Chapter 118: The Diary's Urgent Glow
A light streamed out from the diary placed beside the laptop.
At that moment, Baek Woojin's finger, which had been scrolling the mouse, and his eyes, darting busily to not miss a single word of the script, stopped dead.
As always, the leather cover tinged with a red glow captured his gaze. But...
"......"
This light felt subtly different from the ones he'd seen before. Woojin stared at it with a hardened expression.
A sense of unease washed over his entire body.
Like the times before, right before entering the virtual world... when the light was about to engulf me, or after pressing the 'Accept Mission' or 'Confirm Move' buttons and the light intensified—that was the norm.
It was the first time the glow had started with such an intensely powerful aura, far beyond 'subtle' or 'bright'.
Swish.
Woojin picked up the diary.
What was it? The intensity felt like a character in the virtual world was desperately seeking me out.
Knowing why it felt that way, he continued staring at the dazzling form in his hand, his face still grim.
[Tit For Tat.]
It was the opening line of a newly added section in the final episode script of Justice, just delivered to Woojin and the entire cast, and also the first line of the text message Lee Jung-hyuk and Yoon Tae-o received at the end of the previous day's shoot.
Translated, it meant 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' It perfectly captured Lee Jin-tae's vengeful fury, thicker than blood itself.
Then, the identity of his final target was revealed...
[Next: The Blue House.]
The Blue House, the presidential residence of South Korea.
The National Assembly building had already been destroyed by a bomb terror attack, with countless casualties. The unprecedented crisis in constitutional history had already plunged the nation into panic.
Now, before the shockwaves even subsided, it aimed to deliver an even more devastating second blow.
But what was truly terrifying...
[And...]
'National Assembly' → 'Blue House'. This wasn't the end.
Like completing the 'Bermuda Triangle'... no, the 'Golden Triangle,' one more remained.
[The President.]
Son Min-seok. He was the current president of South Korea in 2012 within Justice, the figure at the center of the ugly truth hidden for 30 long years.
He had sent North infiltration agents twice in the name of the Republic, only to have them killed in the Republic's name in the end... the original planner and final decision-maker of the 1983 'Justice' plan and the 2010 'Project X.'
Who could have guessed the story would climax with the sitting president as the ultimate villain?
Events on a scale never seen in Korean dramas swirled relentlessly. The chain of tragedies offered no room to breathe.
Do you accept?
Even after a dozen people gathered and chatted at length about the ending, no one guessed it—a twist that stabbed at the blind spot, a story brimming with insane reversals, speed, and tension that would steal souls.
As a viewer reading the script or as an actor who had to perform it, his eyes feasted and his heart raced with excitement.
Yet a heavy shadow lingered on Woojin's face as he faced the diary's call...
[Yes / No]
Everything that begins must end. Of course, the scale of start and finish doesn't always match perfectly, but Lee Jin-tae had crossed the point of no return.
His first step back in South Korea after nearly 30 years was so massive that, even if disproportionate, the final step's weight would be anything but light.
For Woojin, who already knew the end of the 'Reclum' forces led by Lee Jin-tae—
Grip.
Pressing the 'Yes' button didn't sit well.
Teleporting in 5 seconds.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
As soon as Woojin hit accept—
Whoosh.
The diary slipped from his hand, flipping open in mid-air with a rustle. The intense light swelled into a blinding aura enveloping him.
The numbers ticked down rapidly. Yet in that fleeting moment, Woojin's mind felt endlessly complex.
Vreeeeeng.
As Woojin was pulled into the virtual world and the presence vanished from the house, the fading light soon extinguished.
Regardless, the laptop screen in the now-empty house still displayed—
[- Bang!]
["No, don't!"]
["......"]
—the vengeful fury that had spiraled out of control, unstoppable by anyone. What halted the bone-deep emotion was a single gunshot piercing the heart.
The highlight of the finale was none other than—
[- Thud.]
["Ah, Father!!!!!"]
