The wind was cold today. As it brushed against her skin, lisa grabbed her coat tighter against her chest as she lifted her head. The autumn sky was still so blue, but the world felt like winter. The season passed without a sound.
I wish time would just stop.
As lisathought this, her phone began to ring. It was from her agency.
"Hello?"
- You're on your way, right? I'm sorry that we couldn't go pick you up today.
"It's okay."
- Call me if you run into a problem. You can't be late, but you already know that, right? That director may seem like he has a good personality, but he absolutely hates it when people are tardy.
Her agency CEO spoke nervously. As if he'd recognized that she wanted to just run away and escape the booking.
"Don't worry, sir. I'm on my way now."
- Alright. I'll leave it to you. Call me when you're done with the shoot.
"Okay."
- Good luck.
After ending the call, lisa looked up at the sky before putting her cell phone deep into her pockets. Then she began to walk again. As she drove to the studio, she was overcome by an intense migraine, so she stopped by a pharmacy and purchased some medicine. After taking a few capsules, she walked into the set. As she greeted the staff, she turned around when she felt an intense gaze on her back.
The male actor who was set to participate in today's photoshoot was standing behind her.He was tall, as if he were a model. His long limbs, his stiff posture, his sharp eyes and nose. She knew very well how different that face looked when it smiled. She could clearly see that face even if her eyes were closed. She might have even seen that face as often as she'd seen her own.
When she saw jungkook, the throbbing pain in her head went away. It was as if her headache had been a warning sign of this impending meeting. Then, as if it were all a joke, it faded away as soon as she saw him. The irony of it all. She wanted to laugh, but she remained frozen in place.
One month had passed since she'd last seen jungkook. Because the celebrity world was small and wide at the same time, she always felt that she'd meet him again someday. But she never expected to meet him so soon. For the past ten years, their schedules had never crossed.
She felt like taking on more work, so she asked her agency CEO to pack her schedule. It didn't matter who or what it was. She never asked for any details, kept her mouth shut, and did the work. This booking had been the same. She was merely told it would be a photoshoot for a magazine. She didn't check to see who she would be working with. That was her mistake. She never expected to be doing a photoshoot for a magazine with jungkook.
"It's your first time meeting jungkook-ssi, right?" The director approached her and spoke up. Unable to answer, lisa merely smiled. The director guided lisa to jungkook.
jungkook's eyes landed on lisa's face. lisa took a moment before raising her head to look at him. When their eyes met, jungkook's eyes slightly narrowed. He had known that she'd be coming all along.
"...Hello."
Unable to endure the silence, lisa greeted him first. jungkook merely replied with, 'Hello.' These were the first words they had said to each other in a month. During the stretch of silence, jungkook's eyes didn't blink once as he gazed at her. Unable to take it anymore, lisa turned her eyes away from him.
"You should get ready." Suddenly, a staff member approached them.
"Alright." Thanks to the staff member, lisa was guided to the preparation room. She could feel jungkook's eyes on her back, but she pretended not to notice. As the female staff members prepared lisa for the photoshoot, they wouldn't stop talking about jungkook.
"Now that I've seen him in real life, he's really handsome."
"I know, right? I actually think the camera doesn't do him justice."
"Just now, I asked him if we could take a selfie together, and he readily agreed."
"Omo, the director told us that taking pictures wasn't allowed..."
"We took it in secret."
"How nice. I should have done it in secret too." As the staff's words circled around her, lisa silently listened. They began to talk about the drama he was shooting right now. Even though she had left him, he was continuing his life as if nothing had changed. Although it was to be expected, lisa's heart sank.
"What about you, lisa-ssi? Do you like jungkook-ssi?" The stylist touched her hair as she asked in an excited voice.
Do I like him.....She wondered how deep of an emotion the word entailed. She wanted to ask if to 'like' someone included being unable to get a wink of sleep at night as she lay in bed, her heart in pain. Because she wasn't able to find the right word for it, lisa merely gave her a smile. Taking her smile as an affirmative answer, the stylist continued to talk about matters regarding jungkook.
What drama he was currently shooting, what he was doing. Her face went red as she revealed that she had been a long-time fan of his. She even expressed her worries about him. Apparently, he had grown a lot thinner lately.
Had he lost weight? She couldn't remember. When their eyes met, she felt her body grow stiff. After she was finished, lisa exited the preparation room. She could see jungkook standing underneath the lights. He had already been looking at her, and their eyes met.
As she walked over to him, his eyes never left her. What if the staff members thought something was amiss? His gaze was so obvious that lisa couldn't help but worry. lisa stopped when she was by his side.
"Okay, stand a little closer together. We're going with a sexy look today. Why don't you begin by taking any pose you'd like." At the director's words, lisa was just about to relax her stiff body when she suddenly felt someone walk up behind her and place his hand on her hips. She didn't have to turn her head to know that it was jungkook's hand. He sat down on the wooden boxes that were laid out as props.
Tap.
His forehead rested on her shoulder. It wasn't heavy, but it was enough for her to know that it was there.
lisa felt a bit dizzy. He would always lean against her like this whenever he was going through something difficult. After his grandmother's wake had ended. The time his role had been taken away from him for no reason. He would lean on her like this and let out a deep sigh. Then he'd lift his head and give her a bright smile and say, 'Charge complete.'
Every time he did this, she would stretch out her hand and gently stroke his hair. She'd look into his eyes for a long time before pressing her lips against his. Because she wanted to share her warmth with him instead of giving him words of comfort. What they both needed was more warmth. As if he knew, he would cling onto her. lisa would stagger back and tightly embrace him. Then he'd plunge even deeper inside. As if she were his only source of rest. Even if it was too overwhelming, she'd continue to receive his embraces for as long as he needed it.
The feel of his skin, the brush of his breath, his heart wrenching touch...
Throb.
As the memories faded away, her migraine returned. She realized that she had stepped on a shard of glass that Jisoo had been talking about.
"jungkook-ssi, you look good, but raise your head in that position. You need to show us your face." The director spoke up, unable to keep silent any longer. jungkook reluctantly lifted his head.
"lisa-ssi, please make your pose look a little more natural." After hearing the director's comment, lisa finally relaxed her pose. She wound her arm around lisa's shoulder. Although she'd touched him many times before, it felt as if she were touching him for the first time. Her fingertips were tense. Suddenly, jungkook burrowed even deeper into her embrace.
"Mm, everything's good, but... jungkook-ssi, what's wrong with your expression?" The director tilted his head.
"How should I put it... It's too sad. Spring is coming, but you look too grave." A few staff members grinned at the director's words. However, lisa and jungkook didn't crack a smile.
Click.
The sound of the camera filled the silent set. Throughout the entire photoshoot, jungkook didn't let go of her once. Whenever lisa tried to put some distance between them, he would lean towards her.
After a few more shots, jungkook grabbed lisa and spun her around. They were now face to face. She saw his face come closer to hers. jungkook stretched out his arms and placed them on her shoulders. Then he leaned his forehead against hers. The female staff members brought their hands to their lips at his bold pose.
lisa looked up at him. His black eyes held countless thoughts. In the past, lisa would have been able to recognize what he wanted to say with one glance, but now, she wasn't able to read any of it. It was then that lisa realized that she had forgotten the language that was spoken between them.