Act 42 – Plan Failed Spectacularly
"Know what? Yoo Joonghyuk's temperament is finally good these days. He seems more tame," Lee Seolhwa pondered on a lunch break. The crew got them lunch boxes and they were eating on a plain, quiet corner, but she ate them with grace as if she was eating at a fine dining restaurant.
"Actually, you're right. Compared to before," Yoo SangAh agreed. Today's Yoo Joonghyuk was considerably mild mannered. He didn't scowl that much, the pressure he emitted was lesser than usual, even if he still looked like a hound dog.
"Yes. He still always glares, though. On some occasions." Han Sooyoung grabbed her water bottle and uncapped it.
Kim Dokja, who put down his phone, butted in with a lively voice, "Could it be because of me?!" He was the only male in the group today since Jang Hayoung was busy with another job.
Everyone glanced at the man who, a few moments ago, was quietly fiddling his phone while eating. Did he finally gain some self-awareness?
Sooyoung drawled, "Huuuh..."
SangAh covered her lips, "Oh?"
Kim Dokja grinned at the ladies' odd reactions, "I mean, I'm such a good influence~"
The confidence made the three girls deflate instead. Disappointment laced in their faces.
Sooyoung snarled. "Whatever, Kim Dokja."
What were they so disappointed about? Kim Dokja only laughed at them, pretending he understood.
Han Sooyoung looked fed up as she narrowed her eyes at Kim Dokja like she was scrutinizing an oblivious dolt.
Han Sooyoung thought about it. If Yoo Joonghyuk would be more approachable, then the crew's atmosphere would also be more relaxed. She didn't know if it would be a good or a bad thing if they actually forgot they were at work and started gushing over a milder Yoo Joonghyuk.
Han Sooyoung snapped, "So? What happened to the thing we talked about? Have you asked the man?"
Kim Dokja looked befuddled, "What is there to ask?"
"I told you! Make a video of you visiting Yoo Joonghyuk's house. I'll make you a script if you want. Then post it online."
"Han Sooyoung, do you really want me killed?" Dokja faked a gasp. Han Sooyoung was serious about that? Dokja thought she was only mentioning it jokingly.
Han Sooyoung tried to rationalize, "If there's a person who pestered him more than anyone else, it's you. And congrats, you're still alive."
"Wouldn't that mean I have a few days left to live?"
"So live your life to the fullest!"
"I won't be helping you with your script anymore."
"Alright! I'll ask him! Damn it."
That wasn't his point. He watched as Han Sooyoung stood up and walked away. But then she stopped and turned around, then grabbed Kim Dokja's arm.
"Come with me! Why are you only watching?"
"You said you're the one who's gonna ask?"
"I need a shield at least!"
Han Sooyoung, who bravely walked ahead was now half-hiding her body behind Kim Dokja.
"What is it?" Yoo Joonghyuk frowned as his gaze swept at the two. His eyes were especially dimmer at the hand grabbing Dokja's arm.
"Yah, Joonghyuk-ah! You look great again today!" Dokja beamed, with sparkles in his eyes. Then he gave a thumbs-up to Han Sooyoung. "Is this your idea of strategic marketing? The outfit rocks!"
"Who do you take me for? Of course we gotta use the assets."
The two of them glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk again, who had just finished changing outfits for the next scene.
He was wearing a black leather vest jacket and black ripped jeans, and take note, there was nothing underneath the jacket.
Kim Dokja's eyes zoomed into the partly covered pectoral muscles and abdominal muscles. He had seen that upper body completely bare before, many times, but the tease from wearing such a garment was also very eye-catching.
Han Sooyoung elbowed Kim Dokja's side, "Your saliva's gonna drip."
Kim Dokja averted his gaze and hummed, "Let it drip, it's not dripping on you."
Yoo Joonghyuk, who was very much right in front of them, huffed in disbelief.
.
.
