Chapter Text
Chapter 1
"And so I told her no, Sua, I'm not trying to date Mizi anymore." Till whispered to Hyuna as they both drank their coffees, lounging around the studio. Today was going to be a long day, for Till had to meet the new actor and show him around the place.
"Oh, definitely. That girl gets jealous sometimes, but it's honestly adorable. She and Mizi are the cutest couple on the set," Hyuna enthused, clearly loving the dynamic between the two girls. She and Till always gossiped about them together during breaks.
"Yeah, well, that's because they're the only couple on set, Hyuna." Till remarked back, playfully rolling his eyes and chuckling.
"Well, I know that…" Hyuna laughed before continuing. "Hey, have you heard about the new actor? I heard he's actually new to acting."
Till's eyes subtly widened. New to acting? Then why'd I get paired up with him? I'm supposed to be the main character. He nodded, turning to Hyuna, setting his coffee down. "Yeah, I've heard. I'm going to have some scenes with him, I just don't know which scenes yet."
"Oh, neat!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Well, I have to go see my brother. Good luck! And while you're at it, tell the new guy I said hi."
"Will do, Hyuna." Till took a final swig of his coffee before standing up with a sigh. He knew today would be full of awkward greetings, something he hated about new actors. He headed off to see his producer, Abel.
"Hey, Abel. Who's this new guy everybody's talking about?" He said, approaching Abel.
"Ah, Till! I was just about to go looking for you! Come here, I'd like you to meet Ivan! He'll be working with you for some scenes." The producer stepped aside, revealing a taller man, Till estimated around 6 feet or so. "Ivan, meet Till! You'll be working together from now on, so take today to get comfortable with each other! I have someone I need to talk to. I'll be back."
Ivan extended a hand towards Till, smiling brightly. "My name is Ivan! I'm so glad I'm finally getting to meet you!"
Till reached out and shook his hand. "You probably already know this, but I'm Till. Nice meeting you, Ivan. I hope we can work together nicely and get this show done."
Ivan shook Till's hand with generous force, very ecstatic. Till stumbled slightly before catching himself; this kid was stronger than he looked. "What should I call you? Can I call you Sunbae? You're almost 26, right? I'm only 24!" He rambles on excitedly, barely stopping to breathe. Jeez, kid, you sure got a lot to say.
"Slow down, you're gonna hyperventilate. I don't mind if you call me Sunbae, go ahead." He releases Ivan's hand, stepping back to look up at him.
"Sorry! I do that when I'm excited!" He smiled apologetically at Till.
"It's fine, it doesn't really matter to me. Hey, why don't we go meet the rest of the crew?" Till gestured to the backstage area, where the other 4 were.
"Sure! Eeek, I'm so happy to be here! It's like a dream come true!" Ivan followed Till back, practically glowing with joy. They walked around for a bit, eventually coming across Mizi and Sua, who were doing their usual flirting.
Walking backstage, Ivan took a moment to take it all in.
There were boxes upon boxes of costumes, wigs, stage props, etc. Another room sat to the right, with a sign above the entrance labeled “STAGE MAKEUP.” He assumed that’s where the actors got their makeup done for the set they were acting in.
The backstage was big, bigger than any backstage Ivan had seen before. It had a subtle scent of wood, nostalgic, even. The lighting was warm, not too bright, not too dark. He noticed a pink-haired girl standing by a black-haired girl to the right of them.
“Ah, their names are Mizi and Sua.” Till gestured to the girls. “Black hair is Sua, pink hair is Mizi.” Mizi was dressed in a white, cropped tank top with a pink jacket layered on top. Her skirt matched her jacket, and she had a hairclip or two in her hair. Sua had on a similar outfit, but her jacket and skirt were black, and her hairclips were teal. He noticed how Mizi’s hand was on Sua’s waist, going higher and higher up Sua’s tank top. Mizi whispered something in Sua’s ear, and Sua giggled.
He blushed and looked away.
To the left, leaning on a box, was a brown-haired girl. She was seen arguing with someone who… was her sibling? They looked nearly identical, so Ivan assumed they were twins. “That’s Hyuna, and her brother Hyun Woo. Looks like they’re busy… so we should meet Mizi and Sua first.” Till started to walk towards Mizi and Sua, and Ivan nodded–quickly following after him. Till was the only person he knew here, and he didn’t want to leave his side. The studio and all the strangers were daunting.
“Hey, Mizi and Sua! Meet Ivan, the new guy.” Ivan admired how Till always seemed effortlessly confident. Even when meeting him, he was calm and charming. How did he do that?
“Uh… Hi, I’m Ivan.” Ivan introduced himself, giving a small wave.
“Hi, Ivan! I’m Mizi. This is Sua.” Mizi smiled widely, and Sua also gave Ivan a kind smile. Less wide, however.
“Yeah, you can call me Sua…” Sua seemed more timid than Mizi, by a lot. It looked like she didn’t trust Ivan completely… He wished he could just hide behind Till and not have to worry about everyone’s first impressions of him. He moved behind Till.
“Well, Ivan and I are going to go see what’s up with Hyuna and Hyun Woo. Catch you guys later, yeah?” Till gave a small wave, then walked towards the brown-haired girl Ivan had seen arguing with her brother earlier.
Hyuna–was that her name?--- was wearing a black tank top with brown jeans and a leather belt. “Ugh… Hi, Till. Is this the newbie?” Hyuna gestured towards Ivan, who shrank behind Till slightly. Till nodded. “Hi… Um, I’m Ivan!” Ivan gave the kindest smile he could muster, and Hyuna smiled back. “Hi, Ivan. I’m Hyuna. So, what do you think of the studio so far?” Hyuna asked, her hand on her hip.
“Uh, well… It’s not too bad. Not what I was expecting, at least–” Ivan gets cut off by a producer running in the room. “HYUNA!! BOIII GET UR SIGMA BUTT ON SET.”
Hyuna groaned before turning back to the two of them. “Bye, guys, I’ll see you later!” She waved, then walked out of the room. Ivan turned back to where the other girls were, but it seemed like they’d already left. Huh.
"Well, now that introductions are done…” Till checks his watch. “Oh, it's already lunchtime. You can come with me for lunch." Till said, shooting a quick goodbye to Hyuna and tugging Ivan off to his usual spot for eating.