Chapter 66: Happiness is not something pure. (4)

“I’ll focus on the script now.”

With a short remark, Lee Sua dispersed everyone and opened her script.

***

S#CMX

Citizens are in chaos due to a bomb terror attack.

Kim Yuhan is tied up in a burning warehouse.

After reading up to this point, Sua nodded to herself.

So that’s why? No wonder there are so many people.

She had wondered why there were so many extras on set. It made sense now—this climax scene depicted a bomb terror attack in the middle of the city. The more people, the more realistic the chaos would feel.

Sua continued reading through the script.

Lee Gang-cheol, in pursuit of the culprit, learns about Kim Yuhan’s situation.

While driving, he approaches a fork in the road. The culprit escapes to the right.

Lee Gang-cheol is left with a dilemma.

Should he turn left to save Kim Yuhan?

Or pursue the culprit to the right and capture him?

There are only two choices.

Lee Gang-cheol makes a decision and acts decisively.

***

After finishing the script, Sua tilted her head in confusion.

Huh?

She was perplexed, and for good reason.

What? It ends here? Is this really the whole script?

The climax script she had just reviewed didn’t simply offer freedom—it was practically incomplete. It seemed like the actor playing Lee Gang-cheol would have to fill in the scene with their own judgment.

Fortunately, this didn’t affect Sua directly. The script didn’t grant freedom to Kim Yuhan but rather to Lee Gang-cheol.

The implication was clear.

Kim Sun-il’s role is critical. Hugely so.

***

Lee Gang-cheol makes a decision and acts decisively.

The climax was structured like a relay race.

Sua’s job was to run her segment and pass the baton, leaving the finish to Kim Sun-il.

Can he pull it off?

No, he must’ve received the script earlier than I did and probably prepared thoroughly. Right?

Never mind. I should just focus on doing my part.

While Sua was deep in thought, PD Choi Heewon shouted.

“Sua! Sun-il! Let’s get started! Standby!”

At last, the moment to film the climax had arrived.

“Starting the shoot! Three! Two! One! Action!”

The sound of the clapperboard echoed. Filming began.

***

Simultaneously, Kim Yuhan lifted his head with difficulty.

His head throbbed. He must have been hit hard, as blood trickled steadily down his forehead.

He was tied up in the corner of a large warehouse, and things didn’t look good. His surroundings glowed with a fiery red as flames slowly crept closer from afar.

“…Help.”

He tried to speak, but his voice was weak. It was nearly impossible for anyone outside the warehouse to hear him.

Fwoooosh—

His voice was drowned out by the roaring flames.

His fate seemed clear.

The only thing left to do was accept death.

Kim Yuhan let out a faint, bitter laugh.

How did it come to this?

As a detective by day and Kim Yuhan by night, he had spent his life chasing criminals. Over time, the scale of his targets had grown, and now he had gone after one too big to handle.

He had always known that someday it might come to this.

After all, he had never cared for his own safety. His sole goal was to bring criminals to justice. He had prepared himself for the possibility of dying in the process.

Yes, that’s why.

“…It’s okay.”

Kim Yuhan muttered softly.

The fact that he would die, that his burned body would be left unrecognizable—it didn’t bother him much. He had no family or friends to grieve him anyway.

However.

“I just wanted to take down one more. What a shame.”

What disappointed him was the fact that he couldn’t remove even one more criminal. That was all.

As Kim Yuhan sat silently, feeling the heat of the encroaching flames in the warehouse—

Crackle.

A faint noise broke through.

Crackle… crackle.

It was static.

“…A radio?”

At his feet lay a radio.

Apparently, the culprit had deliberately left it there, likely as a cruel taunt. Kim Yuhan thought to himself, What a nasty bastard.

Click.

The radio connected.

“Kim Yuhan, can you hear me?”

“Kim Yuhan! Respond!”

The voice belonged to Lee Gang-cheol.

Kim Yuhan closed his eyes and spoke softly.

