“I'm not going. It's none of my business.”
At first, it was so shocking that the very news of Oh Jung-seop's death was hard to believe.
But then he thought, why should he have to go to the funeral hall himself? No matter how much the man had been like a father to him, that was in the past. Now, to Koo Hyun-mo, Oh Jung-seop was nothing more or less than a crazy, old-school actor.
“No, Mr. Koo! This isn't just anyone—it's Oh Jung-seop, Oh Jung-seop!”
When Koo Hyun-mo said he wasn't going to pay his respects, Manager Heo spun around in a fluster.
“What does that man have to do with me?”
“No way! Mr. Koo, the whole nation knows you and Oh Jung-seop had a father-son kind of relationship—are you really telling me you're not going to the funeral?”
“Yep.”
“Come on! You're already wearing a black suit for the noir film—it's the perfect outfit for a funeral hall, so why not?”
“You know what that man said to me, Manager Heo. You heard it yourself. How much he hated seeing me succeed. If not for that, why would he have been so desperate to tear me down every time he saw me?”
“Ah, I know, Mr. Koo. I know... but still, no matter what...”
It was Oh Jung-seop who had ruined their relationship.
It started around the time Koo Hyun-mo hit it big with The Department Head Is an Alien and was swamped with advertising offers left and right.
One day, they ran into each other by chance in the broadcast station hallway. Oh Jung-seop, upon spotting Koo Hyun-mo, started yelling at him out of nowhere.
What was it that Oh Jung-seop had said back then?
The wording was extremely unpleasant...
Even though it had been a long time, Hyun-mo still shuddered just thinking about it.
[You arrogant bastard, Koo Hyun-mo, listen up. Popularity? That popularity of yours is fleeting. You hear me? Do you know how long that's going to last? All puffed up with pride... and you call that acting?]
With his excellent voice projection, he shouted so loudly through the broadcast station hallway that everyone around turned to stare and whisper.
Still, Oh Jung-seop didn't stop.
[That role you took on... there are plenty of real actors right here who would kill for it, and you dare call that garbage acting... Because of scum like you, actors who pour their hearts into their craft get dragged through the mud!]
The venom Oh Jung-seop had hurled at him that day, as if he were some kind of rapper, stuck in Koo Hyun-mo's chest like thorns.
From then on, whenever Oh Jung-seop ran into Koo Hyun-mo, he would scold him, telling him not to defile the art of acting.
Everyone was busy just praising him for the good ratings, but Oh Jung-seop, whenever he saw Koo Hyun-mo, would point out his acting and hurl abuse at him.
"Just thinking about that time makes me so ashamed…"
Koo Hyun-mo found that unbearably hurtful.
In front of all those people watching, Jung-seop's scolding came pouring down, and Hyun-mo stood there like a mute who'd eaten honey—unable to say a single word.
That made his anger boil over even more. Because it was so unfair that he couldn't even talk back.
"Hyun-mo, that's why you disrespected your senior, right? You grabbed that veteran actor by the collar and gave it to him good. I even developed forearm muscles I never had before, just from prying you two apart."
Ah, right. That did happen. But even that didn't quell his resentment.
"Anyway, I'm not going. I feel like I'll get PTSD."
"Fine, Hyun-mo. I get that you're pissed off. Of course the senior was a hundred percent in the wrong for spouting nonsense at our big star and yelling at you out of nowhere. But hey, you still have to go to the funeral. Otherwise, your image is going to tank, you know?"
"So what? Let it tank, then."
"Whoa, whoa, Mr. Koo. Don't say such scary things, okay? Think about how many people in our agency depend on you."
"Hah…"
Of course, Manager Heo had a point.
They'd been pushing that heartwarming father-son narrative with Oh Jung-seop ever since his child-actor days on broadcasts, and if he didn't go to the funeral, he'd end up looking like trash instead.
There was definitely a time before he got famous when he'd survived by leaning on Oh Jung-seop's shadow.
To the point where it was almost embarrassing how much they'd milked that story.
"The public sentiment is a little unstable right now too, Mr. Koo…"
True… He was already being dragged through the mud on various online communities for bad acting, and if a personality issue blew up on top of that… Wait, how much was that advertising penalty fee again?
"I'll beg you like this, okay? Mr. Koo? Please, for my sake, just go to the funeral."
Hyun-mo glanced at Manager Heo's expression through the room mirror.
"Please…"
When Manager Heo went that far, it didn't feel right to ignore him either.
