Chapter 4 – Continuous Nightmare (4)

Cough! Cough!

Writer Kim Yerin, hospitalized in a private room, continued coughing. Even when she forcibly placed her hands on the keyboard, her fingers had no strength.

“Ugh! I’m dying~”

She wanted to write down the inspirations popping up in her head. But her flu-ridden body absolutely refused to follow her will. Giving up on writing the scenario, she surrendered her body to the hospital bed. Though not as good as her bed at home, it was sufficient for her tired body to collapse on.

“Mm, mm.”

Just as she was about to dream of donuts growing wings and flying into her mouth, someone roughly opened the door and came in.

Rattle!

“Writer Kim!”

“Hueeet! PD Cho?”

Director Cho Makdun entered with an extremely excited face. Startled by the loud noise, she jumped like a rabbit.

“Wh-what’s the matter so suddenly? And I’ve told you many times to knock before entering! You’re barging in again!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. It was such an urgent matter that I didn’t have time to knock.”

Kim Yerin slightly frowned at Cho Makdun’s apologetic but sly smile. What on earth could be so important that he’d ignore her words and enter without knocking?

“If it’s not something important, you’ll have to bring me two boxes of 6 strawberry donuts.”

She was craving them anyway. Being sick made her desperate for something sweet.

“I knew you’d say that, so I prepared something.”

He pulled out a box of donuts he had hidden behind his back. It contained 6 flame donuts.

“Hmm! They’re not strawberry donuts, but I’ll forgive you this time.”

Kim Yerin quickly hid the box of donuts Cho Makdun handed over behind her back. She looked like a squirrel hiding acorns in its mouth.

“So what’s the matter? Why are you so excited?”

“This can’t be explained in words. Just look at this, Writer Kim.”

Is this what they mean by ‘seeing is believing’? He thrust his phone in front of her eyes. The paused video showed a handcuffed man being escorted by detectives.

Cho Makdun unpaused the video.

It took less than a second after the video started for her to be drawn in. The 5-minute video that felt like 3 seconds ended. There was no special editing. Just a video shot with a camera. A pure state without any seasoning.

And yet.

“Who is this actor? This is neither method acting nor calculated performance.”

It’s not learned acting. Free acting unconstrained by standards. Most of this kind of acting doesn’t even surpass the wall of amateurs.

Because it’s an acting method that purely follows talent. Unless it’s an unbelievable talent, it’s impossible to surpass the wall of professionals. That was common sense and natural. Kim Yerin didn’t deviate from that common sense.

But…

He pulled out the character from the script. No, he put on the character’s mask and made it completely his own.

She couldn’t take her eyes off for even a moment. A video that’s just about crossing through reporters and boarding a transport train. Such a video drew the interest of Kim Yerin, who was known for being picky.

“How is it? Amazing, right?”

Amazing…. I’m not sure if that word alone can define it. While deviating from conventional acting methods, he was closer to the goal than anyone else. No, he had surpassed it.

She could be certain without even seeing it in person.

“If we put this out as is, won’t it completely overshadow the lead actors?”

She popped a plain donut she had taken out into her mouth. Ah, it’s good and sweet.

Her fuzzy mind cleared up as if being pumped. The scene she had just watched came back vividly.

The red eyes glaring at the child actor at the end. When his eyes were narrowed, he had a gentle and handsome face, but as soon as he opened his eyes, the atmosphere completely changed. Like a devil wearing the mask of an ordinary person.

As filming continues, various scenes will come out. Among them are scenes where she poured her heart and soul.

She had focused on recruiting top actors for the lead roles, so scenes beyond expectations could come out. But after seeing this video, she felt doubtful.

Can there really be scenes that can overshadow this?

It was instantly imprinted in her mind. Those languid red eyes tinged with murderous intent. Isn’t it like a vampire hidden among humans? If he had long fangs, she would have prepared a silver stake for self-defense.

She remembered the words of the mustached man who once made jokes, no, sacred jokes about religious people.

— One who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.

In other words. If you deal with monsters, won’t you become a monster too? Goosebumps covered her entire body.

The protagonists exchanging scenes on equal footing with the person who performed this acting.

One is not enough. But what about two?

Her imagination blossomed infinitely. Like a cherry blossom tree welcoming spring.

Her fingers repeatedly played the video. No matter how many times she watched.

Rewound and watched again. Jo Danseok was there.

“Kim….. you…?”

“Writer Kim! Are you okay?”

Ah, I woke up.

“So… you want to revise the script, right?”

“Yeah. If I send this actor’s video, they’ll understand too. At least anyone working in the broadcasting industry would know how unbelievable this video is.”

“That’s right. But please contact Nam Gungmin first. Tell him the script will likely change a lot.”

“Alright. Oh, are you going to start writing now?”

“If I can lie still after seeing that, I wouldn’t be a writer.”

An actor breaking through the screen. If it’s impossible to forcibly control that, there’s only one way. His opponents must also break through the screen.

“If we can’t suppress it, we can only raise the others.”

She opened a folder and took out the setting book. The settings of the characters in <Continuous Nightmare> spread out on the laptop screen.

