Lord Of Dying Smoke - Chapter 215



Only Noblemtl

The King of Death Smoke Episode 215

The Hope (3)

-Joseph is dead.

Penelope vividly remembered the time a friend from a few years ago told her in a calm voice about her brother’s death.

The conversation on the phone was lengthy.

-Do you remember that you watched as a kid? You said it looked like a creature whose clothes got tangled and stuck to the washing machine.

-That’s roughly what it looks like. It just got bigger.

-Oh, there’s a fire suit. The outer layer blocks flames, the inner layer blocks heat, and there’s a waterproof layer between them. That’s useful.

-Oh, it was a little sticky.

-The victim said she had a child left behind, but that was a lie. I think there was a gold piece there.

-Yeah, so anyway… .

-He died.

I went to the funeral. The reporters were pointing microphones and cameras at Aislin, who was standing there dumbly instead of the dead person.

Aislinn didn’t look particularly sad, but the reporters seemed very pleased by that.

Before taking care of the reporters, he pulled his hat down for a moment and went inside.

The hall before the farewell service was empty. Only a few firefighters, who appeared to be colleagues, were bowing their heads with gloomy faces.

Since the body was not open for viewing, a memorial photo was also placed there.

‘You’re a devout Christian anyway,’ thought Penelope. ‘You should have tried this and that before marrying me. The world is so unfair these days.’

It was the next day that Aislin threw a bowl of soup at the reporters, asking if they could eat food when her brother died, or something.

Of course, the article only reported the facts.

The next few months─while Aislin was out arguing with reporters, Penelope was at home, curled up in bed with the covers over her head.

If you were to ask whether it was that sad, it wasn’t really.

I think it was a little bit scarier than that.

Of the few friends I’ve known since childhood, well, apart from that, one of them died and another one became strange.

The bird had no intention of fighting its way out of the egg, but it felt as if some mean adult outside had thrown a pebble at its shell and broken it.

I didn’t feel good.

But it was when Aislin’s attitude changed a little that things got worse.

One day, she came to my house and suddenly asked me this.

“Penny, have you heard of Kangmin?”

“Gang? What kind of name is that?”

“Wrong. Min’s name is Min Kang.”

“It’s even stranger.”

“It’s not weird.”

“Anyway, why is there that strange person inside?”

“He has great acting skills. Even though he’s only in his first year.”

“huh.”

“And I heard you turned down the Ray Goldmary ambassador offer.”

“… So, you’re saying he’s crazy?”

“Well, if you treat us like normal people, you might be a little crazy.”

She shrugged and walked away.

Penelope was worried that her dear friend was going a little crazy, but fortunately that wasn’t the case.

On the contrary, from that day on, Aislin began to become more and more talkative.

“That guy. He’s really popular in Korea.”

“Oh, I guess so… .”

“They said they received a ton of advertisements.”

“Of course you would… .”

“But that person is only filming public service announcements.”

“Stop talking nonsense, Acey.”

But surprisingly, this statement was true.

I found out that the actor who turned down the Ray Goldmary ambassador job has filmed four public service ads in Korea and is currently filming public service ads on gun control and the right to life in the United States.

Penelope, feeling dizzy, stopped looking.

But Aislin’s words only grew louder.

“There’s a lot to say about his looks, but I’m sure he has a better personality.”

“Oh my god, Acey! We’re almost in our mid-twenties! Isn’t it time we stopped talking about fairy tales? It’s obvious that these are all just publicity stunts!”

“You can at least dream.”

“well.”

“The intention is admirable, after all─”

“Please stop! Even if you had been in charge of that fire prevention commercial, Joseph would have died anyway!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… So what I mean is.”

“No, it’s true.”

Aislinn stopped talking about him after that.

But deep down, she seemed to be looking forward to meeting the weirdo at the Emmy Awards.

Penelope was anxiously waiting for a chance to apologize, but she also hoped that Aislin, whose dreams had been shattered, wouldn’t do something terrible.

… of course, the horrible thing I was worried about wasn’t taking a total stranger on a date to Broadway.

Penelope made the call, her lips trembling in panic.

“Ash, you… Are you really crazy? Why are you doing something you’ve never done before… The media right now… Ah, anyway, hang up the phone and come back! This is serious, right now!”

-…penny.

“why!”

-You were wrong. He was a much better person than I thought.

“If you did drugs, confess to it too!!”

But what can I do if my friend says it’s good?

After her friend did something crazy like following a guy she had been seeing for a few weeks to Korea, Penelope couldn’t help but let things go.

It was even more frustrating to see her use the dating strategy(?) that I had joked about before without any answers.

“That, Acey? I don’t think it means that much… ? You know? We’re actors. If we think it’ll be a good scene, we can go a little bit outside the script, and be a little bold…”

-… Is it plotting?”

“Please stop talking nonsense!!!”

What should I do with this idiot─

Every time her friend dug a hole, Penelope felt a sense of duty to somehow take care of her sister instead of the dead maggot.

To be more precise, it was there before, but it became a bit clearer.

Of course, when I first tried to sign a contract with Kangmin, I didn’t think much of it. I felt sorry for Aislin, but I also thought it would be better to cool my head for a while, and I also had a bit of arrogance thinking that if I were going to do it, it would be better to raise him appropriately.

-… So, let’s summarize. First, does that mean that the character absolutely has to die at the end, and if possible, it would be better if he dies during each filming, and if possible, it would be better if that is highlighted?

-That’s right!

-… … .

Penelope thought she should suggest to her friend that she take a psychological test.

I thought about it.

* * *

“Director Henry, what on earth are you trying to do! Do you think I’m funny because I respect you?!”

“This is absolutely not sane!”

