Chapter 144
The first week of filming passed more quietly than Haru expected.
His schedule had become increasingly demanding since the announcement of Nexus, but the work itself was something he welcomed. There was comfort in having something to concentrate on, something that required him to become someone else for a few hours instead of constantly wondering what was happening inside his own home.
Still, there was one part of the project Haru had never been particularly comfortable with.
Chang-seo.
Haru had known from the moment he accepted the role that working with him would be complicated.
He had tried to turn it down.
Not because he thought Chang-seo was incapable of doing his job. Professionally, Haru had little reason to question his ability. Chang-seo had spent years working his way through the industry, eventually becoming one of the more recognizable actors of his generation.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was Raiven.
Or rather, the history between Raiven and Chang-seo.
Haru didn't know everything.
He had never pretended that he did.
There were pieces of the past Raiven had told him, and fragments Haru had slowly put together over time. He knew Chang-seo had been involved with Raiven when Raiven was much younger. He knew the relationship had left scars that went far deeper than an ordinary breakup.
And Haru knew enough to despise him.
He had wanted to reject the project.
Raiven had been the one who stopped him.
Don't throw away an opportunity because of me.
Those had been his words.
Haru had hated hearing them.
But he had eventually agreed.
Now, several days into filming, he was beginning to wonder whether Raiven had underestimated how difficult it would be.
The tension between Haru and Chang-seo wasn't obvious enough for anyone else to call it a conflict.
It existed in small things.
A disagreement over how a scene should be played.
A pause that lasted a second too long.
A correction delivered with a smile that didn't quite reach the eyes.
Chang-seo was professional.
Haru was professional.
Neither gave the other enough reason to complain.
But they didn't like each other.
That much was obvious.
During one scene, Chang-seo suggested a different interpretation of their characters' relationship.
Haru listened without interrupting.
When he finished, Haru glanced toward the director.
"I understand the intention," he said. "But I think my character would hold back here. If he says that now, the later scene won't have the same weight."
Chang-seo studied him.
"That's one interpretation."
"It is."
Neither smiled.
The director eventually sided with Haru's approach.
The scene went smoothly.
Afterward, Chang-seo walked past him without another word.
Haru watched him disappear behind the set.
He exhaled.
Maybe this was what Raiven had meant.
Maybe this was simply professional tension.
Maybe he was allowing his personal feelings to color everything.
Haru wanted to believe that.
He really did.
But every time he looked at Chang-seo, he remembered Raiven.
Not the Raiven he knew now.
The younger Raiven.
The one who had been sixteen.
The one who had been pulled into a relationship he had never been old enough to understand properly.
Haru's jaw tightened.
He forced himself to look away.
This wasn't his past.
It wasn't his story.
And Raiven had specifically asked him to continue.
So he would.
For Raiven.
Even if part of him hated every second of it.
---
A few days later, filming wrapped later than expected.
By the time Haru stepped outside, the sky had already darkened.
The air was colder than it had been earlier, and he pulled his coat tighter around himself while looking for the car. He had already told Alice she could go home.
Raiven had texted him earlier that he would pick him up.
Haru smiled when he spotted the familiar vehicle waiting beyond the barricade.
He started walking toward it.
Then he noticed Chang-seo standing nearby.
Haru slowed.
Chang-seo wasn't alone.
Raiven was standing in front of him.
For a moment, Haru simply stared.
Something about the scene felt wrong.
Raiven's posture was stiff.
His shoulders were tense, and one hand remained buried inside his coat pocket. He wasn't doing anything particularly unusual, but Haru knew him well enough to recognize when his body was trying to hide what his face wouldn't show.
Chang-seo was speaking.
Raiven wasn't.
Then Chang-seo said something that made Raiven's expression change.
Only slightly.
A flicker.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes shifted away.
Haru's stomach turned.
He couldn't hear what they were saying from where he stood.
That bothered him more.
He began walking toward them.
Neither man noticed him at first.
Chang-seo continued speaking.
Raiven finally answered.
Haru was too far away to make out the words.
Then Raiven looked toward him.
Their eyes met.
For the briefest moment, something flashed across Raiven's face.
Fear.
It disappeared so quickly that Haru almost wondered if he had imagined it.
He reached them a few seconds later.
Without thinking, Haru slipped his hand around Raiven's arm.
Raiven looked down at him.
Haru smiled.
"Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?"
Raiven's expression softened immediately.
"Not long."
Chang-seo looked between them.
His gaze settled briefly on Haru's hand around Raiven's arm.
Then he smiled.
Haru returned the smile politely.
"You've been doing well."
"So I've been told."
Chang-seo gave a quiet laugh.
For several seconds, the three of them stood there.
It was strange.
Haru had met Chang-seo twice before working together. Once on a reality show and once during a talk show appearance. They had spoken casually enough on both occasions.
But this was different.
Now Haru knew who Chang-seo was.
Now he knew what he had meant to Raiven.
The knowledge changed everything.
Chang-seo turned toward Raiven.
"I suppose I'll see you around."
Raiven's expression tightened again.
"Probably."
There was something about the way he said it that made Haru look at him.
Chang-seo nodded.
Then he turned and walked away.
Haru watched until he disappeared among the staff and vehicles.
Only then did he look at Raiven.
"What did he want?"
"Nothing."
The answer came too quickly.
Haru frowned.
"Nothing?"
Raiven opened the passenger door for him.
"He was just being polite."
Haru didn't move.
Raiven looked at him.
"Haru."
"You looked nervous."
A pause.
"I wasn't."
"You were."
Raiven sighed.
"Can we talk about it later?"
Haru studied him.
There were a hundred questions he wanted to ask.
What did Chang-seo say?
Why did you look like that?
Did he say something about what happened between you?
Did he threaten you?
Did he hurt you?
But Haru swallowed them.
He had promised himself he wouldn't force Raiven to open wounds he wasn't ready to touch.
So instead, he nodded.
"Okay."
He climbed into the car.
Raiven closed the door and walked around to the driver's side.
Once he settled behind the wheel, the engine started.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Haru watched the city pass through the window.
He could feel Raiven beside him, but something had changed.
The warmth from earlier days seemed further away.
Not gone.
Just hidden.
Haru glanced at him.
Raiven's hands were firmly wrapped around the steering wheel.
His eyes remained fixed on the road.
Haru reached across the center console and placed his hand over Raiven's.
Raiven looked down briefly.
Then he turned his palm upward and intertwined their fingers.
Neither said anything.
Haru leaned back against the seat.
He didn't know what Chang-seo had said.
He didn't know what Raiven was hiding.
And perhaps that was what frightened him most.
Because for the first time since learning about their history, Haru realized that there were parts of Raiven's past he had never been allowed to see.
Parts that still had the power to make him afraid.
The city lights passed silently across the windshield.
Haru tightened his grip on Raiven's hand.
Whatever Chang-seo had said tonight, Raiven wasn't ready to tell him.
Haru would respect that.
For now.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the last time the past was going to find them.