Becoming a Flower
Lee Hye-ri stepped into the waiting room, desperately trying to assess the situation even as she denied the reality before her. Her eyes met Han Da-sol's. It would have been nice if the other woman had simply said they were running lines together, but the faint blush blooming across her face shattered that particular theory.
There was no time to worry about the coffee soaking her shoes. Lee Hye-ri approached Woo Dan-wol slowly, her voice trembling.
"Dan-wol... No. Mr. Dan-wol… This isn't… This isn't what it looks like, right?"
"CEO?"
Lee Hye-ri's mind was spinning. Her body moved toward him, silently begging him to deny it, but inside her head, her dreams were crumbling. Woo Dan-wol, the future top star she had finally begun to lift into the spotlight, had gotten caught up in a dating scandal.
No, if it had merely been a rumor, they could have spun it as noise marketing. What terrified her was what would happen the moment he admitted to it.
The company she had built over ten years with money and connections would collapse overnight. A male actor's dating scandal was far more fatal than a female actress's. For women, fans would usually cheer them on once they reached a certain age. But the backlash for male actors operated on an entirely different scale. It wasn't just steady hate comments—it fundamentally altered their popularity and earning potential.
In other words, Haesung Entertainment's first actor—the talent who was supposed to carry the company—had just self-destructed. It felt like sponsoring a starving child from another country with a doctor's talent, only to watch him skip university and become a Somali pirate. Like supporting a kid who became Chopper instead of a physician. She had become no different from a sponsor staring in despair at the thought of all that wasted money.
"It's not true, right?"
"No. The only thing in my head is Jin Da-yeon."
The Jin Da-yeon he spoke of was Han Da-sol's character. The shock had left Lee Hye-ri unable to process the situation properly. That was when her world truly began to collapse.
"N-no, that's not it!!"
"Da-sol...?"
"Team Leader— I mean, CEO. That's not what I meant..."
What pulled Lee Hye-ri out of her crumbling world was none other than Han Da-sol herself. Woo Dan-wol, who had been so absorbed in discussing the acting that he hadn't even realized what he'd said, finally wore a sheepish expression.
"Ah... I see..."
After hearing the full story from both of them, Lee Hye-ri could finally breathe again. The moment she realized it had all been a misunderstanding, the strength left her legs and she collapsed onto the sofa.
"Haaaa..."
"I'm sorry, CEO."
Even though he called her "Noona" when they were alone, Woo Dan-wol addressed her formally as CEO in front of others as he apologized. Yet his mind still hadn't left his performance. At this point, not even Shin-chan could stop him.
"It's just that... in Kang Min-hyeok's world, it's Jin Da-yeon. I couldn't help it."
"Well, that's true..."
From episodes ten through twelve, the truth behind Kang Min-hyeok's actions would finally be revealed. She had denied it and protected him until the very end, but Detective Jin Da-yeon—not the human Jin Da-yeon—was beginning to notice. That he was the serial killer who had ruined her life. Not content with murdering her parents and destroying her family, he had dragged her into his mansion and even shattered her humanity, turning her into someone no different from a murderer.
There was no reason. One day, Kang Min-hyeok had seen Jin Da-yeon smiling happily while eating out with her family, and out of sheer envy, he had begun his killings.
"Hoooo..."
It had been a small misunderstanding, but Lee Hye-ri felt genuine relief.
"Anyway, you two aren't involved or anything, right?"
"Of course not, CEO."
"Yes, that's correct."
Thank goodness. Only then did her eyes finally register her coffee-soaked shoes and the spilled liquid spreading across the floor. Who was going to clean this up? Should she ask a staff member?
Grabbing her weakened legs, Lee Hye-ri set off on her journey once again. Now, where was that mop...?
Filming began in earnest. Another two days passed, and as the accumulated footage grew, so did the quality of Woo Dan-wol's acting in everyone else's eyes.
To Woo Dan-wol himself, he was only now beginning to use his ability. He had used it constantly while analyzing the script and practicing alone, but he had never once employed it during actual filming. Recently, however, he had made up his mind to do so.
The reason was the gap between his and Han Da-sol's acting ability. To put it bluntly, he was being devoured. Even in the same scene, the attention and directorial focus that should have gone to the lead would unconsciously shift toward the supporting actor.
He could have solved it by holding back, but Woo Dan-wol didn't want to. That approach might have been appropriate for extras or insignificant bit parts.
However, although this was a supporting role, both its weight and importance were nearly equal to the lead. Moreover, Han Da-sol's potential was extraordinary, and he felt a desire to help her bloom.
Therefore, he had decided to use his ability in today's filming. It was the perfect timing—the scene where Jin Da-yeon's emotions surfaced and her psychology began to shift.
