Chapter 675: Maybe He Isn't Acting After All

A shadow.

Light cannot exist without a shadow.

Yian always thought he was the shadow.

However, it seemed like there was another shadow in his midst—the one who was truly in the shadows.

Jian, his half-brother, who had lived behind his spotlight since he could ever remember.

"You didn't!" Yian exclaimed with hatred. "I did everything for you."

"No," Jian said, having another coughing fit.

'Goodness,' Hana thought. 'He's really keeping up with this sick persona. How could it be so believable?'

With June's passionate acting, almost everyone involved in the scene became more fired up.

It spiraled even to the extra characters, which led Director Jam to become even more satisfied.

"I was the one who did everything for you," Jian started off.

"I was never good at anything," he started off, already sounding defeated. "I never excelled. I was never good enough. I was just—not bad."

"However, you always told me that I was very malleable, and for a long time, I thought that was a good thing. It was the very first superlative I had ever heard," he chuckled, his eyes showing unshed tears.

As Ann watched the scene through the screen, she couldn't help but feel sad.

She knew they were talking about fantastical powers and such, but it felt like June was speaking for the people out there who still didn't know what they wanted—who they were, what made them happy, and what their purpose in this world was.

"You're not bad."

"This is pretty good."

"A decent job."

"Those were the words I heard most of my life, so whenever you called me to be competent, I felt that I finally had something to contribute to the world."

"Oh, stop being a sob story, Jian," Yian exclaimed. "I didn't say those words with meaning. Stop thinking too much and just stay by my side. Join forces with me so we can rule the world together."

Jian chuckled, a lone tear escaping his eyes as he bit his lips.

They were now cracked, bleeding as he continued to bite on them.

"I know," he said. "I was just...stupid."

"I believed everything I saw. I followed everything you said. I thought it was the truth—everything you showed me."

"I guess they're right when they say that sheep stay inside their box even if the fence isn't there."

"However, I now realize that the fence is invisible and that the shepherd is evil."

"Yian, for so long, I couldn't contribute anything to this world."

"However, now, I feel like I can."

With that, Jian brought something out of his pocket—a dagger.

Yian's eyes widened when he saw the dagger in his hands. It was the only dagger in this world that could kill Yian and his black magic!

Then, Jian turned to Seon and Mika.

"Let the light reign over the shadows," he said, throwing the dagger toward their way.

"No!" Yian exclaimed, ready to put up a fight.

At that moment, he quickly snapped Red's neck, ready to consume his heart and become even stronger than he was.

However, Seon had enough.

Seeing his friend lay lifeless on the ground, Seon felt something snap within him.

Now that he had the means to kill Jian, he felt a surge of strength go through his veins.

Mika glanced at Seon and nodded, using her powers to help her lover win this fight.

However, it wasn't without any struggle.

Despite Jian's sabotage, Yian was still strong. So, the two of them struggled to fight against him in his current state.

Yian brought out a dagger of his own—still a powerful one.

Jian, on the other hand, tried to help Red. However, it was to no avail.

He was too weak, clutching onto the ground, as he felt his actions taking a toll on him.

Jay, who was watching from the side, clutched his hands together.

"My June is so good at acting," he muttered. "He looks so pitiful. I don't hate his character at all now! I forgive you!"

Ann, however, noticed that something was off.

She nudged Director Jam's shoulder.

"Isn't he acting quite well?" she asked.

Director Jam nodded, his gaze settling on June.

"Very much. I guess he meant it when he said we should end this with one take! He looks like he's really dying."

"Hmm," Ann muttered, wondering just how good an actor June really was to be doing this so realistically.

The three faction leaders continued to fight. Although there weren't any special effects added to the scene, it already looked epic. The staff could already imagine how good the scene would look once they actually added some special effects!

Then, at that moment, Seon made a grave mistake, leading Yian to get a hold of the deadly dagger that Jian had curated.

It was the type of dagger that could kill even the strongest in the lands—which included Seon.

He pointed the dagger to Seon, a wide smirk appearing on his face.

Seon narrowed his eyes as he tried to come up with a solution to the ongoing crisis.

Meanwhile, Yian wanted to see Seon suffer before he finally killed him.

So, he redirected the sharp edge of the dagger to Mika instead, wanting to see Seon witness the death of his lover.

Seon's eyes widened.

The scene went fast, with Yian flying to Mika, ready to kill her with one blow.

However, at that moment, just as the blade touched Mika's skin, Jian ran to where they were, allowing himself to take the hit of the dagger.

Everybody's eyes widened in surprise, enamored by the scene.

Yian, too, found himself shocked.

Seon, on the other hand, didn't let himself be distracted from his objective.

He grabbed the dagger from Jian's abdomen and finally stabbed Jian's heart, making him freeze on the spot.

Then, he fell to the ground, a look of betrayal painting across his face.

Meanwhile, Mika caught Jian in her arms, covering the bloody wound on his abdomen.

"Oh goodness," Mika said, trying to save him. "You can't die. You've done so much."

wound on his abdomen.

"Oh goodness," Mika said, trying to save him. "You can't die. Jian chuckled despite the tiredness he felt in his body.

His eyes were almost closed as the two lasting survivors looked at him with pity.

"Help is coming," Seon said. "We'll get you back to the Ivory pack and go to a healer right away."

"It doesn't matter," Jian said with a small smile, the blood from his face quickly draining.

Ann looked around to see if anyone else had also found it weird that June was increasingly becoming more sick-looking!

However, it seemed like all of them were captivated by the acting performance, feeling like they were watching it in the cinemas already.

"This dagger—it's foolproof. I made it," he proudly said.

"Yeah, yeah," Seon said. "You did a great job. You saved us."

Jian's eyebrows raised in surprise, and at that moment, he looked like a child who earned his first compliment.

At that moment, everybody realized just how beautiful a soul Jian truly had.

He wasn't evil.

He was just born into it.

With that, the staff members started praising Risa for a job well done on the script.

"I did a great job," Jian muttered, looking down at Mika's hand.

Then, he slowly removed her hand away from the wound despite Mika's defiance.

"It's okay," he smiled, appearing pitiful.

"I did a great job," he smiled.

"I finally contributed something good to this world."

With that, his eyes slowly closed, and his head lulled to the side, a lone tear escaping the side of his eyes.

Hana's sobs were heard in the studio as she cradled June's limp body.

Everything hit them—the people they lost and the things they've sacrificed.

However, it was over.

They had won.

Meanwhile, Seon knelt by his lover and held back his tears, the camera unfocusing on them and showing the chaotic landscape.

The set was silent as they took in the scene.

Then, when the time felt right, Director Jam finally shouted.

"Cut!"

The actors stayed there for a while, still caught up in their feelings. Then, after a few seconds, they finally stood and thanked each other for a job well done.

However, one person remained still.

"June," Hana chuckled as she shook his body awake. "You're really into your character now, huh?" she asked, sounding sad that his character had died.

"June," Taehyun said, ready to shower the idol with compliments.

However, he remained unmoving.

Director Jam laughed loudly.

"Goodness, he's fully committed to this."

"June!" he exclaimed. "Time to wake up, bud."

However, even then, his eyes were still closed.

That was when Hana realized that something was wrong.

Then, she looked up at everyone with wide eyes.

"I don't think he's acting anymore!"