Chapter 173

Chapter 173

“Wow!! It’s really spacious!!”

“H. Step back.”

“Wow, did you see that? Amazing! Is that tree alive? Wow! It’s my first time seeing a living tree!”

“Calm down. I told you earlier. If you don’t follow instructions properly, we’ll go back.”

Tsk. Too harsh.

I puffed up my cheeks and plopped down on the ground.

“I was just amazed….”

“I know. But calm down. It’s your first mission. If you get too excited and mess up, your brother will be disappointed.”

Disappoint my brother?

I smirked at Agent Jang Yo-seok’s words.

“No way. My brother never gets disappointed in me. He didn’t even get mad when I broke the new machine he just bought.”

“Yeah, you’re great. Just sit quietly until the mission starts.”

Agent Jang Yo-seok scratched his ear, uninterested. Hmph, too harsh.

‘…So fascinating.’

The fresh air flowing around, the floating sunlight, the lush forest.

I had seen and felt it countless times in the virtual space inside the facility, but the ‘real’ thing was definitely different.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

There was nothing in my hands, but I wanted to take the real air with me.

But the leisure time was very short.

“H. The mission is starting.”

“Okay!”

I jumped up at Jang Yo-seok’s words.

Agent Jang pointed at three people in the distance.

“Three targets. Two in black suits are the heads, the one in the white suit is the legs.”

“Got it!”

“Remember. Never hesitate. The moment you hesitate, it’s all over.”

“Got it.”

I didn’t see any reason to hesitate, but I answered obediently.

‘Seriously, Agent Jang is too uptight.’

Shaking my head, I took out my gun.

I raised the gun and narrowed my eyes to aim.

One deep breath, and then….

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud gunshots filled the forest.

In an instant, the targets fell to the ground one after another.

“…I worried for nothing.”

“Heh. I did well, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Your brother will praise you.”

Of course. I shot so well.

Even from a distance, it was a clean job.

The two targets aimed at the head were lying quietly, and the one aimed at the leg was screaming in pain.

“Argh!!”

Poor thing, it must hurt.

“Shall I blow it up now?”

“No, wait five minutes. Blow it up right before they die.”

“Ew. That’s really nasty.”

“It’s the client’s request.”

Such a peculiar client. Why did they want that person dead?

I was curious for a moment but let it go.

No point in asking my brother, he wouldn’t tell me anyway.

“Five minutes are up. Blow it up.”

“Okay!”

Smiling at Jang Yo-seok’s words, I raised my hand.

With a snap of my fingers….

Boom!

The person lying down exploded.

From the leg where the bullet was lodged to the head, everything.

“It exploded cleanly! Wow, I’m going to get praised.”

“…Don’t you find it gross?”

I looked at the appalled Agent Jang curiously.

Is that gross?

“Is that gross? Why?”

“Never mind. Don’t worry about it. Mission clear. Let’s return to the base.”

“You always ignore what I say.”

It was my first time out here….

I felt a bit disappointed because I wanted to stay outside a bit longer.

But my brother told me to listen well.

Thinking of his gentle face, I stood up immediately.

“Yo-seok hyung.”

Following quietly behind Agent Jang, I called out.

A sharp reply came back immediately.

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Tsk. Got it. Agent Jang. Can I blow up the remaining two as well?”

“Do what you want.”

Grinning at his curt words, I snapped my fingers again.

Each time a snapping sound echoed, something far away exploded in succession.

Ah, such a pleasant sound.

‘I want to get praised by my brother quickly.’

It’s my first mission, and I did so well. My brother will be very pleased.

Thinking of his gentle smile, I felt good.

I was walking happily when suddenly my vision turned white.

At the same time, I heard a tremendous explosion.

* * *

“Cut! Ah, that was great!”

PD’s voice slowly brought me back to my senses.

As I blinked a few times, the PD rushed over.

“Why do you two have such great chemistry? Wow, I got chills.”

The PD looked genuinely surprised.

Actor Kim Seok-jun, who played Agent Jang Yo-seok, replied with a smile.

“Thank you. I was able to immerse myself well thanks to Yeon-jae.”

“You two have great chemistry. Must be because you’ve worked on a drama together before.”

Even though we had never filmed together before.

I wondered but just smiled quietly.

“Both of you, please keep it up. We’ll shoot Yeon-jae’s solo cut in five minutes.”

“Yes, understood.”

The scene we just filmed was the one where Agent Jang Yo-seok and Horn were about to return to the facility, right before the bomb exploded.

We were supposed to finish this scene in the morning and then shoot the battle scene after the bomb exploded in the afternoon.

‘This should be fun.’

I tried to manage my expression so my anticipation wouldn’t show, but actor Kim Seok-jun approached me.

“Hey.”

Unlike the smile he had shown to the PD, he had a slightly rebellious expression.

“Have you ever shot a real gun?”

“What?”

“I’m asking if you’ve ever shot a real gun.”

What is he talking about?

“Hyung, we’ve both gone through the same training.”

