I Accidentally Became A Superstar

The contestants were herded back into the main auditorium to await the results. The air was thick with tension. Or maybe just leftover mist from the last scene where one of the pairs decided to go with a Vampire theme for their chosen keyword—FANTASY.

Everyone sat in rows, eyes locked on the large LED display above the stage. Some tried to look nonchalant, others fidgeted like they had a live ferret in their pockets. Risa kept rubbing her cheeks, making sure no tear stains remained.

“This is the most important moment of this round,” Bacon PD’s voice echoed through the auditorium speakers. “The mission where creativity and emotion merged.”

Ari stood next to Bacon, flipping her note cards. “When we said this was an acting competition, we didn’t expect to be handed a script that could have been written so beautifully.”

Hero wiped his nose and whispered reverently, “Master…”

Bacon chuckled. “The winning pair, I believe, had the best performance out of everyone, with their standard exceeding everyone’s expectations.”

“And the winners of this mission by an overwhelming margin are…” Ari announced, voice rising.

“…Risa and Zeno!”

Applause was heard in the room. A few contestants sighed and clapped at the same time. Others nodded silently because they couldn’t really fight that one. They did cry.

Risa smiled softly and stood, wiping her palms on her skirt before taking Zeno’s hand and tugging him to his feet. Zeno allowed it.

They walked to the center of the stage to a round of applause.

[INSTANT TEARS COMMENCING]

“What?” Zeno muttered.

A shadow fell over his eyes.

Wasn’t that booster used up already?

A single tear rolled down his cheek as his face was projected—in glorious 4K Ultra HD—onto the massive screen behind him. The camera zoomed in for maximum impact.

“Zeno…” Ari said, stepping forward with a proud smile. “How does it feel to move the hearts of nearly fifty people with your work?”

Zeno opened his mouth, intending to say something basic like “Thanks.”

[INSTANT TEARS ACTIVATED]

He blinked rapidly. More tears. His nose tingled. His voice cracked.

He turned slightly to hide his face, one palm covering his cheek like a flustered anime protagonist.

“Oh my god,” someone in the crowd gasped. “He’s crying.”

“Awwww,” Ian cooed, openly smiling. “He’s touched. I thought he didn’t feel anything by it.”

Bacon PD pursed his lips and placed a hand on his shoulder, making Zeno even more sensitive. “It’s alright to feel touched by what you’ve written.”

‘No, I’m not touched!’ Zeno yelled internally, but his expression outwardly was delicate and glassy-eyed.

It was a betrayal of the highest order. He tried to scroll through his booster settings to see if there was any mistake.

[BOOSTER: INSTANT TEARS – ACTIVE. GOOD FOR 24 HOURS. EMOTION SIMULATION AUTO-TRIGGERED EVERY 2 HOURS AFTER FIRST USE.]

Every. Two. Hours?

For twenty-four hours?

That was—twelve times total?!

“Make it stop,” he whispered.

“Make it stop,” the audience misheard sweetly as, “I’m so moved I can’t stop crying.”

Another round of applause. Someone from the audience even yelled, “You’re so real!”

He wasn’t! He wasn’t touched. They all misunderstood!

On screen, he looked picturesque—soft red eyes glistening, trembling lower lip, one hand raised.

The directors would later call this moment frameable.

“Beautiful…” whispered the sound technician backstage, wiping her eyes.

Risa leaned over and gently patted his back. “It’s okay. Let it all out.”

Hero was openly crying again in the crowd. “He’s crying for us. What a master.”

Ari took a moment to let the emotional wave pass before clearing her throat and pulling out a sleek envelope.

“Now, for the winner’s incentive,” she said cheerfully.

Zeno’s head snapped up.

Please let it be immunity. Immunity. Just immunity. That was safe.

Let him nap for 24 hours until this booster passes.

Ari opened the envelope slowly.

Ari smiled brightly.

“For this round’s winning prize, the winners will be… starring in a commercial!”

Zeno’s expression fell.

“For one of our main sponsors—Feb!” she added. “An elegant perfume brand. You’ll be shooting the campaign today! Isn’t that exciting?”

“No,” he said again, quietly. “This is not immunity.”

[INSTANT TEARS ACTIVATED – NEXT ROUND IN 1 HR 59 MINS.]

***

So.

It had come to this.

Zeno Han was now sitting in the villa’s makeup room with cucumber slices taped to his face, about to star in a perfume commercial.

The brand decided to make it a short drama by the poolside.

While the rest of the contestants were preparing for another cutthroat elimination challenge, Zeno was being dusted, powdered, and sprayed with overwhelming scents.

He sat stiffly in the makeup chair, enduring the experience.

