Cassius gave each student a scenario: just broke up with someone, won the lottery, lost and trying to find their way, secretly tailing a person. Their walks revealed everything about their emotional state.
He stopped them when needed and offered quick fixes. "When you're tailing someone, don't stare so hard. Real surveillance uses peripheral vision and a soft focus."
"Winning the lottery isn't about bouncing around. It's that light, floating feeling like you're dreaming. Keep your steps softer."
"After a breakup, it's not sadness in the walk. It's emptiness. Your body's moving, but your head's somewhere else."
Half an hour later most of the class had tried it. Cassius split them into pairs so they could watch and correct each other.
While he moved between groups, the back door cracked open and a head poked in.
It was Soo-yeon.
She wore the same oversized gray hoodie from before, black leggings, and Doc Martens. Hair in a high ponytail, no makeup, black-rimmed glasses. When she spotted Cassius she slipped inside quietly and took a seat in the last row.
Cassius noticed but kept teaching. He guided a girl on how to walk like she was secretly watching her crush.
Soo-yeon pulled out a notebook and pen and started taking notes. The blonde next to her leaned over. "You're not in this class, right?"
"Directing program," Soo-yeon whispered. "Just auditing. Cassius used to be my roommate."
The blonde's eyes went wide. "No way. What's he like in real life?"
Soo-yeon thought for a second. "Pretty normal. Stays up late reading scripts. Gets annoyed when someone drinks the last Coke. He cooks really well, especially spicy pork stir-fry. Daebak."
She said "Daebak" a little too loud. A few students in front turned around. Soo-yeon clapped a hand over her mouth.
Cassius walked over. "Soo-yeon. Auditing is fine, but keep it down."
"Sorry, teacher!" She sat up straight like a kid caught talking in class. The room laughed.
Cassius shook his head and went back to the front. "All right, next exercise. Use your walk to show a character's identity."
He wrote on the board: old person, hitman, aristocrat, thief, alien pretending to be human.
"Same idea—walking—but now add the physical and mental traits of the role. An old person isn't just hunched over. Think about stiff joints and breathing. A hitman keeps their center low, ready to move fast. An aristocrat isn't strutting—they move like they belong."
He looked at the class. "Anyone want to try the alien pretending to be human?"
The room went quiet. Then Soo-yeon raised her hand.
Cassius nodded. "Go ahead."
She stepped into the open space, closed her eyes for a moment, then started walking. Her steps were perfectly even, almost too even. Arms swung the same distance every time. Her gaze stayed level but her eyes moved slower than normal, like she was scanning instead of just looking. Even her breathing synced with her steps—two steps in, two steps out.
When she finished, the room stayed quiet.
Cassius asked the class what they noticed. A guy in a baseball cap said, "She walked too perfectly. Real people have tiny asymmetries."
Another student added, "Her breathing was way too regular. And her eyes didn't scan naturally."
Cassius turned to Soo-yeon. "Walk us through your choices."
She looked a little shy but answered clearly. "I figured an alien would study human movement and get the basics right, but it wouldn't understand the small, messy variations. So it overcorrects and ends up looking off."
Cassius smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted you to see. Performance isn't copying the surface. It's understanding the logic underneath."
The rest of the class stayed lively. Students asked about green-screen work, working with Jackie Chan on hand seals, and what Hollywood auditions were actually like. Cassius answered what he could and kept the rest light.
By the time the bell rang he was in the middle of explaining how breathing rhythm controls tension on camera. He wrapped up, gave the homework, and watched the students pack up. A few asked for photos. He took them without making a big deal out of it.
Soo-yeon waited until the room cleared, then walked up. "You were really good, oppa. I took a ton of notes."
"What are you doing here?" Cassius asked while packing his bag.
"Our directing program has a performance class too, but the professor's all theory. When I heard you were teaching, I snuck over. Real set experience hits different."
She paused, lowering her voice. "I wanted to check on you. After everything with the photos, you kind of disappeared."
"I'm fine," Cassius said. "Teaching's actually not bad. Better than I expected."
"That's good." Soo-yeon smiled. "Hey, I'm cooking tonight. Spicy pork stir-fry. I've been practicing. Want to come over and taste-test?"
Cassius raised an eyebrow. "You? Cooking?"
"Don't underestimate me!" She straightened up. "I'm basically the dorm kitchen MVP now. Last night shoot I made kimchi fried rice and the whole crew fought over it."
"Alright," Cassius said. "Your place or mine?"
"Old spot," she said, eyes lighting up. "The apartment we used to share. I kept the lease. Kitchen's still stocked."
They drove over. The building looked mostly the same, just a fresh coat of paint and a few new plants by the door. Upstairs, the apartment had changed—new gray couch, movie posters on the wall, scripts and storyboards scattered across the coffee table.
Soo-yeon kicked off her boots and tied on an apron that said "Director at Work, Do Not Disturb." She pulled pork, peppers, garlic, and a bottle of Chinese dark soy sauce from the fridge.
"See? Fully equipped. Even got the real soy sauce from Koreatown this morning."
Cassius leaned in the doorway and watched her work. She moved with more confidence than he remembered. The pork went into the hot pan first, sizzling as the fat rendered. The smell filled the small kitchen.
She talked while she cooked, explaining how to get the fat crispy without burning the meat, when to add the peppers, why a touch of sugar balanced the soy. It actually smelled good.
When she finished she scooped a small taste onto a spoon and held it out. "Try it."
Cassius tasted it. The pork was savory and slightly crispy, the peppers still had crunch, and the sauce had that deep, familiar kick. "Not bad. Way better than I expected."
"Daebak!" She grinned and plated it. "Told you I leveled up."
She ran back to the stove for the second dish—garlic stir-fried cauliflower she'd just learned. Cassius sat on the couch, looking at the plate of stir-fry steaming on the coffee table. It felt oddly normal.
Then came the loud sizzle from the kitchen, way louder than it should have been.
"Shit!" Soo-yeon yelped.
Cassius was already moving. He stepped into the kitchen just as a tall flame shot up from the pan. She'd probably added wet vegetables to hot oil. The flame licked toward the range hood.
"Don't use water!" he said, grabbing her wrist before she could reach for the faucet.
He spotted the lid on the counter, slammed it over the pan, and cut off the oxygen. The fire died fast, but smoke poured out and the alarm on the ceiling started screaming.
"Woo-woo-woo!"
The whole apartment filled with that piercing sound. Downstairs neighbors were already shouting. Two minutes later they heard the fire truck sirens pulling up outside.
Soo-yeon looked ready to cry. "I didn't mean to—"
Cassius opened every window while the alarm kept blaring. When the firefighters knocked he let them in. They checked the kitchen, confirmed no active fire, and handed him the bill.
"Five hundred dollars for the response," the older one said. "Cash or card?"
Cassius paid without arguing. The receipt felt heavier than it should have.
After they left, Soo-yeon collapsed on the couch. "Five hundred dollars… my whole month's food budget…"
Cassius sat across from her and looked at the plate of stir-fry that was still warm. "Lesson learned. Next time keep water away from hot oil."
She stared at the scorched pan in the sink and sighed. "At least the pork turned out good."
Cassius picked up his chopsticks. "Yeah. Worth the price of admission."