Chapter 49

49. Hyde was there.

"‘Hyde was there.’ You must be talking about that Hyde from ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ right?"

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

A gothic novel set in 1800s London, it is a pioneering work that explores the duality of human nature, the good and the evil. After its publication, it has been reproduced in numerous media, including films, plays, and musicals.

The manager asked, but actor Jeong Ji-an had no particular response. His gaze was entirely focused on the stage.

Dawn in London.

In a narrow alley of the city, shrouded in a sinister fog, a sharp scream echoed.

“Aaah! Hey! P-please spare my life. I'll give you everything I have!”

“Huh. You'll give me everything you have?”

“Y-yes. Here’s the watch, and also here….”

“No, that’s not everything. What I want is….”

“Alright, tell me what you want. If you spare me, I’ll give you anything….”

A man with a blank expression looked down at the old gentleman who was clinging to him.

His neatly combed hair, his spotless black suit that seemed to allow no dust.

But his chiseled face with piercing blue eyes made even the fine suit look ordinary.

The man’s translucent skin emitted a soft glow.

He was Woo Jin-hyuk, playing the role of Henry Jekyll and the demon Edward Hyde within him.

Woo Jin-hyuk, who swept back a strand of hair and adjusted his cane, spat out the words with a chilling gaze.

“The only thing I need from you is your life!”

“Aaah! Aaaah!”

“Wow—.”

The moment the lights went out, everyone, without exception, let out a gasp.

“What did we just see? Exactly.”

“The atmosphere was insane, wasn’t it?”

Intense and brief, the first scene left the audience speechless from the start.

“Wow. What was that? How did Hyde… It’s shocking.”

“Shh!”

At the manager’s words, Jeong Ji-an, who had not taken his eyes off the stage, put a finger to his lips.

The visual impact of Jin-hyuk’s transformation into Hyde was so strong that his brief yet refined performance almost went unnoticed.

However, Jin-hyuk’s performance did not go unnoticed by everyone.

“Hmm….”

Some of the judges murmured, and a few widened their eyes.

Only Professor Lee Chang-soo of Korea National University of Arts, the head judge, had a relaxed expression and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“This is already the third time.”

“No, to beat someone to death with a club, and three people at that. I’ve never seen such a cruel act.”

“Officer! Officer!”

“What’s all the fuss about?”

The man who called the officer carefully lifted something with his gloved hand.

“Look at this.”

“Huh? What is this?”

“Judging by the blood on it, it seems to be the tool used in the crime. It looks like the handle that fell off the cane.”

The officer carefully examined the metal-covered handle.

***

Henry Jekyll, the doctor with a slightly disheveled hair and an old coat, hurriedly entered his laboratory.

“What are you doing now?”

“Ah!”

Min Seo-yeon, playing the role of Henry Jekyll’s fiancée Scarlett, put down something in fear.

Jin-hyuk’s gaze fell on his diary, which had fallen from her hand. Seo-yeon spoke in a flustered voice.

“I, I was just worried about how uneasy you looked last night….”

“So you sneaked in like a thief in the morning to snoop through my things!”

Jin-hyuk hastily grabbed the diary, and Seo-yeon, startled by his shout, took a step back.

This was not the behavior of the usual Henry, who was gentle and kind, a doctor who was friendly to everyone, not just his patients.

But Seo-yeon took a step forward, as if trying to overcome her fear.

“Henry. What’s wrong with you? Your hands are covered in blood. And that broken cane!”

“Aaaah!”

Jin-hyuk screamed and threw the broken cane.

“No, no. It’s not me. Aaaah!”

Seo-yeon took another step closer to Jin-hyuk, who was trembling in fear.

“Henry. I know you. No matter what has happened to you, I am still your fiancée, and I will be on your side.”

“No. Don’t come closer. I am a dangerous person. Scarlett, you don’t know me.”

Jin-hyuk clutched his face. Seo-yeon approached Jin-hyuk and gently embraced him.

“Squeal-!”

A scream erupted from the audience, unrelated to the flow of the play. It was just a group of teenage students. Some of the girls were hugging their friends in excitement.

“No, I know you well. Henry. No matter what anyone says, you are a warm and kind person. So tell me, what has happened to you?”

“Ha. Scarlett. I, I… I just wanted to save people.”

“Almost succeeded. The good and evil in humans. If we can separate these two emotions! We won’t have to be unhappy anymore.”

Dr. Jekyll filled a syringe with the drug he had developed and began to inject it into his own arm.

Squish—

“Aaaah!”

After injecting the drug, Dr. Jekyll dropped the syringe and began to convulse as if shedding his skin.

In a typical play or musical, the kind-looking Dr. Jekyll would transform into the evil incarnation, Hyde, with disheveled hair, a vicious face, and a rough voice.

With chaotic lighting, sinister music, and Jin-hyuk writhing in pain, everything suddenly stopped.

Jin-hyuk, who had been convulsing, slowly got up and dusted himself off.

The old coat Dr. Jekyll had been wearing was now off, and Jin-hyuk stood there in black suit pants and a flowing white silk shirt.

