On stage, Ha-neul and Tae-oh froze as the wig of their giant doll prop became hopelessly tangled across Ha-neul’s face.
“Wait—don’t move! I’ve got hair in my eye!” Ha-neul hissed in a panic.
Tae-oh hesitated, gripping the doll awkwardly.
“Hold still. I’ll get it out. Just… don’t sneeze.”
The space between them shrank until they were almost nose to nose. Laughter rippled through the audience.
As Tae-oh reached to remove the strands, his fingers accidentally brushed Ha-neul’s cheek.
“Oh, wow—sorry! Total accident!”
Ha-neul’s cheeks flared bright red. In that instant, a blurry memory from a past life flickered: Tae-oh, braiding her hair with just as much clumsy gentleness.
“Did you… ever braid my hair back then, too?” Ha-neul blurted out in a whisper.
Tae-oh shook his head, a little too quickly.
“Don’t talk like that on stage! Focus, or we’re doomed!”
But the cheers from the crowd made both of them forget where they were for a heartbeat.
Before they could get back on track, the doll toppled sideways, bumping them both so that Tae-oh instinctively caught Ha-neul in his arms.
“Sorry, seriously… It’s just, you keep popping up in front of me,” Ha-neul murmured, almost to herself.
Tae-oh’s eyes grew wide.
“Wait—was that a confession?”
“What? No! It’s… just acting.”
From the wings, they could hear Woo-seok and Soo-jin yelping in shock.
Still locked in the awkward embrace, Ha-neul and Tae-oh realized the scene wasn’t over yet.
The audience leaned in, eager for the finale, as Ha-neul grabbed Tae-oh’s hand again. Both fought to keep straight faces, bracing for the last silly scene.
Just then, another rogue lock of wig hair flopped right over Ha-neul’s eyes.
“Tae-oh… seriously, can you help me out?”
Tae-oh couldn’t help grinning.
“This time, I’ll make it perfect.”
A spark of anticipation danced between them once more.