“…I’m sorry, senior.”

This time, his tone was calm, devoid of its usual sarcasm.

“I couldn’t catch him with my own hands. I should’ve been more careful, more meticulous. Instead, I let my emotions get the better of me. I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

His words were sincere.

Kim Yuhan believed that his failure stemmed from letting his emotions cloud his judgment. The serial killer who had brought him to this state was the same one who had murdered his parents.

Since he was directly involved, it made sense for him to reflect on it.

Perhaps, no—definitely—he had been too hasty.

“How ironic. Did I even have familial love?”

Kim Yuhan let out a small, dry laugh.

***

“…Kim Yuhan?”

Lee Gang-cheol sensed something unusual. Kim Yuhan’s voice sounded unlike his usual self. He realized something significant must have happened while communication had been down.

“Kim Yuhan, what’s going on? Report your current situation.”

“Don’t worry. Fortunately, I’ve uncovered all the information about them. This means, Senior Gang-cheol, your spotless career will remain intact.”

Regardless of the response, Kim Yuhan stubbornly continued with what he wanted to say.

“You’re probably chasing them right now, aren’t you? I don’t even need to see to know. Their destination is Pohang; it’s their base of operations. So, request backup. The key isn’t catching them—it’s blocking the ship.”

“Kim Yuhan, I ordered you to report your situation!”

***

Once again, Kim Yuhan ignored the command.

Instead, he said, “Catch them this time. Just like always—cleanly.”

This is as far as I go.

Muttering the last words under his breath, Kim Yuhan kicked the radio away. The device slid across the floor before being consumed by the growing flames, gradually melting and warping.

“Kim Yuhan! Respond! This is an order!”

Lee Gang-cheol’s desperate voice rang out.

Crackle!

But soon, the radio stopped transmitting anything, leaving only the crackling of embers in the air.

Amidst this uneasy silence.

Kim Yuhan thought to himself.

…It’s warm.

With his eyes still closed, a faint smile crept across his face.

***

“Excellent! Sua! That was amazing!”

PD Choi Heewon’s voice rang out.

Lee Sua’s portion of the scene was officially complete.

“Great work, everyone! Let’s wrap up here. All that’s left is Sun-il’s part!”

As the production crew began packing up, some actors also took their leave. Sua felt relieved, knowing she could finally remove her makeup.

Meanwhile, a few crew members murmured nearby.

“Sun-il’s shooting on the road today, right?”

“Yeah, there’s a car chase scene.”

“Of course, it’s the climax, after all. Acting while driving—what a tough scene. And now there’s even more pressure because Sua nailed her part.”

“No kidding. But Sun-il’s got this. It’s Kim Sun-il, after all.”

Sua was just as curious.

“How will Kim Sun-il finish this scene?”

She hoped he would do well. After all, it was the climax.

***

At that moment, something shimmered before Sua.

(!)

A floating exclamation mark appeared out of nowhere.

What’s this all of a sudden? Sua focused her gaze on the symbol, and as she did, text began to unfold before her.

***

[You have reached the climax of the story.]

[Someone desperately seeks resonance.]

***

“Resonance? What is this about?”

And then:

***

[Conditions met.]

[Resonance initiated.]

[Yeoncheongyeong.]

***

Whoosh!

Something activated on its own.

“…Yeoncheongyeong?”

She had never heard the word before, but its meaning suddenly flooded her mind. It felt as though she had known the term for a long time.

Yeoncheongyeong (演境):

A scene brought to life by a desperate wish reaching the heavens.

At the moment, Sua couldn’t fully grasp what it was.

***

Whoooosh!

Meanwhile, Lee Gang-cheol’s car was speeding recklessly down the road.

He was chasing the culprit’s vehicle, the scenery flashing by in a blur. His hands gripped the steering wheel, slick with sweat.

The chase was intense.

A life-or-death pursuit. That was all that mattered.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wild lane changes became routine, and speeding was the norm. Lee Gang-cheol was determined to catch them—after all, the target was a vicious serial killer.

