I Accidentally Became A Superstar - Chapter 388 388: No Smiles

They were in their designated practice room, and none of them was talking.

It was silent. Funeral-level silent.

The kind of silence where even the air conditioner seemed to hold its breath.

In the middle of the room sat five grown men reading a script titled in cheerful, bubbly font.

“Week of Smiles.”

The title was a lie.

It was not a week of smiles. Not even a half-smile. Not even a dry chuckle. If anything, it was a week of trauma, tension, and tears.

Zeno read through the script with furrowed brows.

The musical followed five brothers named after each day of the week, each one with wildly different lives, forced to return home when their single father, who was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, wished for all of them to return before his death.

It centered on their deteriorating relationship, unresolved resentments, passive-aggressive inheritance fights, and, of course, forgiveness.

It was very well-written, Zeno had to give it that.

He already knew that Ari and Bacon PD were behind the story. The quality was too good.

Actually, all of the scripts have been good thus far. Zeno just didn’t like his teammates this time around.

Zeno continued to flip through the script.

He wanted to appreciate it—really, he did. The structure was tight. The character arcs were clean. The dialogue was good and natural. It felt like something that could be nominated as the Best Musical of the year.

But he couldn’t find it within himself to appreciate any of it.

Not with these people around him.

On his left, Daniel groaned for the fifth time in three minutes. “It’s too serious. How are we supposed to show this on the live stage? Why does it have to be so complicated? The inheritance should just be split evenly.”

“You can’t even spell inheritance,” Zeno muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

On his right, Phoenix was reading the script with a scowl. He wasn’t a fan of dramas concerning family, especially fathers. And no, he didn’t have daddy issues (that was a lie).

Oska sighed deeply. He had the same sentiment as Phoenix. Although his relationship with Bacon PD had improved in the past few months, the scars were still there. And with people continuously pointing fingers at him about being here only because of his dad, it didn’t leave a good taste in his mouth.

The room tensed.

From the floor, Billy stretched like a cat, flipping through the pages with zero investment in the story. “As long as I get a solo, I’m fine.”

Zeno massaged the bridge of his nose, hoping to push the growing headache back into the void. The circumstances around this mission were turning for the worse. All of them appeared to have different goals.

And right on cue, as if summoned by the smell of impending chaos, a pair of staff members waltzed in with a speaker and beaming faces.

“Good morning, Hate team!” the one in glasses said. “This is the performance I’m looking forward to the most. I hope you all do the story justice.”

Silence greeted him.

“Time to listen to the first song! Isn’t this exciting?”

Zeno stared at them like they had just announced a group colonoscopy. They were completely unaware of the mood inside the room as they continued to introduce the songs.

“There are three songs total,” the second staff member continued, completely unfazed. “The first is the opening number, and everyone’s involved! The second is the conflict song, mainly focused on Wednesday—”

“That’s the main character, right?” Daniel perked up, already wanting to snatch it up. Billy wasn’t going to let him, though. His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed, ready to take the role at any given moment.

“—and the third,” the staff member finished, “is a resolution number at the end.”

Although they didn’t show any emotions, it was clear they didn’t want to do it.

The speaker clicked, and the first song began to play.

“This is entitled—One Week.”

Right off the bat, it was jolly.

It contained upbeat piano and jaunty guitar riffs.

The lyrics introduce each brother and their lifestyles as they return home for “one week only” to fulfill their father’s dying wish.

Monday was a mechanic who lived out of the country. He had left when they were young and never came back, except now.

“Cairo’s hot this time of year.

I was fixing a car when the phone rang.

Dad’s dying.

So I left the car.

And the client.

And the bill.

Because when you’re the oldest…

…you go.”

Tuesday was the second eldest and a certified freeloader. He never left home, and he lived with his wife and two kids in the guest room.

“He never made me leave.

Everyone else ran.

But I stayed.

Isn’t that love?

Isn’t that… worth something?”

Wednesday was a man in finance. The “most successful.” Emotionally repressed.

“The nurse said it’s days.

I said I’d move my meetings.

I didn’t.”

Thursday was a pastor on a mission abroad, helping those in need.

“I prayed when the plane took off.

Prayed harder when it landed.

And I prayed…

That this would be easy.”

Friday was the bratty college student who only came back for free food and a potential inheritance. He received money from his dad, but he was still ungrateful due to the lack of it.

“I don’t know him like they do.

I was six when Mom died.

They say he changed.

They say he used to laugh.

That’s not the man I knew.”

It was actually… not bad.

Objectively.

But that only made Zeno feel worse.

Because how, exactly, were these idiots supposed to pull this off?

Zeno removed his glasses and stared at the ceiling.

He didn’t even care that his eyes were still puffier than steamed dumplings from the Instant Tears incident.

Zeno already wanted this mission to end, even when it hadn’t even started.

“So, I get to be the main character, right?” Billy asked, breaking the silence and making Zeno’s headache worse.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com