Chapter 169: No Mix-Up
Meanwhile...
Melissa stood, leaning over Manager Kang’s shoulder as he sat in the swivel chair, both staring at the laptop. Their eyes were glued to the casting list. They had been scrolling endlessly, but they hadn’t found Melissa’s name.
"This is impossible!" Manager Kang laughed nervously, looking up at Melissa’s pale face. "I’ll check again! We got too excited, and we probably missed your name!"
He didn’t wait for her to respond, quickly scrolling to the top once more. This time, he went even slower, checking all the female roles and Melissa’s name. But to no avail.
"How is that—no way! I probably missed it again!" The panic in Manager Kang’s voice grew as he went over the list again and again. No matter how many times he checked, Melissa’s name was nowhere to be found.
After minutes, silence fell over them as he reached the end of the file once more. Neither of them reacted, just staring at the screen blankly.
"This can’t be... why would they even send me this file if not for you..?" Manager Kang trailed off as he finally noticed the file name.
He had been too excited to check earlier. Now, he noticed the file was addressed to him as Pixy and Megan’s manager. Displeased, he still checked the list one last time to be sure.
And sure enough, Megan and Pixy got the roles they auditioned for. They were minor supporting roles, but a role was a role. The file had been sent to him because he was the manager for Pixy and Megan, not Melissa.
"Wait a minute," he panicked, his eyes darting to the male list. "Did Simon—"
Manager Kang scrolled so fast that before he could even finish his words, he spotted Simon’s name. But alas...
"Impossible," he breathed out, his world seeming to collapse as he stared at Simon’s name and his role. "He... he didn’t get Ryker’s role?"
His eyes drifted slightly down, catching the name of the actor who was cast as Ryker. It was Cedrick.
Again, silence fell on them as their faces went blank. When Manager Kang recovered, he nervously looked up at Melissa.
"Melissa..." he trailed off, now worried, since Melissa was just eyeing the laptop with unblinking eyes.
Meanwhile, Melissa held her breath. Her mouth partially opened and closed, but no words came out. Just as she finally looked at Manager Kang, the door suddenly flew open.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Simon’s voice thundered in the office. Both Melissa and Manager Kang looked at him, seeing Simon fuming as he marched inside. His chest rose and fell heavily, his face red while his blood boiled.
"How come I am only getting a minor role while that Cedrick got Ryker’s role?!" He seethed in anger, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Manager Kang jumped from his seat and rushed to him.
"Simon, why don’t you calm down first, alright?" the manager tried to soothe him, but Simon just slapped his hand away before he could reach him.
"Calm down?!" Simon scoffed. "How can I calm down when everyone already knew I was getting Ryker’s role?! Manager Kang, are you trying to tell me to just take this humiliation?!"
His eyes burned just thinking about all the people who had congratulated him and even sent him a gift for getting the role. His performance was impeccable during the audition, but he wouldn’t have celebrated just yet if not for Melissa’s guarantees.
Manager Kang winced as he looked back at Melissa. However, Melissa just stood there, rooted to her spot, as if she hadn’t processed it yet.
"What are you—are you just going to stand there?!" Simon barked, marching angrily at Melissa. He stopped before the desk, slamming his fist against it. "Melissa, what is the meaning of this!? You promised me the role, didn’t you!?"
Melissa met his burning gaze, her wide, shaky eyes unwavering, as her hands balled into tight fists.
"Manager Kang, close the door," she muttered without taking her eyes off Simon. The manager quickly complied and shut the door so that no one could hear the shouting coming from the office.
The second the door shut, she shot Simon a sharp look. "Simon, I know I guaranteed you the role, but before you start shouting at me, haven’t you seen that my name is not even on the list?"
"I don’t care about your goddamn name!" he barked uncontrollably. "You promised me! When you poached me before my contract ended, you promised me the world. And I trusted you. But what the hell is going on here?"
Her fist trembled, holding herself back from arguing with this guy. After all, on the outside, everyone knew Simon was Manager Kang’s talent. But behind the scenes, it was Melissa who was supposed to manage him.
"Hah!" Melissa huffed sharply as her eyes sharpened. After a moment of thinking, she rocked her head and darted her eyes between Simon and Manager Kang.
"It must be Lola," she said under her breath. "She’s part of the casting panel and is the creator of the series."
Hearing this, Simon’s face twisted. He heard of that, but he was guaranteed not to worry about it.
"For sure, she said something or did something so I wouldn’t be hired," she continued, convinced by this. Her certainty made Manager Kang and Simon waver.
Manager Kang furrowed his brow in thought. "For sure, that woman sabotaged you. Otherwise, there is no way your name is not in there."
"That witch... she just wouldn’t let me be," she hissed, suppressing the bitterness in her heart as she shot Simon a determined look. "Simon, I’m sorry about all of this. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it."
"Fix it? How?" Simon scoffed. "Melissa, you didn’t even get the role. How else are you going to fix mine?"
Melissa calmed herself down, drawing a deep breath. She darted her eyes between them again until her eyes settled on Manager Kang.
"I have a plan," she said. "But before that, Manager Kang, make sure that there isn’t a mix-up in this list. After all, Simon could’ve gotten the role, but his name was confused with Cedrick."
Much to their dismay, once Manager Kang got a hold of Ida—Director Sarian’s assistant—the bad news was confirmed.
There was no mix-up, and the list was correct. The only role they could give Simon was the one on the list. Nothing else.
After the call, Manager Kang stood before Melissa and Simon. His heart sank, and his expression was pale. Before he could speak, they already knew what he was going to say.
With a pale complexion, Manager Kang muttered, "They said there was no mix-up. Cedrick is chosen to get Ryker’s role." He shifted his gaze to Melissa. "And you didn’t make it to the cut. Aside from that, they wanted Megan, Pixy, and Simon to attend the reading."