Changes in Relationships (8)
Lee Min-woo couldn't say a word for a long while. I'd thought the answer would come right away, but he pondered far longer than expected.
With a stiff expression, he stared at Lee Seol, then finally opened his mouth.
"There's... nothing I can say to you right now."
From the moment I saw his face, I'd known that was the answer.
Still, hearing it aloud made my heart pound like a hammer, just once.
Lee Seol barely managed to move her lips.
"...Why? Because Seo Jae-hyun likes me?"
"Yeah. That's part of it..."
Lee Min-woo trailed off.
Instead, he frustratingly ran a hand through his hair, roughly sweeping it back and tousling it.
The sight felt unfamiliar. He was always so calm, unshaken by most things.
"I'm getting along well with Hana."
"...Ah."
Just that single syllable slipped out, idiotic and hollow.
Lee Seol gazed up at him, her face blank.
"Are you dating?"
"No, not exactly."
Not dating. For a fleeting instant—a truly brief one—a faint spark of hope flickered... only for it to strangle itself away. What does that even mean?
In a trembling voice, Lee Seol asked,
"Then... is that reason enough to make that face?"
Only after the words left her mouth did she realize it. This wasn't seeking confirmation; it was desperate clinging. A question blurted out to grasp at any remaining corner before hearing it was truly over.
But Lee Min-woo didn't leave even that final crack.
"I've said this much... and you still don't get it?"
It was uncharacteristically cold coming from Lee Min-woo. That's why it cut even clearer.
No beating around the bush, no desire to leave any room.
Just... he doesn't like me.
The thought flashed through, and the emotions she'd been desperately holding back came crashing down. Her eyes burned hot, tears welling up in an instant. She could feel her vision blurring.
Lee Seol bowed her head quickly, desperate not to let it show.
In a choked voice, she barely forced out,
"...I get it."
Why had Lee Seol confessed to me?
On the way home from the library, my mind flooded with strangely unrelated thoughts.
All those odd behaviors from Lee Seol up until now. The moments she'd trail off mid-sentence and avert her eyes, or stammer badly whenever I got too close.
All that weirdness... because she liked me?
I'd never once considered it that way. Or more accurately, I'd avoided thinking about it.
Sure, we'd gotten close, but that was because I'd assumed she'd end up with Seo Jae-hyun anyway. I was just being a good friend. Like Ji Hyun-soo's position in the group.
Easy banter, help when needed, but nothing that could spark weird misunderstandings.
That's how I'd seen it, for sure.
"...This is driving me crazy."
My quiet mutter dispersed powerlessly into the empty room.
I was sitting at my desk, but the workbook lay open untouched, not a single word registering.
I gripped the pen but stayed still for ages, finally pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose.
Was this just a passing phase?
One of those stages where Lee Seol wavers briefly before snapping back to normal.
It could be.
Things might look different now, but they'd circle back to the start. I'd overhype it now, only to realize later it was just a fleeting moment—like my kindergarten days.
Lee Seol's face during the confession.
She'd tried to play it cool, but her voice had trembled in the end. Her eyes had looked too earnest to brush off casually.
"Haa..."
My head was a mess, but there was no one I could grab and ask.
In the end, there was only one way to steady my mind. I picked up the script pushed to one corner of the desk.
The familiar texture of the paper in my hand quieted my thoughts almost magically. The scattered focus that had ignored the workbook snapped into place line by line the moment it hit the script.
I flipped through the pages. The character's emotional arc, the scene's atmosphere, the rhythm of the lines.
Sentences that had been mere text sprang to life as vivid scenes in my mind.
The thoughts that had cluttered my head moments ago vanished like a lie.
"Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm rookie actor Lee Min-woo."
The conference room door opened, and Lee Min-woo stepped inside.
"Whoa."
"Hmm..."
The inevitable gasps of admiration upon seeing him in person.
He even looked a bit better than in the videos.
Made sense—he'd probably started proper management after joining an agency.
Kim Sang-tae greeted him first.
"Nice to meet you."
His tone was as always: detached and straightforward.
"It's an honor to meet you."
Lee Min-woo bowed his head promptly in response.
At the meeting were the casting director, director Kim Sang-tae, and writer Kim Mi-sook, who'd had her eye on Lee Min-woo from the start.
Kim Mi-sook spoke first, smiling.
"What did you think of the scenario?"
After a brief pause, Lee Min-woo's calm response flowed out.
"The setup of a high schooler raising a child might seem sensational, but I thought the ordinary parts within it were more important. That's why I wanted to dig deeper. The moments of quietly enduring felt sadder than the breakdowns or tears."
"Wow... We could just roll with that as is."