“That’s why I’m asking. We’ve never even touched a real gun. So how do you shoot like it’s a real one?”

“…? I practiced.”

“…It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Actor Kim Seok-jun shook his head, saying it was his mistake.

‘What’s with him.’

I thought he was strange but ignored it.

Right now, I was more concerned about getting my shooting stance right.

‘I don’t know if I’m doing it properly.’

The gun I was holding wasn’t real.

Of course. This is Korea, and this is a shoot.

But the drama viewers won’t care about that.

In the end, it had to look like a real gun… which is easier said than done.

‘It’s harder than I thought.’

I had to express the strong recoil that would normally push my body back using just my movements.

I had received action school training, but it still felt lacking, so I had been practicing separately for the past few days.

‘Thankfully, the PD’s expression isn’t bad.’

Horn’s ability was hidden within his body.

Specifically, in his blood.

Horn’s blood contained immense energy.

And Horn could make anything his blood touched explode at will.

In other words, with a snap of Horn’s fingers, anything touched by his blood could explode.

Using bullets mixed with Horn’s blood not only allowed for killing the enemy but also for controlling the timing of their death.

It could make the enemy die purely from pain and ensure the final kill shot effectively.

‘Plus, it’s good for my acting.’

With my current body, I couldn’t perform thrilling action scenes like adult actors.

To make action scenes compelling instead of cheesy, they needed to be convincing.

Until I developed the necessary physique, using such unrealistic abilities could actually increase the realism.

‘Ugh, I need to practice more when I get home.’

Regardless of the PD’s expression, I wasn’t satisfied.

As I stretched my stiff shoulders from the little practice, Jin-bae hyung approached.

“Actor, should I loosen your shoulders?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Jin-bae hyung skillfully massaged my shoulders.

“You’re good at action scenes despite it being your first time.”

“I haven’t done anything properly yet.”

I had just pretended to shoot a gun a few times.

In the afternoon battle scene, I had more to do.

I had to fend off unexpected attacks and take down enemies one by one.

As I recalled the action sequences I had rehearsed with the other actors, I heard a low voice.

“But it’s a relief, actor.”

“What is?”

“‘Killing Horn’ is a drama rated R, right? It has a lot of gory scenes. I was worried you might struggle with the shooting…. But the set is relatively mild.”

That’s true.

Scenes of bodies exploding or heads flying off would all be done with CG.

In reality, the actors just timed their falls.

…Wait a minute.

“Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“So, I….”

I hesitated before asking.

“When ‘Killing Horn’ airs, I can’t watch it?”

Jin-bae hyung paused for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.

“Well, officially, you shouldn’t. You’ll have to step out during the drama premiere as well.”

“…I see.”

Right. That makes sense.

I nodded slowly, accepting the reasonable explanation.

Seeing my expression, Jin-bae hyung hurriedly added more.

“But you can watch it secretly at home. Although it’s very gory…. Actor, how about I compile just your scenes and show you those? How about that?”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t need to watch it.”

I should stick to the rules.

That’s what I intended to say, but it seemed I wasn’t very convincing.

As I tried to comfort the sulking Jin-bae hyung, I thought to myself.

‘I’ll have to watch it secretly with Mist

.’

It’s not like Mist and I are in the real world anyway.

So it’s not illegal for me to watch videos in Korea.

‘I feel like a scumbag.’

I felt like I was exploiting a loophole and doing something wrong.

But wasn’t I right?

It was the same when I told others about Mist.

Hyung, Jin-bae hyung, and Bi-hyuk all asked about Mist. Even Byeon was curious.

I was as honest as I could be with them.

First, Mist helped me a long time ago.

Second, unfortunately, we’re not in contact now.

Third, thinking of Mist makes me happy.

Fourth, Mist is an ordinary person with no connection to the entertainment industry.

…The second statement was somewhat ambiguous, but from a real-world perspective, it wasn’t a lie.

Unless I was asleep, I had no way to see Mist.

‘I miss him so much, but I can’t hear his voice even once.’

I could only wait for the moment I fell asleep, every night, day by day.

“Actor, it’s time to start shooting again.”

“Yes. Just a moment.”

I quickly took out my phone and opened the memo app.

[Mist, see you in a bit. I’m going to do well in the shoot.]

After hesitating, I added more.

[I miss you today too.]

I waited for about 30 seconds and then turned off my phone. Of course, I deleted the memo.

It might seem like a one-sided message, but I was grateful I could even do this.

‘I miss you.’

How could my feelings grow every day? It was amazing.

I wanted Mist to be by my side when I opened my eyes.

I wanted to show others that Mist really existed.

I wanted to prove that I wasn’t crazy.

I didn’t care what form he took. I just wanted Mist to….

“…exist in my reality too.”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

Jin-bae hyung reacted immediately to my small mutter.

I just smiled, saying it was nothing.

Jin-bae hyung patted my head gently, telling me to hang in there.

Even as I received his careful touch, I felt strangely lonely.

‘He’s such a kind person.’

But Jin-bae hyung wasn’t Mist.

It was harder today because of that.