Chapter 57: I wonder if I might have a talent for ■■ as well?

Just before the shoot.

Park Do-hee stepped forward and started a conversation.

“Sua! It’s our turn now.”

“That’s right.”

The scene to be filmed today was an entirely new one.

After lengthy discussions, the production team decided to use the scene where Park Do-hee bites Sua’s arm and faints. So, today they were going to film the next scene that advanced beyond that.

Kim Sun-il, Lee Sua, and Park Do-hee.

The three of them would be performing the scene together.

“Hoo…”

Park Do-hee took a deep breath.

From Sua’s perspective, Do-hee seemed to have gathered her resolve. It was as if she was a soldier about to rush into battle.

She clenched her fist and said,

“I practiced intensely for today’s shoot. More than anything, I’m really sorry when I think about the time I bit your arm.”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

Sua’s words were sincere.

That scene had actually worked in Sua’s favor, and Park Do-hee’s apologies had been consistent. It wasn’t just empty words either; they were always accompanied by some kind of financial compensation.

“Today, I won’t cause you any trouble. I’ll do my best with just my own abilities! Really, I’m counting on you!”

“Good.”

Sua nodded.

Anyway, that meant there wouldn’t be any biting today, right?

Sua understood it that way. It was obviously good news that Park Do-hee, who would be performing the scene with her, was going to do her best.

But Park Do-hee’s words didn’t stop there.

She looked at Sua with a determined gaze and said,

“Today, Sua, please give it your all too.”

“Hmm?”

“Working with you is really motivating for me. It really helps. So, please don’t hold back, okay?”

“Ah… okay.”

Sua nodded.

Looking at it, Sua was a newcomer, and Park Do-hee was an experienced senior. So, in a way, this conversation was a bit strange. However, it seemed like only Sua felt the awkwardness.

Somehow, she had earned Park Do-hee’s genuine recognition.

“Well, if it’s about giving my best, I was going to do that anyway.”

Kim Yi-seo had mentioned there was a big opportunity looming in the background.

No matter how much Sua knew, she understood that missing this would be a waste. She knew that as long as she performed well, great opportunities would follow, so there was no reason to turn it down. She was determined to seize it.

S#61

Kim Yuhan engages in a fierce struggle with Sergeant Lee Garam.

After gaining the upper hand, he binds Sergeant Lee Garam.

With the knife taken from him, he holds it against his neck.

Lee Kang-cheol arrives late on the scene.

He genuinely tries to stop Kim Yuhan, but Kim Yuhan is determined to kill Lee Garam.

“Ah, this scene.”

Sua closed her eyelids and focused her mind.

Kim Yuhan fully engages with all his strength.

Since Kim Do-hee had asked, he put in everything he had.

The filming of S#61 began.

Inside a dimly lit warehouse.

The faint light seeping in illuminated Kim Yuhan and Lee Garam (Park Do-hee). However, it was obvious that Lee Garam was in no good condition. Her face, swollen and bruised from the beating, was especially telling.

Kim Yuhan raised the corner of his mouth.

“I told you to resist with all your might, but what are you doing running away? How cute. Should I give you a pat on the backside?”

Just moments ago, they had been in a fierce hand-to-hand fight, but now the winner was clear. Park Do-hee was pinned with her arm twisted behind her, while Sua had a knife pressed against Do-hee’s neck.

“But what should I do now? I’ve caught you again.”

Kim Yuhan whispered as he gently bit Do-hee’s ear.

“I’m not even planning to let you off from here on.”

Soon, Park Do-hee started to struggle.

“No…! No! Don’t do this…!”

Even as Park Do-hee pleaded, Kim Yuhan quickly scanned the surroundings, his habitual sharp observation still in place.

Normally, he would have slowly tortured her with the knife, but…

The situation was different now.

Park Do-hee had tried to escape earlier, but now she was caught, not by “Kim Yuhan” but as a “detective.”

That meant personal judgment was not allowed here.

His partner, Lee Kang-cheol, was on his way.

“Please… save me… save me…”

“Shh. Let me think.”

Kim Yuhan gagged Park Do-hee with a cloth. Meanwhile, his right hand, still gripping the knife, twitched with anticipation.

For Kim Yuhan, criminals were revolting.

Should he kill her? Let her go? Torture her? Dismember her?

Intense emotions surged within him. He wanted to sever Lee Garam’s fingers, joint by joint, right now.

T….J

Kim Yuhan swallowed dryly.

Lee Garam, a criminal who had committed all kinds of atrocities.

What expression would he have if he were to meet the same end? The impulse to see that expression with his own eyes was hard to resist.

Just as his hand started to move slowly.

“Kim Yuhan!”

Lee Kang-cheol had finally arrived inside the warehouse.

