Story Lab was a channel that was made only three years ago. They started with short videos—those that captured the interest of viewers with their bad acting but gripping plot.
When their subscribers heard there were two series going to be aired for the month of March, they were appalled. However, they secretly enjoyed it. They were going to be graced with such rotting content once more.
The pilot episodes of ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ and ‘Stars Among Us’ were uploaded at the same time.
At first, they wondered why the two had such similar names. However, seeing Kim Kim, a popular Tick influencer, on the thumbnail of ‘Stars Among Us,’ the public automatically gravitated toward it.
– This is so out of touch. I love it!
– From the first episode alone, I already know it’s going to be atrocious.
– Seriously? They’re portraying the problems of influencers in high school? And their main problem is not having enough content? Talk about being rich.
– Kim Kim is so pretty! Kimmunity, let’s support her very first acting project!
– She has so much chemistry with Rex. However, I want her to be with Minseok, too.
– Be honest. Do you actually like this, or are you just a glazer?
Kim Kim had also posted a snippet of the drama on her Tick account, and in turn, the episode garnered a million views in 24 hours.
In comparison, ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ was received… ordinarily. Maybe the name jinxed it.
It was slower-paced compared to what the Story lab audience was used to. So, they had already judged it by the first few minutes. It definitely had better acting and editing. However, it seemed the audience’s brains had rotted to the point they couldn’t perceive a short series from the channel to be well-made.
In the end, it only garnered 300,000 views and a lot of comments saying it was boring.
– Is this really a Story Lab creation? Why is it so slow-paced?
– Where’s Zeno? I only saw him on the walking scene.
– I thought Zeno was more handsome than Jaehyun, but this series proved otherwise.
Bea, having recently joined his fandom, was enraged when she read that comment. She was quick to defend that Zeno looked much better in real life. However, she was met with trolls who told her to unclench.
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Zeno had some dialogue in the first three episodes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to gather all of their fandom’s power. Jake and Sohee were still the center of attention.
In the end, ‘Stars Among Us’ triumphed over ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ in its first week.
Therefore, the atmosphere in their set was worse than usual. They were going to film in a market set this time, and the crew were already assembling their equipment.
Jordie arrived with a grumble, and Sammy sighed as soon as she sat down. Shelly felt embarrassed for some odd reason, while Jaehyun appeared like he wanted to go home.
Young and Yujin arrived with sullen expressions, but they tried to smile at the cast, not wanting to dampen the mood further.
Zeno, on the other hand, was on cloud nine. He thought there was no hope during the first week, but there was!
“Well, you seem like you’re in a good mood,” Sammy noted as he joined in.
A small smile graced Zeno’s lips. Of course, he was happy. Their drama was being called mediocre left and right! That called for a celebration.
Young clapped, capturing their attention. “Cheer up, everyone! Today, we’ll be filming the market scene. This is to show Jimin’s and Sohee’s chemistry, which will also be the awakening of Jake’s feelings for her.”
“We get it,” Jordie muttered. “We read the script. We aren’t amateurs.”
Young was surprised by his outburst so he cleared his throat and turned to the side. “Okay,” he muttered. “Let’s start then.”
Zeno was about to go inside the stall. In this scene, he was going to take over his grandma’s meat stall in the market because she was sick. On the other hand, Sohee was about to go on a study date with Jake because they were partners in a project.
However, in the end, Jake cancelled their study date due to a family matter. So, Sohee stayed with Jimin so they could sell meat together.
This was the scene that Zeno was dreading shooting the most because it placed too much emphasis on his character. However, if he got over this obstacle, then the rest of the scenes were bearable to act in.
“Everyone in their places,” Young exclaimed, making sure everything was in order.
However, just as they were about to start shooting, a commotion was heard at the entrance of the set.
“What are they doing here?”
“Aren’t we booked for today?”
“Oh gosh! That’s Kim Kim, Rex, and Minseok!”
They all turned their attention toward the entrance and saw the crew for ‘Stars Among Us’ arrive, all of them with wide smiles on their faces.
Zeno frowned in confusion while Young quickly greeted them.
“Sir Ollie,” he said, bowing his head. “What brought you to our set?”
Ollie acted confused. “Your set? This is OUR set for the day.”
The others began murmuring. Yujin joined in on the conversation. “What do you mean, sir? CEO Jean had rented this market set for us for the day.”
“You must be mistaken,” Ollie chuckled. “Jean reserved it for me. We need it for the entire day, too. In this scene, these influencers are going to live like normal people for the day and enjoy mediocrity,” he said, gesturing to Kim, Rex, and Minseok.
Zeno turned his attention toward them. Much to his surprise, the three were also staring right at him. Minseok with a smirk, Rex with a suspicious glint in his eyes, and Kim with subtle surprise.
On the inside, Kim thought Zeno looked more handsome in real life. Truth be told, she watched their series on a pirated site so as to not contribute to their views. She thought he looked mediocre in the series. However, looking at him now was a different story.
Meanwhile, Zeno looked at their stats.
Rex was D-lister with C talent. Minseok, too, had the same stats.
Kim, on the other hand, was a C-lister with C+ talent.
Zeno looked away, not minding their stares. As expected, they weren’t familiar… except for Minseok. His annoying face was hard to forget.
“B—but where are we going to film then?” Young asked, already appearing pale.
Ollie had a fake concerned look on his face as he patted Young’s shoulder.
“I wish I could help you, but this is the only available market set in Seoul at the moment. There might be some sets in the province, but I heard you’re already delayed as it is. It must be tough not having enough manpower.”
Zeno bit his lip. He knew he shouldn’t care, but seeing entitled humans ignited something within him.
“So, I don’t really know what to say except good luck,” Ollie smiled.
Young’s mouth went agape while the crew for ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ cast their heads to the ground. They felt like they were being mistreated for no good reason.
“Be on your way then,” Ollie instructed. “We have to film now, and you’re taking up the space.”