You Were Never That Important Chapter 01
After the web series Raiden Barnard and I starred in blew up, we hopped on a joint TikTok Live to hype up season two.
His girlfriend, Cierra Flint, kept turning off the lights out of jealousy.
When it happened for the third time, Raiden stepped off-camera, pulled Cierra into his arms, and started making out with her.
The screen was pitch black, but the explicit sounds of them kissing broadcasted loud and clear over the stream.
It sat dead like that for forty minutes. The audience was completely let down, and just like that, all our promotional momentum was totally dead in the water.
When the disastrous stream ended, Raiden finally answered a video call from our director, Konner Gorney.
“Sorry, Mr. Gorney,” he said casually. “I had to comfort my girlfriend. Let’s just call it a day on the promo.”
Konner was livid. “Raiden, are you out of your mind? We spent two weeks prepping this. You had millions of people waiting online, and you just tanked the whole thing!”
Raiden didn’t look bothered in the slightest and put on a fake, innocent tone. “What was I supposed to do? My girlfriend was upset. I couldn’t just ignore her.
“Look, if you want me to keep promoting the show, make her the female lead for season two.
“She’s never acted before, but we’re an actual couple. Playing lovers will feel way more authentic, and the fans will definitely eat it up.”
With that, he shot a glance over at me, sitting right beside the camera, his eyes filled with unmistakable contempt. “As for her, she can play the other woman who comes between the male lead and female lead. Give her third billing.”
Konner was so angry that his whole body started shaking. “Absolutely not! Vivien is a fantastic actress. You can’t just swap her out on a whim!”
Raiden just let out a nonchalant chuckle. “Forget the promo, then. I’m out for season two. You guys figure it out.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Konner’s voice trembled. This series was the culmination of over six months of grueling, hard-fought work from his entire team.
Following the first season’s sudden massive success, prep for season two was already rolling.
The streaming platform had been geared up to push it hard, and Raiden’s stunt had just thrown a massive wrench into everything.
Raiden just smiled, “It’s not a threat. I’m just passing along what my girlfriend wants.”
Konner took a heavy breath, forcing his anger down to try and reason with him. “Raiden, the only reason you have this level of fame is that the show was a hit. You can’t be so ungrateful. We walked through the season two script with you ages ago, and we confirmed the kissing scenes in advance. Why didn’t you mention any of these issues back then?”
Raiden shrugged. “Because my girlfriend is jealous now, and I can’t help that.
“Honestly, this is your fault. You knew I had a girlfriend, so why did you write so many intimate scenes?”
Konner stared at him, rendered completely speechless, his chest heaving.
“Raiden, you are an actor! This is your job!
“And when did I ever know you were seeing someone? You never told a single person on the crew!”
The show’s massive popularity had been a lucky break. The platform had poured serious money into the second season, and the whole production was running on a razor-thin timeline. With Raiden flat-out refusing to work, all their prep was swirling right down the drain.
Raiden didn’t say a word; he just raised an arrogant eyebrow.
“Look,” Konner finally said after a long silence.
His eyes were bloodshot as he forced the words past his teeth. “Getting season one off the ground was brutal, and audience expectations for the next one are incredibly high. We can’t just let this project get canceled.
“What if we fake the intimate scenes with camera angles for season two? Would that work?”
Raiden frowned. He glanced down at Cierra, who was still tucked into his arms. She instantly pouted and gave his arm a little shake. He turned back to the camera, playing the helpless boyfriend. “That’s a no-go, Mr. Gorney. My girlfriend keeps me on a tight leash. Even camera tricks are off the table.
“She said that as long as I’m playing someone else’s boyfriend—even without the physical stuff—she won’t be happy.”
Konner was at his breaking point, his voice thick with emotion. “Then what exactly do you want so we can keep going?”
“I already told you,” Raiden said, a smug smirk pulling at his lips.
He looked as arrogant and entirely in control as ever. “Either we pause production on season two until my girlfriend is happy again, or you swap out the female lead for her.
“Aside from that, there are zero other options.”
Defeated, Konner slumped into his chair and buried his face in his hands.
A long silence stretched between us.
Finally, he forced himself to look back at Raiden on the screen. “Is there a third option here?” he asked reluctantly.