Chapter 50

50. The team to receive the award is

Min Seo-yeon, playing Scarlett, entered Jekyll's laboratory with a slightly anxious gaze, looking around.

"Henry. Here are the things you asked for."

"Thank you. Scarlett."

Scarlett, who was taking care of the haggard Henry Jekyll with utmost devotion. It seemed that Dr. Jekyll was gradually overcoming Hyde through her love.

But Hyde, who refused to back down, still caused intermittent outbursts.

"Ugh! Ah! Ughhh."

"Henry. Henry. Look at me. You can win. You are a good person."

"Huff huff. Scarlett... Scarlett."

At that moment,

"Huff. Henry. Why is there... Why is there blood on your neck again? Could it be...?"

"Scarlett. I don't know anything about it."

Fear clouded Scarlett's eyes. Jin-hyuk, playing Henry Jekyll, looked at Seo-yeon with eyes full of anxiety, fear, and sadness.

"Scarlett... Don't leave me. Without you, I... I!"

"Don't worry, Henry. I won't leave you."

A tear rolled down Scarlett's eye, and she looked at Henry Jekyll with affection, firmly holding his hand.

"I'll come back in the evening."

As Scarlett exited, the stage went dark.

The students murmured.

"Wow— The casting for High School 2 wasn't for nothing."

"Really. They were both completely insane, right?"

"Ha. The situation isn't like that, but it's kind of sweet."

"I think we should root for them to get together in High School 2."

The laboratory door burst open.

"Dr. Henry Jekyll! We are arresting you on suspicion of serial murder!"

London Metropolitan Police officers stormed into the laboratory. Henry Jekyll stepped back in fear. Soon, his eyes filled with anger.

"Ugh! You foolish Jekyll! This is all your fault!"

"No! Hyde! You are just getting what you deserve! Ahh!"

Jin-hyuk, suffering from the dual personality of Jekyll and Hyde, was having a seizure. The officers were confused by the incomprehensible situation.

"In this situation, I will cut off your life, Jekyll!"

"Ugh!"

Hyde grabbed a nearby weapon with his left hand, and Jekyll tried to stop it with his right hand.

The officers shouted,

"Drop the weapon! Drop it or we'll shoot!"

"No!"

Scarlett ran into the laboratory.

"No! Don't shoot. There's a reason. I'll explain everything."

"Miss, it's dangerous! Hurry, get out of the way!"

Scarlett pleaded with a desperate voice.

"This person needs help. It's all because of this drug! This person is a patient!"

"No! Scarlett, you are being deceived!"

A figure appeared behind the officers. It was Lee Young-jun, playing Thomas, a friend of Henry Jekyll and Scarlett, and a doctor.

"Thomas!"

"Scarlett, listen to me. The drug you asked me to research to help Dr. Jekyll last time—"

Thomas took out the drug from his pocket.

"This is fake! It's just saline!"

"What? No, that can't be."

"Scarlett, it's dangerous. Come this way—"

At that moment,

"Ugh! C—"

Henry Jekyll collapsed. Scarlett ran to Jekyll.

"Henry! Oh, what do we do?"

Scarlett, trying to help the fallen Jekyll, couldn't lift him up. She turned to the officers.

"Thomas, and everyone, I will prove it. The truth about Henry."

Scarlett picked up the drug and injected it into herself.

"Scarlett!"

"..."

No change occurred in Scarlett's body. Lee Young-jun shook his head in disappointment.

"Scarlett. I told you. It's just saline."

"No, that can't be. Henry, Henry, what is this...?"

Seo-yeon, playing Scarlett, turned to where Jin-hyuk had fallen.

But Jin-hyuk was already standing, looking down at Seo-yeon.

With a bizarrely calm expression, Jin-hyuk said,

"Oh. We've been found out."

A strange smile appeared on his lips.

"Ah—!"

A girl in the front row, who had been watching Jin-hyuk closely, screamed in terror.

The expression and atmosphere Jin-hyuk displayed were terrifying.

"Henry... Henry..."

Scarlett, with wide eyes, asked, frozen in place.

"Then... this drug..."

Jin-hyuk, smoothing his disheveled hair, had deep, dark, and eerie blue eyes.

He grabbed Seo-yeon's shoulder, frozen in fear.