Fine. He could at least see the man off on his final journey. For the sake of the bond they'd shared during his child-actor days. And this decision was entirely out of consideration for Manager Heo, who worked so hard by his side.
"Alright."
Hyun-mo reluctantly nodded and picked up his phone.
"Really? No backing out? I'm putting on the navigation now??"
"Go ahead."
While Manager Heo drove toward the funeral hall, Koo Hyun-mo checked Oh Jung-seop's death articles.
The entire news feed was flooded with Oh Jung-seop's death, and at the end of every article, the same phrase was attached.
[※ If you or someone in your family or close circle is struggling with depression or other difficult-to-talk-about issues…]
Good heavens.
Oh Jung-seop—that principled, upright man—surely not.
"Manager Heo, did Oh Jung-seop commit suicide?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard?"
He had assumed it was an accident or a health issue.
It didn't make sense.
At a time when he was even being mentioned for a Cannes Film Festival award—why? Now, at the very peak of his acting career, all of a sudden?
"Why did he do it?"
"How would I know? I just heard he was found in his studio with a suicide note."
"That's ridiculous…"
Hyun-mo sat there speechless, staring blankly into space.
In the meantime, the car carrying Koo Hyun-mo calmly pulled into the entrance of the funeral hall.
***
Click, click, click!
At the funeral hall entrance, despite the late hour, dozens of reporters had set up camp.
He wanted to slip inside as quietly as possible, but unfortunately, one of the reporters spotted Hyun-mo.
"It's Koo Hyun-mo!"
The camera focuses all turned toward Koo Hyun-mo at once.
Flashes burst like lightning, and the sound of shutters came crashing in like waves.
"Let us through, please. Yes, ugh. You're all working hard this late, but hold on a second. No—our Mr. Koo isn't some member of the National Assembly, so why are you shoving lenses in his face? Please step back."
These days, it was becoming frowned upon to swarm funeral halls like this and film, but everyone was in a frenzy.
That just showed how shocking Oh Jung-seop's death was.
"Mr. Koo Hyun-mo! Please look this way just once."
"Koo Hyun-mo!"
"You've often said you followed him like a father. Could you give us a comment?"
"Excuse me?"
What? A comment?
No matter how much Oh Jung-seop had criticized and berated him, this was no way for the reporters to behave.
"Hey, you. Do you think this is some awards ceremony…"
Hyun-mo felt his temper flare up in an instant and turned toward the reporter with a hardened expression.
"Hhy—Hyun-mo!"
Manager Heo barely managed to clamp a hand over Hyun-mo's mouth.
"Ah, that reporter just now…"
"Mr. Koo, Hyun-mo. Image. Ads, ads. Penalty fee, penalty fee."
"Hah…"
Fortunately, thanks to Manager Heo, who always brought him back to reality, Hyun-mo barely suppressed his emotions and made his way toward the funeral hall.
"Oh dear… oh dear…"
From far down the end of the corridor, dry, wailing sobs echoed through the air.
"He ate well… laughed and joked around like always, then went and did it in his own studio."
"Ugh, that's chilling. But why? Was there something wrong?"
"We wouldn't know…"
"Come on, he was at the peak of his career—why would he…"
"Was it murder?"
"I heard there was a suicide note."
Passing by people whispering about Oh Jung-seop, he entered the corridor lined densely with funeral wreaths bearing familiar names and production companies.
The feeling was strange. Looking at the portrait photo, it finally felt real.
That Oh Jung-seop was dead.
"Mr. Koo, I'll go pay the condolence money. You go in and offer your respects. Don't lose your temper. Be as gentlemanly as possible."
"Alright…"
And so, it was the moment he stepped into the funeral hall.
"What are you doing here—get out!!"
The sharp voice, as if tearing through his eardrums, made Koo Hyun-mo stop instinctively.
It was Oh Jung-seop's wife, Choi Young-sil.
'Is she talking to me?'
He felt a pang of guilt for no reason.
Having once committed an act of disrespect toward his senior, he assumed the words were aimed at him.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry…"
Fortunately, Choi Young-sil's fury was not directed at Koo Hyun-mo, but at the production team of Oh Jung-seop's final film, Falling Flower.
"My husband died because of you! Because of you! My husband said he wouldn't take that role! But you insisted…! Get out now. I said get out!"
It was a sight he had never seen before.
The Choi Young-sil that Koo Hyun-mo remembered had always been a gentle and patient person.
