Chapter Text
The October rays of the sun bled through the large glass walls of the penthouse. Minho was already settled comfortably in between his soft, lush pillows of his linen couch, steaming cup of coffee in his hand. It was currently 11 in the morning when the said male heard his front door open with a small electronic beep! Heavy footsteps echoed as the sound drew closer. Minho sighed, awaiting his impending doom.
The footsteps stopped as a tall man with soft blonde hair, his eyebrows raised and lips contorted into a grin. “Good morning champ,” he smiled, plopping down on the small chair in front of Minho. The latter had his eyebrows raised, dreading the words that’ll come out of Chan’s mouth.
“I don’t want it Chan--”
“Time for another movie!” The blonde man smiled. In Chan’s hands was a folder, inside were thick sheets of paper. Minho gulped. It’s a script. Minho folded his legs underneath him, placing his mug onto the coffee table.
“Chan, I just finished shooting Impossible. My body is still strained from the stunts, okay? Give me a break,” he chuckled nervously. But the blonde shushed him. The grin didn’t fade on his face, and it seemed like an excited puppy.
“Yeah, I know Min-min.” The actor knitted his eyebrows, dumbfounded, a frown on his handsome face.
“Then...what’s that in your hand…?” The folder was cream-colored, a bit thicker than what he usually memorizes, which means it’s heavily-dialogue. He had an idea about what his manager might be thinking, but he dismissed the thought, not wanting to entertain it even further.
Minho had done a lot of movies, ever since he was a child. He’d been in children’s clothes ads, for teens, a small commercial for body spray, series and of course, a heap-ton of action movies. That was his specialty, he knew how to do stunts without needing a stuntman (you’d get a hang of it eventually when you get casted for seven or movie action movies, Minho pondered.) and his handsome face was beautiful even with the scratches and bruises the makeup artists painted him with. The media was in love with him, who wouldn’t? A young actor with a fit body, starring in movies as an agent, a gun in his hands, clad in a crisp tuxedo. Everyone was enamored by Lee Minho. He was always comfortable with action movies, he thinks it’s his specialty. So when Chan spouts out the next words he’s about to say, the actor’s heart drops down to his stomach.
“You’re being casted for a romance movie!” His manager shouts, doing a little dance of happiness.
Minho doesn’t get why Chan’s so happy. He’s never done a romance movie! He bets he’s not even good at it. He can do charismatic, cocky, and stunts, but he can never do romance movies. It’s like his waterloo. He pictures it: the headlines with his name plastered on it, “Lee Minho, master of action and adrenaline, starring in his first romance movie?” It would be a huge shocker to everyone. But he can’t deny it, it would put more experience on his plate, a little bit out of his comfort zone (read: way out of his comfort zone). His movies were always jam-packed with fighting, getting beaten up then doing seemingly impossible missions. He can’t picture himself kissing someone with feigned emotion, his eyes dreamy as he stares into the other. Minho is feeling a teeny bit uncomfortable.
Even with the knot tying in his stomach, he ushers Chan to hand him the script. As he took a closer look, there was a small sentence in a clean font on the front page.
“Tune In For Love,” he says a bit shakily, the pads of his fingers lingering on the paper. He held in his breath, turning into the next page. His eyes skimmed and scanned the paragraphs before him, mumbling softly as he read them.
Summary: Kim Minsoo, a teenager who works part-time in a bakery meets Cha Hyunwoo, a student with issues. Through years fate keeps them together and apart. They first meet with hesitation, uncertainty about each other, but when Cha Hyun-woo offers to work for the bakery, they bask in each other’s presence. But as they grew older, they needed to go to college to find stable jobs. Problems arise and feelings surface.
Minho took one glance at Chan, who was still wearing that stupid lopsided smile on his stupidly handsome face. He thinks for a while about why Chan stopped acting. He shakes the thought away. He decided to close the folder. “This sounds...very…”
Chan lightens up. “Very nice right? The plot isn’t fully explained yet there since it’s just a summary, but I’ve read the whole thing sort of, and it looks really good. I think this would be very good for you. Director Yang was really hoping for you. He said something about you being perfect for it.” The actor had a hesitant look. “Perfect for it? Does he not know me? I do action movies, not sickly teenage romance. I might fail them. I’ll fuck up.”
