pairing: actor!heniRoksoo x actor!Reader
an: slightly based off this post of mine, I've been gobbling up acting centric manwhas recently and I feel like this is such a fun plotline to explore
Cale Thames -> name of the actor that plays heniRoksoo
Calliope Thames -> Cale's half sister who plays heniRoksoo's niece aka reincarnated Jour
Reader -> plays the role of heniRoksoo's coworker, leader of team 3
"How often do I have to tell you? You can't carry the burden of this world all on your own!" Your voice cuts through the room as sharp as a whip and leaves the same sharp impact. Team leader Kim stands across you in the shabby, run down meeting hall that once must've been the center of political decision.
Now? All that's left of the former prestige are dusty furniture pieces rotting around and half broken walls, destroyed by monster attacks and barely surviving. A relic of a society once taken for granted and now only a figment of yearning and the past.
He looks away, like he can't be bothered to have this conversation with you again. It drives you up the wall—the practiced nonchalance and sheer recklessness of his actions. He moves with such abandon, as if he has multiple lives and no one else is aware of it.
When he turns his head, the bandages you haphazardly wrapped around his injured shoulder peek out from beneath his shirt. The once pristine white gauze is tinged pink—the wound reopened.
"Say something, team leader! Anything at all, show me a sign that you even care about what I have to say, damn it!"
He turns his head to face you, mouth opening and closing but not sound comes out. His fists clench at his side, limbs trembling with something akin to anger.
How dare he be angry in a situation like this?Your fury rages on again and propels you forward. In three quick strides, you cross the distance between you and grab him by the collar of his tactical jacket.
His eyes widen for a fraction, clearly taken back by your sudden outburst. You pull him down to your level and all but scream im his face, voice barely restrained.
"Team leader, why do you live like this is someone else's life? What could you have possibly done to bear this much guilt alone?"
Your voice wavers and dies in your throat, just as the strength leaves your body. You let go of his jacket and allow your head to fall against his chest. You can't see his face, but you're certain he's shocked.
There are tears trying to make their way out of your eyes but you blink them away stubbornly. Your hands remain by your side, formed into tight fists that tremble from the sheer restraint you're showing.
"Why can't you trust me even a little bit, Roksu-yah?"
Despite the muffled words, on account of your face being smushed against his chest, he seems to have understood you perfectly well.
His arms move, hovering unsurely in the air before ever so slowly enveloping you in a light embrace. There's something strangely tender about this man moving his sharp body—one that's worn and marred by scars and pain—in a gesture so painfully soft.
Emotions surge within you, a mixture of joy, regret, fear and longing so profound you can't put it into words threaten to overtake you like a tidal wave.
Your tears are nearly unstoppable now, so you latch onto him and try your best to muffle the sobs coming out of you.
He's warm, the world is cold and the contrast is maddening. Your heart beats erratically in your chest and your throat is dry from crying. Your body begins to give out on you and-
The director's words immediately shatter your bubble of immersion. The meeting hall returns to being a well made set and the hustle and bustle of the filming crew creeps up on you gradually. You step away from you co-actor, flashing him a bright smile which he returns with one of his own when you high five.
"We knocked that scene outta park, Cale!" Your steps are light when you walk with him to your chairs. He bumps your shoulder affectionately, clearly also drunk on the high of shooting a great scene perfectly.
"The one-take-duo has done it again," he announces to no one in particular when you finally slump into your chairs. Merely a minute later someone comes over with some water and warm tea for the both of you—beverages that you accept all too gratefully after standing under the heat of the lights for hours, screaming and yelling during your various scenes.
The director hasn't approached you or Cale yet, presumably to give you some breathing room after shooting five scenes in a row without a real break. You send a silent thanks to the heavens for finally being able to simply rest without anything to do. A glance at your co-star reveals that he most be feeling the same weariness and exhaustion.
