"Damn, Can't Get In"
"Damn, I can't get in."
The unprecedented incident where the terrorist group had stormed into the Blue House. In a situation where martial law could be declared at any moment, the Blue House's main gate was completely controlled by the authorities due to the sudden intrusion of Reclaim.
Dressed in clothes urgently borrowed from Yoon Tae-oh and flashing his prosecutor's badge at the on-site personnel, Lee Jung-hyuk tried to enter. But he failed, blocked by the massive crowd that had swarmed in without mercy.
Whew, time's running out.
In his urgency, Lee Jung-hyuk pushed through the people and barely made it to the front, right in front of the on-site personnel.
At that moment.
Unlike the chaotic outside, the presidential office was in stark contrast, heavy silence hanging in the air. Following the owner, an unwelcome guest stepped in.
"I'll reveal everything myself."
The president's first words shattered the silence.
"The 1983 'Justice' plan and the 2010 'Project X'... I'll disclose every single truth without omission."
It was a resolute declaration, as if he'd made up his mind.
"Not only will we restore the honor of those abandoned by the state, but we'll also prepare proper compensation for their families."
The president's promise.
'We'll restore the identities of the North infiltration operatives still classified as missing to this day and reveal the truth of the incident to the world.'
'No matter how much time has passed, the endless pain of the bereaved families continues. Though late, we'll share that burden at the national level now.'
Son Min-seok, who had been standing with his back turned, finally spoke up.
"So, Jin-tae... let's end it here. No more sacrifices. You know that better than anyone!"
His words, laced with sincere desperation, were directed at Lee Jin-tae as he turned.
But...!
The sight of Lee Jin-tae that met his eyes froze Son Min-seok solid.
Lee Jin-tae's face, which had maintained a stoic, emotionless demeanor, was utterly transformed.
His eyes blazed with fury beyond bone-deep rage—something far greater—and his entire face flushed red, trembling violently.
"Cover it up or reveal it, as you please. You call that words right now?"
With the ferocity of someone about to tear out an enemy's throat,
"Politicians like you spout apologies whenever you're bored, and I've never believed a single one. But even so, in a situation like this, at the very least! Your first words should have been a heartfelt apology, by all rights."
Lee Jin-tae spat out his pent-up rage, word by deliberate word.
"Expecting even the most basic human decency from scum like you was absurd to begin with. And here, even in this moment, instead of repenting your heinous crimes, you scramble to cling to your seat."
"Jin-tae! What are you saying? That's not what I—"
"Shut up!!!"
Lee Jin-tae drew a gun from his coat and aimed it at Son Min-seok.
His roar, brimming with the maximum fury a human could feel, exploded repeatedly.
"You bastards feel no guilt toward our dead operatives! You probably see my survival as a misfortune! 'Sorry about this?' Hell, if I'd died that day 30 years ago off Incheon's coast, you lot could have lived fat and happy your whole lives!"
"Jin-tae! What do you gain from this? Calm down and let's talk."
"There was a time I thought about just forgetting it all. National politics have unavoidable aspects, after all. Fine, if it was inevitable, I'll understand and move on. Even if it drove me mad with injustice! If forgiving meant serving my beloved country, I was even willing to do it gladly!"
The odd dissonance formed by Jeong Jae-min and Lee Kang-sik's clashing tones only highlighted the stark difference in how Lee Jin-tae and Son Min-seok faced the situation.
Tension filled every corner of the space captured by the camera frames, steadily intensifying.
"But you know. I can't forgive you scum for pulling that shit not once, but twice. And watching your habitual bullshit just makes me sick to my stomach. That's when I knew for sure."
"......"
"We just died like dogs. You had no 'unavoidable circumstances'."
Lee Jin-tae's finger on the trigger twitched slightly.
At that instant.
Red dots pierced through the window simultaneously, locking precisely onto Lee Jin-tae's head, neck, and chest.
It was a hair-trigger moment, but Lee Jin-tae ignored the snipers' aim entirely.
With steely resolve, he spoke.
"So, there's no 'unavoidable circumstance' for why I must kill you right now."
"Jin-tae..."
"Even if it's unjust, even if it doesn't make sense—just accept it. That's what you did to us."
More pressure entered Lee Jin-tae's finger.
The trigger was moments from pulling.
Then—
- Clunk, bang!
"Stop!"
The voice whipped Lee Jin-tae's head around.
The one who burst in, flinging the door open desperately:
"Father! Please!"
It was Lee Jung-hyuk, drenched in sweat.
"Y-You, how did you...?"
Lee Jin-tae's eyes and voice wavered, and the tension in his trigger finger slackened momentarily.
- Click!
"Hah, hah..."
Panting heavily, Lee Jung-hyuk positioned himself between Lee Jin-tae and Son Min-seok.
