Seokjin was relieved when the movie finished shooting. He knew that Norma was a terrible fit for the role, and he tried his best to make up for it by throwing himself manically into his role. He played every scene as if his life depended on it because that's exactly how he felt. At some point he thought he'd probably ruin things even more with his wild and desperate acting. But Sam Carson assured him that his intensity was the one thing that was lifting the entire movie from obscurity.

The movie was called Echoes of Youth, but word around the set was that it should be called Norma's Dreams of Youth because she was trying so hard to transform herself into a teenager. She was so miscast in her role. Nobody ever criticized her to her face, but as a veteran actress, she knew what was wrong. Once the cameras were off and she came home, she turned into a raging lunatic. She tore around the house screaming and yelling about everything she could think of.

Seokjin winced internally when he thought about her aggressiveness in bed. She either smashed his head between her legs depriving him of breath, or she demanded that he pound into her, screaming "Faster" and "Deeper" the entire time. If he didn't reach his climax, she would grab his dick and jerk him off so violently that it took all the pleasure out of it for him. It was becoming almost impossible to enjoy sex with her anymore. Most of the time, the only way he was able to climax was to think of Anna's innocent, beautiful face looking at him in the throes of passion and not Norma's frightfully contorted face with her teeth bared like an animal.

He regretted so much that he'd never called Anna to apologize for his disgusting accusations all those months ago. She had been innocent of all the things he'd accused her of doing. Norma and her busybody friends had concocted the stories to get Anna fired, and it made him so angry to think how he'd been manipulated. He had been wrong, and Anna had been right. He'd become nothing but Norma's puppet who couldn't think for himself.

When he'd seen Anna at that restaurant a few nights ago, he'd been paralyzed with shame. She was her usual bubbly, smiling, beautiful self, and she radiated happy energy. In contrast, he felt dark and grimy and unworthy to look upon her. He would never be good enough for her now, so he might as well give up any idea of being her friend, much less being her lover. She was so high above him now, a star in the sky.

He'd also heard that she'd been doing extremely well in her new movie. Everyone was talking about how her agent had set her up in the perfect role, and he clenched his teeth every time he heard that. He had no doubt that Namjoon was doing all he could for Anna because he loved her, because they were involved. Everyone said so.

He shook his head. He had to stop believing what everyone else said. That's what had gotten him into this sorry situation in the first place. He should know better by now.

He glanced at the clock and knew that Norma would be home soon. With a shuddering sigh, Seokjin prepared to play his part as Norma's sex toy. He wished things were different. He wanted her to be the way she used to be, showering him with true affection. Now she rarely showed him any type of kind emotion or human consideration. He was just an object upon which she slaked her anger and her lust. He had to pretend that he enjoyed their moments together because he felt he owed her that much. The debt he owed her, however, was taking its toll. The show had to go on, though. He was just an actor playing his part.

He heard the door open and braced himself for her presence. After a few moments, he wondered why Norma hadn't come into the bedroom as she usually did, already half-undressed. He got up and padded out to the living room.

She was standing in the middle of the room, staring vacantly at nothing. Her purse lay spilled over on its side at her feet as if she'd just let it fall.

"Norma?"

Her glassy eyes turned toward him, not recognizing him at first. "I'm ruined. We're ruined."