“I’m going to focus on the script now.”
Sua shortly addressed everyone before flipping open the script.
Citizens are in chaos due to a bomb terror.
Kim Yu-han is tied up in a warehouse that’s on fire.
After reading this part, Sua nodded her head.
‘So this is why… I was wondering why there were so many people.’
She had been curious as to why there were so many supporting actors, but the climax of the story was premised on a bomb terror in the city center. The more citizens there were, the more vivid the scene would be, after all.
Sua continued reading the script.
Lee Kang-cheol learns about Kim Yu-han while chasing the culprit.
A running car approaches a fork in the road.
The criminal flees to the right.
Lee Kang-cheol is torn.
Shall he turn left to save Kim Yu-han?
Or chase and catch the criminal on the right?
There are two options.
Lee Kang-cheol makes a decision and swiftly acts.
‘…?’
After reading the entire script, Sua tilted her head.
‘Huh?’
She was perplexed, and understandably so.
‘What? This is the end? Seriously, this is the ending?’
The climax script Sua had just reviewed was lacking, to say the least, almost incomplete. Essentially, the role of Lee Kang-cheol was left to fill in the scene on his own.
Of course, there wasn’t really any inconvenience for Sua. Since the script gave freedom to Lee Kang-cheol and not Kim Yu-han.
The implications were clear.
‘…Kim Sun-il’s skill is crucial. Extremely so.’
–Lee Kang-cheol makes a decision and swiftly acts.
The climax was structured like a relay race.
When Sua handed off the baton, the completion would be entirely up to Kim Sun-il.
Is this possible? No, Kim Sun-il must have already received the script, and presumably studied it in advance, right? No. This was speculation. She should focus on doing her part right.
While Sua was lost in thought, Choi Hee-won, the director, shouted.
“Miss Sua! Mr. Sun-il! Let’s start! Standby!”
Finally, the moment to film the climax had arrived.
.
.
.
.
.
“Rolling! Three! Two! One! Action!”
The sound of the clapperboard. The filming had begun.
『….』
Simultaneously, Kim Yu-han hoisted his heavy head up with difficulty.
His head throbbed painfully. He must have been hit quite hard, as blood kept rolling down his forehead.
He was tied up at one corner of the vast warehouse, and the situation was not good. The red light within his vision indicated that the fire was spreading from the distance.
『…Ah.』
Though he tried to make a sound, his voice was weak. It would be near impossible for someone outside the warehouse to hear his voice.
With a roaring noise, the fire would swallow the sound of his voice entirely.
The task at hand was clear.
There was nothing left but to accept death.
『Ha.』
Kim Yu-han let out a quiet, hollow laugh.
How did it come to this?
When Kim Yu-han went to work as a “Detective” and returned home as “Kim Yu-han,” he chased after increasingly dangerous criminals. This time, the criminal was too large.
To the extent that Kim Yu-han had become ensnared.
He had always known that one day, this would be his fate.
Initially, he had never cared for his own safety. His sole goal was to punish criminals, so he had already made peace with the possibility of becoming a victim.
Thus,
『…It’s fine.』
Kim Yu-han whispered this to himself.
The fact that he was going to die, that his charred body would remain hideously disfigured, did not weigh heavily on him. After all, he had no family or friends.
Just one thing.
『I wanted to clean up at least one more, but it’s disappointing.』
He regretted not being able to wipe out one more criminal. That was all. While Kim Yu-han remained silent and felt the fire spreading within the warehouse,
A strange crackling sound began.
『…A radio?』
The object at his feet was a radio.
The criminal must have deliberately left it there, a gesture of mockery toward Kim Yu-han. ‘What a nasty guy,’ Kim Yu-han thought.
Crack!
The radio linked then.
『Kim Yu-han! Can you hear me?』
『Kim Yu-han! Respond!』
The owner of the voice, Lee Kang-cheol.
