Time to Throw the Bait

Time to throw out the bait.

The script Director Lee Han-lim had written wasn't exactly generous. The dialogue itself was crafted with obvious care, but the scene directions were spare — he preferred to flesh out the details through conversation with his actors.

Which was why he loved it when his actors immersed themselves in their characters and improvised.

"Ugh......"

The direction Yoon Jay had actually received was barely two lines long.

The director gave no particular guidance either; he simply wanted to watch what the man would do first. And Yoon Jay, for his part, didn't bother asking questions. He just stepped in front of the camera.

They said he was ex-military...... is he drawing on the real thing?

Jin Young-do on the second take truly looked like a soldier haunted by PTSD. Without anyone spraying him with water, his face was slick with cold sweat, and his hands shook uncontrollably. Better yet, Yoon Jay employed the metaphors the director had only been turning over in his mind.

No way. He couldn't have.

The actor gazed up at the ceiling where ropes had been coiled for days with a complicated look in his eyes, then turned the pistol resting on the desk this way and that before leveling it at empty air.

Judging by the expression twisted with hatred, it seemed as if he were practicing his marksmanship on the monster that had killed his own men. But slowly, the muzzle drifted around to his own temple.

Would he pull the trigger, or wouldn't he? You could see him wrestling with it through lowered lashes. This wasn't a scene of weeping, exploding emotion — it was something flat on the surface, yet with a low current running beneath it that made your skin prickle.

Tsk...... I deliberately left this scene out because it felt ambiguous.

Film was the art of editing. With a cast this heavyweight, his plan had been to shoot everything he'd ever considered and then decide in the editing room what lived and what died — but looking at the result, it had become a scene too good to simply throw away.

Come to think of it, what did that CEO say again?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lee Han-lim turned the conversation he'd had with Lee Seo-won over and over in his head.

Permafrost was a blockbuster he had been developing for years with the production company under KE Group. What rookie on earth would hesitate over a chance to be in a film like this? Any sane person would have said yes on the spot.

And hadn't Lee Seo-won's method always been to attach the actor first and decide after? He respected his actors' wishes to the point of excess. The man had never once pulled a stunt like this before.

In truth, the endless delays had planted a prejudice in Lee Han-lim's mind — but the moment he watched Yoon Jay perform, every bad feeling about the man had melted away like snow. It genuinely felt as though the Captain Jin Young-do in his head had walked straight out into reality.

Minjae does have an exquisite eye for people, though......

Kwon Min-jae had been through far more than just being betrayed by the very parents he'd trusted as a child actor. He'd been stabbed in the back by people he'd considered his closest friends, watched the people he leaned on walk away time and again — so he'd built a wall behind his smiling face and never trusted anyone easily. Yet he got along fine with Yoon Jay.

"Cut! Beautiful!"

The actors kept their call times faithfully, and nothing out of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary happened. If things continued this way, Lee Han-lim expected the Antarctic unit to wrap exactly on schedule.

But then, a few days later, something happened.

"Director, you need to come out here for a moment."

"Sorry?"

Following the assistant director's grave expression outside, he found two detectives summoned by Kwon Min-jae's manager — and inside the police car where the pair stood sat a man in handcuffs.

"Good afternoon. Are you the person in charge here?"

"Ah, yes......"

What on earth was going on? Lee Han-lim and the assistant director shuffled nervously at the sudden appearance of the police.

"We received a report that a suspect we've been pursuing has been posing as a member of your crew."

"Excuse me?"

"We'll go over the details at the station once filming wraps. According to the manager here, there's no stopping mid-shoot?"

"That's right......"

With actors commanding fees this steep, every single day of the schedule was planned down to the minute. This was not a set that could afford to pull up stakes.

Director and assistant director stared blankly after the police car pulling out of the parking lot. Each of them held a police business card in their hand.

"......Did you hear anything? About any of this?"

"I have no idea."

"Still, come on, you'd think......"

The police had suddenly swooped in and hauled off one of their crew — was anyone supposed to get a proper shot done now? What in the world was happening?

"Director. Was something the matter?"

Kwon Min-jae barely held back a laugh at the sight of Yoon Jay, brazen as you please. The man looked nothing like someone who had just terrifyingly subdued a criminal moments ago.

