"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"What kind of phone is that?"
"You're so bad!"
"Aw man, change your phone, will you?"
"Yeah, it lags a lot all throughout the game."
"Another defeat, all because you lag."
"CUT!" they all chilled down from their tensed state after hearing that cue from the director
"Who knew you have the potential to be actors?" Dewy chuckled as they head to sit on their respective chairs
"Key looks natural while acting earlier, it was really as if she really is just playing." Alexei said
"Did you undergo any acting workshop by any chance?" Quant asked after drinking from his tumbler
"Oh, no, nothing of sorts," Key chuckled while shaking her head
"I just happen to have fun acting out some scenes from a friend's works before." She smiled at the thought
"We are really grateful that you took out your time to shoot with us." The director told Bright and Dewy while glancing at the team members who are resting
"Oh no, sir, it's actually us who are honored to be in the ad of our sponsor." Dewy said
For some reason, Key could feel and imagine the real thoughts running through the director's head with just his gaze, even though her eyes are closed.
"You okay, Key?" Rio asked her and Key opened her eyes to look at him with a smile
"Yeah, I'm good, just resting my eyes from the bright lights." She replied with an innocent smile
"I forgot to wear my [1]transition lenses." Key added and closed her eyes
"Transition lenses…?" Opal asked while looking at Key in confusion
"Yeah, they darken when exposed to bright lights, I wear them when we play on the stage." Key answered
"No wonder you can stare into the flashing lights of cameras." Quant said and Key chuckled
"Are we going to resume?" El asked the crew when they began fixing the set again
"Yes, we finished editing the first parts." The set manager answered
"Are your make-up done?" Dewy checked on them
"Your lips are pale, and there are some slightly dark circles under your eyes, do you usually stay up late, miss?" the one re-applying make-up on Key's face commented while dabbing the lip-tint on Key's lips
"We train until late at night," Nico answered and stood up
"His natural looks make him charming," the make-up artist assigned to put make-up on the guys said
"What else can we expect from the son of the person who took the best of the best in the gene pool?" Alexei jested while smiling
"You look charming as well, Xei." Key commented and opened her eyes
"Wow, you look so pretty, Miss." The make-up artist complimented and Key smiled
"Thank you, it's all thanks to your abilities." Key returned the compliment
"Places, everyone," the director said and they all stood up
They went to the arrangement of the set, and then, Key and Alexei, as they had rehearsed started their dialogue about their sponsor's brand as a good gaming phone.
They nailed their performance and began distributing the five different colors of the phone to every member of the team, with El and Rio having the same color just as Alexei and Key had the same color of the phone.
They shot a scene where they were 'playing' with the new phone and they won effortlessly because it was no longer lagging, nor was the joystick hard to control.
"Cut!" and there goes the director's signal
"Alright, pack up, everyone," He said and clapped his hands
"If you're tired of playing, you can enter the entertainment industry." He commented as the JLNC members descended the set
"Especially, this girl here, these two guys, that one, and that one over there." He said pointing at Key, Rio, Alexei, Rasheed, and El simultaneously
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't feel comfortable around the camera," Key chuckled
"Thank you for this, sir, we'll be going ahead.'' Dewy said and they went out of the set
"Stop for a moment, you four," Dewy stopped Alexei, Rio, Key, and El when they were about to board the company bus
"Why?" El asked
"Stand here," Dewy pointed to the side of the bus
"Nico, join them as well," Dewy called their captain who has already taken his seat inside
"Don't drag me into that." Rasheed said and crossed his arms
"We should post photos of these great visuals from our team, don't you think so?" Dewy playfully asked Bright who just shook his head and chuckled
"Alright, look here, you four," Dewy called them and they all looked at the phone him
"Say JLNC," Dewy said and they all smiled
"JLNC," Alexei, Rio, Key, and El said
"Can you guys do another pose?" Dewy asked
"We are heading to another shooting, aren't we?" Key asked while smiling
Dewy took a couple more shots before he allowed them to board the company bus.
He posted their photos immediately after they started their travel to the next studio on his account with the caption; "Should we endorse them to showbiz?", to which they all replied with their accounts;
@AlexSays: @DewyLaohoo why not? Jk. I love playing.
@Kashmiri: @DewyLaohoo, the cameras and I are not close friends.
@HisashiRio: @DewyLaohoo, Nah, I wanna enjoy my private life.
@Five_twelve: @DewyLaohoo, no thanks.
However, the netizen really thought that they could become celebrities with their looks alone and began commenting about how amazing it would be to see them act.
Alexei, Rio, and Key just liked some comments about their looks, and about the photo itself, like how the four of them look harmonious and such.
The crew from the advertisement they had just shot posted behind-the-scenes footage taken while they were preparing for the first take as a teaser, adding fuel to the fire that Dewy's post has ignited.
"Attention, everyone," Bright called them
"As you know, we'll be having a photo shoot with the energy drink company sponsoring us." Bright said
"We've received the details of today's schedule, and according to that, we'll also be holding a meet and greet at the set." He added and Alexei raised his hand before speaking
"Why weren't we informed ahead?" Alexei asked because all they know is that they'll be having a photo shoot for an advertisement, but there wasn't anything like a meet-and-greet included in that
"It's to boost the team's popularity, the company thinks that you'll have more sponsors through such publicities." Dewy explained the situation
"So, how long will this meet-and-greet take?" Rio asked
"Three hours but it will take place after you shoot the photos for the advertisement." Bright answered
"What do you guys think, can you do it?" Dewy asked them
"Do we have a choice?" El asked
"Not really, unless our member who owns 20% of the company declines that is." Dewy said and glance at Rasheed meaningfully but he just kept his eyes closed
"It doesn't sound bad, I mean it's just fan service, right?" Key voiced her opinion
"Yeah, though three hours sounds like it'll be more than just 'greet'." Alexei replied
"Alright, then it's settled. You all will be ushered to the venue after the shoot, and please be on your best behavior." Dewy said and looked at all of them one by one at the last reminded
Although it's weekdays, given that it's in the middle of the working hours, the drive was rather smooth.
At exactly ten-thirty am, they arrived at the place. They saw the long line of fans holding banners, and balloons and some are even wearing t-shirts with their faces and usernames printed on them.
"Judging by those shirts with the Captain's name and face, I can guess that more than half of those people are the captain's fans." Key commented after noticing the details
"Yeah, well then good luck with his patience later." Alexei replied while chuckling
"Everyone, please," Dewy took their attention before they head out of their company bus
"Don't worry, Dewy, we'll be good." Rio said and tapped Dewy's shoulder
"Yeah, with you and Bright, we can't possibly mess up, right?" El added and Dewy sighed
"Alright then, let's go, team." He said
Dewy and Bright were the first ones to go out of the bus, there were still some fans who came there to cheer for Bright although he exited the pro-pro games as a pro-player one and a half years ago after they won the Summer Playoff Tournament.
When Rio and El walked down the door next, the fans began screaming for them, their cheers became louder when Alexei walked down after Key, then, came their Captain.
Normal people would probably feel a bitter taste in their mouth from seeing fans cheer for others without a single one cheering for them, but Key wasn't anything normal.
She had long buried her ability to feel envy, jealousy, or feel genuine emotions.
Apart from the peace that her family, Kitten, and Kami are giving her, she can only genuinely feel anger or irritation as it was, after all, the overflowing emotion she had the moment she received immortality from fate.
***
[1] These contact lenses contain innovative technology that changes the color of the lens when the light conditions change. In less than a minute, the clear contact lens can transition to a darker shade.