The doors at the far end of the lobby swung open.
The Daebak Team had arrived.
All at once, heads turned. Conversations died mid-sentence, while so unconsciously stood.
The lobby’s air changed. Daebak had always carried a different kind of prestige. Most actors wanted to get into the company, so they admired those who were a part of it.
"Background music, please," soone whispered jokingly from the control booth as the footage went live across the official Gear of Guardians channel stream.
- THEY’RE KILLING IT.
- Look at that lineup. Even their walk is in sync.
- Phoenix at the back looks like he owns the building.
- I heard Phoenix actually had professional coaching?
- WHAT?? From who?!
- Apparently, he trained under a legit GoG tournant champ.
- Man, back then, this was just a mobile ga. Look at it now.
- Right?? Can’t believe it upgraded to PC. It looks crazy good now.
- The world tournant’s gonna be nuts. This show is a genius promo.
Risa felt pretty shy about all of the attention, especially since she was a complete beginner at the ga. She could only breathe properly when they arrived in their seats.
anwhile, the MC finally made his entrance with a burst of energetic music.
"Hello, ladies and gentlen! Gars and gars pretending to be gars!" The man struck a pose as the stage lights caught on his rhinestone-studded mic. "I am your host—MC Tiny!"
- Bro, who nad this man?
- MC Tiny
- That’s an unfortunate na.
- He better be 6’5" with that na.
He continued, "Today begins the legendary, once-in-a-lifeti, totally chaotic but definitely worth-your-click Gear of Guardians: STAR COLLISION!"
The crowd clapped politely. The artists exchanged awkward glances.
anwhile, the stream started showing glimpses of the crowd, cara operators slowly panning across the venue. Artists posed for photos, influencers waved at their fans, and groups of stylists and assistants buzzed behind the scenes.
And then, briefly, a man in black was shown.
His cap was pulled low, but his broad shoulders stood out.
The stream cut away.
- WAIT, WHO WAS THAT??
- Rewind rewind.
- YOOOOO. That guy—he looks familiar.
- THAT PHYSIQUE. I SWEAR.
- We didn’t see him co in, did we?
- He didn’t walk on the carpet.
- Nahhhh that was soone.
The cara returned later—another sweeping pan.
He was seated this ti, head tilted downward, face still obscured by a shadow and his cap.
- There he is again.
- THE MYSTERIOUS MAN.
- Show us the face. CO ON.
- I feel like I know him. But it’s just out of reach.
- It’s gonna drive crazy.
Behind the scenes, Jace leaned close and nudged Zeno’s arm. "Uh... is it really okay if we didn’t make our presence known?"
Zeno’s eyes followed the reflection of the massive screens up above. His own face hadn’t been shown even once. He exhaled slowly and gave a nod.
"Yeah," he said. "We blended in with the strears."
And that was true.
When they entered, Zeno had intentionally walked behind a large group of gars, all clad in sleek black jerseys, branded with their channel nas. They ca in like a pack, laughing and pushing each other playfully. No one questioned the extra body tagging along.
Now, as the stage was set and teams were gathering by their assigned colors, no one quite knew that Zeno was there.
And the stream continued to tease his presence.
One more cara sweep.
- Why am I so intrigued by that man?
- Seriously, he has an aura.
- This is so funny. Every ti he lifts his head, the cara pans to another person.
As MC Tiny prepared to relay the instructions, the staff began serving their als. It was clear Daebak Entertainnt wanted this to feel luxurious.
Zeno, however, couldn’t have cared less. They didn’t prepare any root crops.
"I hope everyone’s comfortable," MC Tiny bead from the elevated platform. He had switched mics, now holding a small cue card in his hand as he clicked his tongue dramatically. "Now then, let’s talk about what’s going down today."
He pointed to the caras.
"You might already know, but this is our prelim livestream! It’s not the main event yet, but you’d better take it seriously!"
"Because it has so bearing for the actual tournant!"
MC Tiny raised a hand. "The Grand Star Collision Tournant will be held... this weekend!"
The gasps were imdiate.
Even Phoenix raised his eyebrows.
"It’s too soon!" soone yelled from the back.
- My bias can’t ga for shit he’s gonna DIE.
- Wait. This weekend? As in... this coming Saturday??
"And the prize," Tiny grinned, raising a sleek black envelope from his pocket, "will be an all-expense-paid trip to any destination of choice for every mber of the winning team!"
Excited chatter bubbled up.
"AND... a total cash prize of
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