Chapter 97: Movie Release (2)
Chapter 97: Movie Release (2)
The scent of blood seemed to waft right out of the screen.
Cha Seo-ah looked down at Seo Gwang-il, who lay collapsed and bleeding from his head.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, and a sharp pain radiated from her waist.
「…….」
Cha Seo-ah stared at the shattered window.
It was the mark left behind when Seo Gwang-il had snatched her hammer and smashed the glass.
Aside from Seo Gwang-il, who was breathing faintly, no one else was there.
While Seo Gwang-il had held her back, Han Ye-hwa had escaped through the broken window.
「Ha.」
Cha Seo-ah used the remaining duct tape to bind the unconscious Seo Gwang-il before he could wake up.
「It’s not enough.」
She had used too much tape when restraining Han Ye-hwa earlier.
The scene cut away, showing the escaped Han Ye-hwa ducking into a nearby convenience store.
She had been cut by glass, making it difficult for her to run any further.
「Oh my goodness, what happened to you? Get inside and try to do something about those wounds. I’ll call an ambulance.」
The convenience store clerk looked at Han Ye-hwa with startled eyes and ushered her toward the back storage room.
As Han Ye-hwa caught her breath inside the storage room and tried to call the police—
「Oh, Seo-ah! Why are you so hurt?」
A new customer entered the store.
It was the part-time worker, Cha Seo-ah.
She had come to get tools to kill Detective Seo Gwang-il and more duct tape.
At that moment, the clerk’s gaze fixed on Cha Seo-ah.
The audience held their breath, thinking, No way.
And then.
With a face full of worry, the clerk spoke to Cha Seo-ah.
「What on earth is happening today? That’s the second one already.」
At those words, Cha Seo-ah’s hand froze.
A collective gasp filled the theater.
Forgetting they were in a crowded cinema, the audience let out involuntary groans of dread.
What followed was exactly as everyone expected.
As soon as she received the tools, Cha Seo-ah murdered the convenience store clerk.
However, what was unexpected was Cha Seo-ah’s reaction afterward.
For the first time, a 'readable' emotion appeared on Cha Seo-ah’s face.
Agony.
Regret.
An emotion that Cha Seo-ah herself didn't seem to fully recognize manifested vividly on the screen.
It felt suffocating.
Gnawing on her lower lip, Cha Seo-ah wore an expression that was neither a cry nor a laugh.
'Wow.'
This time, the audience gasped for a different reason.
A face that was crying while laughing.
She didn't even realize it herself, repeatedly touching her own face.
The frustration and desperation radiating from her were palpable.
For the first time, the audience empathized with the pain Cha Seo-ah was feeling.
At the very end.
The face of the dead clerk and the faces of her parents overlapped like a phantom.
Unable to look any longer, Cha Seo-ah turned away.
Toward the storage room where Han Ye-hwa was hiding.
The moment she slowly pushed the door open, Han Ye-hwa, who had been holding a soju bottle, smashed it over Cha Seo-ah’s head.
*
Detective Im Seung-cheol ran.
He followed Detective Seo Gwang-il, who had rushed to the scene first, and found him unconscious.
Sensing Im Seung-cheol’s presence, Seo Gwang-il forced out a single sentence through his fading consciousness.
「She... she escaped. She went... went after her.」
Escaped and pursued.
At first, he thought it meant Cha Seo-ah had run away, but he soon realized Han Ye-hwa was nowhere to be seen.
Detective Seo Gwang-il had desperately saved Han Ye-hwa.
And Cha Seo-ah had gone to hunt her down.
Or perhaps she had gone to get a tool to finish off Seo Gwang-il.
It didn't matter which.
Im Seung-cheol ran.
He had been running so much today he had lost count.
His breath hitched in his throat, and sweat poured off him like rain.
Searching the nearby area, he finally reached the convenience store.
A weekday afternoon.
The blinds were drawn, obscuring the view inside.
Since it was a store he visited often, Im Seung-cheol knew.
The lady who ran this place would never close up without a word.
「You crazy son of a bitch!!」
Kicking the door open, he burst inside to see Cha Seo-ah strangling Han Ye-hwa.
Han Ye-hwa lay collapsed, bleeding from her head.
And Cha Seo-ah’s head was also covered in blood.
