….

  [-Same Day-]

  ....

  People poured out of the theater hall.

  Groups drifted together, some in pairs, others alone, all moving in different dires, some lingering to discuss, others already onto their pn for the evening.

  Sihe theater was housed inside a sprawling mall, distras were abundant.

  Bright storefronts beed, neon signs flickered, and the faint hum of background music mixed with the steady murmur of the crowd.

  he theater's entraood a coffee shop.

  A handful of moviegoers stepped inside, some seeking a pce to sit and unwind, others already there, stirring their drinks as they dissected what they had just watched.

  As time passed, the faces ged.

  New waves of ers cycled in, fresh from their sings, while others trickled out, their versations lingering in the air. But no matter how often the seats emptied and filled, the topic of discussion remaihe same for most of the time.

  he ter, two men ie twenties leaned against a tall table, their voices rising above the k of cups.

  "Okay, what the hell, man. I am still trying to my head around that ending. Cobb wasn't even real?!" - one of them rubbed his temples.

  The hed, shaking his head. "Bro, that came outta nowhere. I was vinced Cobb was the vilin. He did everything, crime, murder, and then BAM. It's all in the guy's head. The protagonist was Cobb. I nearly dropped my pop."

  "That st se…" - the first man trailed off, shaking his head. "The mirror shot. His face - ugh."

  A group of college students had cimed a er booth, surrounded by empty coffee cups and half-eaten muffins.

  Their versation was louder, the table shaking uheir collective energy.

  "I don't care what anyone says." A girl in a leather jacket decred, leaning back with a smug grin. "Following is the best movie of the year. Period."

  "Nah, that ending fried my brain." The guy across from her replied, his fiapping nervously on his cup. "I swear I sat there for ten minutes after the credits rolled, just staring. Like, 'Cobb's not real?!' How do you even think of something like that?"

  "It's so smart, though!" anirl chimed in, her eyes gleaming. "Think about it, Cobb was just his guilt given a face. He did everything, but his mind couldn't take it, so it made Cobb up. That's... that's dark."

  The fourth member of the group, who had been quiet until now, pushed up his gsses. "Holy? I felt like it was trying too hard. Don't get me wrong, the twists were good, but it felt like it was being clever just for the sake of it. Two twists in five minutes? Little bit."

  "What?" - the first girl snapped back, incredulous. "That's what made it brilliant."

  "You still question things without being smacked over the head with two reveals." He argued, shrugging. "But hey, I am in the minority here. Clearly."

  ….

  At a er table, three friends sat together - two of them lounging zily in their seats, scrolling through their phones, while the third ractically vibrating with excitement.

  "You guys have got to watch [Following]." The one in the middle leaned forward, elbows oable, his voiimated. "I am serious. You don't know what you are missing."

  One of the other two, without looking up, sighed. "Dude, you have said that three times already."

  "And I will keep saying it!" He shot back, uerred. "The ending alone is worth it. It's insane. I 't even tell you how good it was."

  "You are not telling us. That's the point." The sed friend chimed in, eyes still glued to his s. "You are just ranting."

  "Fine, fine. I won't spoil it. But listen - after the credits, they dropped the title card for [Following] Part II." He paused for dramatic effect, grinnio ear. "A sequel. you believe that? The theater went nuts. I thought people were gonna lose it."

  The first friend raised an eyebrow, unamused. "Cool. Another movie to not watch."

  "e on, man! I am telling you, it's gonna be huge. I haven't been this hyped for a movie since, well, ever."

  Just then, another person approached their table, a smirk already pying on his lips. "Yo." He greeted, pulling up a chair. "So, you also watched Following, huh?"

  "Yeah, man!" The moviegoer straightened up, practically glowing with enthusiasm. "Have you seen it?"

  "Yeah. But…" The newer leaned back, pulling his pho of his pocket with a sly smile. "Did you catch the ret interview with the actors?"

  His excitement faltered slightly. "What interview?"

  "Oh, yonna love this." With deliberate fir, he tapped at his s ahe phone down in front of them. "Here. Watch this."

