CH57

The script reading is crucial. For directors, it's a time to finalize the atmosphere and acting tones for the shoot, and for actors, it's the first chance to sync up with one another. Being late like Damian thus left a bad first impression.

'I've heard rumors, but to think he does this even in a Davis director's project? Quite impressive.'

'Let's see how good he is.'

Excluding Ian, every actor here passed through auditions, ensuring there were no mediocre talents. As the script reading began and Damian started acting, the prideful glances of these skilled actors shifted.

"Ha, teamwork? When have we, mere hunting dogs, ever had such a thing? Was that in your precious manual?"

"There should still be basic cooperation…"

"Cooperate with something unreliable?"

A scornful look swept over Ian. Damian's character, Alex, was in many ways the antithesis of Ben's character, Kayden, especially in how he treated Ian's character, Luke. The added cold demeanor conveyed a profound distrust.

'Not bad.'

The tone of acting depends on the texture of the voice. The pitch, volume, and rate of vocal fold contact define the voice's feel. How these elements are mixed determines the voice texture.

'It's fitting enough to not feel regret.'

From being an annoying figure to a recognized actor in the eyes of his peers, it was clear. Ian, preferring a skilled actor with a bad personality over a non-talented one, bore no ill feelings towards Damian.

"He really is strange."

"I knew it before, but it is true."

Damian finished acting and looked over as if to show off. Not just once, but throughout the script reading.

"Not some peacock."

"Hey, that's a pretty good nickname."

Ben, feeling similar about Damian trying to attract attention like a peacock, immediately burst into laughter. Their whispers caused others to stifle their laughter.

Noticing the disturbance, Gavin tapped the desk lightly.

"Ben, focus on the reading?"

"Why me only? Ian's here too."

Gavin looked at Ian and smiled gently.

"Ian, your scene is next. You can handle it, right?"

"Of course!"

"Wow, where else do you see such open favoritism? Speak kindly to me too."

"Do well, you know?"

The stark difference in treatment. Ben's exaggeratedly aggrieved look made everyone laugh. Thanks to the skillful mood management by the two, the initially shaky script reading went smoothly, and people confirmed two things.

'Damian may be unpleasant, but he certainly can act.'

'There's a reason he's actively working despite the talk.'

If Damian's skill was reluctantly acknowledged, Ian made people forget his age.

'Didn't they say he's close with Director Davis? No wonder he's so supportive.'

'What was I doing at that age?'

While it remained to be seen how well Ian, who had mainly worked in dramas, would do in a film environment, his talent was unquestionable. Especially impressive was his ability to blend smoothly with any actor, as if he were a veteran.

"Well done, everyone!"

As the actors dispersed, Gavin approached Ian.

"How was it? Did you find anything uncomfortable?"

"No! It was fun."

Despite the script reading lasting over three hours, the boy's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

Seeing how much Ian enjoyed acting, Gavin became more curious about what had been discussed during the reading.

"What were you and Ben talking about during the reading?"

"Oh, that."

Since others had overheard it anyway, Ian spoke honestly.

"We said he was like a peacock."

"A peacock?"

Gavin, puzzled, turned around to see someone approaching.

"Director."

"Ah, Damian. Good job today. Make sure your car is in check for the shooting. You know, right?"

Time is money on set, unlike at a reading. Damian nodded agreeably at the warning that implied this time would be overlooked. He had no intention of causing a significant issue on Gavin's set.

"I'll be mindful of that. I'll be leaving first then."

As Damian left, his glance briefly swept over Ian, who realized,

'He heard.'

If he's perceptive, he'll know who the peacock is supposed to be.

Ian figured he might need to apologize later. It was his fault for speaking ill behind Damian's back, after all.

***

With each step Damian took away from the reading room, the noise faded.

Getting into his car, the waiting assistant broke the silence.

"Did it go well?"

No answer.

Usually boastful, Damian was quiet, and the assistant felt anxious.

'Was there a problem after all?'

