Horn's First Mission
"Whoa!! It's so big out here!!"
"H. Step back."
"Wow, did you see that? Insane! Is that tree actually alive? Whoa, this is the first time I've ever seen a living tree!"
"Calm down. I told you before—if you don't follow my orders, I'm taking you back."
Tch. So unfair.
I puffed out my cheeks and plopped down on the ground.
"I was just curious, that's allll…."
"I know. But keep it together. This is your first mission. If you get worked up and screw it up, won't your brother be disappointed in you?"
My brother, disappointed in me?
A snort escaped me at Agent Jang Yoseok's words.
"Not a chance. My brother never gets disappointed in me. He didn't even get mad when I smashed the brand-new machine he'd just brought in."
"Right, you're a special one. Now sit there quietly until the mission starts."
Agent Jang waved a hand at me like I wasn't worth his attention. Hmph. So unfair.
'…It's amazing, though.'
The crisp air drifting all around me, the sunlight floating weightless overhead, the deep, dense forest. I'd seen and felt all of it countless times inside the virtual spaces back at the facility, but the 'real thing' was undeniably different.
I squeezed my fist shut, then opened it again. There was nothing to actually grasp in my hand, but I wanted to scoop up the real air anyway and carry it with me.
That luxury didn't last long, though.
"H. The mission starts now."
"Okay!"
I sprang to my feet the moment Agent Jang spoke. He pointed toward three figures far in the distance.
"Three targets. Head shots for the two in black suits. Legs for the one in white."
"Got it!"
"Remember. Do not hesitate. The instant you hesitate, everything falls apart."
"I know."
I couldn't imagine why I'd hesitate, but I answered obediently anyway.
'Honestly, Agent Jang is way too uptight.'
Shaking my head, I drew my gun and narrowed my eyes as I took aim. One deep breath, and then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots filled the forest. In a blink, the targets dropped to the ground one after another.
"…And here I was worried for nothing."
"Hehe. I did good, didn't I!"
"Yeah. Your brother will give you his praise."
Obviously. I shot that well, after all.
Even from a distance, the takedowns were clean. The two I'd aimed at the head lay still and quiet, while the one I'd hit in the legs was screaming and writhing in pain.
"Gaaaahh!!"
Poor guy. That must hurt.
"Detonate him now?"
"No. In five minutes. Right before he dies."
"Eww. That's so twisted."
"It's what the client requested."
What a strange client. I wondered for a second why they'd wanted that man killed—then let it go. My brother wouldn't tell me even if I asked him anyway.
"Five minutes. Detonate him."
"Okay!"
Smiling at Agent Jang's words, I raised my hand. The moment my thumb and middle finger snapped—
Pop!
The man on the ground burst apart. From the bullet-riddled legs all the way up to the head, every last piece of him.
"Came apart clean! Ooh, I'm definitely getting praised for this."
"…Doesn't that gross you out?"
I stared, puzzled, at the look of disgust on Agent Jang's face.
That was gross?
"That's gross? Why?"
"Forget it. Never mind. Mission complete. We're heading back to HQ."
"You always ignore what I say."
This was my first time out, too…
A small part of me wished I could stay outside a little longer. But my brother had told me to behave, so.
Picture his kind face, and I got straight to my feet.
"Yoseok-hyung?"
I started to follow behind Agent Jang, then spoke up. The sharp reply came instantly.
"I told you not to call me that."
"Tch. Fine, Agent Jang. Hey, can I detonate the other two before we go?"
"Do whatever you want."
At his curt answer, I grinned and snapped my fingers again and again. Each little click, click from my fingertips was answered, far away, by a string of popping explosions.
Ooh, what a satisfying sound.
'I want to hurry back and get my praise from my brother.'
Pulling this off so well on my very first mission—my brother would be so pleased. Just imagining his soft smile made my mood lift.
I was practically skipping along when, all at once, everything in front of me turned white.
At the same moment, an enormous blast rocked the air.
"Cut! Ah, that was fantastic!"
My senses returned slowly at the PD's voice. By the time I'd blinked a few times, he was already rushing over.
"How are you two so perfectly in sync? Wow, I got chills back there."
He looked genuinely astonished. Actor Kim Seokjun, who played Agent Jang Yoseok, answered with a smile.
"Thank you. Honestly, Yeonjae makes it easy for me to stay immersed."
"You two really click. I suppose having worked on a drama together before makes all the difference."
We had never once shot anything together, though. The question crossed my mind, but I just smiled politely and let it pass.
"Both of you, keep it exactly like this. In five minutes we'll reshoot the solo cut of Yeonjae."
"Yes, understood."
The scene we'd just filmed was the one where a bomb explodes right in front of Agent Jang Yoseok and Horn as they attempt to return to the facility. We'd wrap this scene by midday, and in the afternoon we were scheduled to shoot the battle sequence that follows the explosion.
'That sounds fun.'
I was busy managing my expression so my odd little flicker of anticipation wouldn't show when Kim Seokjun wandered over.
"Hey."
Nothing like the pleasant smile he'd been wearing in front of the PD—his face had settled into something strangely rough around the edges.
"Have you ever fired a gun?"
"I'm sorry?"
"A real gun. Have you ever actually fired one?"
What was he talking about?
"Hyung, we went through the same training, remember?"
"That's exactly why I'm asking. We never got within a mile of a live weapon. So how on earth do you shoot like you've been handling real guns your whole life?"
"…? Because I practiced."
"…My fault. Shouldn't have asked."
Kim Seokjun shook his head, muttering something about how unfair it all was.
'What's with him?'
