"Is that June?"
"I heard he auditioned for the role of Yian. I was disappointed when he didn't get in."
"What is he doing here, though?"
"I'm definitely not complaining. He's the hottest idol right now!"
"Do you think I can have him sign my back?"
"Your back? That's weird. It will only get erased."
"I don't usually wash my back."
Director Bong frowned as soon as he saw the blonde-haired idol standing by the door. He was about to say something when another person entered the room, revealing the main director of the show.
June turned around and was met with none other than Director Jam—the director he worked with when he had a bandit cameo before he even debuted.
His eyebrows raised in surprise, but it seemed like Director Jam was even more surprised.
"An angel?" he muttered as he stared at June's face.
Miss Risa took the opportunity to guide June to the table, allowing him to join the actors who were still fascinated with his presence.
Lin Zhi was undoubtedly the most shocked, his mouth still slightly agape as he continued looking at June.
June met his eyes and smirked, enjoying how stunned Lin Zhi looked.
"Alright," Director Jam. "It's my first time seeing the main cast. I had to take a vacation since I knew that the production would be hectic from here on out and I won't be able to get more than three hours of sleep every night. So, I thank Director Bong for taking over the recruitment process while I was gone."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I see some familiar faces," he stared off, glancing at Hana and some of the older actors in the group.
"But I also see some unfamiliar faces," he said, glancing at the younger actors. His gaze settled longer on June since he was purely fascinated by his face. But then again, Director Jam didn't want to give him any preferential treatment just because he looked good.
What mattered the most in this room was one's acting skills.
Director Jam finally sat on his chair while the actors opened their scripts. However, before they could even begin, Director Bong addressed the elephant in the room.
"I think we have an individual who doesn't have the right to be here," he started off.
Director Jam turned to him with raised eyebrows.
Meanwhile, Risa pursed her lips and focused her gaze on the table.
"What do you mean?" Director Jam asked.
"This gentleman over here," he said, pointing at June. "Is not part of the cast. He auditioned for the role of Yian and was eliminated. So, there's no reason for him to be here."
"Is that so?" Director Jam asked.
"Then, the Yian you've chosen is...Lin Zhi, was it?" Director Jam muttered.
"Yes," Director Bong said. "He's the actor that I highly recommended for the role."
"I'm not here as Yian," June said, making them turn to him.
"I'm here as Jian," he finally revealed, triggering murmurs around the room.
"Jian? The new character?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"I thought the role still wasn't filled?"
Director Bong pursed his lips. "As far as I know, Jian's actor is still not chosen. Moreover, he's not a main character, so there's no reason for you to be here. Still, the most notable issue is that this selection process didn't go through me."
Hanlim caressed his wife's back, giving her the courage to speak up.
"It was me," she said, capturing their attention.
"I added Jian to the story by my own accord since I wanted the main villain to have a deeper sense of leadership. Jian is a character who dies before the film even ends. For a role so trivial, don't you think I also have the right to choose the actor who will portray it?
Director Bong opened his mouth to argue, but Director Jam quickly stepped in.
"I understand both of your sentiments," he said.
"However, in this room, arguments are only done in a narrative form. Therefore, let's not settle this in a heated conversation. Instead, let us see the actor speak for himself—
not with his own voice, but with his acting."
The people once again turned to June, wondering how he was going to portray the cold, overlooked character.
"But, before all of that, let's start from the very beginning. Then, we'll go ahead to the climactic parts so we can see the dynamics of the team. I believe Jian has some lines there, so we'll get to see how the handsome young man will portray his character."
Lin Zhi clenched his fists from under the table as the reading finally started. He thought he had one-upped June after Laohu paid for Director Bong's cooperation.
However, June must have been a cockroach in his past life—he was very hard to eradicate.
Sure, Lin Zhi was granted a much more essential role. However, even then, he couldn't be truly joyful if he knew June was going to be in the production.
Deep inside Lin Zhi's mind, he knew that June would capture the most attention wherever he went...even if that meant he only got a minor role.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Because of his train of thought, Lin Zhi missed his cue, earning him a click of the tongue from Director Jam.
He cleared his throat and quickly dived into his character. However, even then, his acting felt pretty stiff because he was thinking of how to remove June from the production.
Meanwhile, in the first part, June didn't have much lines except for 'Yes, sir. 'I agree.' 'I shall get to it right away.'
The lines weren't too expressive, so it was hard to gauge his acting skills during the first half.
Fortunately, as the climactic arc arrived, he was given the opportunity to show what he had practiced for the entire night.
"Your brother has overshadowed you. He is nothing but someone who uses you for the sake of his own improvement," Taehyun, the main actor of the show and the one playing Seon said in desperation as Jian, June's character, covered Yian as he crafted some black magic.
The room turned silent as they waited for June to respond.
For some reason, they were the most curious about how June was going to portray his character.
Director Bong, Hana, Hanlim, and Risa already knew of his acting skills; however, they still anticipated for him to finally start speaking.
In June's mind, he didn't have to portray anything too different after all.
Just as he said, Jian was a character who resembled his past self.
He just needed something extra special so he could showcase his acting skills to the best of his abilities and prove to them that he deserved to be in this production.
[Early Birthday Gift! Early Birthday Gift from Fu!]
[You have been granted a booster: Pity Party]
[Activation: Automatic]
[You have 15 minutes with the booster.]
