The morning sun was bright but not unkind, its light cutting through the air and glinting against the reflective film equipment scattered around the courtyard.
All around Jun, people moved with quiet efficiency, sound technicians checking their wires, stylists hurrying between actors, assistants balancing trays of props.
It was controlled chaos.
The mansion they were filming in looked even more striking in person than it had in the scouting photos.
Its whitewashed walls rose high and commanding, manicured hedges framed the driveway.
The place had that kind of wealth that didn't need to show off... silent, grand, and a little intimidating.
They were using it as the "pack house" in the film, the stronghold where the werewolf authorities supposedly lived.
The word pack still felt foreign every time Jun saw it written, but now, sitting outside in the shade on a stone bench, it was hard not to imagine the mansion alive with wolves in human skin, each belonging to a rank and role that determined their place in the world.
Inside, people hurried to adjust the lighting and rearrange furniture for the first scene, while others worked outside to perfect the continuity between the shots.
Jun sat apart, the weight of his role pressing against his chest in a way he didn't quite understand.
He was ready, at least on the surface.
The makeup was already done, leaving a faint gleam across his skin that softened his features for the camera.
His costume fit him perfectly, every thread meant to speak for the character he was about to become.
His emotions were steady, his lines memorized word for word. Yet beneath all of that, a kind of unease settled inside him, the same one that always came before a performance, especially when Yushan was part of it.
Jun sighed silently...
"New beginning," Jun murmured to himself. His voice came out low, barely louder than a whisper, but enough for him to hear the conviction he was trying to force into it.
"No more caring about things that don't concern me, that aren't important, and yes more to being the great actor of the year, who minds his own business, never trying to make people see him, no blurring the line between acting and real... Focusing."
He let the words sink in, rolling them inside his mind as if saying them would help cement them into something real.
His fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the script, the pages curling a little under his grip as his gaze wandered over the open set in front of him.
His eyes drifting over the words printed neatly on the script.
He had read this part countless times before, but somehow it felt different reading it now, on the actual filming day.
He found himself reading the introduction of the story again, even though he didn't need to.
Pack — a group of werewolves living together under one leader.
Mate — a destined partner chosen by fate, forming a deep emotional and physical bond for life.
Alpha — the leader of the pack, the highest rank.
Luna — the alpha's mate.
Beta — rank in the middle.
Omega — the lowest-ranking member of a pack, often gentle and submissive.
His eyes stayed on that last line longer than he wanted to admit.
He had known from the start what character he was cast as. It hadn't sounded bad before. But now, after how people had been treating him since he joined this project, the label felt heavier.
The omega was supposed to be soft, easily overlooked, someone who followed rather than led.
The lowest in rank.
The character description now read like a reflection of how people had been seeing him... invisible, less important, a filler beside Yushan's presence.
He felt small. But a bitter laugh escaped his lips before he muttered under his breath, "But who cares...!"
"Who cares about what?" A voice came light and melodic from behind him, and Jun's eyes widened before he turned his head. He hadn't realized he'd spoken his thoughts aloud.
A girl stepped closer, lowering herself beside him on the bench.
Her movement carried that effortless confidence of someone used to being in front of a camera.
When Jun met her gaze, he was momentarily caught off guard. Her eyes were bright, the kind that seemed to reflect light instead of simply catching it.
Her face was delicate but expressive, her features perfectly arranged as though painted to play a leading role.
"I don't think we've met yet," she said, her lips curving into a light smile as she extended her hand. Her tone was casual, friendly, but there was a spark of curiosity in her eyes that didn't hide.
Jun accepted her handshake.
"I'm Mengyao," she continued, the smile widening slightly. "Your enemy... I mean..." She laughed softly, "we share a husband."
Jun gave a small chuckle. So this was her... the actress playing the Luna, the one who in the script, Yushan's character marries her while secretly hiding Jun's character... the one he truly loves but can't bring himself to admit it publicly because that would mean revealing he loves a man.
She was even more striking in person than he'd expected.
"I heard you guys were working on your chemistry, that's why you haven't been able to mingle with the rest of us," Mengyao said, crossing one leg over the other, her tone easy and conversational.
"Yeah..." Jun answered flatly.
"So... did you manage?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Yeah, it's all good."
"All good? Wow. Does it mean you were able to form a close bond with Yushan?" Her tone carried that edge of curiosity again, and Jun couldn't tell if she was genuinely interested or simply testing him.
"Why do you ask?" he replied.
"Nothing much," she said, lowering her voice a little as her gaze flicked around them.
The crew was still scattered across the yard, too busy with cables and lights to pay them any attention.
She leaned slightly closer, her tone dropping into a confidential whisper. "It's just that... Yushan really seems so cold compared to the last time I saw him. You won't believe what he just did... He literally flipped the script."
Jun's eyes widened, his confusion immediate. "What do you mean he flipped the script?"
Mengyao gave a small sigh, "We've been inside the pack house.. you know what I mean.. with the directors, warming up. You know what the first scene of the series was supposed to be, right?
~You, the Alpha's personal servant, who are secretly in love with each other.. you were supposed to walk in on us in his room, making out and kissing, right?" She paused, watching his expression.
"But do you know what Yushan said? He said there's really no need to be kissing or exaggerating this in the first episode. You can just walk in on us leaning in, but not necessarily touching that much. And the directors agreed with him!" Her voice rose slightly, the disappointment threading through every word.
Jun almost laughed, though it was more out of surprise than amusement. "Why do you sound that much disappointed anyway?" he asked, glancing at her.
"Are you kidding me?" Mengyao exclaimed softly, her brows lifting. "Okay, don't misjudge me, I'm always professional and draw the lines when it comes to my job, I'm never this hyper, but come on... this is Yushan we're talking about. Every straight girl or gay guy would be dying to get that close."
She gave him a playful look. "The fact that you have those kinds of scenes with him and you're just calm about it... It tells me about you. You're straight, aren't you?"
Jun froze for a second, staring blankly at her before turning away. That was a lot to take in for someone he'd just met. He didn't even know how to respond to something like that, or if he should.
"If you say so," he finally said, his voice flat but polite as he leaned back against the bench, his eyes turning away from her.
Before Mengyao could say anything else, a voice broke through from behind them.
"Jun, and Mengyao," Nana called, clipboard in hand. "We're starting, come on."
They both turned instinctively toward her voice. Without another word, they stood at the same time and began walking toward the set.