People really were a strange breed. I brushed it off—right now, figuring out my supported firing stance mattered far more.
'I honestly can't tell if I'm doing it right.'
The gun in my hands was a prop, not the real thing. Of course it was. This was Korea, and this was a film set. But viewers of the drama had no obligation to cut us slack over that. In the end, it had to look like a real gun—and that was easier said than done.
'This is harder than I expected.'
I had to convey a recoil violent enough to knock a body backward, using nothing but the movement of my own frame. The Action School training had covered it, but something still felt lacking, so I'd practiced separately these past few days.
'Thankfully, the PD's expression looks decent.'
Horn's ability lay hidden inside his own body—specifically, in his blood. Horn's blood was thick with an enormous concentration of energy, and whenever Horn willed it, any place his blood had touched could be detonated. In other words, a single finger snap from Horn could blow apart every spot where his blood had spread.
Bullets laced with his blood came with an extra advantage beyond simply killing the enemy: they let you control the exact moment of death. You could leave your target to die slowly in pure agony, and still guarantee the final confirming shot. A thoroughly useful feature.
'And honestly, it suits my acting, too.'
In my current body, I couldn't deliver the sweeping, powerhouse action that full-grown actors could. To make action scenes feel thrilling rather than cringe-worthy, you needed that level of physical conviction. Until my frame grew into it, leaning on this kind of fantastical ability could actually make the scenes feel more believable, not less.
'Ugh. I need to practice more when I get home.'
Regardless of the PD's face, I wasn't satisfied with myself. I was stretching out the knotted muscles in my shoulders, having strained them over just that little bit, when Jinbae-hyung came over.
"Shall I work those shoulders out for you, actor-nim?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
With practiced hands, Jinbae-hyung began kneading the tension out of my shoulders.
"This is your first time doing action work, but you really are good at it."
"I haven't even done anything properly yet. What are you talking about?"
All I'd done so far was fire a gun a few times for show. The afternoon battle scene had far more in store—being thrown backward by an enemy's surprise attack, taking down foes one by one. As I ran the action choreography I'd drilled with the other actors through my head one more time, a low voice reached me.
"Still, I'm relieved. Truly."
"About what?"
"Killing Horn is rated for adults only, after all. There's a lot of brutal content in it. I was worried the shoots might be too hard on you… but thankfully, the set itself has been pretty tame."
That was true. All the scenes of bodies bursting or heads flying off were handled with CG. In reality, all the actors had to do was fall over on cue.
…Wait a second.
"Hyung."
"Yes?"
"Then, um…."
I hesitated before asking.
"Does that mean I can't watch Killing Horn when it comes out?"
Jinbae-hyung froze for a moment, then gave an awkward smile.
"Well, officially speaking… we'll have to say you haven't seen it. At the drama's press screening, you'll need to step out partway through, too."
"…I see."
Right. Of course. It was a perfectly reasonable answer, and I nodded slowly. Jinbae-hyung, who had been watching my face carefully, hurried to add something.
"But you can always watch it secretly at home. Only… it's quite graphic, so…. How about this—I'll collect just the parts you appear in and show you those. Would that work?"
"No, it's fine. I don't need to see it."
Rules were rules; there were lines that had to be held. That was the spirit in which I'd said it, but apparently it came across as completely unconvincing. I changed the subject while soothing his crestfallen face.
And then I thought, privately.
'I'll just watch it secretly with An-gae.'
Wherever An-gae and I were together wasn't exactly the real world in the first place, was it? Which meant watching footage there wouldn't count as piracy in Korea, either.
'I feel like a delinquent.'
There was a certain shameful thrill in exploiting a loophole in the rules to do something bad. But it wasn't technically wrong, was it?
It was the same as when I'd talked to the others about An-gae. Junghyeon-hyung, Jinbae-hyung, and Bihyuk had all asked about him. And Biyeon had wanted to know, too.
Just as I had with the three before her, I especially didn't want to lie to Biyeon. So I told the truth as fully as I could within the bounds of what was possible.
First, An-gae had helped me a long time ago. Second, regrettably, we were not currently in contact. Third, whenever I thought of An-gae, all I remembered was happiness. And fourth, he was an ordinary civilian with no connection whatsoever to the entertainment industry.
…The second sentence was admittedly a little ambiguous, but by the standards of the real world, it was no lie. Unless I was asleep, there was no way for me to see An-gae at all.
'Even now I miss him this much, and I can't hear his voice even once.'
All I could do was wait for the moment sleep took me. Every night, day after day.
"Actor-nim. They're saying we're going back in."
"Yes. One moment."
I hurriedly pulled out my phone and opened my notes app.
An-gae, I'll see you soon. I'm going to shoot this scene well and come home.
I miss you today, too.
I hesitated a moment before adding the last line. Then I waited about thirty seconds and turned the phone off—after deleting the note, of course.
It must have looked like the loneliest one-way correspondence in the world. But even this much being possible felt like a mercy to me.
'I miss him.'
How could my heart keep swelling like this, every single day? It amazed me. I wanted An-gae beside me the moment I opened my eyes. I wanted to show other people that he actually existed. I wanted to prove to myself, too, that I wasn't some delusional patient imagining things.
It didn't matter what form he took. I just wanted An-gae to…
"…exist in my reality, too."
"I'm sorry? What did you say?"
My murmured words made Jinbae-hyung react instantly. I laughed it off—said it was nothing. He ruffled my hair gently, telling me to hang in there just a little longer.
Even under his careful, tender touch, a strange loneliness settled over me.
'He really is such a warm person.'
But Jinbae-hyung was not An-gae.
And today, of all days, that difference weighed on me a little.