Chapter 86: CUT. The Night Before

CUT.

“They really planned to kill the protagonist and bury them. What were they thinking with such a crazy plot?”

Joo-Yi laughed as she looked through the script. It was the script the narrator had.

The setting was 1980s America. Characters included Summer, the Strode women, the Hyper sisters, Ishikawa Reiko, and others.

Even though it only described the characters’ expected actions and the narration the narrator would recite, it was quite lengthy.

Joo-Yi flipped through the thick stack of papers quickly.

“The next episode is a complete mess too. That director over there must be quite a wreck~.”

“You’re not one to talk.”

The narrator said.

She resembled a snow woman with her icy gaze.

“You shouldn’t get too immersed in the movie. If you go on a rampage like the former director, this reality is doomed.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t go around swinging a chainsaw at someone while wearing an owl mask. I’m more of a B-movie type than a slasher film type. You know, like Troma or Full Moon Features.”

“No.”

The narrator turned her gaze to the large screen.

The paused screen was connected to the ‘other reality’ of 1980s America.

The dimly lit space shown was the studio the other director had set up on the first floor of Ellen’s house.

At the end of scene #14, the Strode women and Summer had discovered it.

It was the director’s intention.

“What do they plan to do…”

W is a gathering of witches.

They know the layered structure of realities and create lower realities as stages to provide entertainment for audiences in higher realities.

The studio was W’s command center.

Joo-Yi and the narrator were gathered here, in a studio located in the basement of a closed video rental store.

After the former director’s chainsaw massacre, no other witches remained.

The narrator had to take on multiple roles. So did Joo-Yi.

Now, Joo-Yi was W’s new director.

“Witches aren’t born. They are made…”

Joo-Yi smiled and picked up a pen.

She stabbed the pen into the center of her palm.

When she pulled it out, the small hole in her palm quickly healed.

It was a healing ability far beyond human levels.

“I feel like a superhero.”

“The closer you get to the boundary between realities, the farther you get from the boundary of death.”

“Like a protagonist buff?”

“Something like that. Audiences don’t want the protagonist to die. Such desires naturally influence causality.”

“But I’m not the protagonist.”

“The creator receives an even greater buff.”

A witch’s vitality is persistent.

Of course, if a giant monster stomped on them like it did to the former director (Yeoreum’s father), there’s not much you can do.

Joo-Yi leaned back and stretched. She spun the chair around.

Behind the studio, all sorts of monsters from the 1980s American world were displayed like mannequins.

“I didn’t expect this. That all these fierce creatures would be so easily hypnotized.”

“Being easily hypnotized might be a characteristic of theirs.”

“Just say it’s due to my talent.”

“……”

“When these monsters die here, do they flow back up to the higher worlds?”

“Yes.”

When they die in the lower reality, they move to the upper reality. When they die there, they go to the next upper reality…

They ascend infinitely.

“They’re being recycled.”

“Recycled?”

“They are disassembled, reassembled plausibly, and given a story that fits the causality of this reality. That’s how new creatures are born.”

Arranging—the director’s duty.

Of course, Joo-Yi had no problem with this. She was also a special effects makeup expert.

She had already created a gorilla clown. She was a prepared director.

Joo-Yi walked to the back.

She picked up the sawblade of the sawtooth shark she had prepared in advance.

The materials were sufficient. Who should she modify first?

If she put the saw on the nose, she could make Pinocchio; if she put it on the arm, she could create a mantis.

It was time to unleash the creativity that had been suppressed by reality.

An army was being formed.

—
Raei  Translations
—

“…I can’t believe it.”

Yuna mumbled as she lay in bed.

She was thinking about Joo-Yi.

She recalled the night the submarine sank.

Joo-Yi suddenly announced she was becoming the director of W and was going to make movies.

Although she didn’t mention it, it seemed she had lured the saw shark and Nazi face.

“She’s really a crazy woman… I can never understand such a lunatic. Right, Yeoreum?”

Yuna looked at Yeoreum’s face. It was a photo, not the real thing.

The walls were covered with photos of Yeoreum. The drawers held items she had secretly taken from him.

It was a creepy interior.

Yuna’s clumsy love progressed in this manner.