At first, he was so confused at the odd change in Kim Dokja's behavior. The guy was suddenly stonewalling him after that shoot with URI, Joonghyuk was so frustrated during that time. Did Joonghyuk do something wrong? Or was it Dokja who did something so he was avoiding him?
But then Dokja went back to the usual and now he wasn't even hiding his shamelessness like this, teasing Joonghyuk and generously praising him for his appearance.
Dokja would also cling to him without any restraint, sit close to him more than before, would even rest his head on Joonghyuk's shoulder without any care for some onlooker's reactions. And Joonghyuk would allow him to do it without any verbal complaint.
Dokja might have been a tease before, but he wasn't this active in skin ship. A clingy Dokja was unexpected for him.
Look, did Dokja really need to sneak behind him and hug his waist just to say it was a prank? Dokja also pestered him to play video games together, and he was so competitive even when he never won a round. When Dokja went to shoot his cosmetic ad, he even sent Joonghyuk some selcas and groupies claiming it was to prove him he was doing his job and not playing around. And Joonghyuk received a chat every few hours.
He would still scold Dokja after saving the photos to his phone secretly.
'Was he deliberately trying to seduce me?'
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't know what to make of it. He even suspected that Dokja suddenly gained awareness of his feelings and felt embarrassed, yet now, Dokja's behavior was so confusing.
But it wasn't Dokja clinging shamelessly to him that was problematic. Dokja's mood was so good that he was also unbearably friendlier to others at the crew. His unrepressed smiles, the crinkle in those star-filled eyes, the touch from those slender, white hands, the melodious laughter, those impertinent fellows were also receiving all those.
Why? What made Dokja's mood so good?
That was why in the past few days after their filming at the luxury resort, Yoo Joonghyuk had been weird. He was like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. People got afraid of him, especially when Joonghyuk would give them deathly glares every time they tried to approach Kim Dokja. So thankfully, they stopped doing it. They tried to not approach Kim Dokja as much as possible. They would only do so when it was really necessary, when they had nobody else to approach, and they were all regarding the script.
Which made Yoo Joonghyuk less combustible. He relaxed a little. It would be nice if they finally stopped bothering Kim Dokja and studied their scripts on their own. They were given their own brains for it, so why depend on him too much?
It was something Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't understand, since he barely asked someone for advice about the script himself. He tried everything on his own effort, and when the director found something off, they would give the advice on their own, without him asking. And it was always like that as his career went on.
"Joonghyuk-ah? Are you listening to us?"
Kim Dokja's face was suddenly so close to his, which made him step back. "What is it?"
"Our dearest director Han Sooyoung is telling you about making a vlog at your house!"
"No." An immediate refusal.
Dokja expected it from the beginning, that's why he wasn't so worried, but he still tried to bargain for appearance's sake, "Just a short one! Maybe a small activity in one part of the house, like the ...maybe the fitness room at the ground floor or--"
His shoulder was unexpectedly squeezed by Han Sooyoung, "Hold on, why do you know about his fitness room on the ground floor?"
Oh fuck. Dokja had momentarily forgotten that nobody knew he was freeloading at the other's house. His mind tried to look for possible excuses, when his sight caught a certain big man a bit further from them. Lucky!
"Ah! I heard it from Hyunsung-ssi! We are close friends, you know?"
Lee Hyunsung was walking towards them since he thought Dokja needed something from him, when he heard of this. His face blushed and he smiled meekly, "I'm glad to be considered Dokja-ssi's friend."
Dokja held Hyunsung's shoulder and laughed, "Right? Right? We talk about a lot of things~ Isn't that right, Hyunsung-ssi?"
Hyunsung glanced at Dokja confusedly. "Oh, yes..." He just acted along without knowing what they were talking about. Surely it wasn't something weird, right?
━•❈•━
And so they got themselves into filming a short clip at Yoo Joonghyuk's private space two days after.
Or so it should have been.
