Kill the Lights-Chapter 2.3

With a speed that made my spine chill and a fancy drift, he managed to distract all the reporters and parked the car in the some kind of abandoned place. He breathed like he was dehydrated and told Mason something shocking.

“What are you saying… You’re kidding, right?”

Mason asked again with a shocked face. What did you just tell me? Mason asked like he wanted he heard it wrong, but Tony didn’t care about his desperation and repeated what he just said.

“You are gonna go in and film a drama. –Did you memorize the lines?”

Memorize them fast. It’s hard to see during make-up.– He gave Mason the script and rushed him. Mason automatically looked at the script and looked at him right away.

“Wha, what film, what acting suddenly? Didn't I just told you I’m gonna quit?”

“Even if you are quitting, you need to do your schedule! Are you seriously gonna let them fire you? Even though you don’t have your memory… Oh no, the time.”

Tony didn’t even explain well to Mason. He just rushed him to get out of the car. Mason got pulled out of the car by him but still stepped back.

“Wait, wa, wait, Tony. Wait.”

This middle age obese man without any muscle, if it was my actually body, I could’ve just pushed him away, but what’s wrong with this body? Every time he used his strength, he just got dragged. If I try like throwing somebody like usual, I think I’m gonna break my wrists.

“Wait, huh? What acting? I can’t do that this sudden. Think again…”

Mason was getting dragged and tried to convince Tony. Is this how Aaron felt when I went inside the Alta’s bunker? At least I didn’t ask him to do anything. I just told him to stay shut.

Acting in front of the camera. I didn’t think there will be anything more absurd then waking up in a different body, but now I think I need to change that thought in six hours.

Tony seemed like he didn’t care that Haley lost his memory, but it was not same just because the face was same. –If it was an actual amnesia patient, well, he might get his memory back by standing in front of the camera and act naturally but not me. I was always busy with my life so never even watched any proper drama. There is no way I can do this.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s not even that long.”

“Long or short. I can’t do it. Of course I can’t do it. It’s not something anyone can do? An, and I don’t think I feel well suddenly.”

Urghh, Mason held his head and pretended that he was in pain, but Tony didn’t even look at him and just pushed his back.

“If you are able to walk, then it’s okay. And you weren’t even good at acting before you lost your memory so don’t worry about it.”

“Does that even make sense?”

I’m getting dragged like a cow in a slaughter house. How can I not worry? Is he saying it like that because it’s not his situation? Tony was keep saying it’s okay, and Mason frowned and screamed at him, but Tony said it seriously.

“No, nobody is expecting a great act from you. Just show them your face and read the lines.”

They just want a hot issue and pretty face in the camera. The drama that they are filming right now is currently on season 10, and it’s an investigation drama that airs in the whole country. This is the only job he has right now. Even this is just a drama that he filmed since he was little, other jobs were all fired.

There was one time he had to save his sleeping and eating time and did 6, 7 schedules in one day, but that’s all old days.

He is not even good at acting and causes trouble and has a bad personality, and the only good point about him was his face, but now it is fading away. Since his images are bad, no commercial modeling job come in, and almost all the jobs that were coming in were either semi-nude shoots or interviews about the gossips.

And he became nationally hated.

He can never lose this job. Since he is alive, he needs to hold on to this to live. Money is money, but he lived his whole life as an actor. It must be painful to be forgotten by the audience. Right now he is just comfortably saying, ‘If my memory comes back, I can work then.’ But if his memory comes back and people have forgotten about him….

“……”

Tony bit his lips and shivered. He can see how he will make a mess and be hysterical. It won’t be weird if he’s trying to chew and swallow Tony.

“Spare me. Huh? It’s not hard. You just have to say this to this line looking at the camera.”

Please, I beg you. Tony begged him with his teary eyes like he is about to kneel, and Mason just sighed and scratched his head. Seriously…

“Really, really I just have to look at the camera and read the lines?”

He was wondering if it’ll be that easy but still asked. If I just need to read the lines, I think I can just close my eyes and think of it as one of the mission in Zii. He felt embarrassed that he needs to do something that he usually does secretly in front of the cameras, but once will be somehow… Before Mason tried to convince himself, Tony grabbed his wavering heart.

“Yes, yes. It’s late, so we should go in first. Once you are in there you won’t think as a big deal.”

Tony was like it’s nothing. He told Mason he just has to read few lines and grabbed Mason’s wrist and dragged him to the filming set. Haley’s habit is to lock himself in his room whenever he’s in a bad mood, and he’s been Haley’s manager for 16 years. It was easier for Tony to take Haley to the filming set than chewing a gum.

