Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Movie Shooting (5)
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According to the script, a monster was supposed to appear soon and attack Bora and me.
But Bora briefly took her eyes off the script and spoke to us.
"...We've come this far, so how about coming in for a moment? I can offer you some light hospitality."
Hospitality in a situation like this?
I was dumbfounded, but at the same time, I thought that kind of composure was just like Bora.
Without even waiting for our response, she casually pushed open the creaky front gate and stepped inside the house.
We exchanged glances with each other before following behind her.
"Wow... The color of the floorboards here, and that old clock over there... They recreated it exactly the same..."
Once inside, Bora looked around every corner of the house with eyes sparkling like a child's.
Her voice carried both surprise and an unmistakable note of excitement.
But that lasted only a moment. Spotting a small camera cleverly hidden in one corner of the room, her expression quickly cooled, and she frowned.
"They really put one even here..."
This shoot seemed to follow us no matter where we went.
"Oh..."
"Impressive."
We cautiously explored the house's interior behind Bora.
It was definitely an old-fashioned interior that you wouldn't see in modern city homes.
The faded wallpaper, creaky wooden floorboards, and the large mother-of-pearl chest of drawers occupying one side of the living room bore the traces of time while retaining an air of elegance, creating a strange atmosphere.
The other old wooden furniture was the same.
Not every space in the house drew admiration, however.
Creeeak—
"Uwaaak!"
"What happened...?"
As we passed through the living room toward the back, Hanbit, who was in the lead, absentmindedly opened a door and let out a startled scream.
Shocked by his cry, we peeked inside to see what was wrong, and I felt chills run down my spine from head to toe.
It was a room.
But not an ordinary one.
The walls on all sides—even the ceiling—were completely covered in yellow talismans without a single gap.
There were at least hundreds of them, emanating an eerie energy as if they were alive and writhing. The room was filled with the musty scent of old paper unique to talismans and an indescribable sense of pressure.
"What is this place...?"
"A m-monster phenomenon?"
The other team members recoiled in horror at the sight, but Bora just smiled casually as if it were nothing.
"Oh, this is the room where I draw talismans. I drew them whenever I was bored and collected them there... Ah, the ones on that wall are samples I drew for reference. What do you think? Cool, right?"
She spoke nonchalantly, but none of us dared step foot into that "cool" room.
Even after hearing her explanation, it still felt bizarre and creepy.
We exchanged silent glances and quietly closed the door. We absolutely did not want to go into that room.
"Have a seat here for a bit. I'll get you some water."
Bora guided us to the living room as if it were no big deal.
With practiced hands, she opened the fridge, took out some chilled barley tea, and poured it into glass cups.
Receiving such ordinary hospitality in this situation felt strangely off.
Even amid it all, Hanbit was still peering around the house's corners with the wide-eyed curiosity of a child. It was a very young-master-like reaction.
As we quenched our thirst with the cold barley tea, Park Sunja cautiously asked Bora.
"By any chance, is this house unused by anyone right now?"
Bora took a sip of her barley tea and answered matter-of-factly.
"Yes, it's completely empty now. Grandma's hospitalized in a big hospital in Seoul due to health issues, and both my parents are up there taking care of her. And as you can see, I've joined White Tiger, so no one will be coming here for the time being."
Her words seemed to carry a fleeting hint of loneliness, but she quickly reverted to her usual spirited expression.
Park Sunja nodded for a moment before posing the main question—the one probably on all our minds.
"Then... do you know anything about a monster that might be hiding around here? The script clearly says it uses a hidden monster to attack us."
At that question, Bora seemed to think for a bit before giving an unexpected answer.
"Actually... there aren't many monsters around here. My family put up talismans all over the area, so minor ones can't easily come down from the mountains. And more than that...
Bora narrowed her eyes and glanced out the window.
"There's a Great Tiger living on this mountain, so other monsters don't dare cause trouble."
"Great Tiger?"
It was a term I'd never heard before.
Seeing my puzzled expression, Bora added an explanation.
"It's literally a huge tiger. Though I'm not sure if it's a real tiger. Grandma called it the mountain spirit, and my parents said it's probably just a powerful monster in tiger form. I don't know which is right, but one thing's for sure—it's incredibly strong."
The moment we heard that story, all of us team members seemed to share the same thought. We exchanged looks and fell silent.
Could the monster from the script—the one attacking us—be that Great Tiger?
The script's title was even the Tiger Murder Case.
Perhaps reading our uneasy expressions, Bora chuckled.
"Nah, no way. The Great Tiger isn't so low-class that it'd get involved in something this trivial."
She stated it confidently, but I couldn't fully believe her.
This monster phenomenon had already exceeded our imaginations multiple times.
As proof, Hanbit was already convinced the Great Tiger would appear.
"...It wasn't exactly the same, but they mimicked my great-uncle and the Divine General, so a tiger is nothing..."
"Ah... Th-that's not what I meant..."
Seeing Hanbit looking a bit sulky, Bora finally realized her slip and apologized to him.
That's when Park Sunja spoke up.
"If... that Great Tiger were to attack us, what would be the best thing to do?"
To my question, Bora replied without the slightest hesitation, in a very firm voice.
"You run. Without looking back. It's as big as this house, and any ordinary talisman turns to ash the moment it touches its body."
Her description alone sent shivers down my spine.
A tiger the size of a house.
But Bora, who had paused mid-sentence, suddenly froze as if remembering something and stared right at me.
The look in her eyes was unusual.
"Come to think of it..."
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
Her gaze left me speechless for a moment.
Still staring straight through me, she asked in a voice that sounded incredulous yet somehow certain.
"By any chance... Minjun, you're not the tiger, are you?"
"What? What are you talking about...?"
...
"Hmm."
What on earth did she think I was?
It was right then.
Once again, that damn director's voice echoed through the air to all of us.
This time, it was much louder than before, with an excited tone.
No sooner had the voice ended than a massive roar that seemed to shake the entire mountain exploded from outside the house.
Rumble!
It felt like a huge landslide had hit. The ground shook, and the house windows rattled violently.
"Wh-what is this...!"
Panicking, we just stared at each other before instinctively rushing outside toward the source of the sound.
And in that moment, I felt an intense chill, as if the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.
My gaze naturally turned toward the mountain, where the sound originated.
It was night outside before we knew it.
And... I saw it.
Midway up the mountain, on a massive boulder, backlit by the moon—an overwhelming presence.
"Impossible..."
"It's a tiger..."
It was a tiger the size of a house, literally.
Its golden fur gleamed with a mystical sheen under the moonlight, and its eyes blazed with a chilling red glow.
And the most shocking thing was what that massive tiger had in its mouth.
Fwoosh.
A mass of talismans burning bright red.
Held in its jaws like a toy.
"The barrier...!"
The talismans in the tiger's mouth looked like the ones meant to drive away monsters.
They burned like paper, crumbling powerlessly into ash inside its maw.
Then, one by one, blue-eyed figures began emerging from the mountain shadows.
"...Wild dogs too."
There were at least twenty of them—monsters in the form of wild dogs, surrounding the Great Tiger like loyal followers.
They weren't ordinary dogs.
Some had three eyes, others two tails, or an extra malformed leg—grotesque forms beyond normal creatures.
Thud, thud.
As the tiger slowly descended the mountain, its size became all too real.
Just looking it in the eyes triggered primal fear.
Was this the Great Tiger Bora mentioned?
It revealed its majesty toward us.
"Grrr...!"
Along with that somehow familiar growl.