The artist dabbing blush on his cheek gasped softly.

“Oh no,” she whispered.

[INSTANT TEARS ACTIVATED]

Zeno cursed inwardly. He blinked fast, trying to keep the tears from dripping onto the makeup.

He caught sight of the makeup artists furiously texting on their phones beside the lighted mirror.

MakeupArtist_Kira: omg he’s tearing up again

MakeupArtist_Yeon: soft-hearted prince???

Kira: I thought he was the cold type

Yeon: he’s quite sweet, right?

Zeno sat still, like a statue of agony.

Only two more hours until the next trigger.

He had to finish this fast.

Zeno stood, nodding at the staff. “Where do we first film?”

“Out by the pool,” a coordinator said, handing him a cue sheet and a fluffy white towel embroidered with the Feb logo.

He headed out, adjusting his shirt collar. The set was a dreamscape—faux candlelight, floating petals, and even smoke machines.

Risa was already there, standing in her white summer dress with her hair curled softly and her fingers curled tighter.

She looked like she was about to burst.

Zeno raised an eyebrow. “You good?”

She squeaked something unintelligible.

He looked down at the cue sheet.

Scene: Risa faints poolside, Zeno rushes in, pulls her close, and leans in for CPR. Before he gets to her lips, she gasps awake—not because of the mouth-to-mouth—but because his scent brings her back to life.

Tagline: Feb. So Good, It Revives.

Meanwhile, Risa, who had already read the cue sheet over and over again, covered her face with the script.

“You’re kidding,” she muttered. “CPR? Mouth-to-mouth?! I’m not ready for this.”

“I might die for real,” she whispered to herself, hyperventilating.

“Let’s get it done quickly, hmm?” Zeno said, interrupting her self-conversation.

“Sure,” Risa managed to squeeze out, but she wasn’t sure if she could do so with the thought that Zeno’s going to get close to her lips.

The first take started.

Risa ran down the poolside in slow motion. The director shouted, “You trip here!”

She tripped, but instead of hitting the water, she belly-flopped onto the cement instead.

“Cut!”

Second take. She tripped again—this time, somehow launching herself into the pool but appearing very panicked.

Zeno had to fish her out.

“Cut! Cut! Risa, baby, less panic, more perfume commercial!” the director wailed. “We’ll keep the walking scene, but you need to fall gracefully, alright?”

Third take.

Risa managed to faint correctly into the pool without flailing. Zeno jogged to her, kneeled dramatically, and leaned down for the fake CPR moment.

She opened one eye.

Then both.

Then stammered out her line. “W-why do you smell so… so… edible?”

“CUT!!”

“IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ‘REVIVING!'” the director shrieked, tearing through his script.

Risa buried her face into the towel, silently screaming into it.

The takes continued.

By the one-hour mark, Zeno had crouched down by her at least eleven times. Risa kept messing up the final line, whether by stuttering, mispronouncing “Feb,” or blurting out things like “you smell delicious” and “oh wow, your eyelashes are so long.”

Zeno sighed deeply.

He watched his countdown again.

[Time until Instant Tears #3: 10 minutes]

By the final take, the sun was dipping just right, casting an orange glow across the pool. The director was hunched in his chair, appearing exhausted.

Zeno looked down at Risa, who was already in position, fainting beautifully now after an hour of practice.

The director whispered, “Take 24. And… action.”

Zeno jogged in.

He kneeled.

He leaned in. Just before his lips reached hers, Risa gasped, bolting upright.

Risa blinked, looking dazed, and whispered. “You… you smell like… uh…”

She froze.

Again.

Zeno’s eye twitched.

But then—

He moved his hand gently to cup her cheek.

Her eyes widened.

Zeno leaned closer and said softly, “You came back to life for me, huh.”

He gave a crooked half-smile, tilting his head. And then—just as her jaw dropped in real-time surprise—he leaned in just close enough to make it look like a kiss was coming…

And froze there.

Perfect cliffhanger frame.

The camera zoomed in.

CUT!!

“GENIUS!!” the director screamed. “CUT, PRINT, EDIT, THAT’S THE ONE! IT’S PERFECT!”

Zeno exhaled, finally, standing slowly as the crew burst into applause.

[INSTANT TEARS ACTIVATED]

His breath caught mid-exhale.

“Oh, come on,” he hissed under his breath.

His hand shot to his mouth, trying to stifle the sniffle now bubbling up.

Risa turned to him, alarmed. “Zeno?”

His eyes were already glimmering again. He spun away from her so fast that Risa felt she had whiplash. However, it couldn’t be mistaken. He was covering his nose, right?

Risa’s eyes widened, and she blew some air into her hand.

“Do I smell… bad?”