Chapter Text
One should never even attempt to get into the acting field if they’re not prepared to spend endless hours waiting and doing nothing. Whether you were the star of the show or a random underpaid extra, everyone needed to wait.
Of course, the comfort one was able to wait in was definitely determined by status. Background actors had to make due with whatever space they could find that was out of the way but within earshot of their organizer while stars had trailers and food catered to their specific tastes.
Even background actors got food though. That was a staple of the industry. Kim Rok Soo chewed on the bagel provided thoughtfully as he watched the scene play out in front of him and waited for his next instructions.
He didn’t have even the slightest interest in acting but background acting paid the bills, wasn’t difficult, gave him time to study, and his sunbae had connected him with the opportunity.
He’d managed to become a ‘regular’ background actor for this series, which was an enviable position, and thus he’d become unwillingly privy to some of the drama on set.
He really thought that the drama should be reserved for the absolutely terrible plot of the Drama being filmed. Apparently other people thought otherwise.
Cale Henituse, a skilled actor with a leading role in the series, was somewhat notoriously difficult to work with but Kim Rok Soo thought that this was a bit excessive.
If not for his father, it was certain that Cale would never get work in this industry. Everyone was tired of catering to the prima donna who had yet to show up to work sober.
However there was only one person who actively challenged Cale’s bad attitude, and had a tendency to do so with a smile that matched well with his impeccable public reputation as a genuinely nice person.
He seemed like a glib bastard to Kim Rok Soo’s eyes but who was he to judge? The man was a professional actor and Kim Rok Soo was just a poor student working a shitty part-time job.
“Everyone has to wait, Mr. Henituse.” They were using English again. Kim Rok Soo sometimes wished he didn’t have a knack for languages because the arguments always got a bit more personal when they thought the rest of the staff couldn’t understand. “I understand that you’re impatient to finish your scenes, but your disruptive behavior will only keep us all here longer.”
Cale snorted and sneered at Alberu with a thuggish venere. “Why should I give a fuck about others?”
There was a certain twitch to Alberu’s expression that Kim Rok Soo was starting to recognize as the telltale sign that he was losing his patience with Cale as well. Of course he always managed to maintain his composure but it felt like everytime Cale got closer and closer to making the otherwise amiable man lose his shit. “I’m not asking you to care about others. I’m merely informing you that should you wish for the shoot to end sooner, it would be best to exhibit some patience.”
Cale openly laughed at him. There was a drunken swaying to his movements that let everyone know that the starbucks cup in his hand definitely didn’t contain coffee. “Way to fucking say ‘shut the fuck up and behave’, do you ever fucking change or are you just intolerable as a habit? Oh, let me guess, mommy and daddy didn’t hug you enough so now you keel to meaningless fucking rules in hopes of getting their approval.”
It looked like Cale had finally hit a nerve because Alberu actually took a moment to respond, his smile stiffening and freezing in place as though if Alberu allowed the muscles on his face to even twitch all of the hidden agitation would finally be exposed.
Kim Rok Soo really didn’t want to witness any of this. He wanted to return to his textbooks and ignore the arguing pair but they were loud and he’d forgotten his earbuds and they were right in front of his resting place. Neither of them seemed to have noticed he was there at all as they went at it.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Henituse. I understand that you have your father clean up your messes for you but for most adults, we actually manage just fine without focusing on appealing to our parents.” Alberu said, his smile so stiff that it looked a bit scary.
Cale’s face contorted into a snarl and he looked about ready to splash his tightly clenched drink on his co-stars face. “Jealous?” Cale said, a nasty cruelty overtaking his expression. “Wish that your parents gave a flying crap about you?”
This was getting uncomfortably personal. Kim Rok Soo really wanted to melt into the wall and disappear. At least he could pretend not to have understood if they spotted him but still he really just didn’t want to be here.
He wished Soo Hyuk Hyung was working today. He would have been able to study in his trailer then instead of watching this drama unfold.
Alberu somehow managed to look utterly full of contempt while maintaining a clean and refreshing smile. He really was a professional actor to control his expression so well. Kim Rok Soo was a bit impressed.
