Chapter 9 – Continuous Nightmare (8)

I sat in the chair, looking at the mirror. My smooth, firm white skin was reflected.

It felt somewhat strange to think that this face would soon transform into Jo Danseok, the 40-year-old serial killer.

“I’m going to start.”

The makeup artist said as she carefully applied cream to my face.

“It might feel a bit cold. But don’t move your face. We might have to reapply if you do.”

As she said, a cool sensation rose.

It was slightly irritating, but not uncomfortable.

“Today, I’ll make you look a bit older.”

The makeup artist’s hands covered my face.

I took in my reflection in the mirror.

The vitality was slowly disappearing from my face.

The makeup artist started drawing fake wrinkles around my eyes and mouth.

Each time her hand touched my skin, wrinkles appeared, making me feel as if I was in accelerated time.

I felt something changing little by little in my heart.

Traces of youth gradually disappeared, and I started to look like someone who had lived a long life committing crimes.

But it wasn’t just about looking older.

An unknown strength and cruelty.

Though the appearance was clearly aged, it didn’t feel weak.

Not weakened, but perhaps more experienced?

“I need to add more shadow under the eyes. Could you close your eyes for a moment?”

I closed my eyes at her words.

I felt something sticking to my eyes.

It felt like tape was being attached under my eyes.

“Done! Would you like to check?”

I slowly opened my eyes at her words.

With the added shadows, my face looked more tired and darker.

In that short time, 25-year-old Kang Junho had transformed into 42-year-old Jo Danseok.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I remembered Jo Danseok’s character setting.

I applied that setting to my appearance.

“…It still seems lacking.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jo Danseok ended up in prison without being able to kill Ji Yeonwoo. The lips seem too lively.”

Of course, compared to before the makeup, the color had faded.

There was a slightly dry feeling, but compared to Jo Danseok’s story, it felt insufficient.

The makeup artist, who fell into thought for a moment at my words, made a decision.

“You’re right. I’ll make the lips look a bit drier.”

The completed face.

The face in the mirror wasn’t mine.

It was the face of Jo Danseok, smiling cruelly, unaffected by the murders he had committed.

I twitched my facial muscles.

I gave a slight smile towards the face in the mirror.

A cold, calm smile naturally appeared.

The door opened and a staff member’s voice was heard.

“We’re all ready! Actor Kang Junho, please come out quickly!”

“Okay.”

I finished my response and stood up.

My body was still light, but my face was Jo Danseok’s.

I looked in the mirror one last time and muttered inwardly.

I am Jo Danseok.

Whispering as if brainwashing myself, I went outside.

As the door closed, the makeup artist, left alone, sat down.

“Is, is that the acting of a rookie actor in their first work?”

Recalling Kang Junho, the makeup artist suddenly shuddered.

A chill ran through her body, leaving a creepy feeling.

That was clearly the smile of a murderer. Not lacking, not excessive, just that kind of smile.

Having worked in this industry for a long time, she knew well.

That actors who could bring up emotions like that at once were rare.

And that there were almost no actors who could switch out of the role as if turning off a switch.

The actor just now had done both with ease.

Whoever he was, the other actors would have to work hard.

If they didn’t want to be devoured.

#

The air in the visiting room was cold.

The familiar smell of prison was noticeable, but today I felt a greater pleasure in that air.

The door opened and Ji Taehyuk’s son entered.

Ji Yeonwoo, was it?

His face was filled with hatred.

That hatred, the burning emotion directed at me, must have led him here.

But today was different.

He hadn’t come simply for revenge for his father.

There was some other purpose.

I could sense that purpose.

As he faced me, I smiled slightly.

Before he could sit down, I spoke.

“You’re here again.”

My voice was low and relaxed.

I waited for his reaction.

Ji Yeonwoo held back his words.

I looked at him with determined eyes and took the initiative.

“The copycat.”

Ji Yeonwoo’s face froze coldly.

I spoke again, pleased at his reaction.

“You’ve come to ask about the copycat, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

He spoke shortly and strongly.

“He’s following your methods exactly. Did you know?”

