Lab and Non-Lab (2)
“Um, Academician.”
A grad student fan raised her hand with a trembling voice.
“Can I post on Non-Lab that we're all watching Demon Hunter with beer and chicken together in the lab right now?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Could you maybe take a photo for proof...”
“Come here. Together—oh, hold on a sec.”
The moment he said he'd take a photo if they came over, sparks flew from the grad students' eyes all at once.
There was no way he could snap one with just a single person and move on.
“The drama's about to start soon, so it'd be better to take one group shot and post it. I'll use my phone.”
He'd only called for whoever wanted one, but not a single one held back—they all crowded around Jeong Seo-hoon.
Jeong Seo-hoon took a few shots with his own phone, picked one, and applied face stickers to everyone except himself.
Then he uploaded it to the incoming master's students' group chat.
“Thanks!”
The grad student fans saved the photo each on their phones, beaming with joy. Even with face stickers, it was a great memory.
Park Yeo-jin, the chemical engineering alum who'd boldly surrendered to Lee Se-jong at graduation, grinned mischievously and quickly posted to Non-Lab.
The Hunter: Demon Hunter dropped worldwide all at once.
NetPrime released all six episodes in one go.
Total runtime: about six hours.
Truth be told, the grad student fans weren't all that into the early-middle parts.
Everyone on Non-Lab knew Jeong Seo-hoon didn't show up properly until episode five.
But the experience of watching even those first four episodes with him was priceless.
The protagonist Lee Hwang (Oh Jun-ho) hunted society's evils for a living.
He dispatched them with his own hands but made them vanish as disappearances unknown to the world. If that was tricky, he'd frame it as suicides.
How he gathered his crew or funded ops? Never explained.
Before viewers could question it, the director bombarded them with insane action from the jump.
—Director: “Team lead, these are the guys. The distributors feeding 'Blue Colchicine'—new designer drug—around Gangnam clubs.”
Lee Hwang: “Dope 'em all up. Careful not to kill any.”
—Crew: “Got it!”
Lee Hwang nabbed the new drug ring the cops couldn't touch and dosed every last one of their dozens of execs.
No loose ends for police trails later—simple cleanup.
—Lee Hwang: “Body's handled, but the head?”
—Crew: “Trail's gone cold.”
—Lee Hwang: “Gotta be something at the break point.”
—Crew: “Sangwon Pharma.”
The name of Korea's top pharma firm dropped, and the plot accelerated hard.
—Crew: “Why's Sangwon Pharma tangled with junkies?”
—Crew: “This ain't right, team lead.”
After digging deep, they learned the drug org's headless body led to Sangwon Pharma inside director Kang Geon-jung.
A royal family heir set for CEO—why?
Kang Geon-jung was the drama's first villain.
—Kang Geon-jung: “You bastards! Think you can touch me and walk free in this country?!”
—Crew: “We got backing too, Director Kang.”
Kidnapped, Kang blustered at first, but noble blood didn't hold up to torture.
—Kang Geon-jung: “Money... It's the money.”
—Lee Hwang: “Just cash? Top pharma slinging drugs for pocket change? Makes no sense.”
—Kang Geon-jung: “Not pocket change... One line running a week... Years' worth of profit... In cash...”
—Lee Hwang: “Ah, slush fund pipeline?”
Under duress, Kang confessed diverting part of an antipsychotic line for off-books cash.
—Lee Hwang: “They know he's gone by now, right?”
—Crew: “Yes, team lead.”
—Lee Hwang: “Then let's bury 'em.”
Oh Jun-ho nailed Lee Hwang's dangerous pretty-boy noir vibe on a knife's edge.
Chiseled face shrouded in thick cigarette smoke under dim lights.
The grad fans, mesmerized, instinctively glanced at Jeong Seo-hoon.
That guy belonged in the TV, not perched regally in the dark AV room's center.
Not tearing eyes from Lee Hwang felt impossibly sexy.
—Lee Hwang: “That punk ain't the head.”
—Crew: “But team lead...”
—Lee Hwang: “Drug head? Sure. Real head? Nah.”
—Crew: “Then...?”
—Lee Hwang: “Know who owns Sangwon Pharma?”
Lee Hwang slammed open the shareholder disclosure, jabbing a finger.
EsOne Corporation
—Lee Hwang: “Real head's in there. Catch that guy—or guys—and the hunt's truly done.”
At first, the undergrad fans wished the early episodes would fly by. They wanted Jeong Seo-hoon now.
Minds changed.
How would Lee Hwang and Jeong Seo-hoon first clash?
How tangled, how dangerously tense?
Imagining that thrill made hearts pound to burst.
—Lee Hwang: “Demons gotta be worth hunting.”
EsOne Corporation: foreign firm, Asia HQ in Korea.
Lee Hwang shook down prosecutors, judges, officials shielding demons for intel.
—Lee Hwang: “CEO's just a salaried suit. Knows zilch. Waste squeezing him.”
—Crew: “Team lead, why's EsOne suing some random food company?”
—Lee Hwang: “Looks unrelated. Everything's got a cause. We just ain't found it.”
Spotlight stayed tight on Lee Hwang.
Grad fans realized they'd fallen for his acting—and worried if Jeong Seo-hoon, debuting so late, would steal it.
Then self-crit: Weak faith as fans.
EsOne crushed the food firm, snapped it up quick.
Lee Hwang's crew quizzed ex-employees: odd intel.
—Food Researcher: “Acquirers sent a few R&D types. They took over everything.”
—Lee Hwang: “R&D? Dispatched?”
—Food Researcher: “Started some food dev project right away. Felt off—like transplanting a finished product.”
—Lee Hwang: “Thanks. Keep it quiet.”
