Zeno stared at the screen before his eyes finally landed on his own number.
91.
Among these actors, Phoenix gained 90 points. And just two points below him was Hero at 88. No surprise about that. The young actor did a good job.
Each actor was scored from one to a hundred, and the highest score among all of them was Risa’s, with 92 points.
His brows rose faintly. Risa definitely did the best out of everyone. She managed to show tears in their scene in such a short amount og time.
Ian had the same score as Zeno, while Suho had the same score as Hero.
Their team’s total score was only two points below Sangwon’s team, which came second to last.
Two points.
Sangwon’s group had scored consistently mid-tier. No standouts, but no major slips either. The range hovered around 75 to 80.
Zeno’s team, on the other hand, had peaks and canyons. He was in the 90s, but most of his teammates were from the high 60s to the low 70s.
Daniel had the lowest score at 66, which honestly fit him because he was a devil in his own light.
Now the room was quiet.
Gene PD clapped once. “Well then. Let me explain how the rest of this will go.”
“Team ’Last Flight’ will engage in a new challenge, and the two with the lowest individual scores will be going home.”
The room broke into soft muttering.
“Why not just remove the lowest scorers now?” Risa muttered under her breath, not wanting Zeno to be subjected to elimination so soon. “Wouldn’t that be fairer?”
“This is messed up,” Ian added.
Zeno remained silent.
And yet, Gene PD continued to smile. “We understand your concerns. But life doesn’t work in straight lines, does it?”
“Sometimes you get one more chance than others. Sometimes… you don’t.”
Phoenix laughed, unable to hide his joy that Zeno might go home.
Zeno caught the spark in his eyes.
He definitely thought Zeno would be one of the two. It seemed Phoenix still held a grudge after Zeno beat him at GoG.
Bacon PD stepped up. “For the next challenge, there will be no improvisation.”
That startled some.
“You will be given a script. A full one. Each line, word for word. And we will be grading you for accuracy. This is a mission that is the complete opposite of what you have done.”
Gasps broke out across the room.
“You will all start with 100 points. And every time you mess up—even a single word—points will be deducted. The two lowest-scoring individuals will be eliminated.”
Daniel paled, unable to say something snarky.
Zeno heard Shelly hiss under her breath. “I’m screwed.”
“But that’s not all,” Bacon PD added. “You’re all getting the same script. Same lines. Same scenario. That way, it’s completely fair—on paper.”
Gene PD chuckled darkly. “However… in life, timing is everything.”
The contestants looked at each other.
“What do you mean?” Youngmi asked softly.
Gene pointed at her with a grin. “I’m glad you asked. You see, the first person to perform will have the least amount of time to memorize the script.”
“No way.”
“That’s not fair—!”
Zeno tilted his head. Now it made sense. Why did they make them do improv first? It weeded out the ones who couldn’t think on their feet. Now it was the reverse—who could memorize the script in such a short amount of time?
It was a different kind of pressure. No one was immune to it.
Gene PD turned to a staff member and raised a hand. “Bring the bowl.”
A black velvet pouch was brought out, filled with slips of paper.
Their team heads to the stage, where Mr. Kim is waiting with the pouch. There was a look in his eyes that showed he wanted Zeno to go first.
Honestly, Mr. Kim just wanted to see him mess up. Zeno reached his hand into the pouch.
If he went first, then the human universe truly has it out for him—which was a shame, especially since he’s worked so hard for the human race.
Finally, he pulled out a piece of paper, showing it to the camera before he could look at it himself.
5.
Zeno could hear Ian cheer from his seat, causing his eyebrows to rise. Well, that sounded like good news. He finally turned the paper to him, staring at it.
The last slot.
It seemed he had the finale.
Zeno let out a sigh before folding the paper back into his palm. Mr. Kim went to Shelly next, and not long after, he heard a shaky breath escape her lips along with the sound of paper fluttering.
He turned to his right.
Shelly stood frozen, lips trembling, the edges of her number crumpling slightly in her hand. There weren’t any tears in her eyes, but she looked like she might cry.
She finally turned the paper to the cameras, gasps filling the room.
1.
Shelly was going first.
Zeno swore he saw a tear escape the corner of her eyes just as Mr. Kim moved on.
Zeno focused his gaze on the front.
It wasn’t his problem. It really wasn’t. He didn’t know her that well. They had worked together before, but they didn’t engage in conversations outside of it.
However, Zeno knew that her self-esteem was pretty low during their filming. It seemed she was more confident now, though. However, looking at her at this moment, Zeno was reminded of the times she struggled during ’Stars in my Ordinary Sky.’
Well, she was going to have merely ten minutes to memorize a full script, and since she was a normal human, the nervousness was understandable.
Zeno looked at her again.
Then he sighed.
“Hey,” he said.
She stared up at him, startled.
Zeno held up his paper. “Switch with me.”
Her eyes widened. “W-what?”
He didn’t repeat himself. Zeno took her hand gently, pried the crumpled number one from her fingers, and pressed the five into her palm.
Her mouth opened like she wanted to protest or cry.
But Zeno had already turned away.
“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered.