episode_0059

From the airing of episode 12 of “The Predator,” rewinding time back to after Gil Hye-yeon’s astounding filming.

Seo Yi-soo pondered about acting every day.

He wanted to repay Gil Hye-yeon for showing him the way in acting that he should pursue.

However, there was hardly any progress.

Instead, he was lost in confusion.

He knew that he couldn’t act like Gil Hye-yeon by continuing what he had been doing.

Something had to change, Yi-soo knew that.

But he couldn’t figure out what needed to change.

In this frustrating state, time passed by.

As the filming progressed, Haesoo’s character’s lines were being used up every day.

With each passing day.

Before he knew it, the opportunities had almost run out.

The final filming day was approaching.

“What should I do…”

Yi-soo collapsed on the sofa in the waiting room.

Twisting and turning, but no answer came to him.

Just a sense of frustration and helplessness.

“…”

Is this okay?

Yi-soo pondered.

Lost in his thoughts, Yi-soo’s acting skills were also suffering.

Although everyone didn’t say anything because he had been doing well…

As someone sensitive to others’ emotions, Yi-soo keenly felt their disappointment.

It was to be expected.

With “The Predator” stuck in front of the 11% viewership wall.

In this situation, Yi-soo not being able to deliver his part properly was problematic in many ways.

“Should I give up.”

Gil Hye-yeon said.

There was no need to push himself to show a better side during filming.

Yi-soo’s current confusion was something that naturally required a long time.

But…

Yi-soo wasn’t trying to completely overcome this wall in this short time.

He just wanted to show even a single step forward for Gil Hye-yeon, who had put in so much effort for him.

Yi-soo was resentful of himself for not even being able to do that.

It didn’t sit well with him.

Really, nothing seemed to go right these days.

Nothing that truly pleased him.

Not just in acting, but in other aspects as well.

“…”

Yi-soo rummaged through his bag and took out a small gift box.

A gift for Shin Ji-hoo.

It was a scarf.

…He still hadn’t given it to her.

It was truly pathetic and pitiful, but.

Yi-soo had his excuses.

Really, without fail.

Shin Ji-hoo always wore the scarf.

If the newly bought scarf needed washing, she would wear a different one.

Because of that, Yi-soo hadn’t been able to bring out the gift for Shin Ji-hoo.

“Darn.”

Yi-soo frowned.

“Anyway, Shin Ji-hoo is a bad guy. Even if others don’t know, Shin Ji-hoo shouldn’t treat me like this.”

Why Shin Ji-hoo shouldn’t behave like that.

Yi-soo didn’t know the answer.

But he instinctively felt that way.

“…”

Yi-soo ran his fingers over the gift box with those thoughts.

He only felt the rough texture of the paper.

But just that made the scarf inside the box vividly come to mind.

It felt strange to imagine Shin Ji-hoo wearing it.

That’s when.

“Caught you?”

“Eek!”

Yi-soo hastily hid the gift box.

Shin Ji-hoo had suddenly opened the door and appeared.

“W-what’s going on? Why are you suddenly appearing like this! Shin Ji-hoo. You, you need to respect my privacy a bit.”

“Suddenly? I knocked beforehand. Since there was no answer, I just opened the door and came in. You’ve been acting weird lately.”

Muttering.

Yi-soo reflexively grabbed Shin Ji-hoo’s neck.

Still, I was wearing that darn scarf.

“…Seriously, how long are you going to keep wearing that scarf?”

“Hehe.”

Seo Eisu grumbled as usual.

But unlike usual, Shin Jihu smiled brightly.

Shin Jihu said, “Why do you want me to take off my scarf?”

“…!”

“If you tell me the reason, I’ll take off the scarf right now.”

“…”

Seo Eisu was momentarily speechless.

Tell him the reason.

What reason?

Seo Eisu looked at Shin Jihu in bewilderment.

He was smiling brightly, looking down at Seo Eisu.

“Why are you acting like this?”

Tell me quickly.

He was pressing Seo Eisu.

The reason…

Of course, it was to give a gift.

“W-why would there be a different reason?”

Seo Eisu somehow couldn’t bring himself to say the reason.

It felt like something that shouldn’t be said.

If he let the reason slip even a little…

It seemed like something terrible would happen.

In the end, Seo Eisu couldn’t say anything and just had to fiddle with his fingers.

Tick, tick went his fingernails hitting each other.

Even though Seo Eisu was in such a pitiful state.

Shin Jihu looked up for a moment and said mockingly, “Oh, really? Well, then I guess I have no choice. I’ll continue wearing the scarf from now on.”