“You can’t help but keep the steel plate in mind!”

About 20 days before the opening, Penelope, who was reflecting on the past, closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again when she heard screams coming from outside.

My uncle’s voice was also there, but it didn’t enter my mind.

She now fully understood the person named Kang Min.

-You can’t get over it. Start with that.

-I bet if you asked me right now if I could give a year in exchange for seeing my parents for 10 minutes, I would hesitate for a moment and then nod.

-So, does it make a difference if you get angry?

-That’s to some extent expected. Not everyone can like me.

-Well, it was definitely my mistake that even the director was included in the rumors.

-Don’t worry. I’ll try to make it clear that I have nothing to do with it.

-Just keep walking.

-It seems like Seo Bom has already found her own path.

-If it weren’t for you, then it wouldn’t be, right?

‘… … .’

Not long ago, Penelope witnessed an actor who had made the confession of a lifetime on stage get brutally rejected.

No, it was even more horrific than just the difference.

Penelope was angry for no reason and said that she would never be able to understand Kang Min, the person she was.

but.

‘That’s not it.’

That wasn’t it.

After hearing that, Penelope decided to find out about the past of the place where Kang Min and Seo Bom were.

‘Min lost his entire family in an accident. His parents and younger sibling.’

‘At that time, I was 16 years old by your standards, and 14 years old by my standards.’

‘Of course it would be shocking. Anyone would be.’

Aislin suffered from self-loathing and anger for years after losing her precious brother.

Penelope was even more so.

Even though they were both adults.

However, Kang Min, who was at an age where he could not blame the world enough, changed Seo Bom’s life a few months later.

‘It wasn’t just Seo Bom-ssi. There was even talk that he preached to everyone.’

‘… 7 months.’

‘It’s only been 7 months. You must be busy with your own work, but you’ve come to see me from the side.’

Needless to say, what happened after that?

My friend’s eyes were right. In fact, my own eyes were the holes.

Who is judging whom and who is cursing whom for not being able to understand?

There was a limit to overstepping the bounds.

Penelope,

Only then was I able to truly understand the person named Kang Min.

‘I now understand the behaviors that I used to think were crazy.’

‘If you think about it, it’s obvious. Why that person is so obsessed with acting like he’s dying.’

Penelope bit her lip.

And then, I quickly came to a conclusion about everything.

‘That must be that person’s trauma.’

…???

well.

If there was a ghost, it would be here screaming and tearing its hair out, asking why it was going so well and then falling into Samcheonpo.

What should I say, it was something that was beyond the horizon of understanding, let alone understanding.

But unfortunately, there were no ghosts or detective Hopper Dusk.

The mystery began to spiral out of control.

‘Those public service announcements. I guess they were put in charge of minimizing the number of people like themselves.’

Again, I said it was good because it was just a death act.

‘That’s also why we haven’t had any proper advertisements or ambassadors until now.’

Again, I couldn’t do it because it wasn’t just a death act.

‘It’s the same reason why he said he would give advice right away at the fan signing event. To find at least one person like himself.’

That’s just because the kids at the daycare center tend to harbor resentment towards that side of things.

‘I didn’t notice that confession either, because I was subconsciously trying not to create that kind of person…’

It’s just because I was born dull.

‘And, yes. You trusted me because you thought it was better to trust me and suffer losses than to doubt me…’

At this point, it went beyond dream interpretation and entered the realm of shamanism.

‘Ugh…!’

But, at this point, it wasn’t even an area where telling the truth would do anything.

Penelope raised her bowed head resolutely.

‘I don’t really have any feelings, but… Yeah, I don’t really have any feelings, though.’

Anyway, I owe Kang Min a lot of things.

The success of Richard I in New York, the rescue from a talk show slump, the triumphant comeback, the Emmy Award for delivery, the list goes on and on.

And, well, maybe you could be good friends with Aislinn.

It is difficult for such a person to continue to be haunted by the trauma of ‘acting death.’

‘That guy helped Ace, and I helped him too.’

‘Then, I guess I should help him a little too.’

That was it.

That was all that made Penelope come up with such a heartwarming idea.

‘I have to somehow get that guy out of this nonsense about pretending to die!’

… or just some absolutely hellish, devilish idea.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Kang Min’s terrified and devil-like thoughts soon began to transform into thoughts like the devil of hell.

‘There are many people who can help.’

‘Uncle… CEO Jaylen, Director Pian, Director Gonzalez, Professor Fisher, Professor Moore, Papadopoulos, Senior Zishler, Senior King, Mr. Gordon… There are so many.’

‘Let’s use those people’s power to slowly convince that person. The main character won’t die!’

‘Advertisements would be nice too. Of course, you should enjoy what you deserve. Of course, the main character shouldn’t die!’

How horrible and horrifying this is.

The Avengers of all those who favored him were created as the final boss to face Kang-min, who had defeated countless villains and was on the verge of realizing his dream.

Even at its core, it was a pure intention to simply repay a favor received.

It couldn’t have been anything other than the ending of the Demon King from an old tale.

‘But, for that, I have to get over this first.’

Penelope stood up from her seat.

And then I walked briskly towards the studio where the video was playing.

There was no problem.

‘It’s possible in my current state.’

‘And, I will cooperate with everyone to make it so that Min, that human, will never be able to act like he’s going to die for the rest of his life!’

It’s all over.

Kang Min’s final ordeal has begun.

* * *

[I have a choice.]

[and you have a choice.]

Director Dusk stood there with his mouth open in a daze.

Penelope was smiling brightly on the screen.

She put the muzzle of the captain’s gun to her own head.

[Do what you want.]

[Simple, right?]

[… … .]

The captain closed his eyes and opened them.

And pulled the trigger.