“Are you finished now?” Zeno asked after a while.
Moby was still catching his breath. Despite being with Bobby in the industry for 15 years, he still wasn’t used to seeing such big stars.
Well, they never got the opportunity because their actors never made it to auditions like this. It was only because of Zeno that their company was getting such opportunities.
“Yes,” Moby sighed, closing his eyes and opening them again. However, he gasped once more.
“And that’s Daniel Byeon!” he exclaimed.
Zeno quickly covered Moby’s mouth.
“I know who he is,” Zeno quickly disclaimed. He glanced at Daniel for a moment to look at his stats. He was surrounded by three guards, which was quite excessive.
[B-lister with C+ talent]
He smirked. His talent was at par with those influencers. However, his good looks and fake-pleasing personality must have worked in his favor.
“I’m going,” Zeno said before Moby could continue running his mouth.
Then, he opened the door and stepped outside, bringing his hood over his head.
“Wait!” Moby exclaimed once more, making Zeno groan in frustration.
“What now?”
Moby smiled sheepishly. “The boss wants me to tell you this,” he said.
Zeno listened intently.
“If you don’t make it, the company is still proud of—”
Zeno slammed the door closed before Moby could finish his sentence. He didn’t need that kind of encouragement. He was here to get the lead role. If he doesn’t, then he’ll look for another project that can triumph over this one.
He started walking toward the SK building. There were some fans lingering around, with some even taking photos, so Zeno made sure to cover his face, not giving anything away.
He arrived inside and followed the signs that led to the audition site. This time, it wasn’t an open, public one. The auditionees will be going inside the room one by one to be scrutinized by a set of important people.
Zeno arrived, and some turned toward his way. However, since he covered his face pretty well, those who looked at him thought he was merely a small actor—one who didn’t have a chance for the main role.
Zeno looked around and found a couple more prominent actors along the hallway. Most of them were around his age, some a little bit older, but it didn’t take a genius to deduce that nearly all of them were aiming for Hajin.
“You’re going for Hajin, right?”
“Of course.”
“He’s the most well-loved character in all art forms.”
“Do you think we have a chance with those four actors, though?”
Zeno listened to their conversation, also turning to the side to look at the four actors they were talking about.
As expected, Moby had noticed them earlier—Yuan, Suho, Oska, and Daniel.
They were all having a casual conversation.
“I loved your newest drama, by the way—’Broken Chains of Justice.’ I binged it last week,” Oska chuckled, sounding like a rich man.
“I also liked your film,” Daniel said with a wide smile. Zeno held in the urge to scoff because he acted too differently from when they worked together.
“Yuan, over here, is killing it,” Suho smirked, nudging the former idol’s shoulder. “He even sang the OST of the last film he was in. Oh, and congrats on making it to the Rookie Class.”
“You’re flattering me, Suho,” Yuan smiled. “You’re the one who’s killing it. Cut us some slack, will you? This is my first time auditioning for a period drama. You’re in almost all of them.”
Suho shrugged as the four of them chuckled. It was supposed to be an amazing sight—four popular actors complimenting each other.
However, Zeno knew better. He could tell through the look in their eyes.
‘I’m definitely getting the main role,’ Suho thought, pursing his lips to hide his confident smirk.
He had no reason to be diffident. Yuan was right! He was experienced and had been acting for a long time.
It was true he had been in the Rookie Class since he was young, unable to move up, but he believed he was still the best period drama actor out of the bunch!
‘I’ve had the fastest-growing career,’ Daniel thought. He was sure he was the trendiest among them, too, so the directors and writers would not be able to refuse him!
Yuan, on the other hand, closed his eyes. He had been in the industry for so long, but not as an actor. Still, he had made a name for himself as a great actor in a short amount of time. He was confident he was going to take the lead role.
Oska, however, smiled freely. Why would they still bother fighting with someone who has both acting skills and connections? Unless they were a significantly better actor than him, which was unlikely, then the role was his!
Just then, Oska felt someone’s gaze right on them. A small frown graced his face, and he snapped his gaze toward that person.
There, he saw a man with covered eyes. He didn’t look familiar at all. What was strange was that he didn’t look away. On the contrary, it seemed he was challenging Oska’s gaze.
However, just as Oska’s breathing became heavier, the hooded man turned away, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning against the wall.
Oska let out a breath, which he didn’t even know he was holding.
The others quickly noticed the shift in his composure.
“Are you alright?” Daniel asked, although he wasn’t really concerned about him. Still, there was no harm in getting close to someone who was well-acquainted in the entertainment industry.
“Yeah,” Oska said, clearing his throat, not even wanting to glance at where the hooded man was sitting.
“I just… felt a strong presence.”
Just then, before they could question Oska’s vague statement, everyone became silent.
They turned toward the end of the hallway, and there, they saw the people who would change their fates in a couple of moments.
Daeshim Ho—the director of ‘The Forsaken Prince.’ A tall man in his mid-50s who had started directing when he was 20. He had learned from the legends of the country, and he was known for his period dramas or slice-of-life, feel-good films.
He also had plenty of shows on the SK channel, and all of them had been a guaranteed hit.
Next to him was a younger woman with short hair and glasses. It seemed she was one of the producers of the drama and would become Daeshim’s right hand.
And next to them was an even younger woman, not daring to make any eye contact with the aspiring main actors.
“Who is that?” they began to discuss.
“I don’t know. She seems pretty young.”
The actors bowed as the three of them walked, with most of the attention on Daeshim Ho.
Suho, Daniel, Yuan, and Oska also paid their respects to the director and the producer, completely disregarding the young woman next to them.
Zeno, on the other hand, couldn’t take his gaze away from the young woman.
“Annie,” he muttered.
Of course, nobody recognized her.
She was the faceless author of ‘The Forsaken Prince,’ after all.