Chapter 95
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 095
Chapter Title: Hellbound Audition (4)
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The given script had ended long ago.
There were naturally no more scenes or lines to follow.
But.
"Cain."
The actor didn't stop acting.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
As Johan, he shed tears.
Drops of water fell—drops the devil couldn't imitate, had no need to.
Tears flowing from only one eye.
A small gap desperately found while clawing through the devil that had seized his body.
Starting from that, Johan regained a sliver of control over his body.
"Yes. Cain."
But Johan knew.
Once this fleeting moment passed, he would be completely swallowed by the devil again.
Even now, the devil wouldn't release Cain.
So he had to choose.
"This is..."
Johan exhaled heavily and parted his lips. Stiff as always, yet still affectionate.
"My ending."
Johan's arm trembled violently as it began to move.
The barrel aimed at Cain turned slowly—but with utter certainty.
Toward his own head.
"Just like you said."
Tears dripping from his right eye, his gaze mingled with worry and sorrow.
Yet Johan flashed a playful smile.
Unlike his usual blank expression, it now resembled Cain's.
"Fucking awesome."
He uttered a word he'd never normally say.
Making a joke of being dismissed as a stuffy rookie who did nothing to the protagonist.
With that, he proved it wasn't Cain's fault.
Bang!
No sound echoed through the audition room.
Yet it rang out clearly.
The barrel had been aimed squarely at Johan.
And with his head snapping back violently, the gunshot sounded.
As if a real bullet had pierced his skull, Johan's pupils lost their light in an instant, growing hazy.
Death.
Perfect revenge against the devil. Salvation for the protagonist. Death.
Now, Johan's body—housing the devil—likely couldn't withstand the holy-water bullet. It would disintegrate.
Leaving nothing behind. Nothing at all.
And truly, Johan and the devil departed from Shin Yi-han like dust scattering into nothingness.
Even as he simply stood there.
The people felt it all.
As the remnants of death faded, they realized Shin Yi-han's performance had ended.
"......"
The room fell utterly silent.
A stunned hush.
No other words could describe it.
Like witnesses to Johan's actual sacrifice, they stared at Shin Yi-han, speechless.
Director Bradden was no different.
'...Idiot or definite madman.'
That was what he'd thought just moments ago.
Bullshit. Director Bradden muttered, roughly raking back his bangs.
Utter nonsense.
'This is beyond madman...!'
The director could only glance between his script and the transformed Johan.
Over and over, he replayed what he'd just seen, aghast.
Originally, Johan's death was meant to be this:
- While Johan briefly regained his senses and held out, protagonist Cain tearfully shoots him dead.
This entire scene was for Cain from the start.
- Killing Johan with his own hands—the man who would be the same age as his deceased brother, had he survived.
- Undeniably tragic. A lifelong, indelible trauma.
A trial to forge him stronger.
- But that loathsome rage awakens Cain.
An episode solely to trigger the protagonist's awakening.
Director Bradden had been immensely satisfied with it himself.
He'd planned to make the film's highlight battle even more spectacular with it.
Yet it felt so strange.
No matter how he pondered, the scene he'd penned...
Couldn't hold a candle to what that actor had just created.
That's right.
"...I need to revise the script."
He'd lost. Completely—as director, as writer.
Director Bradden could only let out a hollow laugh.
'Mine was just tragedy.'
To turn it into... salvation.
'Insane. Truly.'
The director pressed his forehead, awestruck.
He'd transformed Johan—from a mere pitiful victim slain by the protagonist—into a sacrifice bearing the hero's sins.
And ironically, that made the story sadder, more tragic.
'With one torn script scrap, he vaulted past me, the original creator.'
Unbelievable, yet actor Yi-han had done it effortlessly.
The director dry-washed his face repeatedly, setting aside the old script.
And it wasn't just this scene that needed revision.
This Johan had utterly eclipsed Adrian's.
With a single scene.
He'd shown a Johan so captivating, the others were forgettable.
Shin Yi-han's new Johan was more alluring.
'Who could deny it?'
Before, just a sacrificial priest. Now, Shin Yi-han's Johan was a multidimensional character—his outsider life sparking curiosity about his backstory.
Rework from that foundation?
'It'd be a blast.'
'Way more...!'
The director shot to his feet. His excitement wouldn't subside.
Acknowledging his bias was wrong—and beholding a gem too brilliant, too tempting to pass up.