"Oh, no, nothing. Let's move on to the next setup. Ready when you are?"

"Yes."

"Oh, right — I'll be enjoying that coffee, don't worry. Between the food truck yesterday and all this, thanks to your fans, I'm living in luxury, Jay."

Yoon Jay nodded with a smile. Behind him stood the coffee truck his fans had sent. He'd been in a foul mood ever since his encounter with the criminal, but one look at the truck and he'd bounced right back.

And so, the day's scheduled filming wrapped, and the director and key staff hurried off to the police station in charge of the case — only to be floored by what they heard.

"The first report came from a Mr. Kwon Min-jae."

"Mi— Minjae did?"

"Mr. Yoon Jay subdued the perpetrator and handed him over to us."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You weren't aware?"

"No......"

It was news so fresh it was practically hot off the press. What on earth had these ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actors been up to?

"It nearly turned into a serious disaster. When we searched the man's bag, it looked like he was planning to set fire to the set. We pulled three jerry cans of fuel from his car alone."

"Ghh— heh......"

For a moment, the director's vision swam. A catastrophe that size had nearly happened — how had they known in advance and caught him?

Just then, a door opened behind them, and the crisp click of heels echoed through the room. The detectives recognized her at once and scrambled to their feet.

"Hello. I hear something happened on our set."

"Gasp— Madam Vice Chairwoman."

Cho Youkyeong had descended upon them in person.

"My role is important, you say?"

The person the bait operation needed most was Baek Da-eun. Like Kwon Min-jae, she had a habit of dropping by the set even when her own call time wasn't up.

Is it because she's worried about Minjae?

Yoon Jay felt a flicker of envy at the two of them. Truthfully, the pair only came around to watch Yoon Jay act — but since neither of them ever made that obvious, the misunderstanding took root.

"The perpetrator seems to think of Minjae as his avatar."

"Sorry?"

"He's projecting himself onto Minjae. Either he once tried to become a child actor himself and failed, or he failed to launch his own child's debut."

Kwon Min-jae and Baek Da-eun listened to Yoon Jay in a daze.

"When he sees Minjae straying from his own standards, he lashes out with that warped affection. It's less like a rational emotion and closer to a parent's heart."

"You mean, like 'raising a princess'?"

"Something like that."

Yoon Jay had no idea what 'raising a princess' meant, but he nodded along anyway and pressed on.

"His methods have grown bolder — leaving dead magpies and cats on cars — which probably means he hates Permafrost. My actor, playing a minor supporting role in a film like this? He's supposed to take the lead every time, supposed to shine every time. That's the only way my value goes up."

The fact that Permafrost was a film the production company had thrown its weight behind was irrelevant to the man. All that mattered was that Kwon Min-jae was supposed to be the lead, supposed to land a role with real weight — and since he hadn't, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the man's feelings had detonated.

It's a bit like how Baek Da-eun uses Minjae as her mirror.

Well — similar was all it was; the types couldn't be more different. Because the criminal wanted to control Kwon Min-jae, and was more than ready to threaten him if needed. He simply hadn't crossed that line yet. Which was exactly why they were going to sell him a trap.

"Jay, are you sure you didn't study criminal psychology or something?"

"I've only made deductions from the statistics and analysis materials that have come out so far."

Yoon Jay possessed a talent unlike anyone else's, and his instincts were razor-sharp. Those instincts had pulled him out of countless crises and saved his comrades' lives.

The first time he'd studied criminal psychology in earnest was back when he was hunting the arsonist who had killed Williams, a fellow firefighter. The memory of his dead friend surfaced, and the illusion of flames roaring up before his eyes flickered — he shut them tight for a beat, then opened them again.

"You remember that drama we shot two years ago?"

"You mean The Good Detective?"

"Yeah. Isn't that exactly what that profiler who came in as a consultant used to say?"

"Now that you mention it......"

The two pairs of eyes were sparkling at him so brightly it might have been overwhelming, but Yoon Jay answered flatly.

"I just happen to know a lot of random things."

Anyone else saying it would have drawn nothing but doubt, but Yoon Jay's aura and a past seasoned by every kind of hardship lent it a strangely convincing weight.

"Will you be all right with this?"

"If it means catching him, then it has to be done."

