, how is it possible for you to not call your mother even once?” “Mom, I’m not a kid. Isn’t monthly contact enough?” “If you’re not a kid, why not buy your own house and car?” “Aye, there you go again. I even got Taesung Display— Oh, I’m sorry.” Display! Display! Dammit! I hadn’t stumbled once during practice; why now? I bowed my head, preparing to quickly request another take. “Hantae Min.” Mikyung's voice from across held a note of irritation. “You’re a rookie, and you haven’t even memorized the script properly?”