‘Stars Among Us’ were supposed to wrap up their filming today. However, the crew was in bad shape after seeing the views for ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ surpass theirs.
The fourth episode was nearing 2 million views, and if that happened, they were going to take away the record that they had set.
It felt like they were surpassed by a tortoise when they were a hare. It didn’t leave a good taste in their mouths.
Even Kim Kim, who usually wanted to finish everything on the dot, was discouraged.
Ollie watched her and shook his head. With that, he called for Minseok’s attention.
“You,” he said, pointing at the rabbit-looking guy.
Minseok lifted his head and looked at the senior writer with a confused expression.
“Follow me.”
Minseok felt nervous all of a sudden. He did pretty well today, in his opinion. Was he going to get scolded for bad acting… or maybe Ollie was going to ask him to stop going to the Saliva bar?
Minseok felt dread in the pit his stomach. He had been enjoying his time there, and he’d only gone for two weeks! He was already attached to the expensive bar!
They walked for quite some time until they finally reached the end of the set, where a thin wall divided them from the smaller school set that their rival show used.
“Sir,” Minseok said when they stopped, his heart pounding against his chest.
Ollie didn’t speak for a while. When he finally did, he looked into Minseok’s eyes with a serious expression.
“I heard your conversation with Rex at Saliva the other day—about you having dirt on Zeno Han.”
Minseok froze, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Was he going to get reprimanded for this?
However, a small smirk appeared on Ollie’s face. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going to scold or report you. In fact, I am in favor of whatever it is you are doing.”
Minseok was confused at first before he slowly nodded. Then, a small smirk arose from his lips.
Ollie was on their side.
“Are you sure you have something against Zeno Han?” he asked to confirm.
Minseok didn’t hesitate this time. “Yes, sir,” he answered.
“When is it ready?” Ollie eagerly asked.
“By next week, sir,” he said. “My manager is compiling the evidence, and he plans on sending it to Pop Flop.”
Ollie’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Pop Flop wasn’t a reputable news source, but if there was one thing they were good at—it was bringing down a celebrity’s career.
“Is that why you’re not too worried?” Ollie asked.
Minseok nodded. “Well, I certainly didn’t expect their series to hit it off in the second week. However, I conditioned my mind that this was for the best.”
“Rising before falling down is going to hurt much more.”
Ollie chuckled, throwing his head back in amusement. Then, he patted Minseok’s shoulder.
“You’re a competent man, Minseok,” he said. “Say what—after this series ends, I’ll contact you again. Instead of being the second lead, I’ll let you play the main one this time.”
Minseok’s eyes widened, and his heart raced inside his chest once again. However, this time, it was out of excitement and not nervousness.
“Thank you, sir!” he exclaimed. “I’ll make sure everything goes according to plan.”
Ollie hummed, already in a much better mood.
“You do just that,” he smirked.
“Now, let’s go. Let’s wrap it up for today and get back on our feet tomorrow.”
“Oh, and on Saturday,” Ollie smirked. “Invite your friends to the premolar room once more.”
Minseok’s smile was so wide that it nearly split the corners of his mouth.
“We’ll be there.”
***
Zeno went home, feeling much better than usual.
They had something on him that could actually ruin his career! Now, we’re talking!
He was contemplating whether to ruin his reputation himself. However, for that to happen, then he would have to hurt a few humans.
Avalis was a cutthroat environment that valued proficiency, detachment, and success. However, above all of those, they valued human life.
So, it was against their policies to deliberately hurt other humans.
Seriously, humans are so lucky! They hurt each other on a daily basis, yet Rennis were forbidden to do it when they were already the ones helping the human race!
Still, it seemed the atrocious human mind was so atrocious that they decided to ruin Zeno’s career.
Zeno was lucky to be the recipient of their envy and hate! Now, he could actually finish his mission.
“I can’t wait for next week,” Zeno muttered as he opened the door, revealing Doha and Minji playing with Maxie.
They stopped what they were doing when they saw Zeno. They had wary expressions attributed to the fact that Zeno had been emotionally unwell for the past couple of days.
So, they were surprised when they saw he had a slight smile on his lips.
“Zeno,” Minji exclaimed. “You’re home.”
Zeno hummed as he removed his shoes.
“Well, how did the filming go?” Doha asked.
“Good,” he answered, causing the two of them to sigh in relief. It really did seem like he was finally in a good mood!
Minji and Doha smiled. “Can we talk about your drama now?”
Zeno shrugged. “Sure.”
“Yes!” Minji exclaimed. “I’ve been dying to talk to you about it for the longest time.”
“The last three episodes were absolutely phenomenal—especially episode four! Your backstory is very touching, and the scene where you did sign language with your grandma was amazing.”
“Iwasn’t aware you knew sign language.”
Zeno shrugged. “It’s something I picked up along the way.”
“Huh,” Doha said. “You learn something new every day. Even though we’ve been best friends for most of our lives, there are still some things I don’t know about you.”
Zeno was about to head to the shower when he suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right,” he muttered. “There’s something I need to tell you, guys.”
Doha and Minji paid attention. “What is it?” Doha asked.
“I don’t want you to defend me,” he said out of the blue.
The two of them turned to each other with confusion. What was Zeno talking about?
“Defend?” Minji asked. “What would we defend you from?”
“Just… everything,” Zeno said. “I know we’re friends, but now that I’m garnering attention, there is bound to be some backlash at one point.”
“When that happens, I don’t want you to involve yourselves.”
Doha’s brows furrowed. “But we’re friends. We defend each other.”
“Not this time,” Zeno seriously said.
“Just… promise me.”
Minji was still hesitant, but Zeno appeared deadset on making them agree.
With that, she nodded.
“Alright, we promise.”