He was drinking when his name was unexpectedly called.
– Help!
– He didn’t even think he could possibly win.
– He thought he was safe.
– Seriously, though—is Zeno an influencer?
– He had a total of two livestreams: one where he showed himself cooking sweet potatoes in the dark (very badly, by the way), and the other where he told people to choke on his balls.
– Wait, did I miss an arc? When did he say that?
Zeno slowly lowered the glass, blinking at the stage as if the name being called wasn’t his. Yuan, sitting beside him, leaned over and said, “You’re seriously winning everything.” Risa covered her mouth, doing her best not to laugh, while Oska wore an expression of disbelief.
Zeno pursed his lips, feeling he had no choice but to stand. He stepped into the spotlight once more, this time with genuine confusion tightening across his brow.
Winning Best New Actor made sense—he was the main lead in The Forsaken Prince, after all. But Best Influencer? That wasn’t even on his radar. He recalled Moby mentioning that everyone was nominated for that particular category, but even then, he didn’t see himself as an influencer!
He didn’t post outfit check-ins. He didn’t partake in TikTok challenges. Half the time, his phone wasn’t even in his possession. There were barely ten posts on his Sigmoid profile. How was this even possible?
As he slowly made his way back down the stairs and onto the stage again, he began to notice the laughter in the audience. It wasn’t cruel laughter; it was more akin to amused disbelief.
Even the influencers in the crowd were clapping—some leaned over to whisper to each other while chuckling in delight.
On stage, Phoenix handed him the award with a stiff demeanor, but Sora, on the other hand, offered him a playful wink. “Did you know you had a fanbase that strong?” she asked into the microphone.
Zeno blinked in surprise. “…No.”
The laughter came again, scattered and warm. He glanced toward the audience and then shifted his gaze to the cameras.
His mouth twitched upward just slightly, a fleeting ghost of a smile appearing, before he gave another deep bow and made his way back toward his seat.
However, he didn’t even make it halfway down the steps when the lights flared once again. He hastened his steps, eager to reach his table faster.
Yet, it seemed the showrunners had no intention of delaying the next segment, as Phoenix and Sora began introducing the upcoming award.
“The next award,” Phoenix announced, “is the Popularity Award.”
A murmur rippled through the audience.
“This award,” Sora continued, “is based on votes cast online by fans across multiple platforms. It’s open to every attendee in this building, including actors, influencers, musicians, and industry personalities.”
Sora flashed a smile. “And the Popularity Award goes to…”
“…Zeno Han!”
The screams erupted again, louder and more unhinged than before.
– I’M GONNA SCREAMMM!
– He didn’t even sit down yet?
– How many awards are we giving him?
– Look how shocked he is!
Zeno, still frozen halfway to his seat, turned slightly toward the stage. A part of him wanted to walk back. The Popularity Award? He hadn’t even promoted the voting link because he was in Lucy’s Game!
Who the fuck is voting for me?
Meanwhile, in multiple apartments throughout Seoul, girls screamed in unison, refreshing their browser screens and sending links to every group chat they had. “Use all your emails!” one shouted. “Come on! One more hour!”
In a dark university dorm room, a guy in pajamas livestreamed himself voting for Zeno while holding up a picture of him as Hajin. “I don’t care what anyone says,” he told his viewers. “He is my oppa1.”
In her seat, Risa did everything she could as a fan page admin, diligently monitoring and coordinating a spreadsheet of voting counts and VPN rotations.
She smiled proudly as Zeno continued with his speech. He had already said the same thing three times in a row.
“I really didn’t expect this.”
After Zeno received the Popularity Award, he finally descended the stage for the third time.
Three awards.
He carefully cradled the last one in his hand. When he reached his table, his co-stars from The Forsaken Prince were already grinning like idiots.
“Careful,” Yuan teased, helping him arrange the trophies neatly in a triangle formation. “One more and they’re going to make you host the show.”
“I think he already is the show,” Shin joked with a smirk. “You’re ruining the pacing, Zeno.”
Oska raised an eyebrow and leaned back, arms crossed as he nodded toward the stage. “Did you rig this or something?”
Zeno set the last award down with a faint clink and finally took his seat. Across the venue, other tables had started to glance their way. A few actors murmured to each other, their eyes narrowing or brows lifting in surprise.
Zeno Han had become a subject of fascination in industry circles for a few months now, but this was something different. His popularity had skyrocketed to heights that nobody expected.
Meanwhile, Zeno sat still amid the noise and attention, his fingers brushing over the engraved nameplates of the awards.
One more award, and he would complete his mission? That didn’t quite sound right! It felt like a trap.
With that thought, he chuckled absently to himself, feeling as though he was going to lose his mind. He could feel glares coming from multiple areas of the room, and a strong urge to scream at them rose within him.
It wasn’t as though he wanted to win all of these awards, too!
Before he could spiral further into his thoughts, a sudden cheer erupted from the audience.
Sora Kim stood once more at the microphone, her voice bright as she waved toward the stage. “All right, everyone. We’re taking a short intermission before we dive into the next set of awards. But don’t go anywhere—this next performance is bound to light up the room.”
Phoenix Hyun stepped beside her with a rare, soft smile. “They’ve been topping the charts across Asia. You’ve seen their name on every timeline, and now you’ll see why.”
Sora grinned. “Please welcome to the stage… LUNAIRE!”
word used to address male older than them who they are close to (biological or not)
often used in a romantic relationship when a girl refers to her boyfriend (or the girl hitting on a guy) who is older/same age as her