Chan’s expression softened. He places his calloused hand on Minho’s shoulder, giving it a soft pat. “It’s called experience, dude. Plus, it's your first romance movie, you’re bound to fuck up (Minho glares at him) but it’s okay! You’ll learn eventually, and I’ll practice with you. Have you forgotten I used to act in a rom-com? You’ll be okay champ.” A pregnant pause. “Do you want to practice kissing with me?” The actor ignores him. Minho still feels nervous about it, but his gears are working. “Okay...fine. Just give me time to think, hm?” He looks down on his once hot mug of caffeine, now abandoned and lukewarm. He shakes his head, grabbing the mug by the handle. He stands up, trudges to the sink in the kitchen, dumping the americano down the drain.
As he watches the liquid drain down, his thoughts are plagued. Is he really ready for this? This is such a huge change for him. He then wonders who would be his co-star. Minho desperately wishes it’s someone he doesn’t know. Truth be told, he’d be way more comfortable with someone he doesn’t know. Sort of like a kiss-and-go. He assures himself it would be less embarrassing. Minho gently places the mug in the sink, jogging towards Chan with a determined look.
“By the way, who would be my partner? Oh God, don’t tell me it’s someone I know.” Or a female. He’s pretty sure he made it clear to the public he’s not interested in women at all.
Chan has a thoughtful look, trying to remember. He jumps as it finally hits him. “It’s Han Jisung! You know him right? He’s been a hot topic these days, his last movie was such a hit. We went to see it once, remember? The Half Of It?”
Minho tries to rack his brain. He barely remembers it, but he does recall that it was quite sad. The actor decides he’ll rewatch it later to bed. “Okay...okay then.”
He still feels weird about the whole thing, but maybe it wouldn’t be too bad…?
Chan’s voice breaks him out of his mini stupor. “Well, I’ll leave it to you then. If you’re interested, Director Yang will have you tomorrow and then you can stunt your shit. If you memorize this part...” his manager takes the cream colored folder out of Minho’s hands. He flips it over, somewhere in the middle of the sheets of paper, there was a paragraph, highlighted in fluorescent green.
It already made Minho jumpy.
“...this one! Director Yang will want you to act this part out. I’m rooting for you buddy.” Chan flashes him a comforting smile, and Minho’s nerves calm down the slightest.
The blonde finally stands up and patting Minho’s shoulder softly. “I’ll get going now, okay? I’ll text you the other details, I got some errands to do,” he retreats back to the door, and before he shuts the door out, he exclaims. “The kissing practice is still on the table by the way!”
Minho rolls his eyes as Chan shuts the door, a fond smile playing on his lips.
-
Later in the wee hours of the morning Minho clambers onto his king-sized bed, his laptop perched precariously on top of his knees. He had brought a bottle of water with him, the script laid beside him. His fingers danced on the keyboard, looking up Han Jisung.
As the page loaded, a picture of a man, who looked a bit younger than him appeared. There he was. The first picture of the latter, he had blonde hair the same as Chan. He did see other pictures, where the latter had deep chocolate hair, and others where he had an eccentric azure. Blue really suits him, Minho thinks.
His eyes were sparkling, deep and honeyed. His smile was stunning, cheeks full that reminded him of a squirrel. He had a gummy smile, and he looked gorgeous.
Minho concluded to look up his movie, The Half Of It, and that's where he saw it. The ratings were pretty high, the reviews positive and engaged. As he read the description, he clicked on the movie, looking forward to Han’s acting.
It pictures Jisung as a student who helps a jock to woo a girl, but he falls in love with her. His stomach churns. Oh God. He’s straight, Minho thinks. His resolve crumbles a tiny bit, but wills himself to finish the movie.