And then.
Clap, clap, clap!
Shattering the suffocating silence, applause erupted.
From casting director John.
His face alight with emotion, he clapped first.
He couldn't help cheering—proof his choice was right.
'Planned ahead?'
Before this impossible acting, John shivered.
No. How could he anticipate such a scene?
John knew better than anyone: it was undisclosed to auditionees.
'He built Johan from scratch to finish alone.'
Bigger applause for the improvisation.
And then.
Clap clap clap! Staff and judges, watching together, joined in one by one.
Toward Shin Yi-han, who proved it all overwhelmingly.
He'd nailed what everyone deemed impossible—in one take. Perfectly.
Shin Yi-han beamed at the sound.
He hadn't expected applause.
But he felt much closer to the role of Johan.
Worth the trip here, somehow.
Everyone's faces confirmed it.
Even after Shin Yi-han's performance ended, the murmurs and gasps lingered.
Staff stared blankly at his soft smile amid the applause.
'That devil from before... same guy?'
His bright face, pure smile—they couldn't look away.
His current vibe made the earlier acting unimaginable.
The devil playing dolls cruelly yet innocently, toying with Johan completely.
The little brother's voice threatening Kevin.
Johan gazing tenderly at the devil to the end, thrashing desperately.
So many contrasting auras—it was hard to believe one man delivered them all.
Chills prickled anew.
'Never expected this from an Asian.'
'Yeah. Totally insane.'
Someone drooled.
'The devil felt eerie yet magnetic.'
'The priest... poignant, but fatally alluring too?'
'And tears from one eye!'
Adrian's initial Johan had been plenty attractive.
But Shin Yi-han's was more.
Different league.
Adrian's felt like a noble angel, end of story.
Shin Yi-han's was a desperate human struggling to the last—tugging heartstrings, his death cutting deep.
A fully fleshed character, brimming with intrigue.
And Shin Yi-han's Johan didn't stop there.
Fresh allure, un clichéd. Alien freshness sparking imagination.
In a word.
'Yi-han was more captivating.'
Everyone nodded in agreement.
'What we want is...'
Ask who fit this Hellbound Johan best?
'...Yi-han's Johan. No choice.'
Undeniably Shin Yi-han.
Other auditionees lingered too, unable to leave easily.
Huddled in corners, utterly deflated.
Noses not just bloodied—shoved inward. Their sneers and backtalk? Pointless folly.
'Monster. What else?'
Faces drained white.
'Is this real acting?'
'No comparison.'
Forgetting they'd deemed the Asian inferior, they gaped in shock.
'What actors do they have in Korea?'
'Wait. Are all Korean actors this level...?'
They wanted to deny it.
'Lies. How could an Asian pull that off?'
But after that performance? No repeating old thoughts.
One by one, they slunk away, tails between legs. The verdict was in.
All except Adrian Hillman.
He stood still, gazing at Shin Yi-han.
'......'
The cocky Adrian from before was gone.
He bit his lip.
Just so ashamed.
He knew Yi-han's caliber, yet thought he could catch up.
Stooping to childish sabotage.
Ears burning red from his own hubris.
Adrian scanned the room wordlessly.
The mood had swung to Shin Yi-han long ago. Over for real.
Honestly, when the director tore and tossed the script at Yi-han...
'Figured total failure.'
No CG, no makeup.
No prior warning—how to act a devil?
Yet Yi-han nailed it.
Damn well.
Like a protagonist's finale—insanely cool.
Adrian clenched his fist.
'No. I can do it too.'
He shook his head, trying to refocus.
'I can...'
But recalling Shin Yi-han soaring freely even in unscripted moments.
'I can...'
Adrian realized he couldn't surpass Yi-han.
'Can't.'
His calculated acting—angles, glances all precise.
Out of reach.
That much was certain.
But Adrian lifted his head.
Didn't care if called foolish.
Didn't want to lose so powerlessly. Couldn't concede on untested acting.
Swallowing defeat, he approached Shin Yi-han.
"Director Bradden."
Precisely, to Director Bradden in front of him.
"Give me a chance too."
At least show he hadn't given up.
Especially to Yi-han.
But Director Bradden, hearing it—his face held pity and refusal.
"No."
"......!"
The director shook his head firmly.
"Sorry, Adrian."
A polite rejection.
Hellbound's Johan was decided.
The audition ended here.