Chapter 59: Illusion
(Ugh!)
Sergeant Kim Woo-jin, who had died after being stabbed in the stomach by a monster, suddenly opened his eyes. He gasped for air and looked around.
Why am I alive? He touched his stomach. The wound was healed with fresh skin. Was it a dream? No, it felt too real to be a dream.
(Damn it…)
He took off his shirt and examined his body. There was a red spot spreading from his chest, a sign of being infected by the virus.
(Ha ha!)
He laughed bitterly. He was angry and absurd that he came back to life only to die again. Tears welled up in his eyes and his face looked miserable and hopeless. He pulled himself together after a while. He grabbed his gun and moved cautiously.
(Sergeant… that…)
He joined Sergeant Lee Hyun-joon and Corporal Park Ji-won, who were wary of him. He smirked at them.
(Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.)
The movie tension escalated as they faced the unknown monsters outside and Kim Woo-jin, who could turn into one at any moment.
(Shouldn’t we get rid of Sergeant Kim?)
(What if he changes suddenly?)
The other soldiers who followed them did not lower their guard against Kim Woo-jin.
(Stay still. I’ll take responsibility.)
Only Lee Hyun-joon, who was in the same SSU unit as him, defended him.
(Go ahead.)
Kim Woo-jin used his monstrous strength to help Park Ji-won and Lee Hyun-joon, and died heroically.
(Go! Hurry!)
Lee Hyun-joon also sent Park Ji-won first and fell after fighting the monster.
Park Ji-won, the last survivor, finally entered the communication room and locked the door. He was the only one left alive. He sobbed for a while and then staggered up to try to communicate.
And then the screen went black for a moment, and the door of the communication room suddenly opened.
(Ugh…)
Park Ji-won, who had relaxed his eyes for a moment, pointed his gun hastily.
“We’re here!”
He sighed in relief and lowered his gun when he saw the reinforcements. He looked at Lee Hyun-joon, who was bleeding and lying down, and Kim Woo-jin, who had a tentacle-like thing piercing through his body.
He watched the Baekho ship getting farther away as he boarded the lifeboat. The screen zoomed in on his empty eyes as the movie ended.
The majestic OST and the ending credits rolled up as the lights in the theater turned on. The audience did not get up for the stage greeting, but stayed in their seats.
“Wow… the movie was good.”
“The action was really good, right?”
The story was predictable in a way. The unidentified monsters that attacked the ship and the soldiers infected by the virus reminded them of zombies. But it was a well-made action movie with Yoo Yeon Seo’s acting without a stunt double, the action director, and the decent editing.
The audience was buzzing with their impressions of the movie when the entrance in front of the screen opened and the director, Park Ho-jin, entered alone.
“Hello. I’m Park Ho-jin, the director of ‘Baekho Ship’.”
He introduced himself with a microphone. The audience cheered, but then wondered why the actors did not show up.
“I came in alone and you were all surprised, right? Our actors were with you from the start of the movie.”
“Really?”
“Where… behind us!”
Someone in the audience shouted and they all looked back. Park Min-woo, Lee Han-gyeol, and Yoo Yeon Seo, who had jumped up to go forward, were there.
“They wanted to see the result in the theater, so they watched the movie with you.”
The stage greeting staff and the security guards led the actors to the front.
“Wow.”
“Kyaa!”
The audience screamed and took pictures with their phones as the actors walked down the stairs. Lee Han-gyeol, who had some idol experience, waved his hand and responded to the cheers, and Park Min-woo followed him. Yoo Yeon Seo passed by indifferently, but matched his eyes with every camera that took him.
The actors lined up next to the director and some people flashed their cameras. Yoo Yeon Seo frowned. He was not used to these flashes yet.
“Me?”
A spectator in row A waved a bouquet of flowers fervently. The spectator’s eyes seemed to pierce him, so Yoo Yeon Seo pointed at himself.
The spectator nodded his head quickly. He looked next to him and Park Min-woo and Lee Han-gyeol also had bouquets and dolls from the front row.
“Thank you.”
Yoo Yeon Seo approached the spectator and received a small bouquet. The fan, who was holding a phone in one hand and recording a video, choked with emotion.
‘It’s the first time I’ve received flowers.’
In 2207, there were not many flower seeds, and it was better to grow food than flowers, so they were luxury items for the upper class. Yoo Yeon Seo smelled the bouquet in his hand, and flashes went off everywhere.
“Please sit down, everyone.”
The staff stopped the audience who had jumped up from the front.
“Now that you’ve calmed down, let’s introduce ourselves properly. Hello. We are the ‘Baekho Ship’ team.”
The audience clapped and cheered at the director’s introduction.
“Hello. Did you enjoy the movie?”
“Yes!”
“Thank you. Please keep supporting us. You didn’t come to see me, so I’ll keep it short.”
The audience chuckled at the director’s joke. The microphone in his hand was handed over to Park Min-woo. The cheers grew louder.
“Hello. I’m Park Min-woo, who played the role of Corporal Park Ji-won. How was our movie?”
They shouted that it was good. Park Min-woo smiled and briefly told them about the anecdotes and the scenes he worked hard on during the shooting.
“If you liked it, please spread the word. We really worked hard.”
The microphone went to Lee Han-gyeol’s hand. The cheers were so loud that they hurt his ears.
