Inevitable rain

1

It was rare for them to work with the same person over and over again in this industry. It was fate that the coincidence came to them. They were instantly attracted to each other and fell in love.
They could share a laugh together and had an understanding of what they were both passionate about.
When she was reading the script, he tried not to interfere with it and sometimes gave her advice about acting.
As he ramped up his training for the role, she incorporated muscle-healthy menus into his daily diet.
She knew he was usually quiet and full of humor.
He knew the sensitive side of her, always smiling, that haunted her as she got too much into the role.
When she was acting, she was comfortable with touching, kissing and even numerous love scenes, but when she was away from acting, she actually had a shy side to her.
He appeared to be shy, but he had a straightforward side to his love, both in word and deed.
They delighted in sharing a side of each other that they didn't want to reveal to each other, just the two of them. It was only because of their position that they did not like to make it public. They were not able to love freely outside the country, let alone at home.

So they chose to separate.
The world would only speculate about their relationship because they didn't know about it in the first place.
Although they chose to separate, their fondness for each other had not disappeared. They just couldn't be together anymore because of their mutual future.
He wanted to respect her passion for her work.
She wanted to respect his desire to have a family.

If they didn't work together, they wouldn't meet by chance. If they didn't keep in touch, the only way they knew about each other was through gossip news.

The only thing left of their last collaboration was one award.

It was decided beforehand that their coordination was to be a pair of looks, and they had no objection to that. Fortunately, they were required to keep a reasonable distance from each other to prevent infection, so their unnatural behavior wasn't discussed much.

'...Long time no see.How are you?'
'...Yes. You seem to be doing well, too.'
She leans in slightly and asks him, but he answers without looking at her.
She lowers her eyebrows slightly.

'Don't... be such a stranger.'
'Really? I'm the same as I've always been.'

He didn't change his expression, and she sighed deeply.

'...Have you grown to hate me that much?'

"Don't be ridiculous!"
He resisted the urge to scream.
He bit his lower lip, his hands on his knees straining, but she didn't notice it.

'Let's just be good friends, even if it's just for the awards.'

Her suggestion was just as cruel to him as it was to her. But they were actors, and he muttered to himself that he would be able to play them off.

'Yes. We can make it look that way.'

'Thank you.'

------------------------------------------

I was fine during the awards. They were focused on the show. The fact that he was looking at her could be disguised as a stage gesture. She was smiling. He smiled at that, too.

It was during the awards break that things started to happen. It was her former co-star who approached her.
'How are you?'
'Wow! It's been a long time.'
'You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen today.'
'Thank you. You look great too.'

He was sure that his co-star must have taken a liking to her. 'I'm sure I look terrible right now,' he thought, and tried not to look at them.

'Hey, do you have a mirror?'
'I do.'
'Can I borrow it?'
'I'd love to. But you don't even have to look in the mirror.'
'Huh?'
'You're beautiful.'
'It's flattering. Thank you.'

He became increasingly irritated and his feet pounded on the floor.

'Have you thought about what you said the other day?'
'...yeah.'

"The other day? What did they talk about?"

'I'd love to hear from you sometime.'
'Well, uh...'
'...I'll wait.'

Her co-star didn't hear her answer, but smiled and walked away.

'...Did he confess to you?'

He asked her, pretending not to be interested.

'It's no big deal.'
'...Heh. You're the one who's been cold to me.'
'I don't think it's any of your business.'
'Do you go out with him?'

She was about to say something when the signal to resume the awards interrupted their conversation.

He was curious about her answer as they accepted the award together, as they took a picture, and for a long time afterwards. He was looking for the right moment to speak with her again, but they left the venue without speaking together.
Normally she would have had a drink with the staff after the awards, but that too was cancelled due to infection control.

She went home and took off her dress on the couch. She hadn't seen him in a long time and she had so much to talk about, but she couldn't tell him anything. Not only that, he acted like a stranger and the distance between them only opened up. She thought about apologizing via text message, but she hesitated, feeling like she would piss him off even more. Fiddling with her smartphone in her hands, she plopped down on the couch.
Even if they weren't as close friends as they used to be, she wanted to be able to smile at each other.
"He doesn't even want to talk to me anymore, does he? I think we had a mature and smart breakup, but would he now hate me?"
Her sigh was sucked into the ceiling.

Just then, the doorbell rang, signaling someone's visit.