Reflexively, I yanked my hand behind my back.
But it was already too late.
Raphael’s eyes slowly narrowed.
His gentle smile remained the same, but somehow, the surrounding atmosphere felt entirely different.
“……Hahaha.”
He let out a short laugh.
Then, lowering his gaze slightly, he said in a low voice,
“Were you actually planning on compensating me?”
‘No. Please, just let it slide generously.’
An emergency siren blared in my head. I flashed a stiff, awkward smile and shook my head.
“Ah, well, that’s…….”
What was I supposed to say? What on earth should I say to get safely out of this situation?
“I was just—”
I tried desperately to steer the conversation elsewhere, but Raphael’s gaze remained glued to the black card in my hand.
I prayed desperately in my heart.
‘Please, please……! I’m a broke college student. Please don’t ask about this black card……!’
Seeing Raphael smiling with his eyes curved, Lucian’s words suddenly popped into my head.
[I’ll It Master. a be card, doesn’t even for gift give have me. my pick so to want, whatever you]
Ah, fuck it, should I just close my eyes and blow it all? He said money doesn’t matter anyway!
…Right, decision made.
When I snapped my eyes open, I locked dead-on with Raphael, who was looking at me as if finding me fascinating.
Clenching my cold-sweat-slicked hand tightly, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Can I…… make up for it with something else?”
“Pardon?”
“Because this card isn’t mine. …Ah, I didn’t steal it, I did get permission to use it, but it just doesn’t feel right using someone else’s money for my personal business.”
No sooner had those words left my mouth than a chime—beep!—sounded.
Stealthily checking my phone, the notification lighting up the screen caught my eye.
[Queen’s Department Store Marble Ice Cream: -3,500 KRW]
……For a split second, I felt infinitely small for having coveted Lucian’s card.
When you were about to spend 3,000 KRW, I was out here plotting to drop 30 million won.
Sighing, I shoved my phone back into my pocket and looked up at Raphael.
I happened to catch his eye, and he looked strangely startled.
One of his hands came up to cover his mouth, and looking away, he wore a subtle smile.
The tips of his ears seemed faintly stained with red.
“Pfft—ah. Excuse me. Ahahaha.”
“……?”
Raphael let out a chuckle, his shoulders shaking.
Caught off guard by the out-of-nowhere laughter, I stared at him blankly as he wiped the corners of his eyes and continued.
“It’s just been a while since I met someone so honest.”
With a lingering smile still hanging on his face, he looked at me and made a proposal.
“How about this, then? There’s a movie coming out soon. Would you be willing to help me practice my acting lines?”
……I was suddenly about to become a movie actor’s rehearsal partner.
Momentarily flustered, I swallowed hard and blurted out,
“Me, you say?”
Raphael nodded, a gentle smile returning to his face.
“Yes. There’s a scene in the play where I talk to a statue. I need a practice partner for it.”
He slowly rubbed his chin with his fingertips, gazing steadily at me.
The moment our eyes met—those mysterious violet eyes—a weird chill crawled down my spine.
“By the way…… ah, what was your name again?”
“Yoon Seohyun.”
“Yoon Seohyun. You should fit the bill quite nicely.”
I nodded on pure reflex, but immediately waved my hands in denial.
“I’m really not good at acting or anything like that, though?”
Unfazed as ever, maintaining his warm, serene smile, Raphael replied,
“You just need to stand still. You’re playing the role of a statue, after all.”
“If it’s just that, couldn’t you just practice facing empty air? Is there really any need to use me as a practice partner?”
“Even for me, having an actual person there is much more comfortable than staring into empty air. Stirring up the emotions is what matters, you see.”
It felt weird.
Everything he said made logical sense, and his smile was completely benign, so why did it feel so deeply unsettling?
“……So, you’re saying I just need to stand completely still, right?”
“Of course. It’s a very simple task.”
With that, Raphael pulled a small booklet from inside his coat and unfolded it.
It was a script packed tight with colorful sticky notes.
Showing me the book, he tilted his head slightly.
“If it feels burdensome, you’re welcome to refuse. But I think this will turn out to be the better choice for you, Yoon Seohyun-ssi.”
His words carried a strangely loaded, meaningful weight.
I hesitated for a moment.
But now that my plan to go on a shopping spree with Lucian’s card had fallen through, if I could settle this debt with just this much, maybe it was the better option.
“……Understood. But fair warning, I really am terrible at acting.”
At that, Raphael offered a faint smile, murmuring in a low, gentle voice.
“It’s fine. You’re already a plenty good enough casting choice.”
Those words lingered strangely in my ears.
‘What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of implication is that?’
A deeply ominous feeling crept over me, but before I even had a chance to think deeply about it, I swallowed hard and asked,
“How many times do I have to do this?”
Without offering any particular explanation, Raphael lifted the script slightly and said,
“How about about three times?”
“Three times?”
“Most of the filming is already wrapped up. We put off capturing the early-stage emotions because they weren’t landing right, so we started shooting from the latter half onward. Once we just sync up our breaths and run through it with you, we should be able to jump straight into filming.”
‘Why the hell is that filming schedule dragging me into it?!’
Watching him calmly mapping out the plan ahead of time, I could only swallow a dry lump in my throat.
Besides, three times?
That meant we were going to be getting tangled up with each other far more often than I’d like.
Still…… honestly, I figured it had to be better than running into Lucian every single day.
This much was manageable.
I forced myself to nod and was about to answer when a low voice suddenly echoed from right behind my back.
“What is this stray dog doing here?”
……Fucking hell.
No way, no way in hell.
For a split second, my heart slammed against my ribs, skipping a beat too late.
It felt as if a sharp rustle of wings had brushed past somewhere in the dark.
Steading my sunken breath, I slowly turned back around.
“Oh, even the actor is here?”
Red hair, golden eyes.
Adrian Krause Crown.
‘Body mutilation. Pet.’
Those words floated around in my head like ghosts.
Instinctively, I edged in close right beside Raphael.
If I somehow got sliced off, at least he was a clergyman who could probably stitch me back together.
……Assuming that kind of ability still worked in reality, that is.
“Hmm, is the little puppy shy?”
I love this novel omg 😭 Amazing comedy