Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!

….

The entire waiting area fell into stunned silence. So much so, over the phone, the apology was audible. ["S-sorry, sir."]

"JUST SHUT UP! I WILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER!" Danny barked before hanging up.

He turned back to Timothée, eyes blazing. "You heard that, right—?"

"Excuse me." Samantha interrupted sharply. "Please do not cause a commotion here."

Her tone was calm but firm as she turned toward the young man, now known as Timothée Chalamet from Danny's shout. "You are next on the list. Please proceed inside quickly."

"Sorry abo–!" Timothee barely managed to offer an apology before Danny cut him off. "No one is moving anywhere." He stepped closer to the door, nearly blocking the entrance.

Samantha had a guess of what was going on, but she couldn't just allow someone to walk in on an act like this, so she tried to reason with Danny, but it was getting nowhere, and tension only stretched between them until -

Danny was mid-outburst. "SHUT THE HELL U—!"

- ?when the door behind him had cracked open, making him stop.

All eyes flicked toward the new figure stepping in.

Some random kid? Danny barely spared him a glance, irritation flaring.

He didn't care. Or maybe he just didn't care enough to register who the person actually was. His focus was on one thing only, getting his actor, Matthieu Charpentier, this role.

This was his career on the line.

He had already been pissed, frustrated from trying and failing to pull strings with Regal's team, pushing for Matthieu to be handed the lead role outright. The audition was supposed to be a mere formality, nothing more.

After all, he was Danny Foster.

He worked for [Angle Agency], one of the top five agencies in the industry.

When he first heard about some no-name director, one with only a single film under his belt, trying to produce a $50M film independently, he nearly laughed.

At the same time, he saw an opportunity.

An easy claim.

He hadn't bothered watching [Following], the director's debut. He barely cared that it had been a hit.

To him, this entire process was a joke. He had come here expecting business as usual. A routine. The role was as good as his client's already.

Because there was no way some indie filmmaker would turn down an actor from his agency. Not when Matthieu's talent was, in his opinion, more than enough for a film of this scale.

Meanwhile, behind that very door, Regal's eyes sharpened slightly as he took in the scene. His gaze barely lingered on Danny before shifting to the young man beside him.

Lean, sharp-featured, and effortlessly composed. He has tousled, wavy black hair, a little too perfect to be unintentional.

Timothée Chalamet.

Yep, the same American-French actor who acted in Dune as the main lead.

His current expression seemed neutral with traces of unease lingering beneath it - and Regal could guess he is the centre of the commotion.

However, Regal skillfully masked his recognition and turned to the other figure in suit. No doubt, he is the cause of the commotion. Regal guessed.

"This is all because of you, Timothée!" Provingly, Danny continued jabbing a finger at Timothee.

Then, as if his anger demanded a physical outlet, his hand twitched - rising toward Timothée's face.

What the hell?! Regal's eyes snapped to the motion instantly.

Why is it that every time he meets a famous actor from his past world, someone's always trying to punch him? Though, to be fair, the first time, he was the one who almost threw the punch.

Before anyone could react, Regal moved. With an easy, almost lazy motion, he pushed the door fully open and stepped out, except in doing so, he accidentally shoved it straight into Danny's back, making him lurch forward, thrown off balance.

In the end, his hand swiped through empty air, missing its mark entirely. Immediately, he stumbled, barely catching himself, then spun around, face twisting with fury.

"What the fu-!"

He stopped mid-sentence.

Not because of Regal. But because of the shadow looming over him from behind - a towering, bald-headed man stood there, arms crossed over his broad chest.

Even by Hollywood standards, he looked like someone who could take down four people without breaking a sweat.

Danny faltered as he took an instinctive step to the side. Finally, he caught himself quickly, straightening his suit.

"Are you the one in charge here?" He demanded. "Because this is absolute bullshit! What kind of shitty management is this?!"

Regal barely spared him a glance. Instead, he turned to Samantha, who stood off to the side, looking distinctly unimpressed.

"What's going on? And where is Darren?" He asked, his tone calm despite the commotion.

Samantha sighed. "Darren's onto something urgent." Then, with a glance toward Danny, she added. "As for the situation, this man is blocking other candidates because his client, the one who was actually supposed to audition, still hasn't had his turn."

"Then strike out the name and send in the next candidate." Regal didn't waste another second, already turning back toward the audition room.

"That is not going to work." - the agent, Danny cut in, his tone dripping with indignation. "The role belongs to my client."

Regal stopped mid-step. His face twitched slightly before he turned back, leveling the man with an unimpressed stare.

"…and who exactly decided that?" His voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge to it now.

The agent scoffed. "Kid, do you even know what agency my client is from? There is no way some no-name people who came to audition today can compare to the level of talent we produce."

He looked at all the people waiting for the audition to continue.

Regal let out a slow, measured sigh. Another guy too wrapped up in his own ego to let anyone else get a word in.

"Alright then." He said, feigning interest. "Who is this supposed big-shot?"

"This Bart?" Danny gestured vaguely toward the empty space behind him. "He joined our agency only a month ago. My incompetent manager screwed up, and now we have got the wrong guy here instead of him."

So, his own team made a mess of things?

Regal almost wanted to laugh. Well, that worked out just fine for him.

It went something like this–

The manager in question was supposed to bring his client, Matthieu Charpentier, to the audition today.

But thanks to his assistant's screw-up, the wrong person got the details. Instead of Matthieu receiving the script and time slot, it was sent to the guy standing here now - Timothée Chalamet.

So when the manager showed up, expecting his client to be here, the one who actually arrived was Timothée.

And now, here they were, with tempers flaring and egos bruised.

Regal turned to the young man who had been standing silently this whole time. "What is your name?"

The young man, who had been caught up in the exchange, finally spoke. "Timothée Chalamet."

Regal nodded. "Hm. So, are you interested in auditioning?"

Timothée exhaled, just slightly. "I was… until this happened."

Before Regal could say anything, the agent cut in again. "Don't even think about it. You are still nowhere near talented enough to land a role in a high-budget film like this."

Regal finally snapped. "Dude, can you shut up for five minutes?"

The surroundings stilled for a beat, but Regal had already moved on, turning to Timothée as if the previous conversation had never happened.

"You like sweets?"

"Huh? …sweets?" Timothée blinked, visibly thrown. "I mean, I can act like I like them if you want…"

Regal's grin spread wide - so wide that Simon, standing beside him, actually flinched.

That look.

Simon knew it too well. He had seen it before, but never quite like this.

From the moment Regal's eyes had landed on this kid, something had changed. They were practically shining.

…and now, with that ear-to-ear grin, it couldn't have been more obvious.

This - this was exactly the kind of answer Regal wanted.

It was never about whether an actor actually liked something. It was about whether they could make people believe they did.

He said, still grinning. "You were next on the list anyway, right? Come in now. Show me just how much you can act like you like sweets."

Timothée tilted his head, lips curling slightly.

"Haa… I can die for them."

….

.

After that, Simon barely registered what happened next.

One moment, Regal was chewing out that insufferable agent, and the next, he was grinning like a kid who had just found a rare collectible.

It was eerie. Regal didn't get excited. Ever.

But here he was, eyes practically gleaming as he watched Timothée step into the audition room.

Timothée moved with an effortless ease, like he wasn't stepping into a high-stakes audition but just another conversation he was mildly interested in.

Regal, still grinning, leaned back in his chair…

…and the next few minutes passed in a blur for - Simon at least.

Simon rubbed his temple. Where the fuck did this kid even drop from?

.

….

[To be continued…]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

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