The Unexpected Kiss

Late night, at a certain sidewalk near the Han River.

It was nearing the end of summer vacation. The filming for [Runaway Kids] was wrapping up, and everyone was working late hours to finish it quickly.

Yeo Ri was currently in the middle of her last scene; The characters 'Taek' and 'Eun Young' were having a heart-to-heart talk after she stormed away from the group during an argument, and 'Taek' was supposed to confess his feelings for 'Eun Young' only to be mercilessly rejected. The little runaway trip had drained her, and his confession pushed her over the edge instead of pleasing her.

It was cold, and Yeo Ri did not even have to pretend to look exhausted. They'd been filming since evening, and before that she had attended an interview for the other film she was starring in.

The whole production crew was around, and the cast members who had long finished their scenes were also in attendance to commemorate the end of filming. The spectators watched with bated breaths as the final scene was set: a cold and windy night, two friends sit on the edge of a flight of stairs, basking in the quiet atmosphere of the night, not knowing of what the future entailed.

"'Eun Young-ah, are you cold?'" Park Jung Ho sniffed as he inched closer to Yeo Ri. The night air was extremely cold despite the season, and the atmosphere was suitable for... bonding.

The girl shot him a dirty look, "'What?'"

"'No, well, the night is so cold... here, why don't you wear my jacket?'" Park Jung Ho readily took off his jacket and tried to drape it over her, but the girl stubbornly shrugged him off.

"'The hell are you doing? Stop it! Go away, you little—'"

"'Alright! Alright, alright, alright!'" Park Jung Ho cried, raising his arms in surrender as though the cattish girl had scared him with her aggressive behaviour.

Yeo Ri measured him up and down, her body language saying, "That's right; that's what I thought."

The two sat in silence.

Park Jung Ho leaned back, taking a deep breath of the chilly night air.

"'You know, he's not that bad. Ji Soo, I mean. He's a really great guy—'" Yeo Ri rolled her eyes, mouthing his words quietly in mockery, "'—even though he's a little rough around the edges, he has a good heart. I mean, I know it takes a lot to be friends with someone like us—uh, I mean me—right? Haha.'"

Silence.

"'Whatever.'" Yeo Ri harrumphed.

"'Let's all get along, yeah?'"

"'I don't wanna. He's such a snob!'"

"'Aw, c'mon, Eun Young-ah. Try to be nice, okay?'"

Yeo Ri pouted, but after a long, agonising thought, she nodded, "'Fine. But don't think we're gonna be besties or whatever.'" In the end, they were in this together, and they had no one to rely on except each other. She couldn't afford to be picky with her company anymore.

"'Well, as long as you don't fight too much,'" he said. "'But don't fall for him either,'" he added quietly.

"'What?'"

"'Hm?'"

"'You said something, didn't you?'" Yeo Ri regarded him suspiciously.

"'Me? I did? Must be the wind. Huh.'" Park Jung Ho straightened his back, looking around and feigning oblivion.

Yeo Ri narrowed her eyes, but did not pursue the topic.

More silence ensued.

"'Hey, I like you,'" Park Jung Ho stated, out of the blue.

"'Shut your mouth,'" Yeo Ri dismissed him just as quickly.

"'Okay. Sorry.'"

"Cut!" The director announced. He smiled, as though in relief. "Good work—"

Just before they could break into a cheer for the completion of the filming, Park Jung Ho suddenly raised his hand. "Sorry, Director, but can we shoot the scene again?"

"Why? Were you unsatisfied with it?" The director asked quizzically. It had been their fifth take, and he was sufficiently satisfied with the way the actors delivered the punchline.

"Well, I think I wanna try a different way of delivering the last part. Can we?" Park Jung Ho answered cryptically. An idea had just popped in his mind, and he believed that it would become a great hit if he managed to execute it well. But to do that, he needed the surprise factor...

The director looked at him, then at Yeo Ri, "Well, if Miss Yeo Ri is fine with it, then why not?"

Yeo Ri rubbed her cold, reddened cheeks and nodded. "I don't mind."

"Okay, there you go. One last shot, shall we? Places—!"

The assistants rushed to fix what they could, and after making sure that everything was perfect, the director finally gave his orders.

"Alright, we'll start from the top. Action—" An assistant clapped the slate at his signal.

Park Jung Ho began repeating his lines, "'Eun Young-ah, are you cold?'"