Joonghyuk was adamant on not letting anyone enter his house, so they had no other choice but to rent a small mansion somewhere and arrange it as if someone has been living there for many years. Even Grandma Lee and her spouse were invited as extras.
The script was simple. Yoo Joonghyuk just had to cook a dish while Kim Dokja assisted him. Other actors from the movie were also invited to participate and it became a considerably bigger event contrary to the original plan.
Kim Dokja called out to Han Sooyoung, who prepared all these, "What else are we gonna film besides the cooking segment?"
"Well, anything. Just show people that you guys are enjoying yourselves. Like I told you, it's making people think you guys have a good relationship."
"You don't want to be seen on screen? Don't you wanna have fun too, Director Han?"
Han Sooyoung scrunched her face in displeasure. "I would rather be at the back of the camera. I don't want too much spotlight."
Dokja hummed, not convinced by her words. "Says the one who occasionally organizes book signing events."
"Huh. How did you know?"
"What do you mean 'how did I know'? I got some books with your autographs. You might have not recognized me but I lined up myself. Didn't I tell you I liked your books?" She might not have recognized him since he was in disguise with a cute face mask and nerdy eyeglasses, but he didn't need to tell her that.
Han Sooyoung visibly got flustered at the unexpected, uninhibited praise. She slapped Dokja on his arm and huffed to control her heartbeats. "Hah. Buttering me up won't help you later. Anyway, we'll be filming everything first, then we'll decide what to include and what to cut out, so just freely do what you guys want. But make sure you are aware where the cameras are, got that?"
"Yes~"
After the short briefing, Yoo Sang-ah approached Kim Dokja. "It's like a reality show. Have you done those things before, Dokja-ssi?"
Dokja shook his head easily without having to recall anything. "I haven't. This is my first time with these kinds of things too."
Of course, it was because he refused all of them, not even bothering to read the scripts. He didn't plan to do jobs that didn't involve acting a character.
Although it could still be taken as acting his persona as Kim Dokja, the playful celebrity. But he enjoyed playing many characters instead, he wanted to feel like a different person, a character he knew he could never become.
"Actually, Sang-ah-ssi, I have a plan. Care to work with me?"
...•
The filming started in a casual manner, from inside the house since they wouldn't want people to recognize the random mansion they used, and celebrities started ringing the doorbell one after another. It was Kim Dokja who rang the doorbell first.
Yoo Joonghyuk grunted in welcome, and Dokja happily entered the house.
"Joonghyuk-ssi, how do you feel now that you have friends visiting your home?" Kim Dokja started, behaving like a talk show emcee.
"This will be the first and the last."
The camera ran over the expansive living room, the L-shaped sofa atop a fine carpet, the tall windows that gave the space a good lighting. There were even paintings of scenery decorating the walls.
"But man, your house is pretty! Is it okay to tour around later, Joonghyuk-ssi?"
"Not all rooms."
"How generous today, Joonghyuk-ssi."
Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't help but huff. Kim Dokja had been calling him so formally, was this what he wanted people to think of their relationship?
He looked at Kim Dokja with an inquisitive glare, but Kim Dokja answered him with a sheepish smile.
'This is fun~' Kim Dokja thought he could work it out as he planned. He wanted to make the viewers think that his relationship with Yoo Joonghyuk was purely professional, and within the span of time as they filmed, they would gradually become comfortable with each other to the point when he could joke around with him.
He was humming pleasantly when they heard the doorbell rang, and Joonghyuk excused himself to fetch the visitors.
It was Jang Hayoung. "I'm late! I apologize, sunbae-nims!"
He was later followed by the three girls from their usual group. Lee Seolhwa waved at the camera, Yoo SangAh was smiling while tugging the wrist of someone else.
Kim Dokja happily introduced them to the camera. "Luckily, we have the honor to be graced with the presence of our beloved director, Han Sooyoung-ssi~"
The other people in the room clapped their hands, Han Sooyoung looked at Kim Dokja with a hint of disdain, her eyes reproaching him, 'This is your oh-so-awesome idea, isn't it?'
