Chapter 152: Interactive Movie
Chapter 152: Interactive Movie
I prepared an interactive movie as the hidden card for this fan meeting.
It was a short film format where the story branched depending on the viewer’s choices, and the ending changed.
There was a reason I chose content this cumbersome and challenging for a fan meeting.
Because I wanted to leave everyone who came with a deeper, more special experience.
The fans held remotes and decided my actions inside the video.
In that process, the fans weren’t just observers—they became participants who made the story together.
The feeling of breathing together.
The sense of achievement that we completed this story together.
That kind of experience couldn’t help but carve itself far deeper and stronger into memory.
And I’d done a lot of this.
This interactive format was a technique used often in advertising too.
It was popular because it effectively delivered a brand message by inducing consumers to participate actively in ad content.
That was why I stepped forward and took full charge of the planning, script, and directing of this video.
Because I couldn’t afford to do it half-baked.
Backstage, I watched the fans’ reactions.
The murmuring.
The gasps and cheers.
Thankfully, the response looked pretty positive.
“Don’t tell me…”
“The story moves forward based on what we choose…?”
“This is insane…!”
“Ryu Sunho is seriously a genius!”
Even while the admiration kept spilling out, the countdown numbers at the top of the screen were dropping fast.
5, 4, 3…
[Q. You hear a sound outside. What do you do?]
A. Open the door and go out.
B. Pretend you’re not there and stay inside.
“You have to choose fast!”
“A? B?”
“Shouldn’t we check outside? We need to know what’s going on!”
“What if it’s dangerous! Let’s just pretend we’re not here!”
“No, if it’s Sunho, he would’ve gone out!”
“Just press something!”
Urgent voices burst out from all over the seats.
A moment later, as if the tally had finished, the result appeared on the screen.
[A. Open the door and go out (2,587 votes)]
[B. Pretend you’re not there and stay inside (1,201 votes)]
There were 5,000 people attending the fan meeting, but it seemed quite a lot of them were so flustered they didn’t manage to press a button.
Princess Shupi, mixed into the middle of the audience, was the same.
…This was something she never even imagined.
She’d enjoyed Korean content for a long time, and thanks to her natural language intelligence, she had no trouble reading and listening to most Korean.
But this kind of novel format was her first time, so she’d stared blankly at the screen without thinking.
This is already so fun. Next time I have to press it for sure!
Princess Shupi’s eyes sparkled as she corrected her posture.
She gripped the remote in her hand tightly.
Her will to participate properly was practically pouring out of her whole body.
After that, the video proceeded according to the majority result.
[A. Open the door and go out]
In the video, Ryu Sunho hesitated briefly, then grabbed the doorknob.
Click—
When he opened the door, there was nobody in the hallway.
Only silence lingered.
[…Was I imagining it.]
Ryu Sunho tilted his head, then closed the door.
Back in the room, his eyes landed on a uniform hanging on a rack.
A police uniform.
For an instant, Ryu Sunho’s gaze wavered.
It should have felt familiar.
But for some reason, today it felt only strange.
[…Everything feels off today. Did I not sleep well.]
Muttering to himself, he picked up the uniform.
With awkward hands, Ryu Sunho fastened the buttons one by one.
When a full shot finally caught him dressed in the police uniform, gasps burst out throughout the audience.
“Woooow…”
“His visuals are insane.”
“That uniform fit is crazy, seriously…!”
Beep-beep—
Ryu Sunho went to work at the police station.
The station was busy from the morning.
A space mixed with ringing phones, radio static, and the thick scent of instant mix coffee.
[Ryu, go on patrol with us today. Senior Kim says he’s sick.]
[That nasty complainant yesterday—did you really solve it with one sentence? I keep saying it, your face is a weapon.]
[I’m jealous! I should’ve been born handsome too!]
Ryu Sunho naturally nodded and smiled.
He took their jokes, organized paperwork, and blended into their day as if it were nothing.
