The sound of someone laughing loudly and chattering echoed emptily.
'I have no idea what state of mind I was in when I did the interview and photo shoot. Fortunately, seeing them smile happily, it doesn't seem like I made a mistake.'
Ian recalled the text he had received.
'Ayla is pregnant? Really?'
He had already changed much of the future. He had even prevented the death of a family member and a child actor. It might not seem surprising anymore, but this felt completely different.
An unborn child is now going to be born. Being involved in the birth of a new life brought a strange emotion.
"Ian, are you okay?"
"Ah, yes, I'm fine. Just a bit shocked, I guess."
At his response, a pleasant laugh burst out from those around him.
"You've been nominated for a while now, and you're still surprised?"
"I felt the same when I was first nominated. The moment I walked the red carpet and did interviews, it suddenly felt real. Though, not as much as him."
"He's still a kid. Isn't he cute?"
Knowing he had been misunderstood, he simply passed it off with a laugh.
The news of Ayla, a pop star, and Ben, a famous handsome actor, having a baby wasn't something to spread around.
'This would really turn Hollywood upside down.'
Sending such a bombshell by text, Ben must be out of his mind.
People looked at Ian, who was pondering over Ben's upcoming hearing after the awards, with fondness.'
On the outside, he just looked like a kid nervous about the upcoming ceremony.
"We're going live soon! Please take your seats!"
After the announcement, the theater used for the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, post-renovation, began to fill with expensive people.
The people sitting with Ian from invisible children gave him a mischievous smile.
"Ian, you said you were nervous? It's nothing."
"Director, don't lie. Everyone saw you were nervous at last week's ceremony."
"Hey, don't bring that up. Anyway, he seemed mature during filming, but now he looks a bit like a child."
At the director's words, people laughed pleasantly.
The Primetime Emmy Awards are divided into the regular Emmy Awards and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which are awarded for technical and other achievements in programming.
Invisible Children had been nominated for three categories, and during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards held the previous week, they had already achieved the remarkable feat of winning makeup.
Having already achieved significant success, the atmosphere was inevitably good.
-We're starting to record! Please take your seats!-
Thanks to the staff members yelling themselves hoarse, the stars lingering outside all took their seats.
With the start of the ceremony announced, the host Jerry appeared on the main screen.
The ceremony began.
***
Most famous award ceremonies are not broadcast live.
Awards for direction and script that do not feature popular stars are pre-recorded.
Naturally, this practice has been seriously criticized by writers' associations and others.
'No matter how much it's criticized, it won't change.'
Shortening unpopular award segments and inserting various special performances and events helped with the ratings, so resistance was futile.
Even though it was a place of various conflicts, the award ceremony was still a celebration.
"The award for Best Drama Series Writing goes to Crazy Man!"
Announcements, cheers, acceptance speeches.
The awarding process rolled on like a wheel when a staff member approached.
"Pryce."
"Ah, got it."
Knowing he had to prepare for an event, Ian quietly stood up and moved.
When he went to the waiting room, there were a lot of familiar faces.
"Ian! It smells incredibly delicious!"
"Isn't this food from your shop? Can I go eat?"
Ian shrugged his shoulders at the bustling chatter about the piled-up wrapped corn dogs.
"I've secretly set aside some food to eat. No one will say anything about it."
The theater where the award ceremony was held seats 7100. Not everyone will eat, and they were cut to be shareable, so there should be enough to go around.
With more than twenty child actors, there were too many corn dogs to distribute to everyone, so the staff hurried to prepare for delivery.
A small screen inside the theater showed a video.
Jerry, with a grave expression and wearing a poorly mosaic-ed hat, stood in front of Pryce's Diner.
As he entered the shop, a child greeted him.
"Ian, it's you."
'I know. I filmed it with him.'
The scene of Jerry and others making corn dogs in a comedic fashion passed, and a staff member communicating via walkie-talkie said,
"Let's start moving. The child actors can start distributing from the front."
As they opened the door with baskets full of corn dogs, the video was reaching its climax.
"Great! How many should we make?"
"Uh, a thousand?"
Jerry's shocked face appeared, and Ian moved with the child actors.
