Chapter 143: Rookie
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: Rookie
There was no alarm, but my body reacted first, and I woke up.
Was it because I’d been waking up at 8 a.m. every day?
Even though I had sweated so much yesterday, my eyes snapped open as if by magic.
Doah was beside me, letting out soft, quiet breaths.
Without a word, I reached out and brushed the hair away from her face.
I could feel the warmth of her body from where our thighs were pressed together.
I thought about getting up, but finding no reason to, I simply gazed at her face.
Her cheeks were as white as rice cakes.
Her lips, bare of any color, were a faint pink.
The real person behind Luka, the idol I adored so much, seemed to be a creature made of pure cuteness, even in reality.
I poked my girlfriend’s cheek, and Doah tried to turn her head away as if to say, stop it.
“Kim Doah.”
I whispered her name softly.
“Hey. Kim Doah.”
I knew how cute she was when she was still half-asleep, which only fueled my desire to tease her more.
“Stop it...”
She even answers in her sleep.
“Stop what?”
Ignoring her, I tickled the nape of her neck, and Doah let out a small giggle.
“Ah... I said stop...”
“Why?”
“It tickles...”
Alright. Now that I’ve had my fill of cuteness, time to go wash up.
I extended my arms to push myself up, but just as I did—
“Where are you going?”
The sleepy girl was gone, replaced by a Doah who was looking at me with surprisingly alert eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“So where are you going?”
“The bathroom.”
I answered with a slightly sheepish look, and she slowly sat up as well.
The blanket, the only thing covering our bodies, slipped away.
“Together.”
“...You want to go together?”
“Mhm.”
The sight of Doah’s fair skin made me gulp.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll go wash up first.”
Feeling bad for waking her, I told her to go back to sleep and headed into the bathroom.
I turned on the shower and was about to squeeze out some shampoo when a sound from behind made me turn around.
It was Doah, a single towel wrapped around her body, trying to come inside.
My mind went blank. I blinked slowly, as if asking what this was supposed to mean.
“I said let’s shower together. Why do you keep running away?”
The bathroom was quite cramped for two people.
We playfully washed each other.
Inside the small, humble space, a love as sweet as cotton candy, ready to melt at the slightest touch, had taken root.
*
“Will this be okay?”
I handed Doah a white t-shirt that was a little small for me.
She raised her arms, pulled the shirt on, and looked up at me as if asking how she looked.
“You look like a kid wearing her dad’s clothes.”
“I don’t like the dad part.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t marry your dad.”
Her slightly random reply was so adorable that I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
“You’re right. Let’s not call me dad, then.”
“Can you dry my hair?”
Having been to the salon a lot recently before filming, I found this situation amusing.
I’d never had to dry someone else’s hair before.
“Does it really take this long to dry a girl’s hair?”
“Right? It usually takes me about 20 minutes.”
“Wow... In 20 minutes, I can shower, brush my teeth, and dry my hair.”
Doah tilted her head up slightly to meet my eyes.
“Exactly. Do you have any idea how much effort I put in when I come to see you, Oppa?”
“It’s fine if you don’t wash your hair. I don’t mind.”
“No, how could I? You’re my boyfriend.”
Isn’t that why it should be fine?
If her excuse was not wanting to show me an unkempt side of herself, then I had plenty to say, too.
I already told you I’m a hardcore Pink Army fanboy. What’s the big deal?
Once her hair was mostly dry, it was my turn. Doah sat me down in a chair and dried my hair.
“That’s so unfair.”
“I’m telling you, this is average.”
“How does it take less than two minutes to dry?”
“In the army, I didn’t even dry it.”
Doah pouted as if she’d been wronged.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to sit next to her.
“You have filming today, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you practice well?”
If I had been busy, I probably would have just said yes and moved on.
But feeling a little soft, I shook my head.
“No. It’s not going well.”
“Really? Shouldn’t you be practicing right now, then?”
“I should.”
But right now, I wanted to stay like this with Doah, even if just for a little longer.
“Want me to watch? I can give you really great reactions.”
“But this time, there are a lot of angry scenes.”
