The Instrument
Lee Seo-jun.
Age twenty-two.
A veteran among veterans, an actor who had worked since childhood alongside Yu Ha-yeong.
He had been born handsome, but years of careful management from a young age had layered something rarer onto his looks — a cool, adult cynicism almost never found in someone his age.
Naturally, that face had made him popular. Throughout his school years he had received no small number of confessions.
And yet, peculiarly enough, he had never once dated anyone. A so-called forever-single.
His agency's warnings and the parade of celebrities he had watched since childhood had probably raised his standards sky-high — but more than that, Lee Seo-jun was a man of enormous ambition.
He loved acting. He took pride in it. And because he had a stubborn sense of self-respect, he piled effort on top of effort until romance had long since been shoved to the back burner.
So why, then, had he locked eyes with Ara-as-Lee-Eun-ju and lost the ability to speak?
Love at first sight?
You could look at it that way.
He wasn't sure.
But that wasn't the reason now.
People, as a rule, want to talk to someone beautiful. But when you witness something truly beautiful, you find yourself simply… watching.
If the word "innocence" took human form, wouldn't it look exactly like this?
That was why Lee Seo-jun had failed to finish his line.
Hah. A mistake that wasn't like me at all. Gil Ara…
He had felt it the first time he saw her, and it was still true — she was no ordinary opponent.
Not in looks. Not in acting.
"I'm sorry. Let's go again."
Steadying himself, Lee Seo-jun gave the ready signal.
"Okay. Five seconds! Four! Three! … Action!"
Fingers folded one by one, and filming resumed.
Jingle—
Carrying a box of energy tonics, Lee Hyeon-woo stepped into the place where Lee Eun-ju was waiting.
"Hello? Hahaha."
Thankfully, the line came out naturally this time.
Huh. He's good?
Ara relaxed a little at the sight.
Wait — who am I worrying about right now? Focus on my own role.
Ara fully immersed herself in Lee Eun-ju.
"Oh my. Hyeon-woo-ssi? What brings you here?"
"I was just passing by and happened to see the place, so I stopped in. Please, have these."
"Wow! You didn't have to! Thank you. I'll enjoy them."
Lee Eun-ju cracked open one of the tonics Lee Hyeon-woo had given her and downed it.
Rip—
Then she pulled out another, twisted off the cap, and held it out to him.
"Thank you. Hahaha."
"Not at all. You're the one who brought them."
Lee Hyeon-woo drank his as well.
"Is something wrong? You don't look well."
"Huh? How did you know?"
"It's written all over your face. Hehe. Though you don't seem to notice it yourself?"
Lee Eun-ju smiled — bright, fresh, almost sparkling.
!
Lee Seo-jun and everyone watching the shoot nearly lost their minds at Ara's smile.
No — a few of them already had.
"Being a detective must be hard, right?"
"Haha. I'm fine."
Lee Hyeon-woo gave an awkward laugh.
"I can't go into detail, but there's one crazy bastard giving us a real headache."
"That's all right. I just hope that while you're here, at least, you can put your mind at ease."
"Ah… I… well…"
Just as Lee Hyeon-woo started to say something—
Bzzzzzt—
His phone vibrated hard.
The caller ID showed Team Leader Choi Jin-cheol.
"Eun-ju-ssi, excuse me for a moment."
"Please, take your time."
Lee Hyeon-woo excused himself and answered.
"Yes, Team Leader."
—Hey. Where are you.
"Did something happen?"
—Yeah. Get to the location I'm pinning right now! Immediately!
"Huh? Don't tell me—"
—Shit. It's the fourth one. Hurry the hell up!!
"Yes. On my way."
Click—
"Eun-ju-ssi, I'll have to take my leave for today."
"Of course. Working late again — take care, Hyeon-woo-ssi."
"Well then. I'll be going."
Jingle—
Lee Hyeon-woo opened the door to leave.
"Hyeon-woo-ssi!"
In that instant, Lee Eun-ju called after him.
"Yes?"
"Come by anytime. After nine in the evening would be best."
Nine p.m.
The hour Lee Eun-ju's salon closed its doors.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. At least here, you can rest easy before you go."
"Haha! Got it! Then I'll come again!"
The scene cut.
"Okay!"
Hoo—
With that, Ara's Episode 1 material was done.
Got through it clean.
Ara stepped off the set.
And the people who had watched her perform?
Kind of… ordinary?
