Hyunjin rests his hand on your knee, and Jisung feels something inside him burst into flames. He abruptly gets up, knocking his chair into Changbin’s leg and earning an “Ow!” He doesn’t even apologize, just leaves the auditorium and goes down the school hallway. Without meaning to, he ends up in front of the restroom door.

There’s no one else inside, thank goodness. He splashes water on his face and watches as the droplets drip down his chin in the mirror. He has piercings, too. In fact, he has a silver bar just like Hyunjin’s at home. He tugs on the hoop in his right ear, wishing it would magically change. He allows himself to wallow in his self-pity for a minute. After drying his face with the hem of his shirt, he reluctantly heads back to the auditorium.

The soundboard appears to be fixed, judging by the tech director and Chan’s cheering. As expected, “Actors! To your places!” comes over on the intercom, and there’s a commotion as you scramble into position and Hyunjin disappears into the wings. He hopes Hyunjin trips on a cable, but alas, the cables on the floor are actually organized for once. The rest of the crew puts their headsets back and gets ready as well. The lights dim, and rehearsal finally begins.

You start the scene, and Jisung is surprised and proud of how quickly you are able to transition from yourself to Juliet. The spotlight shines upon you, and there is nothing else he can focus on. You look to the sky and describe the beauty of your lover.

“And he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun,” you recite.

Jisung disagrees with all those statements. Still, he can’t help but be moved by your love, even though it’s about Hyunjin.

Whenever you play lovesick Juliet, there’s always a small smile playing on your lips. This time it’s so tender that he unintentionally mirrors it when looking at you. Nurse stands by his side, waiting for her cue, so when Nurse enters the scene, you smile in his general direction, and it’s like it’s for him. His ears feel like they’ve been doused in sriracha, and he thanks the heavens that he’s wearing a headset, so no one can see how delighted he is. His day immediately brightens, and he almost forgets about the interaction between you and Hyunjin. News of Romeo’s banishment from Verona only increases his happiness. It might be strange to feel so strongly about a fictional character, but not to him.

Scene two is completed quickly. The lights go out, and the stage crew on the other side of the stage bring out the set pieces for scene three. At the same time, other actors rush on stage, trying to get into position before the blackout ends. While you walk back backstage, you attempt to take out the large pin in your hair.

“Can someone help me?” you whisper.

Jisung is about to step towards you, but the girl in charge of costumes, Ryujin, beats him to it. You lower yourself, so she can reach the crown of your head. You notice Jisung watching, and the corner of your mouth quirks up.

“I’m normally better at costume changes than this,” you tell him. The pin finally comes free, and you thank the girl for helping.

“Do you wanna change now or later?” She holds up a looser dress from the rack.

“Now. I might forget and then it’ll turn into a quick change,” you joke.

It doesn’t hit Jisung until a few seconds later. You are going to change, right here, right now, in the wings of the stage, not in the dressing room, in front of him, and a few other crew members who are not girls. He turns bright red, matching the color of the main curtain. He’s not the only way he’s flustered at this new prospect; the props guy, Yugyeom, who overheard the entire conversation, is also in a panic.

You begin unzipping the side of your dress, and Jisung and Yugyeom quickly face the wall, striking up a conversation about how great the weather has been. Jisung babbles on about the possibility of rain even though the sky has been clear for the past three days, while Yugyeom frantically nods. He wonders how Changbin and the fly rail guy are unfazed by this.

“I’m decent now.” They both hesitate and continue staring at the wall, so you add, “Seriously. You can stop pretending to be meteorologists.”

Jisung takes one for the two-person team and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that you’re fluffing your hair out from the collar of your newly-donned dress. You look amused by the trouble you caused.

“I wear a tank top and shorts under all my Juliet costumes, so don’t worry,” you explain, “but I appreciate the courtesy.”

“Got it,” he weakly replies. Yugyeom, on his way out of the stage, echoes his sentiment.

There’s no way he can just ignore you changing in front of him; he’s going to run and hide every time, especially now that he sees the aftermath of your change. Your hair is slightly unkempt, and your previous costume pools around your feet, reminding him —

Reminding him that now is not the time for impure thoughts.

“Stage crew, start getting ready,” Felix calls over the comms. “Jisung, at you in particular.”

“I didn’t come here to be attacked,” he grumbles as he meets Changbin at the edge of the stage and picks up the other end of the table.

“Lights and stage crew, get ready.”

The lights go out, and Jisung and Changbin bring the table out and align it with the glow-in-the-dark tape on the floor. Then they run back before Jeongin turns the lights back on. Changbin and Felix congratulate him on a job well done, and he rolls his eyes in response. He goes back to his previous position near the costume rack.

“I never realized how fast you guys set the stage,” you remark. “And you have to come back here as well. Is it nerve wracking?”

“You get used to it after a while,” he replies. “You have to get on stage fast, too.”

“Yeah, but it’s a one-way trip. And I don’t have to carry stuff.”

“It’s still impressive.”

You look up at him. “I think yours is more so.”

He is so grateful for the headset; his ears are burning, and he’s sure his cheeks will be soon. He awkwardly mumbles, “Thanks,” while focusing slightly to the right of you. The conversation dies, and you start talking to Nurse about the upcoming scene. Jisung internally slaps himself for not saying more, but he couldn’t think of anything witty after your compliment. His mind is still not working, and based on the comms, the soundboard might be having the same issue.

The last scene of Act III begins, and there are indeed problems with sound. Despite that, the actors and the rest of the tech crew power through, though the actors struggle to do the same.

Rehearsal is paused while the sound issue gets solved. Jisung decides to go to the classroom and wait out the situation in the more comfortable chairs there. As expected, it’s crowded, but he manages to nab a seat in the middle of the room. He spies you on the next table and waves hello. You light up and make your way over with Hyunjin in tow.

“Hey, Jisung!” you greet. “Hyunjin, he’s the one who thought you and I were the perfect Romeo and Juliet. Jisung, he doesn’t believe me. Tell him I’m not lying.”

Jisung feels small in his seat, looking up at Hyunjin. He’s already shorter than him, but sitting down really emphasizes the difference. His raised eyebrows combined with his slight grin make him seem like a condescending prick.

“She’s not lying,” Jisung shrugs.

“See?” you say to Hyunjin. “You’re doing great, so don’t worry.”

Hyunjin smiles softly at you, and you turn a pretty shade of pink. “Thanks. And, uh, you too, Jisung.”

“No problem,” he manages to get out. He can’t decide whether he wants to Hyunjin down a flight of stairs or to kiss you. Maybe both are possible. “Always glad to be of help.”

“Do you wanna run the lines for the balcony scene again?” Hyunjin asks you. “I don’t think Ms. Park likes it right now.”

“Oh, sure!” you eagerly reply. “See you later,” you say to Jisung before following Hyunjin back over to the next table.

“See you,” he whispers too late.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Gi announces that there is going to be an adjustment to rehearsal today because the soundboard is still on the fritz, and a proper tech rehearsal is near impossible.

Despite their best efforts, rehearsal ends up being cut short. Everyone seems relatively happy about this, and Jeongin wonders out loud if anyone wants to get frozen yogurt with him. Jisung declines, citing that he has homework to catch up on, and while that’s true, he would rather go with you. Unfortunately for him, you and Hyunjin are working on the balcony scene with Ms. Park, and it doesn’t look like the drama rehearsals are ending early.

He gets frozen yogurt with Jeongin, Chan, and Felix after all. He’s disappointed that you aren’t a part of it, but it’s fine. He’ll go get some with you on your first date.

Just you, him, and a cup of strawberry cheesecake froyo to share.