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inyournightmares97 · 5 years

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The Leading Lady

Im Jaebum wants to make a short film, and you end up as his leading lady.

Warnings: MAJOR Cringe, fluff and a little language. College!au

Word Count: 11.6k

Dedicated to my buddy, the soft Jaebum stan: @ijustwantacue!

Im Jaebum had adorable hands.

You noticed them the very first time you met him on a warm Saturday afternoon. It had been a long week of academic work and you had finally submitted a bunch of papers that were long due. Relieved, you intended to spend the entire day watching television and languishing in your apartment to enjoy the newly-repaired air conditioning. It would have been perfect had Jackson Wang not texted you at 2 pm and told you that he was in the park across from your apartment. Apparently you needed to come down instantly, it was an emergency.

You ran down with your hair still in a messy bun and wearing your sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. It wasn’t until you spotted Jackson sitting on the park bench that you realized you shouldn’t have taken his words too seriously. Dammnit, your sweatpants even had a hole in them. Why hadn’t you taken five seconds to change into jeans? What sort of emergency could Jackson be having at the park, anyway?

Evidently, it was the non-urgent kind.

Jackson was sitting next to another guy and chatting with him casually. Both men looked up at you as you arrived. You flushed, out of breath and confused.

“Jackson! What is it? What happened?”

Jackson grinned at you. “Hey! That was quick! Did you run?”

“You told me you needed help-“

“Yeah, yeah! Sit down,” he insisted, moving over to make room for you on the bench. You sat down awkwardly and glanced at the other man. His dark eyes were fixed on you as though he was analyzing you for some purpose and you felt extremely uncomfortable. You crossed your legs together and tugged at Jackson’s sleeve impatiently.

“Jackson, what’s going on-“

“Meet my buddy Im Jaebum,” Jackson introduced you to the other man enthusiastically. You turned and forced a polite smile in Jaebum’s direction. His face was still unsmiling and his small eyes narrowed at you. Jaebum reached across Jackson to offer you a handshake, and you hesitantly complied. Your eyes nervously looked down at his hand because looking at Jaebum’s face was making you flustered. His hands were small and his fingers were short. You could feel the softness of his skin against yours.

His hands were like a baby’s.

“H-hi,” you greeted nervously.

“Jaebum’s a film student,” Jackson explained to you enthusiastically, not noticing how your handshake was lingering in front of him. “He and his group are working on a short film for his final project and they’re having trouble finding a female lead.”

You swallowed and nodded, slowly withdrawing your hand from Jaebum’s and trying to collect yourself. For some reason, all you could think about was the hole that you knew was in your sweatpants (why had you put them on knowing that they were torn?) and how Jaebum might see it. You folded your hands in your lap and tried to focus on Jackson.

“Oh? That’s really interesting. What sort of film-“

“I suggested you!” Jackson cried enthusiastically.

You stared at him, trying to see through the cloud in your mind. “Sorry, what? You suggested me for what?”

Jaebum leaned over and cut off Jackson. His voice was calm and deep, and it sent shivers down your spine. It was almost scary how intimidating yet attractive this man was.

“I was hoping that you would agree to act as the female lead in my short film. Jackson showed me some pictures of you and you’re exactly how my team and I visualized the role,” Jaebum informed you calmly.

You gaped at him for a long moment. “Wait…you want me to act? I don’t have any acting experience!”

“That’s the best part! You barely have to act at all!” Jackson insisted. The enormous grin on his face was infectious. What was he so excited about? It wasn’t even his film. “I had a look at the script and the main female character is almost exactly like you. She’s a writer and she’s just kind of dorky and a little bit of a mess while still being weirdly cynical about life. You don’t need to worry. It’s not a glamorous lead role at all. It fits you perfectly!”

Wow. Thanks, Jackson.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on you,” Jaebum reassured you calmly. He reached up and ran his fingers through his dark hair as he blinked at you. The simple action made your heart skip a beat. “Obviously, it’s not something everyone is comfortable with. It might also require a bit of a time commitment and I can’t afford to pay you for the appearances although I will ask my professor to see if he can offer you some academic credits.”

You nodded. “I see.”

Jaebum reached into his backpack and pulled out a small transparent file which he offered to you. You took it from him, eyes flickering once more to his soft hands. A Conversation, the black lettering on the first page read. “This is the basic outline of the script. The scriptwriter is still working on some of the final details but you can find the general gist of it. You can take a look and get back to me in a few days. You’ll find my contact number inside too.”

Jackson grinned. “Come on! Of course she’ll do it!” He nudged you playfully. “It’s not like you have anything better to do with your time, right?”

You gritted your teeth. “Shut up, Jackson.”

Jaebum ignored Jackson’s antics, evidently well used to them.

“Please don’t feel pressured,” he added. “We’ll mostly shoot on weekends and we can be pretty flexible about scheduling, if that’s something you need. But I really hope you’ll take a look at the script before you make your decision.”

You nodded. “I will.”

You noticed how small Jaebum’s fingers were when you realized they barely went all the way around the coffee mug he was holding.

The second time you met Im Jaebum was at a coffee shop two days later. You’d spent all night reading and re-reading the script while contemplating whether you were really capable of acting in a film. You didn’t have much experience in front of a camera and you’d never thought of yourself as very emotionally expressive. But the script was intriguing and Jackson had been right. The character was a lot like you. She shared similar thoughts and fears. It was just…

“The romance part is the problem,” you told Jaebum honestly, pointing at the script while he calmly took a sip of his coffee. There were two large silver rings on his right hand today. Jaebum’s fingers tapped the mug lightly while he listened to you speak. “I really like the characters and I really like how the opening conversation goes. But some of the dialogues… honestly, they seem like they were written by somebody who has absolutely no understanding of women.”

To your surprise, Jaebum’s lips curved into a handsome smirk. “Yeah, that sounds like Park Jinyoung. I don’t think he’s ever dated a woman in his life. But he seemed to have an interesting plot idea so I let him on board my team as the scriptwriter.”

You bit your lip. “So can I make some changes to the dialogue?”

“Depends. Does that mean you’re agreeing to be the main actress?”

“Only if you’ll let me tweak the script,” you insisted.

Jaebum stared at you for a short moment before giving you a small chuckle. “Yeah, okay. But if Jinyoung gets mad then that’s on you. He’s my roommate and I don’t want him suffocating me with a pillow while I sleep because I dared to mess with his script.”

“Is he that scary?” you asked doubtfully.

Jaebum ignored your question and simply took another sip of his coffee. “Why don’t you make whatever changes you want to make and we’ll all meet up this weekend to lay out a filming schedule? The completed film isn’t due until the end of the semester but I don’t want to rush and have to do all the filming at once. We have to figure out some locations too.”

You nodded eagerly. A small part of you leapt in excitement. You’d never been a part of something like this before and the smile on your face revealed your innocent enthusiasm. Jaebum couldn’t help but smile at you himself. He had been a little doubtful when Jackson first recommended his ‘really good buddy’ for the role but after seeing your adorable smile and beautiful eyes Jaebum knew that he’d made the right choice.

