Chapter 1 – Continuous Nightmare (1)

Exhaling raggedly, I looked up. I never dreamt I’d set foot in this place. No, it’s the kind of place ordinary people rarely visit.

The courthouse.

Steeling my nerves, I entered through the main gate. The moment I stepped inside, a cacophony of sound washed over me. Staff carrying props rushed around the set, and attractive men and women, presumably actors, rehearsed their lines.

It’s like a marketplace in here.

My observations ended there. Having never paid attention to dramas, how could I possibly know any of these people? Unless they were holding a massive camera, I couldn’t tell the extras from the crew. As I tried to calm my racing heart, a large man approached.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m here as a stand-in. My friend was hospitalized after a car accident.”

“Ah! You’re Park Taehyuk’s replacement! Director! The stand-in is here!”

The bear-like man bellowed. His voice cut through the din of hundreds of people.

“Bring him over!”

The director’s voice boomed. I followed the man across the set, weaving through the controlled chaos.

Wow, there are a lot more people than I expected. Do dramas always require this many people? I wouldn’t know, I guess.

This is where Taehyuk said he was filming?

*That’s a huge camera! It’s practically the size of a person’s head. Almost like a small cannon.*¹

Are those the actors? Definitely a lot of good-looking people. Compared to them, Taehyuk looks like…well, like a plate of seasoned squid.

The set looked completely different from the outside. Earlier, the unreality of it all hadn’t registered, but inside, the vibrant energy of the people buzzing around made my heart pound.

It felt like I was reading a banned book—though in my case, the ban wasn’t imposed by the government, but by my own body.

Following the bear-like man, I reached a man wearing a red baseball cap. A megaphone was clutched in his left hand.

“You’re the stand-in?”

“Yes.”

“You looked handsome in the photo, but it didn’t do you justice! Haha!”

The director laughed heartily. I rubbed the back of my neck, embarrassed. Compliments about my appearance always flustered me. I dropped my hand.

“So, what exactly do I need to do? Taehyuk told me a little, but not everything.”

“Oh, it’s simple. Just walk from the courthouse entrance wearing handcuffs and a mask, go down the steps, and exit through the main gate. A bus will be waiting; get on it, and you’re done. You don’t have any lines, but I can give you the sides if you want.”

No lines. I inwardly pumped my fist. What lines could I possibly deliver, having never even watched a drama? I’d be lucky just to avoid making a fool of myself. The director’s words were a lifeline pulling me from a pit of despair.

“Yes, please. I’d like the sides.”

Still, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see them. Since Taehyuk asked this of me, I had to give it my best shot. Though the thought of him dumping this on me last minute made me want to put on boxing gloves and pay him a visit.

I took the sides² from a nearby staff member and scanned them. As the director said, it was simple.

Walk with my head down and get on the bus? That’s it?

Sure, the staff and extras pretending to be reporters would swarm me with flashes and microphones, but…

Without any lines, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

The actors playing the detectives would handle the extras. All I had to do was get on the bus.

“Piece of cake.”

My eyes drifted to the last line.

Before boarding the bus, glare at Ji Yeonwoo and then get on.

Hold on…

Who was Ji Yeonwoo?

I scanned the set and quickly figured out who they meant.

The main character!

Continuous Nightmare, a drama about copycat crimes. Ji Yeonwoo was the son of a detective who died while apprehending the drama’s main villain, a notorious serial killer—the character I was supposed to be portraying.

“I guess I just need to give him a decent glare.”

According to the character’s backstory, the father and son looked remarkably alike. I shrugged it off, tucking the sides under my thumb.

Then, the world shifted.

#

“Where…?”

A familiar sensation. An unforgettable sight. My pupils trembled. I recognized this world.

This was…

The world inside my Special Immersion Syndrome.

Simply by observing, I’d recreate the fictional world around me. It sounded like an amazing ability, but the catch was that my body became possessed by the character. When I watched a crime drama once, I’d nearly slit Taehyuk’s throat with a pen.

Damn it! I didn’t think the syndrome would extend to scripts!

This was bad. Character Immersion Syndrome wasn’t just a personality takeover; it included the character’s abilities and skills. While watching superhero anime didn’t grant me superpowers, watching action movies gave me access to the characters’ fighting techniques. I’d almost killed a group of bullies who used to torment me. Ironically, the night before, I’d accidentally watched a movie about a hitman slaughtering people after his dog was killed.