Yeah, they really did just cast her for the face, huh?
She got in through auditions, but I guess there just wasn't any real talent available.
If someone with that face also had real acting chops, word would've spread through the industry already.
True enough.
The reaction was fairly skeptical.
Of course, the ones saying these things were production staff and management people who hadn't been at the script reading.
And honestly, that kind of assessment was inevitable.
The scene they had just shot was nothing more than everyday conversation.
Unless you were playing a character living inside a deliberate concept, who poured deep emotion into ordinary small talk?
Which was exactly why this was the direction Ha Il-gwon and Kim Eun-bi had intended.
Ara was inhabiting Lee Eun-ju far better than anyone had expected.
I'm curious how they'll react later.
Those people. And the audience, too.
I'll show them the fun of a real twist.
Ha Il-gwon was planning to deliver a betrayal of historic proportions.
Filming continued.
Not necessarily in order.
They shot whatever required daylight while the sun was up, and at night they shot the scenes that could only be done after dark.
A riverside nearby.
The fifth body was discovered inside a suitcase, wrapped in black plastic.
It was a place where buildings were hard to find even if you looked for them — and yet a throng of people was pouring bright light over the site.
"Is this a serial murder case?! Have you still not caught the killer?!"
"You can't come past there!!"
The police tried to hold the line, but the reporters — starved for a story — were relentless.
"Hey! Goddammit!! Who let the press in here!! Get them out right now!!"
They had been shooting since morning, but Lee Min-hyeok's voice showed not the slightest hint of fatigue.
Hoo—
Choi Jin-cheol exhaled a thick stream of cigarette smoke.
"Hyung-nim. Someone already tipped off the media. We can't stop this now."
"Hah… You prioritize identifying the victim, contact the next of kin, and get the autopsy consent form. After that, send it to the National Forensic Service and request top priority."
"Yes, Hyung-nim."
"Call me Team Leader."
Hoo—
The scene changed.
Inside the office, the TV kept running live breaking coverage of the serial murders.
A check of the time showed it was well past nine at night.
Brrrrring—
Choi Jin-cheol's phone rang with terrifying urgency.
"Yes, Deputy Chief."
—Come up to my office for a minute.
Choi Jin-cheol went to see him.
"When the hell are you going to catch this bastard."
"We still don't know. There are no leads. No leads at all."
"What? Hey! You little—! Five people are already dead and you still can't find a single lead! Are you half-assing this job?!"
"Ah, Hyung-nim!!! How can you say that? You know we're the ones who want to catch him most!"
"Hey. You know what the press and the public are saying right now."
"Yes."
"If this drags on any longer, all our heads are on the chopping block. You understand?"
"I do."
"Catch him as fast as possible. The Commissioner ordered it personally. By any means necessary."
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. They're sending us more manpower too. So get out there and bring him in!! And don't even think about going home!!"
"Yes! Hyung-nim!!!"
Choi Jin-cheol slammed the door open and stormed out.
"Call me Deputy Chief, you bastard!!"
"Okay!! All right! That's a wrap for today!!"
"Thank you for your hard work—!"
With Ha Il-gwon's booming call, the first day of filming came to an end.
Incredible.
Ara had done a few shoots before, but they had all been simple conversation scenes. Nothing that drained emotion. Nothing that demanded big physical work. She hadn't really gotten tired.
But them?
Lee Min-hyeok. Lee Seo-jun. Yu Ha-yeong. And every supporting player beside them.
Every single one of them had poured everything into their performances.
All day long.
There had been more downtime than shooting time, of course — but they still couldn't have fully rested while trying to hold their emotional states together.
Method acting.
That was what people usually called it.
They still hadn't fully come down from the aftershock.
It made Ara freshly aware of just how absurd her own privilege really was.
Her Sensory Sharing left no aftershock of any kind. It was a completely broken cheat skill.
"All right — we've got a lot more to shoot tomorrow, so head back to your lodgings and rest! Try not to drink if you can help it!"
Ha Il-gwon dismissed them.
The exhausted actors filed into their rooms and collapsed as one.
"I kind of want to play some games."
Everyone except Ara.
The next day dawned.
Today was the day Ara would act for Episode 4.
Not the scene where she captured and killed Lee Hyeon-woo — a flashback from the past.
Amazingly, all of Episodes 1, 2, and 3 had been knocked out yesterday.
I really feel like I'm freeloading here.