In the criminal's eyes, Baek Da-eun was not a woman worthy of Kwon Min-jae — so the plan was for her to openly cling to Minjae and provoke him outright.

That meant strange rumors might start swirling around the set. When Baek Da-eun answered without a moment's hesitation, it was Kwon Min-jae who worried instead.

"Da-eun, come on. You don't have to."

"I'm fine, aren't I? You watch out for yourself."

They were so good to each other — it was a genuinely lovely relationship. Listening to the two of them go back and forth, Yoon Jay suddenly found himself craving popcorn.

"Um...... Jay?"

"Yes."

"Another one came......"

Yoon Jay read through the letter Kwon Min-jae's manager handed him at speed. The contents had grown more vicious — not just that woman now, but that bastard had appeared too. This was......

"'That bastard'? Who would that be?"

"That would be me."

He must have seen my scar-covered body at some point. My Minjae should be surrounding himself with good people, and instead he's getting close with someone who looks that dangerous. Of course he'd be furious.

We won't even need Baek Da-eun at this rate.

With the slightest provocation, the criminal would move. And so the bait operation the three actors had quietly devised to catch the stalker began.

Is this actually going to work?

Baek Da-eun stuck close to Kwon Min-jae, glancing around at their surroundings. Yoon Jay did the same. There was even an extra friend who fell short of the criminal's standards — the man had to be getting good and steamed by now.

"Time to throw the bait."

They had provoked him plenty. The criminal had stopped sending his usual letters, leaving only a short message behind.

Yoon Jay could see the man's impatience and anxiety bleeding through the message. You ignored my 'advice'? Then I'll have to show you exactly how frightening I can be — that's the only way you'll submit to my control.

So they deliberately dropped Kwon Min-jae in a secluded spot, and Yoon Jay waited nearby. He already knew the set like the back of his hand — he probably knew it better than the criminal did.

Is that him?

After a short wait, he spotted someone trailing behind Kwon Min-jae. Yoon Jay stepped in before anything could happen to him.

"Where are you going? That's not part of the set."

"Ah — I took a wrong turn."

Yoon Jay's eyes dropped to the staff ID hanging around the man's neck. Not the face of anyone I know. He'd probably swiped a crew member's badge and copied it.

"Kim Yongju?"

"Yes."

"You're not Kim Yongju."

"......"

The criminal glared at Yoon Jay. Even if he'd tried to run, there wasn't a single gap to slip through. Just then, Baek Da-eun's and Kwon Min-jae's voices rang out from behind, and Yoon Jay deliberately turned his head.

"Jay! Found you!"

"Jay."

In that instant, the criminal lunged at Yoon Jay. But even that seemed scripted — Yoon Jay slipped aside with effortless ease, seized the man's wrist, twisted it, and slammed him back against the wall.

BANG!

"Ughk......!"

"Shut your mouth and hold still."

Yoon Jay pinned both of the man's wrists with one hand, and he didn't look strained in the slightest.

The criminal squirmed, trying to shout — but the moment his eyes met Yoon Jay's, he froze solid, unable to do anything at all. It was uglier, more terrifying, than the atmosphere when he'd dropped Lim Si-woo to his knees.

Right, this phone had a hidden folder.

Meanwhile, Yoon Jay dug through the man's pockets, found the phone, and used his thumbprint to unlock it. A few taps of the screen, and the evidence appeared.

"That's him, all right."

"It— it really is?"

Yoon Jay handed the phone to Baek Da-eun. There were quite a number of photos — months of the man stalking Kwon Min-jae, all of them taken without his knowledge.

"Ugh...... what a sick bastard."

Baek Da-eun's face crumpled as she looked through them. What nagged at Yoon Jay was the bag the criminal had dropped. What could be inside?

"Minjae, open that bag for me, would you?"

"Huh? Uh...... one second."

"What's in it?"

"This is, uh...... fuel, I think?"

"What?"

Fuel canisters, and what looked like a fuse cord. Yoon Jay's brow furrowed.

The criminal hadn't merely hated Permafrost — he had gone beyond harming Kwon Min-jae directly and moved to burn the entire production down.

"You were going to set fire to this place?"

"Heh, heh-heh."

Yoon Jay's expression turned darker still.