At least I retained some control back then. This time, I’m a full-blown psychopath.

A notorious serial killer who took the lives of fifty people in Korea. That was the role I was now inhabiting.

But…

“Hmm?”

Something was different. Why could I control my body?

I felt a strange disconnect. Usually, my actions would be dictated by the character’s consciousness. That was the nature of the syndrome. But not this time.

“I can speak freely, and move without any resistance…”

The handcuffs were still there, but they felt insignificant. My initial panic subsided as I searched for a reason.

“Could it be because it’s a script and not a video?”

The characters in dramas, anime, and movies were portrayed by actors. What I experienced was the character as performed—something that existed, however briefly, in reality.

But a script? It was lifeless, inert. A story yet to be brought to life.

And a character yet to be played…by me.

“Does that mean I can control it?”

This was incredible. For the first time, I had control over the syndrome that had always controlled me. My consciousness, usually hijacked, was now my own. Then, the character’s life began to flow into me.

A sensation that would normally fill me with dread, uncertain of the changes it would bring. But this was different.

It’s not a change of consciousness, just observation.

Like reading a webnovel or a comic book. No matter how much I read, my own consciousness remained intact. It was the same now.

I looked around. The world was reasonably clear, though not as vivid as reality. I knew what this meant, from experience.

“Popularity and completion.”

The better the writing, the clearer the overall framework. The higher the popularity, the finer the details became.

For example, the overall framework was the interrogation room I was in, while the finer details included the handcuffs.

“The interrogation room is pretty realistic, but the handcuffs aren’t quite there yet.”

Did that mean the drama prioritized popularity over quality? I silently offered Taehyuk my condolences.

If it’s this well-made, it’ll probably get at least 10% viewership. Too bad he’ll miss it.

He was hospitalized, so it couldn’t be helped. Anyway, should I lower my guard?

The serial killer’s memories were trying to invade my consciousness. To leave this place, I needed to accept them. I carefully lowered the shield protecting my mind.

The memories began to flood in.

• I’m so bored. How much longer do I have to sit in this squeaky chair, typing away, getting yelled at by that fat-ass manager?
• What? A child molester was released from prison? …Should I just kill him? If he moves next door, my property value will plummet. Besides, he’s scum, right?
• HAHAHA! This is it! This is what it feels like to be alive! He’s a piece of trash who raped a kid!
• Why are you fighting back? If you break the law, you should be prepared to die.
• What? You stole bread because you were hungry? Don’t give me that crap. You’re trash.
• They saw me? Oh no! I can’t get caught now! I can quit drinking, but I can never quit killing!
• You damn cops! Die! Die! Die!!
• Ha… Is this the end? Rotting away in prison? In that case…should I take these guys with me?

The notorious serial killer, who stabbed his cellmates to death with sharpened toothbrushes, chose suicide. It was the end of a demon whose twisted beliefs led him to murder innocent people. Every moment was now etched into my mind.

“…He’s just a piece of garbage trying to seem like he has a tragic backstory. Killing people because life is boring? He’s insane.”

The brief glimmer of a dark hero vanished after the child molester incident. After that, it was all about the thrill of the kill. There was no justice, no conviction, in his actions. It was only natural.

He was a psychopath addicted to pleasure. That life, processed and refined, was now absorbed into me. A tool I could wield at will, without any side effects.

I walked. The scenery changed, and I stood before a mirror. Blood splattered the surroundings. The detective’s body was riddled with holes. I stared at my reflection.

A pale young man with narrow eyes stared back. His cheeks were smeared with crimson. The narrow eyes widened, revealing blood-red pupils in the mirror. I embraced the persona of the notorious serial killer.

“Nice. These eyes.”

I grinned.

“D-dad…”

Ji Yeonwoo, wearing a school uniform with a name tag that read “—High,” stood at the doorway. My wrists were cuffed, immobile. I picked up a plastic toothbrush from the side.

Scrape!

The toothbrush grated against the sink, sharpening into a crude blade.

Time to go.

“Sorry, kid.”

I aimed the toothbrush at my throat. The makeshift blade sliced through my carotid artery. As the world faded into the embrace of death, I closed my eyes.

And returned to reality.

Kang Junho observing himself.

Footnotes:

¹ 대포 (daepo): Cannon. Often used colloquially to describe something large or powerful.
² 쪽대본 (jjokdaebon): Sides. A small portion of a script containing only the scenes relevant to a particular actor.