Ch.35A World Covered in Blood

High Dream 6th Episode Broadcast Day.

High Dream’s devoted viewer, 17-year-old Ji Eunbi, sat in front of the TV today to catch the live broadcast.

‘Fighting, my oppas!’

Eunbi was falling deeper into High Dream, showing increasingly passionate support. In truth, there was more than just fan enthusiasm behind this.

‘Why is the viewership rating similar to other programs?’

Unlike its initial momentum, High Dream was showing a quieter growth than expected.

With a steep rise in ratings from 12% in episode 1 to 14% in episode 2, predictions suggested even higher peaks as time went on.

But in episodes 3 and 4, High Dream’s ratings didn’t rise as much as anticipated. While maintaining 14% could be considered successful enough, the disappointment was unavoidable.

“High Dream, Steady Start After First Episode? Not Quite As Expected…”

“High Dream, Once Expected to Surge Ahead, Dream of Conquering Monday-Tuesday Drama Slot Still Far Away”

“Was Episode 2’s Peak Rating Just a Momentary Miracle? Let’s Analyze High Dream!”

And to make matters worse, there were articles tearing it apart.

“Ha, this is really ridiculous.”

Eunbi frowned at the trashy articles.

How could they write such articles!

“What? A momentary miracle?”

Technically, this wasn’t wrong. Because…

“My oppa Donghu wasn’t in it!”

For reference, Eunbi knew Kim Donghu was fifteen. But so what? If he was handsome and tall, he was an oppa.

Kim Donghu, or more precisely Lee J, hadn’t appeared since his final appearance in episode 2. After making such a cool entrance that seemed to promise something…he hadn’t shown even the tip of his nose through yesterday’s episode 5.

According to articles, Lee J wasn’t a main or supporting character, and originally had few lines in the script.

But…

‘Isn’t it a crime to just use that face so little?’

I’m not going to stand for this!

I’m going to blow up the viewer forum!

While Eunbi was fuming in front of the TV, High Dream was steadily progressing its story.

It was now at the point where the High Dream members were coming together to prepare for the year-end Mirine stage.

♪♩♪♩♬♩♪

The humming of the High Dream members singing about youth pleasantly made her body sway. Maybe this wasn’t so bad? Maybe she should accept that oppa Donghu originally had few scenes?

Just as she thought that.

Click.

As if by magic, the sound of the High Dream members practicing cut off and the scene changed.

“Huh?”

A quiet, empty practice room.

A boy with neatly slicked-back hair enters and opens the piano lid.

There’s no dialogue.

Without a word, he sits at the piano and strikes the keys.

His expressionless face contorts, and an indescribable emotion bursts through the TV screen.

‘S-scary.’

Lee J’s hatred begins to spread to the world for the first time.

As if saying everything you’ve seen until now was fake,

As if promising to compensate for being deceived by the whispers of inferior beings for so long.

Moonlight Sonata, 1st movement.

A flower nourished by hatred reveals itself.

+++++

While High Dream episode 6 was airing on TV,

Kim Donghu was currently in a quiet neighborhood alley for a movie shoot.

“We’ll finish setting up and start filming soon. Donghu, please rest comfortably.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Rustling.

Director Lee Seongdeok continued the final setup work while admiring Kim Donghu’s appearance.

‘Ah, will I ever get another chance to film with actor Donghu in my lifetime?’

Movie <Hero> director Lee Seongdeok felt regretful that the Hero filming was ending so quickly.

‘With such a good actor, there are no NGs, and the filming speed is incredibly fast.’

In the past, between coordinating everyone’s schedules and reshooting NGs,

What should have taken a week sometimes dragged on for over a month.

‘Already the final shoot after just four days.’

Of course, it could have been finished in three days originally.

But there was a modification in the wild dog scene that took an extra day.

Originally, the child actor should have stabbed the dog doll, but

Due to concerns about cruelty, that was immediately scrapped.

The stabbing scene itself would still be done by actor Kim Donghu, but

By keeping it mostly off-screen and positioning child actors around,

They decided to frame it as if seen from the child’s perspective.

So with that lost day, today was the 4th day.

By now, all staff members on set, including Seongdeok, had become fans of Kim Donghu.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you today as well!”

Hero, who was revealed to be the true culprit in the loan shark murder.

The police began searching nationwide for him,

And quickly pinpointed his location.

A young boy carrying a bamboo sword—a distinctive appearance.

That wasn’t something that could be easily hidden.

Thus, Hero was finally cornered.

His seemingly endless escape meets its end in a dead-end alley.

This is the final chapter of Hero’s story.

“Ready, action!!!”

As soon as Seongdeok’s cue was heard, Kim Donghu immediately summoned Hero.

“Huff… huff…”

Rough breathing and a heaving body.

His body, pushed to its limits after running for a long time, refused to move any further.

