Script Reading (2)
Jin Da-yeon was a cold-hearted detective consumed by vengeance. Her family had been slaughtered by a serial killer, and she lived with one ironclad goal: to catch him someday. Yet a detective who was herself a victim could not be assigned to the case. It invited far too many complications.
Emotions might boil over. She could do something reckless. It was the same principle as a surgeon never operating on their own family. But Jin Da-yeon was ice. She carried a blazing inferno in her chest, yet her eyes and her mind remained ruthlessly cool.
That was why she had been placed in Violent Crimes Unit One. A genius who had piled up terrifying results in an impossibly short time.
Episode One showed Jin Da-yeon melting into the team. And then the final scene.
While on stakeout, Jin Da-yeon spots the suspect the moment her colleague steps away to buy food.
A chase erupts. She tries to call her partner, but only hears the ringing tone. Biting down hard, Jin Da-yeon decides to pursue alone.
The countryside roads were a maze. The pursuit tears across unpaved paths and up into the mountain trails.
It was January. Heavy snow poured down, blinding the vehicle’s windshield. By the time they reach a mountain lodge deep in the forest, the car ahead stops. Several vehicles are already parked outside. The episode ends on Jin Da-yeon quietly checking her gun and handcuffs.
“Let’s take a short break.”
“Whew…”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
The reading for episode one had finished. Today’s schedule ran through episode two. The cameras were rolling lightly to capture the chemistry and gather promotional material.
Even though it was only a reading, the actors who had just matched each other’s performances let out small sighs. Han Da-sol closed her eyes and breathed out slowly.
Brief as it was, she had thrown her whole heart into becoming Jin Da-yeon. A woman born into a happy home only to face unimaginable horror—the distance between that character and actress Han Da-sol was enormous.
“Senior, your acting was excellent.”
“Ah, um… thank you.”
Han Da-sol answered with a slightly dazed expression. She hadn’t expected Woo Dan-wol to suddenly appear so close. He was practically right in front of her. Before she could form a proper reply, his mouth opened and fervent praise poured out.
“You were incredible…”
“R-really…?”
The corner of Han Da-sol’s mouth twitched. Yet her iron-wall poker face remained stubbornly intact.
Still, Woo Dan-wol’s compliments had crossed the line from flattery into something deeper. If it had been ordinary lip service, she would have answered with polite businesslike humility.
“Especially in scene fourteen, the way you deliberately held your breath half a beat late. That moment of silence before answering. It left a strong impression.”
“Uh… uhh?”
The fortress cracked. For an instant her face went completely blank—an expression unworthy of an actress of her caliber. Beneath the collapse, her lips kept twitching. Her cheeks flinched now and then, refusing to lift. If those cheeks rose into a full-blown goofy grin it would be utter humiliation. So Han Da-sol fought desperately to keep her face blank. The result, everyone except her could see, only made her look even more bizarre.
“And especially that habit you show when you’re backed into a frustrating situation. That little lip-mumbling tic—that was something you created yourself, right, Senior Han Da-sol?”
“Y-yeah…”
She couldn’t deny it. It was one of the reasons viewers raved about her acting. Most people watching would never notice such a tiny detail. Only someone who had coached her up close during lessons, or perhaps another actor, would have caught it and offered such specific praise.
There was no way she could feel bad about that! In the end she gave up trying to control her expression entirely. She ducked her head as if apologizing and covered her face with both hands. From behind her, Writer Ko A-rin tossed out a couple of teasing remarks.
“Looks like someone did their homework.”
“Wow, even I didn’t analyze it that deeply.”
Director Seo Yeon-soo joined in as well. The atmosphere was warm and lively.
“I’m a huge fan, you know.”
Woo Dan-wol really was her fan. It hadn’t been long, but those words from a precious fan still landed squarely in Han Da-sol’s chest.
“Thank you…”
She flinched again, face still buried in her hands. Her first impression of him—dislike—still lingered, yet his unexpected words and behavior were steadily complicating her feelings.
—All right, let’s begin again.
She had barely calmed herself when the script reading resumed.
Woo Dan-wol’s expression hardened in an instant. The entire mood grew heavy. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.
Episode Two opened inside the mountain lodge amid the blizzard. Could it even be called a lodge? It was closer to a mansion.
No one knew who owned it, but the building was jarringly out of place. A three-story villa.
Jin Da-yeon, having stepped out of the car, hesitates. The snowstorm is too fierce. One wrong move and she could be stranded on the mountain. Each step sank deep into the snow, proving nature’s merciless power.
Han Da-sol gripped the script and tapped it absently, as though a smartphone were hidden inside. But they were deep in the mountains. Modern technology was useless here. With clear irritation on her face, Jin Da-yeon spat out her line.