After that, as they patrolled, small, quiet episodes flowed by in a bright tone.
Holding a child’s hand at a crosswalk while waiting for the light.
Carrying a lost elderly person with dementia on his back and bringing them home.
Climbing a ladder and carefully bringing down a cat stuck in a tree.
Just as everything seemed peaceful, a frantic voice burst out of the radio.
—Alley near Gwangjang Market, assault dispute report received. One suspect fleeing. Requesting support.
Ryu Sunho’s eyes sharpened in an instant.
[We’re close. We’ll respond.]
With a siren, the patrol car turned into the alley.
People murmured and made way.
A man collapsed on the ground, groaning with a nosebleed.
At that moment, at the far end of the alley, a man in a black hoodie looked back, then started sprinting away.
[…Stop right there!]
Ryu Sunho kicked the car door open and sprang out.
A chase that continued rough enough to leave him breathless.
As the distance narrowed through the tight alley, the man cornered in a dead end suddenly turned and stopped.
[Fuck… I told you not to follow me!]
The moment the man spat out the curse and pulled a box cutter from his clothing, the screen froze again, and a choice appeared.
[Q. How do you subdue a man with a weapon?]
A. Subdue him quickly by force
B. Calmly attempt dialogue
The audience began to murmur again.
“What do we do!”
“He’s got a weapon! That’s dangerous!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to approach with dialogue…?”
“Right…? It’s dangerous…”
“Everyone!!! This isn’t a real situation, it’s a video!!! So pick A no matter what!!! A means an action scene!!!!”
At that, a wave of “Ah!”-type exclamations burst out.
After that, only the rapid clicking of buttons filled the hall.
This time, Princess Shupi didn’t miss it either.
An action scene with Ryu in uniform… I have to see it.
It was a button you only needed to press lightly, but she pressed down hard with her thumb, like she was trying to add her strength too.
[A. Subdue him quickly by force (4,278 votes)]
[B. Calmly attempt dialogue (722 votes)]
A fiery result appeared immediately.
An overwhelming gap.
[A. Subdue him quickly by force]
The suspect rushed in, swinging the weapon.
Ryu Sunho gritted his teeth, dodged fast, and drove an elbow into the solar plexus.
Then he pressed a knee into the back of the suspect’s knee to break his balance, twisted the wrist, and pinned him to the ground.
Clatter—
The knife the man was holding hit the ground.
Click—
The sound of handcuffs followed.
[Hoo…]
Ryu Sunho sat down where he was, drawing rough breaths.
Sweat beaded over the uniform.
Groaning sounds erupted from all over.
“That action… what the hell…! That’s insane!!”
“Look at him sweating… so fucking sexy…”
“He’s good at action too? What is this?!”
“What can’t he do?!”
In the middle of that, on screen, a coworker who had arrived behind him spoke.
[That settles it. Clean. You really are the ace.]
The suspect was taken away.
The scene was cleared.
The coworker lightly tapped Ryu Sunho’s shoulder.
[What can’t you do? You’re good with your body, you’re smart, you’re good with people.]
[This is my job. I should be good at it.]
For some reason, those words circled inside his mouth like grains of sand, rough and unpleasant.
It felt like he’d said something wrong.
After that, on the way back to the station, they were waiting at a light when a drama teaser flickered across a giant electronic billboard at the intersection.
The face was blurry, but the silhouette felt oddly familiar.
His heart started pounding for no reason.
[…What’s wrong with me.]
A coworker tapped his shoulder.
[What’s wrong? Are you sick?]
[No. It’s nothing.]
He brushed it off, but strange things kept happening after that.
On the patrol car radio, along with bizarre noise, an out-of-nowhere announcement came through.
—Bzzzt… MBS Acting Awards, Best New Actor (Male)! The winner is… Mr. Ryu Sunho of “Possessed Investigation”! Congratulations!
At the same time, faint cheers and applause could be heard.
[…Did you hear that?]
