Chapter 57
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 057
Chapter Title: Shooting Someone Else's Hell (5)
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In response to Ban Gi-hyeok's question of why he was going this far...
'Just.'
That was Geum Seong-je's entire reply.
To anyone hearing it, it was a brutally incomprehensible answer.
But for Geum Seong-je, it really was that simple.
There wasn't any particular reason.
Well, there had been one at first.
Someone had bumped into his shoulder on the street.
Even after studying his ass off for seven years straight, he kept failing the exam.
Someone had stolen the side dishes from the fridge in his goshiwon.
Just things like that.
They'd all gotten under his skin so much.
He decided he wouldn't hold back anymore.
Because he could do it.
"It's fun."
And now, he loved it.
It felt so easy. So exhilarating he could go mad!
Geum Seong-je started chuckling, shoulders heaving as if he couldn't hold back the laughter.
"...You're insane."
Ban Gi-hyeok had no choice but to let go of the collar he was gripping. Even in this situation, Geum Seong-je laughed too easily.
"You crazy bastard."
This wasn't human.
It wasn't the Geum Seong-je he used to know anymore. He wasn't worth dealing with.
No matter the reason, coming back here made him feel like a fool.
It was horrifying.
In the end, Ban Gi-hyeok stepped back, trying to put distance between himself and Geum Seong-je. Trying to run away from this place again.
But he couldn't.
"But you're doing it too, in the end."
Geum Seong-je whispered, reaching out his hand.
Grab!
He snatched the hand axe Ban Gi-hyeok was holding.
"...!"
Ban Gi-hyeok could only freeze in shock.
"W-What are you doing?"
Geum Seong-je tugged at the axe, as if trying to rip away the opponent's only weapon.
"What do you think? I'm showing you."
And Geum Seong-je didn't stop there.
"You said it yourself. That it felt so damn good when all the bullies disappeared."
The two began wrestling over the single axe. Lose it, and the blade would surely turn on him.
"That it felt easy?!"
And at the same moment Geum Seong-je bellowed at Ban Gi-hyeok.
Thud! Geum Seong-je tried to kick him down.
But Ban Gi-hyeok still wouldn't let go of the axe.
"That you wanted to be like me!"
Bam! They both crashed to the floor.
On that sticky floor stained with someone else's blood, Geum Seong-je and Ban Gi-hyeok tangled in a brutal struggle.
Huff, gasp! One tried to shove the other off, while the other tried to crush him.
Then, the axe flew off with a clang!
"...!"
"..."
Ban Gi-hyeok and Geum Seong-je's eyes met.
Blood trickling from his nose or not, Geum Seong-je grinned.
Ban Gi-hyeok lunged for the axe.
But Geum Seong-je wasn't aiming for the axe in the first place.
He was aiming for 'Ban Gi-hyeok.'
Thud!
Geum Seong-je, who had gotten back up, kicked him again.
"...?!"
Crash! Forget grabbing the axe—Ban Gi-hyeok lost his balance and tumbled down.
And Geum Seong-je mounted him, raining down fists.
Never stopping that twisted grin.
As if everything before had been mercy, he subdued Ban Gi-hyeok effortlessly. Pinning him with his knees, crushing him with raw power.
Gasp, huff! Gah! S-Stop... St... Only after Ban Gi-hyeok's breathing grew ragged did it finally stop.
That merciless barrage of punches.
"Still pretending to be all innocent."
Geum Seong-je looked down at Ban Gi-hyeok, who was barely opening his swollen, bloodied eyes.
"Why aren't you fighting back, Gi-hyeok? Bite my hand or something."
His tone softened again toward the now-docile opponent.
"Come on. Be honest for once."
He poked his cheek and whispered in his ear, gently, as if coaxing him.
"Huh?"
Persuasively.
"You're just like me."
If not for that gleeful expression, he might have fallen for it.
"Admit it."
And this wasn't forced.
Geum Seong-je had known from the start. That true nature reflected in Ban Gi-hyeok's eyes.
Because...
This guy's just like me.
We didn't have the same childhood for nothing. Close enough to call family.
No hesitation in twisting the neck or wings of small animals.
Take beatings like a dog, endure silently, then eventually explode.
Able to snap the pointing finger without a second thought.
And shove it in your mouth, crunching it down.
'Us.'
That's us.
Yeah, Gi-hyeok. That's us!
I want to share this joy with you too. What do you say?
