In the wide office of an esteemed CEO stood Jean, the owner of Story Lab.
“So, I heard you have been bringing in useless shrimps inside the premolar room.”
Jean froze, a shiver running down his spine. He chuckled nervously. “It isn’t like that,” he said. “I only take important people there.”
“That’s not what I heard,” the man said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You know that I have eyes everywhere inside Saliva.”
Jean cast his gaze to the ground.
Then, the man stood from his seat, inserting both hands into his pockets. “The only reason I let you inside that bar is because we’re related,” he continued, not even bothering to look at Jean.
Jean didn’t dare look up to the imposing man.
“If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t even be able to go in. You have broken our promise.”
Jean lifted his head, feeling fear run through his veins. “This—this doesn’t mean what I’m thinking, right?”
“It’s your last warning, uncle,” he smirked. “The next time you do this, I’ll make sure you’re unable to step inside Saliva ever again.”
***
The atmosphere inside Minji’s apartment was celebratory. Doha and Minji had been talking nonstop about the frenzy that Zeno had caused.
“Do you have any new projects?” she asked.
“What are you going to choose next?” Doha chimed.
“I bet you’re going to get offered bigger roles now,” she continued.
“But, he probably still has to audition for some,” Doha added.
“It doesn’t matter!” Minji exclaimed. “Zeno is one of the best actors I’ve ever watched. I believe he can reach even greater heights with his skills.”
She turned to Zeno and then tilted her head to the side, suddenly feeling strange.
“You… did you change something with your diet? Or are you drinking any supplements?”
Zeno’s brows furrowed as he shook his head. “No, why?”
Minji shook her head and turned to the side. “Nothing,” she muttered. “You’re glowing, that’s all.”
Glowing?
Zeno looked at his skin and found that, indeed, his skin was still glowing. The two pretty potions were in their potent state, so he must look ridiculous at the moment.
Just then, the moment was broken when Eli stood from his seat, the chair scraping on the floor.
“I’m done,” he muttered. “Thanks for the meal.”
With that, he washed his plate and went out of the unit, leaving the three in a heavy mood.
They didn’t speak for a while before Doha broke the silence.
“He’s still in a bad mood,” he muttered.
“Is it because of me?” Zeno asked.
Minji pursed her lips. “Probably,” she answered. “Don’t worry, though. He’ll come around soon. Just talk to him when his head cools down.”
“Okay,” Zeno said. “I’ll talk to him now.”
Doha’s and Minji’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s still in the acute phase of his tantrum!”
Zeno shrugged. “The sooner I talk to him, the better.”
With that, he went out of the unit before the two could stop him.
Doha shook his head in disbelief. “Even I don’t mess with Eli when he’s mad.”
Minji nodded in agreement. However, there was another thing she couldn’t forget. “Zeno’s really handsome, isn’t he?”
***
Zeno was about to knock at Eli’s door when he suddenly heard his voice not too far away.
“I told you not to worry about it,” Eli said in a frustrated tone.
Zeno stopped in his tracks, leaning against the wall to wait for Eli’s conversation to end.
Eli clicked his tongue. “Dad, since when did you worry about me this excessively?” he asked with a bitter laugh.
Zeno pursed his lips. It seemed he had a problem aside from what the two of them had.
Of course, Zeno knew that family was also a great source of problems. Eli was probably no exception to that.
“I haven’t been able to pay my school fees for the first semester aside from the down payment, and we’re about to have our midterms for the second semester. The accounting office had forbidden me to participate unless I am able to pay for the entire balance.”
Zeno’s eyebrows raised in surprise. And now, he also had a financial problem.
“I told you to stop investing in such gimmicky things. It’s high risk, high return. We won’t get rich like that,” he sighed.
“So, just focus on living well, okay? Are you still able to eat?”
There was a long silence before Eli hummed.
“Hmm… Don’t worry about it. I’ll just take a break and come back.”
Zeno frowned. Was Eli planning on stopping medical school? It seemed he was very passionate about it. However, becoming a doctor wasn’t an easy feat—especially if you didn’t have any money.
Zeno was able to pull it off before, but not everybody was built like him.
His thoughts were interrupted when Eli spoke again.
“You’re going to take a loan? It’s 17,000,000 won.”
Zeno placed his hand over his heart. Goodness, medical school was already worth that much for two semesters? No wonder there was a doctor crisis in their country!
Even his pay from ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ wouldn’t be able to cover it. Their contract from Story Lab had a fixed payment system rather than a pay-per-view one, so no matter how successful the show was, the company would get the extra revenue.
He was paid 15,000,000 won for his role, which wasn’t bad for a rookie actor. However, that still had to be shared with the company, and since Zeno believed he didn’t need the money back then, he decided to give them a 50/50 cut.
That budget must have been used for their overdue rent already.
“You won’t be able to pay it,” Eli muttered. “Don’t take out a loan. You have too many debts anyway.”
His family’s financial problems seemed to be very deep.
“I couldn’t maintain the scholarship because I’m working.”
Eli exhaled, but it came out shaky. Zeno peeked through the wall and saw that Eli’s eyes were red, probably from holding back his tears.
“Don’t say sorry,” he muttered.
“If I can’t continue, then that’s that,” he continued with a small, bitter chuckle. “Who cares if it’s my dream? I shouldn’t have dreamed in the first place.”
Then, a soft, final, “Bye. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Eli sighed and shook his head, hitting his shoulder when he felt himself getting too emotional.
He arrived in front of his unit and frowned when he felt a gust of wind.
Was someone here?
Then, he shrugged and entered his unit, preparing to look for a full-time job.
Meanwhile, Zeno hid behind Minji’s unit, trying to comprehend the situation.
An opportunity had opened up to make up with Eli. It seemed he didn’t plan on telling them this, but Zeno already knew about it. He was going to pay for Eli’s tuition fee. However, he still had to think of some quick way to make money.
He entered Minji’s unit, and there, he found the two of them talking about something interesting.
“I’m going to film tomorrow,” Doha said.
Minji gasped. “Are you pursuing acting like Zeno now?”
Doha shook his head. “No! I was cast as a tone deaf singer in ‘Sing or Sync.’ It’s back with a new season, and we have to film tomorrow.”
Zeno stopped in his tracks.
Sing or Sync?