<div> Phoenix glared at Zeno. His fingers dug into Zeno's collar, feeling his body fill with hatred.
 He had told himself again and again that it was a coincidence—life was full of coincidences, wasn't it? That was what he believed when he first picked up the script. It was only a story. A common narrative. A tale of neglect, abandonment, a father who vanished, and a boy who grew up furious at the world. Many children had grown up like that, scarred by parents who failed them. It didn't have to mean anything.
 But as Phoenix read, line by line, his certainty faltered.
 Some of the phrases, some of the exact words—he remembered them. Words spoken in anger when he was just a boy. Words whispered in apology. Promises that were never kept. Promises that shattered into silence when the man he once called Dad disappeared from his life. The memory of that forsaken figure haunted him in every scene.
 And now, staring at Zeno, Phoenix felt something sour in his gut. He hated it. He hated the way this man made him remember. He hated that it all lined up too perfectly.
 "Do you think I'm stupid?" The words burst from him before he could stop himself.
 Zeno didn't respond, causing Phoenix to scoff and shake his head violently.
 He had been bamboozled from the start. The familiarity wasn't a coincidence at all—it was deliberate. It had to be deliberate.
 Phoenix's anger surged higher. "You're mocking me, aren't you? You're pretending like it's just a role?"
 But Zeno remained silent. He stood there, staring at Phoenix as though the boy's words were not accusations but truths he had carried in secret for far too long.
 Inside, Zeno's thoughts churned violently. His breath caught in his throat, and in that instant, everything finally made sense. Why he teared up the first time he laid eyes on Phoenix. Why he always felt a strange pull toward him, a sensation he couldn't name but could never ignore.
 Phoenix was his son.
 <div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center">
 <div>
 
 </div>
 </div> He had taken on a new name and identity, trying to bury the man he once was.
 Phoenix Hyun. That was what the world knew him as. But once—long ago—he had been Jinu Kim. His Jinu.
 The man in front of him bore no resemblance to the little boy he had once carried on his shoulders.
 Yet, even then, Zeno saw flashes of memories.
 A tear slipped from Zeno's eyes before he even realized it had fallen.
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 Phoenix's eyes widened for only a second before narrowing in fury. He clicked his tongue sharply. "Are you fucking crying?"
 "You're acting like you're the victim here, when I'm the one whose privacy just got ripped apart!"
 His voice rose with every word, echoing against the walls. "I never told anyone about my childhood! Not a soul!"
 His eyes drilled into Zeno's, demanding that he deny it. "Tell me," Phoenix growled. "Who are you, really?"
 Zeno's lips parted, but no sound came out.
 So he said nothing.
 Only in the silence of his own mind did the words escape.
 Your father.
 <div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center">
 <div></div>
 </div> This felt like one of those moments ripped straight from Star Wars.
 "Phoenix, I am your father."
 Zeno nearly smirked at its absurdity.
 "Answer me," Phoenix snapped, "I don't recall ever knowing you or even meeting you when I was younger."
 Zeno sighed, slow and heavy, and shoved him lightly back to create some distance between them. "That's because you don't," Zeno said with conviction, smoothing out the wrinkles on his shirt.
 Zeno glanced at him, and for a brief moment, Phoenix's hardened glare and boastful aura melted away. And in its place, Zeno saw the image of a little boy. A boy with stubby fingers reaching for his hand. A boy who once looked at him with trust that was unshakable. A boy who no longer existed.
 He shook his head fiercely, breaking the illusion. No. That was then. This was now.
 "Don't think that everything revolves around you," Zeno said suddenly, the words harsher than he intended, but necessary. "There are coincidences in life, some you don't experience organically."
 Phoenix's frown deepened, confusion painted across his face despite the anger in his eyes. He felt strange again because those words, not in Zeno's voice, felt like an echo from the past.
 The voice of his father.
 But, no. It was impossible!
 Zeno straightened his posture. His eyes locked with Phoenix's, and for the first time, the latter faltered.
 "Don't go around cornering people like that," Zeno continued. "Or thinking you're better than everybody else."
 <div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center">
 <div></div>
 </div> He paused before letting out the next words.
 "You'd be disappointing your family."
 The moment the word family left his lips, Phoenix went livid. His face became red with fury, as though Zeno had reached into his chest and ripped out the very nerve he'd sworn no one would touch. He opened his mouth, his voice cracking on the edge of a scream, ready to spit venom and fire. But before he could release it, Zeno had already turned his back on him.
 He simply pivoted, calm and deliberate, shaking his head.
 Phoenix's throat burned with the scream he swallowed, his body trembling from holding it in.
 Meanwhile, Zeno's footsteps echoed with finality. He felt a strange sting in the back of his eyes again, so he hit his shoulder repeatedly.
 "Fuck," he muttered. "Why the hell would I be crying?" he asked himself.
 Then, he shook his head, glancing one last time at his son before turning right away. These past few weeks, he was unsure whether to keep the ending of his story the same. It had been his dilemma.
 However, at that moment, he wanted to show Phoenix. Show him the ending of his life. The truth he had carried silently, and the truth Phoenix would never believe.
 Because Zeno knew, as much as Phoenix hated his dad, he was definitely mistaken.
 Zeno did not leave because he wanted to.
 He left because he had to.</div>
 

<div style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:0px;text-align:center">
 <div>
 
 </div>
</div>

Chapter 405: You’re Mistaken

Phoenix glared at Zeno. His fingers dug into Zeno's collar, feeling his body fill with hatred. He had told himself again and again that it was a coincidence—life was full of coincidences, wasn't it? That was what he believed when he first picked up the script. It was only a story. A common narrative. A tale of neglect, abandonment, a father who vanished, and a boy who grew up furious at the world. Many children had grown up like that, scarred by parents who failed them. It didn't have to mean...

I Accidentally Became A Superstar

Chapter 405: You’re Mistaken

I Accidentally Became A Superstar - Chapter 405: You’re Mistaken