Chapter 33

Villain Only 033

What Exploded? (2)

"Cut."

The filming was over.

The staff, drenched in rain, looked at the equipment under the waterproof tarp with exhausted eyes, all thinking the same thing.

'Finally...'

With the last reshoot completed, everything was truly over.

However, Song Jeong-woo's expression was serious.

The staff swallowed hard and tensed up.

'Not again?'

'Again?'

'No way! PD, please!'

Song Jeong-woo, stroking his chin and staring at the monitor, lifted his head.

"Seo-hoon, come take a look at this."

The staff's faces turned pale, and Jeong Seo-hoon approached Song Jeong-woo.

Jeong Su-yeon, looking uncomfortable, subtly peeked over his shoulder.

'Could Seo-hoon have his first NG? But it looked good to me. There was nothing wrong with it, right?'

Song Jeong-woo replayed a part of the scene Jeong Seo-hoon had just acted in.

Jeong Seo-hoon, wearing headphones, fixed his eyes on the monitor.

"You said, 'I told you. I'll kill as many as I can until the end.' How does it sound, Seo-hoon? No, no, how did you feel while acting this scene?"

Kim Sang-hee interjected.

"Was something off, PD?"

"Hmm, not blaming the script, but something felt off here. It's hard to explain. How should I put it? It felt like... Jin-wook..."

"Didn't seem like Jin-wook?"

"Exactly!"

Kim Sang-hee shrugged.

"Typical Song Ghost. How did he pinpoint that so accurately?"

"Wasn't that line original? Wasn't it revised once?"

"Yes. Anyway, he's a ghost. How about you, Seo-hoon?"

The two people's gazes turned to him, and Jeong Seo-hoon recalled the emotions he felt while acting.

He also sensed a strange dissonance from the changed scenery that matched the situation.

Perhaps the contrast in the monitor's lighting was slightly distorted.

"I felt like I was wearing clothes that didn't quite fit. It didn't feel like Jin-wook. I thought, 'This isn't Jin-wook. He wouldn't do this in this situation.'"

"You two are just ghosts."

Kim Sang-hee sighed with a smile, revealing the truth.

"Actually, this was the version for the viewers. It was like a final gift."

"Final gift?"

"Jin-wook was a murderer, but he set clear rules and only killed the worst of the worst, so he garnered a lot of sympathy until the end. A charming, fatal man, hard to hate despite being a bad guy."

Song Jeong-woo agreed.

"That concept was maintained well throughout episode 11. It was really a tightrope. It could have easily turned into a completely hated character."

"I didn't want to tarnish the viewers' final affection, so I made some compromises."

"So, you removed the choice Jin-wook would have made?"

"Exactly."

Jeong Seo-hoon looked at him intently and spoke.

"Writer, let's go with the original."

"Do you really want to see the real thing, Seo-hoon?"

"Yes, I want to see it. The final choice Jin-wook made in your mind."

"What do you think it will be like?"

Kim Sang-hee asked, filled with curiosity.

It was as if she wanted to tear open a gift she had been eagerly waiting for.

"I'll show you in front of the camera."

Jeong Seo-hoon held out his hand for the script.

Jin-wook lay on his back, gazing at the sky.

A round, ashen ceiling filled with dark clouds, with thin lightning silently flowing.

The soldier suddenly thought the blood vessels in his retina resembled the lightning.

Feeling this, the ashen sky seemed like a giant lens observing him.

Today, he couldn't see the transparent lens that always watched him.

Without the silent observer that was always there during filming, he felt a sense of emptiness.

Could the entire sky have turned into a lens?

'No... No... No...'

The lawyer's sobs echoed and gradually faded away.

His eyes kept closing, and he felt an unusual drowsiness.

He had delivered all his lines and completed everything he needed to do.

But he didn't hear the "cut" signal.

Thinking something was wrong, he suddenly couldn't sense the lawyer's presence.

As he was being dragged into a heavy gravity like being submerged in a swamp, a tremendous explosion was heard.

Boom! Boom!

The sounds of explosions, booms, screams, and all kinds of noises that seemed to burst his eardrums repeated.