“Ugh!”

In the end, Seo Eisu burst into tears.

“Why are you so mean? Why are you acting like this?”

“Hehe.”

“Stop laughing!”

He just kept smiling brightly.

While someone was dying inside.

Seo Eisu really hated Shin Jihu for that.

He wanted to hit him so badly.

But suddenly, Shin Jihu reached out his hand.

Seo Eisu involuntarily tensed up.

Shin Jihu patted Seo Eisu’s head with the hand he reached out.

“It’s a joke.”

“…”

“I won’t wear it tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Seo Eisu was a little confused.

He couldn’t understand why Shin Jihu suddenly acted like this.

Fortunately, the question was soon answered.

“I heard it from Actress Gil Hye-yeon. You have concerns.”

“…”

“I won’t wear the scarf tomorrow. So, don’t worry too much and do what you want.”

The production team might hope that Seo Eisu just does his part without trying too hard.

But I’m your manager.

I support your challenges and efforts.

Shin Jihu said that.

“So, just think about how brightly you can shine in your acting. Got it?”

“Y-yes. I got it. I understand.”

Even though Seo Eisu didn’t say a word about the reason why Shin Jihu shouldn’t wear the scarf, he felt much more embarrassed than that.

“Shin Jihu.”

And at the same time, Seo Eisu was grateful to Shin Jihu.

He thought he was really lucky.

“Thank you so much.”

“Huh?”

“You came to comfort me because I looked troubled, right? I’m really grateful.”

Coming to Earth, maybe he could get closer to other people.

Maybe he could get closer to someone like Yoo Haneul, the female lead of , first.

If that had happened, Seo Eisu wouldn’t be as innocent as he is now.

By opening his heart to Shin Jihu first.

By Yoo Haneul reaching out to him first.

That’s why Seo Eisu can be who he is now.

Seo Eisu thought that the flow of cause and effect was really amazing.

In fact, it wasn’t just Shin Jihu and Gil Hye-yeon.

When Seo Eisu was struggling with worries and feeling discouraged.

The people who reached out to him at that time were not just them.

It was what happened yesterday.

“Seo Eisu.”

Bae Dong-geun spoke to her. “You seem to have a lot on your mind these days. You seem to be feeling a lot of pressure.”

“Um, there is that aspect. I feel really sorry for causing trouble…”

“No. You don’t need to apologize at all. Um, saying things like that, it’s quite cool. I’m really grateful to Seo Ei Soo.”

“….?”

“I’ve been lonely on set for a long time. Seo Ei Soo suggested we have mango shaved ice together. So, I could feel a little less lonely.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So, even though it’s small, I want to repay you. Words alone don’t really reach people, so I’ll show it through actions.”

With that, Bae Dong Geun said and went to Lee Hyun Sung, who would be acting together in the upcoming scene.

“Lee Hyun Sung.”

“Yes? Sunbaenim, what’s the matter?”

“…Let’s stop being so formal now.”

“…!”

“The synergy that comes out when there’s a friendship. Let’s try it this time.”

Bae Dong Geun made a proposal to Lee Hyun Sung.

To change the relationship that had been strictly senior-junior in the industry for a long time.

And to try acting differently because of that.

That was the proposal.

Lee Hyun Sung didn’t know why Bae Dong Geun had made this decision.

But as an actor, he quite liked senior Bae Dong Geun.

Lee Hyun Sung smiled broadly.

“Ah… Finally, it’ll be a bit more comfortable. Hyung! Do you know how frustrated I’ve been all this time? I couldn’t even call you ‘hyung’. Huh? You know that, right? The ‘hobugyeongja’? That.”

“…It’s like calling each other ‘brother’.”

“Oh, is that it?”

“…It’s a way of speaking to commemorate becoming closer. How about we all go back to elementary school with Seo Ei Soo once?”

“This hyung… There are things that can be said and things that can’t. You’re comparing me to Seo Ei Soo, not someone else.”

They became even closer through small talk.

And through that, they soon displayed a kind of ad-lib in the filming.

Criminal Hunter, Episode 12.

The serial killer they caught in Episode 8 had an important clue leading to the real culprit.

It was the key to a certain secret safe.

Inside that safe was a mobile phone with the real culprit’s contact information stored, and the Criminal Hunters headed to the safe deposit box to get it.

Now, the real culprit was fully aware of the existence of the Criminal Hunters.

The real culprit hired many violent gangs to attack the Criminal Hunters.

In contrast, they were only four allies. And two of them, Gil Hye Yeon and Seo Ei Soo, were women.