You were the perfect protagonist for his romance film. After all, if Jaebum found you so sweet and adorable then surely the audience would fall for you too, right?

Park Jinyoung was not pleased with the changes you made to his script.

He didn’t say so outright, of course. He merely looked at the edited script with his lips pressed together and made a small ‘hmph’ing noise before proceeding to sit as far away from you as possible. There was nothing much you could do while Jaebum proceeded to discuss the filming locations for each scene. You were also promptly introduced to the rest of Jaebum’s film-making project team. Youngjae, the cheerful technology student who would be the cameraman. Bambam, the flirtatious modelling student who was in charge of wardrobe and make-up. And finally Yugyeom the dance major who was…

Actually, you weren’t sure what Yugyeom was meant to be doing. You got the feeling that he didn’t really know why he was there either.

Jaebum was all work and no play. He insisted on laying out an elaborate schedule for the next few weeks, including rehearsals and filming time as well as clearly dividing out the responsibilities. Jaebum rarely smiled throughout the entire meeting but his passion and seriousness for the project were unmistakable. You found yourself feeling even more excited to work with him. Jaebum had set a professional atmosphere about the whole thing, which was impressive considering that Bambam and Yugyeom kept trying to crack jokes throughout the meeting.

“I hope you’re not overwhelmed?” Jaebum asked, once everyone else had dispersed from the little café that served as the team’s meeting spot. (Jinyoung had subtly bumped your chair as he walked out. You had a feeling he had done it on purpose.) “I don’t want you to feel like you got yourself too deep into something.”

You shook your head and beamed. “I’m fine. I’m actually really excited to be doing this!”

“Good. The guy I cast as the main lead couldn’t be here today because he had class. But you, me, him and Jinyoung can meet up on Wednesday and do a quick script reading to get things going. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah! Sounds great!” you replied.

Jaebum glanced at you and chuckled. “Are you usually this enthusiastic about everything?”

You bit your lip and shook your head. “No, not really…” you tried to say, but your smile wouldn’t disappear. Jaebum merely raised his eyebrows at you in amusement. You flushed pink and smoothed down your shirt awkwardly. “Okay, the truth is that I’ve always kind of wanted to act. I tried out for a couple of plays in high school but there was this girl who was much prettier than me and she always got the roles I wanted. I was always the reject. So I guess I’m a little excited,” you admitted shyly.

“Is that so? Maybe I should give her a call and see if she’ll take your place here, too.”

You stared at him, appalled for a moment until you saw that Jaebum had a small, mischievous smirk on his face. Was he teasing you? You hadn’t imagined that such a stone-faced man could be capable of joking around. You frowned at him.

“Hey!” you cried, offended.

Jaebum raised an eyebrow coolly. “What? You said it yourself, you’re the reject. I didn’t even ask you for that information. You just randomly volunteered it.”

“I mean… yeah, I said it. But it’s kind of mean for you to say it,” you complained. But Jaebum still looked amused. He ignored the small pout of your lips and reached out to pat your head in a fond manner. Something about your loose tongue and indignant expression was adorable. He simply cut you off before you could complain further.

“I have to go. I’ll see you on Saturday. Oh, and about your enthusiasm…”

“Tone it down?” you wondered, already used to being told that you got overexcited.

Jaebum shook his head and smiled.

“No. Keep it. I like it.”

Im Jaebum was fiddling with the pencil in his hands and it was distracting you. He was wearing different rings on different fingers today and you wondered how many rings he owned. Jaebum deftly twirled the pen around but his hand and fingers were so small that it looked awkward.

You stifled a giggle as you remembered that this big, broad-shouldered, scary man had baby hands.

“I can’t believe they’re taking so long,” Jaebum complained. The weather was nice and so you and Jaebum had sat at one of the outdoor tables of the coffee shop while you waited for Jinyoung and the male lead to turn up. “I told Jinyoung to get here on time. Mark’s probably the one that’s late.”

You blinked. “Mark? Is that the name of the guy that’s playing the male lead?”

“Yeah, Mark Tuan.”

You gaped at Jaebum in horror. “Mark Tuan?” you demanded. Your brain had gone numb. You couldn’t think anymore. You simply stared at Jaebum with your mouth open. “You mean… you mean captain of the college baseball team, Mark Tuan? The one who keeps winning championships for our university?”

Jaebum stared at you. “Yeah. He’s a friend of Jinyoung’s and he agreed to work with us, just like you did. Is there some problem?”

“No,” you squeaked.

“Evidently there is, you just turned green,” Jaebum pointed out while jabbing his pencil in the direction of your cheeks. He raised an eyebrow when you stubbornly pressed your lips together and shook your head firmly. Then Jaebum slammed the pencil down on the table and frowned at you. “Are you not going to tell me what you’re worried about? As the director, don’t you think I should know if the female lead has some problem with the male lead?”

You swallowed, a little scared because Jaebum was now glaring at you. “It’s not a problem, exactly…”

“Then what is it?”

“I just… I just thought it would be hard to maintain the chemistry,” you admitted in a small voice. You were beginning to feel a little stupid now. You should have just kept your mouth shut. “Because, you know. In a romance story the male and female leads should sort of be balanced in the looks department but Mark Tuan is Mark Tuan and I’m…”

Jaebum’s eyes softened. “You’re what?”

You flushed red. “Come on. Mark Tuan is out of my league, you know that! Are you really going to make me say it?”

“I had to make you say it because I didn’t know what you were getting at,” Jaebum told you honestly. He rested his chin on his hand as he blinked at you. You felt yourself becoming more flustered as his eyes scanned your face. Was Jaebum judging how you would look next to Mark? Was he maybe realizing that he should have chosen a prettier actress to act beside the college heartthrob? Your heartbeat thudded as he stared at you calmly with his emotionless eyes and then nodded.

“Okay,” he said finally.

“Okay?” you repeated, confused.

Jaebum simply nodded as he turned back to the script in his hands. “Yeah. Okay. Oh look, I got a message from Jinyoung. He and Mark are right outside. Let’s get this over with quickly and do a run-through, yeah? I have class this afternoon and it’s not like you and Mark aren’t already familiar with the script. You edited it, after all.”

You didn’t have time to press him further because Mark and Jinyoung both entered the cafe and joined you at the table. Jinyoung sat down with a simple glare in your direction. Mark, on the other hand, gave you a polite smile and introduced himself. You turned red and sank down into your seat in embarrassment. It wasn’t until Jaebum frowned at you and told you to start reading off the script that you hurriedly complied.

You managed to relax after a while and the script reading went surprisingly well. Jinyoung’s frown intensified whenever one of your edited dialogues came up, but Mark was excellent at his lines and Jaebum seemed satisfied with both his lead actors. He occasionally made you both stop and repeat your lines when the tone or the emotion was off. Once the entire script had been run through, he clapped his hands together.

