Chapter 57

Chapter 57: The Way We Were Back Then

A little later, the changing-room door opened.

Min Jaeha stepped out wearing the historian's robes.

Nam Giheon's gaze naturally turned toward him.

Jaeha glanced at Giheon too.

But this time, neither spoke first.

A costume-department employee approached Jaeha.

"Could you raise your arms for me?"

"Sure."

Jaeha raised both arms.

The employee checked his shoulders and sleeves.

Jaeha studied his reflection in the mirror, then rotated his wrist.

"I think the sleeves are a little long."

"Are they very uncomfortable?"

"They're fine when I'm standing still, but I think they might get in the way when I run."

Jaeha immediately took several steps backward.

Then he leaned forward and moved quickly, as though he were actually running.

The ends of his sleeves covered the backs of his hands.

"I think shortening them just this much would be good."

The employee folded up the sleeves.

"To here?"

Jaeha tried moving again.

This time, he turned and took several steps in the opposite direction.

"Yes. That's better."

Geonwoo watched him.

Jaeha wasn't simply checking whether the clothes fit.

He took several steps, turned his body, and identified anything that might cause problems during filming.

Maybe it's because he has so much experience on set.

Jaeha checked the sleeves once more and nodded.

"I think this should be fine."

"Jaeha."

"Yes, Director?"

"Shall we also try the movement where you run while carrying the royal edict?"

"Sure."

Jaeha accepted a bundle of papers prepared by the costume department.

It wasn't the actual prop they would use during filming.

They had simply made it roughly the same size and weight.

Jaeha tucked the papers inside his clothes, then took them out again.

He moved several steps like that.

This time, he also gathered the hem of his robes with one hand.

"I think this would be better."

Geonwoo asked,

"Why?"

"If I hold it with both hands while running, I won't be able to react if someone suddenly grabs me."

Geonwoo nodded.

"Let's do it that way."

"All right."

Jaeha repeated the movement once more.

Giheon, who was watching from behind, said nothing.

However, his eyes followed Jaeha's every movement.

The fitting didn't take long.

Once they had identified everything that needed altering, a costume-department employee picked up a camera.

"Could we take a few pictures?"

"Of course."

Jaeha stood in the marked position.

They photographed him from the front, the side, and the back.

While the photographs were being taken, Geonwoo glanced at Giheon.

Ever since Geonwoo had asked him to wait, Giheon had remained there without saying much.

When Jaeha's photographs were finished, Geonwoo gestured to him.

"Giheon, could you come over for a moment?"

Giheon approached.

Jaeha looked at Geonwoo.

"Are you going to look at us together now?"

"Yes."

Geonwoo looked between them.

"You have scenes together. Seeing you separately and seeing you in the same frame are two different things."

Jaeha nodded.

Geonwoo continued.

"I also wanted to check how your costume colors work together and how the two of you look standing side by side. That's why I moved Jaeha's appointment forward."

"Oh, so that's why."

Jaeha glanced at Giheon.

"Shall we?"

Giheon moved into position.

"Sure."

Without another word, Giheon stood beside Jaeha.

Geonwoo stepped several paces away from them.

The two men gave off completely different impressions.

Yet putting them in the same frame somehow made each of them stand out even more.

Geonwoo checked the nearby monitor.

"Looks good."

The costume-department employee seemed to agree.

"The atmosphere changes completely when you two stand together."

Jaeha smiled.

"That's a compliment, right?"

"Of course."

"That's a relief."

Giheon checked the monitor too.

Geonwoo adjusted their positions slightly.

"Jaeha, could you move half a step inward?"

"Sure."

"Giheon, you can stay right there."

They took a photograph.

"This time, could you look at each other?"

At Geonwoo's request, Jaeha turned his head first.

Giheon slowly shifted his gaze too.

Their eyes met.

Geonwoo had expected another awkward silence, like when they first greeted each other earlier.

But things were different in front of the camera.