“Why isn’t it working?”
She already knew the answer. It was closer to a complaint, almost a pout.
Everyone’s attention shifted to Woo Dan-wol. The suspect had entered the mansion long ago. Now it was time for the owner of the lodge—played by Woo Dan-wol—to appear and greet her.
A pleasant thrill ran through him. It had been a while. Every staff member and actor was watching him. This moment would be captured on camera and eventually broadcast. Even though it was only a script reading, he would give everything. To prove that the actor Woo Dan-wol was here.
His mouth opened. Before any sound could emerge, his body gave a single twitch. It was the tiniest “oops.”
And then the atmosphere changed. Something that was not human.
“Ahem… Ah, I’m sorry.”
Everyone watching Woo Dan-wol—and everyone seated nearby—felt the same reaction. Director Seo Yeon-soo, sitting right beside him, cleared her throat. It was a kind of creeping, instinctive dread.
The fear that comes from gazing at something that is not human. It was on another level from seeing a poorly made doll or mannequin. He wore a human mask and spoke human words, yet somehow made them all feel he was something entirely different.
Han Da-sol’s mouth fell open. Her professional composure cracked for a brief second. The shock was that great.
Her open mouth closed again beneath a wave of surprise. The expression of something inhuman was shifting.
After patting the suspect’s back as he entered first, he began putting on a new mask. The face that would one day be captured on camera was, right now, being burned into the eyes of everyone present.
“Ah… aah.”
He cleared his throat. It was the signal flare—changing from a monster that gave off the aura of both human and not, into the gentle owner of the mountain lodge.
With each additional clearing of his throat, his expression transformed. Light returned to the once-empty depths of his eyes. The dried facial muscles began to move. Like seeds that had endured winter finally blooming in spring. Like flowers unfurling.
“They say this is the first heavy snowfall in ten years. It’ll reach up to your waist, so please rest here before continuing on.”
“…Sorry, ah. I’m sorry.”
The frozen tension on set finally melted. The lead actor, who had made no mistakes until now, had slipped. Yet no one criticized or blamed him. They all thought they would have reacted the same way.
“Whoa, haha! Dan-wol, weren’t you pushing a little too hard?”
“I’m sorry, Writer. Should I dial it back?”
“No, no. Please show us that same energy on set.”
It had only been a reading. Yet everyone had been overwhelmed by the emotion one actor delivered. And it had returned even more polished than during the audition. Writer Ko A-rin and Director Seo Yeon-soo’s eyes met.
They nodded at the same time. Those few seconds felt like enough time for ten mental high-fives.
The reading continued. The atmosphere had relaxed considerably. After the early part of episode two, Woo Dan-wol’s psychopathic side would not appear again.
That was right. Forest of Flowers was literally a drama that mostly took place inside the mountain lodge.
Detective Jin Da-yeon chases a murderer by chance and becomes stranded at the lodge because of the blizzard. It turns out the place is a hideout for killers.
S#56. Jin Da-yeon enters the mansion. She gathers with the people around the warm fireplace and talks with them.
Director Seo Yeon-soo narrated the sequence.
Jin Da-yeon’s eyes slowly widened. Memories of the past flashed through her mind. An elite detective who had investigated countless cold cases and memorized every suspect’s montage.
As she looked at each person and matched them to those mental images, she realized something shocking: everyone except the lodge owner was a serial killer. When her eyes met the owner’s, the trembling in her gaze refused to stop.
“…Thank you for your hard work.”
And so the script reading—which had felt both long and short—came to an end. Actors exhaled heavily while staff began cleaning up the set.
Woo Dan-wol made sure to greet every single person before leaving. Meanwhile, Han Da-sol climbed into the car for her next schedule and fell into deep thought.
“Unnie.”
“Hm?”
“No next schedule, right?”
“Nope. You said you wanted to rest for a while.”
“Please head to the company.”
“Why? Not going home?”
“I’m going to practice acting with my coach.”
Acting was always more effective with an opponent. Unless it was a monologue, having someone to bounce off allowed deeper immersion and honest feedback on blind spots.
Woo Dan-wol’s acting and vocal control were already complete—far beyond what a newcomer should possess. He was like a hidden master who had appeared like a comet.
Of course Han Da-sol saw him as a genius. And because she considered herself merely average, she concluded that she would have to train even harder to stand beside him.
“Ugh.”
“See? That’s what happens when you stare at the script even though you get motion sickness easily.”
Even in the car, she kept studying the script. Motion sickness was truly an unforgiving enemy.
“We’ll be at the company in ten minutes. Can’t you hold on?”
“Window… Unnie…”
Han Da-sol, whose passion burned brighter than anyone’s, ended up getting scolded by her road manager after all.