So they made a short tour of the house first, Joonghyuk's supposed fitness facility, a theater and gaming room, the bedroom complete with a huge bathroom. There was also a wide bathtub made of marble.
Kim Dokja commented, "Oh wow, even the bathroom is equipped with wine storage and TV set. Rich people know how to enjoy life, do they?"
And finally, they arrived at the kitchen, where the highlight of their video would take place.
"What are we cooking, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi?"
"Shakshuka."
"That's the first time I've heard of that dish! What is it made of?"
"Eggs."
"I love eggs! Did you know that originally, the number of pleats a chef had on his hat is equal to the number of egg recipes they can cook?"
Yoo Joonghyuk raised one fine eyebrow. Dokja was doing a good job acting as the emcee, he thought Dokja should do it more often. "That's an interesting concept if you're not spouting rubbish."
"Of course, it's not rubbish!" Although Kim Dokja didn't know if it was true or not, he had times when he chatted with their chefs. His family business being part of the food and hotel industry, that story came out from one of their casual conversations. The chefs should be blamed if it wasn't real.
Joonghyuk started spreading the ingredients on top of the kitchen island, and Dokja's eyes widened at an ingredient piled on a basket.
"Why are there so many tomatoes?" His most hated food just made its dreadful appearance. Kim Dokja felt so aghast it showed clearly on his face.
"The dish is made of tomatoes."
"Wait, you said eggs! Aren't you the one spouting rubbish?!"
"Kim Dokja, we're in front of the camera."
Kim Dokja grumbled and held one tomato in his hand, wondering if he should hide them somewhere so they couldn't be used.
Yoo Joonghyuk was inspecting the kitchen knife when he spoke. "Don't bother hiding them, we have more tomatoes stored somewhere."
"Can't you make that dish without tomatoes?"
"Shakshuka is a poached egg in a tomato sauce dish."
"What, really? Then a different sauce? Like cream?"
Yoo Joonghyuk really wasn't bothered by Dokja's complaints at the sides and he started working on the onions. He held the knife like a master chef as chopping sounds echoed in the kitchen. "Then it's not shakshuka anymore."
"Can't we use another recipe instead of that?"
"The ingredients we prepared are for that recipe. Our visitors requested that dish specifically."
Kim Dokja's eyes darted towards the three females and one boy who were sitting prettily in one side of the kitchen. One of them was smirking haughtily at him.
Kim Dokja knew right away who requested that dish. He resisted raising a middle finger to Han Sooyoung who was trying to restrain her laughter.
Yoo Joonghyuk finished with his onions and added them into the heated pan. Then he pushed another chopping board in front of Dokja. "Enough with your complaints and chop the bell pepper."
"Uhh...yes..." After picking up a knife, Dokja grabbed one large bell pepper from the basket and positioned it on the chopping board, his knife hand was slightly wobbly but he managed to cut it without mistakenly cutting his fingers.
Joonghyuk was curiously (and worriedly) peeking at him while stirring the onions, but seeing Dokja cut the bell pepper into two halves, Joonghyuk already knew what could go wrong. "Don't include the seeds."
"...yes..."
"It should be diced, not allumette."
Dokja stopped his hands. "What is allumette even?"
"That long cut you're doing."
"Wow! I'm cutting like a chef!"
"If it's evenly cut, then you can start dreaming."
At the sides where four people tried their best to remain quiet, Yoo Sang-ah finally spoke to the others, "Joonghyuk-ssi is surprisingly talkative! I thought it would only be Dokja-ssi talking all throughout their cooking.
Han Sooyoung scoffed. "Leave it to Kim Dokja to make even the most aloof man speak to him."
"It's a good opportunity to make Joonghyuk-ssi's offline image better, isn't it?"
"We're on the video too, you know?"
"Oh my! That was my slip-up!"
Whether Yoo Sang-ah accidentally or intentionally made that slip of the tongue, only she would know.