“No, because that’s not a copycat.”

I smirked.

How could this dull policeman understand art?

Art is something that looks similar but is different.

How could a person who sees that art as just a simple crime understand it?

Just like now.

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me! Do you know who it is?”

I could roughly guess his intention.

But I didn’t know it would stimulate Ji Yeonwoo this much.

It was interesting.

“How could I? How could I know anything while locked up in this stifling prison? And.”

I raised the right corner of my mouth as I looked at Ji Yeonwoo.

My expression was reflected in the glass window.

It was clearly a sneer.

“You’re still emotional, unable to move on from that day. Kid.”

“You bastard…”

He raises his fist.

Is he going to pointlessly hit this glass window again?

I leisurely waited for the collision.

“Hoo…”

“Oh?”

He endured.

He raised his fist but couldn’t bring himself to hit the glass.

He just glared with murderous eyes.

“You’ve changed.”

He had changed a lot.

In the past, he would have swung his fist without being able to control himself.

What kind of mental change had taught this guy patience?

I smiled, looking straight into Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

I said lightly.

“If it were the past, you would have already cracked this glass window.”

He tightly closed his mouth and glared at me.

The anger was still in his eyes, but patience had been added.

It wouldn’t be bad to give a gift to a child who has improved.

“Do you know about the copycat?”

Ji Yeonwoo asked directly.

His voice was cold.

I slowly shook my head.

“Copycat?”

I smiled.

“The person you’re talking about might have imitated me, but he’s different from me.”

He didn’t waver even after hearing my words.

He already knew something about this copycat.

No, he seemed to want to know more.

“Explain how that guy followed your methods so perfectly.”

Ji Yeonwoo was resolute.

I looked at him, sighing.

“Perfectly?”

I asked back.

“Do you think that’s perfect?”

Ji Yeonwoo stared at me without moving.

As if he already knew the answer.

“The angle of the neck cut, the depth of the knife, even the way the body was arranged. It was all exactly your method.”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

It was amusing that he had come all this way to ask these questions.

“Hahaha! Yes, that person might have imitated me. But there’s something you don’t know, Ji Yeonwoo.”

I leaned forward.

“That person can never be like me. My method isn’t just simple imitation, it’s thought. It’s a way of thinking, philosophy, art.”

Ji Yeonwoo stared at me silently.

He was listening to my story without a word.

His expression was still hard.

What he really wanted to know was something else.

“Why?”

He asked.

I realized what his question meant.

Now it’s time to get to the main point.

“You want to know why that guy is imitating me?”

I smiled.

“It’s not simply that he wants to be like me. That person wants to surpass me. To become a more perfect judge than me.”

Ji Yeonwoo’s expression hardened slightly.

I didn’t miss his reaction.

He might have already anticipated this answer.

“So that’s why he recreated the crimes exactly.”

Ji Yeonwoo said.

I nodded.

“That person’s goal isn’t to become like me.”

I whispered lowly.

“That person is trying to deny me and prove himself as a greater being than me.”

Ji Yeonwoo was silent for a moment.

He seemed to be contemplating something.

I felt that he was beginning to understand the copycat.

“But.”

I continued.

“For that person to surpass me, he’ll need an obstacle like you. Only by overcoming you can he become perfect.”

I was stopped by this guy’s father.

That detective turned into blood by my hands, so the one the copycat needs to overcome is this guy in front of me.

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes grew cold.

He reacted to the words I threw.

I watched his change, holding back my laughter.

“You’re going to try to stop that person, right?”

I said.

“But remember this. That person is looking further ahead than you think.”

Ji Yeonwoo didn’t answer.

He glared at me one last time and stood up.

I spoke as I watched his back.

“Don’t die, Ji Yeonwoo. Make me greater.”

“Stop spouting bullshit. You’re both just psychopathic killers.”

Bang!

The iron door of the visiting room closed loudly.

With the thunderous sound, Ji Yeonwoo disappeared.

“Survive. Survive and catch that arrogant bastard. And then die by my hands.”

So that I can become even greater.

“Cut!”