Kim Yu-han quietly answered with his eyes closed.
『I’m sorry, Senior.』
This time, his tone was calm without any hint of jest.
『I couldn’t catch him with my own hands. I should have been more meticulous and careful, but I allowed myself to be carried away by my emotions foolishly. My mistake. I’m sorry.』
It was genuine.
Kim Yu-han believed his misstep this time was due to his emotions. The current predicament was partly due to the fact that the serial killer in question was the one who had killed his parents.
So, perhaps, no, he was certainly hasty.
‘It’s funny, was there ever familial love in me?’ Kim Yu-han chuckled.
At that moment,
『…Kim Yu-han?』
Lee Kang-cheol detected that Kim Yu-han’s voice was different from usual. He realized something significant must have happened during the radio silence.
『Kim Yu-han, what happened? Please report your current situation.』
『Don’t worry. Luckily, we’ve gathered all the information about the villains, so the pristine career of Senior Lee Kang-cheol remains unblemished.』
Regardless,
Kim Yu-han persisted in stating his piece.
『By now, the Senior must be chasing after the guy, right? It’s obviously so. The destination is most likely Pohang. That’s their hideout. So request reinforcements. The priority isn’t catching him—it’s blockading the escape.』
『Kim Yu-han, please report your situation.』
『Senior.』
Again, Kim Yu-han didn’t respond.
But,
『Make sure you catch him this time too. As you always do, neatly.』
Since this is as far as I can go,
After muttering those last words under his breath, Kim Yu-han kicked the radio away forcefully with his foot. The radio, pushed a great distance, began to slowly deform as it was quickly engulfed by the flames.
『Kim Yu-han! Respond! Kim Yu-han! That’s an order!』
The urgent calls from Lee Kang-cheol.
Crack—!
But soon, the radio ceased all sound, and the surrounding area was filled only with the popping of the flames.
In that eerie stillness,
Kim Yu-han,
『…It’s warm.』
Still with his eyes closed, he slowly lifted the corner of his mouth.
.
.
.
.
.
“That’s splendid! Miss Sua! That was fantastic!”
The shout from Director Choi Hee-won.
First, Sua’s filming was concluded.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work! Let’s tidy up this section first. Now we just need Mr. Sun-il’s scene!”
Simultaneously, some of the teams, apart from the filming crew, began tidying up. The actors were also doing the same. Sua finally felt relieved, looking forward to removing her makeup.
During this, some staff murmured.
“Mr. Sun-il is filming on the road today, right?”
“Yes, there’s a car chase scene, so it’s bound to be quite challenging. Both in driving and acting. The pressure must be immense with how well Miss Sua did beforehand.”
“That’s true. But he’ll do well, it is Mr. Sun-il after all.”
Sua was curious as well.
‘Exactly, how will Kim Sun-il complete this?’
Still, she hoped he would do his best.
It was at that moment.
Something suddenly flashed in front of Sua.
( ! )
The special feature inexplicably projected an exclamation mark into space.
Suddenly what? As Sua stared at the exclamation mark with her eyes, large prints rapidly spread out.
[ The climax of the drama has been reached. ]
[ Someone sincerely desires resonance. ]
‘What’s this talk about resonance all of a sudden?’
And,
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ Resonance begins. ]
[ Yeoncheon-kyung. ]
Whoosh—!
Something activated haphazardly.
‘…Yeoncheon-kyung?’
A completely unfamiliar word that suddenly had its meaning infused into her head, as if she had known it for a very long time.
Yeoncheon-kyung (The Realm of Performance Resonance)
The scenery formed by desperate wishes reaching heavens.
This was something Sua couldn’t comprehend immediately.
.
.
.
.
.
A little later.
Whooosh—!
Lee Kang-cheol’s car was roaring away madly.
He was chasing the suspect’s car right ahead. The surrounding scenery whizzed by, and his hands, gripping the steering wheel, were soaked in sweat.
