The moment the scene finished, everyone seemed to release a breath. The entire room was overwhelmed by Ryeo Wang.
It was the first time Zeno felt like that in this body, too.
Ryeo had the ability to command everybody in the room, and it only took one take.
Ryeo pursed his lips. “I’m done for today, right?” he asked, already removing his robe.
Daeshim PD nodded, still in a daze after watching him act. It seemed he was transported back in time and witnessed a power struggle right before his eyes.
“You’ve worked hard, sir,” Daeshim said.
Ryeo nodded and began to exit the pavilion with the help of his assistant. Meanwhile, the rest could do nothing but watch as he left.
When he was gone, Daeshim finally snapped back to his strict self. “Let’s go ahead with Zeno’s scenes then!”
They all turned to Zeno—most of the staff, main actors, and extras. All of them were curious. Some of them already knew of his acting skills, but only a few of them had seen it in real life.
Even if most of the other actors’ scenes were done for the day, they still wanted to watch Zeno.
Zeno sat on the seat where he was going to be tortured.
Yes, tortured. What a way to kick off his first scene, right?
Although he had thoroughly prepared for the role, Zeno still had two scenes that he was iffy about. This was one of them.
“Ready?” Daeshim PD asked.
Zeno nodded and fixed his posture.
Back straight. Shoulders relaxed. Head slightly bowed.
When he finally sat, he could feel the entire crew watching him.
The camera stood steady. Boom mics hovered. Someone coughed in the back, and the assistant director snapped at them to quiet down.
Deep down, it was a scene everyone had been waiting for.
Zeno is a rookie actor with a reputation built by a relatively small number of people. Rumors had said he was terrifyingly good. When he acted, it felt like someone else stepped into his body.
Now, it was time to see if the rumors were true.
“Scene twelve. Take one,” Daeshim PD called.
Zeno nodded once. He lowered his lashes and inhaled. Then, everything changed.
His body twitched. His eyes flinched open like someone pulled him from underwater. He jolted upright, breathing hard, as if the air had just been granted to him for the first time in days.
The room was unfamiliar. Dirty hay walls. Dim torchlight flickering in sconces.
He blinked, his breaths shallow.
“…Where am I?” His voice cracked, raw with confusion.
He gazed side to side, disoriented, swaying like the ground was made of paper.
“Who are you?!” he demanded, eyes wide as he turned toward the sound of footsteps off-camera. “What am I doing here?!”
“You’re Hajin, aren’t you?” came the line from the actor playing the thug that his brothers had hired.
Hajin tilted his head to the side. This was the first interaction of the modern Hajin in the ancient setting, and he was already being tortured.
The screen captured his confusion, and the crew nodded in approval. Risa pursed her lips as she watched him act live. Oska held in the urge to scoff while Daniel was unintentionally immersed.
“Cut!” Daeshim PD exclaimed. “That’s good. One more take, alright? Let’s include the next scene.”
Zeno nodded.
“Wow, ” someone whispered near the monitors.
“That was pretty good,” murmured one of the assistant producers, nudging Daeshim PD.
Even some of the extras raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t expect that from a pretty boy.”
Zeno didn’t break character. He simply reset himself quietly, breathing slowly, letting the tension settle back in his limbs. It was then that he noticed someone watching from one of the huts. He turned to the side and saw Ryeo Wang watching with one eyebrow raised.
His heart skipped a beat. Was he watching all along? He needed to exploit this opportunity to impress him then!
“Next scene,” the director said. “Banquet sequence. He’s being tortured to keep him from showing up.”
Makeup staff rushed in to dab fake blood and dirt onto his face. Someone checked the lighting. One of the extras playing a thug rehearsed his grip on the wooden plank he’d use for the ‘beating.’
Zeno sat down again. The moment the camera rolled, he was already trembling.
Hajin’s wrists strained against the ropes as he tried to lift his head. His lips were bloodied.
“I think you have the wrong person,” he said, still confused.
However, the thugs didn’t listen to a word he said and continued with the beating.
Whip crack. He lurched.
Another hit. He gasped, spine curling. His arms sagged forward.
A third blow. He whimpered, a sob caught in his throat.
His mouth trembled as he slurred, “I… have to go… I have work.”
“Cut!” Daeshim PD exclaimed.
Zeno turned to the crew, and they had unreadable expressions. He pursed his lips. It was hard to gauge whether he had done a good job.
Daeshim PD turned his head to the side, feeling that something was wrong. Oska smirked while Risa bit her lip nervously.
“It’s not believable,” he said after a while. No matter how much Daeshim looked at it, trying to look for a silver lining, Zeno had acted without the proper physical pain.
Daniel, despite being immersed in watching the first scene, quietly scoffed. “I can do it better.”
Oska turned to him with one eyebrow raised. Daniel quickly retracted his words. “I mean, you can do it better, Oska.”
Oska finally smiled in satisfaction.
Zeno stood, brushing dust off his costume. He didn’t look offended. Just thoughtful.
He pursed his lips, nodding faintly. He knew he would have a difficult time with this scene.
Try living for 500 years! Your pain tolerance will surely increase.
The last time he had felt such grueling pain was during his anesthetic-free castration. His illness as Sanjae was also pretty painful. However, even then, he had masked it.
How does someone who had masked most of his pain begin to act it out?
It seemed he truly still had a long way to go with his acting. He glanced to the side and saw Ryeo Wang slowly losing interest.
He pursed his lips, trying to come up with something.
Just then, he looked toward the extras. “Can you actually hit me? Just a little stronger for me to feel the impact.”
They merely laughed, not taking his suggestion seriously. “We can’t do that. You’ll bruise. Everyone will have a hard time covering it for the next scenes.”
The crew watched as Zeno struggled. Then, they began undermining his strength.
“He’s not that good then.”
“Yeah, I thought he was the best since the crew fought for his place.”
Daeshim pursed his lips, his own reputation reflecting on Zeno’s performance. “Do you need a break? Are you tired?” he asked.
Zeno glanced to the side once more. Ryeo Wang was still there.
With that, he shook his head.
“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Let’s continue.”
Daeshim PD clicked his tongue before nodding.
However, even then, Zeno didn’t have a strategy. With that, he quickly scanned through his items.
“Draught of Immersion,” he whispered.