[Hear what?]
[…The radio just said Best New Actor, Ryu Sunho.]
[What are you talking about? Why are you being scary all of a sudden?]
The coworker looked like he heard nothing.
It was like a hallucination only Ryu Sunho could hear.
Maybe I’m just tired.
Back at the station, before pulling night duty, Ryu Sunho thought he should at least close his eyes for a bit.
He went into the break room, opened his locker, and felt around to find a sleep mask.
That was when his fingertips touched an unfamiliar object.
…Huh?
When he pulled it out, it was a yellow dog-shaped mask.
…What is this? Who put this in here?
He looked around, then, as if possessed, lifted the mask—
and his vision flashed.
Flash—!
Brilliant stage lights.
Countless faces.
Applause and cheers pouring toward him.
Cameras, slate claps, scripts.
Sealed memories flooded in like a dam breaking.
At the same time, his breath caught in his throat.
[Ah…]
Only then did all the pieces fit.
[…No wonder everything felt unfamiliar.]
Ryu Sunho looked down at the police uniform he was wearing and murmured quietly.
[But wait… is this the dream, or was that just now the dream…?]
The moment Ryu Sunho stared at himself in the mirror with baffled eyes, the space in front of him crackled and split.
On the left was the police station he was standing in now.
On the right was the backstage of the fan meeting stage, filled with light.
The two worlds split apart, waiting for Ryu Sunho’s choice.
At the bottom of the screen, the final choice appeared.
[Q. You have regained all your memories. What do you choose?]
A. Stay in this world and live as a police officer
B. Return to the fan meeting stage
This time there was no murmuring, no debating.
As if everyone shared telepathy, they all pressed the remote at once.
Clickclickclickclick—
[A. Stay in this world and live as a police officer (4 votes)]
[B. Return to the fan meeting stage (4,996 votes)]
The result was overwhelming.
[B. Return to the fan meeting stage]
Ryu Sunho looked toward the stage where light was pouring down.
Unfastening the buttons of the police uniform one by one, he smiled.
[Right. There are so many people waiting for me. I should go.]
With those words, the video on the screen went dark.
And then, again, the hall lights came on bright.
“……!”
Ryu Sunho walked out onto the stage.
He wore an awkward smile, like someone waking from a long dream.
He looked over the audience one by one, then smiled brightly and said, “As always. Today too—and up to right now—the reason I’ve been able to come this far is thanks to your support.”
At that moment, a roar of cheers and applause erupted, as if it would lift Olympic Park right off the ground.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
In an editing room somewhere in Seoul, Director Baek Junbong was rubbing his eyes again and again in front of the monitor.
Bloodshot eyes, messy hair, dark stubble.
He looked exhausted to anyone—but there was no tiredness on his face.
Instead, like he was a young man making his debut again, his eyes sparkled and the corners of his mouth lifted.
He always wore that expression whenever he polished a scene Ryu Sunho acted in.
“So… so perfect…! This is the art I dreamed of.”
Even when broken down frame by frame, there was nothing to pick at.
It was so perfect there was no need to add even the “magic” of editing.
Thanks to that, the rough cut finished far faster than expected, and now only post-production work like sound mixing remained.
“Good. Now it’s time to start letting people know.”
Director Baek Junbong spoke in a voice full of certainty.
Beside him, the assistant director nodded and quietly leaked a tip to film reporters.
[(Exclusive) Director Baek Junbong’s new film “Mueon:ga” in final editing stage… Cannes submission highly likely]
At the same time, another piece of news was circulating through the film world.
Word spread that the film “Boundary,” starring Gong Hajin, was also nearing the end of editing.
[“Boundary,” starring Gong Hajin, accelerates post-production… Cannes firmly targeted]
Ryu Sunho’s “Mueon:ga” and Gong Hajin’s “Boundary.”
A head-on clash between Korea’s top star and a rising star.
Articles saying both films were aiming for Cannes began to set the internet on fire.