Aside from Episode 4, she had maybe five minutes of screen time per episode.
Fifteen minutes total, and she had earned nearly ten million won?
Utterly insane profit margins.
So that's the victim.
The bit-part actress cast as the victim was a woman in her thirties.
What they were about to shoot was fairly violent and rough.
The right thing to do was greet her and apologize in advance.
"Hello."
"Ah! Yes. Hello!"
The woman in her thirties returned the greeting brightly.
"I wanted to apologize ahead of time. It might get a little rough."
"Not at all. That's acting for you. I can't be the reason we mess this up. Please give it everything you've got."
"Thank you."
Ara finished her apology with a polite bow.
"Gil Ara-ssi! Standing by!!"
"Yes."
Sensory Sharing: Lee Eun-ju
An abandoned factory.
"Wh-what? Where is this?"
A woman opened her eyes, bound to a chair.
"Oh my. You're awake?"
Standing before her was the owner of the salon she had visited recently.
"Huh? Owner? What is this—?"
Twinge—
A faint echo of pain lingered at the back of her head.
"P-please untie me. Okay?"
Clatter— clatter—
Lee Eun-ju wheeled over a cart of the kind used in hair salons.
"Of course! I'll untie you. But there's a condition."
"Stop joking around and untie me!! Now!! I'm calling the police!!"
"We're going to play a little game from now on. I am the conductor and the performer."
"What the hell are you talking about!! Untie me!!"
The woman shouted, but it made no difference.
"And you…"
Grin—
Lee Eun-ju wore a dazzling smile.
"…are the instrument."
Slash—
"Aaaagh!"
An eyebrow razor lightly scored the bound woman's thigh.
"Ah!!"
This is…
Slash—
Slash—
Slash—
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The screams settled onto a staff of notes and poured into Lee Eun-ju's ears as music.
"What a lovely feeling…!"
Lee Eun-ju began to grow excited, little by little.
Just as the pleasure started climbing higher—
"S-save me—!"
Thud!!!
A pair of salon shears plunged into the thigh.
"Uwaaaaaagh!!"
"What are you doing? That was noise!"
Yank!
She pulled the shears free, and blood began to well from the wound.
Lee Eun-ju seized the back of the woman's head and tipped her face upward.
Then she leaned in close.
Two yellow eyes filled the space right in front of the woman's nose.
A predator's eyes.
"An instrument has to make the sound the performer intends."
"Th-that means wha—"
Thud!!
"Guaaaaargh!"
The shears drove into the thigh again.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Tremble— tremble—
The woman shook like a leaf, clamped her mouth shut, and nodded.
The bit-part actress was genuinely terrified.
S-s-scary…
A face sinking deeper and deeper into madness.
Blood packs had burst, soaking her in red and amplifying the frenzy.
Pain was psychological.
Already drowning in fear, the woman could barely tell reality from performance.
S-someone please! St-stop her…!
Sizzle—
A curling iron that should have been cold somehow felt searing hot.
"Kh—!"
Thud!!!!
It was only a prop — and yet it felt as if a real blade were burying itself in her body.
The blood that sprayed from the wound maximized the visual effect and poured pure violence into the frame.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
Screams and laughter coexisted.
On one side, it was no longer acting.
"All right! Shall we take it to the CLIMAX?"
A cold blade touched the woman's face.
"Uh… uh…. Hhk!"
She tried to hold it in, but the sound escaped on its own.
The blade slowly traced from the top of her face downward, and her pupils shook violently.
It felt like a snake coiling, inch by inch, around her throat.
In the end, she couldn't withstand the shock.
Thud—
!!!
Her head lolled, and all movement vanished.
Lee Eun-ju.
No — Gil Ara, too, was thrown by the sudden turn.
Wh-what? What's wrong with her!!
This woman was supposed to die a little further into the scene.
She didn't know what had happened, but checking whether she was all right came first.
Ara pressed two fingers to the neck of that slumped head.
Thump— thump—
A little fast, but a clear heartbeat was there.
Thank god.
It seemed to be an ordinary faint.
Just as she was about to move on to the next action—
Come to think of it, no one called cut.
Which meant filming was still rolling.
An unexpected situation.
No word from the director's side — so the cameras were still running.
Factoring in the woman's condition, Ara began to improvise.
"Ah."
Expressionless, she lifted her two fingers from the neck.
Then she looked straight into the camera locked on the victim's point of view.
"It's broken."