Chapter 18

Choi Young-min got off the bus and walked towards his residence. As he walked, he took out a cigarette and felt it was empty. Choi Young-min became a bit annoyed and quickened his pace, entering the small supermarket he often visited.

"Boss lady," Choi Young-min called out.

"Coming, coming," a middle-aged woman came out from the inner room. Seeing it was Choi Young-min, she asked, "Cigarettes?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your face?" The boss lady noticed the injury on Choi Young-min's face.

"A crazy person hit me."

"Why are there so many crazy people around here?" The boss lady said, looking cautiously outside.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"I was scared to death. Can you stay with me for a while?"

"Why?"

"A crazy person locked up a girl and wants to kill her."

"Really?" Choi Young-min's tone was a bit tense. Has it been discovered?

The boss lady didn't notice anything unusual. "It might be the same person who hit you!"

"Hehe, see you!" Choi Young-min seemed a bit unnatural, eager to leave.

"Stay a bit longer?"

"Why?"

"What if that crazy person comes?"

"Why would that crazy person come here?" Choi Young-min was getting impatient. He wanted to leave quickly and go back to tidy up.

The boss lady looked outside again and said in a low voice, "The girl is here, and I've already called the police. Stay until the police come, and help yourself to a drink."

Choi Young-min glanced at the closed inner room door, took a can of cola as a cover, and casually asked, "How long ago did you call the police?"

"It's been a while, but I don't know why they haven't come yet," the boss lady said.

"Do you have a wooden stick or a hammer?" Choi Young-min asked calmly.

"What are you going to do? Ah, I see. We don't have a wooden stick, but we do have a hammer." The boss lady took a hammer from under the counter.

Choi Young-min weighed the hammer in his hand, stood by the door, and looked outside, then closed the door.

"Right, it's best if you stand there. If that crazy person comes, just hit them with the hammer. That will make me feel safer!" The boss lady looked at Choi Young-min, who stood like a door god, and said happily.

Choi Young-min turned and approached the boss lady. She was still talking, and he swung the hammer down, and she fell in a pool of blood.

"Cut!" Lee Jong shouted, sitting in front of the monitor.

This was the third day of filming. A simple scene with fewer than ten shots had been filmed many times due to the actors' unfamiliarity and the team's lack of coordination. Lee Jong was not very satisfied until this time, when Ha Jung-woo's expressions and movements finally met his expectations.

"Good, this one's good. Next shot," Lee Jong said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They had thought a new director wouldn't be so strict with the shots, but Lee Jong was extremely particular. He would reshoot anything that wasn't exactly what he wanted, even if Zhang Xun advised that it was already perfect. Lee Jong insisted on reshooting if it wasn't what he wanted. Later, Zhang Xun understood Lee Jong's temperament and would only offer suggestions without interfering with the filming.

"Xu Yingji, it's your turn," the script supervisor found Xu Yingji, who was already made up.

"Okay, I know," Xu Yingji said.

Xu Yingji's first shot was running into the small supermarket and then calling Zhong Hao. This shot was simple; as long as Xu Yingji controlled her emotions, there would be no problem. And Xu Yingji did a great job, portraying the fear and panic of a person who had narrowly escaped death.

The second shot was Choi Young-min killing the boss lady and then going to the inner room to kill Meizhen.

"Action!" The script supervisor clapped the slate.

Choi Young-min, holding a hammer that was still dripping blood, walked into the inner room. Meizhen was crouched by the cabinet, her head down, her hair covering her face, and her body trembling slightly.

Choi Young-min nudged Meizhen with his foot, "Get up, okay."

Choi Young-min looked at the trembling Meizhen and smiled, "I can't believe you managed to escape."

Meizhen's trembling intensified, and from the front, one could vaguely see her face filled with tears.

Choi Young-min shook the hammer in his hand and swung it down...

"Cut!" Lee Jong called out.

"Brother Zhang Xun, don't you think something is missing here?" Lee Jong frowned, looking at the just-filmed scene.

"It's fine. The two of them are perfect in their movements and expressions, and Ha Jung-woo's lines are good," Zhang Xun looked at Lee Jong in surprise.

"Um, I was thinking, if a psychopathic killer has already killed the boss lady, wouldn't he be even more cruel when killing Meizhen?" Lee Jong thought for a moment and hesitantly explained.

Zhang Xun looked at Lee Jong in shock, "Are you planning to make this a restricted film?"

"Um... It's just an idea. I plan to shoot a few more scenes. This topic is very sensitive, and if it ends up being a restricted film, I want to make it as perfect as possible," Lee Jong made up his mind.

"Alright, just make sure you know what you're doing," Zhang Xun thought Lee Jong seemed a bit crazy...

"Brother Jung-woo, Sister Yingji, come over here. I want to change the script," Lee Jong called the two actors over.

"I want to add some scenes. We might use them, or we might not, but I think it's necessary to shoot them," Lee Jong explained to them and added his ideas.

The scene started again...

The door to the inner room opened, and the boss lady lay on the ground, covered in blood, motionless. Dark red blood slowly spread around her. Choi Young-min, holding a hammer that was still dripping blood, walked into the inner room. Meizhen was crouched by the cabinet, her head down, her hair covering her face, and her body trembling slightly.

Choi Young-min nudged Meizhen with his foot, "Get up, okay."

Choi Young-min looked at the trembling Meizhen and smiled, "I can't believe you managed to escape."

Meizhen's trembling intensified, and from the front, one could vaguely see her face filled with tears.

Choi Young-min looked down at Meizhen, his face twisted into a cruel smile, shook the hammer in his hand, and swung it down.

The first blow, the hammer splattered blood, and the droplets sparkled in the sunlight.

The second blow, the hammer splattered blood on the wall, and the droplets looked like winter plum blossoms, blooming proudly.

The third blow, Meizhen fell into a pool of blood, looking like a suffering painting.

The fourth, fifth, sixth... blows...

Zhang Xun watched the scene on the monitor. He thought, indeed, just like the teacher, he is someone who pays attention to the visuals. A bloody scene was shot with a sense of beauty.

The close-up, the slow-motion, capturing the trajectory of the blood droplets, showing the breadth of the scene, was very perfect.

"Cut, perfect!!" Lee Jong exclaimed excitedly.

This was the scene he wanted. Beautiful, eerie.