Jisung’s acting was immaculate, every word he spoke had raw feelings. And his eyes, it held such emotion that it felt real. It didn’t feel like he was acting at all. He’s good, really good. And cute at that. Minho can’t believe he’s going to work with that guy. His stomach feels like he ate something bad. It keeps forming knots, and Minho screws the cap of the water bottle he brought and takes big gulps of water, trying to clear his mind. He’s feeling immensely anxious, he doesn’t know how to pull this off. He has never done this type of acting. Well sure, he’s done teary scenes where he’d “cry over his parent’s dead body” but he has never acted like…like that.
Minho continues to watch, and it’s this scene where Jisung finally confronts the deuteragonist. He reads the dialogue, heavy with emotion, and then Minho’s taken aback when he sees the scene where Jisung presses his lips onto the other man in the scene. Confused, Minho rereads the description of the movie, embarrassed to see that he misread it. It was a queer movie. He was so nervous that he made a mistake while reading it.
“Well,” Minho sighed, “that’s one less problem for me.”
Minho likes to think he’s professional. He’s never really batted an eyelash on any of his co-workers, only having fun or being playful with them, but was never involved in any form of romantic relationship.
So when the image of him kissing Jisung pops into his mind, he starts yelping, hitting his head softly trying to will the image away. No way. Why was he so flustered? He felt his cheeks burning up. This was so unprofessional, he felt flustered because of it.
He shuffles down to his living room, clad in his pajamas. He places the script on his lap as he takes a seat on one of his bean bag chairs. He flips them, page after page. There’s a lot...a lot of words. It doesn’t faze Minho that much, but it does make his heart jump into his throat.
He stops on a page where he sees it: Hyunwoo and Minsoo go to the latter’s apartment, where Hyunwoo stays the night. The next morning before Hyunwoo goes to the military, he shares an awkward kiss yet full of feelings and want with Minsoo.
Oh God. Of course. At some point he’d have to kiss Jisung. He wonders if he’ll play Minsoo or Hyunwoo. He reaches out for his phone, wanting to phone Chan, but he has half of a mind to let the elder to sleep. It’s 1 A.M. right now. Yeah, Minho really couldn’t sleep.
Minho is left with his thoughts, pondering deeply about everything. Hugging his legs closed to his chest, he starts to think what he’d actually do.
First of all, he’d had to play as a student. A teenager. He’s never done that. Second, he’d have to have good chemistry with Jisung. Dear Lord. His stomach formed knots again. Chemistry. What if it’ll be awkward and Director Yang will be disappointed in him? What if Jisung feels uncomfortable with him?
That’s impossible , Minho mentally replies to himself. They’d have to work together for 4 months or so...depending on the film. For sure they’d have to get along within those months.
Oddly, his mother’s voice plays in his mind. His mind flashes back to when he was in seventh grade. They were at the rides with his classmates to celebrate their last day of school. He wanted to ride the Terminator, which was the scariest ride of them all. Minho begged his mother to go on it, but when she allowed him to, his body freezed and he began to hesitate. He wasn’t quite sure if he really wanted to ride on it anymore. His mother crouches to his level, and with a grin on her lips, she says, “It’s okay, love. Just do it without any hesitation. You only live once.”
Fuck it.
Minho hastily grabs his phone, swiping and dialing his manager, his throat dry but his mind made.
“Uh...Chan? Yeah I know it’s almost 2 A.M…um...I’ll do it.”
-
“Mr. Lee!” A rough yet gentle voice welcomes Minho as he arrives at the meeting place. They were in an average-sized room in a tall building, the walls painted a crisp white. There were portraits of flowers framed on each wall, plant pots and succulents designing the right wall of the room. He stood on marble tiles, where his shoes softly clacked on.
Director Yang stood in front him with a warm smile, his eyes warping into crescents that made him look so approachable. Yang was one of the youngest most successful directors in all of Hollywood, He had made numerous blockbusters and classic movies, including Gone Days, Levanter and The Chronosaurus. His works were mostly rom-coms, melodramatic movies and what-not. Minho had always spotted him in award shows but never really got the chance to speak with him.