What on earth could have happened to make that Bodhisattva-like woman change so much? With her gaunt, haggard face, pouring out her rage as if wailing, she looked utterly unfamiliar.
"Ma'am, we never expected it to turn out like this…"
"Now you say that? Shut up! You murderers!"
"No, ma'am. Murderers…"
"Get out right now!!"
Choi Young-sil's voice was practically a scream. Without hesitation, she grabbed the items placed on the altar to honor Oh Jung-seop and hurled them toward the production team.
"Eek! Ma'am!"
Chrysanthemum petals scattered and crumpled on the floor, and the mercilessly thrown objects began flying in arcs through the air.
—Thud.
In the midst of it all, one of the flying objects slid across the floor and came to a stop right in front of Koo Hyun-mo, who had been keeping his distance.
As if pulled by a magnet, it slid straight toward him.
"This is…"
A script.
So worn out with clearly visible grime from countless readings, it was unmistakably Oh Jung-seop's.
That man was the type who would read a script until it was tattered and torn.
"Sigh…"
Koo Hyun-mo bent down and picked up the script that had been tossed onto the floor.
But then.
'...Hm?'
Something was off about this script.
It was clearly a script, but... the cover had none of the usual markings—no title, no writer's name, no director or production company—nothing at all.
'Is this really a script?'
The format was unmistakably that of a drama script.
—Rustle.
Hyun-mo, as if spellbound, turned the cover page. After flipping it open, he found a blank page.
'What the...'
Bewildered, he turned one page, then another... but no matter how many pages he flipped, they were all blank.
Chwarureureuk—as he swiftly fanned through the entire script in one go.
"Huh?"
—Swoosh, swoooosh. Swooosh.
As if ink were seeping up from beneath the pages, letters began to slowly appear on the blank paper.
[Regarding the Service Request for Customer Oh Jung-seop]
"What is this right now..."
Maybe it was because he'd been pushing himself too hard to lower his body fat for his current role.
[Service Target Confirmed: Koo Hyun-mo]
"What... service?"
Hyun-mo rubbed his eyes roughly with his hands, over and over.
"Ugh, I must be... ugh, seeing all kinds of hallucinations..."
He shook his head and was about to check the script again.
—Thump!
"Wha... what was that!"
One by one, the fluorescent lights went out, and in an instant, the entire space around the funeral hall was plunged into pitch-black darkness.
The people around him had vanished too. The only sound left was Koo Hyun-mo's own breathing.
In that suffocating silence, his breath caught in his throat.
—Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three spotlights simultaneously turned on, illuminating Koo Hyun-mo.
As if he were standing alone on a theater stage, about to deliver a monologue at any moment.
Before he even had a moment to grasp what was happening, massive letters appeared above Koo Hyun-mo's head.
[At the request of actor Oh Jung-seop, we are beginning the service for rehabilitating actor Koo Hyun-mo's ruined acting skills.]
"Oh Jung-seop's request...? Ruined... what?"
[Within the service period of 36 months, actor Koo Hyun-mo must faithfully carry out the provided services and reach the peak of acting.]
"36 months? What is this, some kind of installment plan...?"
A service with an unknown purpose, a cryptic deadline of 36 months.
Hyun-mo's head was spinning in confusion.
"Hahaha... Right, I have. I've been dieting way too hard lately. That's it. That's why this is happening."
[Caution If the peak of acting is not achieved within 36 months, a death flag will be triggered.]
"D-death... No, what is this... Ins... insane."
This is a delusion.
He had no idea what was going on, but anyway—it was a delusion, or something like that.
Maybe Oh Jung-seop's ghost had possessed this script. Judging by the increasingly absurd messages popping up...
"Manager Heo! Mana—Manager Heo, where are you? Manager Heo!!"
He figured he should get out of here as soon as possible and burn this damn script.
[For further inquiries, please check the back of the script.]
"...Ugh, I'm going crazy. Wow, my head is completely— Manager Heo! Aren't you coming? I'm so stressed out I can't see anything. I need to go to the hospital... Manager Heo!"
Koo Hyun-mo shouted for a long time in the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible except those damned letters.
"Manager Heo!"
He shouted until his voice cracked, but what came back in return was—
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
—not Manager Heo's voice, but someone else's scream.
"Koo Hyun-mo... Koo Hyun-mo collapsed!"
And what's more, the content of that scream was far from pleasant.