Love On Set | Kim Jiwoong ZB1

[ Scene 1 ]

It was love at first sight for her. When Jiwoong entered the room for script reading and locked eyes with her, she felt butterflies in her stomach. He came in with a gentle smile on his face while politely bowing to everyone in the room, and sat down right opposite to her. They nodded their heads at each other, and her heart was beating faster than ever. And this is when Aera knew, she had fell for Jiwoong.

Soon after, Gaeun entered the room, like a princess with a condescending manner. She was one of the new actresses who had been gaining popularity recently. She seemed perfect on the outside - young and rich, beautiful and chic. Jiwoong turned around and nodded at his co-star. At first glance, he must admit that Gaeun was an attractive individual, but it was the girl who sat across from him who caught his attention.

"Shin Ae Ra" He looked down to her name plate, and read it off in his head.

She might not have the prettiest visuals, but her presence just made Jiwoong feel at ease, unlike Gaeun's strong aura that demanded everyone's attention. There was something ethereal and graceful about Aera.

.

They started filming the drama two weeks after script reading. 'The Forbidden Desire' was a drama about an heir to a reputable company, Lee Jaemin, falling in love with an ordinary nursing student, Kim Sohee, despite being engaged to the daughter of another wealthy family, Sung Jina, for business reasons.

Before Jaemin met Sohee, he was completely unmoved by the fact that he had to marry a girl that he didn't love. His family business was his first priority, so he would do anything that was beneficial for expanding his business. However, when Sohee crashed into Jaemin's heart without any forewarnings, he started to reconsider his priorities in life.

Jiwoong, who took up the role of Jaemin, had to film a lot of scenes with Aera, who was acting as Jina, in the beginning of filming, to set the scene for the upcoming love triangle. He took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her, with no plans of hiding his interest towards her.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Aera-ssi!"

"Annyeonghaseyo, Jiwoong-ssi." Aera greeted him back shyly.

"Since we're the same age, should we speak casually to each other? We will be seeing each other for quite some time, let's become close!" And he embraced her shyness with warmth.

"A...ah yeah...sure." Emotionally, Aera was slightly taken aback by his direct request as it was their very first conversation with each other. And physiologically, she felt her heart racing again, just like when she saw him for the first time ever in that script reading room.

As Jiwoong and Aera spent more time together, they got a lot closer with each other. Their conversations could go on and on, and they kept discovering something in common between them. Both of them enjoyed singing and reading, liked eating spicy foods, were athletic, had a habit of meditating, and loved dogs... The list seemed endless. Moreover, they had amazing chemistry while acting together, and they respected each other as actors. Behind the scenes, they would discuss the script together and offer suggestions to help each other improve on their acting.

They would be lying if they said they were nothing more than co-workers.

.

Amidst their busy filming schedules, they had a day off together. Jiwoong and Aera took this opportunity and planned a day out together in the outskirts of Seoul, where they wouldn't be recognised easily. At night, they went back to Jiwoong's apartment - Jiwoong had offered to cook dinner.

"Is there anything I can help with?" 

"No, just sit here and chat with me." Jiwoong sat Aera down on the high chair at the kitchen island. "Dinner will be ready in no time."

Jiwoong rolled up the sleeves of his t-shirt, revealing his arm muscles, and started cooking. Aera just sat and watched, but instead of the cooking, Jiwoong's triceps and slightly bulging veins on his arms took all of her attention.

"You're drooling. Does my food look that good?"

Aera immediately felt a rush of blood to her face. Jiwoong then took a piece of carrot and fed it to Aera, before resuming cooking.

And like he said, dinner was ready in no time. Steak and Pasta - the perfect menu for a romantic dinner date.

"The food looks delicious."

"Told you I'm a good chef." 

"I will have to taste the food before I can make that conclusion."

"Go ahead."

Aera took a bite of the steak, which was cooked perfectly to medium rare. She looked at Jiwoong with widened eyes, showing approval of his cooking. She quickly tried the truffle cream pasta as well, expecting it to taste as good.

"Gosh, it's actually so goo..."She got cut off by Jiwoong who gently wiped off sauce from the corner of her lips.

"You got pasta sauce on your lips." He lightly chuckled.

"You could have just told me that..." Aera got flustered and hurriedly took a tissue and wiped her mouth.

After dinner, Aera washed the dishes while Jiwoong helped drying them. They hadn't even started dating, yet Jiwoong could totally picture living life with Aera. Everything just felt so right with her.

"Do you mind rehearsing a scene with me in preparation for tomorrow's filming?" Jiwoong asked Aera for a favour as they sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"Of course. Which scene do you want to go through?"

Jiwoong then showed her the script, pointing out the scene that he wanted to practise. It was a scene where Jaemin confessed his feelings to Sohee. Aera wasn't supposed to be acting in the scene, so she took a bit of time to digest and memorise the lines before they started rehearsing.

Jaemin (Jiwoong): My heart beats for you crazily. You occupy my mind every waking moment and show up in my dreams. I miss you when you're not next to me, and I get jealous when you're with other guys. Do you still not understand how I feel for you? I'm so in love with you, Kim Sohee. I'm feeling all these emotions I have never ever felt before because of you.

Sohee (Aera): We're people from two different worlds, Jaemin-ah. And you have a fiancée...

Jaemin (Jiwoong): There's no love between me and Jina. It's all business, Sohee, you know that.

Sohee (Aera): That still doesn't change the fact that she's your fiancée, the one who's going to be your bride.

Jaemin (Jiwoong): If there's one person I'm going to marry, that will be you, Sohee. I will break off the engagement between me and Jina.

Sohee (Aera): What about your family then? They would never approve of us.

Jaemin (Jiwoong): Just tell me one thing, Sohee. Do you feel the same way that I do? If you do, then believe in me. Take my hand and I promise to never let go of you no matter what's ahead of us.

Jiwoong then leaned in for a kiss just like how it was stated in the script, catching Aera off guard.

"This kiss is from Jiwoong, not Jaemin." He gazed deeply into her eyes.

"I... don't understand what you mean."

"Really? Would another kiss help you understand?"

Before Aera could respond, Jiwoong leaned in for a more passionate kiss.

"If you still don't get it, I'm asking you to be my girlfriend, Shin Aera."