Winter came early that year, brushing the town in delicate frost. The trees lining the courtyard stood like skeletons of their autumn selves, and breath fogged in the air as students hurried between buildings.
Leo rubbed his hands together while waiting outside the student council bulletin board. A small crowd had already gathered.
"The cast list should be up now," someone whispered.
Indeed, the flyer appeared with a low flutter. Tape pressed to corners. The crowd surged forward.
Leo stayed back.
He wasn't even sure why he auditioned.
Maybe because Yuki had stood at his desk two weeks ago, arms crossed and eyes gleaming, and said:
"You promised you'd help me try something new."
"I meant like photography," he replied, deadpan.
"Too late! You already sang in the practice room."
"That was humming."
"Close enough."
And so, here he was.
Kai appeared beside him, blowing into his hands. "Heard the rumors? They're doing Winter Sonata: Campus Edition. Pure cheese."
Leo blinked. "Isn't that the one where everyone ends up crying?"
"Yup. My sister rewatched it six times. She sobbed into a box of tissues."
Yuki's voice rang behind them. "We got in!"
Leo turned. She was holding the flyer, eyes sparkling.
"You're the male lead," she grinned.
"…What."
"And I'm the female lead."
Kai raised a brow. "Dude. You're about to reenact the most melodramatic love story in Korean drama history."
Leo stared. "Why me?"
Yuki waved the paper. "The director said you had the 'quiet pain' they were looking for."
"I was just tired."
"Method acting. Perfect."
---
Rehearsals started that afternoon.
The script was… intense. Leo flipped through lines involving snowstorms, family secrets, dramatic hospital scenes, and a pivotal kiss under the falling snow.
"Yuki," he said during their first table read, "I can't kiss you on stage."
Yuki smirked. "Relax. It's fake snow and a stage kiss. Unless you're scared?"
"I'm not scared."
"You're blushing."
"Because it's cold."
Kai leaned over from the tech booth. "You two have zero chill."
---
A few days later, Rin appeared at rehearsal.
She wasn't on the cast list, but someone had asked her to help with costume design. Her presence stirred a different kind of tension.
Yuki noticed it, of course.
She pulled Rin aside.
"You okay being here?"
Rin gave a soft nod. "I wanted to help."
Yuki hesitated. "If this is awkward—"
"I know how to separate performance from real life." Rin smiled faintly. "Do you?"
Yuki blinked.
"Just kidding," Rin said. But she didn't laugh.
---
As rehearsal progressed, Leo struggled.
Not with the lines. He memorized those fine.
But with the closeness.
Yuki wasn't acting like usual. She was more focused, more serious—until the moment their eyes met in rehearsal, and something genuine flickered between them.
In one scene, she reached for his hand.
Their fingers touched.
He didn't pull away.
Neither did she.
Kai, sitting nearby with his headset, muttered, "This is either the best casting ever or a slow-motion train wreck."
---
After a particularly emotional scene, Leo sat alone under the stage scaffolding.
Yuki approached with two cans of soda.
"Orange or melon?"
"…Melon."
She handed it over, then sat beside him.
"You're doing well," she said quietly.
"I feel like a fraud."
"You're not. You're just… honest."
He looked at her. "This play… it's just acting, right?"
Yuki hesitated.
"Mostly," she said. "But… not always."
They sat in silence.
Snow began to fall lightly beyond the windows.
And somewhere between the lines and lighting cues, something real began to grow.