Chapter 146

“Director!”

“Are you all right?!”

As the staff rushed over in a panic, the director tried to stand as if nothing were wrong, but immediately sank back down.

“Ugh, wait a second.”

The director’s face contorted noticeably as he clutched his left ankle.

“What on earth happened?”

“Is there something wrong with the equipment?”

“Ah.... I think today’s shoot is probably a no-go....”

As the staff whispered among themselves, the mood on set began to sink. First Han Gyeol had been injured, and now the stand-in actor was hurt too. Neither injury was serious, but it was awkward to push on with filming. Just then, Roy’s voice rang out softly.

“Is that so hard?”

In an instant, every gaze in the studio snapped to Roy.

“......?”

Only then did Roy realize he’d spoken out loud. Flustered, he waved his hands.

“Oh, no...! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just curious....”

Of course, no excuse could save him. Sensing the chill in the air, Roy forced an awkward smile and backed away. Then his eyes met Han Gyeol’s.

It was icy.

At the same moment, Han Gyeol, as if realizing something, let out a single exclamation.

“Ah!”

“...Ah?”

Roy felt a chill run down his spine and tried to slip away, but Han Gyeol’s reckless shout came first.

“Roy, you’re an Awakener!”

And an S-rank at that! Of course, Han Gyeol was too smart to blurt out Roy’s rank, but his eyes shone with something like mania, as if he’d discovered a savior.

“Could you help me out?”

Shut up, you bastard! What help could he possibly offer? Roy tried to pretend he hadn’t heard and make his escape, but desperate obsession knows no bounds.

“Roy, please...!”

Limping, Han Gyeol raced over and grabbed Roy’s arm, his eyes sparkling.

“Just once. You promised to protect me. If my schedule slips again, I’ll really dieee.”

“That means protecting me from Blood Fiends...!”

“This is fighting a Blood Fiend too, right?”

Of course, it was a virtual Blood Fiend that would be CGI in post, but still.

“If you help me just this once, I’ll grant you a wish! Yeah, one wish!”

“One?”

Only one? Roy narrowed his brow as if in mockery, and Han Gyeol urgently held up three fingers.

“Th-three! I’ll really grant them all!”

Three wishes... That meant Roy could demand anything. He’d been planning to push Han Gyeol just enough to re-awaken him properly, so the timing was perfect. The last time at Han Gyeol’s place, training had landed him in the hospital, and Roy had felt too guilty to bring it up again. But here it was on a silver platter. And the moves the two had just shown were way too easy for him. In Star Hero, the three top guild leaders routinely had him do far harder drills as training.

‘I guess it’s a hassle, but it’s not a difficult request.’

Feigning hesitation, Roy reluctantly nodded.

“All right. But just today. And you keep your promise.”

Roy thus resolved to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) sacrifice himself for his precious brother just for this one day.

✧

Then...

타앗!

Pushing off the floor with all his might, Roy soared up, tumbled forward once, backward once, spun the staff three times in the air, and finally landed in perfect form. At that moment, the studio erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.

“Wow~!”

“As expected of an Awakener!”

“Ai~ That’s nothing, hyehyanghyang!”

Brushing off his palms and rising, Roy’s shoulders were already held high as if he were on top of the world. For someone dragged into helping grudgingly, he was clearly loving it. He even refused wires for the sake of image, and his performance was at least twice as flashy as the move Han Gyeol had shown.

“How is your body so light? Is your anatomy different from ours?”

“That’s because I’m an Awakener.”

Roy nodded coolly and sexily, his expression perfectly serious.

“Wow~ As expected of an Awakener!”

“Roy, are you really F-rank? Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Check the broadcast for that.”

With a wink, Roy nailed the program promotion too. A staff member, heart in hand, sank to the floor at the wink. After flawless action came insane fan service... The Roy who’d griped about flashy moves and wondered which Blood Fiend would wait for that was nowhere to be seen. With all eyes on him, perhaps he actually enjoyed the spotlight a bit too much. He even started pitching ideas to the director.

“Director, how about spinning sideways while running up? Maybe six rotations?”

“Is... that even possible?”

“Of course! Want to see?”

Before anyone could stop him, Roy leapt onto the rigging platform and took a light jump.

타앗!

The move he’d only explained verbally unfolded perfectly before their eyes.

휘익!

Twisting gracefully in midair, he swung the staff, landed without missing a beat, and naturally let it fall.

