Chapter 85: Sa…ve… me…

Kim Sun-il and Seo Yeon-ju’s expressions turned blank.

It was because the scene before their eyes was more brutal than they had imagined.

At that moment, the snow-white belly of the fox plushie was stained red with traces of Sua’s makeup and lipstick, making it look to Kim Sun-il as if the fox was spilling its guts.

The fox plushie seemed to be desperately crying out.

“Sa…ve… me….”

“…What the hell is going on?”

Kim Sun-il muttered.

Even Sua’s hair was a delicate, pure white.

With an intense, wild aura reminiscent of an Arctic wolf, she appeared all the more ruthless. Just as Kim Sun-il was reeling from the shock, a strange sound pierced his ears.

“Ah… bu… bu…”

A jarring voice.

Though incomprehensible, the severity of the situation was undeniable.

And so—

Tap, tap, tap!

Kim Sun-il rushed into the plushie department store without hesitation.

It took mere seconds for him to grab both of Sua’s shoulders. Arriving at that unbelievable speed, Kim Sun-il shouted.

“Lee Sua!”

At that moment, Sua lifted her head absentmindedly.

Her smeared lipstick made her face look as if it were drenched in blood. Like a gumiho after devouring a human liver—that was the exact impression she gave. A shiver ran down Kim Sun-il’s spine.

But he steeled himself once more.

With the courage of a firefighter running into a burning warehouse—

“Lee Sua!”

“…?”

A moment later, Sua’s face contorted in surprise.

Then, her expression went completely blank.

Her eyes lost all focus. She had been so shocked that her brain simply shut down.

A total system crash—Sua Blue Screen?

“Hey, Lee Sua. Can you hear me?”

Kim Sun-il shook her again. Sua, now rebooted, studied the person before her.

Her lips moved several times, but in the end, no words came out.

Damn it.

An awkward silence settled between them.

Sua’s face remained grave, and naturally, that gravity infected Kim Sun-il as well.

With every passing second, the situation became more tangled.

“…”

Sua closed her eyes, as if meditating, and thought for a moment.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally asked.

“What did you see?”

“Everything.”

At that moment, Sua realized she couldn’t escape.

There was no way to cover this up—her plushie had given too much away. Now was the time for confession.

But just then—

Whoosh!

Kim Sun-il pulled out his phone and held up its dark screen in front of Sua, like a faded mirror.

“Look at yourself.”

“…Huh?”

“This is you, Lee Sua. This is what you look like.”

That was when Seo Yeon-ju joined the scene.

“What’s going on?”

Unlike Kim Sun-il, Seo Yeon-ju remained utterly nonchalant.

Her composure only fueled Kim Sun-il’s frustration.

She clearly didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Seo Yeon-ju, you know what’s happening here. Why are you acting like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Lee Sua can’t break free from her emotional spiral.”

“Hmm…”

Seo Yeon-ju merely shrugged.

“Well, I guess you could see it that way.”

“What kind of reaction is that? Are you saying it’s not your problem? That’s ridiculous. You always act so close to Lee Sua.”

Kim Sun-il turned back to Sua and held up his phone again.

“Lee Sua, this is you. You are not Wi Ji-hye, and you are definitely not Kim Yuhan. You can immerse yourself in a role, but you must never give yourself away completely.

An actor must never lose their identity.”

Sua, however, remained frozen.

If she acknowledged this too hastily, she feared it would only make things worse.

So both “Sua agrees” and “Sua nods” were locked away for now.

Her mind raced. What should I do?

Then—

“Hey, Sun-il. Maybe you should stop being so dramatic.”

Seo Yeon-ju broke the silence out of nowhere.

Kim Sun-il’s expression immediately twisted.

“…Dramatic?”

“Yeah, dramatic.”

“You—saying this to someone from the same agency—”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should ignore a fellow Mystic Entertainment member in crisis. But shouldn’t you at least hear me out first?”

“Then?”

“Sua is just practicing her acting.”

“Acting? What acting?”

Seo Yeon-ju raised a single finger and explained.

“Sua was cast as the lead in ‘Crescendo Starting Tomorrow’.”

“‘Crescendo Starting Tomorrow’? You mean Director Go Tae-min’s film?”

“Yep. She’s playing a character with savant syndrome.”

“Oh… savant syndrome…”

Kim Sun-il let out a deep sigh, his expression shifting to one of realization. Sua, however, found this even more frustrating.

Wait. Why is he accepting this so easily?

Why is he convinced just like that?

Kim Sun-il ran a hand over his face, relief washing over him.

“I never would’ve guessed. Working with Director Go Tae-min? That’s huge.”

“Right? It’s the first time he personally offered a lead role. Something big must have happened at the studio, but I only heard bits and pieces from the director.”

“I get it now. So it was all method acting. The set must be wild. Even I was completely fooled.”

“Obviously. Since when has Sua ever done anything halfway?”

At this, Sua felt utterly wronged.

The old Sua…

Yes, she had been somewhat dimwitted.

Fine, she’d admit it. Sua dumb? Sua agrees.

Back then, she hadn’t even realized how clueless she was.

But ever since experiencing Kim Yuhan mode, she had slowly started to see it.

She used to be foolish—but she was evolving.

It was like a primitive human, once oblivious, suddenly realizing the shame of walking around naked.

Only now did Sua understand the embarrassment of her ignorance.

And so, she refused to be seen as foolish anymore!

She was different now! She would change!

She despised being called dim-witted!