Jaeha adjusted his posture slightly.

Giheon naturally turned his body to match the movement.

Even though no one had told them exactly how far to move, their positions fell into place.

Click.

Geonwoo checked the monitor.

"Let's take one more."

The two remained where they were.

The shutter clicked again.

Geonwoo looked through the photographs one by one.

He didn't know what had happened between them in their private lives.

But at the very least, they didn't seem to have any problems when they were in the same frame.

"Good."

Geonwoo turned toward them.

"That should be enough."

Jaeha relaxed his shoulders.

Giheon took a step back.

"Good work."

"Good work."

Their greetings came almost at the same time.

Their eyes met briefly.

The corners of Jaeha's mouth moved as though he were about to smile, but he stopped himself.

Giheon didn't attempt to start a conversation either.

Geonwoo noticed but chose not to say anything.

Giheon went into the changing room first to change back into his own clothes.

Jaeha remained by the monitor, looking at the photographs.

Geonwoo approached him.

"Jaeha."

"Yes?"

Geonwoo studied him for a moment before asking,

"You and Giheon seemed a little awkward around each other earlier."

Jaeha flinched slightly, then gave a quiet laugh.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Yes."

"It's because we haven't seen each other in a long time."

Geonwoo nodded.

"What I really want to know is whether you'll be all right once filming begins."

This time, Jaeha answered immediately.

"That won't be a problem."

"Are you sure?"

Jaeha smiled at Geonwoo.

"Director, we're professionals. We would never do anything that could ruin a good film."

Geonwoo chuckled.

"Then I don't need to worry."

"Besides, I'm going to try to sort things out between us before filming starts."

"Understood."

Geonwoo didn't ask anything more.

A little later, the changing-room door opened.

Giheon stepped out in his own clothes.

This time, Jaeha headed toward the changing room to change.

The two passed each other in front of the door.

"Good work today."

Giheon spoke first.

Jaeha answered without stopping.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Jaeha continued into the changing room.

Giheon stared at the closed door for a moment.

A little while ago, they had taken photographs together.

It had been more than a decade.

"Hyung, shall we go?"

His manager's voice brought Giheon back to his senses.

"Yeah."

Giheon gave Geonwoo a brief farewell and left.

Even after getting into the car, he remained silent for quite some time.

While his manager started the engine, Giheon stared out the window.

Long time no see.

The words Jaeha had spoken first came back to him.

It had always been like that in the past.

Jaeha had always been the one to speak to him first.

It was the day Nam Giheon transferred to a new school.

The classroom was noisy when he first entered.

The homeroom teacher had him stand in front of the teacher's desk.

"This is Nam Giheon. He'll be joining our class starting today. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

Giheon bowed briefly.

He could feel eyes following him from every direction.

He went to the empty seat the teacher pointed out and sat down.

During the break, several students approached him.

Where had he come from?

Did he like soccer?

What games did he play?

Giheon answered their questions one by one.

When the bell rang, the students returned to their seats.

At lunchtime, Giheon carried his lunch tray around, looking for an empty seat.

That was when someone raised a hand.

"Hey, new guy!"

Giheon turned.

Min Jaeha was sitting among a group of friends.

"There's a seat here."

Jaeha moved the bag beside him onto the floor.

After hesitating briefly, Giheon walked over.

"Sit down."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

While eating, Jaeha asked,

"Do you play soccer?"

"A little."

"Then come play with us later."

"But I'm not very good."

Jaeha pointed to the friend sitting across from him.

"You can't be worse than that guy."

"Hey!"

The students around them burst into laughter.

Giheon laughed along with them.

Jaeha noticed and said,

"By the way, you're seriously good-looking. You're pretty popular, aren't you?"

Giheon shook his head.

"No. Not really."

"Maybe you're so handsome that girls find you intimidating."

That was how it began.

From that day onward, Jaeha kept calling Giheon over for no particular reason.

When they played soccer.

When they went to the school store.

