The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 82



Only Noblemtl

Episode 82

“It’s different from split personality.”

The professor continued.

“We suspect it is a type of dissociative amnesia.”

The child developed memory problems after the surgery.

“For now, we can suspect ischemic brain damage due to malfunction of the artificial heart pump.”

The professor, who is the best cardiac surgeon in the country and always has a confident look on his face, has a stern expression on his face for some reason.

“It’s embarrassing to say this as a doctor, but we’re not at a point where we can confirm anything yet.”

South Korea’s medical technology is just beginning to reach the heart.

“The brain is an organ that can still be seen as an unknown territory even with current medical technology.”

Therefore, the exact cause is unknown.

Since the cause is unknown, treatment is also impossible.

“I don’t know if your wife remembers, but since you already signed a consent form that clearly stated the risk of death due to side effects before the surgery, even if you claim medical malpractice now… … .”

It was then that her mouth, which had been blankly staring, opened.

“I don’t want to know the cause. I don’t want to judge right or wrong. I’m just grateful that my child’s heart is beating.”

“Well then, that’s good. Then why did you ask for an interview?”

There’s only one thing she wants to know.

“Our child, can you come back again?”

That is, to retrieve the soul of the child who had devoted his life for the past 15 years.

“You’re coming back, right?”

After a major surgery that lasted a whopping 38 hours, Youngwoo was able to have a heart that beats vigorously like other children.

Instead, he traded his soul for ‘something’.

“Jiyuhan.”

The child who woke up from a coma called the names of singers he saw on TV as if they were his own names.

“Aside from that monster, our Youngwoo! Where on earth did Youngwoo go? Did his heart change and his soul change… …!”

“That is medically impossible.”

Hee-joo was also impossible.

Living without ‘Young-woo’, who has been by my side for 15 years, holding on to a slim hope.

“According to the opinion of the psychiatrist who treated the patient, it seems that the most intense memory before the surgery remained in the ego. However, it seems that this is a very rare case… … For now, it seems that we have no choice but to wait and see.”

Even after six months of detailed diagnosis, Youngwoo did not return.

“I think you need to prepare yourself mentally.”

It was a sentence on Ji Yu-han’s life and at the same time a sentence on Ha Young-woo’s death.

“Attempts to recall further memories will only increase the child’s stress. If these accumulate and lead to psychogenic side effects… … .”

It was a warning that he could lose even the heart he had barely managed to obtain.

As the youngest daughter of one of the most influential families in South Korea, changing her son’s last name and first name was not that difficult.

In that way, Ha Young-woo’s mother became Ji Yu-han’s mother.

* * *

I thought it was something I could just start over again.

But that was just Hee-joo’s illusion.

His son, named Jiyuhan, was different from Hayoungwoo.

At the hospital, she smiled the brightest smile in the world, a smile she had never seen before.

He burst into a bright laugh.

He had eyes that were brighter than the stars.

Youngwoo always had dying eyes.

‘Every time our Youngwoo had to take medicine, he would throw a tantrum and say he didn’t want to take it.’

That kid always gulps down those big pills with a smile on his face.

Perhaps my child’s soul was also swallowed like that.

I remember Youngwoo biting his lips several times a day to endure the pain.

‘That’s not my son.’

It was something with a different heart and soul.

The child smiled as if nothing had happened, even though he had been beaten up somewhere and had been splashed all over his body.

Whenever the child laughed, the mother always had a fearful face.

That was the reason why Yuhan was always alone.

* * *

On the day Yoo-han turned twenty, another miracle happened to Hee-joo.

“Mom, where on earth did you go! I was scared, I was so scared… … !”

As if by a miracle, Youngwoo came back.

Hee-joo hugged Young-woo tightly and swore.

‘Never again… … Never lose again.’

That’s why I knelt down in front of the three friends who jumped down from the stage following Yoohan.

I cried and begged.

“Please, I beg you, kids. Don’t take my child away… … .”

That shiny stage is not the place for our child.

So Yoo-han disappeared under the stage, into the darkness.

… …

… …

… …

15 years later, back to the present

S#1. VIP Ward (Night)

Yoo-han opens the door to the hospital room and comes in with a confused face.

Hee-joo, who had been waiting for him, asks with a fearful face.

“Are you Youngwoo? Or… … .”

“That’s why.”

Jiyuhan now remembered all his memories.

“The reason my mother never smiled at me was because I wasn’t Ha Young-woo.”

“Yuhan… … Ini?”

“But, you know what?”

“… … ?”

“Even when I was in the hospital for 15 years, my mother always had a sad look on her face.”

“… … ?”

“You didn’t smile at me.”

“… … !”

Heejoo soon realized.

The child in front of you is neither Yoo Han nor Young Woo.

No longer confined to the hospital, but no longer able to soar onto the big stage.

“What the hell… was I?”

The child who said that was smiling with dying eyes.

* * *

“Cut, okay.”

As soon as the okay sign was given, Jeong Mi-ran, playing Hee-joo, let out the breath she had been holding.

‘… … Phew. What on earth are you, kid?’

She is an actress whose solid acting skills are acknowledged to the point that she receives love calls every time Choi Ui-jeong writes a drama.

