“You’re sick!” Bobby exclaimed as he pulled up in front of the SK building channel.
“It’s fine,” Zeno said, waving him off. He grabbed some napkins from his broken compartment to wipe the side of his face. He was slightly drenched from the rain because Bobby’s car window didn’t close fully.
“You should have told me,” he muttered. “So, this was why your friends appeared like they didn’t want to let you go.”
Bobby reached out to hold Zeno’s arm but quickly retaliated when he felt how warm he was.
“This can’t be,” he muttered, about to turn around to go to a hospital, but Zeno placed his hand over the gear and shook his head.
Then, he sighed. “You know how hard it is to get to this point,” Zeno started off.
“Your company has been in a slump. Wait, no—in a dump. You’ve never experienced a surplus. All you’ve had are deficits. That’s why your family is starting to resent you.”
Bobby placed his hand over his heart. Did Zeno have to go this hard on him?
“It’s only because a good-looking, talented young man has entered your company that you now have opportunities like this,” he continued.
Bobby paused. Well, he couldn’t really argue about that. Zeno was all those things.
“However, even then, you know that things wouldn’t be easy on me or the company. An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime.”
“So, just take care of your family, and I’ll do my best,” Zeno ended, manually opening the car door but not fully opening it yet.
“Then, maybe, you can also become the father and husband you want to be while getting to live your dreams.”
With that, Zeno opened the door and ran out, momentarily getting wet once more.
Bobby reached out to him, but he was already on his way inside. He watched his back as he entered, still wet from the rain.
Then, he shook his head. “What a good guy,” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Zeno glanced at his watch and saw that he was running a bit behind. Still, he went to the men’s restroom to tidy up a bit. The others must be there already, and he didn’t want to appear so pathetic.
He looked at his reflection as he let his clothes dry through the hand drier and noted that he appeared even worse this morning. His cheeks were redder, and his eyes appeared quite sullen even though he didn’t feel sad at all.
He sighed and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair one last time before going to the designated room. He didn’t know what he was expecting as he opened the door, but it definitely wasn’t a room filled with other A-list and B-list actors.
Zeno stopped in his tracks as they simultaneously turned to him.
A sound that could only be described as a suffering hippopotamus was heard in the room, but still, that didn’t snap most of them from their shock.
Shin’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and he turned to Risa, who had her hand over her mouth.
“Was that… you?” he asked.
Risa cleared her throat and sat straight, shaking her head. “Of course not,” she denied, but the older actor knew better. A small smile appeared on his lips.
“This kid is pretty handsome,” he said, and Risa held in the urge to smile.
Heck yeah, he was handsome!
Meanwhile, Daeshim merely bowed at him. There was something about the young actor that somehow pulled him in. That was the very reason why he decided to hold the second audition in the first place despite talking to Mr. Kim of Daebak Entertainment.
“Sit down,” he said. Zeno nodded and went to sit next to Daniel.
The four other actors followed his movements as he sat.
Daniel bit his lip in frustration. “I knew it,” he muttered. The voice that aggravated him during the first auditions was none other than Zeno.
Yuan turned to him and pursed his lips. This was the first time he had seen Zeno Han in real life.
He had actually really enjoyed ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ because he related to the plot. He had gone through something similar when he was in high school, and Zeno portrayed that feeling of heartbreak really well.
Annie, who was adjacent to Zeno, couldn’t stop looking at him. Her heart thumped against her chest because, once again, Hajin was right in front of her.
Meanwhile, Oska couldn’t help but frown. He understood why the other three actors were chosen. They had the skill and experience for it. However, who was this guy? He never saw him in any of the red carpet events nor in highly-regarded clubs.
He just came out of nowhere.
“Introduce yourself, please,” Chachi said.
Zeno pursed his lips and nodded. “Good morning, everyone,” he said in a slightly rough voice due to his growing cold. “My name is Zeno Han. I’ve only started my acting journey this year.”
Risa frowned as soon as she heard her voice. Was he sick? He was definitely sick! That wasn’t how Zeno usually sounded.
Oska, on the other hand, finally figured out this guy’s identity.
It was the very same man who had humiliated him that day! His hands clenched under the desk, and he couldn’t help but scrutinize his side profile. Did he actually get this far? This was unbelievable!
Daeshim cleared his throat, capturing everybody’s attention.
“Now that everyone has introduced themselves, allow me to present our agenda for today,” he said.
“As you all know, ‘The Forsaken Prince’ is a well-loved novel, along with its franchises. This year, the SK channel decided to bring a drama adaptation to the masses. Not only is the country looking forward to it, but also the entire world.”
Those listening nodded in agreement. Annie blushed at the indirect compliment.
“With regards to this,” he continued. “We had started the process since last year, picking the finest actors for the certain roles. We have had several auditioning processes for the main role, but none of them clicked—until now.”
He lifted his head, looking at the five different actors one by one. “In fact, it has exceeded our expectations as we now have five choices for Hajin.”
The actors stiffened, and they instinctively glanced at each other, knowing they were, in fact, in a competition now. Zeno, on the other hand, just kept his gaze forward, waiting for Daeshim to finish his statement.
“With that, we have decided to have another round, but this time, only with the best of the best. In front of some of the confirmed cast and the beloved staff of ‘The Forsaken Prince,’ you shall be acting in one of the most integral scenes to Hajin’s identity.”
“And after that, we will finally be choosing who will be our Hajin.”