Seeing this, Im Seung-cheol charged and kicked Cha Seo-ah with all his might.
Crash! A display stand toppled over.
Even as she fell, Cha Seo-ah grabbed the hammer that had dropped to the floor.
「Fine, then. Let’s do this.」
「…….」
Glancing at Han Ye-hwa’s condition, Im Seung-cheol slowly stepped between them.
He aimed his Taser at Cha Seo-ah.
Cha Seo-ah’s lips curled into a twisted smirk.
It was an uncanny smile that didn't look human.
The moment that smile hardened like stone—
Cha Seo-ah lunged at Im Seung-cheol.
「Ugh!!」
He fired the Taser, but she ducked behind a tilted display stand to dodge it.
She leaped toward Im Seung-cheol, swinging her hammer.
He dodged, resisting by throwing whatever items he could grab off the floor.
He kicked her and punched her in the face, but—
Cha Seo-ah’s hammer slammed into Im Seung-cheol’s side.
「Gah!」
As Im Seung-cheol doubled over, screams erupted in the theater.
Despite being battered and broken, Cha Seo-ah attacked like a wild beast, as if she were incapable of feeling pain.
Just as she raised her hammer for the finishing blow—
「!!」
Cha Seo-ah’s knees buckled.
The impact from when Han Ye-hwa—who had seen Cha Seo-ah coming on the CCTV—smashed the soju bottle over her head finally took its toll.
The damage accumulated from Seo Gwang-il and Han Ye-hwa brought her to her knees.
Bewilderment.
Staring at the emotion clearly visible on Cha Seo-ah’s face in that moment, Im Seung-cheol’s fist slammed into her jaw.
Cha Seo-ah lost consciousness, and people began to gather at the store, drawn by the sudden commotion.
The sound of police sirens wailed in the distance.
As the screen slowly faded to black, the audience finally allowed themselves to relax.
They let out long sighs of relief.
*
“Did you see The Chaser?”
“Oh, I did. I swear, I almost started cursing out loud during that convenience store scene.”
“Wow, me too. That scene was seriously insane.”
The small ripples began to spread like a tidal wave of word-of-mouth.
It started with the advertisements.
Then, combined with the buzz from the variety show, people began flocking to the theaters.
“Whoa, look at my hands. They’re still sweating.”
“Ju Seo-yeon? Was that her name? Wow, her acting is no joke.”
“That scene where Cha Seo-ah was crying and laughing at the same time? I almost pissed myself watching that.”
“Ugh, gross. But hey, she’s the same age as us.”
“Who? Cha Seo-ah? Seriously?”
Perhaps it was because there hadn't been many good movies lately.
Despite being a thriller, the stream of people heading to the theaters was endless.
Movie tickets were completely sold out, to the point where they started increasing the number of screens.
With such talk happening offline, it was only natural that internet communities began to buzz as well.
==
[Post: Whoa, holy crap. Is The Chaser going to hit 10 million????]
Isn't this Ju Seo-yeon’s first movie?
Is she going to be a '10-million-viewer actress' right from the start???
Replies:
==
The first day of release.
When the audience numbers were posted, such comments appeared.
The community reaction was generally skeptical.
They figured people were just watching it because there were no other movies out and they liked thrillers.
That was the general nuance.
However.
Day 3 of release: 1.2 million.
Such reactions followed.
Then, after the weekend, on the 7th day of release.
The Chaser: 5 million.
The wave of success was turning into a tsunami.
Articles began pouring out regarding the encouraging results of The Chaser.
[Director Bae Jin-hwan: “Thank you for 3 million!”]
[Cast of The Chaser flooded with love calls from all sides]
[Who is the primary contributor to the success? ‘Cha Seo-ah’]
As these articles popped up one after another, there was one place that was feeling quite nervous.
It was éclat Étoile.
The company that had hired Seo-yeon for their cosmetics advertisement.
“Um, Director.”
“What now?”
“About the sales….”
“What, did they go up?”
“It’s not that, but they are holding steady.”
Director Baek Min-chan let out a sigh of relief at the news that sales were at least being maintained.
He never imagined she would appear in a movie as a murderer.
He hadn't included a clause prohibiting such roles, but he never expected her to play a character like that.
“Still, her acting was superb. Team Leader Jung, you should definitely see it if you haven't.”