“All right! This was good, guys. I like the feel of the whole thing. I think we can start filming next week.”

“Cool, man,” Mark said.

“So this is the final version of the script we’re using?” Jinyoung wondered, a hint of acidity to his tone.

“Why, do you have some problem with it?” Jaebum asked.

Jinyoung scoffed. “Me? I wouldn’t dare. What do I know about scriptwriting? Anyway, Mark and I have class in a bit so we’re going to get going. See you guys later.”

Both Jinyoung and Mark hurried to leave. Jaebum began gathering his things and stuffing his script into his backpack. You hovered near him for a moment and cleared your throat nervously. “Um. Jaebum-ssi…”

He glanced at you. “Yeah?”

“Do you think Jinyoung is really mad about me changing his script a little?”

Jaebum only smiled and shook his head as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. His fingers closed on the straps as he looked at you with his dark eyes. “Relax. If he really didn’t like your changes to the script then he would have insisted that we change it back. He’s only being like this because he knows your version is better than his, and he’s bitter that he has to accept it.”

You breathed out nervously. “Okay, if you say so…”

“Want to walk back to campus together?”

You blinked in surprise and then nodded, quickly gathering your things and following Jaebum out of the café. Even though he seemed a little stiff and hard to understand, you still got really warm vibes from Im Jaebum, somehow. Maybe he wasn’t as serious and scary as he seemed. Jaebum’s small smiles made your heart flutter a little bit. He wasn’t as handsome as, say, Mark Tuan, but Jaebum was charming in his own way.

“Why are you studying film?” you asked casually, as you bounced beside him and tried to keep up with his long strides. Jaebum wasn’t extremely tall but he walked fast and with purpose.

He blinked at you. “Why am I studying film?” he repeated.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. I guess I like films.”

You frowned in disappointment. “What, that’s it?”

“What other reason would somebody have for studying film?” he asked you with a raised eyebrow.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. But you’re so serious about this project and you seem to be spending so much time planning out this short film while most people just half-ass their work so… I guess I expected your response to be more passionate? You seemed like a really dedicated guy so I thought you would have a backstory or something driving you. I don’t know.”

“Hmm,” Jaebum muttered thoughtfully. “Why are you a Literature major, then?”

“I love books!” you chirped.

Jaebum stopped walking suddenly and stared down at you, a hint of annoyance in his expression. You were forced to halt your own steps. “How is that any different from me saying I like films? For someone who expects others to have a backstory for selecting their major, your own is severely lacking.”

“But it’s different,” you pointed out.

“How?”

“I said ‘I love books!’” you chirped once more, before putting on a small frown and mimicking Jaebum’s emotionless face and deep matter-of-fact tone. “While you said, ‘I guess I like films.’ Can’t you tell the difference? The difference is in enthusiasm! It’s in the passion! You can’t speak about your passion like that! ”

Jaebum stared down at you in disbelief before letting out a small sigh and then resuming walking. “Why am I even surprised? I should have known.”

“Should have known what?”

“That no friend of Jackson Wang’s can be entirely normal,” he replied. Jaebum’s strides were becoming longer and faster and you had to struggle to keep pace with him on the sidewalk. But you could see the small curve of his lips. Im Jaebum wasn’t as serious as he pretended to be and you decided that you rather liked pushing him so that his stern surface cracked and let through a smile. “Besides. I know that I like films, I don’t need to prove it to you by squealing excitedly every time films are mentioned.”

“I didn’t squeal,” you complained. “And how would anyone know you love films if you talk about them in such a dead-pan tone?”

“Not everyone visibly shows excitement like you. In fact, I think you should be a little bit concerned about how easy your emotions are to read,” Jaebum pointed out to you. “You look like the kind of person who would never be able to keep a secret because she’d just blurt it out the moment she heard it. Am I wrong?”

“I’m… not great with secrets,” you admitted reluctantly. “But I stand by my point. Shouldn’t somebody who has a passion for something get excited about that passion, and want to share it with others? Like, shouldn’t you want to tell me how amazing films are and how much they’ve impacted your life and how everyone should watch films? Because that’s how I feel about Literature.”

Jaebum chuckled. “You really think so?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay. I’ll share my passion for films with you. I’m headed to class now, but meet me at 7 pm outside of the local theatre. I’ll show you how passionate about films I can be.”

You beamed. “Okay!”

Jaebum wasn’t lying.

You had been a little excited at the thought of going to a movie with Im Jaebum. Maybe it was because he was handsome and even though this was surely not a date, it had been a while since you’d spent time with an attractive guy. So you’d put on a nice skirt and maybe spent a few extra minutes on your hair. Maybe you could have a fun evening.

You were wrong.

Apparently the local theatre screened old movies on weekday nights when there was hardly anyone around. Jaebum bought the tickets and you both settled down with a small bucket of popcorn. And then the true torture of the evening began.

Im Jaebum would not shut up.

He spoke throughout the entire film. Even before it started, Jaebum began telling you the entire history of the film: how many awards the director had won and what other films he had made previous to this one. Jaebum knew everything. He knew the exact box office collections the film (which was from the 80s) had made in its first week and he knew what personal events in the life of the writer had influenced the plot. By the time the opening credits had finished rolling you’d received an entire history lesson about the film.

Then it only got worse. As the story began, some vague scene in black and white about a wartime romance, Jaebum went even further into the details. He began telling you about the camera technology used to film each shot. He knew which lines were scripted and which the actors had improvised. Whenever there would be a short silence and he had nothing to say about a particular scene, you caught him silently mouthing the dialogues to himself.

It would have been extremely annoying if there hadn’t been a certain excited sparkle in Jaebum’s eyes. This really meant something to him and you suddenly felt a little guilty for accusing him of not having any passion for films.

“So? What did you think of the film?” Jaebum demanded once the movie was over and the theatre lights turned on. Your eyes snapped open and you tried to look awake. You’d drifted off for the last twenty minutes of the movie while Jaebum had ranted about how clever the lighting techniques they’d used were.

“Uhh…”

He raised an eyebrow. “You fell asleep, didn’t you?”

“What? No!” you defended yourself firmly. “I watched the whole thing, I really did! It was an excellent film! And your, uh… your trivia really made it even more interesting. I honestly had a wonderful time! You really are passionate about films!” you gave him a small thumbs up, hoping he would fall for it.

Jaebum couldn’t help but chuckle. He had noticed you drifting off during his rant because your head had suddenly jerked forward a few times, the way it does when someone is trying really hard to stay awake. Your hair had become a mess in the back and you had opened your eyes wide to hide the tiredness. Jaebum had never seen anything more adorable.

“Do you regret accusing me of not being passionate about films?” he questioned, with a mischievous grin.

You frowned. “Wait, you did this on purpose?”

“Of course I did. How can I have my lead actress doubting my passion for films? I figured one night of torture would teach you a lesson,” he grinned. He stood up and then offered you a hand to help you get out of the comfy theatre seat. You slipped your hand into his and stood up with a pout.