Yang was in a cool green button up shirt with fox patterns on it, in neutral grey slacks and loafers. Now, if it was someone else wearing that tacky outfit, they would look absolutely stupid. But somehow he pulled it off. It suited the young director.
“Mr. Yang,” Minho breathes out, unconsciously curling his toes. God was he nervous. “So nice to finally be in your presence! I’ve heard so much about you and your amazing works.”
The director laughed heartily and waved his hand dismissively. “Please, call me Jeongin! For all I know, I’m younger than you. It also helps being comfortable now we’re going to be working together.”
Minho stands still. Jeongin immediately notices.
“Oh right, of course, if you wanted to! I was just hoping if it would’ve been alright—“
“I’ll do it,” the actor breathes out, his eyes sharp with determination. “I already have the paragraph you highlighted memorized.”
The young director had mild shock painted on his dainty face but then his mouth extends to a wide grin. “Dear heavens, yes! Thank you so much Minho. I know you’ll crush it. Mind if you perform the scene for us?”
Minho nods and takes a deep breath as Jeongin takes his seat on the sturdy looking work desk, piles of paper, pencils and what seemed to be...camera lenses? on it.
The director smiles at him encouragingly as Minho readies himself. Truth be told, he can’t really believe this is happening right now. He’s in front of the Yang Jeongin, in his office, where he’ll have to perform a scene from the movie.
Ah...fuck it. Again. Minho mentally sighs.
He readies his posture, and begins to let the memorized words flow from his mouth.
“I feel like there’s nothing left for me in this world. All my friends abandoned me, and their moms hate me. I’ve got no stable job, and the one who really loved me and was there for me when I felt like shit no longer wants to be with me. He’s gone. Gone. I’m gone. Soon.
“I want him back. But he’s gone. Gone...gone...gone…”
Minho had let the words flood and seep into his body, letting his emotions drip from every syllable. His eyes flickered with pain, his actions slow, letting it seem as if he really had nothing in life anymore.
Damn, Minho thinks. Think I did better than what I practiced last night.
No sound was made after, and Jeongin had a bright smile on his face. He clapped his hands twice, his body seemed as if it was vibrating from exciting. The feeling was infectious.
“Mr. Minho! That was absolutely amazing! Fantastic,” he says with a wink. “I knew what I was doing when I picked you for our cast, huh?”
Jeongin then stands up, shuffling from his seat and grabbing his phone from his back pocket. He dials someone and after the ring ends he dashes out of the room, not before bidding Minho good luck. He then starts babbling to someone on the line. (“My goodness Jihyo! You will not believe me right now…”)
Minho walks out of the room, Chan leaned back on the rights side of the wall, scrolling through the phone. He spots Minho at the corner of his eyes and gasps. “ Sooo ? How’d it go?” Minho shrugs as if to act indifferent, but the excited look on his face gives it away. “Where’s my trailer?”
The smell of lipgloss and eyeshadow palettes wafted in the air inside of his trailer. The small but doable space was filled with clothes for him to wear, and a vanity table where he’d have his makeup done. Minho sat on the vanity chair with a nervous smile. There were two people inside the trailer besides him. A man with bright electric red hair, dressed in a navy blue knitted sweater with a white collared polo beneath it paired with black jeans and a clean set of white Vans. The other had soft orange hair, almost faded, donned in a pink hoodie and white beach shorts.
Both of the strangers had huddled over something on the table next to the rack of clothes, not aware of Minho’s presence.
Minho didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to disturb them, it seemed like a very important discussion. But he still let a weak “hi”. The two stopped hushing, and immediately stood straight. Red hair looked at him first, and Minho’s breath was taken away.
His face was gorgeous. Soft freckles scattered on his cheeks, long lashes and lips perfectly glossed. He reminded Minho of a fairy.
“Oh dear, hi! I’m so sorry we didn’t notice you,” Red laughed, rushing towards Minho and offering his hand to shake. “I’m Felix! The other one is Sana. We’re going to do you makeup, hair, and wardrobe!”