“I apologize for taking so much of your time, Mr. Henituse.” He said, his voice full of the friendly cheer he used for his castmates and coworkers. “I hope that you’ll take my words into consideration, but if you don’t that’s reasonable. You’re free to act howsoever you’d like. I’ll see you later.”
It was a very curt and quick way to excuse himself and Kim Rok Soo watched the retreating back for a moment before looking back to Cale.
What he saw surprised him a bit.
Cale Henituse was infamous for his horrid behavior, foul mouth, and drunken disorderlies. He was the pure definition of trash who’d been raised with a silver spoon hanging from his lips and he lived up to his reputation.
Every single time Kim Rok Soo had seen him, he looked like an asshole. He sneered at people, looked down on them, and picked words that were designed to aggravate or hurt others.
The man he saw right now just looked exhausted. There were even hints of remorse in his expression as he watched Alberu’s retreating back. It felt like he was seeing something he wasn’t meant to see.
Cale let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair and Kim Rok Soo realized why he looked so strange.
Every hint of a drunken sway had vanished.
As though it had been an act and someone had just called cut .
“...fucker doens’t know when to give up…” He muttered bitterly and leaned up against a wall, still failing to notice Kim Rok Soo’s crouched form surrounded by textbooks. “...idiot… it didn’t need to go that far.”
Kim Rok Soo had seen a lot of actors while working as a background actor. He rarely paid that much attention to set unless his hyung was acting but one thing that always struck him as odd and interesting was how a person's demeanor could shift so completely between scenes and roles.
Cale was normally typecast as a villain and he did a good job of it. There was no denying his skill even if he was definitely still here out of nepotism.
Kim Rok Soo felt like he was looking at a stranger. He was, in a way, he’d never actually talked to Cale before. But he’d witnessed the man’s meltdowns on set enough times to feel like he knew his personality.
There wasn’t a trace of the Cale he knew.
His movements were elegant and deliberate, somehow managing to exude class while merely leaning against a wall and scrolling through his phone with a frown.
Even the frown was different.
It was honestly a bit startling and Kim Rok Soo was smart enough to know he definitely wasn’t supposed to see this. Cale clearly thought he was alone.
That was why it was just so terrible that his phone buzzed at that moment and Cale’s sharp eyes moved to meet his startled ones.
Kim Rok Soo considered very carefully how to react. This was a person who had enough sway in the industry to make sure that he never got work again and also a somewhat scary punk who frequently broke shit when he was upset.
Kim Rok Soo couldn’t even pretend to have just arrived. He was so obviously covered in his outspread textbooks and settled into his little nook.
He decided that the very best reaction was absolutely no reaction at all. He looked away from Cale and back down to his textbook, ignoring his buzzing phone and munching on his abandoned bagel.
‘Don’t talk to me, don’t talk to me, don’t talk to me.’ Kim Rok Soo silently prayed, dreading whatever this crazy punk would say after having his private moment disrupted.
Footsteps approached and Kim Rok Soo winced, trying to resist looking up as a shadow appeared above him.
“Hey.” Cale crouched down in front of him and he realized the guise was back on, there was just a hint of a drunken slur and the crude facial expressions were back. It only confirmed to Kim Rok Soo that it, to some extent, was an act. “The fuck are you looking at, you piece of shit?”
‘He’s trying to cover by doubling down on his trashiness.’ It wasn’t a bad tactic. Kim Rok Soo had no reason to disbelieve its sincerity either. He’d like to live in the blissful ignorance of all things Cale Henituse.
“Nothing.” He said. Despite all his nerves, to an outside party he sounded unbothered.
Cale frowned, standing back up with a sway. “Well keep your fucking eyes to yourself if you know what’s good for you.”
Kim Rok Soo nodded, keeping his head-down and waiting for Cale to saunter away.
‘...they should really leave the drama for when the cameras are rolling… ’ Kim Rok Soo complained mentally, slumping in relief when Cale finally left the area. ‘I really don’t want to know any of this.’
And as Kim Rok Soo hoped that he’d never ever have to deal with anything like that again, fate was already moving to ensure that he’d be further entangled in the complicated and obnoxious problems of other people.
He really should have picked a different part time job.