Aftermath (2)
A café somewhere in downtown Seoul.
Two women were spending a leisurely stretch of time over coffee.
"What are you looking at that's so funny?"
"Huh? I'm reading analysis posts from Forest of Crime YouTubers."
"What's Forest of Crime?"
"Wait—you don't know Forest of Crime? It's insanely hot right now."
"Oh. That's a drama, right? I don't really watch dramas."
"Wow, at least you knew it was a drama. I thought you'd completely cut yourself off from the world."
"Stop teasing me. So it's that good? Even I vaguely recognize the name."
"Yeah, it's really good! Everyone's acting is incredible, and look at this."
The woman held out her phone.
"Huh?"
"Well? She's drop-dead gorgeous, right? The whole internet is losing it over her. She's only been on screen for less than ten minutes across two episodes."
On the phone was Gil Ara as Lee Eun-ju.
"I've seen this person before!!"
"What? Really? Where?"
The other woman pulled out her own phone, tapped around for a moment, and passed it over.
"This. Last time I was walking by, she was so pretty I followed the salon—isn't that the same person?"
"Oh? It is. Wow, so she was a model there? She's ridiculously pretty."
"More than that, I'm surprised she's an actress. Though I guess with a face like that, she could do anything."
"I wonder what it feels like to look like that… Life must be so much fun."
"Probably. People would be nice to you all the time. I'm so jealous. Anyway, Forest of Crime? Maybe I should give it a watch."
"You should. It's seriously good. Episodes one and two are up on Netpullex, and episode three airs tonight at ten on MBS, so you can catch up right away."
"Oh? Really? Okay."
The world is not that kind.
No—if anything, the world is terrifying.
Ghhhk…
I died again.
I was already dead, but the enemy still wasn't satisfied—they kept mocking me.
There was no trace of the allies who'd been so kind earlier. United as one, they tore into me—already dead—with pure vitriol.
A timid little act of resistance.
And then—
/mute all
No more noise reached her. In that quiet world, Ara rose again and walked her path in silence.
That was how I cut myself off from the world.
DEFEAT
This life was a failure too.
BANG!! BANG!!! BANG!!!!
CRACK—!
"Ah!"
Another keyboard met its fate.
"My custom limited-edition Irregular keyboard!"
The five-hundred-thousand-won keyboard she'd splurged on was smashed to pieces in an instant.
"Guess that's enough for today…"
She cleared away the wreckage and shut down the computer.
Ara lay down on the bed and checked her phone.
"Episode three airs today."
Invited to the internal screening, Ara had already watched episodes one and two. That meant episode three was territory even she hadn't seen. Knowing the full plot was one thing—watching the finished, edited drama was something else entirely. Episodes one and two had proven that.
So how had Ara's life changed once the drama properly started airing?
If she had to answer: nothing had changed at all.
The reason was obvious. She was a hardcore homebody. On top of that, there was CEO Jeong Yeo-un's request—an order, really—to keep outdoor activities to a minimum for a while. She hadn't bothered asking why. She'd been planning to stay in anyway.
Besides, think about it. Three minutes of screen time in a one-hour episode.
"They'll just clock me as a pretty bit player."
She was well aware she was pretty, of course. Even if she became a talking point, it would blow over fast. Because Forest of Crime was just that good. Even she—who already knew every beat—had lost track of time watching it.
Not that she browsed any communities. The only conversations she had were in-game, and most of those were pure toxicity, so Ara had no idea what was happening in the outside world.
A textbook hikikomori.
Drama community boards.
While the heated debate over Ara raged on, ten o'clock arrived.
At last—a lead on the culprit. With massive investigative resources behind him, Choi Jin-cheol's relentless pursuit finally paid off. He arrested the killer.
Viewers were live-chatting across the internet as they watched.
Time passed, and the drama reached Yoon Seung-ho's interrogation scene.
A new lead on another killer emerged.
And right before the episode ended—
With Yoon Seung-ho's words, the scene cut. The camera found Lee Eun-ju leisurely sipping tea inside a salon—and a shadow walking toward that place—as the episode faded out.
"Wow. That was really good. I could tell on set, but that guy is an incredible actor."
Actors already renowned for their craft, amplified by editing and direction, tore through the story like people with wings.
"Tomorrow's finally the day."
Tomorrow. The day Lee Eun-ju's true identity would be exposed. No—the day she would confess it herself. And the day she would exit the story.
Ara was looking forward to tomorrow more than anything. How would her performance look once it was edited? Which of the two takes would they use? Probably the cleaner one. The original had been far too sadistic. That version was a genuine psychopath.
Ah, whatever. They'd handle it fine. It was already out of her hands.
The clock already pointed past eleven.
Yaaawn—
Whatever the world was doing, Ara stretched out a long yawn, lay down on the bed, and fell straight asleep.
The gathering place for Forest of Crime.
The Forest of Crime Gallery.
And among them all, the hottest rising post:
If you saw my post yesterday, I asked why they weren't giving more screen time to Gil Ara—who was already drawing massive attention on looks alone—and whether her acting just wasn't good enough.
I got flamed for it, but look at today. I have no choice but to double down.
A full week later and Gil Ara's screen time is still barely over three minutes. With that much popularity? Why? A whole week and they do nothing? Are the producers idiots? Are the investors idiots?
Lee Eun-ju dies in the end. So why does she die? Same thing I said yesterday—Gil Ara's acting just isn't there. For someone who can't act, the best way to make a character land is death. That's the only option I can see.
(3-line summary)
1. Same guy from yesterday
2. Got flamed hard
3. Turns out I was right yeah
Among the flood of posts—
Or not lol
There were posts that got the answer right—but they were buried under a wave of abuse and vanished down the page just as fast.
And on the back of all the detailed Lee Eun-ju analysis posts, the articles started pouring out.
"Director!! The articles are pouring out right now!!"
"SNS is exploding too. Most of it is about Gil Ara."
Report after report kept flooding into the control room.
"Gil Ara's image is taking a real hit. Will she be okay?"
"It's fine. Tomorrow clears all of it."
Lee Yeong-min was in a good mood. He'd planned for this, but it was working so well it was almost unsettling—to the point he wondered if someone was manufacturing the buzz.
"Alright! Then we'd better start getting ready ourselves."
Episode four. That was the launch point for the full assault. Every promotional plan they'd been holding back would go live—designed to peel viewers away from the competing drama.
Lee Yeong-min couldn't wait for tomorrow. Neither could anyone else. Especially the moment Ara's public opinion flipped—that was what they were looking forward to most.
A privilege only those in the know could enjoy.
Tonight, sleep would not come easy.
The next day.