Orange hair, who Minho now acknowledges as Sana, approaches them and greets Minho. “Hello Lee Minho! Great pleasure working with you.”
As they got the formalities out of the way, Felix was already looking at the actor as if he was some sort of meat. He had an unreadable expression on his freckled face, but it was obvious he was already thinking of what to do.
Sana broke off the small silence. “Well, I think let’s start off with makeup. Tune In For Love is a melodramatic and romantic movie,” she explains. “And it's set back in 1996. So I think...the makeup should be more on the natural side, and just a bit of contouring just to give a pop of color.”
“Plaid...unfitted washed jeans….” Felix mumbled to himself. The red haired boy glanced at the clothing racks, eyeing each piece. He shook his head. “Okay, I think I got it. Let’s do your makeup first now!”
He didn’t know much time passed, but it felt like a really long time. Minho felt a bit sleepy from the way the makeup sponges lightly patted against his cheek, small makeup brushes fluffing out colors on his eyes. The actor felt something wet on his lips, it was a lip tint. He then felt his hair being played with, hushed voices of “Like this?” “A bit more of a ….” Minho didn’t realize he was slowly falling asleep.
Minho woke up when a hand shook him awake. “Hey Minho,” he recognized Felix's voice. He peeled his eyes open slowly, momentarily forgetting he was there to get his makeup and outfit done. As his gaze landed on the vanity table’s mirror, he had to hold in a gasp.
His sandy brown hair was styled, parted in the middle to show off his forehead. His brows were filled in, eyes colored in soft peach and browns (that were a bit hard to notice) on the lids, small wings of brown eyeliner peeking at the edges of his eyes. HIs cheeks had the slightest bit of tint, and his lips colored a faded neutral red. He looked good. Really good.
He heard the two makeup stylists chuckle. “Well, do you like it?”
Minho sighs contentedly. “Yeah, very much so.”
The next few minutes are spent between him and the two stylists fitting him into a short-sleeved plaid collared shirt overlaid with a brown jacket, a bit of white fur peeking out from the inside, denim jeans and old-school Sneakers.
“You look so good,” Sana praises him. Or well, herself. She did do the makeup.
“Let’s get you into the shooting site already,” Felix grins.
The trailer’s door sounded with a knock, and then opened. It revealed a man with blonde hair and a very familiar grin. “Hey guys!”
Minho gave Chan a wave. He saw at the corner of his eye Felix standing still, while Sana approaches Chan and greets him with a grin and a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Chan.” Sana replies to him. She gestures to Felix, whose face is now tinted a slight red. “That’s Felix, we both work on the makeup, hair and outfits.”
“Indeed,” Chan eyes Minho with his mouth gaped a bit. “Minho, you look so good!” The actor rolls his eyes and gives him a small “thanks”. Felix clears his throat and offers his hand to Chan.
“Hello. Uh...I”m Felix.” He rasped out. He looked so shy, definitely not like what Minho witnessed earlier.
Chan laughed loudly as he shook both of their hands. “Yeah, I figured.”
The red haired boy blushed even darker, his lips curling into a bashed smile. “Nice to meet you…”
Maybe it was Minho, or there was too much makeup weighing over his eyes, but he definitely saw Chan’s and Felix’s eyes and hands linger for a second too long. Chan’s hand immediately curled as he let go, pursing his lips.
Oh my, Minho chuckles. Chan is whipped.
“Well,” Sana breaks the silence yet again. “Let’s get going shall we? Minho, time to meet Jisung!”
At the mention of his co-actors name, his stomach contracted, feeling as if a storm was inside of it. Minho couldn’t pinpoint the feeling blooming in his chest. He was excited, yes, but also nervous. And...and another emotion he really couldn’t name. He made a mental note to stop thinking too much about it. Chan hands Minho the script, and ushers him to step out of the enclosed trailer.
“Let’s go,” The blonde says. “Everyone’s looking forward to you.”