[Acting + 1]
[Current Grade: SS]
Well, who knew that method acting would be the way to increase his skill after a long slump?
“Am I still the only one who finds this strange?” Eli asked as they drove away from the birthing clinic.
Minji was still out of it, feeling like she had fulfilled everything in life after being Zeno’s girlfriend for half an hour. Meanwhile, Doha drove freely without a care in the world.
Eli looked at them and realized they were a lost cause. Just then, Maxie jumped onto his lap and licked his chin, causing him to smile.
“At least I still have you,” he muttered and cuddled into the fluffy ball of attitude.
“Where to now?” Doha asked. “Should we go home?”
Zeno tossed him a photo of an address before focusing on his phone once more. “What’s this?” Doha asked.
“Go there. I rented an entire villa for us.”
Eli and Minji suddenly became more alive as they grabbed the piece of paper.
“This is a beach resort,” Eli muttered before a wide smile appeared on his lips. “We’re going to the beach!”
“Wooh!” the other three celebrated, but Zeno still kept his gaze on the phone.
After Devon shut down his attempt of trying to get him to retaliate against Victor, only one person came to Zeno’s mind.
And that was Raya.
She probably knew even more than Devon. In fact, she knew every single thing about Victor—because she was the only one who cared to know that much about him. However, even then, Victor treated her like shit. It was obvious in the way she answered Zeno’s questions.
However, Zeno also knew that Raya wouldn’t just agree to his plan if he presented it. As Sanjae, he was pretty close with Raya. As Zeno, the two of them didn’t know each other at all.
So, Zeno had to come up with this to get her to seek help.
‘Live a Zen Life’ was obviously Zeno, and the number attached to it was his. A new number, of course. He wasn’t going to risk it.
“It’s our first outing to the beach,” Minji chimed, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Are you excited?”
Zeno looked at his friends and found wide smiles on their faces. It was clear they appreciated his gesture a lot. With that, Zeno nodded and placed his phone inside his pocket, deciding to enjoy the moment for a short while.
After approximately half an hour, they finally arrived at the villa where they would be staying overnight.
“Oh, this is nice,” Doha said the moment they stepped inside. “There are no people on the beach, though.”
“I rented out the entire place,” Zeno said, surprising the three of them. However, it eventually made sense.
“Zeno really has a lot of money,” Doha whispered to the two.
It didn’t feel obvious, though. His clothes and demeanor were still the same, and that made them admire their friend even more.
“We have individual rooms,” Zeno added. “I’m going to rest for a while.”
“Sure!” Doha exclaimed. “We’ll wake you up for dinner.”
“Thanks,” Zeno said before heading to his room.
Once he was gone, Eli spoke once again.
“Zeno looks a bit… tired,” he said.
Doha pursed his lips. “Isn’t it natural, though? He’s working harder than ever, but he has never complained.”
“Yeah,” Minji muttered, suddenly feeling somber. “I wish he would talk to us about it, too.”
They were stuck in silence for a good minute before Doha clapped. “Well, I saw a market near this place. I’m going to buy some food! Don’t worry. It’s my treat this time.”
“Thanks, Doha,” Minji smiled. “I’m going to play at the beach.”
Eli watched as she excitedly changed into a simple shirt with shorts before heading toward the sand. He smiled to himself and grabbed his phone before following after her.
Minji went to the waves and began running after them, retreating when she got too close. Before Eli knew it, he had reached into his pocket for his phone and began snapping photos. Aside from wanting to become a doctor, photography was also his passion, and he smiled with every photo he took. However, the moment Minji turned toward him, he quickly hid his phone and neutralized his face.
“What am I doing?” he whispered to himself.
“Come here!” Minji exclaimed, but Eli shook his head. Minji pouted and threw a ‘Loser’ sign over her head before continuing on with what she was doing. Meanwhile, Eli stayed there, watching her from time to time.
After a few minutes, Minji finally sat down next to Eli, lying on the sand.
“You’re going to get sand all over you,” Eli muttered.
“So what?” Minji exclaimed. “I missed this. It was so natural when we were in Busan because the sea was our neighbor.”
“Now, after years of being here in Seoul, I can finally enjoy the beach. Who cares about sand?”
Eli shook his head and gazed at the horizon. The sun was about to set, casting an orange glow above everything else.
“We’re 25,” Minji continued, suddenly feeling melancholic. “It’s an age when you’re not young but you’re not old either.”
“I thought I would have it all figured out at this age, but dang, was I wrong. A lot has changed yet somehow, it feels like I’m still stuck in the same place.”
“I look at those around us and continually ask myself—what am I doing with my life?”
Eli pursed his lips. “You’ve been doing well until now.”
Minji was silent for a while before sighing. “I guess,” she muttered. “But I don’t know.”
“Nobody has anything figured out,” Eli said. “Look at us.”
A small smile appeared on Minji’s lips as she glanced at Eli. “You’re the ones doing well.”
“You’re still pursuing medicine, something you are passionate about,” she started off.
“Doha has been running toward his dream of opening a gym and now, he’s going forward with it.”
“And Zeno… our Zeno who felt like he had nothing in this life for him finally found acting.”
The smile on her face wavered a bit.
Eli pursed his lips. He understood what Minji felt, so he reached out to hold her hand but maneuvered right at the final second to hold onto her shoulder instead.
Yeah, it could never be her hand.
“Whatever happens, we’re still here for you.”
Minji’s smile returned and she suddenly sat up to wrap her arms around Eli’s shoulders. Eli was stunned at first, but when he felt how sad Minji seemed despite the smile on her face, he returned her hug.
“Thanks, Eli,” she muttered against his neck.
“I may not say this often, but you’re a great friend.”
Eli pursed his lips and looked out into the horizon again.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’ll always be right here.”