“Kim Yuhan…! You!”

Lee Kang-cheol immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere, and after reading Kim Yuhan’s expression, his eyes widened. He had somewhat grasped the emotions in his partner’s face.

Kim Yuhan raised the corner of his mouth and greeted him first.

“You’re late, Senior. It’s okay to kill her, right?”

“…Throw away the knife.”

Lee Kang-cheol’s voice was firmer than ever. But Lee Kang-cheol’s face started to sweat as well. The tension in the air became palpable.

“Why? Oh, are you afraid I’ll kill her too gently?”

“The opponent has surrendered. That’s enough.”

Lee Kang-cheol looked at Kim Yuhan with a stern expression, and Park Do-hee, crying tears, nodded vigorously.

But Kim Yuhan was just as unwilling to compromise.

With a slight push, Kim Yuhan pressed his trembling hand against Park Do-hee’s neck.

The pressure was minimal, just enough to barely form a drop of blood. However, the meaning behind it was unmistakably clear to everyone.

“Senior, I think you’ve seen it by now, haven’t you? Garam has done so many things she should never have done as a police officer.”

Park Do-hee was no ordinary criminal, and her crimes were severe. She had used her position in the Special Tactical Unit 808 to manipulate things.

“So, I hope you’ll consider this self-defense.”

“No, this isn’t self-defense. It doesn’t meet the criteria.”

“Criteria? Are you still worrying about things like that?”

Kim Yuhan shrugged, genuinely puzzled by Lee Kang-cheol’s attitude, or perhaps even feeling a little sorry for him.

“This warehouse is dark, and there are no security cameras. The only witnesses here are you, me, and the disgusting criminal.”

At that point, Kim Yuhan removed the cloth he had used to gag Park Do-hee, as if to allow her to say her final words.

Hhh…! Hh…!

Park Do-hee’s voice was now hoarse, and she trembled as she screamed.

“Please, please save me!”

Kim Yuhan shook his head.

“No. If someone like you stays alive, the world becomes more miserable.”

At the same time, Kim Yuhan slowly pulled Park Do-hee from behind, almost in a sensual way, as if soaked in lust.

He whispered briefly into her ear.

“Goodbye. It will hurt, but it will be over soon.”

“…!”

Park Do-hee widened her eyes in shock.

At that moment, she began to feel confused again.

She couldn’t tell if this was just acting or if Kim Yuhan really intended to kill her. But one thing was certain—the knife in Sua’s hand was real.

Park Do-hee tried to reassure herself.

It must be acting. It was similar during the mock filming.

But as Sua held her tightly and started to caress her body, Park Do-hee grew more confused. Slowly, her senses began to whisper to her—it wasn’t acting.

When thinking back, there were many strange things. Why did Sua suddenly ask for a real knife just before the scene?

Now, there was a drop of blood on Park Do-hee’s neck.

It was true that they had agreed on this beforehand, but Park Do-hee felt uneasy. The fact that there was a drop of blood meant the knife could go deeper.

That’s when Lee Kang-cheol shouted.

“Stop! Kim Yuhan! Stop right now!”

“I told you during the hierarchy adjustment, right? It’s better to act once than bark a hundred times. Have you already forgotten?”

At the same time, Kim Yuhan moved his arm with full force.

“I said stop!”

Lee Kang-cheol shouted and stomped on the ground.

Park Do-hee’s eyes rolled back.

Time seemed to stretch, as if seconds had turned into years.

“Ta-da.”

An unexpected remark.

The voice belonged to Kim Yuhan. It was light and lively, completely out of place for the situation, filling the warehouse.

Hahaha!

Kim Yuhan was suddenly smiling broadly.

Lee Kang-cheol had been chasing the whereabouts of the knife, but it had already been swung. However, Park Do-hee’s neck was not stabbed. Instead, the rope that had bound her was simply cut.

…

Lee Kang-cheol looked at Kim Yuhan as if confused by the situation.

Kim Yuhan quietly patted Lee Garam’s head.

“Why? Were you really afraid I might kill her?”

Kim Yuhan shook his head.

“It’s fine. I don’t like dealing with annoying things. But if I kill her, well, that guy over there, the detective with the scary look in his eyes, is going to bother me all day long.”

Then, it happened.

Bruh!

Park Do-hee’s body shook violently.

The issue was the vividness of it. From Sua’s perspective, the vibration in Park Do-hee’s body was quite different from the past.

What just happened? Was it a spasm? A tremor? An instinctive movement that could not possibly be faked? That’s what it seemed like.

“…?”

Sua instinctively checked Park Do-hee’s condition.

She was soon shocked.

First, Park Do-hee’s face, devoid of life.

This was okay up to this point.

It would be great if the camera captured this vivid scene.

