Ari didn’t know how she became the host of such a prestigious award show. She wanted to decline as she would much rather play video games and binge-read some badly written online novels. However, her company had forced her to take the role.
She had been around since the early afternoon, and she had already found most of the actors insufferable.
There was an air of confidence in most of them, wanting to show everyone they weren’t normal humans. Then, they smile at the people they secretly deem as their competition, silently cursing them inside their minds so they can win.
In short, it was a breeding ground for pretentiousness.
Ian, on the other hand, felt honored to be chosen. It was his first time hosting an award show, so he thought this was a monumental moment.
The two of them engaged in small talk after their intro.
“Ari, how are you?” Ian started off. “Keeping busy with another script, I assume?”
Ari smiled. “You know me too well, Ian. Always writing. Always rewriting.”
With the mention of Ari’s new work, the actors perked up. They didn’t want to admit it out loud, but they wanted to star in something Ari Bae had written. Every single screenplay she had done had produced great results.
– My Bae is cooking another fire show!
– OUR Bae. She’s not yours only, bud.
– She’s very pretty. I feel like we rarely see her.
– Ari Bae seems to be a homebody to the core.
“Well, I think a lot of us are looking forward to your next work,” Ian chimed. “Your work from last year has even been nominated for ‘Best Screenplay’—congratulations!”
“Thank you, thank you. But you, too, Ian. Best Actor nominee—and I hear you’re already back on set filming another movie?”
“That’s right,” Ian said. “We’re on the last leg of it.”
“Speaking of filming… is that bandage on your hand part of the role, or—?” she asked, gesturing toward Zeno’s bandaged wrist.
Ian slightly pulled his suit to cover it. “Ah, you caught that. Yeah, I think most people already know—I had a little accident on set. But don’t worry, I’m all good now. Shoutout to Zeno for helping me out.”
Zeno’s friends quickly turned to him with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Zeno sighed and shook his head while staring down at his lap. It seemed Ian Seo would be a much bigger problem than he had realized.
“Did you become friends with Ian Seo?” Minji exclaimed.
“No,” Zeno quickly denied.
– Zeno as in Zeno Han?
– I don’t think there’s any other Zeno in the industry. His name is very unique.
– Does he have mixed blood?
– Nobody knows! The only material we have of him is in ‘Broken Chains of Justice,’ but even that has such a dark color grading that we could barely see. Oh, and that shaky ass livestream. I guess we have to wait for ‘Code Black’ to air.
– Does he have a Wiki page yet?
– No, because nobody knows any details about him. Not even his age. His height. His weight. His blood type.
– We need to search harder, people.
– He doesn’t have any social media! I swear. I’ve looked everywhere.
– My cousin said he went to the same school as Zeno. However, he couldn’t remember him well. He also wasn’t in their yearbook. My cousin is 25, by the way!
– Is Zeno Han a simulation?
– Ah, whatever! My mom, who works in Evergreen, said that a lot of companies are trying to recruit him.
At that moment, the livestream of the Celadon Excellence Awards was filled with comments about Zeno.
[+2 Public Perception. Increased fanbase. Wiki page made.]
[Notable Meter: 21%]
Zeno massaged the bridge of his nose.
“You’re trending,” Doha said, nudging his shoulder. “Everyone’s really curious about you. It’s only a matter of time before you become really popular! Don’t leave us, okay?”
“I’m not,” Zeno said, running his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t upgrade his lifestyle, so he had to keep staying in this humble place.
“Enough with the dramatics,” Eli said. “The first category is being announced.”
With that, they all focused on the screen while eating. Zeno felt sleepy halfway through but was awoken by Doha when an idol group named OCTA started performing. Zeno wasn’t interested as much as them, but he had to admit that these idols had skills.
As expected, Ari won ‘Best Screenplay’ with her work ‘Stuck in the Attic of a Gangnam Apartment’ or SITAOAGA for short. In Zeno’s opinion, those kinds of titles always win.
Ian’s film, ‘Between Worlds,’ which centered around the love story of an alien and a human, won the ‘Best Cinematography and Lighting.’
“Oh, I loved this movie,” Minji said. “Have you watched it?” she asked Zeno.
Zeno shook his head. “It’s unrealistic. Aliens do not fall in love with humans. It’s ridiculous.”
They looked at Zeno with raised eyebrows. Well, he seemed quite passionate about this subject!
A couple more teary acceptance speeches later, it was now down to the most awaited awards.
Best Actress.
Best Actor.
And Grand Prize.
The Best Actress was announced to be Sora Kim, an actress in her late 30s who had been considered a teen heartthrob during her prime. It was her second win as a Best Actress, adding to her status as an A-list celebrity and withstanding the test of time.
After she went down the stage, Ian and Ari didn’t waste time introducing the presenters for the Best Actor award. In a way, this was the most awaited category for the year.
For the Best Actress award, most had already expected Sora Kim to win. However, this particular one was ambiguous.
“Who do you think is going to win?” Doha asked.
Eli stopped reading for a moment to focus back on the screen. He, too, was curious about this category.
Zeno has been off the loop for the last few years of his past life because of numerous hospitalizations. So, he didn’t know who the hottest actors of the generation were. He only had an idea about Daniel Byeon because his past mother really liked his drama.
So, when he saw the nominations flash on the television, he didn’t know why his heart began to ache.