You have no idea how thrilled I was when you contacted me.
Finally, a playmate. A precious friend. It was...
I was over the moon!
Geum Seong-je finally looked down at Ban Gi-hyeok with mad, gleaming eyes.
At the same time, he gripped the nearby axe blade tight, slicing his own hand.
"See?"
Blood dripped from the half-severed flesh.
And Geum Seong-je smeared that hand across Ban Gi-hyeok's face, as if to prove his point.
Ugh, mmph! No matter how Ban Gi-hyeok twisted away, it was no use.
"Gi-hyeok. We're just meat. Meat."
That metallic blood...
"Just do it."
Flooded into his nose and mouth.
"One time is all it takes. After that, it's a breeze."
To Ban Gi-hyeok's ears, it sounded like the devil's whisper.
"!"
Before he knew it, Geum Seong-je had forced the axe into Ban Gi-hyeok's hand.
Ban Gi-hyeok's eyes widened.
What the hell...
He couldn't understand why he'd fought so hard to take it, only to hand it back.
Even after Geum Seong-je released his grip, Ban Gi-hyeok just stared in confusion.
Geum Seong-je shrugged.
"Well, if it's still too hard for you, can't be helped."
If you can't do it, I'll help. Geum Seong-je stood up.
Turned his back, completely defenseless.
One swing of the axe now, and he could kill him in an instant.
But Ban Gi-hyeok couldn't.
"Gi-hyeok, I told you."
It wasn't that he didn't. He just hadn't yet.
Swish— As Geum Seong-je drew the hidden curtain in the room.
"Don't hold back."
Something appeared behind it.
Something with a noose around its neck, dangling from a long rope. Something with long hair.
"What do you think?"
It swayed in the air.
"Even like this."
Drip, drip. Blood trickled from its toes.
"You gonna hold back?"
Dressed in the exact same clothes as his girlfriend—the reason he'd come here.
"Even if you're next?"
Ah.
That was the moment.
Ban Gi-hyeok's blood boiled over.
Geum Seong-je had finally made him snap. Burst the thing he'd been forcing down with everything he had.
Snap.
Ban Gi-hyeok felt something inside him break.
He was already going mad.
The boss who nitpicked over nothing and slashed his pay.
The landlord who said he couldn't stand him anymore and kicked him out.
The girlfriend who vanished after he gave her every last penny.
Ha ha.
Why did everyone have to torment him like this?
In the end, that's how it was.
In front of this demon ruining his life.
Ban Gi-hyeok finally admitted it.
Yeah.
Why should I hold back?
Why should I?
Why?
When no one else did.
Why bother?
Bother?
BOTHER?!
Ban Gi-hyeok raised the axe in his hand. Nothing left to hold back.
Whoosh!
The blade hurtled toward Geum Seong-je.
Without hesitation.
"...Cut."
Director Gil Mi-jin's single word ended the take.
'The protagonist Ban Gi-hyeok's first murder.'
The atmosphere on set had long since turned ice-cold before that scene even began.
It wasn't frozen because something went wrong.
It was just the mood those two actors had created.
It suffocated everyone there, making it hard to even breathe.
Geum Seong-je had provoked Ban Gi-hyeok, and Ban Gi-hyeok had finally exploded.
And Director Gil Mi-jin didn't want to ruin this air for anything.
She only thought of moving to the next scene as fast as possible.
"Straight to the next scene."
Director Gil Mi-jin said firmly.
Keeping everyone from relaxing, she immediately directed the staff.
The next scene was Shin Yi-han's solo shot.
That death had to be captured now.
At Director Gil Mi-jin's instruction, Shin Yi-han nodded.
Baek Eun-won, still gripping the axe and panting, stepped aside for a moment.
The set was quickly reset.
Shin Yi-han lay where Geum Seong-je was supposed to be dead, slowly closing and opening his eyes.
"Ready."
The axe hadn't missed.
It had flown straight at Geum Seong-je, over and over.
"Action."
Cough— Blood gushed from Geum Seong-je's unfocused mouth.
In that very spot, that place where he'd taken lives countless times, now lying there.
Blood poured from his severed leg and pierced gut, soaking the floor.
Enough that it dripped from the first-floor ceiling, plop, plop.
Yet strangely...
As if welcoming his own death.
Geum Seong-je was clearly smiling.
Even as his strength faded, that smile burned bright.
