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The theme is film noir.
He has it all planned out. The costumes, the location, the storyline. It sounds cool and all, except I have to be in it. And acting in a film is way beyond my comfort zone.
“Do I have to wear a dress?” I ask, dreading the answer. I know what the women in film noirs wore. They were very chic and very beautiful, two things I struggled to be in life. But Taehyung’s answer surprises me.
“I want you to play a man.”
“What?”
Taehyung elaborates. “You’re gonna be the good guy who’s scared of his own shadow, but then…it turns out his shadow isn’t a shadow, but the bad guy! But the bad guy is you…”
“Like Jekyll and Hyde?” I ask. “A split personality?”
Taehyungs claps once then snaps his fingers, pointing at me. “Exactly! Except…deeper.”
I can’t argue with his idea, since he completely aced the last assignment. Our tutor loved the photos so much that they are displayed in the student gallery of the library. Taehyung is a genius with a unique view of the world, and I can’t help my fascination for the way his mind works. I also can’t help complying to whatever he tells me to do, because for some instinctual reason, I trust him and all his whacky decisions.
We are now shooting the film in Fitzroy, one of the the most artsy bohemian suburbs in Melbourne. It is also where I live, except not in the artsy area. More like the complete opposite…
Taehyung is dressed differently for the first time since I met him. He wears a beige beret, silver-framed glasses and a black leather jacket, with extremely baggy high-waist pants and brown loafers. He looks…artsy. Like a true director, as he said. It took me ten minutes to get used to his new look. In fact, I still can’t get used to it.
“Now go!” he commands, following me with the camera that is secured onto a handheld tripod. I fall into my role quite quickly, glad that it is a minimal speaking role. Taehyung is even making me wear a fake moustache that we bought from the costume shop on the corner of the intersection to make my character more “authentic.” But we are not even halfway through the first scene when Taehyung stops me.
“Wait…” he takes a moment to scrutinize me, forming a frame with his thumb and forefingers.
“What is it?” I ask with a tired sigh.
He approaches me, closer than ever before, and peels off the moustache, tucking it into his pocket. Then, all of a sudden, his hands are in my hair as he unravels the braid I had so precariously entwined in order for my hair to stay hidden underneath my cap for the role. I cry out in protest, but he just shushes me as he continues to unravel my hair with expertise, raking his fingers through my dark locks until it is completely untied.
I don’t know where to look as his eyes watch me through those glasses which are a hundred per cent fake, but they gave him an artistic flair and an intellectual maturity. He scoops my hair into a column and ensures that it drapes half on my shoulders and half down my back, before stepping back with a satisfied smile.
“Perfect.”
My heart is racing, and his features are strongly defined by the milky streetlights which mingle with the amber glow of the traffic lights. He doesn’t seem real, all of this doesn’t seem real, and I can’t believe I am here, filming a movie in the middle of a street at night.
“Okay, let’s start again. This time, I want you to be yourself, not a man.” He smiles, then immediately sobers into director mode. “Action!”
I follow his orders without argument, a new wave of confidence surging through me now that my hair is down. Although I was originally supposed to play a man, there is something more powerful about playing a woman in men’s clothes, especially in a time where gender roles were rigid, with no room for ambiguity.
We are nearly done, with only two scenes remaining, when we are approached by two suspicious east-Asian men that look like they could be part of Far East Movement.
“Well, well. What do we have here?”
It’s them. The same men from that night all those weeks ago. The short one with the neck tattoos leers at Taehyung while the taller, well-built man folds his arms, taking in Taehyung’s outfit.
“You dress fancy now, boy? What’s this you got on ya?”
He snatches Taehyung’s beret, placing it on his own large head. “Do I look cool? Frankie, tell me I look cool.”
Frankie, neck tattoo guy, guffaws. “You look hella dope, Vic. Hella cool.”
Taehyung steps forward. “Can I have my hat back? I kind of need it.”
Vic towers over Taehyung, raising his eyebrows. “Oh, but I don’t want to give it back. Frankie says I look cool.”
“Come on, man, just give it back,” Taehyung tries a sweet smile, but the hat-stealer shakes his head.
“It’s mine now. Finders, keepers,” he sings before releasing a malicious laugh. His eyes then slide over to me. I have been hiding behind Taehyung during this entire interaction, hoping they will just go away, but it seems like the fun has only just begun.
“Oh, Taehyung, you didn’t tell us you have a girlfriend. Care to introduce us?”
Frankie leers at me, his dark beady eyes piercing through my long coat and thick layers, making me feel prickly all over. Taehyung stands in front of me, an arm reaching back to grip my own as he shields me from their leering gazes.
“And why the hell would I do that?”
His voice is so dark that it puts the night to shame, but the men are unfazed. “Oh, come on, Taehyung, we’re your friends, you’ve gotta introduce us to your lady,” Frankie says, smirking.
“We’re kinda busy now,” Taehyung growls, his grip on my wrist tightening. I almost yelp out at the stinging pain.
“Is that what the camera’s for?” the way he says it implies something else, something dirty, and I squeeze my fists, wishing I could defend myself.
“Looks like it costs a lot,” Frankie eyes the camera with hungry beady eyes, licking his lips. He sticks out his hand as if to grab the camera, but Taehyung swiftly moves it away from him, sneering.
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
His words send shivers down my spine. I have never, in all the weeks I’ve known him, heard him swear. But then again, do I really know him?