It was a chase.
Either capture or be captured. That was all there was.
Whooosh! Whooosh!
It was common to switch lanes unexpectedly and speeding was normal. Lee Kang-cheol was determined to catch the suspect at all costs. After all, he was a ruthless serial killer.
Whooosh—!
While pressing the accelerator further, Lee Kang-cheol shouted into the radio.
‘Kim Yu-han! Respond! Kim Yu-han! This is an order!’
There was no response.
Whooosh—!
As he chased, the two cars soon entered a long tunnel.
Quiet and lonely. Yet fierce. There were only the two cars inside the tunnel.
‘Kim Yu-han!’
The radio signal was cut off.
But then,
The radio connected to another channel.
‘Lee Kang-cheol! Can you hear me now?’
It wasn’t Kim Yu-han. It was Ha Yoon-jin (Seo Yeon-joo).
‘I can hear you! I’m currently chasing the criminal! However, there’s no radio contact with Kim Yu-han. Do you know his situation?’
‘Kim Yu-han is currently trapped in a warehouse on fire.’
‘…What? Then!’
Just then, Ha Yoon-jin cut off Lee Kang-cheol’s words.
‘Forget about Kim Yu-han. We’ll send someone from our side, so don’t worry. Focus only on catching the criminal!’
‘…!’
At that point, Lee Kang-cheol was greatly shocked.
Ha Yoon-jin’s statement essentially meant abandoning Kim Yu-han.
After all, the distance from the headquarters to the warehouse was impossibly far. There was no way they would arrive in time.
… The only saving grace was if Lee Kang-cheol turned back. He was the closest to the warehouse.
‘Do you understand? That guy! If not now, we’ll never catch him!’
Crack—!
The radio call ended abruptly with Ha Yoon-jin’s shout.
This was due to entering deep within the tunnel. The car madly roaring ahead had already covered one-third of the tunnel.
Afterwooosh—!
The car, advancing like a wild horse.
Lee Kang-cheol was deep in thought.
‘After this tunnel, there are two separate roads.’
Kim Yu-han had mentioned their base in Pohang.
To chase the suspect, one must go right. To check on Kim Yu-han, he must turn left. He was torn. To capture a criminal who was almost impossible to seize or to save a comrade.
…If Lee Kang-cheol were to think just about this,
Kim Sun-il couldn’t stay focused just on that thought.
‘What on earth…’
Kim Sun-il thought.
‘What should I do? What should I do now?’
Thinking about this itself was fine. The camera capturing his wavering appearance would reflect Lee Kang-cheol’s dilemma of whether to save Kim Yu-han or chase the villain.
Whooosh—!
The car continued to rush ahead breathlessly.
They were about halfway through the tunnel already.
‘What on earth, what on earth, what on earth…!’
Kim Sun-il felt like he was going crazy.
His sister’s words still rang clearly in his ears.
— I want to see your best scene.
— I want to see you on the big screen.
He had lied to his sister.
Can he create a scene that turns falsehood into truth?
He asked himself, and shortly got the answer.
Impossible.
He can’t create it.
‘I’m an actor, an actor only. Just a puppet!’
When the writer provides a script, he consumes it mechanically, like a doll with strings on its entire body. Until now, that was what he believed acting was.
But what about this situation?
What about this situation where the conclusion was entirely handed over to him?
Kim Sun-il disliked this current situation. He wasn’t skilled in improvisation, nor did he have the creativity to come up with the best storyline.
Thus, Kim Sun-il became impatient and wished,
For someone to tell him the right answer.
Or for inspiration to strike.
Or even just a hint.
Without that, he merely wished to let go.
It was a type of giving up and surrender.
“….”
Just as Kim Sun-il tightly shut his eyes,
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, without warning,
Whoosh—!
In a flash,
The landscape in his view completely changed.
And,
‘…What?’
That scenery was something far too familiar to him.