“Wooooooah!”

The more Roy’s near-acrobatic stunt drew out the cheers, the louder they grew.

“Hyahhyahhyah!”

Roy seemed to revel in the cheers. The true attention seeker of Shooting Star. Being mocked as F-rank in Star Hero had made him forget this feeling...

‘Yes, this is it.’

Deep within, his dormant craving for attention was stirring to life.

“This is amazing! I love it!”

“Really?”

When the director gushed in awe, Roy clapped his hands and shouted.

“Then let’s move on to the next scene right away!”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

And just like that, the one running the set was no longer the director. Even the staff, swept up in the excitement, were doing as Roy directed. Only Han Gyeol and his manager sensed that something was off.

“Brother, doesn’t this feel strange?”

“Yeah. Are they going to replace the lead?”

“Not the director, please?”

As if echoing each other, they exchanged looks of despair.

“Brother, that’s unreasonable—”

“Hey, that’s unreasonable—”

They both trailed off, their thoughts the same. Roy should be inexperienced on set, yet he seemed to know exactly how filming worked and which angles to hit. And the normally calm, deliberate director was behaving impulsively, slipped under some spell. He even slipped in a high-difficulty shot that wasn’t on today’s schedule.

“Roy, could you do this too? It was meant for next week, but the vibe is so good now.”

It must have been a throwaway line, but praise made Roy dance.

“Hyahhyah! Of course! If you want something harder, just ask me instead of my brother.”

The wary little wildcat was gone, replaced by a tame cat wagging its tail. Watching quietly, Han Gyeol finally voiced what his manager had been hinting at.

“Brother, did I perhaps just entrust fish to a cat?”

For the first time he feared someone might steal his role. But his manager saw it differently.

“A cat? Maybe that’s not a cat but a tiger cub...”

Look at that insane adaptability, talent, and command of the set. Comparing him to a mere cat was beneath him. Above all, Roy had a knack for steering the atmosphere however he wanted. In mere moments he’d erased Han Gyeol’s presence and stood center stage as if the main character. Meanwhile, public perception was spreading that F-rank Awakeners were no different from ordinary people... The manager thought that maybe, just maybe, this could be Roy’s chance to break into the industry. Of course that would never actually happen.

“Han Gyeol, you need to get a sense of urgency.”

“No way~ No, our Roy wouldn’t do that.”

Having an S-rank Awakener in showbiz would be the ultimate waste of talent. And the public wouldn’t stand for it.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

✧

But that “no way” really happened. The next day, Han Gyeol and his manager arrived on set and could hardly believe their eyes.

“Why is he here...?”

“Why is Roy here...?”

They’d assumed Roy would be resting today after yesterday’s strain. But when they arrived, Roy was there ahead of them, already prepping for the shoot. He was even hanging from a wire as if mid-rehearsal.

“...?”

As if to ask what was going on, Han Gyeol and his manager stared at the director. Only then did the director spot Han Gyeol and wave.

“Oh, Han Gyeol is here?”

“Director, what on earth is...?”

Roy, having just noticed Han Gyeol, climbed down and waved energetically.

“Brother!”

Quickly unhooking his wire, Roy hurried over, draped an arm around Han Gyeol’s shoulder, and said.

“You just got here? How’s your ankle?”

“I’m fine. But why are you here?”

“Oh~ Well, I chatted with the director yesterday, and we thought we should raise the action difficulty.”

“What?”

This was news to Han Gyeol. Above all, why make such a decision without telling him? His brow furrowed.

Roy must not have intended to steal his part, he believed that firmly. But he couldn’t deny feeling upset. Roy seemed to notice and hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, I just had the idea this morning and mentioned it, and the director said let’s try it.”

“How did you get the director’s number?”

“He gave it to me yesterday.”

“...What?”

It was well known in the industry how privacy-conscious Director Song was. That he’d given his number to a stranger, let alone offered it first, was astounding, and Han Gyeol and his manager looked unsettled.

“But since it’s about safety, he said it’d be best if I tested it first and made sure it was okay before you tried it.”

In other words, Roy planned to test the new, risky action before Han Gyeol arrived. If it seemed safe, he’d then suggest it to Han Gyeol.

“But if the wires are hooked up right, it should be fine. Honestly, there’s not much you need to worry about. I just thought we could make the scene more dramatic.”

Like adding wind, creating a strong breeze, or having you fly.

“...Wind?”