Hoping no backlash would come his way, the assistant was caught off guard by Damian's unexpected question.

"What comes to mind when you hear 'peacock'?"

"A peacock? Splendid and magnificent are the thoughts that come to mind."

"Right?"

A smile spread across Damian's lips.

"That kid knows something. Calling me a peacock."

Despite trying to ignore it, the commendation for his acting likely made ignoring it hard.

'How much did they admire my acting to end up using a nickname like that?'

'That kid's acting was decent too. Not as good as me but probably on Ben's level.'

Considering Ian was already at Ben's level at such a young age, Damian saw potential.

Thinking the boy was quite likable, Damian instructed his assistant,

"Find something that a kid just entering middle school would like."

"Understood."

Despite the random request, the assistant nodded.

As long as Damian was in a good mood, that was all that mattered.

Damian's misunderstanding deepened.

***

Ayla's house was bustling.

Balloons marked "Boy or Girl" decorated the walls, and delicious food was prepared.

In a gathering of Ayla and Ben's immediate families and Ian's, Rachel asked with full anticipation,

"Which gender will it be? Do you know?"

"I guess. My parents haven't told me either."

Gender Reveal Party.

It was a celebration to reveal and celebrate the baby's gender. Here, the only people who knew the child's gender were Ian's parents who had organized the party.

'It looked really exciting.'

Perhaps it was a vicarious experience for something he had never encountered.

"The gender doesn't matter."

"Right! As long as the baby is healthy. That's what's most important."

The genetic testing results showed a low risk.

Of course, they would love any child that was born, but it's preferable for the child to be healthy.

Ian nudged Ben, who seemed a bit tense.

"Ben, you said the gender doesn't matter. Why are you so nervous?"

"It doesn't matter, but it's still important. I need to prepare differently. Teach different things."

Ben and education?

Ian smiled.

"There's no need for hard teaching. Just being around Ben is an education."

"Well, I am a bit of a…"

"A perfect bad example. If it's a girl, she just needs to avoid guys like Ben, and if it's a boy, just don't be like Ben."

Unable to deny it, Ben made a pained noise and changed the subject.

"How's middle school?"

"There's not much difference from elementary school. It's the same campus, after all."

Ian's school was a K-8, where the main change was just moving to different buildings.

"The only differences are having to move around for every class and picking an arts area to focus on for a year."

"Arts area?"

"Ian chose band. He started in the advanced band even as a newcomer."

Rachel bragged a bit, and Ian looked slightly embarrassed.

Compared to her, already receiving attention for her compositions, he felt it wasn't much.

As the guests chatted, the preparations were completed, and Rachel's family stood under a small balloon.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

When Ayla popped the balloon, blue confetti fluttered down.

As the confetti celebrating the new family member swirled around, Rachel spread her hands wide with a bright smile.

"It's a boy!"

The girl, hopping excitedly looked overjoyed, and a pleased Ben gently said,

"Seeing you this happy makes me happy too. He'll probably be cute since he'll take after me."

"…What?"

The girl's face, which had suddenly widened her eyes, was quickly overtaken by bewilderment.

"Even so, taking after you is a bit…"

"Ben, that's going a bit too far."

Not only Ayla and Ian but also the others nodded in agreement, even Ben's parents.

Ian grabbed Ben's arm.

"You said you were Christian, right? Let's go to church now."

"Why?"

"To pray for repentance. Now that I think about it, it's strange. Are you living like a Christian?"

This was as unbelievable as Charlotte being a Catholic mission school graduate.

In a bustling atmosphere, the new life was warmly celebrated.

***

"How can we finish the shooting schedule sooner?"

"If there was a way, the production team would have already used it."

Understanding the concern for Ayla during her pregnancy is one thing.

"Ayla told you not to worry about her and just focus on shooting properly."

"Of course, I'll shoot properly. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you. I do. So, when do you plan to announce the pregnancy?"

Keeping such a bombshell secret couldn't last forever.

