Work Text:
“CUT!”
Jisung and Minho pull away from each other immediately, as if Seungmin’s voice had jolted them. Minho stares blankly at some point on the horizon while Jisung looks down at his own feet, eyes refusing to meet as if they are afraid of what they would find on one another’s face. Or as if they were terrified of what their own faces might reveal, both of them flushed to the tip of their ears. It would be endearing, if Seungmin wasn’t trying to film a movie.
“Jisung, great job,” compliments the director, straight to the point as always. He thinks he can hear the uneven heartbeats of the two men, but he ignores it, “You kissed him like he was precious, your face perfectly showed the nervousness, the desire and the relief of someone finally able to kiss their loved one.”
Despite it being a praise, Jisung looks like he wants to vanish from earth. He shrinks more at every word that leaves Seungmin’s mouth, eyes avoiding Minho at all cost and lower lip trapped between his teeth. The director pats him on the back cheerfully, unbothered by his actor’s internal conflict. “Well done.”
“Minho,” Seungmin turns to the other man next, voice sounding less optimistic this time.
Minho visibly tenses but hums anyway.
“You were not supposed to enjoy this kiss.” Seungmin makes his discontentment clear. He has always been harsh with his actors but the way Minho’s face loses its color at the words, looking almost like he’s about to throw up, makes him soften the slightest bit when he continues, “Remember that your character, Minhee, is in love with Soobin. Minhee is only kissing Jihwan to forget Soobin, he’s not supposed to look like he’s finally in the arms of his lover after a long wait when they kiss, ok? He’s thinking of Soobin, not really immersed in the kiss. Do you understand?”
Minho stutters when he answers, voice small and so unlike the confident, poker-faced and sharp-tongued actor Seungming knows, “Y-yes.”
His weak tone of voice caught Jisung’s attention too because the actor looks up in surprise and his shocked face is priceless when his gaze finds Minho. Something that could be worry or hope, or even a mix of both, flashes in his eyes.
“Great, let’s try it again.”
Seungmin walks back to his chair, trying not to get stressed despite the fiasco of their first attempt at filming this scene but when he looks at his two actors he realizes something is still wrong.
“Minho, stop blushing!”
Minho glares at him. Somehow he manages to be embarrassed while also looking murderous. He nods but his eyes are screaming at Seungmin: “Shut up! Don't you see I have no control over it?” which is a first. Seungmin worked with him before and never had any problems regarding his acting skills and professionalism. Whatever those two have going on, Seungmin knows it’s happening for a while even if he never really cared about it, but now it’s getting in the way of his movie and he doesn’t like it at all.
“Ok, let’s try another shot.” Seungmin sighs. At least the makeup is hiding a little of Minho’s blush. It will have to be enough for now.
“Focus, please,” he orders, making a gesture for the light and camera to get ready again. Under the street light, Minho closes his eyes in concentration and Jisung takes a big breath. When they seem ready, Seungmin shouts “Action!”
Minho opens his eyes, looking in character to Seungmin’s relief. His vacillating expression looks real, his hands grip the bottom of his sweater anxiously.
“I can be better than him,” Jisung whispers to him, like a promise. He looks hopeful and yearning, just like he’s supposed to, “If you just give me the chance.”
Minho's conflicted expression is precise, like the acting Seungmin is used to getting from him. His face shows the distress and despair of someone who just wants to be loved. And then he nods.
“Ok.”
“Ok?” Jisung repeats, half surprised, half expectant.
“Yes, I- I want to try,” Minho breaths out. Seungmin is proud at how he is looking at Jisung, as if he’s searching for a solution on his face. Like Jisung is his last hope of forgetting someone else, “I want to try dating you.”
“You’re so beautiful,” Jisung mumbles. It sounds completely natural and genuine. His eyes tell just how much he’s in love, how truthful and powerful his feelings are. It’s beyond any acting Seungmin could ask for. Probably because it isn’t an act at all, but Seungmin doesn’t care about that, he just wants his movie to be perfect, “God, I want to kiss you.”
And that's when he loses Minho again.
“CUT!”
Minho immediately looks away from Jisung, taking a step back with a guilty expression. This time, though, Jisung keeps looking at him like he wants to say something. The younger actor's hands slowly curl into fists as if holding himself from reaching out.
Seungmin approaches Minho with annoyed steps, massaging his temples, “Minho, stop doing this… thing with your eyes!” he says very slowly, trying to control his irritation.
This scene won’t work this way. Why can’t his actors leave their feelings outside of his set? It’s infuriating.
“What thing?” Minho asks, still seeming a little woozy from the scene.
“This thing when your eyes sparkle while you’re looking at Jisung. Stop it!” Seungmin explains, inpatient.
Minho blinks, staring at the floor again.
“I’ll try,” he says, appearing so frustrated with himself that Seungmin almost feels sorry for being so harsh for the first time in his career. However, it’s his strict and demanding personality that have made him one of the best directors in the industry and he’s not about to change it for some lovesick couple.
“Don’t try, do it.”
Then Seungmin turns to Jisung, who’s still looking at Minho like he’s helplessly trying to send him a massage using only his eyes.
“Jisung,” the actor reluctantly spins his head in his direction, “you were perfect. Looked completely smitten,” he gives him a thumbs up, “Just keep doing exactly that.”
Jisung mutters a shy “thanks” and Seungmin walks back to his chair and commands “Action!” when everybody is ready.
The scene begins again.