“You could have just said I love films, you didn’t need to put me through an evening of torture if you knew that was what you were doing,” you complained. Your back was stiff and you stretched as the two of you walked out of the theatre. You turned and smiled at him playfully, nudging the large man. “Or did you maybe want to go to a movie with me? You know, as a date?”

Jaebum stared at you for a moment and then scoffed. “Excuse me? Is that what you thought?”

You pouted. “You can just say no, you don’t have to be mean about it.”

He smirked at you, his eyes flashing mischievously. “I wasn’t being mean. I just don’t understand how a woman who thinks that Mark Tuan is out of her league thought that she had a chance with me. How does that work in your brain?”

“Wait. Does that mean you think you’re better than Mark Tuan?” you demanded.

“Of course I am. I get plenty of women.”

“Oh really?” you teased, bouncing along beside him as you both exited the movie theatre. It was dark outside and Jaebum automatically turned in the direction of your apartment. You followed him with a smile. “And what exactly is so charming about you? Besides your passion for old films that would put any girl to sleep?”

Jaebum scoffed. “I don’t need to list out my charms to you.”

“So then you don’t have any.”

“No, I just think it’s beneath me to list them.”

You grinned and bumped your shoulder against his, ignoring the annoyed look that he gave you. You weren’t sure why, but you suddenly weren’t scared of Im Jaebum anymore. Perhaps it was because you had seen the childish and innocent side to him tonight. Maybe Jaebum wasn’t particularly sweet or affectionate, but he had a warm and playful side to him simmering just under the surface.

“But I honestly can’t see any,” you insisted childishly. “You’re not even that tall. Yugyeom and Bambam are taller than you. Mark is more handsome. Jackson is funnier. Jinyoung is smarter. So what exactly does Im Jaebum have other than his boring-ass passion for films-“

He turned and glared at you. “Wow, you’re really trying to drag me down, aren’t you?”

“It’s revenge,” you muttered.

“Revenge?”

“Yeah. I told you this morning that I thought Mark was out of my league because he was more handsome than me and you didn’t even say anything. You could have said ‘no, you’ll look fine beside him’ or ‘you’re pretty’ but you just said okay. What does that mean? Okay? Would it have killed you to have just said a few insincere words of comfort?” you demanded.

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “I never say anything that’s insincere.”

“So you’re going for the tough-guy charm, are you?” you teased. Jaebum turned away from you but you could see the small smile on his face. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and you had to struggle to keep up with his walking pace. “It would have worked if you hadn’t just spent two hours talking about camera angles and lighting.”

“Are you done dragging me down?” he demanded.

“Not until you apologize for not reassuring me that Mark Tuan isn’t out of my league,” you insisted.

“You are unbelievably childish.”

“Just say ‘I’m sorry’ and we can part on good terms,” you insisted. The two of you had reached your apartment building already and Jaebum stopped walking, letting out a small sigh of mock frustration. You turned to face him eagerly, waiting for his apology.

“Fine. You just want me to say I’m sorry?”

“Yup.”

Jaebum took a deep breath as though he was preparing himself and then looked you dead in the eyes. You felt a little flustered at the sudden, intense eye contact but you forced yourself not to break it.

“All right. I am extremely sorry that Mark Tuan is out of your league. Happy?”

You gaped at him. “What? Excuse-“

“Bye, have a good night. We start filming on Saturday so don’t let yourself get dark circles or something. You are the leading lady after all,” Jaebum said quickly. He couldn’t hide the pleased little smirk on his face as he turned around and walked down the street in the opposite direction. You stared after him with your cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment.

“Fine! Be that way!” you yelled after Jaebum. “And do yourself a favor! Don’t ever take a girl you actually like to that stupid movie because she’ll probably be dead of boredom when by the time it ends!”

Jaebum smirked to himself. Too late.

You pouted and turned around to go into your apartment building. Whatever. What right did Im Jaebum have to tell you what league you were in anyway?

He had baby hands.

“What are you doing?”

You blushed and quickly lowered your phone, embarrassed to have been caught admiring yourself in your cellphone front camera. Bambam had done your makeup before the filming and to your surprise, it had only taken him twenty minutes to make you look like a much prettier version of yourself. You weren’t that good at makeup but Bambam was an expert and you felt kind of giddy and happy at how pretty he’d made you look.

“Nothing,” you said quickly, glancing sideways at Jaebum.

He raised an eyebrow. “You were just smiling at your phone as though you were posing for a photo.”

“I… might have been taking a selfie,” you admitted reluctantly.

Jaebum’s expression was blank and disbelieving. “In front of the convenience store? Why?”

You shrugged. Judging from the playful glint in his eyes, he knew exactly what you were doing because he’d caught you in the act. But Im Jaebum never backed down from an opportunity to make fun of you. He had changed drastically from the serious and unsmiling man you’d first met last week. He seemed to love teasing you and it was both entertaining and frustrating.

“Because the way Bambam did my makeup today makes me look pretty, okay?” you snapped. “Are you satisfied? You caught me checking myself out. Is that what you came over here to make me say?”

Jaebum folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at you coolly. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt that was a little too loose on him and his black snapback exposed his forehead. It annoyed you how handsome Im Jaebum was. Just because he looked so flawlessly perfect all the time didn’t mean that other people didn’t need makeup to feel pretty. Jaebum’s eyes scanned your face in amusement before he shrugged.

“No. I came here to ask you to go stand next to that table while I adjust the camera positioning. Youngjae and I need to check whether the lighting is all right so just go stand in the frame for us.”

You flushed and stuffed your phone in your pocket. “Fine, Director-nim.”

Jaebum walked over to where he had set up the camera on a tri-pod stand and began fiddling with it. You stood where he told you to and scrolled lazily on your phone while Jaebum leaned down and looked through the camera lens. You were perfectly in the middle of the frame. Jaebum felt his heart skip a beat. Standing there with a small pout on your pink lips and the evening sun shining in your hair… he found himself speechless for a few moments. Bambam had done your makeup perfectly and the cute little skirt you were wearing made you look extremely feminine.

You were so beautiful.

Instead of adjusting the camera frame and the lighting like he was supposed to, Jaebum found himself just staring at you and taking the chance to drink in the sight of you. He had known that he was attracted you to since the first time Jackson showed him your picture… but he’d never had the opportunity to stare at you so openly and not get called out for it.

He would have forgotten about the shoot and just watched you through the lens for hours, if Yugyeom hadn’t started complaining.

“Hyung!” he whined from his seat nearby. “This is really boring. I don’t know why you made me come here today when I don’t even have anything to do. What exactly is my role in this team?”

Jaebum cleared his throat and frowned, annoyed that Yugyeom was interrupting the few moments that he could admire you. Without turning his eyes away from the lens, he pretended to adjust something on the camera and cleared his throat. “You don’t have a defined role, Yugyeom. You’re just here to handle all the residual responsibilities.”

