The old condo transformed into a makeshift film set over the course of the morning. Wires snaked across the floor like tangled vines. The only working light had been softened with a white garbage bag taped over it, clipped with binder clips to a broomstick. The camera, mounted on a wobbly tripod, was locked into place with three rolls of masking tape and a prayer.
Adrian moved silently, adjusting light angles and taping marks onto the floor with surgical precision. Joms and Kai watched him like he'd morphed into someone else overnight.
He didn't speak much. He didn't need to.
This was muscle memory.
"Alright," Adrian said, without looking up. "Mic check, audio levels?"
Kai, seated at a folding table with a pair of headphones and a battered laptop, gave a thumbs up. "Good. No static. I'll clean it in post."
Joms, now donning sunglasses and a fake mustache he found in a party prop box, held a toy megaphone and shouted, "Quiet on set! We're about to shoot the *next Cannes-winning indie!*"
Adrian cracked a rare smile.
Joms wasn't just comedic relief — he was morale support in human form. Between takes and setup tweaks, he kept the energy high. He'd break into sudden skits, like pretending to be a bitter talent manager yelling at invisible extras, or delivering overacted monologues in broken Shakespearean Taglish.
"*To be, or not to be... late sa shoot. THAT is the question!*"
Even Kai — reserved and usually deadpan — chuckled, nearly choking on fish crackers.
Adrian let it all happen. He needed it. They all did. It made the pressure feel less like a noose and more like a challenge. But when he finally stepped in front of the camera, everything shifted.
The air changed.
The lights flickered softly against the humidity-stained walls. Adrian sat in the cramped corner of the room, lit only by a single bulb, back straight, eyes lowered. Joms hit record.
Kai mouthed the countdown silently: **Three... two... one...**
Then the voicemail played.
Adrian didn't blink.
The voice of the fictional father came through the speaker — warm, a little stilted, but full of that awkward affection most men hide behind half-laughs. And Adrian, reacting only to that voice, let it wash over him.
No dialogue. Just listening.
And then… **he began to unravel**.
Not with tears, not with screaming — but in the twitch of his jaw. The slow tightening around his eyes. A flicker of memory in the corners of his mouth.
You could see his thoughts **rushing in behind his eyes**. Regret. Longing. Guilt. All wordless. All *real*.
Kai sat frozen behind the screen. Joms had stopped joking.
They weren't watching a guy act.
They were watching a man remember something **he wasn't supposed to remember**.
When the voicemail ended, there was a beat of silence. Then Adrian broke, just slightly — one soft inhale through the nose, one blink too slow. He looked directly into the lens. Broken, not shattered. Just… *human*.
He held the stare for five seconds. Then said, softly: "I miss you, too."
**Cut.**
Silence.
Kai leaned back, eyes wide. "Holy sh— That wasn't just acting."
Joms finally exhaled. "Dude. That… That gave me chills."
Adrian stood up, shaking out his hands like he was coming down from something heavy. "We shoot the backup in twenty. Just in case."
"There's no way we're topping that," Kai said, eyes still on the playback screen. "That was—That was *cinema*, man."
Joms clapped once. "You weren't just directing that. You *lived* that scene."
Adrian didn't say anything at first. He looked at the floor. Then the camera. Then at his two friends — one behind the lens, the other holding a boom mic made from an umbrella stick and duct tape.
He smiled faintly. "That's what I used to do."
They didn't press. The weight of that sentence hung between them.
Not just *do* — but *used to be known for*. Somewhere, in a life where he hadn't died on Sunset Boulevard.
And for a second, in that tiny, humid condo in Manila, he was that person again.
---
**\[SYSTEM UPDATE – HIDDEN ATTRIBUTE ACTIVATED]**
→ *"Past Life Resonance"*
→ *+5 EXP: Directing*
→ *+3 Charisma (from live emotional performance)*
→ *+10 Viral Potential Modifier (Raw Performance Bonus)*
---
**\[MISSION PROGRESS – 85% COMPLETE]**
→ Upload Required: Prepare final cut and post online via YouTube or Facebook
→ Objective: Gain 1,000 combined views and engagement within 48 hours
→ Reward Upon Completion:
+5 Attribute Points Experience of One of the Greatest Directors in History ₱10,000,000
---
Back in the kitchen, Kai already had Premiere loaded up. Joms sat beside him with a Red Horse, squinting at the timeline.
"I'm telling you," Joms said, "you don't need to color grade that. The raw emotion's enough."
Kai nodded slowly. "Still… I'll boost the shadows, just a little. Let the pain sit longer."
Adrian stepped outside for a breath of air, eyes scanning the neon-washed city skyline. Somewhere in the distance, horns blared, karaoke leaked from windows, and life went on.
But something inside him had shifted.
He wasn't just chasing redemption anymore.
He was *creating it*.(End Chapter)