The first read continued with Oska hogging the lines of Hajin Yi. Prince Seon only had a few lines during the chosen scenes, and Zeno still delivered despite the unfamiliarity of the role.
The mood inside the room was still wary, especially since the chairman decided to stay until the end.
“Alright, everybody. Thank you all for coming for today,” Daeshim said, glancing at the chairman from time to time. “Let’s all have the lunch that Oska had prepared before leaving.”
Oska seemed to have prepared a full feast. He had steak lunchboxes for everyone. However, Zeno didn’t take one and opened his candied sweet potatoes instead.
Oska frowned when he saw him do this. However, he didn’t fight it. He didn’t expect the chairman to come, so he grabbed the one meant for Zeno and gave it to him.
The chairman stared at it for a moment before taking it from his hands.
Oska smiled and went back to his seat, seemingly in a better mood as he interacted with the staff and the likes of Hyunbin Lee.
“He just loves sweet potatoes,” Risa muttered as he looked at Zeno.
Annie, who was near her, turned to Risa, hearing what she had said. Then, she focused her attention back on Zeno and found him munching on the sweet potatoes like a greedy little kid.
She couldn’t help but smile despite the disappointment in her heart. Was this truly going to end with Zeno as Prince Seon?
However, even with these circumstances, she was happy that Zeno could be in the production.
Everybody began eating, but the chairman remained unmoving. Daeshim PD noticed this and was about to approach him. However, he suddenly stood from his seat and started walking toward the actors.
They lifted their heads one by one as the chairman passed them, with Oska looking forward to it the most.
However, much to his dismay, the chairman stopped right in front of Zeno, who was busy indulging in the sweet potatoes. Nothing could ever come between him and his love for sweet potatoes—not even the chairman of the SK Channel.
“Is it good?” he asked.
Zeno snapped out of his eating spree and looked up, seeing the stoic old man next to him. He swallowed before nodding.
“Yes,” he answered.
The chairman smirked once more. “Why don’t you want to eat this one?” he asked, pertaining to the lunchbox.
Zeno glanced at Oska when he answered. “It’s flavorless.”
The chairman couldn’t help but chuckle. Zeno was still looking at Oska at that moment, and he saw the shift in his gaze. A small smirk appeared on Zeno’s lips.
He had been silent thus now, not fighting for the role, because he felt that, somehow, things would work in his favor.
“I agree,” the chairman answered, causing Oska’s breath to hitch. “It lacks the depth of flavor that I crave. The lack of home and genuineness. It seemed it was made to impress rather than to feed.”
Zeno simply nodded.
The room was dead silent, and not even the sound of utensils scraping against the plastic container was heard.
Just then, the chairman held out his hand toward Zeno.
“Congratulations,” he said.
Zeno took it in a single beat, giving it a light squeeze.
‘Calloused,’ the chairman thought. A hand that had struggled through life.
Then, the chairman let go of his hand and turned to Daeshim PD. “Let’s stick with the original casting.”
Gasps were heard across the room. Annie had dropped her water bottle and spilled water on herself in a similar fashion as Oska. However, she didn’t care. She had to hear what the chairman had said once more.
“Zeno as Hajin,” he continued. “I believe it’s worth the gamble.”
For the first time today, a genuine smile spread across Daeshim PD’s face, one that was filled with relief.
“I came here today just to say that.”
The chairman and Daeshim shared a look, one that screamed that the chairman finally understood what Daeshim had meant in their last conversation.
With that, the chairman placed the untouched lunchbox in front of Oska before nodding.
“Well, I still have a shoot to attend to, so I best be going.”
The staff and the other actors stood, bowing their heads to the chairman as he left.
Zeno’s smile couldn’t be hidden as he glanced at Oska.
For once, the high actor couldn’t say anything at all.
***
It was past lunchtime when they finally dispersed, and Zeno was inside the restrooms, washing his hands. He looked at his face and noted the subtle glow that came from within his skin.
Was it from his items? He didn’t know.
All he knew was that the small smile on his lips wouldn’t disappear.
[Mission Accomplished: Obtain a main role in an acting project]
Just then, the door opened, and a person came in, breathing heavily. Of course, it was none other than Oska. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that Zeno was in the room, his frown deepening when he saw the small smile playing on his lips.
“I see that you’re happy,” Oska started off.
Zeno merely shrugged, shaking his hands on the sink before grabbing a napkin to dry them.
“You must feel like you’re on top of the world.”
Zeno shrugged once more, causing Oska’s frustration to skyrocket. He had been holding off since the time the chairman had asked him to try out the monologue.
As Zeno observed Oska, he knew that the one thing he craved the most was attention. That was why he refused to give it to someone like him—not even giving him the satisfaction of a response.
Zeno moved to leave, but Oska had other plans. He held onto Zeno’s shoulder but didn’t say anything for a few seconds. However, Zeno could feel his anger through his grip.
“Do you have any complaints?” Zeno asked, tilting his head to the side.
“You must know what the public thinks about you being the main character. If I were you, I would save myself from the embarrassment of taking such a huge role,” he said.
Zeno smirked, placing his hand on Oska’s wrist and forcefully removing his grip, causing the latter to grit his teeth.
“If you want, then take it up to the chairman,” Zeno said.
“He’s your father anyway, right?”