Minho is doing good, staying in character. Jisung, somehow, looks even more in love than before. There’s so many feelings in his eyes that even cold director Kim Seungmin feels his heart melt a little bit.
When Jisung says “God, I want to kiss you” for the third time, Seungmin holds his breath. It seems like Minho is going to falter again but at the last moment he holds on, keeping his character alive.
“So do it,” he says, clearly not so sure of his own words. Just like Seungmin wanted.
Jisung doesn't waste another second and places a gentle hand on Minho’s cheeks, slowly pulling him until their lips meet. Seungmin is almost sweating, sitting on the edge of his seat, eyes attentive for any sign of mistake.
There aren't any mistakes. Minho is doing amazing, keeping his eyes open and staring blankly ahead like he’s unsure of what he’s doing, as if the kiss isn’t really making him feel anything. Exactly how Seungmin idealized.
It's perfect.
Until Jisung deepens the kiss with a firm hand on Minho’s waist and ruins everything.
Minho fucking whimpers. The actor's effort crumbs into nothing in front of everybody, his eyes closing and body melting in Jisung’s hold like some Victorian lady being kissed for the first time.
Seungmin is so outraged it takes him a full five seconds to react, in which everybody in the set, from the cameraman to the staff, watches Jisung and Minho make out with slightly open mouths.
“CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT!” Seungmin shouts, standing from his chair and making exaggerated hand gestures.
Jisung doesn’t release Minho immediately. Instead, he sucks Minho’s bottom lip slowly one last time, Minho shaking in his arms. It’s obscene and lovely and completely inappropriate.
“What the hell was this kiss???” Seungmin questions, fuming.
Minho finally steps back from Jisung’s hold, looking completely mortified. He looks at the ground like he wants it to swallow him, his face red and breath uneven.
Meanwhile, Jisung looks at Minho like he just wants to kiss him again right there until the sun rises.
“Were you guys supposed to be a couple in love????” Seungmin continues, looking from one actor to the other. If they were in an animation, there would be smoke coming out of his ears. “Let me answer that. NO! You were not!”
There's a vein pulsing on his neck when he looks at Minho’s shrunken figure, “This was not a unilateral kiss, Lee Minho!” Then is Jisung time to face his full rage, “ And, Jisung, where in the script is it telling you to deepen the kiss???” He practically shoves the paper in the younger actor’s face, “You’re responsible for this mess, where is your professionalism?”
“I-it was me. I’m sorry…” Minho speaks first, voice shaking in an unfamiliar way. Seungmin has never seen him like this before, it’s strange. Minho is usually obnoxious but Seungmin realizes he prefers when he’s full of his shenanigans than this version of him that looks like it's about to cry at any minute. Besides, Minho's obnoxious version is an excellent and extremely professional actor.
“Can you give us 10 minutes?” Jisung asks, stepping protectively in front of Minho and looking at the director with pleading eyes, “Just 10 minutes!”
Seungmin ponders. He can’t really continue if his two actors are so unfocused and no amount of makeup could hide Minho’s blush, that’s for sure. Therefore, it's useless to keep trying to film the scene like this. It’s annoying but it’s the truth.
He doesn’t care about his actors' personal life problems, however, if it's the only way to solve their sudden inability for acting, he’ll be happy to see them stop pining and get together already.
He eyes Jisung, making sure he understands how serious he is about this, “Will you come back ready to truly be Minhee and Jihwan? Cause here in my scenario, that’s who you are supposed to be but I’m only seeing Minho and Jisung today.”
“Yes! We’ll concentrate, I promise!” Jisung aengerly nods, “Just give us ten minutes and we’ll give you the best acting of our lives!”
“Ok, then. Ten minutes,” Seungmin concedes, “and nothing more!”
Jisung blurts a relieved “Thank you” and takes Minho by his wrist, pulling him in the direction of the camarin.
Seungmin observes how Minho, still blushing, stares at Jisung's hand on his wrist and gulps. It’s clear that he didn’t catch up to the fact that Jisung is completely whipped for him. The emotionally constipated man probably thinks his feelings are unilateral. Hopefully not for much longer though, Seungmin doesn’t think he can survive seeing those two dancing around each other for another minute, it’s giving him a headache to watch.
Looking for this side, he doesn’t feel so bad for his straightforward words if he had put a little of sense in the head of at least one of them. It’s about time they figured things out, everybody in the studio is tired of their pinning.
Talking about time, ten minutes passes and still there is no sign of Jisung and Minho. Seungmin is kind enough to let them take their time for once, he’s not completely emotionless after all. Then five more minutes passes and he starts to get impatient.
When a very angry Seungmin is about to send someone after them, the two love birds show up with big content smiles and intertwined hands. However, Seungmin's focus goes to their messy hair, wrinkled clothes and swollen lips. The vein in his neck pops.
“I thought you were going to talk! Han Jisung, look at your hair- Wait, is this a hickey, Lee Minho?”
He only gets lovesick giggles as an answer and he entertains the idea of trying a career as an assassin instead of director for a moment.
“How can we film the scene with you looking like this?” He massages his temples, calculating in his head how much time it will take to change their figurines and make their hair and make-up again. God, they’ll have to hide that hickey!
Jisung and Minho don’t look slightly ashamed. Seungmin gets the feeling that they are back to their normal obnoxious selves as they smile mischievously at him, so disgustingly happy.
And maybe - maybe - Seungmin isn’t as angry as he claims.