Zeno was left dumbfounded after their act.
They bowed and left the stage as the audience cheered. Mr. Goldie also made some decent commentary and gave them a whopping five narcissists out of ten.
The worst part was that Zeno couldn’t argue with his rating.
He sighed and shook his head, turning to the gym bros, who, fortunately, didn’t appear fazed. Ignorance was bliss.
However, Jim was an exception to that; he bit his lips and looked down at his lap.
“Crap,” he muttered. “I was the one who wanted to win this for the team, but now, I’m going to be the reason for our downfall.”
Zeno sighed, glancing at the crowd and the other guys. It seemed they were enamored by the next team, the carwash joint next to the crab restaurant consisting of a bunch of attractive women.
Zeno kept his gaze at the front but continued to speak to Jim.
“Acting was your dream, right?”
Jim slowly lifted his gaze, but even then, Zeno didn’t make any effort to look at him.
A small smile appeared on Jim’s face as if reminiscing the good old days.
“Once,” he answered. “But I guess it is my lifelong dream.”
“Why did you stop?” Zeno asked.
Jim crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“Life.”
“Life happened. I fell in love, got married, and now have a family. I didn’t have that big of a career to lose, so I chose what I have now,” he continued.
“Do you regret any of it?”
That made Jim pause, but then, he shook his head. “Not at all,” he said.
“Some of us are meant to live ordinary lives—that’s what I tell myself every day. Not everyone can be a superstar. It’s just the way it is.”
“You’re right,” Zeno muttered. “But you still like acting, right? That’s why you’re so nervous right now.”
Jim finally chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. “It seems you know a lot about human emotions, huh? None of these guys would have ever guessed it.”
“Don’t blame them,” Zeno said. “Most of their weight went to their muscles and not their brains.”
He chuckled louder, earning a bunch of ‘shh’ from the crowd. He quickly covered his mouth and turned to Zeno once more.
“Well, to answer your question—yes. I still enjoy acting. It’s my first love. I guess I’m nervous because I know I could never be good enough compared to you or to the others around here.”
“Of course, you’re not going to be as good as me,” Zeno said, finally looking him in the eye.
Jim’s eyebrows raised.
“I’m very talented,” Zeno added. He was simply telling the truth.
Somehow, though, that lifted Jim’s spirits up. “That—you are.”
“But you are, too,” Zeno continued, leaning his elbows against his lap. “I saw it from when we practiced. You know the technicalities of acting.”
“It’s just been too long that your nerves have caught up.”
“How do you do it?” Jim suddenly asked. “Why is it that you don’t appear nervous at all?”
“I heard from Doha that you only started acting this year. When I was a rookie like you, I couldn’t handle my nerves at all.”
Zeno merely shrugged. He had just lived for a long time, and feeling nervous about things like this seemed quite trivial to him.
“What do you love now? Besides acting?” Zeno asked, changing the topic.
Jim didn’t hesitate to answer. “My family, of course,” he said. “I have to admit that I’m quite scared of acting, but I’m doing this for my son. That free rent will be a huge help for all of us.”
“Then, you must know that this is your life now,” Zeno said.
“Huh?” Jim asked out of confusion.
“Your family is your life now,” Zeno continued, leaning against his seat as the carwash girls finished their play. He turned to Jim and looked him sincerely in the eyes.
“You will never have another opportunity to act like this again,” he deadpanned.
Jim’s breath hitched.
“So, make the most of it. Live out your dream, even just for this time, because at the end of the day, you’re going back to providing for your family like always…. and your dream will continue to remain as a dream.”
Jim’s heart raced inside his chest.
However, it wasn’t the nervous kind.
What Zeno said seemed to snap him out of his nervousness, turning it into determination.
Just then, Doha nudged Zeno’s shoulder. “Do we still need to practice? There’s still a few acts left.”
Zeno glanced at Jim before shaking his head, a small smile playing on his lips.
“I think we’re all good.”
***
The gym bros arrived at the waiting area, watching as the pawnshop team bowed and left the stage. At this point, Zeno’s mask had been removed, and his face was out in the open.
As the pawnshop team passed by them, they couldn’t help but stop for a moment.
“Is it just me… or is there a handsome man in the gym team?”
Meanwhile, they arrived at the stage, and Zeno turned his back to the audience.
“It’s the last act for the day,” Mr. Goldie said. “I’m sad, really, but it is what it is.”
The others nodded in agreement, focusing their gaze on the stage, ready for the last act of the day. The rest of the competitors were in their respective seats, some standing since they were already done with their part.
“You may begin,” Mr. Goldie said, and their show finally commenced.
“Xeno’s amazing! He is here to save us all!” the gym bros said in unison.
“Our economy is losing to a land called Earth,” one of them said. “Xeno will be sent down to retrieve data, and we will topple over that damn planet!”
The crowd chuckled, the premise of the play already sounding fun to them.
Zeno had done his best to elevate the gym bros’ acting skills. So in the span of a week, he had increased their acting stats to at least a C+, which was at the same level as his co-actors in ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky.’
With Zeno’s back turned to them, the crowd became even more curious.
Finally, he faced the audience, and it seemed like all of them were splashed with cold water on a hot summer’s day.
Zeno’s face was an invigorating experience. Their mouths hung in shock, and they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It seemed as if an alien had truly come to this small auditorium to bless them with his good looks!
“Isn’t that Zeno Han?”
“That’s Zeno!”
The barber boys, with their shirtless agenda, felt the need to cover themselves up. Even with their muscles on display, they were no match for Zeno’s aura!
Zeno suppressed the smirk that threatened to appear on his lips.
Then, he snapped right into his character, giving them a live show of a lifetime.