But the problem came next. Soon, there was a liquid at Sua’s feet. As soon as she recognized the yellow color, a sour smell lightly pricked her nose.

It was urine.

There was no doubt about it. It was real urine.

At this point, Sua was completely flustered.

‘What is this? Was it a prop prepared in advance?’

But it was too vivid to be considered a prop.

Could this be the secret move that Park Do-hee had prepared?

Sua waited, wondering if an NG sign would be called, but no such instructions came, even after a long pause. It meant they had to continue.

So, she did. Quickly resuming the scene with Kim Yuhan.

Sua grinned, continuing to pat Park Do-hee’s head.

“What are you going to do if you can’t even hold in your pee? Maybe I should’ve trained you for that.”

But in fact, Kim Sun-il, across from her, was just as flustered.

Wasn’t there no crack in the script?

But Kim Sun-il wasn’t an amateur; he was experienced. So, since it wasn’t an NG, he immediately focused on doing what needed to be done.

…

Lee Kang-cheol quickly seized Kim Yuhan’s knife and handcuffed Park Do-hee’s arms, all while saying the words a detective must say.

“The current time is 8 AM. Obstruction of public duties, bodily harm, property damage, and so on─”

And shortly after.

When the camera zoomed in on Park Do-hee’s face.

Torr.

A single tear rolled down Park Do-hee’s cheek.

“Okay! Perfect! Excellent!”

The set was in chaos.

Normally, the word “variable” is used with a negative connotation.

It’s natural. When something unexpected happens, you must respond, and cleaning up afterward consumes a lot of time and resources.

But the variables on today’s set were different.

“Did I accumulate good karma in my past life? What kind of luck is this?”

“Exactly. This is the best. The best.”

The reactions of writer Lee Geum-sook and PD Choi Heewon said it all.

Today’s set was filled with countless variables, but none of them were negative. All the variables were beneficial to the work. There was no need to think about how to handle them; they could simply be accepted.

Naturally, the atmosphere was great.

And currently, during the break, the most talked-about topic was…

Naturally…

“Sun-il and Sua’s acting was incredible, right? But Do-hee, you were amazing too. I didn’t expect you to improvise like that…”

“Yeah. You’ve been practicing hard recently, haven’t you?”

“Wow, controlling bodily functions through acting.”

…It was Park Do-hee’s slip-up.

Park Do-hee felt strangely conflicted.

How should she express this feeling? The urge to jump off a high place?

‘I’m glad I didn’t faint. It’s good that I didn’t faint, but…’

Yeah, that part was good. But maybe because the tension had finally relaxed at the end, she had unknowingly made a mistake.

“Thanks to the slip-up, the fear was depicted much better.”

“Exactly. Amazing.”

“Sua’s psychopath performance was outstanding, and Park Do-hee’s reaction really brought it to life. A character trembling in fear like this is what engages the audience.”

Park Do-hee listened blankly to those compliments(?).

What? She really thought she was going to die, but then she survived, so the tension just slipped away and she made a mistake. But it seemed better than letting everyone know she made a mistake out of fear…

…She just felt so weird.

Then it happened.

“Do-hee.”

Sua came over at that moment.

With the conversation about Do-hee and Sua already filling the air, their meeting was enough of a reason to draw attention.

Sua, receiving all eyes on her, continued speaking.

“I’ve been wondering. What was the secret move you prepared, Do-hee? I kept thinking about it.”

Park Do-hee’s face slightly turned pale.

What, what are you trying to say right now?

But Sua didn’t seem like she was going to stop talking.

“I was worried you might bite again, but I thought to myself, ‘Let’s just accept it.’ After all, we need to create a good scene. But to prepare something like this…”

“It was a move that didn’t hurt the opponent or yourself. I’ll learn from this. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Sua was genuinely admiring it.

Unlike the previous time when she bit her own arm, which caused harm to herself, she didn’t hurt anyone this time.

It was a delicate move in many ways.

Sua had experienced the script hundreds of times, but this was a situation she had never seen before. It was an outcome that surpassed all her expectations. That’s how it felt.

Of course, Park Do-hee had nothing much to say.

She had just wet herself because she was scared.

That was really the end of it.

But the set had turned into a warm atmosphere, where seniors and juniors elevated each other through their acting. The staff who had been silently watching started chiming in one by one.

“That’s right. Thanks to Do-hee’s slip-up, the mood was lifted.”

“Do-hee, you’ve earned Sua’s recognition.”

Earned recognition? For wetting myself?

“Do-hee! Your pee acting was amazing!”

“Do-hee, pee good!”

Park Do-hee genuinely started to fear Sua.

Every beginning has an end.

Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il, the final scene of today.

S#62

“How was it? What do you think of working with Kim Yuhan?”

