"Lin Zhi, was it?" Risa asked as she observed his appearance.
Lin Zhi snapped his gaze away from June and smiled charismatically at the panel.
Hana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion since she knew he only issued an apology a few days ago. Now, he was auditioning for one of the biggest movie projects of the year?
He must have some kind of internal connection.
Hana looked at the panel and noted that they weren't too surprised. A small smile also played on Director Bong's lips, and for a second, Hana thought that the two of them exchanged meaningful gazes.
"Hmm," she hummed. However, her thoughts were cut short as the panel conversed about Lin Zhi.
"He doesn't have any experience," Risa said. "However, judging from looks alone, I think he suits Yian better than the first challenger."
Hana nodded in agreement. She certainly couldn't argue with that sentiment.
Lin Zhi was quite handsome; however, he also had an underlying ugliness—one that Yian had.
"Whenever you're ready," Hanlim said.
Lin Zhi nodded and closed his eyes. He felt confident that he was going to nail this part because he was, quite literally, a cunning person like Yian. Moreover, since he went after Ha-joon, who only did a mediocre job in his audition, he felt like his acting skills were going to be amplified.
It had been a while since Lin Zhi was in the spotlight. In fact, he had been itching to come back ever since the second arc.
However, the circumstances were more drastic than he expected. The person behind the third-party vote counter during Rising Stars was adamant about accusing Lin Zhi of fraudulent votes. Therefore, he had to lie low for a couple of months while Laohu tried to bury the issue under the ground.
Fortunately, only his issue in the creation mission was exposed. However, even then, he had to show the public that he had truly repented for his mistakes.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})What better way to show his sincerity than through real medical reports?
Moreover, blaming Azure was actually pretty easy since they were already a shitty company to begin with.
In the end, it took Lin Zhi over six months to get to where he was now.
So, when the opportunity opened up for him to become a part of a potentially big production, he wasted no time in capturing the chance.
He just didn't expect to see June so soon.
But then again, he had been monitoring June since his career had started. It seemed like the guy was living his life to the fullest, making Lin Zhi feel even more bitter than usual.
That should have been him.
If it weren't for June, then he might have been able to debut with EVE.
It also doesn't help with the fact that June was probably the hottest idol right now. Everywhere Lin Zhi went, he couldn't escape June. Even the nurses in the psychiatric clinic can't stop talking about him.
However, with this opportunity, he wanted to prove to June that money and connections were still the greatest things in the world.
Channeling his anger for June, Lin Zhi said the first lines, instantly capturing the attention of those watching.
"I am the king of the world—of everything that you could ever have!" Lin Zhi screamed in a non-remorseful voice, making the others murmur in their seats.
"Holy crap. He's really scary."
"It looks like he has real anger issues."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"The volume of his voice was perfect just now."
"Dang, I don't want to go after him."
June frowned as he intently observed Lin Zhi.
Hana and Lin Zhi were exchanging lines, and it seemed like the latter was actually doing a great job. However, June couldn't pinpoint whether it was because Lin Zhi was a good actor or because the character, who is a scum in the movie, was very similar to his real personality.
"He's actually pretty good," Haruki said. "He's a bit too angry, though," he continued. "I'm not seeing a lot of variety in his expressions."
June leaned his elbows against his knees and nodded in agreement.
What Haruki said was right. Since this was a scene that required a lot of anger, Lin Zhi managed to portray the emotion without any trouble. However, he lacked the vulnerability that Yian, as a character, contained.
It seemed like he merely read through his lines and not the background of his character.
Nonetheless, the panel seemed to like his acting.
June actually thought Lin Zhi had become a decent actor. Actually, he had always been a great pretender. He even pretended to be Jun-hao's friend back then.
However, based on June's interpretation of Yian, Lin Zhi was still lacking.
"Thank you for that," Risa said as soon as he was finished.
It seemed like June was the only one who thought he was lacking since the other applicants clapped loudly for him.
Lin Zhi bowed on the stage, and as he lifted his head, his eyes shifted back to June.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Please return to your seat," Risa said.
Lin Zhi respectfully smiled before going back to his seat, enjoying the praises he received from the actors who were sitting beside him.
The audition continued on, and it seemed like most of them had the same interpretation of Yian—an angry man who was stuck being a child. All of them were able to show the resentment he had for the main characters, some doing a better job than others.
Hana sighed as the 19th participant finally arrived on the stage. It was none other than Haruki, whose palms were already as wet as the Niagra Falls.
"And begin!" Hanlim exclaimed.
Haruki wasted no time in saying Yian's lines. However, after his first statement, the room quickly realized that Haruki wasn't a good actor at all.
Hana even held her lips to suppress the laughter that threatened to come out of it.
As much as Haruki was expressive and explosive on stage, he appeared like a robot when it came to acting.
So, when he was done, the panel didn't even bother writing anything on his paper.
Haruki went back to his seat with an embarrassed expression.
"You're right. You are pretty bad at this," June deadpanned.
"Whatever, man," Haruki said, scratching the back of his head. "Let's see you do better, shall we?"
"Gladly," June said, standing from his seat as his name was called.
"Hmm, June?" Risa asked. "Another idol, huh?"
"I think idols don't act that well in films like this," Hanlim said. "That guy Haruki just proved it a while ago."
"Let's see," Hana said, interrupting their conversation.
"He might be better than you expect."
