There was a shift in the actress' eyes; the facade she had worked hard on building was now crumbling to the ground.
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she looked away from her pained son.
Jian nodded his head as he gazed at the ground, tears falling from his eyes like crystals in a dark cave.
As he looked up to the camera once more, another tear fell, glistening under the moonlight.
Ann watched the scene before her and shook her head.
"His tears are paid actors. Those look like diamonds just now," she muttered.
It seemed like everybody in the studio held their breaths as they waited for the scene to finish. It was almost like they were already watching the movie in the front row of the cinema for its very first premier.
Jian, sensing that his mother wasn't going to change his mind, nodded to himself once again.
"But if this will make you happier," he started off, grabbing the bag on his side with a heavy heart.
"Then, I guess I have no choice," he whispered.
Even if it costs me my own happiness.
With that, he slung the bag over his shoulder and looked at his mother once more, trying his best to smile.
However, it was evident in his eyes that he was anything but happy.
The contrast between his melancholic eyes and the smile playing on his lips was impeccable, showing what it was like to stay strong when you were in your most vulnerable state.
With that, Jian walked away from the courtyard, leaving his favorite white robe on the ground.
His mother's face was shown on screen, and it showed her real feelings. However, even then, she couldn't bear to turn around.
She knew that she didn't have the right to call his name after all that she had said.
Moreover, she was afraid that she would ask him to come back if she turned around and saw his retreating figure.
So, just like that, two people were shown on screen, their backs turned away from each other, one staying still and the other slowly and tearfully walking away.
"Goodness, this is sadder than my backstory," Taehyun said.
Hana turned to him and glared with teary eyes.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"You have a fantastic backstory," Hana deadpanned.
Taehyun covered his mouth as he looked at his co-worker's face.
"Are you crying?" he asked.
"Shut up," Hana said, still not over their scene.
"They did a great job, didn't they?" Taehyun asked, looking at June, who still appeared to be in character.
Hana nodded in agreement.
"I feel like this wouldn't have been as good if there was a script. That's how good it is," she said.
Director Jam was also pleasantly shocked, unable to cut the scene right away.
"Cut!" he finally exclaimed.
June turned back to face the crew, and at that moment, he went back to his usual nonchalant mood—like he didn't just show one of the greatest crying scenes of the entire movie!
Director Jam shook his head as he continued to look at June through the screen.
"What a scary young man," he muttered.
He knew that the scene wasn't part of the script, and the chance of it making to the final cut was lesser than other scenes.
However, with what they had filmed, Director Jam was sure that this scene was going to make it in the movie.
Most definitely.
***
June finally arrived at their dorm after a long day, feeling more tired than usual.
But at least his acting aspect increased by one, now making it into the A+ range.
He was greeted by his members as he arrived, appearing to be eating dinner already.
"Oh, June!" Akira exclaimed. "You're home?"
"Hmm," June hummed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})June entered the dining room, a small smile appearing on his lips as he looked at his teammates.
They appeared tired like he was, but he could also see the enjoyment in their eyes.
"Do you want to eat?" Jisung asked.
June shook his head. "Director Jam treated us to an expensive dinner."
"Lucky," Jisung said, glancing at June and subsequently frowning.
"Wait, are you alright?" he asked.
June frowned in confusion. "Yeah. Why?"
Jisung stood to fetch a glass of water and took the opportunity to look at June more closely.
"You look quite tired," he said.
June scratched the back of his head."Well, there is a lot of work these days."
"No. It's worse than looking tired," Jisung shook his head. "You look pale. Are you even eating well?"
June pursed his lips and nodded.
"Yeah. I think I just need to take a rest."
"You do that," Jaeyong said, also sounding concerned. "You're doing our schedules on top of your personal schedules. It's a wonder how you're even standing right now."
June nodded. "Got it. I'll head to bed now. I still need to go back to the set tomorrow."
His members nodded, feeling saddened that they couldn't do anything to help June.
"Didn't he lose some of the spark in his eyes?" Ren suddenly asked as June walked to his room.
Jisung awkwardly chuckled. "Eyy, what are you saying? June loves being an idol."
"Right?" Jisung asked for validation.
"Of course he does," Zeth responded. "He's just very tired. Any normal person would be."
"That's the problem," Casper muttered.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"He's unlike any other normal person."
June sighed as he closed his door and laid down on his bed, not even bothering to wash up after a long day.
He felt himself getting sleepy, but his eyes quickly opened when he heard two consequent notifications from his phone.
June groaned as he retrieved his phone from his pocket to check the notifications.
He instantly sat up when he saw a text from Minjun and Dr. Oh.
He first opened Dr. Oh's message, a small smirk appearing on his lips when he saw the real interpretation of Lin Zhi's test results.
Crazy Doctor: You didn't get this from me.
Crazy Doctor: I already handled the doctor. He will also take accountability for the situation.
June smiled to himself as he finally got what he wanted. However, even then, he still couldn't shake off his sleepiness.
So, with half-opened eyes, he looked at Minjun's text and once again smiled.
Minjun: My dad found this. It looks like someone from Lin Zhi's side really did rig the results.
Minjun: They tried really hard to hide it, but my dad's the actual owner, so he was able to get to the bottom of it.
"I knew it," June muttered, looking at all of the proof that Minjun had sent him.
He quickly sent Lin Zhi's real diagnosis to Minjun, making the young man satisfied.
Little Bro: That's another exclusive for MinMin!
Little Bro: I can upload both of these tomorrow, right?
Just then, he also received a text from Dr. Oh.
Crazy Doctor: Can you come tomorrow for that blood extraction?
At this point, his eyes were nearly closed, but he still strived to reply to the two of them.
June: Yeah.
June: Nope.