The noise of explosives and life became clear and distinct, and the soldier sprang up from his seat.

Rashid, looking around, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Friendly artillery was relentlessly bombarding the shore, and from the enemy trenches, only weak machine gun fire could be heard intermittently.

Amidst the scattered blood and screams, a young rifleman with blood streaming down his face sobbed.

"The allies have arrived! Sergeant, we're saved! We're saved!"

The rifleman's voice was as clear as reality.

***

After shedding much blood, they finally captured the island.

Although they suffered significant losses, the soldiers' faces were not too dark.

The pain of losing comrades was overshadowed by the long war that still lay ahead.

"You are now Lieutenant Rashid."

Rashid, recognized for his expertise, was promoted to lieutenant and appointed as a platoon leader.

Not a desk officer, but a lieutenant who had rapidly risen from a private after more than three years on the battlefield, the platoon members naturally accepted him as their superior.

After being appointed as a platoon leader, Rashid received orders to clear nearby islands and led his men into action.

The memories of filming the drama as Jeong Seo-hoon in Korea gradually became hazy.

Rashid speculated that it wasn't a problem with his memory but rather the intervention of some transcendent force.

The transcendent force was trying to lock away Jeong Seo-hoon's memories, making it difficult even to form such speculations.

One day, Rashid's platoon, on orders, successfully captured a key enemy official who had failed to escape and was hiding.

They also seized valuable gold and military secrets, earning significant merit.

"Congratulations, Captain."

"Promotion?"

"Yes. You have consistently achieved unprecedented feats. You are an excellent role model for all imperial soldiers."

A colonel with six stars personally came to the front lines with a guard for Rashid's promotion ceremony.

"I will grant you indefinite leave. Take a good rest and forget about the war for a while. You and your men will stay at a military resort for security reasons."

"Thank you."

Rashid left for a military resort in the rear with his platoon, who had shared life and death with him.

With no set return date, they were to stay and rest until further orders.

The military resort was a giant city with everything they needed.

It was a massive tourist city catering to the military, with more young women than soldiers on leave.

Captain Rashid spent every night with his platoon.

The platoon members proudly talked about the operation to capture the enemy commander whenever they drank.

This military achievement, which earned them a promotion and indefinite leave, would be a lifelong source of pride.

In front of the women they mingled with, the enemy commander's rank rose from colonel to general within a month.

They laughed heartily and poured drinks as they recounted the adventure of raiding the hiding place.

"Captain, you don't look well. What's wrong?"

"No, it's just that the comfort here feels strange."

"Hahaha! Indeed, a war hero! Rest is more challenging than you thought?"

"Let's just enjoy it, Captain! Who knows when the higher-ups will push us to die again!"

The comfort of being completely separated from the battlefield felt strange.

Although he didn't consider this place fake, he no longer thought of Korea as just a dream.

To hold onto the fading memories of Jeong Seo-hoon, the captain repeatedly recalled them every day.

On stage, a woman in a daring outfit and a man in a ridiculous costume performed a play together.

Mostly soldiers, the drunk audience drank and clapped, sending cheers that seemed to shake the world.

The captain stood still, watching the performers on stage.

Suddenly, his heart began to beat wildly.

An unfamiliar thirst rose from his throat, trying to escape his body.

'I miss... where exactly?'

This was the place he had longed for, the precious comrades he wanted to meet again.

But what was struggling to break free inside him was Jeong Seo-hoon's heart.

The captain muttered to himself.

"Am I missing the camera?"

The air in front of the camera, the cheers of the fans, the male fans of the female lead who jealously burned for him.

The longing for these things, which were once taken for granted, was about to burst from within, piercing his chest.

At that moment, everything around him began to blur as if by magic.

The captain was not surprised.

It was as if he had expected this to happen.

One of his drunk subordinates, who had been giggling, suddenly became serious.

"Captain, where are you going?"

Despite being right in front of him, the subordinate's voice sounded like a distant echo.

It felt like it was seeping directly into his brain.

The familiar feeling he had experienced before whispered that it was time to go.

The captain now realized that he could not resist this with his will.

"I'll be back in a bit