  Curiosity piqued, the two nont friends finally looked up from their phones, leaning in just a little.

  The s pyed a clip of the cast being interviewed, the actress grinning as she addressed the camera.

  "There has been a lot of buzz about the end-credits se teasing a sed part." the actress said, her toeasing. "But actually… There is no sequel. The director added that as a joke to make people leave the theater hyped. It's a one-off movie."

  The clip ehe phone s going dark.

  The friend who had seen the movie froze, his expression a mix of disbelief arayal. "No… no way. You are lying."

  The newer smirked, clearly enjoying this. "Felt the same way, man. That's why I wao share the pain."

  The other two friends, who had been disied only moments before, exged looks.

  Then they burst into ughter.

  "You have been hyping up a sequel that doesn't eve?" The first friend said between ughs.

  "Damn, that's rough." The sed added, grinning as he leaned ba his chair. "But you know what? Now I have to see what got you so worked up."

  The moviegoer slumped in his seat, staring bnkly at the table. "I feel like my heart just got ripped out."

  "Sounds like it." The newer tucked his phone away, still smirking. "At least we are all sad together now."

  As the ughter faded, the two who hadn't seen the movie g each ain, their mild amusement giving way to curiosity.

  "Alright, fine." One of them muttered. "I might actually go check it out."

  "Yeah." The reed, grinning. "If it messed you up that bad, it's gotta be worth watg."

  The friend who had been so excited a moment ago groaned, shaking his head as the hed again. The hype he had tried so hard to sell had backfired, but at least now they were on board - even if it came at his expense.

  ….

  Keanu, Grace, and Aepped into the room, fresh from the talk show.

  "Grace, you hat interview." Keanu shot her a thumbs-up, dragging a chair over with a scrape and flipping it around to sit backward, arms draped over the backrest.

  Despite the casual stahere was a hint of irritation in his voice.

  Andrew and Grace took their seats beside him.

  Regal, catg the tension, asked. "Huh? What happened?"

  Andrew sighed. "Keanu's sulking because the interviewer called the movie a fluke."

  Regal's rea was immediate - a loud, carefree ugh. "Ha! That's all?" He turo Keanu with mock . "Tell me you didn't lose it on live TV."

  Before Keanu could retort, Andrew cut in. "Thankfully, he didn't."

  Regal nodded in approval. "Good."

  The door swung open just then, and a sharply dressed man strode in, phone in one hand.

  He was the person that ointed as the PR manager from the Red pictures.

  Regal turo him. "So? How did it go?"

  The man gave a small nod, a hint of satisfa in his expression. "It's dohe interview is scheduled for this evening."

  Regal's expression shifted slightly, approval fshing across his face. "Nice work."

  He turned back to the trio. "You heard him. We have got work to do."

  The man suddenly pulled a tablet from under his arm and ha tal. "Before that, you o see this."

  Regal took it without a word, tapping py.

  At first, his expression remained ral. Then, out of nowhere, ughter erupted from him, his shoulders shaking as he tried to catch his breath.

  "Oh, you guys have to see this." He said between chuckles, sliding the tablet trace.

  Grace hesitated, eyeing him warily. "What am I looking at?"

  Regal grinned, still rec. "Just watch."

  Grace held the tablet steady as the three of them leaned in, their reas unfolding iime.

  On the s, a fan sat on the flripping his head like his world had just crumbled.

  "What do you mean there is no sed part?!" He wailed at the camera. "No sequel?! I have been hyped for nothing?!"

  Behind the camera, the person filming snickered. "Dude, you were so ready. You even gave a speech about watg it twice."

  The fan shot a murderous gre at the lens, his voice crag. "I hate you. I am seeing it again today. Alone."

  Andrew let out a shh. Grace remained perfectly posed, though the ers of her lips twitched ever so slightly.

  Keanu exhaled through his nose, arms crossed, but there was no mistaking the faint smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth.

  Regal leaned back, setting the tablet oable with a smirk still pstered on his face.

  "Well." He said, turning to the man beside him. "Looks like we just found our promotional clip."

  .

  ….

  [To be tinued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

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