Even after classes ended.

"Where's your house?"

"This way."

"Mine's in the same direction for part of the way. Let's walk together."

At first, they really did walk together only until the point where their paths separated.

A few days later, Jaeha accompanied him all the way home.

Before long, they were visiting each other's houses.

They hung out together after exams and naturally met on weekends too.

Jaeha was always surrounded by people.

Giheon also became a familiar face at school not long after transferring.

Even so, when the two were together, it was usually Jaeha's name that people called first.

Giheon didn't mind.

In fact, he found it comfortable.

"Giheon! Some of our classmates are going to karaoke today. You're coming too, right?"

"Is it okay if I come?"

"Of course!"

Thanks to Jaeha, Giheon quickly made friends.

Then, one day, something changed.

They were walking home from school.

Jaeha suddenly spoke.

"I'm starting acting classes next week."

Giheon tilted his head.

"Acting? All of a sudden?"

"Not exactly."

Jaeha adjusted the strap of his bag.

"Actually, I've wanted to become an actor since I was little."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Jaeha smiled and continued.

"Why? Don't you think it suits me?"

"No, it suits you perfectly. You have a way of drawing people toward you. You're handsome too."

Jaeha stopped walking.

Giheon looked at him.

"Why? Did I say something wrong?"

"No. How could giving me a compliment be wrong? I'm just surprised because it's the first time you've complimented me."

A smile spread across Jaeha's face.

Giheon continued,

"I guess I've been stingy with compliments. Anyway, have you always been interested in acting?"

"Yeah!"

As though he'd been waiting for someone to ask, Jaeha began talking excitedly.

His favorite movies.

Actors who had left a strong impression on him.

How he wanted to try acting in front of a camera himself.

And plenty of other things.

"I'm going to take classes and start auditioning."

"That's cool. It must be nice to have a dream."

Jaeha turned toward him.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Isn't there anything you want to do?"

Giheon thought for a moment.

Nothing in particular came to mind.

"I don't think I have anything yet."

"Well, you'll find something eventually."

Jaeha said it casually.

Then he went right back to talking about acting.

Which academy he would attend.

How many classes he would take each week.

How they would start by teaching him the basics.

Giheon listened as they walked together.

After that, Jaeha headed to the acting academy whenever school ended.

Naturally, the amount of time they spent walking home together decreased.

For the first few days, Giheon accompanied him as far as the road leading to the academy before they separated.

"I'm going. See you tomorrow."

Jaeha waved and ran toward the academy.

Giheon headed home alone.

That happened several times.

Then, one day, Giheon accompanied Jaeha to the academy as usual.

He raised a hand.

"I'm heading off."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Jaeha was just about to enter the building when a man came out.

Jaeha immediately bowed.

"Hello, sir."

"Oh, Jaeha. You're here?"

The acting instructor returned his greeting, then noticed Giheon.

He stopped just as he was about to walk past.

"Is he your friend?"

"Yes. We go to the same school."

Giheon bowed politely too.

"Hello."

"Hello."

The instructor studied Giheon again.

"Do you act too?"

Giheon's eyes widened slightly.

"No."

"Never tried it?"

"No, sir."

Jaeha spoke from beside him.

"He's not interested in acting."

"Really? That's a shame. He's got exactly the kind of face that would suit an actor."

The instructor continued looking at Giheon.

"You're tall and good-looking. You have the kind of face that makes people look twice, even when you're just passing by."

Jaeha immediately laughed.

"See? I told you you were handsome."

Giheon's face reddened with embarrassment.

The acting instructor continued,

"Are you busy today, by any chance?"

"Why do you ask?"

"If you've got some time, why don't you come in and look around the academy? Jaeha has a camera class today. It'll be fun."

Jaeha immediately turned toward Giheon.

"Want to come watch? You should see me act."

"Well... I guess I could."

At the time, Nam Giheon had no idea.

He couldn't have known that those few words would completely change his life.