CH59

Waves were drawn on the monitor in the recording studio.

Fiddling with the mixing console for no reason, the engineer said, "Ayla, I'm grateful for calling me so I wouldn't become unemployed."

"I know. Isn't it strange?"

Ayla saw Ian sweating profusely and singing in the recording studio.

From her perspective, there was nothing strange about Rai's activities.

Another voice? It felt a bit more mature, but not a dramatic change. Significant enough for someone like record CEO Elliot to notice if he were suspicious.

"The vocal tone that's considered the greatest strength?"

Unique vocal tones aren't a rare talent. Aren't there contestants on audition programs who receive unanimous approval just by singing one verse?

She had seen plenty of such people in her life as a singer.

'It's the same with singing skills. There are plenty of actors who can sing well.'

After all, singing skills are necessary for actors.

This includes actors who move between musicals and voice acting, and even those in movies who want to sing the OST themselves.

It's not strange that Ian, who may have prepared for a musical and even done voice acting, has singing ability.

What Ayla found strange was something beyond the singing.

-I'm preparing to say goodbye~

The story of someone preparing to say goodbye flowed with deep emotion.

Despite numerous recordings, the deep emotion didn't fade, as if he had really experienced saying goodbye to someone precious.

"Really, he's never experienced a painful goodbye?"

"As far as I know, that's right. He even said he's never been curious about his biological parents who gave him up for adoption, so it's not them."

"But to sing like that? Seems like we should intervene."

Unsure of whom he was thinking about while singing so passionately, the sweat pouring down and his tired complexion looked precarious.

Upon the engineer's comment, Ayla shook her head.

"Let's just watch for now. The more he sings, the more relieved he seems."

It seemed like he was shedding painful memories through song.

"Was the song meant to be passed on to Nick?"

It was clear that the song wasn't just prepared for him.

The completed song, carrying all its concerns, was delivered to Nick.

'***'

A cold gun barrel was pointed at his head.

"Say it again. It's my fault?"

Beta shrugged his shoulders at the look mixed with annoyance and distrust.

"Why are you getting so worked up? I just mentioned a possibility. That if you had gone to rescue in time, there was a possibility of saving them."

"You're talking about the possibility of me dying too. Isn't that what you, who isn't even human, are hoping for?"

As Beta's hand touched the gun, metallic powder fluttered, and bullets dropped to the floor with a clatter.

It was Luke's ability.

The boy scanned his surroundings. It wasn't just Alex who was sending him distrustful looks.

"Because I'm not human, you can't trust me? That's not it. It's just an excuse for discrimination."

"An excuse?"

"Isn't it? Even if it was Alpha instead of me, the reaction wouldn't have been any different."

Alex frowned as Beta mockingly mentioned Alpha, who was even afraid to speak out.

"That guy is dangerous. He doesn't care even if people die."

"Discriminating because I'm not human, discriminating because it's dangerous. What's next? Discriminating based on skin color? This is why I hate humans."

The boy pretending to gag was wrapped in thick forearms.

The boy, tucked under the arm, looked up.

"Kayden?"

"Everyone's just sensitive, that's all. And I trust you, you know."

"Geez, who asked you to trust me?"

Beta replied grumpily, stretching his body out like a cat.

"Let's all cool our heads and talk again later. Even though we couldn't save our comrade, we still have a chance for revenge."

As Kayden left with Beta, the other hunters also dispersed, each grabbing their weapons.

As the scene hinting at a large-scale battle ended, the director loudly shouted "Cut!"

With the bustling noise around him, Ian lifted his head.

"Aren't you letting go?"

"No. How about we take a round around the set like this?"

"I don't like it either."

When words didn't work, he resorted to action.

Ian poked Ben in the ribs with his finger.

"Yikes!"

Ben let out a bizarre moan, released his hand, and Ian stepped firmly on the ground and snorted.

"If you had just let me go earlier, wouldn't that have been better? Why make me use force?"

"Hey, that's cheating."

After rubbing the ticklish spot on his ribs, Ben placed his hand over Ian's head.

