The murmurs didn’t die down quickly. In fact, they grew louder by the second.
“Wait—Zeno’s really here?”
“No way, how did I miss that?”
“Is he actually participating?”
MC Tiny, too, was taken aback for a moment. The energy in the room had changed drastically.
People leaned forward in their seats. Others craned their necks. The camera feed tried its best to zoom in subtly, but the chat was already exploding.
– ZENOOOOO AAAAAA
– LOOK AT HIS FACE, BRO THAT’S UNREAL
– I can’t believe it. I’ve been missing him.
– Zeno starves us only so that he can feed us a feast.
– This man didn’t even need a grand entrance lmao he just stood up and it became his show
– No wonder the man next to him appears familiar. He’s that other guy from Dreamy!
Ian Seo stood abruptly from his seat three rows away, hand flying to cover his mouth to muffle the gasp.
“Zeno,” he whispered to no one in particular. Then, he turned to another actor from Moonrise.
“Get out of our team so he can join us.”
Others began raving about his presence. “It’s my first time seeing him in person. He’s… he’s actually really handsome.”
Meanwhile, in another row, Phoenix narrowed his eyes.
He leaned forward in his seat, arms draped lazily over the backrest, gaze fixed on Zeno.
“He was permitted to be here?” he muttered.
There was no mistaking the tension in his voice.
And a few seats next to him, Risa’s breath hitched. Her posture stiffened, and her nails pressed into her thigh.
She hadn’t seen him in so long. Well, not since their last project ended. He still looked straight out of a dream.
And unfortunately for her, he still had that same effect.
“Still attractive as ever,” she whispered under her breath before scolding herself silently.
Meanwhile, the poor server who accidentally spilled water on Zeno was still frozen.
Her hand trembled with the empty cup as she bowed repeatedly. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—!”
Zeno looked up at her, his face unreadable for a moment. The silence in the room made it impossible not to interpret everything.
– Is he mad?
– He looks kinda annoyed.
– He’s going to crash out.
However, Zeno merely shook his head.
“It’s fine,” he said gently, gesturing to the ground where the water pooled near his shoes. “Please continue. I’m really okay.”
Humans make a lot of silly mistakes. It seemed this human truly didn’t mean it.
– What a nice guy.
– My bias has changed. Let’s hope Zeno’s actually good at playing.
– That was so gentle, I nearly came—
– Ay-yo? Who’s wilding over there?
The server bowed once more, flushed and mumbling her apologies as she quickly walked away.
Jace leaned over from behind him, whispering with a half-smirk, “You didn’t want attention, so this is what you get.”
Zeno clicked his tongue. “Shut your mouth.”
MC Tiny let out a laugh, tapping his mic.
“Well, well,” he said, voice gleeful. “This is really turning into something, isn’t it? I was a big fan of The Forsaken Prince, you know. You were very commendable there, Mr. Han.”
Zeno gave a polite nod, offering no more than that.
Tiny continued, not missing a beat, “Alright! Time to move on from the unexpected splash reveal—pun intended.”
A few chuckles rippled through the room.
“Now, let’s talk team formations. We’re not going to make this difficult,” Tiny said, walking across the stage. “Some of you have already arrived as teams. But for the rest of you, you’ll be forming your teams yourselves.”
“Yes, that’s right. You choose. You’ll have exactly ten minutes to form your five-person teams. After that, we will lock the team names and members and proceed with tomorrow’s listings.”
– Watch people form cliques IMMEDIATELY
– I better see some unexpected alliances lol
– Zeno… who are you joining?
“You may start NOW. Get up, mingle, scout. Form those dream teams. We’ll start the countdown shortly.”
Artists began to rise.
Streamers turned to one another.
Rappers, idols, influencers, and even variety veterans scanned the room like it was a social jungle. Some made a beeline for old friends. Others waited for someone to approach.
And at the edge of it all, still seated next to the emergency exit with his soaked pants, was Zeno.
Jace was sweating buckets beside him, afraid of interacting.
Those who had already formed teams leaned back in their chairs, chatting or stretching, unbothered by the scramble happening around them.
Phoenix, seated with his arms crossed and one leg up, smirked.
“There’s no need to form a new team,” he said. “I told you already—you can rely on me. I don’t lose at this game.”
Nearby, Risa bit her lip, her eyes flicking from Phoenix to the rest of the room. But she wasn’t looking at him.
Her gaze landed on Zeno, and she began to have an internal dilemma.
What she would do to be on his team!
Elsewhere, Ian stood despite already having a complete team.
“Maybe I should ask him,” Ian muttered.
“Ask who?” one of his teammates asked.
“Zeno. To replace you.”
The other Moonrise artists turned to each other while shaking their heads. The famous actor was ever unchanging in his admiration for Zeno.
People wanted Zeno, but no one wanted to be the first to approach him.
It was the gamers and streamers, after all, that were getting snatched up fast. Roughly forty percent of the room was made up of online personalities, many of them considered semi-professionals in Gear of Guardians. Naturally, artists gravitated toward them.
Channel-based teams like “SunClanTV” and “GGUnit” were quickly full, mixing with a handful of popular idols or actors who also had public gamer personas.
The remaining individuals made alliances within minutes, forming patchwork teams based on social connections or desperation.
But some weren’t so lucky.
Toward the back, three people stood awkwardly. Two were the older actors who were thrown into the mix.
The third was a short girl with pastel blue hair and a bunny clip on her head, known on the internet as “MimiKawaii,” a niche streamer famous for her dress-up livestreams rather than her gaming skills.
The three looked at each other, frowning. No one had approached them.
“Well, it looks like our last team is forming over here!” MC Tiny’s voice boomed.
Everyone’s attention turned to the back of the venue.
“Seems like the Dreamy boys will be teaming up with…” the MC trailed off, walking toward the mismatched trio. “…MimiKawaii, Hyunbin, and Sangwon!”
The camera zoomed in on the group. Jace waved awkwardly. MimiKawaii beamed with two peace signs. Zeno exhaled deeply, scratching his cheek.
– ZENOOOO LMAOOO.
– Not the NPC team.
– Mimi cannot game at all.
– Two boomers. A fake gamer. Jace. And the love of my life.
“Well then,” MC Tiny chuckled. “Looks like we have our ten teams! Everyone, meet your squads properly because tomorrow, five of you are getting wiped out in the first elimination round.”