And if he made good use of the inferiority complex she carried, it could serve as fertilizer for her growth.
Filming preparations were complete. Inside the mansion where people were being slaughtered, Woo Dan-wol and Han Da-sol hid in a narrow room as filming began.
"Standby."
"Cue!"
The signal rang out. A man and woman faced each other, holding their breath.
The mansion had long since transformed into a murder game. There was no prize money. It was a pure survival-of-the-fittest world where everything was at stake.
Everyone was a murderer. Only two normal people remained: Jin Da-yeon and Kang Min-hyeok.
She was an ordinary person. No matter how much she had trained her body or practiced martial arts, in a murder scene where blades sliced through flesh, she was simply an ordinary person trembling in terror.
Throughout the story, she harbored doubts. Why were they doing this? It was rather comical for an ordinary person to try to read and understand the psychology of psychopaths and murderers.
She had asked the killers why they murdered. But each time, Kang Min-hyeok would answer:
"There is no reason..."
"......"
The woman who had just dismembered an elderly person was walking down the hallway. Kang Min-hyeok spoke softly. What reason could there be?
The forest might appear peaceful, but its true nature was brutally cruel. Killing other lives to survive. It was nature itself.
Trees spread their branches toward the sky to claim more sunlight. Plants scattered seeds in the wind to leave behind descendants. Flowers seduced others to spread their pollen.
That was all it was. Killing whoever necessary to survive. This place was the Forest of Flowers.
The scene gradually built toward its climax. Kang Min-hyeok, who had boldly declared he would fulfill his duty, was now trembling so violently that his hands shook with psychological fear.
It was a crucial scene showing Jin Da-yeon's determination to become a flower rather than a human in order to survive the forest.
Until now, Han Da-sol had been portraying a character caught in inferiority, growing depressed yet steadily evolving.
The burden of such an important scene would be immense. Only by pouring her entire soul into the performance could she properly convey the difficult message to the viewers.
And the person matching her breath in this moment was none other than Woo Dan-wol.
The moment he activated his ability and Director Seo Yeon-soo's signal came, Han Da-sol's eyes gradually widened.
Extreme immersion. She forgot this was a filming set. Only the character Jin Da-yeon remained—not the actress Han Da-sol. Method Acting.
In her eyes, there was no camera. Only the cold, snowbound mansion isolated by winter storms. She saw nothing but the man standing before her.
"Mr. Min-hyeok!!!"
No. She ran toward him. Her foot caught and she fell, limping from the pain, but her steps toward him never stopped.
At the end of that gaze was a man gripping a knife in reverse. Rather than dying at a murderer's hands, rather than being violated, tortured, and reduced to a plaything, he would end his life by his own choice.
But she could not stand by. In three days of isolation, he was the only one she could rely on, empathize with, and exchange emotions with.
He was her sole hope—the only ordinary person who kept her human. She could not let Kang Min-hyeok die.
-Crash!
She lunged at him as if jumping. The knife aimed at his throat clattered to the floor. Jin Da-yeon breathed heavily from the pain.
It was a one-take shot, but the acting continued. Why? Why hadn't she let him die? Because she was facing eyes that trembled with that very question.
She had heard screams echoing all night from dismemberment and endless torture. How could she save him in such a situation? As Kang Min-hyeok pressed her, Jin Da-yeon shouted back—just as she had during their first meeting.
"I... am a detective..."
"......"
"I am a police officer... with a duty to protect citizens..."
With that, she took Kang Min-hyeok's hand. The hand that had held the knife intending to harm her. She gripped it tightly and spoke.
"So please. Help me fulfill my duty."
Yet the hand she clutched so tightly was trembling. Two murderers remained. Both possessed considerable skill—humans who killed people as easily as swatting flies.
She had to face murderers. Could an ordinary person like her possibly win?
Jin Da-yeon loved him. Though she said she would protect him, the truth was that she was terrified of being left alone if he disappeared. She relied on the only person with whom she could exchange emotions and empathy—the only one who helped her remain human.
Jin Da-yeon lifted the knife. She said nothing.
But the emotion that had filled her eyes grew dull. The eyes that had appealed with feeling and trembled with anxiety deepened. They became deep, dark eyes that felt no emotion at all.
Jin Da-yeon, who had wanted to remain human, became a flower in order to keep Kang Min-hyeok human.
"...Cut."
As if waking from a deep sleep, what pulled her from the performance was Director Seo Yeon-soo's signal.
The moment she left her own world and looked around—
Clap...
Clap clap clap!!
Clap clap clap clap clap!
She was receiving thunderous applause from the numerous staff members.