Yeo Ri, tired as she was, supported him with her perfect acting. Work was work, though she was slightly bitter that they had to redo a perfectly good take. What more could be added? They already did so well. Nevertheless, she wouldn't butcher the take just because she had to work overtime.

"'What?'"

"'No, well, the night is so cold... here, why don't you wear my jacket?'"

"'The hell are you doing? Stop it! Go away, you little—'"

"'Alright! Alright, alright, alright!'"

"..."

"..."

"'You know, he's not that bad. Ji Soo, I mean. He's a really great guy. Even though he's a little rough around the edges, he has a good heart. I mean, I know it takes a lot to be friends with someone like us—uh, I mean me—right? Haha.'"

"..."

"..."

"'Whatever.'"

"'Let's all get along, yeah?'"

"'I don't wanna. He's such a snob!'"

"'Aw, c'mon, Eun Young-ah. Try to be nice, okay?'"

"'...Fine. But don't think we're gonna be besties or whatever.'"

"'Well, as long as you don't fight too much,'" he said. "'and don't fall for him either,'" he added quietly.

"'What?'"

"'Hm?'"

"'You said something, didn't you?'"

"'Me? I did? Must be the wind. Huh.'"

"..."

"..."

"'Hey," Park Jung Ho turned to look at Yeo Ri, and instead of continuing with the script, he suddenly leaned forward and pecked Yeo Ri on the lips.

"""—!"""

Yeo Ri was shocked, and without thinking, her body moved—

Thwack!

A resounding slap landed on his cheek. A clear, red handprint formed, causing his cheek to swell. Yeo Ri had slapped her co-star so hard that he fell from the steps he was sitting on.

—It was Park Jung Ho's turn to be shocked. His eyes widened in disbelief at the sudden shot of pain. No one, not even Gun, had expected Yeo Ri to react so violently.

Gasps could be heard from the crowd, and the whole set was stunned into silence. Even Gun, who looked about ready to barge into the scene and beat the guy up, stopped in his tracks. Won's expression was tense, looking halfway between awkwardly cringing and sympathy.

However, the show must go on.

He quickly recovered and continued with his act, "I like you—I mean, I'm sorry, Eun Young-ah..."

Yeo Ri was originally about to get angry, but realising that he was acting—no, adlib-ing—Yeo Ri cooled down and rode the waves of his impromptu performance. Work was work, and it was only professional for her to push away her personal feelings. It was not the time to b*tch about things. In any case, she didn't really have a problem with kissing—just, the suddenness threw her off. Nobody liked nonconsensual intimacy, after all.

Yeo Ri convince herself to ignore the disgust crawling inside her. The cameras were still rolling, and she had to do her best to salvage the scene.

She touched the place where he had kissed her, "Motherf—oi, I'll sue you for sexual harrassment," she threatened.

"Pfft—" The crowd, realising what just happened, finally relaxed. They struggled to hold their laughter at Eun Young's cold rejection to Taek's sudden public display of affection.

"Yes!" Park Jung Ho appeared to reflect his actions as he quickly got on his knees and bowed deeply. "My sincerest apologies, milady!"

"Cut!" The director burst into laughter after understanding the direction Park Jung Ho wanted to bring to the table. "Someone get him an icepack!" he said, noticing the swelling on the actor's cheek. "Hey, are you two okay?"

"Yes!"

"I'm so sorry!" Yeo Ri anxiously apologised. Her reflexes had kicked in so suddenly that she didn't even have time to process the situation. She should have realised that it was what he was going for when he asked for another take.

"No, no. I'm the one who should be sorry; I should've told you about what I was going to do," he reflected, "but I just had to get that candid response, so I'm sorry, Yeo Ri-ah. That's right—Director, did we get the shot?"

The director moved towards the screen and played back the recording. Despite the initial shock, the scene came out well. With some editing in post-production, the scene would certainly become one of the highlights in the movie. He could almost see how the viewers would laugh at the sudden comedic scene. It suited the flow of the story, and in his mind, he was already planning a few minor edits to follow-up with the adlib. Luckily, they had plenty of footage where Eun Young was excessively angry with Taek to insert the adlib into the story.

"Well done, Jung Ho-ya! The impact was certainly better than before. I think we should keep the scene," the director clapped his hands. "Are you guys up for doing it again? I need some different angles of that."

""Yes˜""

And so, after they somehow managed to cover up the palm print on Park Jung Ho's cheek, the team rerecorded the scene several more times before truly celebrating the end of filming.