I Accidentally Became A Superstar

The words on the card stared back at Zeno mockingly. It felt like those pop-up ads that said “YOU’VE WON A MILLION DOLLARS!” but were really just viruses that never went away.

EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

He stared at the words. The words stared back.

“Wow,” he muttered under his breath. “These damn bastards.”

He wasn’t sure if he meant the production team, the Ascendants, or the universe in general. Maybe all three.

Of all the topics in the world, they had to give him the exact one that already had a deluxe, all-expenses-paid timeshare in his brain. Couldn’t he have gotten something light? A breakup? A food fight? Miscommunication?

Nope. He got EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

He turned the card over, hoping it would magically transform. Nope. Still EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

Was this the cherry on top? He already knew he wasn’t going to make it past 25. He already met someone who did. He already had hope dangled in front of him, only to have it smacked out of his hands.

And now they wanted him to write about it?

Maybe he shouldn’t have spoken with Ari. Maybe knowing too much was a curse. Maybe the system had built-in karma points, and this was his penalty for seeking the truth.

He let out a long exhale. Then, from the other side of the room, he heard a familiar voice “Existential crisis, anyone?”

He turned and saw Risa walking through the crowd.

She held up her card and tilted her head. She found Zeno looking at her, and she pursed her lips. Perhaps… they had the same topic. When he turned his card toward her, she was proven right.

She tried to hide her smile but couldn’t. The universe was on her side today because she was paired up with Zeno!

As the pairs were finalized, the rest of the contestants began filtering into their spots. Shin had ended up with Misha. Hero was paired with Phoenix.

Suho was stuck with Ian, and their topic was LOVE TRIANGLE.

Bacon PD clapped once to get their attention. “You’ve all drawn your topics. You’ve met your partners. Good. Now, next to your keyword is your turn number.”

Everyone looked down. Zeno and Risa found the number 10 printed next to their card.

“We’re tenth,” Risa said.

Bacon PD continued. “You’ll each be given your own space in the villa. You have three hours to write and practice a scene no shorter than ten minutes and no longer than fifteen.”

Ari stepped forward. “There are fourteen pairs total. However, that doesn’t mean you can rehearse while waiting for your turn. You will all be escorted to the viewing room once the three hours are over, and you will be prohibited from practicing.”

“The clock starts now.”

A blaring DING! Echoed through the speakers.

“Go!”

Immediately, the room turned into mild chaos as they looked for their designated rooms.

Their topics were pasted on their corresponding area, and Risa and Zeno pushed open the master bedroom.

However, Risa stopped in her tracks the moment she entered the room.

What she did not expect was a chandelier.

And a king-sized canopy bed.

And was that… a mirror on the ceiling?

“Uh,” she said, pausing halfway into the room. “This can’t be right.”

Zeno walked in front of her, hands in his pockets

“The bed looks comfy,” Zeno muttered to himself.

Comfy was one word for it. Terrifying was another.

Risa stepped further inside, squinting at a velvet armchair mounted strangely high up on hooks.

“This chair…,” she muttered awkwardly.

Zeno glanced at it. “The color is nice.”

Risa pursed her lips. That was most definitely a sex swing.

Risa took a very slow step back and considered throwing herself out the window.

Zeno sat on the bed and bounced twice. “Bouncy.”

Risa clutched the edge of the desk they were supposedly going to write on. Are they being pranked?

As if in response to her question, the lights suddenly shut off.

Pitch black.

Then, click, and a new light switches on. Except it wasn’t white.

It was red.

A deep, sultry, horrifying red.

Risa froze. “What the—what is happening?” she whispered.

A soft jazz track began playing faintly from the wall speakers.

“Are we in Fifty Shades of Grey?” she whispered to herself.

Zeno wandered toward the side table and pressed a button. The bed vibrated.

“Don’t touch things!” Risa exclaimed, louder than she intended.

Zeno stopped and pursed his lips, sitting back down on the now steady bed.

Risa was sweating profusely. Her whole back was clammy. Her palms were damp. Her soul had left her body.

Suddenly, she felt Zeno reach out.

Her breath caught.

Was this it?

Was he going to gently hold her hand and say, “It’s okay, I got you”? Were they about to have a dramatic bonding moment in the middle of a romance dungeon?

She turned her head slowly, heart pounding.

“You have an eye booger.”

Risa’s soul exploded.

“WHAT?” she sputtered, slapping his hand away. “You can’t just say that to someone! You don’t—!”

Zeno, completely unbothered, wiped his hand on a tissue and said, “It was distracting.”

Risa turned away, face burning, body on fire, and blood pressure skyrocketing.

In her mind, she began cursing out every person responsible for this.

She exhaled deeply, pressing her forehead to the wall.

“You okay?” Zeno asked from behind her.

“Yes,” she chuckled nervously. “I’m just fine.”

“You’re sweaty. Want to sit on the swinging chair?”

Risa’s breath hitched before she frantically shook her head. “I just need a moment,” she muttered and opened one of the windows to let some wind in. The lord knows she needed it very much. She couldn’t breathe well despite not having any lung problems.

After a while, once her cheeks had cooled down and her breathing evened out, she finally turned back to Zeno. She didn’t know how long she was calming herself down, but the moment she turned to him, Zeno was already writing.

Not only that, but one of the pieces of paper was nearly full.