….
As soon as Regal was within reach, Gwendolyn wrapped her arms around him in a warm, lingering hug.
Regal didn't hesitate to return the gesture.
"...you look a little worried?" After a moment, he murmured into her ear while studying her reaction.
Gwendolyn pulled back just enough to give him a look that practically screamed, Are you stupid?
"If anything, I should be the one asking that…" She muttered, a slight edge of annoyance in her tone.
Gwendolyn wasn't wrong.
She had been standing there for almost an hour, leaning against the doorframe, quietly observing.
Samantha had warned her before she stepped in - Regal's busy. He is in the zone.
But even with that in mind, she hadn't expected this!
It wasn't the first time she had seen him immersed in something, especially when it came to writing.
His passion was part of what she loved about him.
But this time… it felt different.
He looked even more distant, like he had completely removed himself from the world around him - locked away in a space where the world around him didn't exist.
….even she....
That realization stung more than she expected.
A world where they weren't together?
As if!!
Even before, when Regal was fully engrossed in his writing, he would still respond if someone called him - especially if it was her.
Yeah, sometimes it took a few moments, but he always reacted, always acknowledged her presence in some way.
But this time?
Gwendolyn hadn't even tried to call him - no she couldn't.
She wanted to, had even opened her mouth to say his name, but something stopped her.
She already knew the answer.
He wouldn't respond.
Or maybe he might.
But - what if he didn't?
The mere thought of it unsettled her.
She didn't wish to test it. She would rather not confirm the feeling gnawing at her.
Anyway, to the feeling of Gwendolyn having - Regal was indeed in the world of his own creation, and her guess couldn't be any more right about it.
Because that was exactly what had happened.
Regal had completely entered the world of his writing.
He hadn't noticed when it happened, hadn't even realized he had slipped into that space, but as he wrote, he had felt his characters more vividly than ever before.
Every action, every thought, every shift in emotion - they weren't just ideas on a page.
They were real.
More real than they had ever been.
…and Regal might actually have an idea of what happened and the reason behind it.
His gaze flicked to the floating panel that had been lingering in his peripheral vision, barely acknowledged until now.
With a quiet breath, he finally brought it forward, scanning the screen.
It was his system's skill panel.
For the first time in a while, there was something new there.
There is additional information beside two main skills of his after he upgraded them to max level with a chunk of 10M total.
Yep.
He finally decided to just go for it and upgraded the two skills - and he could already say that it was one of the best decisions he had ever made.
•-----[SKILL SLOTS]-----•
» [Slot-1:] Director (Rank – World-Class) [In-active]
» [Slot-2:] Writer (Rank – World-Class) [In-active]
» [Slot-3:] Drawing (Rank – Expert)
» [Slot-4:] Cinematographer (Rank – Intermediate)
Ⓘ [Unique Skill:] Insight
Ⓘ [World-Class] Rank skills have special activation conditions, and their effects remain unknown until triggered. While in their inactive state, they still retain their [World-Class] ranking but do not function at full potential.
Additionally, [World-Class] skills cannot be swapped out for any other skill, regardless of rank.
•---------------------•
Regal's fingers hovered over the panel before he dismissed it with a sigh.
So… that's what it was. He thought, connecting the dots.
The system, cryptic as ever, had apparently 'activated' something while he was writing. He hadn't noticed it at the time, too absorbed in his work to care about anything else. But looking back, it was obvious.
He hadn't just been focused. He had been consumed.
Time, exhaustion, even his surroundings - everything had faded away, leaving only the world of his script. The characters weren't just figments of his imagination - they felt alive, their emotions tangible, their choices inevitable.
It was too real.
And that was unsettling.
But… It also took his writing to the next level.
Furthermore, despite how much he trash talked the Netflix adaptation of [Death Note], Regal couldn't deny that it played a role in getting him into this world.
In fact, he strongly believed that the [World Class] Rank of [Writer] skill only activated because he had purchased and observed that version of [Death Note].
It wasn't about how wrongly the characters were written - rather, it produced him a path to enter the world and build a framework with.
From there, his past life memories added to his [Writer] skills came into play, allowing him to tweak the characters, refine their behaviors, adjust the plot, and ultimately craft a version that aligned far closer to the one he remembered.
Of course, this is all still his theory, but the likelihood of it being true was high.
…sigh, Regal exhaled slowly.
He would leave this mystery for his future self to figure out. Currently, he had something more important to deal with.
"There is nothing to worry about. I am perfectly fine." He said, offering a reassuring smile.
Gwendolyn's arms remained crossed, her expression unimpressed.
Yeah. She wasn't buying it.
With a smirk, he reached out and pinched her nose between his thumb and index finger, tugging it left and right. She let out a small groan, swatting at his hand but not actually pulling away.
Before she could protest, he leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek, then another on her forehead.
That should do it. He took a step back, watching as she rubbed her nose with a huff.
"That… wasn't going to cut it." She muttered, though her tone lacked any real bite.
Before he could respond, a sudden knock echoed through the room.
Both Regal and Gwendolyn turned toward the entrance - only to frown in confusion.
The door was already open.
Who knocks on an open door?
Of course, there was only one person who would.
Samantha.
Regal sighed. "Come in." He commanded, his voice rough from hours of silence.
Samantha stepped in, holding two cups - one with coffee, the other with tea.
Gwendolyn walked over without hesitation, plucking the tea from Samantha's hand with a content sigh.
"Oh, this tea was meant for me, right? Samantha." She chirped, already taking a slow sip before anyone could object.
Regal, standing on the back, said with a light sigh again. "Thanks for the tea and coffee… Samantha."
Samantha arched a brow, her expression flat. "Yeah. You are welcome."