***

Whoooosh!

Stepping harder on the accelerator, Lee Gang-cheol shouted into his radio.

“Kim Yuhan! Respond! This is an order!”

There was no reply.

Whoooosh—!

While the chase continued, the two vehicles entered a long, dimly lit tunnel.

The atmosphere was quiet and desolate, yet fiercely intense. Within the tunnel, only the two cars existed, locked in a high-stakes pursuit.

***

“Kim Yuhan!”

The radio signal had completely cut out.

But then.

The radio reconnected to another channel.

***

“Lee Gang-cheol! Can you hear me?”

It wasn’t Kim Yuhan. It was Ha Yoon-jin (Seo Yeon-ju).

***

“Yes, I can hear you! I’m currently in pursuit of the culprit. But I can’t reach Kim Yuhan. Do you know his situation?”

“Kim Yuhan is trapped in a burning warehouse.”

“…What? Then—”

Ha Yoon-jin abruptly interrupted him.

“Forget about Kim Yuhan. We’ll send someone from our side to handle it, so don’t worry. Just focus on catching the culprit!”

***

At that moment, Lee Gang-cheol was hit with a wave of shock.

Ha Yoon-jin’s words essentially meant they were abandoning Kim Yuhan.

The distance between the headquarters and the warehouse was too great, even by conservative calculations. No one could reach him in time.

The only option to save Kim Yuhan would be for Lee Gang-cheol to turn his car around. He was the closest to the warehouse.

***

“Don’t you understand? If you don’t catch him now, we’ll never catch him!”

Crackle—

With Ha Yoon-jin’s desperate shout, the radio abruptly disconnected.

The car, now deep in the tunnel, was racing madly ahead, already covering a third of the tunnel’s length.

***

Whoooosh!

The car charged forward like a wild horse.

Lee Gang-cheol was deep in thought.

“Once I exit this tunnel, I’ll reach a fork in the road.”

Kim Yuhan had mentioned the culprit’s base was in Pohang.

To pursue the culprit, he needed to take the right fork. But to save Kim Yuhan, he would have to turn left. The dilemma was agonizing: catch the near-impossible criminal or save a comrade.

***

For Lee Gang-cheol, perhaps this would have been the only concern.

But for Kim Sun-il, the actor portraying him, his mind was in disarray.

“What am I supposed to do? What should I do?”

The act of worrying itself was fine. On camera, his indecision would appear as Lee Gang-cheol’s struggle over whether to save Kim Yuhan or catch the culprit.

***

Whoooosh—!

The car continued racing forward, now halfway through the tunnel.

“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!”

Kim Sun-il felt like he was losing his mind.

His younger sister’s words echoed vividly in his ears.

***

“I want to see your best performance.”

“I want to see you happy too.”

***

She had asked, and he had lied in response.

Could he create a scene that would turn that lie into the truth?

He asked himself, and the answer came swiftly.

Impossible.

He couldn’t do it.

He wasn’t capable of creating something extraordinary.

“I’m just an actor, nothing more. A puppet!”

If a script was given to him, he could execute it mechanically. He was nothing more than a marionette with strings attached. That was all he had ever believed acting to be.

But now?

This moment, where the responsibility for the ending was placed solely on his shoulders?

He hated it.

He wasn’t skilled in improvisation, nor did he possess the creativity to conjure up the best narrative.

And so, Kim Sun-il panicked and began to wish.

He wished someone would tell him the correct answer.

Or that inspiration would suddenly strike.

Or even just a small clue.

And if none of that happened, he wished he could simply give up.

It was both surrender and defeat.

As Kim Sun-il squeezed his eyes shut in despair—

Whoooosh!

Suddenly, out of nowhere.

Without any warning.

***

Whoooosh!

In an instant.

The scenery before his eyes completely transformed.

***

And then.

“…What?”

The landscape was something all too familiar to him.