“Minseok! Aren’t you going to ask for a picture with Sir Sam? He’s about to leave.”
“Did I lose?” he muttered. “No, there’s no way. That guy is not an actor. Maybe he came here just for fun.”
“Yes, that’s right,” he smirked, assuring himself. “He’s not taking it seriously.”
“Wait,” he frowned. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Senior Minseok?”
Minseok snapped out of his monologue and saw Luli holding out her phone.
“Oh, sure,” he chuckled, grabbing her phone and snapping a picture. Then, he walked away, going to Sam Ong to kiss his ass and get more opportunities!
Meanwhile, Luli scratched the back of her neck. “Ah, what am I going to do with this photo,” she muttered. “Might as well scare mice with it.”
With that, she craned her neck, trying to look for Zeno—the mysterious guy who made them all speechless after his act. However, he was nowhere to be found.
“Huh,” she muttered, gazing at the photo of her and Minseok. “I should have asked for a photo with him instead.”
On the other side of the room, Minseok was trying his best to butter up Sam.
“I passed the audition for Man-shik PD in one go.”
“I think it’s because of your acting studio, sir.”
“It is an honor to be able to act with you. If you have any new projects, then I am very open to working with you.”
However, the latter’s mind was somewhere else. He looked around, trying to look for a familiar face.
“Sir?” Minseok asked.
“Hmm,” Sam hummed, his gaze still focused on the exit. “Are you acquainted with that person—Zeno Han?”
Minseok’s expression slightly darkened. Then, he cleared his throat. “No, sir,” he said. “However, if I meet him again, I’ll make sure to teach him a lesson for not listening well during our warm ups.”
“There’s no need for that,” Sam smirked. “Just work hard on your acting classes, alright? It’s been too long since you’ve been in the beginner’s class.”
Minseok froze while Sam patted his shoulder. “Well, see you.”
With that, he left the room, waving one last time at the students who bowed at him. Yura followed after him, still appearing absent-minded.
Minseok clicked his tongue. “Ah, seriously,” he muttered. “This doesn’t feel good.”
***
Meanwhile, Zeno looked at the large building where he had his first acting workshop and sighed.
“They didn’t even give me any tips,” he muttered. “But that’s alright.”
He then smirked as he gazed at the new notifications on his system.
[+1 Talent and skills. Acting developed]
[TALENTS]
Acting (new): D+
[+2 Public perception. Slightly impressive acting performance.]
[Mediocre Meter: 92%]
His eyebrows raised in surprise. “They were impressed by that? I didn’t even do anything.”
Zeno shrugged and continued on his way. “Humans are so easy to impress sometimes.”
He wasn’t complaining, though. Those humans helped him achieve a single-digit deficit!
“If I pay my bills on time, I might get another upgrade,” he muttered. “If this continues, I might go back to the Avalis and have my rest by the end of next month.”
Zeno couldn’t help it. He started chuckling evilly in the middle of the street.
“Mommy, I think that guy needs help!”
“Just keep walking, honey.”
After a while, Zeno’s laughter finally subsided. With that, he continued walking to the bus station.
However, something suddenly caught his eye.
He stopped, tilting his head to the side as he looked at the thin book displayed through the glass window.
“Five steps to become the greatest actor of all time,” he read.
Then, a softly smiled. He already had acting talent. If he improved on it, then his meter would go up once again.
“Alright, let’s see,” he muttered and went inside.
The bells above the door chimed, and what met him was a fair woman with dyed red hair and strawberry earrings. The bookshop smelled of strawberries, too.
“Welcome,” she warmly said.
Zeno bowed but didn’t bother greeting back. He went straight to the book on display and immediately looked at the price.
“150,000 KRW?” he muttered. “This author is scamming people.”
Meanwhile, the bookshop keeper watched as the man grumbled under his breath.
“Is it too expensive for him?” she muttered, tilting her head to the side to observe him. Well, his clothes seemed worn out, and his shoes looked a couple of years old.
With that, she cleared her throat. “We allow people to read the books inside the shop,” she said.
Zeno finally turned to look at her. At that moment, the bookshop keeper realized that the man was actually pretty handsome—not in a way that would make your head turn, but the type where he became more handsome the more you looked.
“Really?” he muttered.
“Hmm. We have a seating area over there,” she said, pointing to the back.
He didn’t have anything left to do for today since tomorrow was the start of their filming, so he decided to stay.
Still, he felt uncomfortable borrowing the book without giving anything back, so he looked at her nametag and cleared his throat.
“Thanks, Bea,” he said quite stiffly. “I really appreciate it. Have a nice day.”
With that, he turned away.
Words of affirmation.
Humans liked that a lot, didn’t they?
Zeno walked toward the reading area, oblivious to the fact that Bea’s cheeks had become the same shade as her hair and earrings.