Gwendolyn, fully aware of the silent criticism directed at her, shifted slightly behind Samantha, cradling the warm cup between both hands. Then, with a completely unrepentant expression, she stuck out her tongue in dismissal.
Regal, of course, just chose to ignore it - for now.
Samantha's sharp eye took in his disheveled appearance and the dark circles under his eyes. "You didn't sleep, did you?" She said, handing him the coffee without waiting for an answer.
"Didn't have time." Regal simply took the cup gratefully. "But I made a lot of progress."
Samantha's gaze drifted toward the screen, then to the two thick stacks of drafts on the table. She could tell he had definitely made progress - though in what exactly, she wasn't entirely sure. "I can see that. But you won't be any good to this project if you collapse before it's done."
Regal chuckled, his eyes betraying his otherwise confident tone. "I will rest once it's finished."
"…I wonder who your girlfriend is, Mr. Junior?" Gwendolyn chimed in, her tone light but teasing.
"Huh? A blondie who is way more emotionally mature than this childish version of herself right now." Regal shot back with a smirk.
"Not funny." Gwendolyn shot him a look.
Samantha, uninterested in their love quarrel, eyed the two stacks of freshly printed pages. One was noticeably thinner than the other.
"...Is this what you are working on?"
"Yep. The initial two drafts. The smaller one is just trash, though…" Regal informed.
"So you do realize it's bad?" Gwendolyn remarked, arms crossed. "For a second, I thought you let success get to your head and just wrote whatever nonsense came to mind. I even came up with a solution - hit you over the head and yell 'What are you even writing?!' in your ears. I am such a caring girlfriend, aren't I?"
Gwendolyn wasn't exactly idle while sitting around for the past hour. She had taken the liberty of skimming through the so-called 'Trash' draft.
And while reading it, only one thought kept circling in her mind:
There's no way this was written by Regal.
Like - No way.
Her mind refused to entertain the thought.
…It was that bad.
She had been careful not to use the word trash outright, not because she disagreed with the assessment, but because, as a publisher, she understood better than anyone - no matter how bad a piece of writing was, you never outright disgraced it in front of the creator.
If there were issues, you pointed them out constructively.
And if it was beyond saving, you simply stepped away from the project if possible.
The premise is just as excellent as Regal's first film.
Actually, she believed the Note Killing, or Death Note, concept, an ability to kill simply by writing a name - was exceptional.
But seeing how the script wasted such potential with a lackluster protagonist was simply too... Un-Regal for her.
The script even ignored the most basic rule: Follow the rules you set for yourself.
…and there was no way she could believe Regal thought it made sense.
Luckily for her, he really didn't.
"I know what I wrote." Regal said.
The first version - completely raw, without any revisions, had been hammered out in just a day and a half.
The second draft was finished just last night.
So for now, he had printed both.
The first draft - Trash, it had been more useful than he was giving it credit for.
Not in the way one would typically hope, of course.
It was his No-Go list.
A reverse bucket list of everything he shouldn't be doing, a clear reference of mistakes he needed to avoid at all costs.
Meanwhile, the second draft was the foundation for the third draft - a much shorter, refined version he is currently working on.
Samantha crossed her arms, glancing from the script to him. "You realize this could double as a doorstop, right?"
He countered. "I am trimming it down."
Samantha suggested thoughtfully. "Why not split it into two parts? Or better yet, turn it into a television show?"
A series? Her suggestion caught Regal off guard.
For a moment, he stared at her - of course Regal had indeed considered the option.
However, in this world, the concept of television shows, or in the future, what will be re-termed as web series, are still in their infancy, except for a couple, and it could be said they are far from the cultural phenomenon they would become.
Yet here was Samantha, already recognizing its potential.
Meanwhile, Gwendolyn leaned against the table, her focus entirely on finishing her tea before it cooled.
The conversation between Regal and Samantha slipped right over her head. It isn't out of disinterest in the topic, but simply because filmmaking wasn't her area of expertise.
Is it too long? What's the issue?
Isn't that better?
From a novel publisher's perspective, length was rarely an issue. As long as the story progression was engaging - and for her, longer simply meant more to enjoy.
Of course, she understood that movies had runtime constraints, and that's exactly why she preferred to stay put rather than making offhand comments.
"You have thought this through, haven't you?" Regal said, a touch of admiration slipping into his tone.
Samantha added humbly. "It's an emerging market. It might not be mainstream yet, but it's worth considering."
Regal seemed thoughtful. "Not for this project. Splitting it into two parts would water it down, and a series? Sure, one day. But not now."
Samantha studied him for a moment, her smile widening. She liked working with people who could see the bigger picture, and Regal was clearly one of them.
"Can I read the script?" She asked hopefully and curiously - trying not to step out of her bounds.
Regal raised an eyebrow. Samantha's interest seemed genuine and evident seeing how she abandoned her professional zone - trust me, that's very rare.
She had been around from the first week of working on the script, meaning exactly two weeks from now, watching as Regal locked himself in this room, working from dawn to dusk.
Occasionally, she would catch glimpses of his storyboarding sketches - rough, imperfect lines that somehow conveyed vivid imagery. And whenever she did, she was mesmerized by how unique they were.
"If you don't mind." She added, her tone light but expectant.
Regal just shrugged his shoulders. He nodded. "Go ahead."
Samantha smiled, already reaching for the script. As she flipped through the pages, her expression shifted - curiosity turning into fascination.
"Wait, let me read it too." Gwendolyn chimed in, setting her now-empty cup down.
Regal smirked remindingly. "Be sure to take back your comments."
"I am hoping so too."
With that, the first draft was left untouched as Samantha focused on the newer version.
Regal leaned back in his chair, deciding to relax for a while.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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