As the last grain of sand fell from the hourglass you felt your heartbeat increase, having skimmed through the pages of the script in a hurry but obviously being in a state that you didn't even remember the name of the female lead accurately.
His fingers that were hitting against his wooden desk rhythmically also didn't help much to calm your nerves that had rose at a high level. Your breath got stuck on your throat as he finally reached his hand out to take the script form you since your time was over and you hesitantly gave it back to him while thinking that you are so going to fail.
"Tell me the third line, page 52" He opened the scrip randomly and asked you casually and all you did was blink with an expressionless face one while you made a try to recall but obviously failed.
Jimin threw a glace at you as he waited a bit for your reply then shuffled the pages to an earlier on, thinking that you might not have even reached at that page.
"What about fifth page. The first line that the female lead says." He spoke and once again you just remained quiet,feeling your hands growing sweaty.
"Ah~ Seriously? What were you even doing this ten minutes?" He left an exhale escape his lips before he proceeded to speak in a scolding manner. The annoyance visible in his facial expression.
"Tell me the names of the mane characters?"He questioned and you light up a bit, thinking that you could answer that.
"SangKyu, Ra HiAh first leads. Narhae and JaeSang second leads."
"It's Narae not Narhae."Jimin corrected you as his gaze became strict and unfriendly. He looked as if someone had offended him and was ready to put that someone in their place.
"How did you get accepted in the company? You have connections, don't you?" He asked you and you shock your head in denial out of reflex.
"Oh come on. You are at zero at acting. How do you expect to work as an actress if you can't even memorise a name in ten minutes? Yah , is this some kind of joke to you? " He stood up from his chair looking rather annoyed and somehow even though you understood that he may have a point to be annoyed, you still couldn't help but dislike his behavior.
"Look.So what if I am at zero. Your job is to teach me. That's why I was assigned to you. So instead of being bothered by it, how about we talk it out and think of ways to improve my skills." You dared to speak at him, as calmly as you could and stangely he stared at you in silence for a moment then he broke into a smile.
He walked towards you and leaned back on his desk, now right in front of you, his smile still hanging at the corner of his lips, mockingly.
"Skills? What skills? Where did you saw any acting skills in you?" He uttered and even though you were not an actress nor you had any interest in it, somehow the way he was looking at you, made you feel offended.
"You shouldn't look down on people. There is nothing that I cannot learn if I want to."You told him now with determination in your eyes and a slight anger towards him.
"Of course you will. Since you are under my wing, you will either learn or die. "He replied, his use of words a bit over dramatic according to you but for some strange reason you couldn't help but think that he may mean the literal meaning of them as well.
"I will give you some books. Make sure you read them. Leave me your contact information so I can send you some memory drills cause it's pretty weak. "Jimin turned around and spoke while walking to the library that was placed after his desk, covering one side of the wall.
He stood there for a bit, letting his gaze trace the books, probably looking for some specific ones while you took the initiative and grabbed a sticky note from his desk and a pen and wrote down your email and phone number.
"Take the script with you and learn it by tomorrow. Don't show it to anyone. It's a draft that hasn't been filmed yet." He added as he finally found the books he was looking for and grabbed them and piled them in his left arm then turned to face you whom were just staying there unmoved.
"What are you looking at? Here."He reached the books towards you and you snapped out of your still state that was mostly out of awkwardness and nervousness and approached him in order to take the books but as he was about to land them in your arms, you accidentally pulled your hand back, because your left hand itched a bit, concluding to the books to fall on his feet and make him leave an exclaim of pain.
He stepped back ,slightly cursing under his breath as he hoped in one leg and held the other and you panicked seeing that he got hurt because of you so you tried to help him.
"I am so sorry."You told him as you tried to grab his arm to help him balance himself but as soon as you did so, he got tangled in his own feet and fell backward along with you, on the couch that was behind.
"Oh my. I am so sorry." You told him once you found yourself above him and quickly rolled off with him leaving another exclaim of pain, while he remained in that laid position.
"That was such a mess. Wow..em..you okay?" You spoke while you were feeling as if the air you were breathing had become thicker. The awkwardness of the event was killing you and seriously you couldn't help but wonder how could a simple meeting between two people turn so uncomfortable.
"Those books are 500 pages each. Be careful were you drop them, for God's sake!" Jimin growled under his breath after he spoke then stood in a seating position and tried to not show the fact that he was still in pain.
