Chapter 37 - Zeno's Audition
"Zeno Han? Why does that sound familiar?"
"He's that guy!"
"What guy?"
"The guy from 'Broken Chains of Justice!'"
"Wait. That Jinro guy?"
"Omo, you're right!"
Jace covered his mouth as he heard the conversation around him.
"This guy," he muttered. "No wonder he looked familiar!"
Minseok's smug smirk fell, and his eyes narrowed. The straw hat was obscuring most of Zeno's eyes, so he didn't recognize him at first.
Selina, too, stopped playing her ranked game for a moment. Then, she scoffed. She never got the hype for this guy. He just smiled, and suddenly, he became viral.
Jisoo stopped speaking with Jihwan and Hyunjin and focused her gaze on the front. As someone who loved action movies and films, she recognized his voice right away.
Zeno Han has been hiding among them all along?
Chaewon PD, too, lifted her head. "Zeno, huh?" she muttered. She had never watched 'Broken Chains of Justice' but knew of Zeno because of the time he went with Hyunbin to their wrap-up party. Man-shik had mentioned it to her back then—there was an actor to look forward to.
"Do you know him?" Insu asked Ian.
Ian looked at Zeno before shaking his head. "We've been filming the movie, so I don't have much time to scroll through social media."
"Well, he's supposedly a good actor," Jiho chimed in.
Zeno felt it—their expectations. They thought so highly of him at the moment, so the only way to go was down. Things were already working in his favor.
"Take the last script," Chaewon said, determined not to give him any preferential treatment.
"Scene 25."
Zeno nodded in response.
"And can you remove your straw hat? I can't see your eyes," she added, clicking her tongue.
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Zeno did as he was told, tossing his straw hat to the side. It was then that his face came into view.
Minseok's eyebrows raised. What the heck? Why did it look like he had a filter in real life?
Jisoo, too, was surprised. He looked like an ordinary man in 'Broken Chains of Justice.' It was his pretty smile that made him known. However, he looked much better in real life.
He still wasn't on Ian's level, though. He was just more handsome than they had expected.
"Alright, start now," Chaewon said.
Zeno scanned the script, already familiar with it from those few seconds. It was a conversation between Dr. Black, the main character, and another doctor during a fire disaster scene.
From all the auditions, it seemed like Ian was playing the same person—Dr. Black. It didn't take long for Zeno to know that this was his character in the movie. Aside from that, although he was sleeping, he could pick up the clues as to the type of acts Chaewon PD stopped.
She didn't like excessiveness or inadequacy. In simpler terms, she hated both extra and nonchalant acting. Zeno wasn't a fan of the former, so he decided to go with nonchalant acting.
An actor who cannot portray emotions.
With that, he began.
"We need you," Ian started off, his voice filled with urgency. "Half of the mansion is on fire, and people are getting trapped. The Governor's daughter is also there."
Zeno didn't respond for a while, hoping Chaewon PD would stop him even when he hadn't said one line. That would be a record-breaker! However, she didn't, so he responded.
"Not my problem," he answered.
'Alright, you can stop me now!'
However, for some reason, Chaewon PD looked deep in thought, tilting her head to the side.
Ian continued with his next line. "What do you mean, "not your problem"? You're a doctor. One of the last ones left. These people need us."
Zeno shrugged, still not showing any emotion on his face. "These people had their chance. They hoarded supplies and built walls to keep the rest of us out, and now they expect us to save them? Let them burn."
It was all monotonous. Not a single stress nor a raise in his tone.
Chaewon PD felt the hairs on her arm standing up. Her frown deepened. "He's saying it without any emotions?" she muttered.
"This isn't about them!" Ian exclaimed. "It's about who we are. We're doctors. We help people. That's what we do."
Zeno finally looked at Ian, his eyes devoid of any emotion. Ian's breath got caught in his throat, feeling a chill run down his spine.
"You still believe that? After everything?"
Ian looked away. "Yes."
'She should stop me now!' Zeno thought. He was already on his third line!
"Then you're a fool," Zeno said, making sure he sounded even more nonchalant than before.
Ian's voice became even more intense. "Maybe I am. But at least I'm not a coward."
'Any minute now.'
"Go play hero, Black. I'm not wasting my time on people who'd separated us based on status."
"You're no better than they are," Ian responded.
Now, Zeno was getting impatient. It was his last line, and yet he still hasn't been stopped.
He glanced at Chaewon PD for a moment, who was looking at him with her mouth agape. With that, he said the last line, a little bit more bitter than what he had planned to.
"Good luck saving a world that doesn't want to be saved."
Zeno didn't waste any second. As soon as he was done, he bowed and prepared to leave the stage. He didn't even bother saying thank you. However, before he could take another step, Chaewon PD raised her hand to stop him.
"Answer this one question," she started off. "Why are you here today?"
Zeno paused for a while, pursing his lips. Why was he here? There was only one answer.
"Because I have to."
It was an answer that should have come out as obligatory. However, at that moment, Chaewon thought it was chivalrous. This young man must be fighting for something.
Zeno didn't want to be asked another question, so he finally walked down the platform, not looking back.
Meanwhile, Chaewon and Ian locked eyes, a collective thought going through them.
The doctor that Zeno played was the character that was yet to be filled—one of the reasons why they were holding the auditions today.
There were no context clues, nor was the character profile given. However, Zeno had gotten it exactly right.
That doctor was someone with no emotion at all.