Sitting at her desk, she asked Lee Gang-cheol. She was Lee Gang-cheol’s superior and was currently reporting on the details of the arrest case.

“Kim Yuhan…”

Lee Gang-cheol didn’t find it difficult to answer.

He just said what he felt.

“He’s not just a crazy dog, he’s properly a crazy dog. He’s out of his mind, so we need to teach him everything from scratch.”

Seo Yeon-ju nodded as if she expected this.

“I knew it, huh? If you don’t like it, I’ll switch it for you.”

There was a brief silence.

“I’m giving you the choice. Do you want to return to your old department?”

Lee Gang-cheol paused for a moment, reflecting on various things.

Kim Yuhan was definitely out of his mind.

But he had an excellent sense, and his sense of duty to catch criminals seemed sincere. Of course, his attitude toward criminals was quite messy…

…But that moment today, when he didn’t kill Officer Lee Ga-ram.

At least Lee Gang-cheol was sure of it.

Kim Yuhan truly tried to kill Lee Ga-ram, but for Lee Gang-cheol’s sake, he made a concession this time.

And so, he changed his mind.

“…No.”

Lee Gang-cheol ended up saying something he himself found surprising.

“Hold off. Please make it on hold for now.”

“Okay! Perfect! That’s it for today’s shoot!”

At the same time, the PD gave the okay sign with a loud speaker.

The staff, one after another, cheered and clapped.

It wasn’t just a cheer of joy because the work was over for the day. It was their first time having such a fulfilling shoot.

Meanwhile, there was a man quietly observing the entire situation.

‘Was that person an actor after all?’

A lean-bodied man and director preparing a new musical. He was also the leader of the group ‘Barun-gil,’ Go Tae-min.

‘What a coincidence?’

Director Go Tae-min had actually been watching Sua from the very beginning.

Her white hair, shining under the siren light, turning red and blue in turn, caught his attention. Every time that happened, it seemed like the person herself was changing.

That’s why he hoped she was an actor.

He was curious about what kind of performance she would show with such a multifaceted appearance. And it seemed like Go Tae-min’s wish was coming true.

She seemed to be an actor, after all.

But then something unexpected happened.

‘It wasn’t just a simple extra role? The scene is between Lee Gang-cheol and Kim Yuhan. Why is she preparing to film this?’

It was hard to understand.

Her makeup was attractive, but it was her body that truly stood out. Her physique, full of curves, was so sensual it seemed like she could make every man follow her.

Therefore, he naturally assumed she would be an extra or a minor role. He never expected they would cast her as Kim Yuhan.

And another thing.

To Go Tae-min, a master director, Sua was a completely unfamiliar face.

Was it true that a rookie had landed the lead role in the much-anticipated Special Task Force 808? It was hard to believe.

‘Did I miss something? This is hard to grasp.’

However.

After the scene between Kim Sun-il and Sua ended, where they battled for control.

Go Tae-min’s thoughts completely changed.

‘Kim Sun-il almost lost. What the heck is going on?’

Looking back, the fact that she was a rookie now seemed extremely odd. It was Kim Sun-il, who was famous for being a ‘handsome trash,’ struggling and sweating while trying his best.

‘…Based on the reactions around me, it seems like she improvised a performance that wasn’t in the script? No, even if I didn’t know anything and just watched, her acting is superb. Is she really a rookie? What the heck has she been doing until now?’

Go Tae-min immediately approached the writer Lee Geum-sook.

“Excuse me, Writer Lee. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Ah, Director Go Tae-min. What’s the matter?”

“That white-haired girl, what’s her name?”

At that, writer Lee Geum-sook smiled gently, as if she had been waiting for Director Go Tae-min to ask such a question.

“It’s Lee Sua. She’s the lead in our Special Task Force 808.”

“Lee Sua?”

“Yes. Lee Sua.”

“Lee Sua? I’ve heard that name before. Lee Sua….”

It was strange.

She was definitely a rookie, yet Director Go Tae-min seemed to have heard the name before. But when he searched online, no profile for an actress named Lee Sua came up.

What was this? Where had he heard that name before?

Then, at some point.

“…!”

Something clicked in Director Go Tae-min’s mind.

It was a conversation that had taken place recently during the Barun-gil meeting.

“Ah, Park Jun! The actress who saved Director Park Jun…!”

The rookie who had pulled director Park Jun, the director of the short film “Geum,” out of a desperate situation and at the same time had exposed the works of the now-fallen criminal Kim Jun-ki.

Go Tae-min finally remembered everything.

“Ah, I see now. Lee Sua, that’s who she was….”

A lean body.

The deep-set eyes of hers began to sparkle.

“…Could she possibly have a talent for music-related acting too?”