Reading Between (the line)

Scene 1

A/N: I switched back to English. I am just not good at writing Filipino novels. Nagiging tunog kanal, huhu.


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[Praewa's]

Take a deep breath in, then exhale. No matter how many times I try to prepare myself, I still can't do it. I convinced myself that I could. That I should, because from the moment I said yes to this project, I knew this would eventually happen.

"Ready?"

She suddenly asked me. She patted me lightly to ease my obviously visible nerves. "You'll be fine. We can do this." She assured me with a slight smile. I nodded in response.

Moments later, the large LED lights on either side of us suddenly lit up, probing us to get into position. "Scene 96, camera and lights ready. Action!"

And with that cue, I automatically immersed myself in my character. I looked at her as she slowly moved closer to me.

"You knew that I was coming over, that's why you prepared this, right?"

She delivered her lines perfectly as if she's no rookie. I shifted my gaze away from her following the script. And I am glad that it is so, because...

"Looking away from me won't hide your feelings, Aom." She continued before turning my chin so I could look at her again. "Your red ears and cheeks are telling me everything already."

"I-I'm not-"

I still have a few more lines to say but it was cut off when she pressed her lips on mine. My eyes widened. This wasn't in the script! She's improvising and I can't process it properly! More so, I still haven't heard the director say "cut" so I have no choice but to respond to her by pushing her slightly to signal her to stop.

However, instead of stopping, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

"Cut!"

And just like that, she broke out from the kiss. "That was a great improv, Noon!" The director's shout brought me back to my senses. Noon stood and walked towards the director while I was left alone with a fluttering and broken heart.

"You good?"

I heard Anda's voice so I turned to my left and saw her with Lookkaew. They are the main couple in this series and both are my good friends as well. "Yeah." I answered her question. "Why wouldn't I be, okay?" I asked back.

The two exchanged knowing looks before looking back at me. "Well, you know. It was quite an improv...back there." She carefully commented.

"And that was your first kiss too, right?" -Lookkaew.

She's right. It was. On-camera and off. But there's no way I'll admit the latter. "Well, yes. That was my first kiss on camera. To be honest, I was surprised. But the improvisation matches the scene so well, so I think it's great. Director Nong was also pleased with it so win-win. Indeed, Noon has a great sense as an actress."

"Well-"

Anda seemed to want to say something, but the camera recording the "behind-the-scenes" interrupted her so we had no choice but to stop the conversation. Of course, the two had to be sweet for the camera. But I doubt that's a problem for them, as they are sweet even with or without the camera.

It's just the two of us that aren't.

---

"It's a wrap everyone! See you all on Monday!"

Director Nong announced after Anda and Lookkaew's scene ended. I didn't have a scene to shoot today but we four have a schedule later so I just came to the set to pass some time.

My on-screen partner, Noon is not here. So, to avoid boredom, I just scrolled to my phone, entertaining myself with videos on my socials. After a few scrolls of here and there, I bumped into a video edit of me and Noon

Lately, I noticed quite a few fan-edited videos of me and Noon together. Clearly, they are shipping us. As a celebrity, I am happy with the attention we're getting. This gives us hope that the series we're shooting now will be accepted by the audience.

However, "I guess #NoonPraewa will only happen in front of the camera, huh?" I whispered while pausing the video I was watching. I was staring blankly into nothing when someone suddenly patted me. It was Anda.

"Hey, you're trending." She suddenly informed me, holding her phone.

"Huh?" I absentmindedly replied to her. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't immediately get what she said.

"Here." She showed me her phone screen and there I saw a screenshot of a notification from a certain account where my username was also mentioned. I read the entire notification and my eyes widened when I realized what it was.

"Oh my God!"

I gasped and immediately checked the phone I was holding. And there it was. The fan-edited video that I was watching earlier has now that pink heart on the side, indicating that I liked it using my official account. The worst part? The caption of the video states: "One like or comment from either one of them, automatically from reel to real. No questions asked!"

I worriedly looked at Anda and she looked at me the same. I do not know what to do. The mixture of emotions exploded when my phone buzzed nonstop from calls and messages.

"Praewa, you're tren-"

Lookkaew who just arrived, stopped midway upon seeing my expression. But not only because of that, but because she also saw my manager already walking towards us.

"We have to go, Praewa. They're looking for you." It was a short announcement, but it felt like a bomb thrown at me.

I had no choice but to nod and helplessly followed.

---

"What happened, Praewa?" Our CEO who called me in, asked after we watched the video I accidentally liked.

Inside the office were me and my manager. I already filled him in earlier in the car while we were on our way and now, I have to repeat the story to our CEO again.

"So, it was purely an accident?" Our CEO asked.

I nodded. "Yes, and I am really sorry, Mr. CEO." I looked down, getting teary-eyed.

I'm a rookie actress and I've only been in the industry for almost a year and yet here I am, creating a problem right away. I wouldn't be surprised if they would remove me from the series or even from the company itself.

My dream and the hard work I put into it will vanish in thin air because of my clumsiness! I hate myself so much right now.

"Calm down, Praewa." The CEO suddenly told me. "I did not call you here to scold you, well maybe a bit since you made a mistake. But putting that aside, the result of that mistake created an opportunity, not only for you but also for Noon. And speaking of her... come in, Noon."

I turned around when the door suddenly opened and Noon entered from behind it. Her expression is unreadable. And as she walked closer, her eyes were only on our CEO, not even sparing me a quick glance.

She's mad at me.

"I am sure this was already explained to you while coming here, but let me explain further for you both to understand."

To summarize everything, our CEO announced that similar to Lookkaew and Anda, the company will now officially launch us two as an on-screen couple. Meaning, that in the next upcoming projects, Noon will only be paired with me.

I admit, I was happy about that announcement. But I cannot say the same for her.