This was a scene that over ten million people would watch on TV. Ian, taking the lead in place of the nervous child actors, first went to a fellow nominee for Best Supporting Actor.
"Would you like one?"
"Sure. Everyone who wants to eat, raise your hand quickly!"
As the corn dogs disappeared like hotcakes, Jerry stood next to Ian, friendly.
"Good, good. It was worth the effort to fry these."
"I was so busy frying that I accidentally skewered a sausage on my finger instead of the stick."
"Ah, don't worry. I gave the sausage, with a taste of your hand, to your wife. She really enjoyed it."
Laughter erupted at the duo's playful conversation. Everyone knew Jerry didn't actually fry them.
Pleased with the better-than-expected reaction, Jerry realized there was a problem.
"We're running out here!"
A child actor distributing corn dogs shouted with a panicked face, and Jerry shrugged his shoulders.
He hadn't expected a thousand to be insufficient but responded quickly with agility.
"If you invite me again to next year's award ceremony, I'll treat you once more… Whaat?"
Ian, interrupting him, grabbed Jerry's hand.
"What next time in business?"
"…Right?"
"Just fry five hundred more."
"Everyone! You know the name of the shop, right?! Just buy and eat from there. Wait! They deliver, don't they? Just place an order."
Jerry's frantic shout, as he was pulled away by a child's hand, made people burst into laughter.
It was the most positively received event of this Emmy Awards.
***
An unexpected winner usually isn't a good thing. It implies controversy.
In that regard, this year's Emmy Awards went as many people expected.
"The winner of the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is Owen Roy from Terrible News!"
This meant Ian was only a nominee.
Owen, who had received the first corn dog, lightly shook the empty stick.
"I got this before the trophy today. Thanks, Ian."
As Owen's acceptance speech started with a joke, people around Ian comforted him.
"It's okay. Being a nominee is a huge deal, you know?"
"Being a nominee at 11, you'll definitely win an award later. Maybe not as a supporting actor but as a lead?"
"I'm really fine, though."
"Showrunner, please put some effort into the script. Next time, it should be Ian winning, shouldn't it?"
"Of course. I should pay more attention."
'I'm really okay.'
The unnecessary consolations became more frequent after the award ceremony ended.
"Ian, it's a real shame about the Best Supporting Actor. It must have been very close."
"Jerry, do you really want to go fry corn dogs with me?"
"Sorry."
He couldn't understand why people were bothering him like this based on how he appeared before the ceremony.
He realized that too much consolation turns into nagging.
"I'll go ahead."
"Aren't you attending the after-party?"
It was already past 11 o'clock. For someone who is about to become a middle school student, it would be hard to stay up all night at an after-party.
Ben's hearing tomorrow was also important.
Leaving the festival of TV program officials behind and returning home, my parents had already heard the news.
Or more precisely.
"You're back."
The person in question was at home.
Ben looked different from his usual smug face. A mix of emotions such as panic, joy, and anxiety was visible.
Ian, who followed Ben to the rooftop terrace, asked first.
"What happened?"
"There's nothing perfect in this world."
That's true, but it seemed an odd thing to say about contraception effectiveness.
"So, you don't like it?"
"Are you crazy? Of course, I like it. It's fantastic."
"Then why do you look like that?"
It's not as if they don't have the money to raise a child, and it's a result of love between them.
It seemed strange to see such a complicated expression.
"I'm worried that Rachel might feel left out if we have a child. Ayla and I were even talking about getting a vasectomy."
"Really?"
Now I understand why there were no children between them in the original future.
'She might feel excluded and anxious.'
Ian, adopted by the childless couple Dylan and Chloe, had never worried about this issue, but similar cases were plentiful.
But this seemed like an unnecessary worry.
"Would having a child between you two mean neglecting Rachel?"
"Absolutely not. Rachel is practically my daughter already. Do you know how close we've gotten lately? Sometimes she even texts me to ask if I slept well."
"Weren't those texts daily?"
"Hey!"
After teasing Ben, Ian scanned the rooftop.
Memories came flooding back.
On a night when the stars shone beautifully, the brave girl who had mustered her courage wasn't scared like the first time they met.
"Rachel is probably very happy about it, don't you think?"
"Really?"
"If you're curious, why don't you just ask her?"