“Seeing the pictures makes me want to see him in person…”

So she did.

She put her eye to a small hole in the wall. It was a peephole connected to the house next door, where Yeoreum lived.

Luckily, Yeoreum hadn’t noticed it yet.

Yuna giggled and began her visual feast.

Yeoreum was working out.

He must have felt a sense of urgency after what happened on the submarine.

He was struggling through push-ups. His form was so awkward he looked like a newborn puppy.

“Hah… so cute…!”

She wanted to run over and hug him.

But she held back. If she did that, Yeoreum would despise her.

Yeoreum looked satisfied after doing just five push-ups. Given how weak he was, it was an achievement.

He wiped the sweat from his smooth forehead.

Yeoreum’s sweat… such a precious thing…

Yuna swallowed hard.

After finishing her peep session, Yuna prepared to go out. She needed to go to the convenience store.

She stepped out of the house and left the complex.

As she entered an alley, she sensed someone following her.

Who could it be?

She turned her head and saw someone trailing her.

Upon meeting her gaze, he quickly hid with a startled sound.

It was Yeoreum, wearing a hood. He thought she hadn’t recognized him.

How cute…

Yuna’s eyes curved into crescents. She suppressed her giggles.

She used to stalk him… Is this what they call gender reversal…?

Why was he following her?

Her heart pounded with excitement. She was thrilled that Yeoreum was paying attention to her.

Pretending not to notice the obvious stalker, Yuna continued walking.

There was a corner up ahead.

She slipped around it and hid behind a utility pole.

Yeoreum arrived a moment later. When he didn’t see her, he looked confused.

“Huh? Where did she go?”

As he approached the utility pole, looking around, Yuna jumped out.

Yeoreum screamed.

“Ahhh…!!!”

“Hehe, gotcha.”

Yeoreum clutched his chest in surprise.

“You scared me… Yuna, what do you think you’re doing?!”

“What are you doing, Yeoreum? Why were you following me? Huh?”

“Following you? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just going to the convenience store.”

He spoke brazenly, but it was obvious he was lying.

They went to the convenience store together. Yuna paid for Yeoreum’s items as well.

They walked out side by side.

The streets, painted red by the sunset, were lengthening. It was getting warmer, too.

Yuna took two ice creams from the bag and enjoyed the coolness with Yeoreum.

As they walked closely, their hands brushed against each other.

Usually, Yeoreum would flinch and pull his hand back.

But today, he stayed still. Seizing the moment, Yuna grabbed Yeoreum’s hand.

The warmth and slight sweat in her hand were overwhelmingly pleasant.

Yeoreum also liked the feel of Yuna’s soft, white hand, but he didn’t show it.

“Yuna, you’re… staying calm even in this situation.”

“I’m not calm. My heart is pounding like crazy…!”

“That’s not what I meant. We never know when more strange things will come. Reality might collapse.”

“It’s okay. I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Yes. All the creatures and weird phenomena we’ve encountered are from horror movies, right? So we just need to watch a lot of horror movies…”

When it comes to things related to W, everything is based on horror movies.

Since the scenarios don’t stray far from horror movie plots, knowing the rules of horror movies is key.

The rules presented in <Scream> are:

-No s*x

-No alcohol or drugs

-Never say, ‘I’ll be right back’

“The most important thing is to stay pure. The more of a virgin you are, the higher your survival rate…”

“The higher your survival rate if you’re a virgin. I guess I won’t die then.”

“What are you talking about, Yeoreum? You’re not a virgin.”

“What?”

“Oh… you don’t remember because you were hypnotized…”

“?”

As Yeoreum’s expression stiffened, Yuna laughed and said it was a joke.

Though it wasn’t really a joke.

There are other rules as well:

Never split up from the group.

Don’t go near where a meteor has fallen.

Listen to warnings from children and the elderly.

If you see an ominous sign, turn back.

If you knock down a killer, make sure to confirm they are dead. And so on.

Mastering these rules like a sage significantly reduces the risk of danger.

So, watch a lot of horror movies and analyze them thoroughly.

With Yeoreum…

Thinking this, Yuna walked back home with Yeoreum.

This was the night before the festival.

—