“Why haven’t any of these residual responsibilities popped up yet?”

Jaebum sighed in frustration. “Just go get everyone coffee.”

You glanced up from your phone suddenly, eyes bright and hopeful. “Oh! Yugyeom, are you doing a coffee run? A mocha latte for me please!” Jaebum smiled at the enthusiasm on your face. Why were you so cute and innocent? How could mere coffee elicit such a beautiful smile from you?

How was he going to deal with these growing affections?

“Fine,” Yugyeom grumbled. He walked past Jaebum and frowned, leaning closer to whisper in the director’s ear. “I’m only getting coffee because noona asked. So stop staring at her and just adjust the frame already.”

Jaebum cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened up.

“Okay, we’re good here. Mark, are you ready? Go take your position and we’ll start filming!”

The next few weeks were some of the best of your life.

You had expected that filming would be stressful and awkward, but it wasn’t at all. You liked acting and you liked immersing yourself into the character and pretending to be someone else. Besides, the entire atmosphere about the filming was light and casual. Mark, despite seeming quiet, had a tendency to burst into laughter randomly during his lines and that ended up causing everyone to laugh like a chain reaction. You had to control your own laughter as well. It didn’t help that Bambam and Yugyeom stood just a few feet behind Jaebum and silently mimicked him whenever he tried to get everyone to focus.

Besides, Jaebum was an amazing director. He had a vision of exactly how each scene should play out and he made sure it was perfect. He never compromised on anything. Even though he often forced you and Mark to take multiple retakes of particular scenes, you could see from the way his eyebrows furrowed together and his eyes narrowed at the camera display that he was looking for something. When Jaebum was satisfied, a small smile spread across his face and he clapped his hands together.

“All right! Let’s call it a wrap for today!”

You walked over to Jaebum as he and Youngjae began to dismantle the camera and pack it up into a bag. You tapped his shoulder and smiled lightly.

“How’s the film coming along, Director-nim?”

Jaebum smiled at you lightly. “It’s coming along pretty well, actually. Do you want to see how some of the shots turned out?”

You brightened up. “Yeah!”

“Let’s go into the café. I’ll load the memory card onto my laptop and you can watch some the scenes I edited.”

You waved goodbye to Youngjae, Bambam and Yugyeom and then followed Jaebum to the coffee shop. You ordered coffee for the both of you, before sliding into the booth beside him and peering into his laptop. Jaebum had some sort of video editing software that you were unfamiliar with. He was loading the video clips onto it. He turned the laptop to face you once he was done and showed you some of the scenes he’d already edited.

You grinned, scooting closer to Jaebum and sharing a pair of earphones as you watched the clips. They actually looked really good, considering that there was no professional equipment being used. You felt a little shy and awkward watching yourself on screen.

“Wow. It’s actually coming out really well,” you said enthusiastically. You bit your lip and glanced at Jaebum nervously. “What do you think? My acting isn’t too awkward, is it?”

Jaebum rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the screen. “Your acting is fine, it’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I mean…” he pointed at a scene where both you and Mark were in frame and smirked. “Don’t you think the lead actor looks a little bit like he’s out of the girl’s league?”

You yanked the earphone out of your ear and glared at him. Jaebum was laughing silently and you could tell that he was pretty proud of himself.

“If you’re going to be like that, then I’m not going to act for you anymore. You’ve already shot about half the film with me so you can’t afford to drop me at this point. That gives me a bargaining chip. You’ll have to start being nicer to your leading lady if you want to keep her, Director-nim.”

Jaebum rested his hand on his cheek and smiled at you. “Oh? Nicer how?”

“You can start by paying for my coffee.”

“Done,” he agreed without missing a heartbeat. “What else?”

“Most importantly, you’re never going to get anywhere as a Director if you can’t even reassure your leading lady that she’s pretty. I know I felt a little bit insecure at the thought of acting with Mark at first but you’re not allowed to keep bringing that up. If I’m insecure then you have to reassure me that I look great.”

Jaebum sighed. “That’s a tough one.”

You pushed at his shoulder. “Do it, or I quit now.”

“Okay, let’s give it a trial run. Say something that indicates you’re not feeling confident.”

You rubbed your hands together excitedly. Finally, you would elicit something that resembled a compliment from Im Jaebum. You let out a loud, dramatic sigh and rested your hand on your chin with a disappointed pout.

“Sometimes, I wonder if you should have chosen somebody else to act in my place. Do you really think I’m pretty enough to be playing a female lead, Director-nim?”

Jaebum suddenly reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear slowly. His soft fingers hovered near your cheek and you could feel the cold touch of one of his rings on your skin.

“Why are you so worried?” Jaebum asked you softly. His dark eyes were gentle as they looked at your lips and flickered up to meet your gaze. There was something in them… affection? Admiration? You suddenly felt your throat clench as Jaebum whispered to you. “I don’t understand where your insecurity comes from. I’ve known from the moment I cast you that you were gorgeous.”

You couldn’t breathe. Your eyes widened in shock for a few seconds as you felt a warmth explode in your heart. No. Bad idea. He doesn’t mean it, he’s just joking. You blinked a few times and then quickly pulled away from him. Your cheeks had turned red.

“You don’t have to say it like that,” you muttered.

Jaebum chuckled. “Like what?”

“Like you’re in love with me or something. Jeez, tone it down a little, Director-nim,” you complained. Your heartbeat was thudding and you couldn’t bring yourself to look Jaebum in the eyes. No matter how attractive he was, how could you allow yourself to get so excited over a joke? You grabbed your bag and Jaebum laughed at how evidently flustered you’d become.

“Why? Did it make you excited?” he teased.

You frowned. “No. I just… I just wasn’t expecting you to touch my hair, that’s all.”

“Then why is your face red and why are you avoiding eye contact with me?”

You turned and looked at him boldly. Jaebum’s lips were spread into a broad smile and he looked more handsome than ever as he laughed at you. You cleared your throat and grabbed your coffee. “I’m taking this to-go. I have an exam to study for.”

Jaebum was still laughing. “You did get kind of flustered, didn’t you?”

“No! Shut up. I’m leaving.”

Jaebum stopped laughing and grabbed your hand, pulling you back down to sit beside him. His warm fingers closed around yours firmly as he used his other hand to press a few buttons on his laptop. “All right, all right. Wait for me. It’s late, so I’ll walk you home. I just need to save all these files.”

You looked down at his hand entwined in yours while he turned off his computer. Considering how much bigger Jaebum was than you in general, his hand should have engulfed yours the way the rest of him did. But his small fingers were soft and you giggled at the sight of them wrapped around yours. You squeezed his hand back and smiled to yourself.

Maybe Jaebum’s baby hands represented his soft side.

You decided that you liked his hands even more than the rest of him.

And to be perfectly honest, you liked the rest of him a lot.