“Stop running now, you’ve come far enough! If you surrender now, you might get a reduced sentence!”

The detective’s one-line dialogue explains the current situation.

A wall behind, a detective in front, and police closing in the perimeter around him.

Literally nowhere to run.

But.

“Mister, do you know why I carried a bamboo sword?”

Hero doesn’t give up.

Wouldn’t Hero have known that carrying a sword makes him easy to identify?

No, he knew.

Yet he carried it because

Hero never lets go of his weapon.

Swish.

As soon as Hero draws his sword, the detectives frantically pull out their guns.

The loan shark died from this sword.

Cause of death: pneumothorax and internal bleeding from rib fracture.

Not just wild swinging, but disciplined swordsmanship honed through kendo.

The detectives could no longer treat the Hero before them as just a child.

“Isn’t it funny? That you’ll be held responsible if you shoot, they say there’s even a saying about it.”

Guns are not for shooting, but for throwing.

“But look at me, I’m different.”

A weak society where even when a child commits a crime, not a single shot can be fired.

They put away their guns and hurriedly try to take out their batons, but even that attempt is meaningless.

A bamboo sword versus a baton.

The difference in power is as clear as the difference in length.

Tap-tap-tap.

Hero runs toward the detective.

If the path is blocked, then break through.

After all, there’s only one person blocking Hero right now.

He just needs to break through before reinforcements arrive.

I am Hero who punishes evil.

I will never fall here.

Crack!

The tip of Hero’s bamboo sword precisely strikes the center of the detective’s solar plexus.

Unable to even scream, he slams against the wall and passes out.

The camera focuses on the fallen detective before shifting back to Hero.

‘…This is it.’

In the original story, Hero should be caught here.

But Kim Donghu’s acting changed the ending.

Hero gradually disappears into the dim alleyway.

Toward a place where he can break through the encirclement.

Disappearing somewhere into the gray boundary where the black and white world cannot reach.

“Cut!!!”

With that scene, the final filming of Hero came to an end.

++++++

‘Whew, that was more intense than I thought.’

After the Hero filming ended,

I immediately got into the van after thanking everyone.

Normally, I should have participated in the final dinner gathering,

But being 15 years old gave me the power to skip such participation.

‘My schedule is tight, so I need time to rest alone.’

If I hadn’t been exercising consistently, I might have been exhausted already.

Feeling the importance of exercise, I suddenly thought of Coach Paek Sangha.

Please come work out, you’re UFC material,

I suddenly missed those cries.

‘I should go visit sometime.’

Just as I was thinking that.

“Donghu, good work today too.”

Seokho hyung got into the driver’s seat.

‘Come to think of it, Veritas seems to be hiring people lately.’

As soon as I was recruited, Veritas management seemed determined to accelerate growth,

Starting to hire various talents to make up for their previous lack of growth.

Stylists, road managers, security guards, and so on.

Recently, a smile never left Seokho hyung’s face.

“Seokho hyung, if you hired a road manager, don’t you not need to drive yourself?”

“Ah, that’s true. But I feel more at ease when I’m the one driving for you, Donghu.”

Seokho hyung answered and immediately drove toward my home.

“Oh right, I heard there’s talk about additional filming for High Dream?”

“Additional filming?”

“Yeah, they contacted me. It’s practically confirmed, and they want to coordinate schedules.”

“Is it not extending existing footage but actually adding new content?”

“Yes, as you know, your piano performance was amazing. Moonlight Sonata!”

Actually, the real reason is what comes after that, and when viewers see it, they’ll really faint, seriously.

I smiled awkwardly at Seokho hyung’s words.

‘It must be quite popular.’

One of the secrets to longevity as a celebrity:

Not reading articles about yourself.

I was actively practicing this.

Since your mental state could be shaken the moment you get swept up in public opinion or see even one malicious comment,

It was best not to pay attention from the start.

“Our Donghu even has a fan cafe now, hehe, only good things ahead for us.”

Seokho hyung seemed genuinely happy about my success, with a constant smile on his face.

A fan cafe was created?

‘That’s a bit embarrassing.’

But since I’m curious, I should check it out later.

“Oh, and look in the left window pocket below, I put the revised script for Endless Frontline.”

“The one with the added action?”

“Yeah, they said to let them know if it seems too intense, since it might be too much for a middle schooler, and I agreed.”

It’s good to make a good movie, but not getting hurt is most important.

Donghu, don’t insist on filming if it seems too much, just say so right away.

Smiling slightly at Seokho hyung’s warm concern,

I immediately took out the script.

‘They said I’d be dueling with senior Han Taegeon.’

I was curious how they would incorporate that into the script.

‘Immersion.’

The first thing I see in the immersed world.

“Arghhhh!”

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

“Cease fire! Cease fire!”

Was a world covered in blood.