The casting director chimed in lightly, trying to ease the mood.
Sensing it, Kim Mi-sook added,
"You've been getting a lot of casting calls lately, right?"
"Ah... Yes, a few."
"Hmm, everyone knows. But you chose our project—that's what matters."
"I really like Director Kim Sang-tae's work too."
"That's the right answer."
The casting director laughed.
Director Kim Sang-tae took a sip from his water glass without changing expression, while Kim Mi-sook tossed in casually from the side,
"Director Kim Sang-tae's name carries serious weight."
Then Kim Mi-sook quietly observed Lee Min-woo. She didn't have direct ties to the people from his debut project, but she'd heard stories secondhand.
They said his eyes changed completely once he started acting... Up until now, he was just a polite, handsome rookie, but the moment the camera rolled and lines hit his lips, he transformed.
Of course, rumors were just rumors. She preferred to see it herself.
At that moment, Director Kim Sang-tae flipped through the script on the table.
"Alright then."
He spoke plainly.
"Let's take a quick look."
The casting director slid a copy of the script toward Lee Min-woo.
True to someone who'd already read it, Lee Min-woo's hand moved straight to the relevant section without hesitation.
Director Kim Sang-tae pointed to a scene.
"This part."
It was the moment where the protagonist—a mere high schooler—sat facing his visiting mother-in-law, his sick wife laid up in the next room.
Not an explosive emotional scene, which made it trickier. These subtle moments revealed an actor's skill better than overt tears or rage.
"Not crying out in injustice or collapsing like the world's ending. It's tough, sure, but past that stage. Like enduring has become habit."
Not a formal audition, so he gave simple direction without hesitation.
"Got it."
Lee Min-woo remained polite and composed.
But as he lifted the script again, subtle shifts caught the eye.
The angle of his straightened back. The speed of his gaze dropping. The tension easing from his lips.
Hard to explain. Some might just call it adjusting his posture.
But those tiny differences were enough for everyone in the room to notice.
Kim Mi-sook's eyes narrowed.
He'd definitely read the script thoroughly—enough to prepare like that on the spot. Otherwise, how?
Suddenly, the secondhand rumors started feeling real. His eyes change when he acts.
"If Hyun-woo's here beside me... somehow the day gets by. Just get through today. Just one day. Then it becomes tomorrow... and the day after."
As Lee Min-woo continued the lines, her gaze deepened.
The shape of his mouth after delivering dialogue, the tiny habits. Those subtle cues in between?
That specific behavior... it felt familiar.
This role. The same character later in time, played by actor Jeong Ji-won. It incorporated her habits.
Traces of pondering how the character would speak, endure, and retain unconscious habits after growing up.
And now, it flowed naturally into Lee Min-woo's performance.
Had he studied it?
Kim Mi-sook felt chills.
Research was possible. Acting classes might have guided him that way.
But the seamlessness of it all. The precision you wouldn't notice without intent...
Eighteen years old... really?
For a moment, she genuinely wondered.
Most rookies focus on nailing their own scenes. Nothing wrong with that—concentrating on given lines and emotions was solid.
But Lee Min-woo wasn't just doing his part. He acted like someone who'd traced back from the future adult version of the character.
As if the fully grown man had slipped into a young body.
Lee Min-woo finished the lines.
Then he slowly raised his head.
"...That's as far as I went."
Back to the neat, polite rookie actor Lee Min-woo.
The casting director spoke first, impressed.
"Whoa... that's good."
While Director Kim Sang-tae silently watched, Kim Mi-sook couldn't hold back and asked,
"Min-woo."
"Yes."
"Did you... watch Jeong Ji-won's performance too?"
"Yes. I thought it'd be great if it felt like the same character grown over time..."
"That's exactly the intent we felt."
She said it openly, unable to hide her sincerity.
"Impressive."
Only then did Director Kim Sang-tae speak.
"...So that's how you approached it."
"Yes. If it's off-direction, just let me know."
Director Kim Sang-tae shook his head.
"Now I get why you wanted this role. A student, but a father too. Young, yet like someone who's endured too much already."
His face still impassive, Director Kim Sang-tae continued.
"I saw it just now... that endurance."
He saw it. The highest praise before shooting even began.
Lee Min-woo smiled faintly, not getting carried away.
"Thank you."
As Kim Sang-tae set down his glass, he added,
"Looks matter, but not for this role... You've got that enduring expression."
After a pause, Director Kim Sang-tae looked straight at Lee Min-woo.
"See you at the script reading. Already looking forward to it."
Kim Mi-sook chimed in with a light smile.
"Don't pressure him."
"This... pressure? You're babying him already?"