Healer - Ep. 13 (Behind the Scenes)

He cursed himself while he rushed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. For the first time in his life, he’s late for the shooting and numerous concerned messages have been left on his phone. Stress with work has taken its toll and he decided to have a few drinks with his friends last night. They ended up drinking until the wee hours in the morning, and as a result, got his mom worried.

“Are you not going to eat first?” she asked when he dashed to the door.

“Sorry Mom, I’m late already. If I’m not going to get there real quick, they might send an army here.” He said hurriedly while putting on his shoes. “I’m sorry for last night.”

“Early morning young man, very early”, his mom corrected. He smiled ruefully and made his leave.

When he got into the set, everybody was looking at him with concern. It’s rare for him to be late with his commitments, and judging by their looks, Bang Chi Gu did not tell them the exact reason why he’s awfully late. He breathed out a sigh of relief, and scanned the room for Min Young but he couldn’t find her. He was about to ask her assistant when she came into view. He smiled broadly upon seeing her, but then he wet his lips nervously when he saw her expression. She knew.

He tried to think hard for excuses, but none came to mind.

She did not utter a word to him that morning, except when they were rehearsing and taking their actual scenes. He could not take it anymore, and after PD-nim shouted "cut" after taking a scene, decided to break the ice.

“You’re not talking to me." He said, stating the obvious.

She looked at him innocently, as if he didn’t say anything.

“Is it because I drank?” She looked pointedly at the corner of the room. The crew was preparing for the next take, and they were on a standby.

“Come on…let it slide.” He pleaded. He doesn’t even know why he felt this guilty.

“No!” She said sternly, her voice soft so as the staff would not hear what they’re talking about.

“Shall I go home then?”

Min Young hid her smile as she turned away from him. Let him suffer, she thought, drinking when he has work to do the following day. Ha! Serves him right!

They both managed to finish their scenes without a hitch, being professional as they are, but the staff knew there’s something going on between them.

“Will you please leave us for a moment?” Without waiting for her assistant’s reply, Chang Wook steered Min Young towards the empty room and closed it with a definite snap.

“Hey, what are you doing?!” She protested and tried to get away from his grasp. “If you don’t want people talking about us, you better let me out!”

He locked the door and leaned against it, his hands akimbo while grinning at her. “You’re not speaking to me yet? I won’t let you out here unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

She sighed and looked at him. He’s so irresistible and her resolve crumbled.

“How many bottles have you consumed last night?” She tried to look stern upon seeing his pained expression. “Yes, Bang Chi Gu told me so save your breath.” Chang Wook groaned and cursed him mentally. He needs to talk to him.

“Is there any particular reason why you've drank?” she studied him with shrewd eyes. Even though he’s smiling, it doesn’t seem to reach his eyes.

He tried to hold her questioning look, but dropped his gaze almost immediately. Trust her to see through me he thought. There’s no point lying to her!

He moved away from the door and walked to the window. He glanced down at the empty street and stared momentarily at no particular distant.

“There are times I just feel the need to get away from it all and just be normal. And to me, I can only be normal and be myself whenever I’m with my friends. I can fool around without fear of being judged by other people.” He said without turning around.

“You being in the same industry should understand what I’m saying”. He added after a pregnant pause.

“Ah…Chang Wook” An unexplainable ache throbbed deep in her heart, and fought the urge to hug him. Come on Min Young, restrain yourself. She thought, berating herself.

He shook his head after a while, and flashed that irresistible grin. “Now, are we cool?”

The quick change in his expression didn’t fool her a bit, but accepted it for now. She smiled instead and clasped his outstretched hand with her both hands.

“Next time, don’t let the drinking interfere with your work.” She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, and burst out laughing when she saw his expression.

“Now, Min Young…”

“Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

He knew this is not yet the right time as there were a lot of people outside that door, and they’re surely wondering now what is taking them for so long.

I need to do something about this soon! A look of determination flashed momentarily on his face while staring at their clasped hands.