Jin-hyuk, pulling Seo-yeon's body towards the audience and wrapping his arms around her neck from behind, said,

"Scarlett."

"..."

"Does it take a drug to kill a person?"

Jin-hyuk's face leaned closer to Seo-yeon's.

"Do you need something like a drug? Hehe."

Jin-hyuk laughed in a bizarre and innocent way, as if finding it hilarious.

"Innocent Scarlett. You always make me happy."

Jin-hyuk's grip on Scarlett tightened. He spoke to the officers.

"Now, everyone, put down your guns. Clear the way, will you?"

He already had a gun in his hand.

"If you don't want to see this woman die in front of you."

Jin-hyuk moved towards the entrance with Seo-yeon, and the officers moved to the back of the laboratory.

Thud.

The lights in the laboratory went out.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots and flashing lights.

"Ah—!"

A sharp and long scream from Scarlett, played by Seo-yeon.

The stage went dark.

The curtain of the play finally fell.

***

Dr. Henry Jekyll, a mere social persona. But his true name, from the beginning, was the demon Edward Hyde.

"Wow."

People were stunned by Jin-hyuk's final performance, showing a psychopath filled with madness.

In fact, this twist originated from a simple prank by Do Min-woo in the rehearsal room.

"Kim Min-yeong, do you know I'm Do Min-woo? Hehe."

But to a reporter who was moved by Jin-hyuk's performance, it wasn't that simple.

He quickly wrote down his impressions before they faded.

- If you thought the Youth Drama Festival would only showcase the fresh enthusiasm of young people, you were sorely mistaken.

A heavy freshness. The twisted Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The bizarre direction, which seemed to mock the heavy traditional discourse of the duality of good and evil, obliterated everything with an inexplicable human madness, based on the deconstructive insights of postmodernism...

A reporter was building up the story.

"Ah—!"

"Wow—!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The stage opened again, and the cast appeared to bow. Enthusiastic applause and cheers filled the air.

"One, two, three."

Following Jin-hyuk's cue, the cast bowed, and even louder applause and cheers erupted.

"Bravo!"

The chairman, with a satisfied smile, stood up and clapped, shouting in his usual hearty voice.

The standing ovation spread to the surrounding teachers and students, and soon all the audience members stood up, filling the theater with cheers, whistles, and applause.

"Whoo—! Well done!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Amazing!"

"Best!"

"Encore!"

Encore? Encore?

"Hey, isn't an encore not a thing in plays?"

"Is that so? Ah, I don't know."

In the audience, everyone was clapping enthusiastically. Jung Ji-an, an actor, turned to his manager.

"Bro, let's go now."

"Huh? But the award ceremony is coming up. Shouldn't we stay for that?"

"No, let's go."

"Damn, are you tired? Okay, let's go to the hotel then."

"No, to Seoul."

"What?"

Jung Ji-an's manager tilted his head in confusion.

"Since I've seen the acting, I need to go act."

Jung Ji-an turned and headed towards the exit.

"Ah, damn. You're at it again. You're impossible."

The manager muttered to himself and hurried after him.

"Hey, hey, Ji-an, come on!"

Jung Ji-an paused and matched his steps with the manager.

"But, Ji-an, how did you know? That Jekyll was acting, or rather, Hyde was acting? Did you figure that out?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. How did you figure that out?"

Jung Ji-an scratched his head and said,

"When Jin-hyuk was playing Hyde, it didn't feel like he was acting."

"But?"

"When he was playing Jekyll, it felt like he was acting like he was acting."

"..."

The manager tried to recall the scenes from the play but couldn't understand.

"So, you thought Jekyll's appearance was an act. That's what you thought, right?"

"So, you mean Jin-hyuk was acting as a demon pretending to be the good Jekyll. You saw that?"

Jung Ji-an nodded silently.

"Ji-an, sometimes you scare me."

"..."

"Ah, but, Ji-an. If he was trying to deceive Scarlett, that makes sense. But in the scene where Hyde first appears in the laboratory, he was alone. There was no need to act out the dual personality, right? Was he really a mad psychopath, acting even when alone?"

Jung Ji-an shook his head.

"Bro."

"Yeah?"

"That was a flashback scene."

"Right. A flashback scene. When he was telling Scarlett his story... Oh."

The manager finally realized.

"It was all a lie."

"What can you do now that you know?"

Jung Ji-an chuckled and got into the waiting car.