On the day of the last filming, you were a little late. The final scene involved the two leads meeting up in a park and sharing a kiss as they declared that they both finally believed in love again. The park across from your building was chosen as the perfect location, but one of your classes had run late and so you’d come sprinting to the park to find that Jaebum and Youngjae were done setting up and Mark was already dressed and finished with his makeup.

“Sorry I’m late!” you apologized to everyone loudly as Bambam ushered you to sit down on a park bench so he could quickly apply some foundation onto your face. You expected Jaebum to roll his eyes at you or make a joking comment but he didn’t even turn to look at you. He was just sitting on the grass and fiddling with a camera with a frown on his face.

Bambam lowered his voice as he swiped the makeup sponge across your face. “Jaebum-hyung is in a bad mood today.”

You blinked. “Why? It’s the last day of filming.”

“Yeah, I know. Jinyoung says he’s been like that all day. I think he’s nervous about the film. Most people in his film class are just submitting shit but Jaebum-hyung’s put in so much effort that he wouldn’t be able to deal with it if the finished product wasn’t excellent. Mark’s leaving on a trip tomorrow so we can’t even reshoot any scenes if they’re not perfect.”

You blinked and closed your eyes as Bambam started on your eyelids. “But it will be perfect.”

“Tell Jaebum that. He’s been snapping at us all afternoon.”

You nodded quietly, letting Bambam finish your makeup. Once he was finished, you hurried over to stand in the frame so that Jaebum could adjust the positioning of the lens. Jaebum usually took at least ten minutes to adjust the lens and the frame but somehow, he was done in a matter of seconds today. You could tell from the way his shoulders were tense and the frown lines on his forehead that Bambam was right. Something about Jaebum was off today. He wasn’t usually very smiley but today his frown was deep.

“Mark! Can you get in the frame too? Let’s finish this quickly,” Jaebum called.

You took a deep breath and tried to focus on the script. You were kind of nervous that this was the final kiss scene; there had been once earlier on in the script that was originally a proper kiss, but you had rewritten it to a small peck. But this was a proper kiss scene and the camera would be closing in on your lips. You gave Mark a nervous smile and he smiled awkwardly back at you. Let’s get through this.

You tried to block out everything else and focus on your lines. The scene was extremely sweet and since you had rewritten some of the dialogues to suit you, you were able to perform it easily. It was a little difficult to stay calm when Mark cupped your face and pressed his lips against yours, but you managed. Your mind was screaming due to the awkwardness. You both kept your lips together for a few seconds so the camera could get a good enough shot and then pulled apart.

“Cut!” Jaebum called out sharply. “That’s good enough. Let’s wrap up.”

Youngjae frowned. “Hyung, to be honest that was a little awkward. Shouldn’t we get one more? From a different angle”

Jaebum ran his fingers through his hair and barely glanced at Youngjae. His shoulders were still tense and he wasn’t looking at you. In fact, he hadn’t looked at you since you arrived. He started to turn off the camera. “We’re fine. It’s okay if it’s a little awkward because that makes it more realistic. Besides, we can’t show too much of the kiss anyway. There are guidelines on the explicit content.”

Youngjae blinked. “Explicit content? For a kiss-“

Jaebum glared at him. “Are you the director, or am I?”

“I mean… fine. If you think so. Let’s wrap it up.”

You waved goodbye to the other boys, all promising to get together and watch the film once it was edited and put together. Bambam and Yugyeom left first, followed by Mark and Jinyoung. Once Youngjae had taken the camera and left as well, you slowly approached Jaebum. He was doing what he always did after a shoot; loading the clips onto his laptop. You sat down next to him and gave him a small smile.

“Hey. How are you doing?”

He barely glanced at you. “Fine. Don’t you have anywhere to be?”

“Nope,” you replied with a bright smile. You playfully nudged his shoulder. “I don’t have anything to do, so I’m going to bug you today. How does that sound?”

Jaebum sighed, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen.

“Don’t,” he muttered.

You felt your heart sink. Something was seriously wrong. You paused and reached over to close the lid of Jaebum’s laptop shut. He turned to glare at you, irritated, but he froze at the corresponding glare on your own face.

“Jaebum. Is everything okay? You’re not acting like yourself. I thought you would be more excited to finally wrap up the filming and finish your first short film, but you’ve been acting weird. Is something bothering you?” you demanded.

Jaebum stared at you for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh. “I’m just stressed,” he muttered.

“About what?”

He leaned back on the park bench and let out a small groan. He turned his head upwards and squinted at the sky as he spoke. “I guess it’s stupid. My professor came up to me the other day and say he had really high expectations from me out of this project. He really thinks that my short film is going to be the best in the class. He even says that once he’s done grading, he wants me to submit it for a national short film contest.”

You blinked. “Isn’t that a good thing? That means he thinks you’re really talented!”

Jaebum turned and looked at you, his eyes torn. He was evidently not feeling confident about this and the way his shoulders hunched down miserably broke your heart.

“What if I’m not? What if this short film is shit? I’ve wanted to be a film director for a really long time and this is the first time I’ve ever shot an entire project like this. What if it sucks? What if this is all I’m capable of, and my career just ends here? What if I’ve just wasted everyone’s time?”

You reached out and grabbed Jaebum’s hand. “Jaebum. You are an amazing director.”

He bit his lip and stared down at your entwined hands, your fingers grasping his own soft ones tightly.

“Say that again,” he mumbled.

“You are an amazing director. I know I’m not a professional actress so my word might not count for much. But I loved working with you. Filming this project is the most fun I’ve ever had and not just because of how much I like spending time with you and the other guys. I’ve seen how you analyze every detail. I’ve seen how you make sure each and every shot is perfect. I’ve seen the amount of effort and care you’ve put into this project. I don’t know if your professor will like it and I don’t know if it will win the short film contest. But there is absolutely no way that this film is not amazing.”

Jaebum turned and stared at you. There was something soft and vulnerable in his eyes. “Do you sincerely mean that?”

You smiled. “I’m always sincere.”

Jaebum took a deep, calming breath and gave you a small smile. “I guess you’re right. I’ve done my best. There’s no point worrying about it anymore. I just need to edit it and hope it all goes well.”

“It will.”

“If even one person enjoys it, I think I’ll be okay.”

You watched Jaebum lift the lid of his laptop and start to open the video editing software but you quickly stopped him and closed his laptop again. “Hey. You have a lot of time. Give yourself a break,” you insisted. “You don’t have to edit it all tonight. Let’s go do something fun.”

“Fun?”

You beamed. “Yeah! What do you do for fun?”

Jaebum raised an eyebrow. “You know what I do for fun.”

You suddenly had a traumatic flashback of falling asleep in a dark theatre while Jaebum talked about camera angles and sound recording techniques. Jaebum laughed at the horrified expression on your face and suddenly reached out to ruffle your hair playfully.

“I told you. You don’t want to do what I do for fun.”

You clenched your fists and took a deep breath. “No. Let’s do it. Let’s… go watch another movie.”