“Ah, of course I’ve seen it. Wow, I couldn't believe it was the same person.”
“Make sure to watch Dream Future too.”
“Ah, I’ll have to think about that one.”
Team Leader Jung Tae-soo cleared his throat after Director Baek Min-chan’s comment and continued.
“But, it’s strange that sales are holding steady. I mean, it’s a negative image, right? Usually, they should drop.”
“Should they? But they didn't?”
“Well, they did drop a little.”
“Then isn't that as expected?”
“No, but the drop was really minimal. Small enough to be considered a margin of error.”
“Oh, really? Why is that?”
“Well, my guess is…”
Considering the image Seo-yeon had shown in the movie, it was enough to negatively impact the advertisement.
However, the drop was much smaller than anticipated.
Why?
He pondered, but the reason was simple.
“Maybe it’s because she’s just too pretty?”
“……It’s about time I looked for a new Team Leader.”
“No, seriously, there’s no other reason. And surprisingly, it seems Cha Seo-ah gained some sympathy from the female demographic.”
Certainly, the chilling image Cha Seo-ah projected in the movie suited her very well.
Furthermore, despite being a killer, the decadent aura she exuded somehow meshed well with the éclat Étoile advertisement.
And just as Team Leader Jung Tae-soo said.
Two weeks after the release of The Chaser.
The sales for éclat Étoile began to rebound.
*
The box office run of The Chaser was unstoppable.
8 million viewers in just fifteen days.
With 10 million practically guaranteed.
Not everyone was smiling.
“Is this right?”
“No….”
“You said it would be a success. You said you got investment.”
A sharp voice rang out.
There was another movie that had been released alongside The Chaser.
Utopia.
The movie that had been released on the same day as The Chaser, with investment from the GH Group.
Hwang Min-hwa, the lead actress, spoke sharply to her co-star with a distorted expression.
The actor was from 'Horizon Company,' which had now become part of the same family.
Hwang Min-hwa had participated in Utopia through her.
“It... it didn't flop.”
“It’s at 2 million.”
“…….”
“Yes, maybe it’ll hit 4 million if we’re lucky. There’s some growth.”
But no one was talking about Utopia.
Online and offline, everyone was only talking about The Chaser.
It was humiliating.
In particular, it was infuriating to have been utterly defeated by an actress from Nova Entertainment, the agency she had kicked her way out of.
‘Ju Seo-yeon.’
She recalled the young actress she had briefly encountered.
Hwang Min-hwa bit her lower lip.
She certainly had an aura.
She could feel the dazzling talent.
But she had thought she was just a greenhorn.
Grit.
Hwang Min-hwa ground her teeth.
She would never forget this.
While Hwang Min-hwa was making that vow.
“Congratulations, Director Bae Jin-hwan!”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“You’re a 10-million-viewer director now.”
“Not yet! Not yet!!”
Bae Jin-hwan was clinking glasses with a wide grin.
He was almost at 10 million.
Today? Or maybe tomorrow.
‘I’m finally becoming a 10-million-viewer director.’
He was about to earn that glorious title.
At a relatively young age for a director.
“I really have to thank the actors who worked so hard.”
“It’s a shame Seo-yeon couldn't make it to the dinner today.”
“She’s a high school student, after all.”
“To be that good at such a young age... wow, is she really going to Hollywood?”
“Of course she can. I, Bae Jin-hwan, guarantee it!”
Clink!
As they toasted and laughed, actor Kim Dae-heon, who played Detective Im Seung-cheol, spoke to Bae Jin-hwan.
“Director, I think you have a call.”
“A call?”
Looking down, he saw his phone vibrating on the table.
“Geez, who would call at this hour….”
Bae Jin-hwan’s eyes widened as he checked the screen after setting down his glass.
He stood up abruptly to answer the phone.
“Ah, yes. This is Director Bae Jin-hwan. Oh, how have you been, Director?”
It was the Director of the Cultural Business Department at GH Group.
The person who had provided unstinting support for the filming of The Chaser.
Even as a soon-to-be 10-million-viewer director, Bae Jin-hwan couldn't afford to be arrogant with this person. The call made his drunken haze vanish instantly.
And then.
“Pardon? Seo-yeon?”
It was an unexpected request.