Meanwhile, Yoo Joonghyuk added garlic and grated ginger into the pan. The aroma was already so good, Dokja's nose was close to sniffing out the surrounding air when he saw Joonghyuk pick up the tomatoes and cut them into dice.
Kim Dokja backed away and frowned at him. "I could have helped, you know?"
"You would have thrown them away."
"I wouldn't! I could have hidden them somewhere or give them away to your neighbors later."
"Why?"
"As my moving-in gift!"
Joonghyuk hit the chopping board a bit too strongly. Some dice of tomatoes glided over the table as Dokja laughed at him.
"That's clumsy, Joonghyuk-ssi~ Be careful handling the knife or you'll get injured."
Joonghyuk sighed and added more tomatoes into his chopping board.
"Ah, wait! That's too much!"
"It's fine." Joonghyuk stirred the pan and started dropping the tomatoes in, gradually, as if teasing. No, it was retaliation for being teased.
What 'moving in'? Was Dokja actually fine with permanently moving into Joonghyuk's house and becoming an official resident? Don't say it if you're not serious!
Joonghyuk added in a few more tomatoes while Dokja's face paled as he watched the abomination in front of his eyes.
"No, stop it, ah! That's too much! Nooo!"
"Don't make weird noises." You sound like someone from porn, was left unsaid.
"Joonghyuk!! No more! Please stop!!"
Joonghyuk clicked his tongue and fetched a piece of diced tomato with his hand, then he shoved it.
Right into Dokja's flapping mouth. "Don't make a fuss."
"Fffuuuuucccckk!!!"
Kim Dokja's face crumpled in disgust as he scrambled into the sink and spit out the red thing there as if his life was on the line. Then he ran into the fridge and rummaged through it, "Drink! Juice! Do you have anything?"
"Tomato juice."
"Fuck you, Yoo Joonghyuuuuk!"
They were sure they're going to beep out Kim Dokja's cursing during the video editing. Han Sooyoung couldn't contain herself and laughed out loud.
Kim Dokja thankfully found a bottle of banana milk and chugged it down in one go, also making sure to wash his mouth with it.
"Goodness, I barely revived. All thanks to your milk..."
"Kim Dokja, again with your words."
"I'm talking about food!"
Joonghyuk was tempted to clench Dokja's jaws like always, but he held the desire back by breathing out. Calm down, they were in front of the camera and he had a role to play here. Joonghyuk added a scoop of gochujang into the pan and chided, "You can eat pizza, right? Why can you not eat tomatoes? It's not like you're allergic."
"You are picky with food too, you have no say in this!"
"I will eat any type of food as long as I make it."
If ever Kim Dokja remembered his original plan of making the viewers think they were in a purely professional relationship first and gradually becoming casual at the span of the video, he would not know who to blame for his plan to have failed. Maybe it's Han Sooyoung.
Because he was sure the viewers would think they have a bad relationship after this.
━•❈•━
••• [published 3.10.2023] •••
🔹 Mini Theater 🔹
ᴋᴅᴊ: Won't they think our relationship is bad? All I did was shout at him...
ʜsʏ: Even though you two bicker like a married couple?
ᴋᴅᴊ: You mean a divorced couple?
ʜsʏ: There's still the rest of the day. Do your best to save your marriage.
ᴋᴅᴊ: Tell that to him instead!
🔹 End of Mini Theater 🔹
Did the first half feel rushed?? So yes, the girls were relieved to see YJH calming down finally, after his tumultuous temper from the previous days. And why was KDJ so giddy? Maybe because of the doll. xDDD
I haven't tried shakshuka yet but I looked for a Korean-ized recipe somewhere..
Reader-nims who followed me on twitter and wanted a follow-back, please drop down your username on comment or my message board or DM me~ Let's be moots~ Ehehe.
See you next chapter~??? Please support this story by voting and commenting~!! Thanks~!! ♡
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