Chapter 210
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: The Premiere
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The day before the release of *Escape*.
The internet was buzzing about *Escape* all day long.
[Escape Forum]
-Why didn't they have a press screening?
-Because people will watch it anyway?
-I think there’s something more to it.
-But even the reporters who would write articles haven't seen the movie ㅋㅋ so we have no way of knowing.
-That’s why entertainment reporters are going to the theaters lol.
-Good luck getting tickets.
-There were still some bad seats left. They probably bought those.
-Well, you don't really need to see the movie well to write an article about it.
-Should I read spoilers before watching? I’ve already made an *Escape* (Spoilers) board. Post spoilers there, please.
The next day.
The movie theater was bustling from early in the morning.
“You actually came.”
“I took the day off!”
At Im Miyon’s words, Park Seonga’s eyes sparkled. As an office worker, Park Seonga had used one of her precious days off to see the movie today.
“I got a ticket for opening day, there’s no way I could miss it!”
“I already printed the tickets, let’s go get the posters.”
They grabbed a generous handful of the prepared posters. Since it was a Lee Seojun film, they decided to forgo popcorn and drinks. This was especially true since it was a zombie movie.
With about ten minutes left until the movie started, Im Miyon and Park Seonga sat on a bench and watched the excited crowd.
The feeling of going to see a movie that no one had seen before, a movie that no one in the world knew anything about unless they were involved, was fun and novel.
“It’s nice and relaxing since it’s the first day.”
“And since there was no press screening, I don’t have to worry about spoilers from anywhere.”
After this movie, posts with [SPOILER ALERT] would be floating around everywhere, and the story would spread.
“Most people will be quiet, but it’ll still get out somehow.”
“Opening day is definitely the most relaxing.”
After a short wait, it was time for the movie.
“Theater 8! Will all guests for *Escape* please proceed to Theater 8!”
Following the staff's announcement, the crowd in the theater moved in unison toward Theater 8. Im Miyon and Park Seonga also headed to Theater 8 with fluttering hearts.
They found their seats, turned off their phones, and leaned back. Clutching their pounding hearts, they watched the commercials filling the screen. After the commercials, a video demonstrating the emergency exits played.
In the past, they wouldn't have paid any attention to the announcement, but those who had been deeply impressed by *One Step* turned their heads to check the emergency exits.
Soon, the theater darkened.
The distributor's logo and the logo for Movie Dream Productions appeared. The name of the investor, Plus+, also appeared.
‘Plus+?’
Not Plus+ Korea?
Im Miyon, Park Seonga, and other audience members who knew a lot about *Escape* widened their eyes.
Come to think of it, it was the netizens, not the *Escape* team, who had assumed it was Plus+ Korea.
‘Well, it doesn't matter who it is.’
What they were curious about right now was the movie.
Everyone fell silent and stared at the massive screen.
* * *
A single black car entered the frame of a camera shooting down from the sky. The car, driving alone without any obstacles, suggested just how vast and sparsely populated this land was. As the camera followed the car, a heavily fortified gate came into view.
[USA - O.W.C. Research Institute]
?
Starting in America?
Im Miyon and the audience blinked.
After a brief pause, the gate opened. The car drove through the heavy doors. Guards armed with guns could be seen walking around.
The car stopped in an underground parking garage. The driver opened the back door, and a man in a suit stepped out. His face was not visible.
The man walked briskly, opened a door with his fingerprint and a passcode, and went inside. The camera followed him as he strode confidently through a space surrounded by state-of-the-art facilities.
People who appeared to be staff members bowed their heads to the man. They looked completely different from the man, who seemed relaxed even from behind. The man greeted them with a wave of his hand and headed for the elevator.
The man took the elevator to an underground research lab.
The screen changed.
Multiple computers and high stacks of paper.
Amidst them, a woman with long blonde hair tied back carelessly and wearing a white lab coat read through the papers in her hand, her face pale. No matter how many times she read them, the contents of the papers did not change.
Huh?
The entire theater, with its hundreds of people, froze for a moment.
As if time had stopped for everyone but the screen, every single person stared at the screen with the same expression.
“/This is insane! Insane!/”
The woman frantically rummaged through the stacks of paper.
Huh? Huh?
As if even the air had frozen, no one could breathe.
The audience's eyes grew as wide as they possibly could. Their pupils trembled violently. Some people's mouths hung wide open.
“/Professor Maria./”
As the woman, called Professor Maria, was muttering “It can't be” and looking through the documents, someone called her name.