Since I had been filming with child actor Jung Jin-wook, I only got to meet Kim Hyun-soo in the latter half of the drama.

‘Hee-joo’s feelings and Ji-yu-han’s hidden story… … were a narrative that I had been building up all this time alone.’

A narrative is a scene, and a scene is an emotion.

In short, the story was about acting out a scene with a narrative and creating more natural emotions as it builds up.

That’s why.

‘I expected the first attempt to be NG, of course.’

After that, Jeong Mi-ran was thinking of giving Hyun-soo various acting guidance.

‘But how can you come in so quickly like this?’

Jeong Mi-ran recalled the direction that was written next to Kim Hyun-soo’s lines that she had confirmed in the final draft of the script.

(Ha Young-woo. Ji Yu-han. Looking at Hee-joo with eyes that were neither of those, but seemed like a mixture of the two.)

When I first read the directions, I laughed out loud at Choi Ui-jeong’s mischief.

‘Oh my, our junior, you’re going to be a real pain in the ass at the end of the drama.’

Jeong Mi-ran was worried about how much trouble Kim Hyun-soo would have with the vague direction.

But now that she has seen Kim Hyun-soo’s acting in person, Jeong Mi-ran has realized that his performance has been ridiculously underrated.

‘Of course, something so outrageous… … .’

I can tell because I saw it in person.

The monster-like junior in front of me completely unraveled the thread-like narrative entangled between Ji-yu Han and Ha-young Woo with just a few lines and emotions.

‘How can we fit everything on a TV screen?’

This was the reason why fans who watched Torso were particularly enthusiastic about Kim Hyun-soo’s acting.

And the actors waiting to film the next scene also felt something from Hyun-soo’s acting.

“Senior Jeong.”

“yes.”

“You always give me acting guidance by hand, so I’m asking you this. How can I act like that?”

“That kind of acting… … What kind of acting are you talking about exactly?”

“So, that’s it.”

It was at that moment that Jeong Geun-ho, who had been staring intently at the master monitor from the side, opened his mouth.

“With just a few lines of dialogue and a flow of emotions… … it’s acting that instantly convinces you of the character’s narrative and the twisted mood of the play.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s what I was going to say.”

Jeong Eui-shin was lost in thought for a while, then opened his mouth.

“… … When I find out, I will answer you.”

“Is there anything that Senior Jeong doesn’t know?”

As it wasn’t the answer Ajin was expecting, she was about to open her mouth to say something else.

“Everyone, let’s get ready to go in.”

As he spoke, Jeong Geun-ho’s gaze was directed towards Hyun-soo, who was standing with his eyes closed at the T-zone marked on the hospital room set.

“I guess you’re still holding back your emotions. Let’s get to the next scene right away before your emotions release.”

The three actors nodded, put down the scripts they were holding, and entered the camera frame.

It was a scene of going to pick up a friend who was wandering on the border between light and darkness.

* * *

The stars in the night sky always fall at unexpected moments.

The beautiful light only lasts for a moment, and soon the sky is covered in darkness again.

To his friends, Yuhan was that kind of person.

“This time… … I will absolutely not let it happen.”

As Woo-ram and Jung-hyuk nodded, Oh-yool opened the door to the hospital room.

S#34. VIP Ward (Night)

While Hee-joo was remaining silent in response to Yoo-han’s questions, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened noisily.

Bam!!

“Ji-Yu-Han!!!”

“This kid! Where are you going to get out in the middle of a performance…? …! Is this the right place? Huh? Is Jiyuhan here?”

“Yeah, there is. As expected, coming to the same place as last time was the right answer.”

“Huh, really? It looks like there’s nowhere to run anyway, so let’s catch our breath for a moment.”

Three people enter the hospital room, gasping for breath.

For a moment, I looked at my friends with a very surprised face.

Soon a meaningful expression appears on Yuhan’s face.

Even though they were close friends, it was too easy to accept his presence when he reappeared after 15 years.

Not only did they keep the underground concert hall where they performed together intact, they also kept the stage intact.

They prepared the stage as if they had been preparing for a long time.

“I even treasured my guitar until now.”

“… … .”

“You guys knew from the beginning?”

Junghyuk nodded at Yoohan’s words.

“Yeah, of course I knew that from the beginning… … .”

Woo-ram accepted Jung-hyuk’s words.

“Even this isn’t the first time.”

O-Yul continued speaking, taking a step forward.

“Over the past 15 years, you have appeared before us several times.”

“……what?”

“This time, yes. It’s been five years.”

“What the heck is that… … !”

As Yuhan took a step back with an expression of disbelief, his friends took another step forward.

“We take out our instruments every time.”

Overcoming the darkness that surrounds us.

“Preparing the stage with you.”

So that you can regain your light.

“We have continued to play together.”

That was the reason why there was always an empty seat at the drinking parties of the three friends.

“But, because you keep running away like this, I’ve never been able to go up on stage even once.”

“Then, my mother was there… … .”

O-Yul nodded and continued speaking.

“That’s right. This isn’t your first time on that stage.”

Soon, Jiyuhan’s face became confused as fragments of memories began to mix here and there.

