Billy’s character had died in the last circle.
He was slumped dramatically on the floor with fake blood pooling around him. He, too, was murdered, but it was by the main character, who, of course, had to live. He put up a good fight before dying, though! His character was an annoying one.
Naturally, that meant he had to go home.
Oh well. He had wanted to see how it all played out, especially with Zeno, but the idol life waited for no one. He wanted it to wait a couple of days until Zeno’s character died, though.
They were gearing up for a new comeback, so he had to go to a music video shoot right away. However, before doing that, he had one very important stop—Daebak Entertainment.
He straightened his coat and smiled. He was summoned by Mr. Kim himself! That was a rare occasion. This had to be big!
Maybe, finally, a lead role in a production? Billy already wanted to laugh out loud at the thought.
His grin widened as he reached for the door. However, just as he was about to open it, he paused.
He wasn’t alone.
Oska Baek.
The taller, broader actor stood before the same door. He was dressed in all black, and he smelled really expensive. The scent of richness just emanated from him. Oska turned, and their eyes met.
Billy bowed stiffly, lips pressed thin. “Senior.”
“Billy,” Oska returned with a nod just as stiff.
Why did Mr. Kim call him, too? He didn’t want to share a lead role with just anyone!
Still, their smiles were dazzling when they entered the office.
“Oh, great. You’re both here,” Mr. Kim said, looking up from his monitor. “Take a seat.”
They did, postures straight and obedient.
“I’ll get right to the point,” Mr. Kim began, standing now. “There’s a big-scale project in the works. Bacon PD and Gene PD are collaborating.”
Billy perked up. Those two names were the biggest in the industry at the moment. “Really?” he exclaimed.
Oska, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes in suspicion. At the mention of his father, his knuckles whitened against the armrest.
Why didn’t he know about this? Their relationship had slowly become better over the past few weeks, but it seemed his dad still kept things from him.
Mr. Kim continued, ignoring the subtle tension in front of him.
“It’s going to revolve around acting. They haven’t revealed everything yet, but both of you have been chosen.”
Billy felt his heartbeat race. “Is it going to be a drama?”
Mr. Kim only smiled. “The filming begins this October. It’s going to be one of the most ambitious projects to date, they said. I think it’s going to be a good one.”
“Are there any more details?”
Mr. Kim shook his head. “They said it will be revealed on the show itself. Risa will also be in it. They’re not giving away anything right now, no matter how hard I ask.”
As they stood to leave, Mr. Kim held up a hand. “One more thing.”
They paused in their tracks and sat back down.
“I need to ask you something.” He steepled his fingers. “It’s about… Zeno Han.”
Both Billy and Oska froze.
The silence was brief but heavy.
“What about him?” Oska said carefully.
Mr. Kim tilted his head. “I was just wondering… how far do you think he’ll go in this industry?”
He observed the two actors’ expressions with a small smirk. He expected, at the very least, some backhanded insults he could use later as leverage.
He had been more curious about Zeno the moment he saw him in their building. Along with that, he still felt pretty bitter about him winning the tournament. Phoenix was, too.
He was such a hard book to read, so he wanted to have some insights from these two actors. He knew they weren’t fond of Zeno.
“He’s annoying,” Oska started off.
Jonas smirked, leaning in. Here we go.
“But I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”
Jonas narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
Oska gave a shrug, still not meeting his gaze. “It’s done. Whatever I’ve done… It’s done. I’m working on myself now before I take up any more projects.” He turned toward the window, sunlight casting sharp angles on his jaw. “I want to surpass him at his level. That’s all.”
Oska never thought the day would come when he didn’t feel bitter about Zeno Han.
He wondered what triggered his father’s sudden change of behavior. So, he asked someone from the crew of Lucy’s Game—a girlfriend of an acquaintance from college—and asked for behind-the-scenes footage with Oska Baek Senior. That was where he watched how Zeno spoke well of him. He realized it was one-sided beef all this time, and he didn’t want to look pathetic anymore.
Jonas was silent for a moment. That wasn’t part of the script.
He turned to Billy, who was sitting stiffly beside Oska, face oddly red. Jonas raised an eyebrow.
“He dances well,” Billy muttered.
“Huh?” Jonas asked.
“He dances well,” Billy repeated louder, crossing his arms. “He acts well. He sings well. Yeah. He’s annoying.”
That much was true. However, after watching Zeno excel in everything, Billy felt he wasn’t jealous after all. He wanted to be Zeno!
Jonas felt even stranger. That sounded like praise.
“It’s honestly annoying that he’s good at everything!”
There was a moment of silence.
Jonas was baffled. Utterly and completely baffled. These two were supposed to be his aces—perfectly capable of spotting and exploiting weaknesses in others.
And yet here they were, sitting in his office, one practically giving Zeno Han a standing ovation and the other swearing off vendettas like some reformed monk.
He didn’t even know who was more pathetic between the two.
“Leave,” he said shortly, waving his hand toward the door.
Billy and Oska exchanged glances before giving stiff bows and heading out.
As the door clicked shut behind them, Jonas stared at it, dumbfounded.
“Useless,” he muttered.
He leaned forward, arms flat against his desk. “What kind of superpower does Zeno Han have to get those two like that?”