We need to touch up Ji Yeonwoo and Jo Danseok, but there’s something more important than that.

A character she couldn’t pay much attention to due to the low romance ratio. The female lead, Go Eunchan. A main character, but not much different from a supporting role.

“Let’s put that aside for now.”

She touched up Jo Danseok with a mischievous smile. First, his role needs to be increased to at least a major supporting character.

“Hehe… This is a piece of cake.”

15 years as a writer.

Tap tap tap! Tap tap tap tap tap!!!

The laptop of Kim Yerin, master of genre dramas, screamed. And 20 minutes later.

“Gack!”

Kim Yerin was thoroughly defeated by the flu. It was a glorious end.

“Donu-u-ut.”

Of course, she didn’t die.

#

“Huaaah…”

Thud.

I threw my body onto the bed. The studio apartment bed received me softly.

Creak.

With a slightly dangerous sound. I didn’t care and rolled around on the bed. Ah, I couldn’t really roll.

It wasn’t wide enough to roll. Thinking about rolling, I rubbed my face.

“Is this what drama filming is like?”

It’s an emotion I’ve never felt before. If my life so far was 70%, it feels like I’ve found the remaining 30% today. I reached for the remote control placed at the head of the bed. The smooth plastic body was pulled over.

Click.

The TV turned on as the power button was pressed.

“Director Cho Makdun and Writer Kim Yerin, was it?”

Names written in the script. I clicked the remote to type in the names.

“Oh? They’ve worked on many projects together?”

Except for a few works, they’ve never been apart. Moreover, none of the works they did separately were even moderately successful. Do PDs and writers usually work together this much? It’s intriguing.

I turned on a crime thriller drama similar to <Continuous Nightmare>.

There wasn’t anything particularly special about it. You could say it’s full of clichés. But.

It’s interesting.

It’s not a tiresome taste, but a satisfying taste like rice soup. Although there’s nothing special about the story, the detailed settings are interesting. Especially the individuality of the characters.

Those individualities were sprinkling MSG on the cliché-ridden story.

“As expected, is it okay to watch dramas now?”

………

Thump!

My heart is racing.

Thump!

I scrolled down with the remote control. Countless works unfolded before my eyes.

Ah.

Now I feel alive.

It’s the refreshing feeling of being able to breathe freely after being suffocated since my parents passed away. My stifled heart started beating again.

I love dramas. I love movies, and I adore animations. I used to be like that.

— Aaaaah! No!!

Until I lost my parents to a 15-ton truck driving in the wrong direction on the highway. Until the truck driver’s blood alcohol level was 0.3. Until I saw all of that from the back seat.

I barely survived, but I was left alone. My relatives weren’t interested in me, they only thought about taking the money my parents had saved. What saved me from that was.

‘Hey! Is this what family members should say in front of a child!’

Park Taehyuk’s mother who burst into the funeral. She had rushed over as soon as Park Taehyuk informed her of my situation. Despite the beads of sweat on her forehead, her spirit made the relatives retreat.

Thanks to her, I was able to escape from my disgusting relatives. But after taking just a few steps, I realized the reality. Because the parents who used to hold my hands were no longer there.

I cried. I sat on the ground and cried miserably. It felt like I had been thrown alone into the world.

The only fence that protected me from the cold world had disappeared. Fear and loneliness strangled me.

A child nobody wanted. That was my situation, having lost my family. Ah, it wasn’t that nobody wanted me.

‘I can’t say we’ll raise you like family. I’m not into giving false hope. But we’ll take care of you until you become an adult. Won’t you live with us?’

‘We can at least take care of a friend’s son. Don’t worry!’

Even though my own blood had abandoned me, it was my friend’s family that accepted me. However, trauma doesn’t disappear in an instant. The works my parents had created.

Beyond that, I became unable to watch any media. My affection became too intense and turned into an obsession. To the point of inserting the characters into my own body.

That trauma has disappeared. To the point where I can watch and enjoy dramas.

“Hahaha!”

I love these works. It feels like I’ve finally reclaimed that.

The laughter stops.

I blankly turned on a drama. I paid for the monthly subscription with the money deposited in my account and turned on a drama. When one episode ends, I move on to the next, and when a series ends, I move on to the next work. I moved the remote control as if possessed.

Just as I was about to start the third work.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Vibrations rang out from my phone. I reached out and fumbled on the bed, but couldn’t grab anything. Only after lifting the blanket did I find the vibrating phone.

“It’s a call.”

I checked the name on the screen.

[Bastard.]

The love-hate guy who sent me as a one-day stand-in was calling.

Footnotes:

1. PD: Short for “Producer Director,” a common term in Korean entertainment industry for someone who both produces and directs.
2. This quote is from Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil,” often used to caution against becoming what you fight against.
3. Rice soup: In Korean culture, rice soup (or “juk”) is often considered a comforting, easy-to-eat food, especially when one is sick.
4. MSG: Monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer often used in Asian cuisine. Here it’s used metaphorically to suggest the characters add extra flavor to the story.