The comment section exploded after he said those words.
Jimin biked away from the two of them, and it seemed like Sohee wanted to go after him, but Jake was already by her side.
– Jimin! Just come here. Drive to this old lady. I’ll give you everything!
– How can he be so pitiful?
– I want to give him everything.
– Sohee, you just made a grave mistake!!
– This series is honestly so heartwarming. I can’t even hate Jake because it’s clear Sohee brings out the best in him. However, I also feel bad for Jimin for loving her for such a long time without asking for anything in return. Kudos to the writer! I can’t believe it’s ending so soon.
– This show should have been a hit since the very beginning! What a refreshing series from Story Lab!
Meanwhile, Zeno and his friends had just finished watching the episode, too.
The only reason Zeno agreed was that he knew his downfall was coming soon. He was looking forward to it, and throughout the episode, he kept checking his phone to see if Minseok had released the ‘bad news’ he was pertaining to.
On the other hand, Doha, Minji, and Eli couldn’t believe their eyes.
Eli, who usually had his head stuck in a book, had placed it down the moment Zeno arrived at the scene. He was compelled to watch his friend on the small screen of Minji’s laptop.
“You’re… really good,” he muttered, glancing at Zeno, who appeared lost in his thoughts.
Doha looked at Zeno with wide eyes, wondering if the same person whom he cooked for regularly was the same one on the screen.
‘Was that why he stayed in his room for the past couple of days? So that he could seem more pitiful?’ he wondered. With that thought, his admiration for Zeno increased even more.
Minji, on the other hand, was a mess. She wasn’t one who could hide her emotions well, so the tears streamed down her face with her friend’s realistic acting.
As soon as the screen turned black, they all turned to the distracted Zeno.
Minji was the first to speak, nudging Zeno’s shoulder so hard that he nearly fell off of the outdoor bed. His eyes widened as he looked at his friends.
“What?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.
“What was that?” Minji exclaimed, still with tears brimming in her eyes. Eli sighed and handed her a handkerchief.
“Seriously, it wasn’t even that sad,” Eli muttered.
However, he heard another sniff by his side, and he saw Doha tearing up while fanning his eyes to dry the tears that threatened to fall from them.
“Yeah,” Zeno shrugged. “It wasn’t that sad.”
He was going to get canceled very soon, so it would be a happy moment!
“It already surpassed 200,000 views the moment the premier ended,” Doha said out of amazement. “That’s in twelve minutes, by the way! It seems everyone is looking forward to the series.”
Eli nodded. “My classmates have already picked it up, too. Congrats, Zeno,” he muttered. “You should be proud.”
Zeno shook his head. “There’s nothing to be proud of,” he said. “This is an ordinary achievement in this line of work.”
Eli clicked his tongue and turned to the side, picking up his book and going back to reading.
Meanwhile, Doha and Minji continued to convince him that this was a great feat and that they should celebrate.
Zeno shook his head and held out his hand. “I appreciate the thought, but the hype will end soon.”
Doha and Minji turned to each other and began to think if what Eli had said was right. Did Zeno actually dislike this job?
Just then, the alarm rang, and Zeno stood from the outdoor bed. “It’s time for bed,” he said.
Then, he left them to go to his unit, not realizing the frenzy that his series had just created.
“Well, I guess he’s back to normal,” Doha sighed.
Minji and Eli nodded, feeling slightly disappointed. Seeing Zeno down wasn’t something they enjoyed; however, they thought he could show his emotions during times like this.
They wished Zeno could rely on them more.
***
J-Slick clicked his tongue as he looked at the numbers that ‘Stars in My Ordinary Sky’ had achieved. Aside from that, Zeno Han had already reached more than two hundred thousand followers in the span of a week—which was enormous growth for someone who had only been in the industry for one and a half months.
His potential was overflowing!
If only he had signed with Continuous Dominance, then it would have been perfect. However, he had to go and sign with those Dreamy guys instead. He sighed and shook his head.
“You chose wrong, Zeno Han.”
With that, he began scrolling through the information that Minseok and his manager had gathered and couldn’t help but smirk.
It was difficult gathering dirt on him, especially from his past. It seemed he was truly just an ordinary citizen. However, Minseok had shown him some footage that would undoubtedly get Zeno kicked out of the entertainment industry.
Dreamy had once again landed on a mine. He wondered if he should pity those guys. The last thing he heard about them was that they were struggling to pay rent.
“Whatever,” J-Slick muttered.
Tomorrow, everything was going to change.
The drama’s engagement was at an all-time high, so Zeno was also under the spotlight.
J-Slick clicked his tongue. “It’s a waste to get rid of such huge potential right away, but this is me having mercy on you.”
It was much better to dim the flame while it was still starting.
Zeno was bound to get eaten by the entertainment industry anyway. As J-Slick looked into his background, he didn’t have anything special about him.
He came from a low-middle-class family, had average grades, little to no connections, and an unimpressive work background. Aside from the last two productions he had participated in, Zeno’s character wasn’t one to be remembered.
“Goodbye, Zeno Han.”
“Enjoy your last day on Earth.”