"But you seem a bit different lately."

"Me?"

"Didn't you know? People around the set are talking about it too."

He tilted his head in confusion.

If someone other than Ben, whom he was close to, also felt it, it meant there was definitely a change, but it didn't quite resonate with him.

"You've hardly ever approached anyone first. Before other actors and staff say hello, you hardly cared."

"Ah, it's usually because other people come to me first."

"Think about it. My words are true, aren't they? Apart from people like me who are incredibly close, have you ever approached someone first?"

Why not?

"When I first met Ben, I gave him a corn dog."

"That's an exception. You were feeling sly then."

"Sly? I wanted to be friends with a pure heart. And now you're being harsh after even taking a corn dog from me. Just you wait."

After a moment of thought, Ian had a realization.

'…Really, not even once?'

He couldn't recall any such memories after going through them multiple times. He truly hadn't paid much attention to others unless they greeted him first.

The exception was when he first saw Nick, but that was truly an exceptional case in many ways.

"See? I only realized it after shooting with you."

"Hold on. I'm still thinking."

Why was that?

He traced his memories back to the period when his face was covered in horrific burns.

Even then, he hadn't initiated greetings. Was it because he only expected to receive unpleasant responses due to his terrible face?

That's not it.

Thanks to the quirk of memorizing all the staff's names, he had become quite friendly with some. Even with those people, he had never initiated a greeting.

Ian blinked.

"Why was that?"

"How would I know? Other people might think it's because of the age difference, so it's burdensome, but I know you well. You're not like that."

"That's not like me."

He felt guilty denying it.

He had blatantly hinted to Ben that he was using him for a corn dog promotion, and he had directly told Gavin that the movie seemed like it was going to flop.

With such a flamboyant track record, claiming to be shy would only make him seem crazy.

"But these days, you're the one who greets first, right?"

"…I did?"

It was something he did without much thought, but when compared, his behavior had indeed changed.

Was it since I made "Say Goodbye"?'

He felt relieved, but he didn't realize his actions would change as well.

"Look over there. That peacock is sulking because of that."

Turning his head, Ian saw Damian looking over with a sullen face.

Ben, with his hand on Ian's head, smiled mischievously.

"You even gave him a gift trying to be friends, but you've never greeted him first. It makes sense he'd be sulking."

"He has a right to sulk."

He wasn't a saint, and it was understandable to feel neglected.

This was definitely his fault upon further thought.

"Since it's come to this, I should ask him directly."

Ian strode over to stand in front of Damian.

As if expecting him, Damian slightly raised the corners of his mouth and Ian asked bluntly.

"Do you like Charlotte?"

"…What?"

"Do you like Charlotte?"

He blinked silently, seemingly overwhelmed by processing what he had just heard.

To the malfunctioning Damian, his assistant whispered softly.

"I'll look into the parties Charlotte Underhill is attending right now."

As the assistant reached for his phone as if to start inquiring immediately, Damian cried out in desperation.

"No, it's not that!"

Damian's sincere shout made Ian turn his head to look at Ben.

"You said it was a good deduction. Acting like you're an expert in relationships."

"…I'm the outdated Ben Roberts."

"Good to know."

Really, where did it all start getting tangled? It seemed he needed to untangle the misunderstanding first.

After calming down and hearing the situation, Damian grimaced.

"Ha, I can't understand how you came to that conclusion. Do I look like I'm obsessed with women to you?"

"If it's not, it's not."

At Ben's shameless response, Damian clicked his tongue.

Thinking about it again, it was absurd.

"Who asks a kid for help to succeed with women!"

Such a person?

'Right here.'

Feeling guilty, Ben sneakily averted his gaze.

"…If you're desperately in love, it could happen. You wouldn't know because you've never truly loved."

"Nonsense."

Knowing that continuing the conversation on this topic would do no good, Ben quickly changed the subject.

"Then why did you start with the peacock thing?"

"What's wrong with a peacock? I just thought it was a good nickname. They're glamorous and draw attention. What better compliment could there be for a star?"