Yoo Yeon Seo, who was standing next to him with his back straight and looking at the audience indifferently, narrowed his eyes at a certain point.
“Huh…”
A woman sitting in the third row from the front, in the center, was looking at Yoo Yeon Seo’s face with a telescope. Wasn’t row C close enough? He should be able to see well without a telescope.
The woman, who met his eyes through the telescope lens, gasped.
“Can I see that too?”
“Yes, here…”
The woman, who had eye contact with him through the telescope, handed the telescope to the next person. The person who received it also met Yoo Yeon Seo’s eyes and swallowed. It moved to the next person, like a relay.
‘What are those people…’
The telescope became a public good and everyone in the center of row C looked at it.
“I was watching the movie with you earlier, but the people next to me were so good that I felt a little intimidated… How about me? I was okay, right?”
“Cool!”
“Handsome!”
Meanwhile, Lee Han-gyeol was skillfully proceeding with the stage greeting. He was not an idol for nothing.
Yoo Yeon Seo, who was waiting for his turn, moved his eyes to the back seat where he had sat. His eyes widened. As if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
‘What is that…’
I saw something that shouldn’t be here. Yoo Yeon Seo lowered his head.
“Ugh…”
Despite the loud cheers of the audience, the sound of his heart beating was deafening. He heard a ringing in his ears and his breath became short.
Eventually, the bouquet he was holding fell to the floor with a thud. Yoo Yeon Seo covered his ears with both hands.
Lee Hangeul, who was handing him the microphone, picked up the bouquet instead. He felt something was wrong and grabbed Yoo Yeon Seo’s shoulder.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“Did you see a ghost, Yeon Seo hyung?”
Park Minwoo whispered, tilting his head back.
A ghost? No, that’s not it. I wish it was… Yoo Yeon Seo covered his mouth with his hand. He felt nauseous.
I didn't see it wrong. It was definitely…
Two legs under a white skirt that looked like a curtain floating in the air… That unforgettable sight was
the last image of Lee Heeseo.
Why?
Why did I see that? Why now of all times? Yoo Yeon Seo swallowed the blood that rose in his throat. The bitter smell in his mouth and nose made him feel even more sick.
“Uh… Yeon Seo-ssi is feeling a bit…”
“Didn’t we tell you before we watched the movie that there’s a rumor that this theater is haunted? You didn’t really see it, did you, hyung?”
Park Minwoo cut off the director’s flustered words and shook his voice. Some of the audience laughed. Lee Hangeul came back with a bottle of water from the staff.
“Are you okay?”
Yoo Yeon Seo nodded vaguely and drank the water that Lee Hangeul handed him. He closed his eyes and opened them again. He lifted his head slightly. Fortunately, the hallucination was gone.
“Hello. I suddenly felt dizzy.”
He sighed and tried to compose himself. Yoo Yeon Seo greeted them with a strong voice.
“I’m Yoo Yeon Seo, playing the role of Kim Woojin, the captain.”
But that didn’t last long. He had to lower his head again as blood dripped from his nose. He hadn’t even done the memory synchronization today, but he was a mess with nosebleeds and vomiting.
“I’m sorry to show you such a bad sight on my first stage greeting.”
“It’s okay!”
He had to finish the stage greeting as soon as possible. He couldn’t waste any more time. He covered his nose with a tissue and picked up the microphone again.
The audience shouted words of encouragement, but he couldn’t hear them at all. He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.
“Did you enjoy the movie?”
He forced a smile and felt his lips tremble. Covering his nose with a tissue didn’t help much. He still felt the smell of blood in his throat.
***
Bang!
The bathroom door opened roughly and Yoo Yeon Seo bowed his head over the sink.
Why?
Why did I see Lee Heeseo’s last moment?
Yoo Yeon Seo kept gagging and washed his face roughly with cold water.
Beta, what's going on?
<I don’t know the cause either.>
Beta added that the only way to find out the exact cause was to increase the synchronization rate.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Your Highness.”
Yoo Yeon Seo clenched his eyes. Lee Taegyeom and Im Seunghyun, who followed him, came into the bathroom.
“Just a minute…”
He raised his hand to quiet Lee Taegyeom and Im Seunghyun.
The strange feeling he had when he saw Lee Heeseo’s hallucination in the theater was something he had felt before. His heart racing even though he hadn’t done the memory synchronization. The nausea that made his stomach churn. The feeling that something in the air was bothering him.
Could it be…
Could it be that the hallucination I saw earlier was a disease that the original had…? And that my body was seeing Lee Heeseo’s hallucination, but my mind was Kang Jinho, so I couldn’t see it until now. And that as the memory synchronization rate increased, I was also affected more and more.
Is that it?
<I can’t be sure because the memory synchronization is not complete yet, but probably yes.>
You…!
Yoo Yeon Seo bit his lip. Lee Taegyeom and Im Seunghyun were still next to him.
Why am I vomiting blood and having nosebleeds when I haven't done the memory synchronization?
<If your guess is correct… the real Yoo Yeon Seo was seeing his mother’s hallucination, and the conflict between his trauma and your healthy mental strength caused this.>
A guess? No, I’m sure of it. The original was seeing Lee Heeseo’s hallucination.
Then…
“Since when…?”
Since when did the original see the hallucination?
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