Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 17

Siwoo pushed open the door to the practice room and turned on all the lights. This was the smallest one at the very end of the hallway. He looked around nervously before entering with Haejun.

He hadn't asked anyone if he was allowed to let outsiders in before he had arrived. If he was being honest, he kind of didn't want to. What if they said no, what was he going to tell Haejun? Sometimes it's better not to know. Also, he usually only used the practice rooms late in the night when the new trainees and groups were done using them. So it had been a while since he had been here this early in the afternoon. He could hear music playing from the other side of the wall.

Haejun walked over to the corner of the room and started unfolding the chairs. He placed 2 of them so they were facing the side of the wall that had a mirror. "Hyung, is there a part you were working on?"

Siwoo jumped. Apparently the term 'hyung' was a thing now. Unlike Haejun who was speaking to him like he had known him since the first day of middle school or something, Siwoo still felt very much awkward around the actor. He didn't even know how he was supposed to address him. Forget about what to call him, I can barely look at him in the face... Siwoo blamed the intensity of his co-star's eyes.

Recalling the part he had been practicing, Siwoo suddenly froze. He hastily turned around to Haejun and swallowed nervously.

"Umm... I don't have my script with me."

This was officially the worst way to start practice. Siwoo glanced around for Haejun's copy, but noticed that the actor didn't have anything but his phone in his hands. Did we just come all the way here without our scripts?!

Siwoo remembered how Haejun had just told him 30 minutes ago that helping him wasn't going to be a waste of his time... His heart sank.

While Siwoo was having his little moment of chaos, Haejun scrolled through his phone before he leaned back in his chair and looked at Siwoo through the mirror. "So? Which part was it?" he asked again. Siwoo felt his heart thumping harder and harder.

Oh no, is he giving me the "I'm-going-to-ignore-what-you-just-said-because-it's-ridiculous" treatment?! This was worse than Haejun flipping over both the chairs and storming out, cussing. At least I wouldn't have to confront him that way...!

"Umm... I don't have my script with me..." Siwoo said again carefully. Haejun stared back at him through the mirror for a second before he turned to actually look at Siwoo. He looked a bit confused.

"So?"

"Eh?" Siwoo beeped.

Haejun flipped over his phone towards Siwoo. On his screen was a bunch of lines and paragraphs.

"Don't you have the scanned version of it?" asked Haejun. Siwoo stood there, his brain scattered.

"Huh...? Scanned? Eh? OH! LIKE SCANNING THE ACTUAL THING?" he blurted. He waved his hands in front of him, mimicking the motions of a literal scanner.

Then out of nowhere, Siwoo heard Haejeun break into laughter. He watched the actor's usual snarky expression crack into a big smile. Siwoo had to admit, he did just look like a robot having a meltdown, so this was understandable. Blushing a bit, he glanced up at Haejun's face again. The sharp eyes were bent down like two soft crescent moons. He looked so much younger laughing out loud like that. It was different from the condescending look he always wore. A warm and genuine glow tinted his handsome face. Making it seem almost approachable for a moment.

Haejun reached out his hand towards Siwoo. "Assuming you don't have it, let me add you on Kakaotalk. I'll send it to you." he said.

Snapping back to reality, Siwoo pulled his gaze away from Haejun who was still chuckling to himself and quickly fished out his phone. Taking it, Haejun opened the app and added himself.

"It's common for actors to carry scanned copies around with us... But I guess it's a new concept for you," he said, handing back the phone. "By the way, that's a pretty old model."

Siwoo took it and thanked him. "I just never really got the chance to change it for a few years..." he answered as he sat down next to Haejun.

"I see..." Haejun mumbled. "Well, let's get to work," he said, sitting up. He leaned forward, grabbed the edge of Siwoo's seat and pulled him closer. Jolting a bit at the movement, Siwoo sat there a bit startled at how he had just been dragged around as if he weighed nothing. He was still a pretty tall guy, so he was amazed at just how strong Haejun must be.

"Let's start with the scene you've been working on. I'll watch, and we can work off of the feedback", Haejun suggested.

Siwoo pulled up the part and began acting it out. He was a bit nervous for the first few lines, but soon found himself dipping back into character. Being seated also definitely made things less awkward. The whole time, he felt Haejun's eyes watch him through the mirror. He did his best to blur him out and focused on his own reflection. When he was done with the scene, he turned to look at Haejun and fell back a little in his seat.

"Hyung..."

Siwoo swallowed warily.

"You've really been practicing!" Haejun smiled. He leaned back and crossed his long legs. Siwoo noticed he was wearing ivory white sneakers. "Your version of Xie Lian is more solid than last time. You stuttered less and over all seemed more comfortable embodying him."

The worries that had been brewing inside Siwoo started to melt away like morning dew. "Th-thank you! It was all thanks to your advice!"

"I especially liked the way you smiled when you were talking to the other heavenly officials. That amount of detachment and politeness was perfect." Haejun continued with the compliments, tilting his head as if admiring Siwoo like a work of art. Siwoo felt a bit shy and looked at his feet, thanking him after every sentence he said. The hours he had practiced being Xie Lian alone in his bedroom seemed to have paid off a bit.

"This time let's try a scene, but standing. Try to act out the gestures. I want to see how you move." Haejun stood up and pushed away his chair. He then walked towards Siwoo and studied him a bit. "Also, this time, try raising your chin a bit more when you speak. I think a bit more dignity in your behaviorism could help add to the fact that Xie Lian will always have his royal mannerisms left in him, no matter how humble he's become."

Nodding, Siwoo stood up. Haejun chose a scene and began reading his line. Siwoo listened to his voice and felt his heart start to pound again. When it was his turn, he ended up stumbling over his line. He sighed and apologized. Haejun started rereading his part again before stopping.

"Hyung, you need to be looking at me," he said. Siwoo looked up from his phone and smiled weakly.

"R-right... Let's try again."

Haejun read his line and Siwoo read his. They went on for a few more before Haejun stopped again. "That's odd. You're not in character." He crossed his arms and studied Siwoo before he put his phone back into his pocket.

"Hyung, try looking at me in the eyes," he suddenly said. Siwoo glanced up before his eyes darted back down, then sideways, then down again. "Could it be... you can't?"

When Siwoo failed to say anything, Haejun sighed. "Well, this is a problem..." Unlike what he was saying, Siwoo thought he heard a bit of amusement in Haejun's voice. "As you know, Xie Lian is the only one who is comfortable with Hua Cheng in the story. The others are all very weary, afraid, annoyed or cautious of him. But Xie Lian... He's the only one who trusts him and wants to be around him." Haejun took a step closer. Siwoo could see his white sneakers approach his rumpled running shoes.

"You..." Haejun said as he reached out. His long and strong hands grazed Siwoo's chin before pushing it up towards him. "You're the only one who needs to be okay with looking at me."