Five young individuals.
Five different backgrounds and dreams.
In the same school and city.
It was the start of their senior year, and what a rocky memory it would be.
The cameras filmed them one by one. The first frame would be defined by their walk toward their school, aiming to show their personalities without any dialogue.
First, it was Rami, played by Sammy, a girl who has a passion for makeup and aimed to be a makeup artist in the city. She had high-braided pigtails and walked while touching up her blush.
Next was Doyun, played by Jordie, a basketball player who brought his ball everywhere and wasn’t afraid to make his sport known. He walked while dribbling the ball, but it looked pretty clumsy. Even though Jordie was a gym rat, he didn’t know much about sports.
Young smiled to himself. They only did a couple of takes for Sammy and Jordie because their characters seemed to be an extension of their real selves.
Jaehyun, playing Jake, then walked next, and his acting experience in Tick was seen right away. He knew his angles and how to use them to his advantage.
“He looks much better on camera,” Young muttered to himself.
Another intern specializing in editing turned to him with a small smile. “I agree,” Yujin said.
It seemed the two of them would be two spearheading the entire production. It wasn’t ideal, but it also gave them more freedom.
Shelly was up next, and they had a hard time directing her. It seemed she didn’t have a lot of confidence. However, the character she was portraying, Sohee, was a bright young woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what was right.
“You need to smile more, Shelly,” Young called out.
Shelly pursed her lips and tried again. She mustered up her greatest smile, but even then, it looked pretty awkward.
“Can you make something good with this?” Young asked Yujin.
Yujin pursed her lips before nodding. “Honestly, I already expected this from the cast. They’re all influencers. I think we should accept mediocre acting.”
Young nodded slowly. He didn’t want to accept it, but he felt he had no choice. With that, he turned his attention back to the screen.
It was Zeno’s turn this time, and he was supposed to emanate a nonchalant vibe. He had headphones on with his hands inside his pocket. It was simple enough. However, with Zeno walking down the street, Young felt like his script had come alive.
It was only the first scene, and they were merely walking, but how is it that he had out-acted all of the other cast members already? How could someone’s walk exude so much emotions?
Young and Yujin turned to each other with wide eyes.
“This…,” Yujin muttered, “is something I can definitely work with.”
“It’s a shame, though. He looks a lot better in real life. The camera does not do him justice,” she added.
Young looked at Zeno with sparkling eyes. He was truly going to be the saving grace of the production. Somehow, he regretted not casting him as the main lead.
Jimin didn’t have a lot of lines because Jake and Sohee were the main focus. Originally, though, Young had written that Sohee would end up with Jimin. However, it was changed by the Story Lab headquarters, saying it wasn’t ‘marketable.’
He was disappointed, really. However, Young still liked Jimin’s character the most, so he was looking forward to filming more of Zeno.
“Cut!” Young called out. “Thank you, Zeno. Let’s move on to the next scene.”
The other stars turned to each other with raised brows.
“He’s done?” Sammy asked. “I had to walk six times.”
“I had to walk ten times,” Shelly muttered.
Jordie clicked his tongue. “Well, obviously. He’s an actor. He should be able to get it in one take.”
Zeno walked to where they were, and they immediately shut their mouths. Why were his eyes so unnecessarily sparkly?
Shelly cleared her throat and shyly tapped his shoulder. “H—how do you do it?” she stammered.
Zeno turned to her with a neutral expression, making her feel nervous again.
“Huh?”
“How do you do it?” Shelly repeated in a clearer voice this time. “I heard you only got into acting this year. It seems you also don’t have any background in the entertainment industry. How can you act so naturally in front of the camera?”
Zeno pursed his lips. His [A-] acting skill was coming out no matter how much he suppressed it.
He wanted to do a mediocre job, but he stood out among the real mediocre humans.
What an unfortunate situation.
The others, despite claiming not to be interested in him, leaned in to listen. As much as Jordie didn’t like him, he acknowledged that he acted well. However, his answer disappointed them greatly, and it made Jordie dislike him even more.
“I just walked,” he genuinely said. “That’s what we’re supposed to do.”
“Ah, useless,” Jordie said and stood. The others turned to him with wide eyes.
Zeno, too, turned to look at him. That was the first time he had been called useless since he undertook this mission.
He liked it. What a refreshing take.
“Give us genuine tips,” Jordie said. “You’re the only one with a proper acting background here, but you’re not being helpful at all.”
Zeno continued listening to his rant.
“If you were a good guy, you would tell us where we’re lacking.”
“But I’m sure you don’t want to hear it,” Zeno said, making Jordie frown.
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought you said I didn’t even have 50,000 followers, so I shouldn’t be acting high. You all have more influence than I do, so I’m sure you don’t want to listen to my advice.”
“Let’s continue this shoot without any unnecessary drama. I have lived my life with too much already, so I’m staying away from it.”
With that, he patted Jordie’s shoulder and made his way toward the next set.
Young turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. “Is everything alright?” he asked.
Zeno nodded. “Everything’s going well. Please, let us continue filming.”