His tall stature, his perfectly proportioned lean body, his skin that glowed even in the dim lighting.

It was a small theater. The audience was seated so close that they could feel Jin-hyuk’s breath.

The moment Jin-hyuk’s blue eyes, enhanced by lenses, met the audience’s gaze.

“Squeal-!”

Someone in the audience who met Jin-hyuk’s gaze let out a scream.

“He’s crazy. He’s crazy.”

“Ah, damn. Hyde, he’s not a demon? But he’s so good. Ah, I feel so guilty.”

Jin-hyuk, meeting the audience’s gaze, who were mesmerized by his appearance, swept back his disheveled hair with both hands.

“Hmm- Ha-.”

Jin-hyuk took a deep breath and exhaled. The focus in his blue eyes disappeared.

“Listen. Henry Jekyll, this naive friend. Do you really know what it takes to make a human perfect? It’s pure evil.”

Hyde, transformed, sneered.

“Ah-.”

A gasp erupted from the audience. Jin-hyuk’s dark smile was incredibly charming.

“Damn. Do I have to become pure evil too?”

“Yeah. Your face has been too good-natured all this time.”

“Damn. If I can be like that, I’ll just live as Hyde.”

They say the devil wears Prada. If he weren’t so charming, people wouldn’t fall into evil so helplessly.

For that reason, Jin-hyuk was radiating a charm that could consume everyone in the room.

Jin-hyuk’s monologue continued.

“Is pure evil not the ultimate ability to guide wretched humans to the most perfect state of ‘death’?”

Rhythmic, perfectly delivered lines.

“Every time you suppressed me with your hypocritical righteousness, do you know how much I suffered?”

After a growl like a beast’s cry.

“Hmm- Ha-.”

Jin-hyuk took another deep breath. Somehow, the audience exhaled with him.

“Take a deep breath. It’s a refreshing, dark night!”

An innocent smile that didn’t match his cruel eyes appeared on Jin-hyuk’s lips.

“Ha! A perfect night for someone to die!”

Hyde, who seemed to be in a good mood, spread his arms wide.

“To celebrate my liberation today, I’ll give Jekyll a song.”

Ding. Da-da-da. Ding. Da-da.

A gloomy and solemn piano prelude flowed.

“Don’t be afraid—. What you should fear is a wretched life.”

At Jin-hyuk’s first line, the audience let out another “Wow!”

Jin-hyuk’s poignant yet intense vocals seeped into the audience’s ears through the darkness of the extinguished lights.

Death is the perfect resting place.

Shout out loud for freedom.

It has come tonight.

A new life, a beautiful death.

No one can stop me.

Like thick clouds spreading and creating shadows of darkness, Jin-hyuk’s spreading dark voice,

The pure passion of evil.

Raise your cane, messenger of death!

Bizarre, terrifying, and some kind of magical power. It continued with the charming roar of a demon that seemed to draw out the sin within me.

Smash the world!

Shatter the world to pieces!

You will be perfect tonight—

The relentless high notes shook the dark ceiling. The cells of the audience, listening to the song, trembled.

“Damn. I got goosebumps on my arm. Look at this. I’m getting chills.”

“Me too. I might turn into a chicken.”

The students rubbed their arms as if by agreement.

‘No, this….’

Park Sung-woo, the director of HC Entertainment, who was sitting among the students, widened his eyes.

“No, Director. The singing… It’s better than most musical actors, isn’t it?”

While the team leader, who was with him, asked in surprise, Jang Dong-soo, the director of NTN Entertainment, who was sitting next to him, frowned.

Since he saw Park Sung-woo, Jang Dong-soo couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling.

And from the way he was looking at the stage, Jang Dong-soo could sense that his target was Woo Jin-hyuk. And a moment ago, he realized that Jang Dong-soo was hearing Woo Jin-hyuk’s singing for the first time.

Feeling as if his own treasure had been revealed to a competitor, Jang Dong-soo felt uncomfortable.

‘Damn. Jin-hyuk, don’t sing. This is a play, not a musical.’

Jang Dong-soo, trying to shift the blame to Jin-hyuk.

That way. With just one song,

Hyde, played by Jin-hyuk, plunged all the audience into a strange darkness of fear.

Soon, his killing spree began.

***

“Scarlett. I was foolish. I believed I could control that creature. The demon within me. If I could separate it with this drug, I thought I could rid myself of it and achieve pure goodness. Heh!”

Like a drug addict, Jin-hyuk’s pupils were constantly shaking in front of Seo-yeon.

“But now, that creature is taking control of me. Now, it emerges at any time without the drug, dominating my body. Scarlett, I was wrong. Leave. Heh! Hurry! I can’t let you be in danger!”

Suddenly, Jin-hyuk’s voice turned cold.

“Jekyll. I will kill you. Can’t you let me out? This body should belong entirely to Hyde!”

Again, Jekyll’s trembling, poignant voice.

“It can’t be. I can’t just give my body to you, Hyde. Heh!”

The intense struggle between the two personalities.

And the audience