***

"I think when I see Jin-hyuk at High School, Hyde will come to mind."

"Then it would be a complete 'High School Horror Story.'"

In the auditorium for the award ceremony, people were buzzing about the performance by Myeongseong High School.

"It's all about Myeongseong High School's play."

"Of course, since we just saw it. That makes sense."

Some participants from other schools tried to console each other.

"But it's not just that. It was really shocking. Damn, I really wanted to see it."

"Me too. But you'd need to get a ticket."

Amid the excitement, the host appeared.

"The 2011 Busan Youth Drama Festival, filled with the passion, joy, and excitement of youth, is now coming to a close."

"Aah—."

The students in the audience sighed with regret.

"The chairman of the judging committee, Professor Lee Chang-soo from Korea University of Arts, will now give his comments on the eight works that made it to the finals."

Professor Lee Chang-soo ascended the stage and gave detailed comments on each work. Then,

"Now, I will announce the three teams nominated for the Grand Prize."

The host's voice rose in excitement.

"The first team nominated for the prestigious Grand Prize is! The Busan Dongrae Arts High School Drama Team 'Seagull'!"

"Wow!"

The Dongrae Arts High School Drama Team cheered and jumped up, hugging each other.

"Ah. I'm nervous. I'm so nervous."

"Really. I should have brought some calming pills."

The Myeongseong High School students looked at each other with tense expressions.

"The second team is! The Seoul Cultural Arts High School Drama Club 'The Best'! Congratulations!"

"Wow!"

There were cheers, but they were quieter compared to the Dongrae Arts High School. The Cultural Arts High School Drama Club was still not satisfied.

"Now, the last team. The final team to be nominated for the Grand Prize of the Busan Youth Drama Festival is!"

The host deliberately paused, building suspense.

All the teams, not yet giving up, watched the host's lips with eager eyes. The Myeongseong High School students, with a mix of hope and doubt, clasped their hands.

"The last team is Seoul Myeongseong High School Drama Team 'The Tale of the Inspector'!"

"Wow, wow, wow!!"

The Myeongseong High School Drama Team students jumped up like springs, and the cheers of the soccer field heroes who came to support Jin-hyuk filled the auditorium.

"Well done! Well done!"

The excited chairman patted the students' backs with his large hands.

"Now, please have the representatives of the three schools come to the stage."

As the representatives, including Jin-hyuk, ascended the stage, the host continued.

"Now, it's time to announce the Grand Prize. The two teams that do not win the Grand Prize will naturally receive the Excellence Award."

The representatives of the three schools stood on the stage. The other two, excluding Jin-hyuk, had visibly tense expressions.

"Winning the Grand Prize might be a bit of a stretch, right?"

"Making it this far is already a miracle, isn't it? Let's clear our minds and wait."

The Myeongseong High School teachers whispered to each other.

"Still, the Grand Prize will probably go to the Cultural Arts High School, right?"

"Ha. I saw both plays, and I really can't tell."

"Me neither. The lead actors of Myeongseong High School carried the play, but the Cultural Arts High School had a well-rounded cast. It's not easy to pull off an ensemble performance like that."

Even the audience members who saw both plays from the Cultural Arts High School and Myeongseong High School couldn't easily predict the outcome.

"Director, you came to see Jin-hyuk, right?"

"Of course, you already know."

The director of HC, Park Sung-woo, and the director of NTN, Jang Dong-soo, exchanged knowing smiles.

"Do you think he will win the Grand Prize?"

"I don't know. What about you, Director?"

"Ha ha. I asked you first. If I guess right, will Jin-hyuk yield?"

"What, do I have a choice? It's up to Jin-hyuk."

Another competition was heating up in the audience.

"Now, I will announce the team and work that will receive the Grand Prize. The school that wins the Grand Prize will receive 30 million won for school development, and the participating students will receive the latest smartphones as prizes."

Dum dum dum.

The drumbeats echoed, and the host's voice, filled with tension, resonated through the auditorium.

"The Grand Prize winner of the 2011 Busan Youth Drama Festival is!"

The audience clenched their fists, and the two school representatives, excluding Jin-hyuk, closed their eyes tightly.

A second of waiting that felt like an hour.

"The Grand Prize winner! Myeongseong High School, 'Hyde Was There'!"

"Wow, wow, wow!!"