What Are We Called?

Provoke

Mina's POV

Hansol touched my cheek and started moving his face forward for a kiss. I took a deep breath. I just have to do it like I practiced.

The more Hansol inched closer, the more my body trembled in nervousness. As he was about to completely close the gap between us, I panickingly stepped back and pulled away from his arms.

"I'm sorry. I just, can't..."

"You should get used to it as early as now and you know that." She took a deep breath and continued. "Everyone, take a five minute break for the meantime."

Still shaking, I hurried to the backstage and took the nearest seat I could find. Hansol came in and sat beside me, lightly patting my back.

"Is it gonna be your first time? Is it why you're nervous?"

My first time? Jesus christ. If only I can tell him that my first kiss was already stolen for about three times by one single smol girl...

"Maybe it's because we're still not that comfortable with each other."

"Mina?" Someone called me out. It was Chaeyoung. She walked over to me and lowered herself.

"Leave us for a while," she told Hansol, which the latter followed.

"I saw what happened out there."

"That was lame."

"You were so good at it when we tried it. Tell me what's the problem earlier."

"I-I don't know either..." I said. Chaeyoung held my hand tight and rubbed her thumb at the back of it.

"Still shaking, huh. Are you afraid? You told me you hate kisses but you're fine with me though."

It's true that I hate kisses. Not that I'm salty about romance, but because of my dark past that I can't tell anyone. Not even her. I was like that until she came into my life and claimed my lips over and over again. She changed my idea of kisses. I've come to love it because of her.

"Okay, have it this way. When you go out there, everytime you'll be in a kissing scene with him, think of him as me,"  she suggested.

"Are you serious? How can I even--?"

"That's the best solution I can come up with. It's either you do it or get replaced," Chaeyoung glanced at her watch before looking back at me. "Five minutes is over."

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Actors get ready. We'll start Act 3 again." I stood up from my seat and arranged myself before going back onstage.

"But I'm not ready yet! Kissing is not as easy as you think--" Chaeyoung cut off my complaining by giving me a quick peck on the lips. She then smiled widely at me.

"That's a warm up. Now go out there and do as we practiced, okay?" She ran out of the backstage to the audience's seats before I could even respond. This kid, really.

I went back onstage and played my character as Juliet. Turns out she was right with her suggestion as when the kissing part came up, it went by smoothly. It wasn't really hard to imagine that Hansol is Chaeyoung because she's already filling my mind. Somehow, my distraction became useful this time.

"Your kissing instructor's pretty good at teaching you, huh," Hansol said as he leaned on the wall that separates the stage and the backstage.

"Kissing instructor?" I asked.

A corner of his mouth curved upwards, forming a mysterious smile that left me wondering. He shook his head before glancing back at me and shifted his weight on his other foot.