“Fuck, Tae, I just wanna have a look,” Frankie scoffs, stepping back and running his hand over his gelled hair.
“At least let us have a look at your girlfriend. She’s pretty cute, hey?” Vic smirks at me. I scowl.
“You’re not getting a look of anything,” Taehyung snarls, and Vic laughs.
“Frankie, are you seeing this? Our little Tae is acting so macho – it’s adorable!”
“I bet he’s just putting on an act for his girlfriend,” Frankie snickers.
“Come on, Tae, you don’t need to act tough. Women love a sensitive man, don’t they?” Vic nudges Frankie, who laughs.
“They sure do.” He then makes eye contact with me. “Hey, baby, if he ain’t treating you right come to me, okay? I’ll show you what a real man is.”
“I think you should leave,” Taehyung’s voice is low and sharp like gravel.
“Why? Afraid she gonna leave you for me?” Frankie sneers.
“No, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to hurt you,” Taehyung replies calmly.
The two men burst out into hearty laughter. “Oh, Tae, you never fail to crack me up. How can you – oof!”
I gasp as Taehyung delivers a clean punch straight into Frankie’s jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Vic swings a fist toward Taehyung, but he dodges it, grabbing my hand and shouting, “Run, Aria!”
We run, his hand never letting go of mine as we weave through evening pedestrians, creating a ripple of alarm as they try to search for what we are running from. We never look back, not until we are standing on the other side of a brightly lit intersection, completely breathless. My hand falls out of his grasp, empty and alone again as it drops to my side. His eyes are dark with concern as he peers at me.
“Are you okay?”
I start to nod, but then I am consumed into an embrace, his heart vibrating against mine, filling me with warmth and sending a rush of blood to my cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Aria.”
I want to protest, but I have nothing to say as his palm burns against my back while his fingers tangle into my hair, holding my head to his chest. I feel safe, and warm, and protected for the second time, and just like the last hug, I forget where we are, and everything that just happened.
But it all comes flooding back as soon as he lets go.
“Let’s stop here,” he doesn’t meet my eyes, rubbing the back of his neck and licking his lips. He always licks his lips when he is nervous, I noticed.
“But we’re nearly finished!” I pout, and he looks up then, eyebrows slightly raised.
“You sure you still want to continue? Even after…”
I press my lips into a thin line, blinking at him. “Taehyung-ah. Don’t worry. Let’s just forget about it.”
“Don’t you want to know who they were? Why they know my name?” Taehyung sounds bitter, but guilty and ashamed.
“Okay, who were they? And why do they know your name?” I play along, thinking back to when I first saw him with them. Is he part of some type of gang? Surely not…
He heaves a heavy sigh, lifting a hand to his hair. He freezes. “My hat,” he mumbles, shoulders slumping down.
“It’s okay, you can always buy another one,” I say brightly. He looks at me, brows knitted together as he shakes his head.
“It won’t be the same.”
He then begins to walk away from me, slowly, sadly, and I run until I am blocking his path, arms crossed. “Where are you going? We have a film to film, remember? Your media assignment that I’m helping you with?”
He sighs again, looking at me through his fringe. I arch an eyebrow. “Do I have to force you to do your own assignment that you begged me to help you with in the first place?”
He shrugs.
“Do I have to do aegyo or something for you to agree?”
He cracks a smile. “That could work.”
I sigh, mustering up all the courage inside me because what I am about to do is something I’m not proud of, nor something I would ever do for anyone, but after what happened…I just want to see him smile again.
I form peace sign bunny ears, I pout, I coo, and it doesn’t take long before he breaks into a laugh, covering his mouth with his fist. “Ah, too cute!”
I suddenly notice the way he is holding the camera, and I stop, gasping. “Hey, are you recording me?!”
He giggles as I attempt to grab the camera from him, but he jumps away from me, all the while recording me. “Maybe I’ll add this as the new ending for my film!” he teases.
“Kim Taehyung, I’m going to kill you!”
He cackles as he holds the camera high beyond my reach, still filming me. “You always say that, yet I’m still alive.”
“Not for long,” I finally take the camera and point it at him, getting my revenge as I zoom in on his face, capturing his eyes, his nostrils and then his lips.
He has nice lips…
The thought is so unexpected, I almost drop the camera. Taehyung takes this as an opportunity to steal it back and hold it high above, capturing both of us.
“Selfie!”
A flash engulfs us both, and then we look at the photo. My eyes are closed, while he has one eye squeezed into a wink, lips forming a pout.
“We look good together,” he comments, and my heart does a flip as I remember the way he defended me in front of those two men, and the fact that the entire time they teased him about me being his girlfriend, he never once denied it. Whereas with Leah, I was quick to say no, and he was quick to choke on his food.
I clear my throat, stepping away from him, feeling the familiar blanket of awkwardness settle over me. Why do I feel so awkward all of a sudden?
“Aria.”
I turn to him, and his gaze alone, even in the dim lighting of the night, pierces straight through me. Everything about him scares me, so why am I still here, with him? Why am I still by his side, when I could’ve just left?
“Yeah?”
He comes closer, leans down so that his mouth is level with my ear, and whispers, “Let’s finish this film.”
【★】
Longest chapter so far, and so much happened! So much drama, so much Taria! Who are those two guys that know Taehyung? We shall see in the chapters to come! Stay tuned 😉
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