Faze opened his mouth, ready to recover—anything, even a smirk or a witty retort. But nothing came out.
He shut it again. Then tried once more. Still, nothing.
That was a hit to his pride. It was true that he started playing in the first season, and even then, he was friends with those who were now part of their country’s pro teams.
Eliminated.
The silence was deafening.
– NO WORDS?
– He’s just standing there. Someone help him!
– Zeno bodied him fr
– Faze.exe has stopped working
MC Tiny let out a breath. “Okay! I think that’s enough savage energy for one day. We’ll change things a bit, yeah?”
He glanced between the remaining three—Zeno, Risa, and Ian—and grinned nervously.
“For the top three, let’s just go around asking questions until one man is left.”
Zeno stood relaxed while Ian was bouncing in excitement. Now, he can play the game properly!
Risa looked tense, not because of the game but because Zeno would be asking her next.
MC Tiny gestured. “Alright! Risa to Ian. Ian to Zeno. Zeno to Risa. Let’s go!”
Risa turned to Ian first and smiled.
“What do you feel about your awards?” she asked.
Ian chuckled shyly. “I’m grateful. They’re not mine alone. I have my team and fans to thank.”
– IAN, our humble king
– This is suddenly wholesome?
Ian turned to Zeno, cheeks still slightly pink. “Why are you so handsome?”
Zeno’s eye twitched, but he still answered. “I just live.”
The entire venue broke into laughter.
– Bro said it’s natural.
– Sorry, folks. You just have to be born with it.
– Better luck next life.
– You guys are not ugly! Ya’ll just can’t afford beauty yet.
Zeno tilted his head to Risa. “What projects do you have right now?”
“Oh,” she answered quickly, happy for a normal question. “I have a new movie coming up! It’s a romance comedy. The shooting starts next month.”
A small round of applause followed, and she gave a shy nod.
Then she turned to Ian again. “Okay. Who do you like better? Your dad or… Zeno?”
Ian’s eyes widened.
The camera caught his lips parting slightly. He turned to Zeno with a shaky gaze.
He looked so conflicted, it was hilarious.
– IAN NOOO
– The way he almost said Zeno
– he dad watching this like: -.-
He couldn’t answer in five seconds.
MC Tiny laughed again. “Well, I guess we’re down to two. Although I don’t really understand why that last question was hard to answer.”
“Very difficult!” Ian called out as he went back to his seat.
Risa was still red in the face from holding her laughter due to Ian’s answer.
That was when Zeno decided to drop the bomb on her.
Zeno leaned ever so slightly toward her, lips parted just a little, his head tilted.
“Do you have someone you like… in this room?”
Risa’s heart skipped.
What?
His voice hadn’t been teasing. It seemed he was asking a casual question.
She looked around instinctively. She didn’t even realize she was staring straight back at Zeno.
Eyes wide. Speechless.
Eliminated.
– She couldn’t answer?
– WAS SHE GONNA SAY ZENO?
– ZENO WINS??? NO WAY
MC Tiny clapped his hands together. “Zeno Han takes the win!”
Mimi jumped to her feet in their seat, waving her arms. “WOOH!! My teammate is OP!”
Even Hyunbin cracked a small smile. “Well… I suppose the kid is good at this.”
Sangwon, who had been watching from the back, crossed his arms. “His courage is just different,” he muttered, remembering what happened during the filming of the Ninth Circle.
Risa slumped slightly as she returned to her seat, her cheeks still warm.
MC Tiny stepped forward again. “As the winner, Zeno will now choose the opponents for each team in the next game. Let’s give him a moment to decide.”
He pointed in the direction of Bleach’s team without any hesitation.
“We’ll play with them.”
***
The artists and players were murmuring in tight clusters, eyes occasionally flickering toward Zeno’s retreating figure with annoyance. He didn’t need to hear them to know. Their energy said it all.
He wasn’t exactly winning hearts today.
But Zeno didn’t care.
He’d made his choices for one reason alone—justice. If this was really about competition, then it needed to be fair. The stronger teams couldn’t keep steamrolling the weaker ones just for show.
So he’d paired the strong with the strong, the weak with the weak.
Ian’s team, however, looked devastated.
“We’re up against Faze?” one of them moaned. “That’s so unfair.”
But Ian just smiled at them and replied dreamily, “Well… if Zeno said it’s right, it’s right. He probably believes in us.”
Meanwhile, Zeno and Jace had already exited the side of the venue, avoiding the front entrance where the crowd was thicker. A few participants nearby wanted to take a photo with him. But they soon pivoted instead to the more accessible Moonrise and Daebak artists.
Jace glanced at Zeno and grinned. “You really snuck out fast, huh?”
Suddenly, Jace clapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh shoot. I forgot—I need to use the restroom. Wait for me here.”
Zeno nodded. “Don’t take long.”
Jace darted off, leaving Zeno standing by a quiet stretch of the hallway near the exit. He leaned against the cool concrete wall, eyes watching the patterned lights on the ceiling, listening to the muffled laughter and chatter from outside.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the far end. Then came the sharp sight of suited men.
Bodyguards.
A small entourage walked briskly toward the elevator. Zeno’s gaze zeroed in on the man at the center of it all. He wore sleek clothing, designer sunglasses despite being indoors, and a charisma that made others instinctively step aside.
Right before stepping into the elevator, he turned and locked eyes with Zeno.
Time slowed.
Their gazes met, firm and unflinching. Something passed between them—familiarity? Challenge?
Zeno’s instincts screamed at him that this man was something else.
Then, his gaze went to the man next to him, who also had a strong aura.
That was when he realized that he had seen this man before.
This was the man who had spoken for Daebak Entertainment during Victor’s investigation regarding Saliva.
He looked like the owner back then.
Yet now, it appeared like he was in service to someone else.
Zeno narrowed his eyes.
But before he could ponder more about it, the elevator doors slid closed between them.