—Lee Jin-tae's demise. And this signified...
In his 30 years of life, his sole wish—to live a ordinary life with his father, happily. A simple, humble desire he could never attain.
A young man burdened with an endlessly tragic and heartbreaking fate. It meant the dream that had sustained Lee Jung-hyuk through a life woven with tears had shattered.
Reading it in words stirred an indescribable heat from deep within—
Clench.
His fist naturally tightened.
Consciousness always faded hazily in the light en route to the virtual world, but this time was different.
Woojin waited with sharper clarity than ever for the moment his foot touched the virtual ground.
Moments later—
Tap.
His foot hit the floor with a clear sound ringing in his ears.
* * *
Actor Baek Woojin and Justice's protagonist Lee Jung-hyuk. Could their lives possibly intersect?
Ten out of ten would probably say 'No.' Even setting aside obvious differences like age, looks, and personality.
Let's revisit Lee Jung-hyuk's life.
His biological father betrayed by the state and killed; his biological mother— he didn't even know her face, let alone her existence or death.
Abducted at birth, he grew up in a foreign land rife with razor-edge brushes with death. Believing his abductor was his real father, he received no parental love.
That alone would break ordinary resolve. Yet he was exploited by his adoptive father's personal vendetta that hid all these truths.
Revenge has limits, but his adoptive father's plan to raze his own homeland exceeded imagination.
Innocent lives lost—guilt choked him hundreds, thousands of times a day, even if unwitting.
How many in reality could share such a misfortune-filled life?
No one could claim common ground with Lee Jung-hyuk.
But Woojin thought differently: 'If there's anything I can do, I must do it.'
Even with 100 differences between their lives, one powerful similarity outweighed them.
It was the word Woojin uttered most on the Justice set: 'Dad.'
"I want to live an ordinary life with my father. To be happy like that. That's all."
"So... I have no choice but to stand against him."
Those lines from Lee Jung-hyuk echoed in Woojin's ears every time he read the script.
To him, his father—Lee Jin-tae—was an object of pure 'love-hate.'
And Woojin understood that heart best right now.
Because 'Until just recently, I too longed for and resented my father like you...''
Though far short of 30 years, from childhood Woojin harbored love-hate toward his father for 20 long years.
He overcame it through Burnt and Hidden Marks and Gareojin Jageuk.
Timing is everything, isn't it? Right after resolving his father's misunderstanding and turning his life around with those two works, he dove into Justice.
And the protagonist's deepest pain aligned perfectly with what Woojin could empathize with and weep alongside.
'I'll pour every ounce of my ability to help you, Lee Jung-hyuk. No, I will help you.'
Maybe that's why entering this virtual world felt like staking everything on the final stand.
Swish.
A tactile sensation traveled up his foot. Woojin had arrived in the pristine white room.
"Phew."
He exhaled deeply without realizing it. A sigh of relief.
The white room's comfort and stability.
Over two years with the diary, he'd visited many places, but this one always brought good results.
His first contract, learning Kyubo hyung's past to bond deeper, experiencing his father's—Baek Seong-ho—happiest moment as a character: all here.
A strong belief grew: he could heal Lee Jung-hyuk's wounds and rekindle the ember of his small wish.
'Sofa, and... the button.'
The white room's trademarks(?) sat before him.
Woojin slowly sank into the chair, leaning back.
He needed a moment to gather his thoughts before pressing the button.
He could guess why Lee Jung-hyuk urgently sought me. But what to say upon meeting?
He'd received acting help, so he owed equivalent aid.
'What's the best help within my authority and power?'
Tap tap.
Eyes closed, fingers drumming the armrest, he drowned in waves of thought.
This dilemma was as crucial to him as any role or performance.
How much time passed?
Step step.
His eyes snapped open. Footsteps approached from behind.
Woojin turned, expression half-worried, half-pleased.
"......!"
The joy in his face instantly turned to concern.
Lee Jung-hyuk approached with feeble steps, his entire face soaked in tears.