Ayla, being naturally slim, would soon show, making it more apparent.

"Probably after the movie's done shooting. So, around the end of the year?"

"It's going to be quite the buzz by the end of the year."

"The priority is to finish the shoot smoothly. Damian is the only issue, wondering when he'll get his act together."

He did eventually get his act together, becoming a more reputable actor than now.

The pivotal moment wasn't immediately clear due to the lack of direct interaction with the actor.

After rummaging through his memories, Ian found the desired result.

'Right. It was this movie.'

A disaster of a film that nearly ended Gavin's directing career.

The movie's failure affected not only the actors but also Damian, who was originally involved. Unlike Ben, Damian's usual behavior was also brought to light, resulting in a severe blow.

So much so, he had to learn humility.

"This can't be."

Ruining a perfectly good movie to fix one person wasn't an option, so Ian just scratched his head.

'He'll figure it out on his own.'

Not that there was much loyalty to speak of.

As they chatted, they arrived at the set.

"Welcome. You're early today?"

"It's the first day of shooting."

Greeted by Gavin, Ian exchanged friendly hellos and observed the set.

Green chroma screens were everywhere. Audiences would see a filled CG scene, but actors had to fill the void with imagination.

Just like in front of the actor.

"Kyaaa, ugh!"

A woman realistically acting as if being possessed by an alien was faced with a man in a green suit.

Muttering unintelligible words, the man stuffed a green doll into his mouth.

As the woman writhed in pain as if being devoured for real, the overall scene looked comically absurd.

"It's not going to be easy from the start."

"You get used to it after a bit. It's a heavily CG-involved movie, after all."

Not CG? Surprising scenes? And yet, some scenes are, indeed, surprising.

In Hollywood, the green chroma screen is an inseparable partner.

As the previous scene wrapped up, Gavin clapped them on the shoulders. It seemed a scene or two could be moved up without issue.

"Let's see what this duo can do."

Returning from makeup, the two stood inside a long cylindrical chamber.

It was the first fight scene featuring the hunters in the movie's opening.

Walking with squelching water sounds, Kayden lowered his voice.

"Where is it?"

"Just a bit further. Turn there."

Following Beta's parasitic mental directions, Kayden turned and found a woman sitting down.

He shook the woman breathing evenly.

"Wake up!"

"Umm… Kayden and Luke?"

"Oh, good. You're okay!"

Rose struggled to point in the direction where the blood flowed.

"Over there. I'm okay, but Aria is…"

"Got it."

With a hardened face, Kayden drew his sword and stepped forward.

With each splashing step, the sword swung, slicing through the air and spraying blood.

Rose's eyes widened in shock as the long cut bled profusely.

"Why, why?"

"…Rose wouldn't normally summon Beta. She despises it."

As Kayden declared, Rose's face grotesquely split open, revealing the charging alien, which Kayden's sword cleaved through its head. It was a scene showcasing the brutal reality of a hunter's fight, and Gavin applauded the cleanly executed scene.

"Well done. Off to a good start."

"I'm Ben Roberts. This isn't too hard for me."

Laughter broke out at Ben's cheeky reply, and as Ian and Ben moved to the next scene,

Thud!

A stack of heavy boxes was placed in front of Ian.

The sight of someone unfamiliar placing the box was suspicious. Had it not been a secured set where only verified individuals could enter, it would have warranted concern.

"Actor Pryce?"

"Yes?"

"Please, take a look inside."

"I'll open it for you."

Worried there might be something odd inside, Ben opened the box to reveal unexpected items.

"This is the latest gaming console. Here's a football signed by famous players, and the rest are popular toys."

It was clear that a lot of thought had gone into these carefully chosen gifts. The man who had placed them pointed in a direction.

"That gentleman over there sent them."

Turning their heads, they saw Damian sitting in his car, waving his hand.

'I thought he just had a big ego.'

Was he actually crazy?

Ian genuinely wondered.