In this situation, Han Sung (Bae Dong Geun) stepped forward.

“I’ll take care of this place. You ladies run away.”

Offering to sacrifice himself.

Jun Sung (Lee Hyun Sung) opened his mouth in disbelief.

“Sir. Are you crazy? How are you going to stop them alone? It’s better to send Do Yeon and Hae Soo and…”

Let’s face the enemies together, Jun Sung suggested.

To that, Han Sung gave him a pitiful look.

“Ignorant.”

“…What?”

It was a line not in the script.

It was an ad-lib.

And to that ad-lib, Jun Sung. No, Lee Hyun Sung, forgot about acting and really got angry.

Because Bae Dong Geun had teased him, comparing him to Seo Ei Soo and calling him ignorant.

And Lee Hyun Sung’s sincere expression became the most appropriate reaction to Bae Dong Geun’s ad-lib.

“Jjim sae, if you come with me to die, the two ladies will have to rush at the real culprit alone. The real culprit. Won’t you catch him?”

“….”

“We’re almost there. Just one more step. With the mobile phone, we can go straight to the real culprit. Jjim sae. Please catch the real culprit with the ladies. I’ll be fine with that.”

Bae Dong Geun’s acting became more and more intense.

It was different from his usual acting style.

Instead of keeping a distance and doing mechanically determined acting with everyone, he was fully displaying his acting skills.

And Jun Sung could no longer stop Han Sung’s stubbornness.

“Sir, please stay alive. Stay alive so we can go to the police station together.”

“Hmm. Alright. Just stay alive. That’s all.”

With these words, he anticipated the future.

All his colleagues had left, leaving Hanseong alone to face the gang.

“Ahh!”

He screamed and charged towards the enemies.

Bae Dong-geun was the highlight of Hanseong’s performance.

It was a more thrilling act than the script called for.

It was also a message from Bae Dong-geun to Seo Yisoo, expressing his gratitude.

As a seasoned actor, he wanted to challenge himself by changing his acting style.

So, you too.

Don’t feel burdened by the idea of being just one person, and pursue the challenges you want.

That was the message he wanted to convey.

Back to the present, facing Shin Jihu.

“Well, you know. Shin Jihu.”

“Yeah.”

“Actually, there might be a way to change my acting… No. To change myself.”

Seo Yisoo said with a determined expression.

There was a way to resolve the extensive dissatisfaction that went beyond just acting and included herself.

But Seo Yisoo couldn’t bring herself to execute that method.

“It’s really scary for me. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to do it, but…”

It was terrifying.

She had to do something that not even a dragon had attempted, something that seemed impossible.

Seo Yisoo was afraid.

That’s why she couldn’t do it.

But…

Shin Jihu, Gil Hye-yeon, Bae Dong-geun, Lee Hyun-seong, Han Sun-yul, Oh Kyung-bae, Han Kyung-jin.

They were all people who had done something for her.

So, she couldn’t just keep hesitating out of fear.

It seemed like that wouldn’t be right.

“But, it’s still scary. I’m afraid of failing, of something going wrong. So, Shin Jihu. Please watch my performance today. Don’t take your eyes off even for a moment.”

Seo Yisoo asked Shin Jihu.

For Shin Jihu, it was an easy request.

Watching over Seo Yisoo.

That was what Shin Jihu normally did.

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll definitely watch and not miss a moment.”

And so, Shin Jihu nodded his head as he said that.

A little while later,

Seo Yisoo’s turn for filming approached.

“…”

Seo Yisoo prepared for her performance with a trembling heart.

More accurately, she was preparing to leave Yoo-hee behind.

But this time, Yoo-hee would be different from before.

“…”

The inspiration came when she was doing the stage greeting for “The Diary of the Sea” at the Busan International Film Festival.

At that time, Seo Yisoo had assigned the situation that she should handle to a virtual personality named “Minseo.”

Yoo-hee, in that moment, naturally added information about the situation that the original Seo Yisoo had faced.

If that was possible…

Wouldn’t the opposite also be possible?

“…”

That was the idea.

With that idea in mind, Seo Yisoo embarked on a new Yoo-hee.

She accessed the Akashic Record.

Numerous personality information was compiled.

But she didn’t construct a virtual personality.

Seo Yisoo.

She injected the memories and emotions from the Akashic Record into herself as they were.

“Ah, ah.”

Her mind was in turmoil.

Emotions surged, overwhelming Seo Yisoo’s mind.

And then,

“…”

After the connection with the Akashic Record ended.

The performance began.