“This is your villa?” Zeno asked, genuinely surprised by the revelation.
Jace nodded innocently. “Yeah.”
They looked around again. The stone pathways appeared to be made of real limestone. There were flowering vines that surrounded the farmhouse at the back. A tree house was also next to the barn, but it might as well be a real house. It was definitely bigger than the size of their units back in Seoul.
“It’s not even as big as our beach house,” Jace added like that would make it less absurd.
“Beach house?” Eli choked out.
“What?” Jace asked, tilting his head. “Don’t you guys have beach houses?”
“What do you mean, ’don’t you guys’?” Doha exclaimed, staring at him.
“We have a house near the beach back in Busan,” Minji muttered. “That’s because we grew up there.”
“Oh,” Jace smiled. “Same thing, right? I also grew up here.”
“How is that the same thing?” Eli groaned.
“Maybe I’m just hungry,” Doha muttered, rubbing his stomach and turning his back to the group.
“This feels like a simulation.”
“Don’t worry,” Jace said brightly. “Our personal chef is already whipping something up.”
Doha whipped around to gaze at him with wide eyes. “Personal chef?”
The group went silent for a moment.
“You have a chef in this place?” Minji asked, still in disbelief.
“Just when we’re here,” Jace replied. “I mean, there’s no takeout in the middle of nowhere.”
They all exchanged glances. Eli leaned toward Minji and whispered, “I don’t think we can ever make fun of him for being an extra again.”
Minji nodded solemnly. “He might be richer than all of us combined.”
Doha let out a slow exhale, hands on his hips. “I think we should do it.”
“Do what?” Zeno asked warily.
Doha looked very serious. “Formally elect Jace as our group sugar daddy.”
Jace waved his hands. “No, no, please. I’m not that rich.”
“You literally have a lake!” Minji said, pointing to the map framed in the sign just next to them.
“Speaking of which,” Jace said quickly, trying to change the subject. “Do you guys wanna go see it? My ancestors made it when I was younger.”
“Oh, of course, it’s manmade,” Minji chuckled, but it lacked humor.
Before Jace could defend himself, a small yet striking figure stood at the threshold, silhouetted by the light from the porch.
“Are you not going to greet me?” the voice rang out.
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice.
A man emerged from the far side of the farmhouse, dressed in a long brown robe tied loosely at the waist with a cloth sash. His beard was long, gray streaks threading through thick black hair, and braided at the tip. His posture was straight, and his eyes were piercing.
He looked like an ancient warrior.
“Master Aster!” Jace gasped, dropping to his knees like a devotee.
The others were unsure how to react to the arrival of a strong presence.
It seemed like all of them were collectively coerced to follow Jace and bow to him, too.
Mumbling under their breaths, the group lowered to their knees one after another, unsure whether this was a prank.
Doha hesitated and stood after a few seconds. However, he felt a hard whack on his shoulder.
“Did I say you could stand?” Master Aster’s voice cracked through the air.
“Ouch! What the—” Doha winced, rubbing his shoulder as he knelt. “Okay, okay, fine…”
After a few seconds, the old man nodded and said calmly, “You may stand.”
They all stood in unison.
Jace stepped forward, gesturing to the man with reverence. “This is Master Aster. He’s one of the best acting coaches in the country—no, the world. He trained me when I was younger.”
The old man gave a curt nod. “However, that name is too long. You may call me Master As.”
Well, that name was definitely interesting.
“MASTER ASS?” Doha blurted before he could stop himself.
A second whack landed on his other shoulder. “Only a single S!” Master As barked, narrowing his eyes.
Doha rubbed both shoulders now. “How do you even know?” he muttered. “It’s the same pronunciation.”
The man didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to the rest of the group. “Repeat after me—Master As.”
They all chanted it back, with Doha still sulking because it literally sounded identical to when he first said it.
“I am the descendant of the greatest performers in history,” the man declared, raising his arms to the heavens. “Of the stage and of the soul. My blood traces back to ancient artists who sculpted emotion into marble and chiseled truth into silence. I was sent to this Earth… to analyze acting.”
Zeno’s eyes narrowed slightly. Sent to Earth?
Was he not from here originally?
“Anyway,” Master As said, lowering his hands and straightening his robe, “Jace asked me to come. It has been a long time. I suppose he’s brought little gremlins with him.”
“Are we the gremlins?” Minji muttered, and Eli nodded silently.
Doha narrowed his eyes at the old man. “Who are your students exactly?” he asked.
“Jace Moon,” Master As replied with complete confidence.
Doha pursed his lips. “Well, that’s quite a rich list, hehe. Just Jace, huh?”
Master As’ eye twitched. This big-bodied man was getting on his nerves.
“I have never left this farmland. I get carsick, boatsick, and planesick easily, you see. I have grown both tomatoes and truths, cucumbers and character arcs. But in all my years, Jace was the only one who showed interest in this small corner of the world. That is why I agreed to see him again.”
He leaned closer. “But I will have you know, I believe I have the best capacity for nurturing talent in this country.”
That set off barely stifled laughter among the others, their hands flying to their mouths. Jace scratched the back of his neck, trying to vouch for the man and survive the embarrassment at the same time.
Zeno, however, remained quiet. Something about the old man didn’t sit quite right—or maybe it sat exactly right.
There was something buried deep behind those eccentricities. Either way, Zeno knew one thing for certain.
Zeno’s eyes locked with Master As’ for a second. And that was enough.
Because above this eccentric, barefoot man in the middle of nowhere was an SSS-rated potential.