ChangMin Shipper Fic: BTS Series 1 – Reel to Real

You could be the best actors, but something as unfathomable as “chemistry” between actors and how it would eventually be translated onto the screen could never be guaranteed, regardless of skills and years of experience. The best way, according to the acting philosophy of Ji Changwook, was to genuinely like his acting partners, and try to get to know them well enough in real life, so that he could read and anticipate their actions easily, and they could perform intimate scenes comfortably, without hesitation. Everything else was a bonus. Up until Healer, there were more misses than hits in his chemistry department with the opposite sex. Still, never in his wildest imagination could he have expected what he had gotten with Park Minyoung, who was currently clinging onto his neck like the cutest koala bear waiting for the PD’s cue – the difference between Minyoung and a koala was that she smelled heavenly.

In that constant close proximity required by the intense and intimate ending scene for Episode 14 of Healer, Changwook kept getting whiffs of her freshly washed hair, which added on to a list of distractions he had to struggle to keep at bay because he was supposed to be weak and devastated, not sexually aroused. Glancing at the tiny, beautiful woman in his arms as she threw questions at the crew, he tried but failed to conceal his smile, as they continued to standby in their positions, for what would be the fifth rehearsed shot of their passionate all-consuming (but teary) kiss. Not that he was complaining, but it was difficult to disengage his head from his heart when all he wanted was to continue the kiss to its appropriate end, just like Seo Junghoo and Chae Youngshin. There were times he wanted to reach over and strangle the PD when he heard the word, “Cut!”

It was a totally different kiss from Episode 8 less than a month ago. He remembered vividly how they spent two hours repeating their very chaste “first” kiss on that windy rooftop. However, his relationship with Minyoung since then had progressed by leaps and bounds in three short weeks. His feelings kissing her then and now were a world apart. On the rooftop, they were still like playful colleagues, with a hint of something else; here in Healer’s lair, they were……?

Changwook’s raging emotions warred with his sense of professionalism. But he could no longer deny he was already in love with his co-star, professionalism be damned. There was a tinge of inevitability to his fall since the day they first met. It was the right time, the right place with the right person – they simply clicked – like the inexorable pull of opposite magnetic poles. He and Minyoung got so close, so fast. They saw the cliff ahead but like out-of-control racing cars both were hapless to stop the tidal wave of desire that swept over them when they were in each other’s presence. It was scary, it was delirious. They had yet to outrightly address their crazy attraction to each other – there was an unspoken agreement that they were already an item on the set, whether as Youngshin and Junghoo, or Minyoung and Changwook. What would happen after the end of the drama, they would deal with it later.

“Action!” shouted PD Lee. In a fluid move, Minyoung caressed his face, wiped off the tears which rolled down on command and pressed her lips to his firmly, insistently. Instinctively, without needing to act, Changwook responded and engulfed her tighter in his embrace, returning her kisses hungrily, fiercely, as heat coursed through his veins. Her lips tasted wonderful, warm and sweet. Taking the opportunities given by the drama to romance giddily on the set in front of the cameras. They were playing fictional characters, but the feelings were more than real.

“Cut!” Aish, that hated word again. Reluctantly, they parted but kept their arms around the other, as they waited expectantly for another take. Overcome by tiredness and aches, as she had been battling the flu bug recently, Minyoung suddenly leaned backwards in a long stretch, her hands still around Changwook’s neck who had no choice but to move along for the ride, while supporting her small back.

Time stood still for awhile, as Changwook became highly aware of Minyoung’s body, his gaze running along her curveous length, barely concealed by the not-so-thick grey sweater. He stared at her exposed neck, slim and fair, and felt a sudden urge to bend over and lick a trail down towards her perky bustline. Oh my god, Changwook-ah, what the hell are you thinking? He thought in dismay, desperately trying to quell his animalistic responses. Minyoung straightened back up, blissfully ignorant of the fire she had set off in his body. Or was she?

Another take, another hug while on standby. Changwook could feel Minyoung’s fingers on his neck turning icy in the freezing set conditions, even as he was wrapped up cozily in a thick overcoat. He felt an involuntary shiver in her body, and pulled her closer to his heat. Leaning in to her ear, he whispered, “I have a heat pack on my upper back, you can warm your hands if you want.” Minyoung giggled shyly, and he could feel her hands slipping further down his bare back, sending thrills down his spine, and creating an unwanted physical reaction in his body. While it was wrecking his mental and physical states, Changwook enjoyed every moment of their closeness. He knew Minyoung felt the same way. They were not thinking about tomorrow; they had only now, and each other.

A short break as the crew repositioned the cameras, and they finally disentangled from one another, resulting in an immediate sense of loss. But Minyoung did move too far away, instead turning her attention to the lighted island backdrop. This was the first time Minyoung stepped into Healer’s house, and Changwook felt it necessary to introduce her to his “abode”. “This is Junghoo’s dream island – beautiful isn’t it?” He asked. She nodded, before turning her luminous eyes to his. “Looks like a nice warm place to go to for a holiday now.” He stared back at her, wondering if there was an unspoken question in it. All their conversations in recent days had taken on multiple layers of meanings. It was a mating dance – at times cautious, other times exuberant. Changwook felt he was in a drama within a drama. He almost never developed feelings beyond the standard friendship with his past co-stars, and certainly not at the strength he was feeling for Minyoung. It was a new experience.

A crew member was adjusting a camera on the ground next to them for a low angle shot. Due to their significant height differences, they had to try to position themselves correctly to fit into the frame. Minyoung grumbled, “I am too short.” She started jumping to reach his height while holding onto his coat sleeves for balance, and Changwook reached out to steady her by the elbows, grinning. Before long they were having a jumping competition and laughing their heads off.

And that was the magic of Park Minyoung. Sometimes he felt so comfortable with her it was like they had been friends forever, talking about anything and everything under the sun. Sometimes, they would go crazy and play pranks or share nonsensical jokes, laughing up a storm for no reason. Sometimes, all he wanted was to sweep her off her feet and carry her away to the nearest bedroom, or fighting the urge to kiss her senseless. All the time he wanted to be near her, care for her, see her smile.

Some actors would brush this off and say he was getting over his head in character, given that Junghoo was so crazy in love with Youngshin. Changwook thought maybe, for once, it was his real life feelings for Minyoung seeping into his reel act of Seo Junghoo. What was reel? What was real?

Their chemistry was real.

The End.