[+1 Job and Income. Contract signed for one month's worth of work.]
[Mediocre Meter: 89%]
Zeno couldn't help but chuckle as he stared at his system. 11% more, and he was finally out of this place. He could already imagine lying on one of the clouds in Avalis.
And that was why he decided to attend the acting workshop that Man-shik PD had recommended. He had just arrived, and the room was already filled with around fifteen students.
"Welcome, everyone!"
His thoughts were interrupted when a cheery woman entered the room. Behind her was a middle-aged man with a buzzcut, plenty of tattoos, and a slight limp.
"Holy crap! Sam Ong is here."
"Out of all days, the owner actually came here to watch us?"
"I can't believe it. We're so lucky."
"I don't think I can act well with him watching."
"My name is Yura Sim, and beside me is Mr. Sam Ong, former action star and the owner of Metro Acting Workshop," the woman introduced.
They began to stand and bow. Zeno looked around and just went with the flow. However, his late action caught Sam's attention.
Sam's eyes zeroed in on Zeno. 'This must be the actor Man-shik was talking about,' he muttered.
These two had known each other for a long time. Sam was in Man-shik's first project—when nobody even knew their names. They continued to make more films together later on. However, in one of the movies, Sam sustained a life-threatening injury, which resulted in permanent damage to his right leg.
In the end, although he knew a lot about the theory of acting, he was only ever good with action.
However, physicality was indispensable in an action star, and he already lacked it. With that, he decided to retire and build an acting workshop from scratch.
Although Man-shik had provided a lot of support, he wasn't one to recommend an actor. So, the fact that he was speaking so highly of this new guy was already strange.
"That's enough," Yura said, gesturing for all of them to sit. "Since we have a special guest here, why don't you take turns introducing yourselves?"
"Hi, I'm Hyejin Kang! I played the class president in 'My Youth, My Regret.'"
"Hey, I'm Ryo Takeda. I was the mysterious guy in the alleyway in 'Shadows of Kyoto.'"
"Hi, I'm Luli Zhang! You might remember me as the bakery cashier in 'Sweet Days Ahead.'"
"Good morning everyone. I'm Lee Soyoung! I was one of the girls running late in 'Chasing Time.'"
As the guy next to Zeno stood, those around them began whispering.
"Why is Minseok here? Shouldn't he be in the intermediate class already?"
"He's on a different level compared to all of us here."
"Yeah, and doesn't he have a speaking role in 'Broken Chains of Justice?'"
"Hello, everyone," he greeted with a smirk. "I'm Minseok Jung. I played the rival team's ace in 'One Last Shot,' a street fighter in 'Blazing Knuckles,' a bodyguard in 'The Last Heir,' and now, I'm one of the cops in 'Broken Chains of Justice.'"
The room erupted into applause after that. Minseok enjoyed their reactions, of course. Finally, he was envied by multiple people.
Meanwhile, Zeno gave him a curt clap before standing. Most of the actors were still engrossed in praising Minseok as Zeno spoke.
"I'm Zeno Han," he said before sitting back down.
That took everyone's attention. Yura frowned while Sam merely looked at him with curiosity.
"That's it?" Yura asked. "Do you have any works you want to share?"
Zeno shrugged. "Not really," he said.
Minseok pursed his lips to suppress a chuckle. This was a beginner's class; however, most of them had some kind experience—may that be an extra or a minor role in a local play. What was somebody like him doing here? But then again, this was good. The more people below him, the better.
The others also chuckled, happy that someone with less experience than them was there.
"Alright," Yura muttered. "Since we have only two hours for this class, let's start with the warm-up. Most of you already know the drill. Find your places."
The actors began to form a semi-circle. Zeno watched them and secured his spot at the far end.
"Senior Minseok, please sit next to us," Hyejin said. However, Minseok merely smiled and sat next to Zeno. One way to make his acting even more impressive was sitting next to someone with no prior experience!
Sam Ong sat in the middle of the semi-circle. Meanwhile, Yura walked around to shout instructions and monitor them more closely.
"Let's start with our emotions! Don't exaggerate. Just react how you normally would."
"You just found out your crush wrote 'I like you' on your assignment sheet," Yura shouted, and the actors got to work. They put on their best happy yet shy expressions.
Yura smiled at the result. Most of the actors were still exaggerating, but it appeared they were doing their best.
However, as she reached the very end, her smile dropped. This guy—why wasn't he smiling at all?
'Why would someone write on an assignment sheet? It couldn't be passed then,' Zeno thought.
Besides, all of them were probably in their 20s! Humans really needed to stop hiring older actors for high school productions.
Yura shrugged it off. He was a beginner, so maybe he didn't know how to project himself.
She cleared her throat and moved on to the next prompt.
"You dropped your last slice of pizza face-down on the floor, and your dog ate it before you could save it."
Disappointed expressions filled the room.
'I don't like pizza all that much. Besides, Maxie would love that.'
Yura pursed her lips when she saw that Zeno's face hadn't moved an inch. Maybe, third time was a charm, so she moved on.
"You overhear your best friend mocking your biggest insecurity to a group of people."
They began to portray hurt and betrayal.
"Great job," Yura said to Minseok, who couldn't hide his smirk after the compliment.
'That would never happen,' Zeno thought. 'Fake friends are easy to detect.'
Yura narrowed her eyes, wanting to give Zeno one last chance.
"After years of trying, you finally get the call that you've been accepted into your dream program in a very competitive university."
'My dream is to rest.'
Yura clicked her tongue. She had enough. She was about to call for his attention. However, someone beat her to it.
"You," Sam Ong said, pointing at Zeno. Everyone turned silent as he spoke for the first time.
"Do you think this acting workshop is a joke?"