⁺◦ 𝔥𝔬𝔱 | 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 .

↳ 𝐣𝐮𝐧 .

"(y/n), you're up next."

you startle at the mention of your name. burying your pre-audition nerves so far down that they're non-existent is always something that proves to be difficult for you. luckily, your uneven breathing doesn't frighten you. the quickening of your heartbeat is normal, so you rise to your feet with ease.

usually, you'd take this time to prepare yourself for rejection, but you can't do that now. this is the first time that you've been asked to do a chemistry read with the male lead.

you've made it this far, (y/n). so, don't give up now.

you skim through the script, searching for the lines that you've highlighted, while following the assistant that's taking you to the audition room. you mouth your lines to yourself before the assistant speaks up.

"i've got to run, but just wait here until the person who is currently auditioning exits the room. then, you can enter the room and audition. do you-"

the girl who ran lines with you comes running out of the room with tears brimming in her eyes. her shoulder grazes the assistant, knocking the breath out of him.

"what's her problem?" the assistant grumbles.

"don't mind her. the audition probably didn't go the way that she expected it to, which would explain why she's crying."

"that might be so, but that's no excuse to be rude."

the assistant clicks his tongue, then he heads off to tend to whatever business is taking him away from you.

it takes all of the confidence that you own for you to stop yourself from panicking. the girl that just left the room in a hurry seemed to be a perfect fit for the role, but she left discouraged. if she doesn't stand a chance at securing the role, who else does?

no, stop it, (y/n). don't freak out. maybe she didn't have any chemistry with the male lead or she forgot her lines, so that's why it didn't work out for her.

before entering the room, you check your copy of the script once more. a light, delicate knock on the door is your way of readying the roomful of people for your entrance.

"hello, it's nice to see you again." your hand lands in the casting director's, as you greet her.

as for the rest of the people in the room, you greet them with a warm introduction. "hello, my name is (y/n). thanks for giving me this opportunity."

all of your attention was zeroed in on the people before you, yet you forgot to acknowledge the man who you'd act alongside. you turn on your heel, eager to correct your mistake.

the actor who'll play the male lead conjures up a shy smile. "hey, it's nice to meet you, i'm-"

"oh my god, you're wen junhui. you've been in every single drama that i've ever seen." your hand trembles as it goes to meet his, your voice following the same pattern as your hand. "uh, i'm sorry for cutting you off. i'm (y/n). it is such a pleasure to meet you."

in the acting realm, first impressions can either help your chances of getting a role or demolish them. you're not sure if you've doomed yourself or not based off of the look on junhui's face.

"great, now that you two are well-acquainted, we can get to the chemistry read. let's take it from the scene where your characters meet for the first time." suggests the casting director.

"right, that sounds great." you agree, while placing the script on a small table that's within an arm's length from you.

you can do this, (y/n).

this scene was your favorite one, so you'd known it very well. your character, well, the one that you'll play if you ace this chemistry read, meets junhui's character at a park. her parents were arguing about her grades and studying habits, then the argument worsened. in pursuit of finding a quiet place to clear her mind, rosie, the character, heads to the park. there, she meets junhui's character, kai.

since you haven't secured the role yet, you must do your best to bring the scene to life despite the fact that you're not on set. your character is supposed to be sitting on a swing set when junhui's character approaches her.

you decide to do the best you can with honoring the script's vision. so, you sit on the table where you'd placed your script to create a similar spacing dynamic between you and junhui that's written in the script.

"hey," junhui's voice cuts through the silence, but it's gentle.

you glance at junhui, before getting into character. "hi,"

"are you having a rough night again? this is the fourth time that you've come here this week."

"no, i'm not having a rough night. honestly, my night's going well. i just wanted to get some fresh air and i couldn't think of anywhere else to go. plus, it's not so bad getting to spend some time in nature." you shift your eyes to the floor, remembering that your character is supposed to be hiding her tears from junhui's character. "if you don't mind me asking, why do you come here so often?"

junhui sits on the table beside you, since the script calls for him to sit on the swing that's opposite yours.

"this might sound odd, but this is the only place where i can sit in silence. back home, there's always arguments breaking out between my parents, so it's never quiet. i used to put a pillow over my head at night to drown out their voices, but it doesn't work anymore. well, not like it used to when i was younger." junhui steals glances at you while delivering a great performance as kai.

your gaze falls on him, then your mind goes blank. all of the lines that you read a million times leaving your mind all at once, leaving you feeling like nothing more than a fool.

think, (y/n). what is the next line?

this is the very moment that you realize that you're going to have to do something that you never thought you'd do before in an audition: improvise.