Zeno came back with the same meter and three bags worth of herbs. As he walked through their neighborhood, a man with bloodshot eyes looked at the herbs.
“What are those, bro?”
“You want them?” Zeno asked.
The man nodded enthusiastically while sniffing.
“Take them,” Zeno said, giving him two bags. He reckoned Doha could use the one bag of herbs for their meals.
“Sweet, man,” he said, swaying side to side. “Free herbs.”
“Look away, kids. We better call the police,” a man said, pulling his kids away from the scene.
As Zeno walked up the monstrous stairs, his system notified him.
[Impending Penalty Quest #11 +0.5%]
[Notable Meter: 13.5%]
He stopped walking for a moment and sighed. On top of that, he still had to do one more penalty quest. It seemed like he truly couldn’t go home this month.
With that, he continued his journey up the stairs and went to his unit. Maxie, who was peacefully lounging on his bed while watching the television, turned to him with narrowed eyes.
“I know. I know,” Zeno muttered. “I thought I would leave this place today, too. You’re not the only one disappointed.”
He placed the herbs on his table. “Do you want some basil to make up for it?”
Maxie turned her head away from him, making Zeno purse his lips.
“I’m losing it. I’m even talking to this demon.”
He went to shower before getting changed and heading to Minji’s unit with Maxie. As expected, the three of them were already there.
“There’s the man of the evening!” Doha exclaimed, clapping as Zeno walked in.
Zeno placed the bag of herbs on the table, causing their eyes to go wide.
“You’re not doing anything bad, are you?” Minji asked, concern seen in her gaze.
“Those are basil,” Zeno deadpanned. “From my farming job.”
“Oh,” Minji muttered. “You actually took that up?”
Zeno nodded.
“Hardworking man, right here,” Doha chimed as he placed their dinner on the table.
“Guess what?” Minji started off. “My co-workers are all talking about you, too! They couldn’t believe the ending, and of course, they were very curious about you.”
Zeno pursed his lips. “Did you tell them?”
She shook her head. “Of course not,” she said. “Too much competition.”
“What?” the three men asked at the same time.
“It’s too much,” Minji chuckled nervously. “I don’t want to place that burden on you, Zeno. It seems you’re not comfortable.”
Eli scoffed. “Since when did you care for that? Anyway, my classmates are talking about you too. Some even joined your fan club—Zeno Smile Enthusiasts? Yeah, that one.”
“Tell them it’s a bad idea,” Zeno said.
Eli shook his head. “I can’t just come up to them and say that. It would be weird.”
Zeno sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.
“Why don’t you continue with this path, Zeno?” Doha suddenly asked. “I think it’s good. You’ve gotten even more handsome since yesterday.”
“True,” Minji said a little too quickly, earning weird looks from the three of them once more.
“Anyway,” Doha continued. “Man-shik PD also said he wants to work with you again.”
Zeno frowned. “You’re still in contact with him?”
Doha chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. “That’s because you never gave him your number. You’ve also never had any social media presence. Aside from that, only your family and us are on your phone contacts. So, I reckoned he could talk to me about you.”
Zeno closed his eyes and shook his head. “Delete his number.”
Doha pursed his lips. “But I—”
“Delete it,” he insisted.
Doha let out a deep sigh. “Alright, I’ll delete it,” he caved in. “However, before I do that, I just want to inform you that there’s going to be an open audition this week.”
“Well, it’s technically not an open audition because it’s through special invites only,” he muttered. “Anyway, the point is, they’re filming a medical movie and are in need of doctors and bystanders to fill in the scene. It’s not the main role, but I reckon you could do it.”
“You would be able to do it. I bet a lot of entertainment companies are looking for you, too,” Minji chimed.
“They shouldn’t look for me,” Zeno muttered.
However, he couldn’t hide his interest. An acting audition. He wouldn’t be able to finish his mission if he had an ongoing penalty quest.
“Stop it, guys,” Eli said. “It doesn’t look like Zeno is interested.”
If Doha and Minji had dog ears, they would have visibly fallen down. Still, they decided not to push it. Out of the four of them, Eli had always been the smartest and most rational. So, they listened to him well.
“When and where is this?” Zeno suddenly asked, causing the three of them to perk up.
“Are you interested?” Doha excitedly exclaimed.
“Just answer the question,” Zeno said.
Doha straightened his back. “Tomorrow,” he answered. “4 PM at Moonrise Media’s conference hall.”
Penalty quests = for every 5% increase/decrease from goal
Penalty items = for ever 10%/decrease from goal