Completely forgetting that they couldn't see anything unless the camera turned, Im Miyon and the other audience members instinctively turned their heads to the side. It felt as if they could see the owner of the familiar voice if they just turned their heads.
The man smiled and knocked on the wide-open door.
“/Ah, I forgot to knock./”
“/Samuel! Is this really true?!/”
“/Hmm. What do you mean by ‘this’?/”
Samuel, dressed in a neat suit with his hair slicked back, and Professor Maria, in a white lab coat with her disheveled blonde hair tied back messily, looked at each other.
?
!
!!!
“Aaaahhh!?”
A loud scream erupted from somewhere in the theater. Im Miyon and Park Seonga thought that, for once, this was an understandable noise. They themselves were pressing their hands over their mouths to keep from screaming.
In their minds, they were already screaming loud enough to shake the theater.
‘Aaaah! Are you kidding me!?’
Im Miyon and Park Seonga felt dizzy. Their breath caught in their throats, and their hearts weren't just pounding—they were thundering. Goosebumps prickled their skin from the tips of their toes to the roots of their hair.
Someone they never imagined they would see here.
It was Hollywood stars, Evan Block and Richel Hill.
Leaving the audience in shock, the movie continued.
“/As expected. You’re brilliant, Professor. We were right to entrust this matter to you. I’ll have to give the headhunter a bigger bonus./”
“/Samuel! This is no time for jokes…!/”
“/I’m not joking, Professor./”
Did I walk into the wrong theater?
It was getting to the point where they were confused about where they even were.
Wait, why are those actors here? Is this a new Hollywood movie?
The unexpected appearance of the actors caused a commotion in the theater. Some people were taking out their phones to share their surprise and shock, while others were talking to the person next to them.
‘This is ruined.’
Im Miyon also had a strong urge to talk to Park Seonga sitting next to her, but she held back. She glanced sideways and saw that Park Seonga also had a complicated expression.
‘I’ll have to watch it again.’
Resigned to the clamor of the crowd and the phone lights dotting the theater, Im Miyon and Park Seonga turned their eyes back to the screen.
The Hollywood stars were still giving their all.
“/Ah, I came here to tell you something… I forgot./”
Samuel continued, a gentle smile on his face.
“/A new X has been discovered in South Korea. I’ll be heading there, and I hope you’ll accompany me, Professor. We have a company-owned hospital and research facility, so you’ll be able to continue your research in Korea without any issues./”
Samuel’s blue eyes glinted fiercely.
[Two Months Later]
[Korea]
A man was lying in a lavishly decorated VIP hospital room. Then, a foreigner and a bodyguard appeared.
Oh my god…
Im Miyon and Park Seonga wanted to squeeze their eyes shut. The surprise gift wasn't just the Hollywood actors. Everyone stared with dumbfounded expressions at Park Dohun, who was spitting out curses, and Lee Jiseok, who was standing stiffly.
Oh my god…! They were less surprised than by the Hollywood actors, but this was still quite a shock.
The man shouted fiercely.
“Who the hell is that guy?!”
“/You’ve waited a long time, sir. We’re from O.W.C./”
“O.W.C.? When the hell is the medicine going to be ready!”
“/Oh./”
Samuel smiled and raised his hands.
“/It’s still in the experimental phase…/”
“Bring it to me now!!”
“/That’s why I have a proposal for you./”
The fuming man asked again.
“...A proposal?”
“/We have a drug currently in development. It’s shown to be quite effective, though it still has some minor side effects./”
“Side effects?! And you want to use that on me?! Are you crazy!!”
“/Very minor side effects. Wouldn’t that be better than your current condition?/”
The man, who had been muttering curses, answered.
“...Fine.”
“/Thank you./”
Samuel, still wearing his good-natured smile, left the hospital room. Aaaargh! The sound of the man screaming, unable to contain his anger, could be heard, and the bodyguard quickly called for a doctor.
Samuel took out his phone and made a call.
“/I’ve found a good test subject. He’s mentally sound and in good physical condition. Since he can’t move his limbs, he might be even better than a regular test subject. Yes. Please prepare the drug./”
Samuel’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Having received the subject's consent, Samuel contacted the O.W.C. headquarters. The news of the ‘experiment’ was also relayed to others in Samuel’s line of work. It was also passed on to other research institutes studying Virus X.
Who would be the first to create the goose that lays the golden eggs?
The competition, blinded by money, became fierce.
Samuel informed Professor Maria of the experiment and set a date.
He had the ‘test subject’ wait in a room at the research institute and headed for the life extension team.