Despite still wearing the costume of team leader Kim Roksu, Cale Thames shed his character's mask the very moment the director ended the scene. Seeing him transition so effortlessly never managed to not take you by surprise, especially when you observed the difference between his real life animated expressions and the schooled features of the character he plays.
Sometimes, you wonder how someone who wears their heart on their sleeve could exert such control and range in terms of acting.
Silence falls between you as both of you nurse your drinks, not pressured to talk or say anything. You simply allow the weight of the scene to wash away and become nothing more than a memory and an experience to draw from.
You like that about your chemistry with Cale—after intense scenes, he never rushes to discuss them with you or tries to jump into the next thing. He gives you ample space to process your work and reset yourself before bringing up any concerns he might have.Right on cue, he clears his throat and nudges your foot to draw your attention. You only dignify him with a tilt of your head and a side glance to signify that you're listening.
"Why did you go off script with the last line?"Ah, the dreaded question. You knew the moment you slipped up that this annoying stickler for rules would hound your ass about it, but how on earth do you explain that you changed a line because it just felt right?You shrug, averting your gaze back to watching the crew run around and prepare the set for the next scene. The dark haired man doesn't take kindly to being ignored and invades your personal space to poke your arm like an annoying brat.
"Helloooo? You know you're not supposed to call me by my first name yet, right?"
Even scooting away doesn't do much to deter him from his childish attacks—he simply follows you and keeps poking you until you finally swat his hand away in annoyance.
"Oh my god stop, it just slipped out in the heat of the moment and it made sense for my character to say that!"
"Maybe, but calling me with such closeness? They haven't even dropped the formalities yet and we're like halfway through the season!"
"It literally fit the vibe so much and the viewers will go crazy for it."
"And you know that because you're gifted in fortune telling or what?"
"Why you little-" once again, the thought of striking Cale down with the nearest heavy object and strangling him to death crosses your mind. You remind yourself that unfortunately, you need this man if you want that big fat paycheck landing in your bank account since there can be no production of 'Trash Of Team One' if said trash is not alive.
A sharp retort begins to form in your head, yet the universe conspires against you when you hear a bright voice shout in your direction.
"Oppa!" A blur of brown and white darts past you and crashes against Cale, nearly sending him toppling off his chair. A small girl, no older than ten years old, interrupts the conversation and immediately captures your attention.
Cale's demeanor brightens instantly and once again, the transition gives you insane whiplash.
"Calliope! When did you get here? Your scene isn't scheduled until late afternoon right?"His sister beams at him, and in that moment you can see the uncanny family resemblance the casting director raged about when casting Calliope for the role of the reincarnated Jour. Even though she's only his half sister, Cale and Calliope seemed to be made of the same cloth when they smiled like that.
"Nope!" She replies, "the director said she's gonna move it and 'm supposed to come in early." Great, another change to the schedule no one bothered communicating with you yet.
Still, you weren't too peeved by it because at the end of the day, your important scenes were being shot late at night and you had virtually zero work to do until Cale finished his own scenes.
Whispers and glances are shot into your direction, the entire atmosphere shifting into something warmer upon Calliope's arrival. You figure that this is part of her natural charm—drawing in people's attention and lighting up any room she's in. The gazes are especially soft when Cale hauls her into his lap and begins to grill her about her day, about school work, friendship drama and any and all topics a ten year old girl might want to chat about.
You take the chance to settle deeper into your chair and observe the set, that age old familiar feeling of pride mingling with nostalgia. You couldn't believe that you were halfway through done with shooting the first season of this show, already picturing how sad it would be to part ways with everyone working with you.
Somehow, that train of thought makes you recall how exactly you came to work on the show—and as a lead role no less, one that hadn't existed in the original source material that inspired this series.The pivotal moment that put you on this track was precisely six years ago. You appeared as a nameless background character in the series 'Trash of the Count's family', an incredibly popular webnovel adaption based off a hit novel which had taken the country and the overseas audience by storm upon it's release. The original show ran for around seven seasons, yet you only made a brief appearance on a special episode that adapted one of the seven side stories of the original webnovel.
