Chapter 57: CUT. Like a Russian Doll (2)
by fnovelpia
“Like Russian dolls……”
The half-conscious narrator said.
Her resolve to keep the truth had long been compromised by Uwe Boll.
The president asked.
“Russian doll? You mean a Matryoshka?”
“Yes… Exactly that. There’s a doll inside a doll, and inside that doll, another doll……”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“You are merely spectators watching the video of the axe murderer… but there is another audience observing this world. And another audience observing that world.”
Movies connected realities in a chain, endlessly tailing one after another, leading to countless realities.
Thus, even in reality, protagonists like the axe murderers exist, watched by audiences from another world.
To those audiences, our reality is just a backdrop in a movie.
Yet, in the reality where that audience lives, there are protagonists too.
And of course, there are other audiences watching them……
It was an endless loop.
Naturally, it was a hard story to believe.
The president’s eyes widened.
“So, you’re saying reality isn’t real, it’s just a movie, and I’m an actor who doesn’t know he’s an actor? Like Truman?”
“I’m not sure if you’re the protagonist… but there are definitely audiences watching this reality as a movie.”
“Where’s the camera!? I want to talk to that audience!! I want to show them my movie, my passion!!!”
The president, clenching her fists, jumped up and down, extremely excited.
Clearly, she wasn’t in her right mind.
Relatively sane, Yuna Yeon and Yeoreum were shocked.
Yeoreum, having barely regained his composure, asked the narrator.
“Who’s behind all this?”
“If I tell you, my head will literally explode… It’s a massive spoiler.”
The narrator’s expression was desperate.
Saying her head would explode was no lie.
She had no energy left to lie or hide the truth because of Uwe Boll.
It would have been a waste to kill the narrator right then.
Yeoreum reflected on the videotape.
The world inside it—his original home, the 1980s America.
Reversing the structure the narrator had explained, that place too had its own ‘movie’, a film with another reality as its backdrop.
That movie, in turn, had another movie based on another reality…
Movie within a movie within a movie within a movie within a movie within a movie within a movie…
It was fractal-like, endlessly connected.
Just thinking about it caused a headache.
Suddenly, Yuna Yeon muttered.
“<The Human Centipede> series…”
“<The Human Centipede>?”
“Yes. In each sequel, the previous installment appears as a play within a play.”
Movies linked together like centipedes.
A structurally thematic presentation.
Yuna Yeon then asked the narrator.
“Narrator… why do dead monsters cross over to our world…?”
“That’s called ‘backflow’. Creatures that have fulfilled their mission in the main plot transition into the meta-plot.”
The narrator turned to look at Yeoreum.
“It’s related to the situation you’re in.”
“……”
“Ah. You haven’t told the others yet?”
Indeed. He hadn’t told them yet.
The fact that he had switched places with the original Han Yeoreum, the ’80s axe murderer…
Yuna Yeon was the first to sense something at the narrator’s statement.
“What are you talking about…?”
Even Yuna Yeon, who was close to him, had been kept in the dark.
But now, he had to tell. He could no longer keep it hidden.
Yeoreum calmly revealed the truth he had been concealing.
He also added a heartfelt apology for deceiving her.
At that, the light vanished from Yuna Yeon’s eyes.
Would her expression resemble that of someone whose bones were completely shattered?
It seemed as though her soul had been utterly crushed.
“……Since when?”
“Since when what?”
“Since when have you been imitating Yeoreum and deceiving me?”
Her voice trembled as if she had suffered a deep wound.
“It was in the mansion’s hallway. That’s where I first met you, and I lent you the <Hostel> Blu-ray disc.”
“So it was… Now I understand… That person would never have approached me first to start a conversation……”
Her tone was one of resignation.
The shock seemed to have slightly softened.
“Do you… like horror movies?”
“I do.”
“Do you… like me?”
The question hit him unexpectedly.
He decided to answer honestly.
“…Yes, I like you.”
He definitely liked her.
After all, she had become his first friend.
She would get angry for him, be moved by trivial things, praise him for just drinking a glass of water, and always rescued him when danger approached.
Moreover, he had learned a lot.
Entertaining horror movies, shy dates, delicious food……
Above all, he had learned about a world where one could live without having to kill someone.
A simple ‘thank you’ was far from enough.
“Say it again.”
“I like you.”
Yuna Yeon smiled at his honest answer.
However, it was not a reassuring smile.
It was a twisted, anxious, and sinister smile.
“So, you won’t go back, will you…?”
“What?”
“You’ll stay here, won’t you?”
He was at a loss for words. It was difficult to respond.
The 1980s America… That place remained his true home.
He had to return.
Eventually, he would have to say goodbye to a dear friend.
As he hesitated without giving an answer, Yuna Yeon moved closer.
A shadow fell across Yeoreum’s face.
Her tall stature suddenly felt oppressive.
The gaze looking down at him blazed with indiscernible emotions.
“Answer me.”
“……”
“Answer me,” she demanded.