Did I tell you?
It had been like this from the start.
I planned to give that poor Ban Gi-hyeok his first kill.
Because that's what Geum Seong-je wanted.
To teach his family-like friend his first murder.
To let him feel this ecstasy.
And all it took was simple.
The trigger to set Ban Gi-hyeok off.
And himself, standing at the end.
A straightforward plan. Just become the biggest obstacle.
Really.
All that effort building that tower had paid off.
A tower so heavy and solid it would drive Ban Gi-hyeok insane with frustration.
The moment it crumbled—how fun it was!
See, Gi-hyeok.
Geum Seong-je kept his eyes open to the end, taking in Ban Gi-hyeok's expression.
I told you it was easy.
Being the target of someone's first murder.
Ah. Isn't it the best?
The first sacrifice.
The first thrill.
The first death.
The next ones will be even easier.
Geum Seong-je grinned to the last.
A smile no one would think belonged to a murder victim.
Bright and radiant.
That was Geum Seong-je's end.
"Cut..."
Gulp. The moment Director Gil Mi-jin swallowed hard.
Silence fell once more.
Everyone stared blankly at Geum Seong-je.
The red blood pooling on the floor, and the utter joy contrasting it.
The glee of turning the protagonist into a denizen of hell.
And Shin Yi-han had conveyed it all with a single expression. No one could breathe.
How wicked was this villain? Words failed them.
Even Koo Do-jin, the main villain actor who'd come to watch, felt it.
That guy's... a real crazy rookie.
Koo Do-jin let out a hollow laugh as he watched Shin Yi-han. As a fellow villain, what a relief they weren't clashing.
Thank God he was an ally, not an opponent.
At the same time, the Newflix staff from the Korean branch.
After witnessing this chilling spectacle...
They finally understood what this work was.
Well... I knew this drama would succeed.
With Baek Eun-won, Koo Do-jin, Director Gil Mi-jin, and Writer Ko Ji-sook alone, it was enough.
But.
It won't just succeed. It'll be more than that.
With rookie actor Shin Yi-han, those expectations meant nothing.
Something feels... like it'll blow up big. Properly big.
And they finally realized what kind of actor Shin Yi-han was.
And all those rumors... not a single exaggeration.
Tak Bong-chun, Emamura Genji... all real?
How can a person... a rookie...
Anyone who didn't get it after this scene was an idiot.
Shin Yi-han... once it airs, it's gonna be chaos.
Yeah. We need to ramp up promo. Include Shin Yi-han no matter what.
At this level, shouldn't we push overseas too?
It was the moment their internal plans for Shin Yi-han completely changed.
And it wasn't just Newflix Korea changing.
Uh...
Writer Ko Ji-sook felt it too.
Way beyond what I imagined...
She touched her lips, lost in thought.
In this story, for Geum Seong-je...
Having witnessed this finale firsthand, regret was inevitable.
Is it right to write him out like this? This Geum Seong-je?
Something... felt wrong. Too wasteful.
A new story was forming in the writer's mind.
Maybe...
Yeah. If I do that...
It'd be even more fun.
Ko Ji-sook turned away, unable to hold back. She had to write this down now...!
Shooting wasn't over, but she had no choice but to head to her workspace quietly.
And Shin Yi-han, who had risen before he knew it.
He swept back his blood-matted hair and slowly approached the director.
Crazy. Crazy...
The onlookers nearby froze for a moment. For an instant, they couldn't distinguish him from Geum Seong-je.
It felt like the demon had opened its eyes again.
"Director."
It was understandable. Shin Yi-han deliberately didn't smile. He didn't want to break the mood yet.
"I think we should go straight to the next one. That okay?"
Shin Yi-han glanced at Baek Eun-won waiting in the wings, then spoke to the director.
It felt right.
As Geum Seong-je's end.
And conversely.
As Ban Gi-hyeok's beginning.
Ban Gi-hyeok had to wrap up this highlight.
"Of course." Director Gil Mi-jin nodded.
"Resuming shooting!"
After all, it wasn't just the protagonist, Ban Gi-hyeok, freed from oppression.
Now to be captured alone by the camera.
Baek Eun-won was the same.
Shin Yi-han thought as he watched Baek Eun-won.
He wouldn't be by his side anymore.
And Baek Eun-won would revel in that freedom, unswayed by anyone.
That moment was right around the corner.
The moment he'd rampage alone.