“You don’t get angry very often, do you, Oppa?”
“Yeah. I think that’s why it’s harder. I’ve never yelled at anyone in anger, so I don’t really know how.”
How often does an ordinary university student have a reason to scream in a fit of rage?
Even if they did, I was pretty sure it would be nothing compared to the reasons Baek Gyeongho had in the drama.
“Hmm... Then I’ll try to make you angry.”
“How?”
“Can I see your hand?”
I gave her my left hand, which had been resting on the bed. She brought my index finger to her mouth.
“Chomp.”
A slight, tingling pain made me flinch, but that was it.
Still holding my finger in her mouth, Doah asked me, her words muffled.
“How’s this? Are you mad?”
It was so absurd that I burst out laughing.
“Yeah, I’m mad. So mad I feel like screaming.”
“Really? Then do it now!”
“Alright. Just a second.”
I closed my eyes and, with a very serious expression, moved closer and closer to Doah.
Feeling the pressure, she leaned back slightly.
I pressed my lips against hers. Doah let out a muffled sound and accepted the kiss.
I thought it was a pretty romantic mood, but for some reason, Doah looked utterly confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“That’s not... right...?”
“Huh...? What’s not?”
“There isn’t a kissing scene... is there...?”
No way. Did she really think what I just did was me acting angry?
My head shook from side to side as if it had a motor attached.
“No, no, no, no! That was just because I thought you were cute! There’s no love story this time.”
“...Really?”
Doah looked at me doubtfully.
Seriously, why would she even suspect that?
“Hey. This character is such a jerk, it’d be weirder if he had a girlfriend.”
“But he’s the son of a rich family, right? Couldn’t he have a gorgeous, bombshell girlfriend?”
“That’s true, but I don’t know. For now, the script says he doesn’t.”
Worried she might ask for evidence, I hurriedly pulled the script out of my bag.
“Feel free to check for yourself.”
“Hmm...”
Whether she was checking or just curious, Doah flipped through my script.
“This is cool.”
“I thought so too, at first.”
“It’s so thick. How long will it take to film all this?”
“Tell me about it.”
As the conversation shifted to work, the tension I had slowly forgotten began to creep back in.
“Ah! I need to practice now!”
I felt like if I kept lazing around, I’d forget the lines I’d memorized.
“Okay. I have to go deal with some things for my solo concert, so I’m heading out to work too.”
Doah started putting her sweatpants back on.
She glanced down at my t-shirt she was wearing, then turned her head toward me.
“Is it okay if I just wear this home?”
“Oh, sure. You can have it.”
It’s just a plain white tee, after all.
“If you say that, I’m really not giving it back.”
“Really, it’s fine. You can keep it.”
Doah zipped up her hoodie and stopped at the front door.
“Hug.”
She opened her arms as she gave the command.
I opened my arms too and pulled her in.
“Kiss.”
We were like two robots following a set of commands.
Doah burst into laughter and slipped on her shoes without bothering to pull up the heels.
“Do well. Fighting!”
“Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
I waved her off. As soon as the door closed, I took a deep breath.
“Phew... Now I really have to get to it.”
I only had three hours left.
Today’s shoot was indoors, not outdoors.
It was a scene where the entire chaebol family gathered for a meal.
One thing that surprised me was that we were allowed to actually eat the food to make the scene feel more realistic.
What was even more surprising was how good the food tasted.
Some of the actors were people I’d worked with before, but there were also new faces.
One of them was Choi Mikyung, the actress playing the mother of my character, Baek Gyeongho.
“Gyeongho, how could you not call your own mother even once?”
“Mom, I’m not a child. Calling you once a month is enough.”
“If you’re not a child, then why don’t you buy your own house and car with your own money?”
“Hey! Why are you being like this again? Last time, I also gave you the Taesung Diplay— Ah, I’m sorry.”
Display! Display! Shit!
I never messed it up during practice, so why now?
I bowed my head and was about to quickly ask for another take when—
“Mr. Han Taemin.”
The voice of actress Mikyung, who was sitting across from me, was laced with irritation.
“You’re a rookie. Can’t you even be bothered to memorize your lines properly?”