"I am really sor-" You bowed your head and tried too apologise again but this time a sudden sound of some kind of commotion disturbed your sentence, getting your attention towards the door as the sound seemed to be coming from another room.
Jimin looked confusedly towards it as well before he stood up and walked out, wondering what the hect was Jin doing that caused such a sound while you remained in place as an uneasy feeling rose inside you.
"Yah, What the heck did you broke that made so much noise?" Jimin's voice reached Jin's ears before his figure appear on the living room, only for him to froze in place when he found his friend kneeled down as a vase was scattered all around him. A man dressed in black and with his face covered standing above his head, with a gun directed at him.
"What the.."Jimin murmured in surprise before the unknow man directed the gun towards him and him instinctively pulled his hands up.
"Don't move. Or I will kill you both!" The masked man told him in a quiet angered voice and Jimin just nodded pretending to be scared as he quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for some kind of way to get closer to him and immobilize him.
How the heck had he gotten this far? He couldn't help but question as he knew well te security of this building but maybe it had been his fault that after what had happened earlier today, he hadn't called over some bodyguards to guard his house for some days.
"What's going on?" Your voice drew him out of his thoughts as you had followed him to the living room after a bit, feeling awkward to stay at his office all alone and since you had finished, you had just took the books and the script, grabbed your bag and walked out of the room.
"You! Stop right there!" The guy turned the gun towards you as his voice sounded in panic at your presence which he had not calculated and you just stared at him in shock obviously not expecting such a situation to be going on.
"Who the heck is she?! You have a girlfriend?" The guy asked Jimin as he took a step back, his gun going from you to him, to Jin and back at you, showing that he was not firm in what he was going to do. And his behavior also showed that he wasn't a professional at this. Someone could claim just be a look at him, that he might be more scared than the people that he was threatening with that gun.
"Girlfriend? Oh yeah. That's right. Why is that a problem?" Jimin responded casually as he slowly lowered his arms and made a step closer.
"Yah! You can't have a girlfriend. That's not how it's supposed to be!" The unknown guy stormed his feet in anger and brought his gun at Jin's head, pressing it against it till his head moved forward.
"And how it's supposed to be?" Jimin asked him as he smiled a bit at him then swiftly took one more step closer, thing that you noticed and couldn't help but find quite dangerous. He was obviously trying to distract him by initiating conversations till he was to get an opening to throw himself at him, however that action was itself quite risky and you couldn't help but worry but also question where the heck does he finds the calmness even in such sudden and pressuring situations.
"Don't come any closer. I won't hesitate to shoot." The guy threatened as he directed the gun towards Jimin and he chuckled lightly, showing him clearly that he was enjoying his threats and was not fearing him to the slightest.
"You won't do that. If you wanted to kill me you would have done so already. Now and back then at the forest. It was you, right?" Jimin left his hand run across his hair completely comfortable as he spoke to him and somehow you couldn't help but question if he was insane or this was some kind of prank that he had caught up on but the second was a bit too absurd of a thought. Who would make such pranks?
"Shut up!" The guy shouted at him in anger and stepped at the side, away from Jin and lashed towards him but right when he left Jin behind him, he stood up and swiftly got his arm around his neck while Jimin with a swift move, removed the gun from his hand.
The three of them soon ended up in a fight as the guy started protesting to get freed and you just watched their bodies going back and forth in agony, not knowing what to do for a moment then you snapped out of it and left the books that were occupying your hand at the side and proceeded to take your phone off your pocket and call the police.
"No!" The guy screamed at you as soon as he saw you, and somehow he mastered the strength to push Jin off of him and launch a punch at Jimin, thing that drew your attention and made your movements halt for an instant, not having yet pressed call.
You took a step back out of reflex as you saw him coming your way, till Jimin suddenly grabbed his foot and pulled it, making him fall on his knees and that was the moment that you thought as perfect for action so without thinking it much, you grabbed one of the books Jimin gave you and landed it on his head with as much force as you could master, action that concluded to bring the unknown man face down on the floor.
Silence filled the room after that and only the harsh breathing was able to be heard in the atmosphere as all of you stared at the body of the man whom seemed to be now unconscious.
"Is he...Dead?" Jin spoke his only thought at that moment with caution making you turn to look at him, with a quite fearful expression as you definitely wouldn't like that being true.
"No way." Jimin uttered as he bravely approached him and turned him around, then proceeded to remove his mask, so he could breath better but as soon as his face was revealed, you couldn't help but let your eyes grow wide in shock. Simply because you knew him.
---To be continued.....