Looking at the firmly shut door, Samuel shrugged. He pressed his index finger to the fingerprint scanner on the door lock.
*Beep-*
The thick door opened.
Inside the dark office.
“/Doctor./”
Samuel fumbled along the cold wall, searching for the light switch.
“/I told you to sleep at your quarters…./”
*Grrrr.*
At the strange sound, Samuel stopped talking.
“/Doctor?/”
Samuel had seen a test subject before. But at that time, the subject's eyes were blindfolded and their mouth was gagged.
If Samuel had ever seen a test subject without restraints, he would have bolted from the lab immediately.
[O.W.C.'s management is perfect.]
That thought created a blind spot.
*Click.*
Trying to grasp the situation, Samuel turned on the light.
!!
How could he not have known it was this close?
A zombie, covered in blood and with flesh torn from its body, appeared under the light.
As the zombie's face filled the screen, the audience flinched. The theater fell silent for a moment, but it lacked the power to maintain it.
Despite the appearance of the zombie, a product of the hard work of Hollywood special effects makeup artists Mirror and Jena Tried, and the passionate performance of the leader of the Bone Breaking dance team, sounds still trickled out from here and there in the theater. It seemed the shock wasn't too great, as they had come expecting a zombie movie.
Im Miyon and Park Seonga’s eyes met. It was hard to focus on the movie in this state. Rather than watching a two-hour movie with this much noise, it would be better to come back and watch it from the beginning when things had calmed down.
‘Was it a mistake to come on the first day?’
But if they had only heard about the surprise appearances of Evan Block, Richel Hill, Lee Jiseok, and Park Dohun, they would have been disappointed. Im Miyon, Park Seonga, and the other audience members who had been quietly keeping their mouths shut were contemplating whether to leave, when…
The camera angle changed.
The door Samuel had just entered was visible.
Although only the firmly shut door filled the screen, it somehow had a power that captivated one's gaze. The eyes of the deliberating audience members turned to the screen.
The speakers were silent, with no background music or sound effects.
There were still audience members who hadn't recovered from the shock of the appearances of ‘Evan Block, Richel Hill, Lee Jiseok, Park Dohun,’ and some were tapping on their phones to share the news.
But that was only for a moment.
As the silence stretched on and something palpable was felt, one by one, their gazes returned to the screen.
It was quiet.
So quiet that they wondered if something was broken. Then,
*THUD!*
A loud noise came from behind the door.
The impact was bigger than expected.
*THUD!*
The sound echoed again.
It was just a thudding sound, but it sent shivers down their spines. Someone swallowed hard. Just two loud impacts were enough to capture the audience's attention.
*THUD!*
The minds of the audience members, who had been distracted by the surprise appearance of the glamorous actors, went completely blank. Even the people who had been talking to their neighbors fell silent.
Audience members holding their phones were so startled that they dropped them on the floor and shrank back. The phone lights disappeared one by one. The theater, once again dark, was silent under a heavy darkness.
Just as everyone's eyes were fixed on the screen, once more.
*THUD!!*
The speakers placed all around the theater seemed to transmit the very shock of the impact against the door.
Some audience members leaned back. Their hearts pounded.
Beyond the door.
There was something dangerous.
Sinking into their chairs, holding their friends' hands tightly, squeezing their eyes shut.
But the sound was still there.
*THUD!*
The top of the door bulged out slightly.
*THUD!*
The bottom of the door bulged out slightly.
*THUD!*
The bottom of the door caved in.
A brief lull.
The silence grew longer.
Is it over?
Im Miyon, Park Seonga, and the other audience members, who had been cowering and watching the screen with sweaty palms, looked up at the screen in a half-crouched position.
*THUD!*
*THUD! THUD! THUD!*
*THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!*
With the continuous loud impacts, the door that was supposed to be firmly shut was mercilessly dented and buckled as if it would burst open at any moment.
“Heek!”
“Hmph!”
The zombie, rampaging to extinguish the man's last breath.
Though unseen, the imaginable scene caused screams to erupt from here and there.
*CRASH!*
The thick door, which had served as a final barrier between the audience and the zombie, was bent in half. The locked door, no longer fitting its frame, creaked open.
Im Miyon and Park Seonga covered their mouths with their hands, afraid their breathing would be heard. It seemed others did the same; the theater, which had been buzzing with the appearance of unexpected cameos, fell silent as if nothing had happened. No one was thinking about the cameos anymore.
Evan Block? Richel Hill?
Such interests only emerged when one's own safety was assured.
