foreign space - poetry&prose

seulrene ○ man in a movie

the problem, i deduce, is that joohyun speaks like an artist and i speak like a writer.

her words, although effective, splash too hard and too fast for anyone to understand that even the scriptwriter does not know which page we are on. i barely catch up on her words, and when it is my turn to speak, i do the way i speak my lines normally.

maybe all the reaction acting has slowed down my speech, but i paint my words (how ironic) carefully, slowly to her, emphasizing on the right points and making sure the killing parts get the audience. i speak slowly, making all the words on a page clear. writing in thoughts and feelings (that are fake, of course).

our paces do not quite match, but mr. kim is not complaining, so i continue on.

"there's so much that you don't know, eunjeong."

"really now? and you know so much. i thought we weren't going to keep secrets from each other anymore-"  joohyun spits. i catch up on the pace and quicken my words a bit. we can do it over anyway.

"you wouldn't understand!" i shout at her, and she visibly shrinks a little. "there are a thousand of elites out there. people who look up to me. i can't just- i can't just go out in front of my parents and tell them about the operation- and you-"

she hugs me and i stiffen, reminding myself that gyeonghui would do so in such a situation, self-text analysis kicking in. "you can do it, hui-ah," she whispers, a little too softly. like i said, a painter in her element, completely immersed in the situation.

i pull back when-

"cut everyone!" mr. kim shouts. we immediately stop the scene, looking at him. joohyun groans and i laugh.

"it was the kiss scene! why do you do this everyday!" she complains.

i stifle my laughter. "uh, she's been waiting for this for a long time."

"yes, it must be an honour, miss bae, but we need to correct that scene first. everyone take five. seulgi-ah, can you work out on the, well-" he waves around, and i simply nod. heechul isn't exactly the most expressive person.

"sure thing, oppa." i raise an ok sign and he lets out a breath. "joohyun unnie, come on."

"treat me to dinner later," she chirps, and i roll my eyes. "that's my line."

"exactly! it's a date!"

my eyes widen. "wh- what are you talking about?"

she just laughs. "you're so adorable when you're confused. that's my line after yours. scene 2?"

a visual image of the script pops up into my head. "oh," i say, a little disappointed. she shakes her head, teasing me for forgetting.

we walk off set, discussing the lines quietly. these moments are my favorite: her voice is soft and silent and pretty, and i'm able to pick out every little detail on her face.

she says something about analysing our lines separately and discussing about it later, so we move into different chairs and i focus on my script.

the space is only filled with my constant muttering, which is weird because i've never heard joohyun do it quietly before.

i look up and there she is, her eyes on me, the corners of her mouth turning up. she lights up in an instant (everything she does is pretty, so i'm not really complaining of she might have been staring at me).

then we settle into comfortable silence, just staring at each other that i almost think it's a competition, until her right eyebrow raises up and i look away, heat rushing to my cheeks.

(kang seulgi, known child actress falling for rookie star bae joohyun? something is wrong with me.)

"maybe," she says suddenly, "i'll actually treat you to dinner after work."

i attempt to laugh it off, but an embarrassed smile is all i muster. "i think i'd like that. very much."

"it's a date," she mentions casually, and goes back to her script.

(do writers have a thing for artists?)

- something kinda crazy

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wow can you believe this was the first / second draft in this book im ashamed

comment your opinions on anything constructive criticism is my shit

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