And so,
"......"
"......"
For the first time in ages—and the first on Korean soil.
Father and son stood facing each other in silence.
* * *
- Scribble scribble scribble.
Just before shooting the father-son reunion scene.
Woojin had written a long entry in the diary.
[The content Woojin writes in the diary is transmitted directly to the character in the virtual world.]
He didn't know the exact mechanism yet, but from his experience with Kyubo hyung, he knew the character in the virtual world perceived everything he wrote.
The script had been revised so Lee Jung-hyuk, absent from the original one-on-one between Lee Jin-tae and Son Min-seok, would intervene actively.
This gave him a chance to persuade his father.
And finally, depending on the success of that persuasion, Lee Jin-tae's fate could change.
Woojin had conveyed that this was the absolute best scenario possible for Lee Jung-hyuk.
No response came, but the Lee Jung-hyuk in the virtual world would surely press the button at the right timing.
The button from their last meeting, in the white room.
「If I press this button, the words I want to say to Father will be transmitted as is.」
「The message gets sent?」
「Yes. I don't know the details. I just know it works that way.」
Kyubo hyung and Yi Woong had said the same.
He didn't know why.
They just knew it happened that way.
Seemed the same here.
Whatever the mechanism, it didn't matter.
All that counted was whether he could grant Lee Jung-hyuk's wish.
"Woojin-ssi, let's shoot."
"Yes, Director!"
Woojin pocketed the diary in his suit's inner pocket and got into the scene.
And now.
"How the hell did you get here?!"
"I got a text message. It told me Father's next target was the Blue House."
"...A text?"
Lee Jin-tae looked baffled.
An insert cut would be edited in here later.
Among Reclaim members excluding Lee Jin-tae and Lee Jung-hyuk, the highest-ranking one.
Woojin's martial arts instructor, now leading Reclaim in Lee Jin-tae's stead outside, sends the text after deep thought.
The fact it was in English, not Korean, was for that reason.
A fine detail point showing just how meticulous Kim Soo-rim and Seo Min-kyeong were.
"Hoo."
Lee Jin-tae squeezed his eyes shut, exhaled deeply, and said,
"...Step aside."
"I absolutely can't."
"I said step aside!"
"Father!"
Father and son's voices clashed sharply.
Some of the red dots that had been on Lee Jin-tae now shifted to Lee Jung-hyuk's back, blocking his front.
Lee Jin-tae had never planned to survive killing Son Min-seok anyway.
But with his son intervening, everything changed 180 degrees.
In this moment, the meaning of Lee Jung-hyuk to Lee Jin-tae was beyond words.
Blood ties aside.
Though he'd raised him harshly without a single smile.
Lee Jung-hyuk was his only son, the flesh and blood of his most beloved comrade Yoon Jong-su, and his last remaining family in the world.
Lee Jin-tae's eyes couldn't help but waver.
At the cusp of completing his revenge, Lee Jung-hyuk's intervention created an emotional arc worlds apart from the original script.
The monitor room and everyone watching off-camera swallowed dryly.
It felt like something massive was about to boom! and burst.
"Father, please... stop here. This is enough already!"
"No, Jung-hyuk, you know nothing. The anguish of my last 30 years—not a single peaceful sleep, not one comfortable meal!"
"Father..."
"Today, I'll take that bastard's life for sure. Kill him, then myself. That's the only reason I endured 30 years. So, step aside."
"......"
Father's eyes brimmed with venom that no words could sway.
A flicker of Woojin's self-awareness entered his immersed performance.
Even I can tell—these lines I wrote myself won't convince Lee Jin-tae.
Lee Kang-sik sunbae's portrayal of Lee Jin-tae's rage was that overwhelming.
What now...?
Then—
- Weeeeng.
A faint light emanated from the diary in Woojin's chest pocket.
'......?!'
A reaction at this exact timing meant...
Lee Jung-hyuk had pressed the button?
The dim glow from the diary was visible only to Woojin's eyes.
No one else reacted.
Soon—
- Ding.
> "Father, I..."
> "don't want to end my life like this. I...!"
> "want to live."
A small, transparent window appeared right next to Lee Kang-sik's face as they faced off in the scene.
Inside were words like a monologue.
The content hit Woojin straight in the heart, banishing his momentary self-awareness.
Though he'd deeply experienced Lee Jung-hyuk's perspective, he'd never once thought to start persuasion with these words.
"Father, I..."
Woojin, fully back as Lee Jung-hyuk, slowly began reciting them.
"don't want to end my life like this. I...!"
At that moment, a new emotion began seeping into Lee Kang-sik sunbae's eyes as Lee Jin-tae.
"want to live."
It wasn't Baek Woojin as Lee Jung-hyuk speaking.
It was truly Lee Jung-hyuk's words beginning.