*Huu, huu.*
The sound of breathing, whether their own or someone else's, could be heard. Hearts beat rapidly. It felt like even the sound of their hearts beating could be heard.
A deathly silence fell.
Just as a taut tension filled the theater.
Through the gap in the door that had been like a final boundary, a shoe stained with wet blood appeared.
It was just a foot sliding out, but the sight of it, as if it would leap out at any moment, made everyone shrink back. They clenched their fists so tightly it hurt. Was this what it felt like for your heart to be in your throat?
*Thump-thump, thump-thump,* their hearts pounded.
A terrifying, chilling, and bizarre feeling.
And yet, drawn by the strange atmosphere, the audience kept their eyes fixed on the screen even as they turned their heads away. It was hard to tell if it was the vigilance of facing an enemy aiming for their life, or the curiosity to see something bizarre for themselves.
What in the world would appear from there?
The audience stared at the screen without breathing or blinking.
And then,
The screen changed.
Birds were flying, and a lush, well-tended garden with green trees came into view.
The sounds of people talking and car engines could be heard. A white ambulance was visible, and doctors enjoying a short break could be seen. Even the sight of children crying because they didn't want to go to the hospital seemed peaceful.
A moment ago, there was a starkly different, boisterous sound from the silence where even the sound of people's heartbeats could be heard.
As the sounds full of life filled the air, the tense audience let out sighs of relief that seemed to come from the pit of their stomachs, feeling both drained and thankful. It was clear how tense they had been, and they didn't know with what nerve they had kept staring at that door.
“Ugh…”
They were so tense that their strength drained away. Everyone leaned their stiff bodies back into their seats. They clenched and unclenched their tingling hands, and even as they drank water to quench their thirst, their eyes remained glued to the screen.
A scene of daily life.
But the audience knew that although it was peaceful, it was not peaceful.
Thinking of the zombie that would soon engulf this peace sent shivers down their spines again.
A single appearance.
And it was a scene where not even a face was shown.
Just like in the children's play *Spring*, Seojun's acting had dragged the audience into the world of *Escape*.
Only 10 minutes had passed since the movie began.
Just as the *Escape* theaters were buzzing for various reasons, the world outside the theaters was just as chaotic.
[Escape Forum (Spoilers Allowed)]
-When will the posts start coming up?
-The earliest showing just started. Still 2 hours left until it ends.
-I couldn't get a seat today so I'm seeing it tomorrow… I'm dying of curiosity.
-Seojun's acting was good, right?
-It must have been amazing.
>This is craaaazyyyyyyy
-??What??
>The production company is insaneeee!!!
>Aaaaaahhhh
>Oh my goooooddd
>I want to scream but I'm in a theater so I'll do it here instead aaaaaahhhh
-…Why is everyone acting like this?
-Social media is going crazy too. It's a madhouse.
-But no one is saying what it's about lol.
-The movie started less than 10 minutes ago, what the hell is going on?
-Is everyone on their phones while watching the movie?
-Wow. The audience disruption is insane.
>Oh my god oh my god oh my god!
>I want to say it but I can't!
>22 You have to see this for yourself!
-I'm fine with spoilers. Tell me.
-Yeah, this is a spoiler-allowed board.
>No! You absolutely cannot spoil this!
>The theater! You have to see it in a theater!!
>Cover your ears, cover your eyes, and see it in a theater!!!
-?Then how do I get to the theater?
>Nooooo you have to see it without knowing.
>222Please…!
>Aaaahhhh it happened again!!
>To see it here!!!
-An article is up!
-An article is up while the movie is still playing?
-What a mess is this?
-??Even the reporter says not to look at spoilers? Says you have to see it in a theater.
-Even the reporter writing the article is saying that? …What in the world is happening in movie theaters right now?
>Unimaginable things are happening!!
>222Seriously, I never thought I'd see something like this in my life!
>Our theater is in an uproar.
>Everyone's talking in ours too. The disruption is insane!
-You're being a nuisance too.
>So glad I saw it today.
>Seriously glad. But I can't focus on the movie lol.
-Wow. I'm dying of curiosity.
-Why is no one posting spoilers on a spoiler board?
>Gasp, a zombie.
>A zombie appeared!
-A zombie! How is it??
-How's the Hollywood team's zombie?
>asdlkfjl;akdsj
-???
-Hello?
>s;ldfkj;laskdf
-Hello???
-??Why did the posts suddenly stop?
-Guess they got eaten by the zombie lol.
-What is really going on??
-Aaaahhh! I want to see it so bad! T_T
-The people who went to the countryside were the real winners T_T