Silver Linings

Chapter Eighteen - One hug to rule them all

[18 June 2020]

⁂ GONG JUN ⁂

The atmosphere inside the cave was somehow giddy yet focused, and Gong Jun could feel everyone watching the two of them as they talked through the scene. It was a little bit intimidating, and he felt nervous and a bit shy standing there next to Zhang Zhe Han knowing that they would be hugging a lot to get this scene right. And shy was a new feeling and something that he seldom felt during set. Sure, there would be times when he would push through being uncomfortable or nervous, and kissing scenes were usually the ones that triggered this. But this wasn't a kissing scene. All they had to do was hug.

Director Li was right next to them and the rest of the assistants were all gathered in a wide circle around the cave, ready to provide input where needed. Even though this scene was only a brief moment in the drama—the act of Zhou Zi Shu hugging Wen Ke Xing after realizing his companion is his long lost shidi —it was one of the more significant BL moments of the series. It also had the potential of becoming an iconic moment for the fans.

Everyone knew that they had to get the BL aspects of the scenes perfectly balanced in order to convey the message of love to the viewers, but also to get it through censorship review. It had to be just right. In a standard boy-girl drama, this would be a moment where the main couple would kiss, maybe even for the first time. They could not. Their one hug and their body language would have to deliver the same emotions without soft lips meeting.

They had been discussing this scene for about ten minutes, and he was starting to regret that they hadn't talked through this scene more than they had done the night before, during dinner. That is, they hadn't really talked it through at all since no one was exactly sure how the Directors wanted the scene to play out. And the scene itself didn't really include a lot of dialogue. All they had done was acknowledge that neither of them was uncomfortable with the hug and that they would work through it during the take.

So, with that in mind—and the fact that he was both nervous, shy and really excited about wrapping his arms around his co-star—he had decided to ignore all that. With the fear of any of his feelings getting caught on camera, he would instead focus on the devastating sadness that Wen Ke Xing would be feeling throughout this scene, having his raw and tragic family history revealed to his soulmate. That plan went straight out the window the moment Zhang Zhe Han pressed his entire body against his own during the first hug. Instead, he went into survival mode. And his co-star just kept hugging and hugging and hugging, pulling Gong Jun in and out of his embrace with ease. Sometimes clinging to him, reaching up on his toes, so that he could read the script he was holding in his left hand, rather than just let go of the embrace and read it properly.

His ears had started buzzing after a few hugs, which meant that he could only vaguely hear, "turn around, turn around" and "should we hug like this?" or "maybe Wen Ke Xing should be struggling during the hug?". Almost afraid to even breathe wrong, he just allowed himself to be pulled in and out of that warm embrace as many times it was needed. And instead of focusing on the sadness, he turned on his auto pilot and pulled out all the walls that he could find—because that was what Wen Ke Xing would do in the scene. He would push Zhou Zi Shu away after melting into the hug for just a moment. He would absolutely not think about how small Zhou Zi Shu's body felt against his own. How somehow that tall yet tiny frame seemed to fit perfectly into his own lanky angles. How he could feel his co-star's body heat through all of his robes. Then again, Zhang Zhe Han was only wearing those silky gray shorts—that left nothing for the imagination and Gong Jun was absolutely not looking at—and his white silk shirt. The man was radiating heat, which was in stark contrast to the utter softness of the hug and the expression on his face. In particular those dark eyes that kept watching his every move. Gong Jun was certain that they were a shade darker than normal.