From that day on, I came to the practice room a little early every day.
To be exact, I was trying to arrive a little earlier than that kid.
When I arrived, the desk was always neat, the script was spread out, and the heater was running warmly.
So, in the end, I always ended up making sure that the kid came before me.
“Senior, you’re late today.”
That kid always says that.
Even though I wasn't late, if you arrive first, I'll be late.
“What time are you coming, anyway?”
“Just… come early if you have time.”
He always said it as if it were a given.
But I kept thinking that maybe I was the reason for that ‘free time’.
I wondered if I was the only one who thought that, so I kept my mouth shut and just read the script.
But I couldn't really focus on the script.
I kept getting worried.
My lines neatly laid out on the desk, Dongmin's notes next to them,
And the cup of warm water that the child brought.
Somehow, I've been getting used to those things lately.
At practice that day, he was my opponent.
The scene is a heated one with a fight going on, but from the beginning, they were difficult to relate to.
That kid is always quiet and reserved.
But something was strange that day. Dongmin's gaze seemed more determined than before, and somehow, more passionate.
“Don’t avoid my eyes.”
It wasn't in the script. For a moment, I forgot my lines, and silence fell.
Everyone looked at Dongmin.
He looked down at the script, then looked straight at me again.
“Senior. You keep avoiding eye contact, so I can’t feel anything.”
Everyone became quiet.
What he said wasn't wrong. It's just that no one ever spoke that way.
I said with a snicker.
“You talk a lot these days.”
The child just lowered his gaze slightly.
“Is that so? But… Senior, it wasn’t like this before.”
“…When?”
“Last winter. When I was speaking from the fourth spot of the lighting.”
That show again.
That scene again.
Of all things, it was a stage I wanted to forget.
The kid kept bringing up that scene.
I couldn't say anything.
Dongmin seemed like he was going to say something more, but he just quietly handed over the script.
After practice, I followed him out.
After finishing organizing the props as usual, I am drawing water next to the water purifier.
It was a scene I saw every time, but for some reason it felt unfamiliar that day.
The small, quiet back felt strangely unfamiliar and distant.
"hey."
The child raised his head.
“…Why do you remember that scene so much?”
I ended up asking.
I wanted to ask cautiously, perhaps as if it were nothing, but my voice was a little trembling.
I wasn't emotional, but I felt strangely nervous.
“I keep thinking about you being there that day.”
Han Dong-min stood still, holding the cup.
After a while he spoke quietly.
“At that time, my senior cried on stage.”
"…that-"
“Even after it was over, I was left alone and cried.”
I was out of breath.
That day, backstage, under the empty lights, I folded my script and cried alone.
I thought there was no one there.
I thought that night was just over.
“After seeing it that day… I strangely felt like I wanted to try acting.”
The child said that, put down the cup, and walked out into the hallway.
I stood still.
I can't even get water, and I can't even answer.
At the end of the hallway, in front of the door, the child turned around.
"senior."
“…”
“When I act, it’s not just practice.”
The words just fell out.
It was short and concise, but it resonated somewhere.
Words that hit me exactly where I didn't want to hear them.
And without a word, the light at the end of the hallway went out.