Lights were flashing from the big screen as the movie continued to run in the background. Half of its runtime was already consumed, and yet the theater remained to be filled only until half of its capacity. The people could freely choose where to sit if they actually came in to watch. The light in the eyes of the viewers was bright, but the life inside June's body was surely extinguished.
This was it. This was the last time he was going to star in a movie. He had done a lot already, but it didn't seem to be enough to hit the promises made to him by his agency. The only thing worse was not receiving any more scripts or offers from anyone anymore. Even the endorsements had run out months ago. With just one last sigh, June prepared to leave his seat.
June Verrier was his screen name, but that didn't matter all that much. He didn't have enough fans to make it seem like he was worth the money. His acting skills were good, and the movies looked good to him and some others. However, it never meant that each was profitable.
Pulling down on his hood, he decided to leave for real. He had even gone here in secret just to take a look at the numbers that were being given to him by the agency. It didn't seem like they were lying. Perhaps, he just needed to lower his pride for some bit-roles to keep living.
"Where are you going? The movie's not yet over." The man two seats away from him spoke as soon as he rose from his seat. "Aren't you a little disrespectful to the people behind it?"
"Sorry, but I'm not really watching something I can stomach," June answered as if he was one of these people who just experimented on what they watched in the cinema.
"Really? You can't stand your own movie?"
June froze. He quickly darted his eyes at the man two seats away. Taking note of the man's strange appearance, he ended up staring longer. The man was in what seemed to be a three-piece blue suit under a gray coat with a lush faux fur collar. He was almost reclining against the seat, enjoying the unobstructed view of the screen. His legs were also crossed to show maximum comfort.
It's just that… under the faint glow of the movie, the man's face seemed to be very handsome. June couldn't make out the actual color of the man's eyes, but he was so sure that they looked red in the dark. It also didn't escape him that the man had three buttons undone, showing off a generous slice of his chest. June's eyes were magnetized, but he chose to only sit down.
"Are you going to tell people I'm here? How did you even recognize me?" June huffed as crossed his hands over his chest. He didn't want to enjoy something that he did but continued to be dismissed by many. Even when he saw how focused the people were, he just looked away.
"I shouldn't. Aren't you scared of being mobbed?" The man laughed out, strangely intoxicating the actor. However, June's ire was greater. At this reaction, the man only hummed. "Would you rather eat by yourself later, instead of accepting an invitation to dinner, Mr. Verrier?"
"…whose invitation is that?"
The man took out what seemed to be a business card and reached out to give it to June. "Mine, later at DuMonte. Of course, under my name. My friends call me Lantis Castelli. It's nice to be your acquaintance. I look forward to seeing more of you in the future, Neptune."
June was not supposed to be accepting things like this, but he figured he didn't want to eat like a loser on his movie's premiere night. That was why he reached out and received the card when the man was talking. It's just that… when the man spoke of his real name that no one else should know, June turned to the man again.
However, he was not there anymore. There were even no traces of him being there… aside from the card that he had given June.
"What the hell? Am I hallucinating?" The actor held onto his head as if he had just gone crazy. June then looked down at the card, only for him to be taken aback by the words that were written on it:
[Take responsibility for releasing me.]
"Huh?" June frowned before looking around again. He only pocketed the card and continued watching the romance movie that he had with a B-list actress. It's just that… within that trance, he remembered the last project that he worked on. It was just two weeks ago… that he agreed to tape a strange documentary about an abandoned site for those college students.
…
Three weeks ago…
A phone flew to the bed as June angrily growled, with his hand punching the side of his door. He just received another foiled promise from the director he had always worked with. Almost every time that he had chosen a great script, his role would be taken away from him. Even his agency wasn't doing much about it.
It didn't help that, ninety percent of the time, the movies from those scripts would rake in massive profits. Even for the ones that were so open to actor interpretation, they managed to do good… just because June was forced to do sample takes for it.
"Dammit. Am I secretly blacklisted? If only I know how to do something else… if only I know how to live without being an actor…" June cursed himself. This luck… this was heavily dependent on how useless he was outside being an actor. He couldn't even begin to learn something else. His consumption of media was driving him over the edge almost all the time.
His phone then began to ring. When June picked up the phone to check the caller ID, it was one of his friends from high school. He took a deep breath and answered, trying to sound like the happy person he should be: "Hey, what's with the sudden call?"
The friend whistled from the other end. He then laughed. ["Gosh, sorry, I didn't realize you'll still answer my call just as easily. Wait, I shouldn't waste your time! June, can I ask how much you normally get paid for movies?"]
"…what kind of question is that?"
["Wait, context! I need someone for a class documentary. It's their finals for Cinematography."] The friend giggled. ["They don't believe their small-time teacher when I said that I know you, so… please, June! My reputation as a respectable teacher is on the line!"]
June only massaged his forehead. However, when he took a look at his empty calendar, he only sighed. "You don't have to pay. I'll just go. Be sure that it's worth my time, you dumbass."
The friend cheered with a loud 'yes'. "I promise you! This is the best decision you've made, ever!"