They were middle of filming a shooting scene. Cut! Hold that thing well! People were screaming everywhere, and it seemed little busy.

Mason winced little bit looking at a new environment. Tony left him in front of the entrance and ran to the director. Big man with a black sunglasses took a glimpse at Tony and quietly glared at Mason.

“Uh, the hospital said he needs to rest more. They stopped us because he was not ready to get discharged. That’s why we’re….”

The director waved his hand like he didn’t want to hear it, and Tony was acting subserviently.

“Wait, Tony. The script changed.”

An assistant director who was standing behind the director stopped Tony who was keep saying excuses and gave him the new script.

“The script changed? Why suddenly?”

“What do you mean why? Just do it as it changed. –We’ll start right away after getting ready. How about you check it and let him memorize it first? It’s probably too long for him.”

“….”

Mason looked around while Tony was checking the script.

There were some people acting in front of the director that Tony was talking to before. He couldn’t hear their voice very well because he was pretty far away, but about four of the cameras were filming them very closely and some other cameras were filming from a far. A man holding a strange board and a man holding a stick with fur and more. Many people moved around carrying something heavy centering there.

Mason catches things pretty fast. He quietly pay attention to the filming set. He kind of get how things were working, but more things were strange and new to him. Only cameras that Mason meets are reporters’ camera, CCTV, or small spy cameras.

It would have been better for him if he watched some movies or dramas occasionally, but he didn’t have that kind of hobby. I should’ve watched some… At least pay attention to Clerk who likes to talk about back stories of celebrities. Then I could’ve understand some atmosphere around here.

“Oh my, Look at how he wore the patient’s uniform here. Is he protesting that he’s sick or something…”

“It’s probably all faking. There is no way he can look like that after he woke up from the heart attack.”

Mason turned around hearing people whispering, and women carrying props looked at him like what are you looking at. It wasn’t only those women. Many staffs and actors in the filming set were frowning noticeably whenever they saw his face and whispered to each other. Somebody even said, “He didn’t even die and came out again” loudly. Cold stares and whispers. He could clearly sense a sharp atmosphere surrounding him.

“….”

Mason took a glimpse at them and looked at the filming scene with an indifferent face. People were whispering, ‘He’s even more acting cool today’ but it didn’t even tickle his ears. Mason lived around people who just shoot at people if they are in bad mood, so this wasn’t even a light joke for him.

Mason felt more in trouble and uncomfortable because he had to act in front of all those people and cameras. Think of it as a mission. Mission. Mission. Mission. He did lot of acting during the missions. Actually it was more like a trick than acting, but Tony said its okay. It wasn’t hard to read already prepared lines. This is part of a mission. He was keep saying it to himself to hypnotize himself.

“I heard you were dead. Why are you here?”

He heard an indifferent voice next to him. He turned and saw an old male actor even Mason saw sometimes on the TV. ….What’s was his name? Simon?

“….I know. Why am I here.”

Mason stared at him little bit and sighed. The one who is most curious why he was here was Mason himself. This was not a place where I should be. What acting. What drama. He felt like Tony will come back soon and say, ‘Surprised? It was a joke.’

Simon gave him a confused look looking at Mason’s bitter look, but soon he smirked.

“It was a show huh?”

“…What?”

“You pretended you committed suicide because of the Raynoah incident. Right? And that didn’t work, so you came out like this. Of course. There are some actors who come out even with their severe heart problem but… not you right?”

You came with a heavy hangover during the time you were supposed to come. –He said it to taunt Mason. Mason just shrugged his shoulder and said, “Who knows.”

“What do you mean who knows?”

“Can’t you just think whatever you want?”

Mason took a glimpsed at him and looked at the scene again. Actually, Mason didn’t know if Haley was trying to commit suicide, or it was for a happy dream and overdosed. I wasn’t at a state where I can just comfortably say something just because it was other person’s problem, but I didn’t need to struggle and make an excuse for a something that I didn’t do. I wasn’t gonna do this job for a long time anyway.

Simon looked at Mason strangely because Mason was too indifferent. He drank his coffee that he was holding. He held his word few times, but he asked.

“So… -Were you actually sick?”

Haha, No right? –He smiled like he was be careful, and Mason waved his hand.

“Don’t worry. I probably came because I can walk.”

To be exact I was dragged, anyway. Because I was nervous that I have to act soon, I said it very simply, and Simon frowned.

“What, what’s wrong? Did you get a deadly disease? Did the doctor say you are gonna die soon?”