---

Jaebum surprisingly toned down the spontaneous trivia this time around, confirming your belief that he’d only gone overboard last time because he’d wanted to annoy you. He picked another black and white film and when, halfway through his explanation on how this was the last movie that this director had filmed before committing suicide (you had no idea how Jaebum could still sound enthusiastic while explaining that to you), you sighed and rested your head on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, craning his neck to look at you. Jaebum’s shoulder was an extremely comfortable headrest and it had been about twenty minutes since you lost track of what was happening in the movie.

You pouted. “If you’re going to make me fall asleep, then the least you can do is be my pillow. Sit straight and stop fidgeting. My neck ached all night last time.”

Jaebum was silent and you peeked up at him to see him turn his head back to the screen, a small smile on his lips. You snuggled against him happily and hid your own smile. Maybe watching these old films with Jaebum isn’t so bad if I get to cuddle him. You fell asleep to Jaebum whispering to you about all the awards the film had won. You didn’t even notice when he gently shifted your head and put his arm around you. Once the lights in the theatre came back on, you blinked in a confused manner.

“Good morning,” Jaebum joked, as he watched you squint.

You slowly pulled away from him, missing the warmth of his arms as you stretched and sat up. The few other people in the theatre were starting to leave and Jaebum was smiling at you. “How did it end?” you wondered sleepily. “Was it a happy ending?”

Jaebum chuckled. “Everybody got blown up.”

Your smile dropped. “Wow. Really?”

“Yeah. Come on, you’ve suffered enough at my expense today. Let me take you home,” Jaebum insisted. He grabbed your hand and pulled you up from your seat, leading you out of the theatre. You smiled sleepily as you looked down at your entwined hands. Jaebum’s small hand wrapped around yours would never cease to make you smile. Once you both stepped out onto the cool street, he turned to you and raised an eyebrow.

“What are you smiling about?” Jaebum wondered.

You held up your entwined hands to him and giggled. “Did you know that you have really small hands for a man of your size? I mean… ýour fingers are kind of short. I think my hand is even bigger than yours.”

Jaebum stared at you in disbelief. “Really? That’s what makes you laugh?”

You pouted. “Hey. It’s a difficult world we live in. Let me have my small amusements.”

He rolled his eyes and started walking down the street but didn’t let go of your hand. You were forced to partly jog in order to keep up with him. Jaebum’s strides were long, yet the feeling of his warm hand holding yours made you feel happy. You simply bounced along beside him while the two of you strolled down the street. He was silent but there was a smile on his face.

“I can’t wait until the film is edited and ready to go,” you chirped. You turned to Jaebum with wide eyes. “Oh my god. It just occurred to me. What if your film really wins some kind of short film competition? Do you think I’ll become famous? Do you think I could have a career as an actress?”

Jaebum turned to you with a grin. “Are you dreaming of stardom already?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t forget the film school director who gave me my humble start,” you promised him playfully. Then your face turned into a grimace. “But ugh. No more romance dramas. The kissing scene today was so awkward. I guess I just can’t get into character with something like that.”

“Was it that awkward?” he wondered quietly.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. It didn’t feel bad really, but I couldn’t really bring myself to enjoy it either. And it felt even more uncomfortable knowing that you and Youngjae and Bambam were watching. Like who wants an audience when they’re being kissed? Yuck.”

Jaebum smiled. “Why? I thought girls would find it romantic to be kissed in front of a lot of people.”

“You know nothing about women, Director-nim.”

“Enlighten me.”

You bit your lip thoughtfully. Jaebum was watching you with an intense expression, as though he really wanted to know what you had to say. You faltered for a moment. Were you really about to give him advice on women? What if he just went and used whatever you said on some other girl?

Your smile dropped and you shook your head. “Nah. Figure it out yourself.”

“Why?” he asked with a laugh. He tugged at your hand. “Tell me what you were about to say!”

For a brief moment, you wondered if you should just say it. I really like you, Jaebum. I’ve fallen for you. What if you just looked him in the eyes and blurted those words out? What was the worst that could happen? He might reject you. As much as Jaebum made fun of you and teased you, you knew that he would let you down nicely. But what if he never talked to you again? What if he thought you were weird and foolish for even thinking that he could be attracted to you? Jaebum had never done anything to indicate that he saw you as anything more than a friend.

The small burst of confidence passed and you recoiled into yourself.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Jaebum asked. His voice sounded serious.

You cleared your throat and blinked. “Like what?”

“Just… I don’t know. In a weird way.”

You shrugged. You could see your building a few feet ahead and you reluctantly pulled your hand out of Jaebum’s. It felt cold and empty but there was a sickening feeling growing in your stomach. You suddenly realized that you wanted to get away from him. You stepped back and forced a smile.

“I must be really tired. I’m gonna go upstairs now. Thanks for walking me home. Bye, Jaebum!”

Jaebum’s eyes brows furrowed in concern. He called out your name but you quickly rushed into your apartment building and went inside, closing the door behind you. You took a deep breath and waited until his voice could no longer be heard. Then you composed yourself and went upstairs.

Let’s deal with it some other day.

Jaebum didn’t go home.

He walked halfway down the street and then turned back, feeling the urge to call you back down and talk to you. He couldn’t decide whether he should just leave and talk to you another day, or if he should just man up and call you right now. Jaebum found himself strolling into the small park across from your apartment building; the park where he’d first met you the day that Jackson introduced you to him, the park where he’d watched you kiss Mark and resisted the urge to strangle one of his own friends.

Why hadn’t you waited and listened? Jaebum had had a whole speech prepared for when he dropped you off. He’d been waiting for this moment for a long time. Why had you just run off without letting him speak?

Honestly, you really pissed him off sometimes.

He took a deep breath and grabbed his phone, dialing your phone number. You answered after two rings, your voice sounding a little confused.

“Jaebum. Hey, what’s going on?”

He took a deep breath. “You just ran off without letting me speak. I had something to say to you. Come back down and meet me in the park.”

Your voice cracked. “Now? You’re still outside.”

“Yeah, come down.”

You hung up and hurried downstairs, confused. It had been almost an hour since you had left Jaebum at the foot of your apartment building. You had assumed that he would have gone home by now. Why was he still hanging around in the park? You crossed the street and spotted him sitting alone on one of the park benches. Jaebum’s hands were folded in his lap and his lips were pressed together tightly.

“Jaebum? What’s going on?” you demanded.

He looked up at you, eyes wide. “Uh… I had something I wanted to say,” he admitted quietly. “Actually, it’s something I’ve wanted to say for a while but I promised myself I would only tell you once we were done filming so that things wouldn’t become awkward in case you don’t react the way I’m hoping.”

Your heart skipped a beat. “O-okay.”

“I… uh…” Jaebum groaned and clenched his fists. “Ah, fuck. This is so embarrassing.”

“What? Just say it!” you insisted nervously.

Jaebum stood up and stood directly in front of you. You could see him taking a deep breath as he prepared himself and then he reached up and cupped your cheeks gently with both hands. He tilted your chin up so that you were looking directly at him. His dark eyes were soft. “I’m only saying this once, so listen carefully,” he insisted. “You… you’re fucking beautiful.”