Smart Sua. Genius Sua!

Thus, she felt deeply wronged.

If anything, she would rather have been caught loving plushies.

But being treated as dumb? Absolutely not!

So Sua finally spoke.

“Actually… I really like plushies.”

Seo Yeon-ju nodded immediately. However, she did not look at Sua. She was still looking at Kim Sun-il.

“Yes. You heard, right? The role of Kim So-hee is particularly obsessed with dolls, very childlike, and has delicate emotional nuances.”

“Wow, I’m surprised again. Seeing you practice for your next role as soon as the filming for Special Task Force 808 ends… That’s something I could never attempt. Playing a character with savant syndrome, that is.”

“…”

At that moment, Sua spoke up again.

“And Kim So-hee is a piano prodigy.”

Sua put extra emphasis on the word “prodigy,” hoping they would focus on her intellectual side.

“Oh.”

However…

“Prodigies tend to have eccentric tendencies. Great attention to detail.”

Kim Sun-il only focused on the “eccentric” part.

“…”

Sua felt dizzy at the realization that this was how others perceived her true nature.

“Anyway, Sua, I enjoyed watching. Your acting is always amazing.”

“…No. That can’t be. My acting was lacking.”

“Lacking? Anyone could see that you were Kim So-hee.”

“…I refuse to accept that.”

Sua’s signature move: Sua refuses to acknowledge.

Regardless, Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Sun-il continued to admire her performance before shifting their attention to the dolls inside the store.

Tears welled up in Sua’s eyes.

“This is too much.”

Sua, on the verge of tears…

The next day.

A wrap-up party celebrating the end of Special Task Force 808 filming.

Sua suddenly felt that time had flown by. It felt like just yesterday they had a gathering to mark the start of production, and now, here they were.

Of course, just like back then, she still couldn’t eat the meat.

Because, once again, the conversation was all about her.

“Come to think of it, Sua once said this, right? That she wouldn’t let anyone else stand out besides herself. Well, in the end, didn’t we all survive? Hahaha! Let’s celebrate! Cheers!”

From those making witty jokes and having fun…

“By the way, I heard that the short film Sua participated in made it to the finals? You know, the one directed by Park Jun.”

“Oh, you mean the Busan International Short Film Festival? They really went all out this year. Even foreign directors are coming. I was planning to check it out anyway, but I hope Sua wins an award.”

To those genuinely interested in her work.

As she listened to them, time passed quickly. Sua enjoyed the attention without drinking alcohol or eating meat.

Image management, image management…

But still.

It felt different. Really different.

“This feels nothing like the kickoff party.”

Back then, there was only excitement and nervous anticipation for the journey ahead.

Now, it felt like arriving at the final stop, bidding farewell.

Once this party ended, everyone would go their separate ways.

“It feels bittersweet. I’ve grown used to these people.”

Something even Sua herself hadn’t realized—she was more sentimental than she thought.

Maybe it was because she had spent so much time alone that she wasn’t used to goodbyes.

“Is this why people drink soju? That’s what they usually do in times like this, right?”

Just as Sua reached for a soju glass—

“Sua.”

Kim Yi-seo approached and sat beside her. Since the company representative was so small, they almost looked like sisters. Though, of course, Sua was the older one.

“Sun-il told me. Lately, even outside of work, your mind is completely occupied with the role of Kim So-hee. It makes me happy, but I was also surprised. It’s rare to find an actor as passionate as you, Sua.”

“…I don’t suit the role of Kim So-hee.”

Kim Yi-seo pretended not to hear the cryptic response.

“If you need a practice space, just let me know. I can even get you dolls, as many as you want. There’s no need to practice outdoors.”

“…Okay.”

But Sua had no intention of ever asking Mystic Entertainment for that kind of help.

She would never let anyone see her playing with dolls. Never…

She was determined to escape the perception of being low intelligence.

And then—

“Senior, you can’t do that.”

“…?”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind.

It was Sua’s internal persona—her “Yuhan Sua” mode, where she channeled Kim Yuhan’s character.

Sua blinked.

“Why now?”

“Just say you’ll practice at home and ask them to buy you dolls. That way, you’ll get dolls for free.”

“Hey, but lying is a bit…”

—No, this is necessary for the future as well.

“The future?”

“Knowing your personality, there’s a high chance you’ll get caught playing with dolls again someday. But when that happens, you can just say it’s a nostalgic reminder of practicing for Kim So-hee’s role. One day, you might even be able to play with dolls openly in front of everyone.”

…!

Sua immediately grabbed Kim Yi-seo’s hand.

“…Yeah, I guess having too many people around is inconvenient. I might end up bothering others. Please get me lots of rabbit and fox dolls.”

Unaware of anything, Kim Yi-seo happily agreed.

“Got it. Then let’s take care of that.”

After taking a sip of water, she calmly continued.

“Now that Special Task Force 808 and The Sword have finished filming, there’s about a week-long gap in your schedule.”

“Huh?”

“I was wondering how to fill it, but I decided—you should just rest. You’re going to be extremely busy soon. The more you rest now, the better. Later, you won’t even have time to blink.”

Sua’s mind started calculating.

The Busan International Short Film Festival opening was exactly four days away.

She hadn’t scheduled anything for that day, assuming she’d be too busy.

But now, she suddenly had a whole week off?

Out of nowhere, she had been granted complete freedom.

“…Wait, does this mean?”

A strong thought flashed through Sua’s mind.

The group chat’s regular meetup.

“I can finally join, too!”