Everyone’s eyes were on Zeno.
“Oh, he was called by Mr. Sam, but it’s not to be complimented. That’s embarrassing.”
“His face doesn’t move at all. If he was playing a robot, he would have nailed it.”
The room was filled with snickers, but with one glare from Sam, they all turned silent.
Just then, Minseok cleared his throat, wanting to appear like a knight in shining armor.
“This must be his first time acting, sir,” he said. “I will teach him as the most experienced person in this room.”
Zeno cleared his throat. “I can answer for myself,” he said, surprising Minseok.
What the heck? He was trying to save him!
“The acting instructor told us to react realistically based on the situation given,” Zeno started off.
Sam nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “And yet you didn’t change your facial expression one bit.”
“That’s how I would react based on those situations,” Zeno deadpanned.
Yura’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Meanwhile, Sam’s frown deepened. The others looked at Zeno with disbelief, wondering if he had a death wish for contradicting the very owner of the acting workshop himself.
“There was no context given behind what character we would portray. Does he have a weak temperament? Or maybe, he couldn’t hide his emotions well,” Zeno continued. “Instead, it was just to react as ourselves.”
Sam was rendered speechless. Even Yura didn’t know what to say.
This new guy was right, but it still left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Sam scoffed, shaking his head. It was becoming more unclear how Man-shik PD found this young man interesting. Aside from his ordinary exterior, he seemed to be extremely ungovernable.
“Well, it seems like actors these days don’t need their warm-ups,” Sam said, staring right into Zeno’s eyes. This was another thing he didn’t like about this guy. He didn’t know what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, in Zeno’s mind—’when are they going to teach us about acting so I could finally gain it as a talent?’
“Let’s head straight to the scenario acting,” Sam continued, his eyes narrowing.
The other actors glared at Zeno, who sat back down with a neutral expression.
Yura let out a soft sigh and grabbed the scripts from the side. She began distributing them, and the others immediately started reading. Usually, they would discuss how the scene could be interpreted. However, that was all scratched because of Zeno.
Zeno received his copy last, receiving a small glare from Yura. However, he didn’t even feel it and merely read through the script. It was two pages long and had two other counterparts.
Just then, Minseok raised his hand. “Sir, should we group into threes?” he asked. “There are three roles for this scene.”
“No,” Sam immediately said. “Yura and I would be acting with you.”
With his statement, the actors burst into their respective conversations.
“We’re going to be acting with Sam Ong himself?”
“We are getting more than what we have bargained for.”
“I can’t do this! How could we act with two monsters?”
“Isn’t this a beginner’s class? Why is the script so long?”
Sam cleared his throat. “You have half an hour to study the script,” he said while Yura set up the timer. “No extensions. Then, you will take turns one by one. Your time starts now.”
With that, Yura pressed the timer, and it began ticking. The other actors scrambled to study their script, some already forming sweat on their asses.
Meanwhile, Minseok read through it confidently, knowing he would be able to execute it perfectly.
Zeno, on the other hand, quietly clicked his tongue. He thought this was an acting class! Weren’t they supposed to teach them something? He shook his head and decided to continue with the activity.
He read the title—’Golden Hour.’
It seemed to be an original script, as Zeno didn’t recognize the storyline. There was a synopsis at the top before the scene itself.
It was a medical drama revolving around the main character, Dr. Baekjin.
Baekjin was a genius trauma surgeon who spent years saving lives in rural clinics, far from the politics and prestige of urban hospitals. Now, back in the city’s top trauma center, he clashed with a competitive colleague, Dr. Minjae, and a passionate nurse, Yewon.
The scene was focused around a devastating bus accident that left dozens of children trapped and critically injured. Their team was dispatched into the chaos. Under the pressure, Baekjin fought against time and Minjae’s antagonism to save as many lives as possible.
Zeno looked around and saw the other actors already rehearsing, with different emotions on their faces.
Meanwhile, Yura observed Zeno, wondering how he would act in this particular challenge. Then, she shook her head.
“He’s a goner,” she muttered. Not only did he retain his neutral expression, but he didn’t passionately practice like the other actors.
“Times up,” Sam exclaimed, earning groans of protest from the actors.
Sam smirked. “Half an hour is enough for such a short scene. If you cannot handle this, then stay as an extra for the rest of your lives,” he said.
That silenced them quickly, keeping their complaints to themselves.
“Now,” Sam said, scanning his eyes around the room. “Who’s going first?”
“Me!”
