They were discouraged.
No, they should have been discouraged.
Zeno’s words should have burned their egos so much to the point they wouldn’t even have the strength to say their lines out loud!
However, as soon as he ended his statement, it felt like a fire was lit inside their asses.
They began moving faster, making up for the delays they had caused. Along with that, they were acting more passionately than he had ever seen!
Young and Yujin had become stricter, and it seemed they took Zeno’s criticism as a sign to work harder.
What the heck did Zeno just do?
Was this what they called… toxic encouragement? Did he discourage them so much to the point they became passionate?
After Jordie finished his take, he turned to Zeno and narrowed his eyes.
“I’m letting you know that I’m not a quitter. I was just complaining, but there is no way in hell am I half-assing this!”
With that, he swiftly walked away, leaving Zeno in a state of shock. He had filmed most of his scenes already, so he was left alone, watching as the others acted.
Then, a small laugh bubbled from his lips—a laugh of disbelief.
“This is…”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” he muttered while silently punching his thigh.
However, he didn’t lose hope.
The public still hasn’t picked up on the drama. Along with that, there hasn’t been any movement in his system, so that meant it had become stagnant.
He had already painted the trajectory of the series in his mind. It was unlikely to get more popular when the public had already lost interest with the first three episodes.
However, if there was another thing Zeno learned on Earth—it was nothing was ever a hundred percent.
There was always a small percentage of variation.
***
Friday had come once again, and fans flocked to the Story Lab channel to watch ‘Stars Among Us.’
Jinxie, a former member of the ‘Beast House,’ was among those waiting for ‘Stars Among Us’ to premier. Being the most followed Tick influencer in the country with over ten million followers, she had way too much money and now had other people do things for her.
She became famous as a pretty gamer on a streaming platform, and with that, her career had taken off.
Editing? She has a team for it.
Writing a book about her life? She has a ghostwriter.
Shopping? Her closet was overflowing with free clothes from multiple brands.
As a result, she had way too much time in her hands, and at one point, she had become addicted to films and dramas.
“Finally,” she muttered as she placed her bright blue hair in a bun. She also placed a face mask on and leaned against the couch as she waited for the countdown to finish.
Jinxie initially watched this particular series because she felt it was a mirror of her life.
It was a story about Kim, Kun, and Kenny and how they overcame being famous in high school.
The first three episodes weren’t too bad, so she was curious about how it would progress.
Finally, the countdown ended.
The wind was cold against Kim’s skin, causing her to shiver.
Kun, played by Minseok, stood in front of her, one hand gripping the railing and the other holding his phone.
His finger hovered above the record button as he gazed desperately at Kim. The ring light beside him was already turned on, casting an artificial glow on his features.
Kenny, portrayed by Rex, appeared unbothered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Kim swallowed hard, the camera focusing on her throat.
The last episode ended with the two trying to convince her to film a short video for their accounts.
“I said no,” she repeated.
Kun tilted his head. “Come on, Kim. Just one video. Just a transition. Something simple.”
“I already told you,” Kenny chimed in, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips, “she doesn’t do that anymore.”
Kun scoffed. “Since when do you speak for her?”
Kim inhaled sharply.
“Since I actually listen to her,” Kenny shot back. He turned to her with a soft expression. “Kim, you don’t have to do this.”
Kim clenched her fists. “I know I don’t.”
Kun sighed, rubbing his temple. “Kim, let’s be real. You can’t just stop being you. You’re Kim—the biggest influencer in the country. That’s not something you can just walk away from.”
Kim stared at him. “You think I don’t know that?”
“I have to wake up at five in the morning just to film myself waking up at six! Do you know how exhausting it is to fake sleep every day?!”
“I have to be perfect because I’m not just an influencer, I’m an all-rounder! I sing, I act, I dance—I even did a cooking vlog once. I also have to pose before I eat, Kun. Do you know how hard it is to make soup look aesthetic?”
Jinxie’s expression fell with every word that came out of Kim Kim’s mouth. She knew the drama was a little bit out of touch, but this was just ridiculous.
Those were not real problems!
Jinxie sighed and shook her head, clicking off the video.
“Ah, I was expecting something good, but it was the worst,” she muttered.
She still didn’t feel sleepy after all of that, so she quickly looked for another show to watch.
She focused her gaze back on the screen and found herself on the homepage of Story Lab’s YouWatch channel. At that moment, a new video had been uploaded.
In the thumbnail was a man wearing simple clothes and appeared to be in a fish market. It was an interesting choice for an internet series, but the man appeared quite handsome, and it captured Jinxie’s interest.
“Stars in My Ordinary Sky,” she muttered. She hesitated for a while because it had a similar name to ‘Stars Among Us.’
If it was remotely similar to it, then Jinxie would be greatly disappointed. But then again, she wouldn’t know if she tried.
Besides, it was only a 12-minute video. What could she lose?
With that, she clicked on the video, not expecting much of it.
However, when the video started, she found herself getting immersed.
“There was such a… masterpiece on this channel?”