You stared at him, your head spinning. “What?”

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. That’s what I’ve thought since even before I met you, since Jackson showed me your picture and suggested I ask you to act in my film. And the more I got to know you, the more I kept thinking that dammit, you only become more gorgeous every time I see you. I keep wanting you to look at me. I keep wanting to look at you. Whenever you smile, it makes my heart pound like crazy.”

“Jaebum…”

“That day when you said Mark was out of your league? I couldn’t even respond because I was just thinking is this woman insane, how does she not see what I see? I love your enthusiasm. I love your childishness and your innocence. I love everything about you. These feelings have been growing inside of me for weeks now. When you took my hand today and told me that I was an amazing director… I realized that I could deal with anything in the world if I just had you beside me, holding my hand and believing in me.”

Your throat clenched and your heart pounded in your chest, as though it was going to explode. Was Jaebum really saying these things to you? You could tell from the firm, determined look in his eyes that he was being more honest than he’d ever been.

“Jaebum… shut up,” you muttered.

He stiffened. “Should I?”

“Yeah,” you mumbled. You slowly pushed his hands off your cheeks. You saw Jaebum’s eyes flicker with hurt for a few seconds before you stepped closer to him and wrapped your arms around his waist. Jaebum was still as you pressed your face into his chest. He was warm and comfortable. Jaebum finally came to his senses and hugged you back tightly. You felt perfect in his arms.

“You scared me,” he whispered. “I thought you were mad.”

“I’m not mad,” you mumbled against his chest. You hugged him even more tightly and sighed. “The whole heartfelt confession thing just doesn’t suit you. You should have just waited for me to do it and then you could have reacted in a cool, tsundere manner and maintained your dignity.”

Jaebum chuckled and pressed his cheek against your hair. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not as cool as you think.”

“I’m not either,” you pointed out. Your face was burning red and you had a stupid smile on your face that you were trying to hide by pressing it against Jaebum’s shirt. You panicked when Jaebum slowly removed his arms from around you and tried to push you away from him. “Stop it, let me hug you!” you protested, swatting his hands away from his shoulders.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Well, you can’t, because I’m blushing really hard now and I don’t want you to see. So just let me hide for a few more minutes.”

Jaebum sighed. “God, you’re such a handful. Never mind. Forget this confession, I’m going home-“

You clenched your fists in his shirt. “No! Don’t you dare!”

“Then let me kiss you.”

You slowly lifted your head from Jaebum’s chest. He was smiling down at you with shining eyes, and his thumb stroked your red cheek before he leaned down and kissed you. You melted into Jaebum’s gentle touch. His lips were sweet and caring. You had never imagined that the stone-faced Im Jaebum could be capable of such a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer while he pecked your mouth slowly and repeatedly.

“Wow,” he mumbled, slowly pulling away. You blinked at him dazedly. “No wonder your kiss with Mark was awkward. You really don’t know how to kiss.”

You stared at him indignantly, flushing red. “Excuse me-“

“Come here. This is how you kiss,” Jaebum whispered. Before you could respond, his lips came down on yours once more. His tongue teased the inside of your mouth and his mouth slanted over yours hotly. Jaebum let out a soft, low groan that made your stomach twist in desire. He claimed your mouth passionately and let his fingers twist into your hair. You gasped and melted against him. You slid your own hands into his hair and pulled his lips downs towards yours, making him groan once more.

“Fuck,” he mumbled. “This is too much.”

You giggled, face flushed. “What? Im Jaebum can’t handle my kiss?”

He chuckled and pressed his forehead against yours. “I can handle anything,” he reassured you.

“Then come upstairs and let’s see how true that is.”

---

Epilogue:

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the piece which won me an A+ in Film Class and which I submitted last night to the national short film contest,” Jaebum announced proudly.

Everyone clapped and cheered. The team had all gathered in your apartment to hold a little screening of the completed short film. It had turned out as a masterpiece and Jaebum’s Professor had been so happy that he had insisted Jaebum submit it to the film contest. You snuggled closer to your boyfriend and smiled happily. Jaebum’s arm was around you and you were both cuddled together on the armchair. Bambam, Yugyeom and Mark were sitting on the couch while Jinyoung, Jackson and Youngjae sat on your floor.

“Wow, hyung. I knew it was going to be good but this really looks like a professional film,” Youngjae insisted excitedly.

“Shush! Everyone shush, it’s not over yet! The credits are rolling!”

Jaebum wrapped his arm around you and pressed a kiss to your forehead as the credits rolled on. It revealed you and Mark as the lead actors, Jaebum as the Director, Youngjae as Cameraman and Technical Director, Bambam as Make-up and Costume Director, and…

“Errand boy?” Yugyeom burst out suddenly. He turned and looked at Jaebum in horror. “Hyung, did you seriously put my name in the credits as errand boy?”

Jinyoung frowned at him. “All you did was bring people coffee, Yugyeom. What did you expect?”

“You didn’t even write the script yourself, noona had to change most of it!”

“She made minor changes to the dialogue!” Jinyoung shot back furiously. “The original idea was all mine!”

“Then explain to me why the hell Jackson is credited as Casting Director. There’s two fucking people in the entire movie and all he did was introduce us to one of them. He never even came to a single filming or meeting. Why does he get Casting Director and I get errand boy?”

Bambam smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at you and Jaebum. “Because he didn’t just introduce our Director to our female actress. He introduced Jaebum to his leading lady,” he said in a sing-song voice. You rolled your eyes as Bambam set off a chorus of ‘oooooh’s that was picked up by Jackson and Youngjae.

“Shut up,” you grumbled. “Director-nim, can’t you control your team?”

Jaebum chuckled. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ll get rid of them for you.”

“Yes, please do.”

You slowly untangled yourself from Jaebum and went into the kitchen to get more drinks and popcorn for the others. As you stuck a new bag in the microwave and reached into the fridge to get a new bottle of coke, you heard Jaebum’s soft footsteps follow you into the kitchen. He wrapped his arm around your waist and nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck.

“Hey,” he whispered. “What did you really think of the film?”

You turned and smiled. “I loved it. Well. Watching myself kiss Mark on screen was a little awkward, but otherwise the film was amazing. You really should have let us do another take of the kiss.”

Jaebum flushed. “You know why I didn’t.”

“I do now. Were you jealous?” you teased him playfully.

“I was.” Jaebum leaned down and kissed you softly. “I was crazy jealous seeing you kiss him. It was even worse watching that scene over and over while I edited it. But don’t worry. Now that I know you’re mine, I promise I’ll try to stay cool if you ever try acting again and a situation like that comes up. You just have to promise me that I’m a better kisser than your partner.”

You chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll be acting again.”

“Oh? Why not?”

You shrugged and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Because I kind of like the idea of being exclusively your leading lady forever.”

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