Yoo-han continued speaking in a voice that seemed to be squeezing his heart.

“I’m not a musician anymore….”

“… … .”

“I don’t know if I’m Ha Young-woo or Ji Yu-han… … No, I don’t even know what I am in the first place.”

It’s not Ha Young-woo or Ji Yu-han.

“From the beginning, I… … was nothing to my mother, to you all… …!”

“Unable to do, what?”

“… … ?”

“So what, what do you want me to do?”

“……uh?”

“What do you want me to do? I’ll just give you back what you said. Whether you’re Ha Young-woo, Ji Yu-han, or a musician. So what do you want me to do?”

Looking at Jiyuhan, who had a blank expression, Oh Yul continued speaking with eyes that shined brighter than anything else in the world.

“I am no longer a musician, but an ordinary office worker.”

“As you can see, he’s the owner of a pojangmacha that’s not doing well in business.”

“It may be hard to believe, but I am on the path to becoming a pastor.”

O-Yul continued speaking, taking a step closer.

“In the first place, what is so important about what you and what we are?”

“Anyway, we all… … .”

“Isn’t this Rising Dive?”

Three people reach out to Yoo Han, who has a blank expression on his face.

“Let’s go, everyone is still waiting.”

“Ha, but I… … !”

At that moment, when he was unable to easily take the hand extended to him and was taking a step back, Hee-joo, who had been sobbing behind him, hugged Yoo-han tightly.

“Honey, I’m sorry… … I’m really sorry… … !”

The sound of his mother’s heartbeat behind him stops Yuhan from taking steps backwards.

“Young-woo and Yoo-han were both their mother’s sons… … I’m sorry that I, a bad mother, realized this too late… … .”

O-Yul continued speaking to Yoo-Han, who had a confused expression on his face.

“You don’t have to make that face. It was your mother who came to us first.”

15 years ago, Hee-ju admitted Young-woo, who had returned, to the hospital.

There were no particular abnormalities, but he was not discharged.

He was afraid that if he left the hospital, the monster would devour his son again.

Then one day.

‘Youngwoo, why do you like that singer?’

As always, Youngwoo is watching ‘Musician’ on TV with a blank expression.

‘Jiyuhan?’

‘Yeah, Jiyuhan. Why is Youngwoo so good at that guy?’

Soon, Young-woo, who had been looking at death with his eyes shining for a moment, answers.

‘Well… … If you jump around on stage like that and play exciting music, you’ll make a lot of friends and become someone who shines like that… … If you do that… … .’

“Mom too… … I will become a sparkling person again like I used to be.”

Hee-ju continued speaking, hugging Yoo-han’s back with all her might as he muttered what Young-woo had said.

“It was only then that I realized.”

How horrible and stupid of thoughts I had been having all this time.

Ji Yu-han was never the monster that swallowed Ha Young-woo’s heart.

On the contrary, even as everything in my head was enveloped in darkness.

“I held on tight to the desire to make my mother happy… … .”

Never lost its ‘light’.

“I realized too late that my child was more precious than anything else… … .”

Hee-joo hugged Yoo-han and burst into tears of regret for a while.

“Whether you were Hayoungwoo or Jiyuhan, your mother always stayed by your side. In fact, more than us, Yoohan wanted you to come back.”

“… … .”

Yoo Han and Young Woo, who had turned around without saying a word, hug her tightly.

The tears felt warm on my damp shoulders.

“If I just hear my mother’s heartbeat… … I know.”

Yoo-han comforts Hee-joo, who is crying sadly.

“Stop crying, Mom. Mom… …you’re prettiest when you smile.”

Hee-joo, who had stopped crying, opened her mouth while wiping away her tears.

“Our Youngwoo and Yoohan… … when they went up on stage… … .”

Click.

“Huh? What are you all doing here? It’s bedtime in the ward right now.”

As the nurse who came in suddenly turned on the light in the room, the surroundings were filled with a bright white light.

Hee-joo wipes away her tears and grabs Yoo-han’s shoulder as she speaks.

“My dear, now is not the time for this. There is still… … work to be done.”

He released the hand he was holding and turned Yuhan around.

“Our son is at his best when he’s on stage.”

Soon, Yuhan exchanged glances with each of his friends.

“By the way, what about the stage? How did the stage turn out!”

“Don’t worry. Everyone is waiting for you… … right?”

As Hee-joo pushes Yoo-han’s shoulder, Oh-yool and his friends hold hands.

“Because I never left your side.”

At the same time, I stood up while holding my friends’ hands.

The black curtains covering the sickroom are blown away by a strong wind.

Under the night sky, where the moon and stars twinkle brightly.

A picture of four people running excitedly towards the stage.

The next moment, Rising Dive jumped into… … .

“Don’t be afraid.”

On stage.

“Even if you fall back down below that stage, to a place we can’t reach.”

Anytime, any number of times.

“We will grab your hand and pull you up onto the stage.”

Nineties Dive final episode.

“Hello—! My name is… … Jiyuhan! I’m so, so happy to be with you all right now!”

RISING DIVE.

“Let’s play—let’s begin!”

Continued in the next episode ▶