Was it really just a pure thought that it was a good nickname?

Confused, Ian faced Damian, who then handed him an article containing his recent interview.

The interview, asking briefly about his recent activities and the work he was shooting, was generally unremarkable.

– You have a new nickname on set?

– Ian Pryce seemed to like my acting, so he called me a peacock.

– Oh, that's impressive.

Oh, impressive.

His head throbbed.

'Hey, what do I do now?'

'Just keep quiet.'

Should they honestly tell the person wearing a proud smile, 'Actually, I called you that because your acting seemed too showy'?

It's something a human could hardly do.

In front of Damian, who was joyfully sharing his story during the interview, the two of them kept their mouths tightly shut.

They had a secret to take to the grave.

***

All staff were preparing for the shooting with tense expressions.

Ignoring the busy chatter of walkie-talkies, Gavin concentrated on the scene being filmed.

A massive fight between hunters and aliens unfolded in the hospital.

As Kayden tore off a nurse's disguise revealing sharp blades, he swung his sword forcefully.

Bang!

He thrust his sword into the head of an alien being repelled and shouted.

"Beta!"

"The evacuation is done. Time to retreat!"

"Got it!"

Kayden picked up a child wrapped in a swaddle.

-Uwaaah! Aaah!

Seeing the other newborns crying as if begging to be taken along, he gritted his teeth.

Those aren't human. It's a cruel trap using offspring as bait to capture their mother.

"Kayden."

"I know, I know!"

Aliens hunting humans kept offering choices.

Who the unharmed newborns were, or if one could identify the hunter disguised as a corpse in the morgue.

The mentally exhausting choice had to be repeated numerous times, and now it was time to end this fight.

He ran through the blood-soaked corridor, shattered the window, and dashed out of the hospital.

"You're here."

Alex spoke indifferently as the last hunter limped away, and then he snapped his fingers.

As the hunters bought time, the barrier that had just been completed enveloped the hospital, and the aliens arriving late banged against the barrier.

As the transparent barrier shook from the impact, Alex frowned.

"Mark!"

"Damn it! Why isn't it working?!"

Mark panicked as he pressed the explosion button repeatedly without any response, and Beta sneaked up beside him.

"What's wrong? It's not working?"

"Hey, hold on."

"There's a traditional method used in outer space for times like this."

Beta, having snatched the explosion controller, slapped it with his hand.

"Hey!"

The hunters were too late to snatch it back before Beta pressed the button.

"Cut!"

Following Gavin's shout, filming momentarily paused, and staff members busied themselves.

"Quick, remove the filming equipment inside! Cast, please come out!"

Actors in monster makeup were evacuated to safety, and the filming crew checked the set multiple times.

During the safety checks, the actors rehearsed one last time.

"You know we can't afford any NGs, right? It's hard enough finding an abandoned factory to dress up as a hospital."

At Gavin's gentle reminder, the actors chuckled.

While the actors were settling their nerves, he approached Ian.

"You don't need to be too scared. You know how good my special effects team is, right?"

"I know. Let's blow it up once or twice."

"Right, it'll be safe, so don't be too nervous."

He whispered softly in Ian's ear.

"You're specially allowed to NG. I'll handle it somehow."

"Are you sure you won't regret saying that?"

As they giggled playfully, preparations for shooting were completed, and they got ready to film the explosion scene.

Cameras started rolling from various angles for the one-time opportunity.

With a light breath, Ian, as Beta, pressed the button firmly.

Bang!

The upper floor's windows shattered with a loud noise.

Startled, Beta, now embraced by Kayden as if he were luggage, yelled.

"Run!"

Flames burst out behind the fleeing hunters, and the sound of the building collapsing filled the air.

Out of the camera's angle, Ian, along with Gavin and the staff, watched the building explode.

Fitting Gavin's nickname as the "Explosion Master," it was a splendid explosion scene, and they all gasped in admiration.

"Wow, there goes our precious filming budget."

Gavin shook his head.

"Catch him."

Ian was immediately apprehended by the staff before he could even take a step.