Posing as cops got the secret.
On launch day, Lee Hwang snagged EsOne sub's new food trio, tested ingredients.
—Crew: “All clean. MFDS-approved foods.”
—Lee Hwang: “Can't be.”
Gangnam's Blue Colchicine plague, Sangwon Pharma producer.
Sangwon's shadow owner EsOne, acquired food firm, new products.
Lee Hwang's gut screamed connection.
—Crew: “That new lab head?”
—Crew: “Yeah. Song I-seok, Food R&D Director.”
—Lee Hwang: “Bet he's wired to EsOne's real boss...”
Second villain: R&D Director Song I-seok.
Elite of elites—PhDs in chem eng, pharma, biotech—from top uni.
—Lee Hwang: “Triple-PhD whiz in chem/pharma/bio—why slum in food?”
Second prey to reach true demon.
—Lee Hwang: “Kang's 'car accident' worked, but back-to-back hits raise flags. Watch him.”
—Crew: “Yes, team lead.”
Finally, a tail.
Caught Song I-seok meeting EsOne suit.
—Lee Hwang: “Who's that?”
—Crew: “EsOne in-house counsel, Yoon Se-hyeon.”
End of episode four: Jeong Seo-hoon's back finally appeared.
—Academician's back! ㅠㅠ
—How's just a back this thrilling
—F*cking sexy shoulder blades, slurp
—^Those gold-chain slaves must be staring at his face and back rn? Insanely jealous ㅠㅠ
—Oh Jun-ho's hot af too, top5 handsome actor class holds ㄷㄷㄷ
“Break for a bit? Or tomorrow? Four hours straight—you all look beat...”
“No way! Keep going!”
“If we don't watch now, we'll die. Way more fun together!”
“We're good!”
Grad fans chorused; Jeong Seo-hoon yielded a step.
“Twenty-minute break, then continue.”
“Yes!”
Episode five kicked off with visuals as assaultive as episode one's opener.
One hooked eyes with nonstop flashy action; five flipped the mood with sticky glamour.
—Choi Ye-ju: “Oppa, new Hermès is cute.”
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Buy it yourself.”
—Choi Ye-ju: “Ugh, solo swipe and they'll think I'm a bar girl.”
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “You sell booze.”
—Choi Ye-ju: “Bar ops same as luxury? Totally different!”
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Busy today. Take Oh Director.”
—Choi Ye-ju: “Tch.”
Not cute couple banter—dizzying, hazardous pair.
Viewers held breath at Yoo Jeong-ah's sharp sexy scent, exhaled at Jeong Seo-hoon's sculpted aloof menace.
One second of long white legs flashing under robe as she approached back-turned man: lethal dose.
Scene shift: Choi Ye-ju struts lavish wide hall.
—Choi Ye-ju: “Oh Director, how tall are you?”
Camera pans hulking bodyguard trailing.
Impressionist thug visuals flooded screen; grad fans startled inwardly.
Whoa.
What the—
Detective? Why there?
Fanmeet memory: that savage glare, exact voice.
—Oh Director: “Two meters.”
—Choi Ye-ju: “Damn, tall. Gimme 5cm?”
—Oh Director: “Take it. My life's the boss's.”
Quick line, but echoed weirdly in heads.
—Choi Ye-ju: “Reliable. Worth keeping close, oppa.”
Second-floor lobby pitstop—sudden strangers ambushed.
—Intruders: “There! EsOne boss's girl!”
—Intruders: “Grab her! Tank the big guy!”
Intruders charged; Oh Director scooped Choi Ye-ju expressionless, bolted.
Master's student Park Yeo-jin thrilled at calm loyal hound guarding master's woman.
Master's Im Dae-su pictured grizzly with deer in jaws.
Fresh from yesterday's nature doc intensity.
Oh Director burst from building; curb block shattered, he tumbled—but midair twist shielded her to the end.
—Choi Ye-ju: “Oh Director, can't you do it right?”
—Oh Director: “Sorry.”
Amid chaos, she griped; he deadpanned her into waiting car.
Car peeled out; Oh Director turned.
Loosening shoulder-neck muscles, sauntering in—sharp imprint; deep young voice settled calmly over.
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Oh Director. Drop Ye-ju off safe?”
Scene flipped; blood dripping from Oh Director's fist, standing firm before Yoon Se-hyeon.
Short nod; Yoon bored again.
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Those guys? The ones tailing Song Director?”
—Oh Director: “Yes. The watchers from your last Song meet.”
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Not total duds then. Worth showing faces. You let 'em all slip.”
—Oh Director: “Sorry.”
Two-shot spins slow on Oh Director's head to Yoon chin-propped gaze; camera sinks into Oh's eyes.
Viewers naturally followed Oh's line-of-sight to Yoon Se-hyeon's full-face fill.
Weary, bored, jaded from every luxury/pleasure—expression of one born to rule and crush all below, lifelong.
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Do better. Make up for it.”
Dry smile, no smirk—invaded chests, faintly scratched some heart valve unpleasantly.
Master's Park Yeo-jin unwittingly turned to Jeong Seo-hoon.
At some point, he'd mirrored his onscreen face exactly.
Rehearsing, replaying his performance even now?
—Yoon Se-hyeon: “Do better. Make up for it.”
Speaker line matched the live expression perfectly before her eyes.
No need to watch TV—she knew the visuals.
Or did she need TV at all?
The real one's right here.
That instant, Jeong Seo-hoon glanced her way.
Piercing, indifferent stare—not today's kind Jeong Seo-hoon.
Vibe radiating danger, gripping eyes: patent attorney Yoon Se-hyeon.
Ah...
Park Yeo-jin teared up from sheer bliss.
Glad I came to grad school...