She extended her long arm and grabbed his shoulder in a rough motion, as if trying to prevent him from escaping.
Her slender fingers tightened, digging into his shoulder.
It was oppressively painful.
“It hurts.”
“A cheater… playing with my feelings… and it hurts?”
“Let go.”
“Answer me first.”
“Ugh……!”
Crack-
His shoulder felt like it might be torn off.
Through the strands of hair hanging over his face, his pale skin and bulging eyes were visible.
His attractive features had twisted grotesquely. She looked like a mad queen.
Unable to bear the pain, Yeoreum spat out a groan, and only then did she release his shoulder.
“……”
Yuna Yeon walked over to a workbench. She clenched her fist and slammed it down hard on the bench.
Crack- The solid plywood shattered like a twig.
It was a release of fury.
Red blood mingled with her white knuckles.
Quietly, Yuna Yeon turned her back and left the room.
The president spoke up.
“Na Yeon, I’ll say goodbye in advance! Have a good afternoon, a good evening, a good night-!!”
It was a greeting in the style of Truman.
The door of the room slammed shut. The hinges broke, and the door fell off.
Yeoreum stood there, staring at the fallen door, struggling to breathe.
Reality within reality.
Movie within a movie.
A murderer within Yeoreum.
Emotion within emotion.
They were all connected.
Like a Russian doll.
Yeoreum was holed up at home.
He sat in front of the TV, endlessly playing videotapes, day and night.
There were no outings or meetings.
He wanted to meet Yuna Yeon but felt it was presumptuous, so he refrained.
In the dark room, with no lights turned on, he just stared blankly at the screen.
Then, one day, after a week had passed, the electricity suddenly went out.
Neither the lights nor the TV would turn on.
It seemed to be a blackout.
He needed to go to the management office.
He went to the entrance and turned the doorknob.
It didn’t open.
The doorknob turned, but the door didn’t move.
It was as if it had been welded shut.
The atmosphere felt eerie.
He drew back the curtains and opened the window. As he looked outside…
“…What?”
He couldn’t believe his eyes.
Iron bars had been installed on the outer window frame, the kind typically seen in prisons.
Thinking he had seen incorrectly, he closed and reopened the window.
The bars were still there.
It was absurd.
He intended to call for help, but his cellphone battery had died.
Since the power was out, he couldn’t charge it.
His home had transformed into a perfect sealed room without a single mouse hole.
He felt as if he were being held captive.
Just then, something slid through the mail chute in the front door.
“This is…”
It was a small cake box.
Yeoreum opened the lid of the box with trembling hands.
“Why did you ask me how to take care of a puppy?”
Lying askew on the sofa, the president picked at some nachos.
Next to her sat the narrator, a dog collar around her slender neck.
“You seemed quite adept at treating me like a dog.”
“That’s not it. Na Yeon is allergic to fur. Why would she want to know how to take care of a puppy?”
The narrator had become the president’s prisoner.
It was unthinkable that a witch would be subdued by a mere college girl, forced into a dog collar…
She had hoped for a rescue, but ultimately, the Alpha team never arrived.
By now, it was reasonable to consider that she had been thrown to the wolves by headquarters.
It was unexpected, but not surprising.
The ‘higher-ups’ wouldn’t hesitate to destroy reality and abandon their comrades for the sake of entertainment.
The narrator had resigned herself to her fate.
A breaking news alert came on the TV.
The male announcer reported breathlessly.
-[Breaking news! A giant monster has appeared in the middle of Seoul! This is not a movie trailer, this is happening in real life…!!]
Soon, the broadcast showed the scene from the city.
Both the narrator and the president’s mouths fell open.
The nachos they were chewing fell out.
Standing amidst dense buildings was… a monster.
A giant creature made half of meat and half of vegetables.
Its body, a stunning mix of red and green, boasted an overwhelming size.
“Wow. Narrator, is that your work?”
“A creature from the backflow being broadcast live… it seems the Alpha team has been wiped out.”
The monster swung its arms, smashing buildings.
It split tall buildings as easily as breaking a chocolate bar.
With every step it took, the ground shook, crushing cars.
It also snatched helicopters buzzing around like flies and blew them up, causing tremendous havoc.
-[An unidentified monster is randomly destroying buildings! We are still trying to determine what’s happening…! The situation is critical! It feels like the tremors are reaching us here!!]
The monster on the screen began to advance towards another building.
-[Ah, that building is going to collapse too…!! We pray for the souls of the departed!]
At that moment, the announcer’s body shook violently.
-[What the…! That’s our building!!! Save us, f*ck!!!!!!]
The wall behind him collapsed.
The monster’s blunt fingers pierced through the space and crushed the announcer. Everything in view was swept away.
Only the tilted camera remained, broadcasting the wall pierced by the monster’s fingers.
Beyond the collapsed wall, the monster was visible.
Its gigantic face was made of vegetables and meat.
The creature let out a bizarre roar.
-[Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!]
Its wings spread wide on its back.
One red wing and one green wing.
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