If Ayla had shared the news, she would be awake and eager to talk.
As expected, it didn't take more than a few seconds for the call to be answered after it was made.
-Ian! I watched the ceremony. It was a pity. Um…
"I also heard the news. A new family member is coming, right?"
-Yeah! You heard?!
Ben's surprised expression contrasted with the bright voice. It was a reaction far from worry.
Ian posed a question to Ben to give him assurance.
"Do you like it that much?"
-I really do. Mom said she doesn't know the gender yet. I hope it's a little brother. Wouldn't that be super cute?
"If he takes after Ayla and not Ben, he would be cute."
Ben nudged him from the side, mouthing "Why me?" as if to say.
'People should have a conscience.'
What good is a nice appearance if there's a problem with the personality?
-Now that I think about it, a little sister would be nice too! I could braid her hair and dress her up in pretty clothes.
As he listed all the things she wanted to do with her sibling, Ben's face lost its worry.
-I'm really going to try to be a good family member.
"You definitely will be able to."
-Right? You must be tired after the ceremony. Let's talk again next time.
After ending the call, Ian nudged Ben.
"Make sure you continue to treat Rachel well."
"Of course."
Both of their faces were filled with bright smiles.
***
The personal assistant spoke cautiously.
"They're asking when you'll arrive."
"Tell them I'll be there soon. It's not like we're that late."
The assistant sighed silently, unheard.
Damian Meyer, a skilled actor who had been a regular invitee to major award ceremonies since his debut, had a poor reputation among industry insiders.
– An actor who would have been kicked off the set if his acting was just a little worse.
– A prime example of early success becoming a poison.
– An actor most would prefer not to work with.
Damian took such bad reviews in stride.
"It just means I'm that good at acting and that I've succeeded early."
He was an egoistical person who caused all sorts of trouble on set, but this time, it wasn't an ordinary situation.
"This is Director Davis's project. Starting off on the wrong foot with him…"
"It's fine. More importantly, it's about Ben, that guy."
Damian grimaced.
He was the one person Damian really cared about antagonizing.
'That annoying guy. Got famous for his face.'
Although Damian was often told he was handsome, he couldn't compare to Ben, one of Hollywood's leading handsome actors.
Ever since Ben stole the girl Damian liked, the two had been at odds over everything.
Damian, who often provoked Ben by criticizing his acting skills, was determined to show a clear difference this time.
"Hurry up. Everyone's waiting."
Following the staff's urgent guidance, Damian entered the script reading room and apologized to the people gathered.
"Sorry, I had a bit of a car trouble."
"Geez, okay. Sit down."
Gavin issued an uncomfortable voice, but he didn't seem to want to worsen the atmosphere before filming even started.
Thinking everything was going as expected, Damian looked around for Ben, who was obliviously chatting with a child.
'Ian Pryce?'
A delicate-looking face that didn't fade even next to Ben.
A child actor good enough to be nominated for an Emmy, and Damian smirked.
'They seem pretty close. Wonder how mad he'd get if I became even closer?'
Ben was known for not getting along well with child actors.
Gifting a few expensive toys to get on good terms with them seemed like an easy task.
With this in mind, Damian approached the two.
"Ben, it's been a while."
'I wonder how he will react. Will he get annoyed because I'm late?'
This expectation was completely wrong.
"Ah, you're here."
Not a hint of interest.
Damian, feeling a blow to his pride, turned his gaze to Ian.
"Hi, I'm Damian Meyer. You know me, right?"
"I do. I'm Ian Pryce. Let's get along well."
The boy, after a formal greeting, turned back to Ben.
"You know how popular I am with kids? You'll regret it later."
"Hey, they'll like me more anyway. I'm Ben Roberts. Kids always like the good-looking ones."
"Then they'll definitely like me more."
"You think so?"
Watching the two bicker, Damian's face hardened but then he realized.
'They're doing this on purpose to mess with me. How could they ignore me like this?'
Thinking it was too obvious a tactic, Damian laughed and went to his seat.
Ian, glancing at him, asked Ben,
"What's with him?"
"I don't know, he's always been weird."
Damian, unaware he had become the odd one out, sat down with misconceptions.
The production of Alien Hunter officially began.