CRT Ch 49

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It was early dawn when they arrived at the pier on Cha Yilhyun’s yacht. As soon as the waves calmed down, they left the island because Director Choi was pestering them for the designated script. At the end of the pier bridge, a silver SUV and a black sedan were parked one behind the other.

The driver who got out of the SUV handed the car keys to Cha Yilhyun and then got into the black sedan. The man who had driven the black sedan handed the car over to the driver and disappeared somewhere. Secretary Yang was waiting near the sedan, and Director Choi was sitting in the back seat.

After receiving the car keys, Cha Yilhyun walked over to Seok Ryu. He tucked the penthouse key card into Seok Ryu’s shirt pocket. Immediately after, he gently lifted Seok Ryu’s chin, his gaze lingering.

“Memorize it, just in case. 0412, it’s the penthouse password.”

Seok Ryu repeated the number he had given him under his breath. Cha Yilhyun continued.

“The designated script is in the second drawer of my desk. Give it to Director Choi for me.”

“Why don’t you give it to him yourself, CEO Cha…”

“I have someone I need to meet for a moment.”

“At this hour of the morning?”

Cha Yilhyun offered a heavy gaze instead of an answer. It was that strangely unfamiliar feeling he had seen on the yacht.

“But wasn’t the designated script supposed to be for Mr. Yejun?”

“Mr. Park Yejun will do well enough without something like that. He is a person with outstanding acting skills, after all.”

Cha Yilhyun’s gaze suddenly turned cool.

“I may have yielded on Director Choi, but hypnosis is absolutely not allowed.”

Cha Yilhyun’s loyalty to Yejun and his passion for ‘Lake of the Gods’ seemed to be separate matters. And he was a man who could catch both rabbits at will. Even if Yejun were to be angry that Cha Yilhyun did not offer up Director Choi and the designated script, he would have been able to persuade Yejun sufficiently.

In any case, Yejun himself was not fond of the idea of doping Director Choi. It was uncertain whether Seok Ryu would even be able to dope Director Choi before the final audition in a few days, and even if he succeeded, there was a high risk of him being snatched away by Noeul on the day of the audition.

Whether to dope Director Choi or not was not a decision for Seok Ryu to make right away. He decided to put it on hold, at least until he received a definite answer from Yejun. Seok Ryu clutched the shirt pocket containing the key card.

“But what makes you trust me with the designated script? What will you do if I take it and offer it up to Mr. Yejun?”

At Seok Ryu’s words, Cha Yilhyun’s lips curved into a smooth smile. He threw a surprise question.

“What did I say the password was?”

“0412.”

As Seok Ryu answered as sharp as a knife, Cha Yilhyun suddenly let out a small laugh.

“As I thought, you don’t remember.”

Cha Yilhyun murmured the inscrutable words and then instructed the driver.

“Turn up the heater in the car.”

The silver SUV that Cha Yilhyun boarded soon disappeared from sight with a powerful roar. Seok Ryu lingered a little longer where he had stood before turning on his heel.

When he got into the back seat of the sedan, the air inside was muggy. Director Choi, his eyes as wide as saucers, stared at Seok Ryu before scooting over to make space.

The director’s appearance was like that of a foreigner caught trying to stow away, but his eyes were extraordinary. It was a strange feeling to meet the man responsible for an unprecedented box office record up close. As Seok Ryu fastened his seatbelt, the car started smoothly. Perhaps because of the ramen, a faint stomachache was beginning.

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The car body lurched as it hit a stone, kicking up dust. Cha Yilhyun sped down the unpaved road without once hitting the brakes. On the dashboard, the hand-drawn map that the art director had squeezed from his memory fluttered.

The sculptor’s residence was closer than he had thought. It was in the mountains with no paved roads or electricity, so it did not even have a proper address. The friend the art director had introduced him to had shared some information about the sculptor.

‘His name is Kim Ilwoo… he was a junior in the sculpture department at the same university, but he wasn’t particularly talented. Even after graduation, he barely held exhibitions with his parents’ inheritance, and then suddenly he started doing well. It wasn’t that his potential blossomed late; this industry is just very dependent on connections… He sculpted the entire Persephone series around that time, but I don’t believe he ever held an exhibition for it.’

‘Then I heard he lost an arm in an accident and quit his artistic activities. Well, according to him, it was the price for an irreversible mistake he had made. After that, he supposedly cut off contact with everyone.’

When he received the text from Ryu Jihoon saying Seok Ryu was isolated on the island alone, he saw red. It was only a matter of time before Park Yejun found out he had gone to the island of his own volition. Then he would also realize that he had not been hypnotized.

The play-acting had its limits anyway, and now that the outline of Seok Ryu’s identity was becoming clear, he was thinking of wrapping things up soon.

However, Seok Ryu, who blindly sacrificed himself for Yejun, his supposed master, was a greater risk than Park Yejun, who was exceptional at surviving by parasitizing others.

At that moment, a mountain peak appeared in the distance at the edge of dawn. A single, particularly prominent rock on the mountaintop caught his eye. He kept his eyes fixed on it and pressed the accelerator.

After driving up the mountain road for a while, he stopped the car. The road was so rugged that it was impossible to proceed any further by car. He got out of the car, holding the map. He walked for about another hour, passing by similar-looking trees and a few rocks.

He heard the sound of flowing water from somewhere. When he rounded a steep cliff, a huge, eaves-shaped rock stood there. It was the cave the art director had mentioned.

As he climbed down the rock, he saw a single hut crudely built with old sacks and tree branches. The black sacks blended into the rock like camouflage, so well hidden that you would not even know it was there unless you came close.

The hut was dark. Tall weeds covered half of the wooden house, making it difficult to even figure out where the front door was. After pushing aside moss and vines, a space that looked like an entrance appeared. He went straight inside.

The first things to greet Cha Yilhyun were the stench of something decaying and cobwebs. Perhaps because it was connected to a cave, the space was quite large. As he turned on his phone’s flashlight and took a step, the sound of splashing water echoed.

Inside, with no kitchen or even a bed, were vinyl-wrapped sculptures and dried-up clay left neglected. The moment he shone the flashlight, Cha Yilhyun furrowed his brows. In the middle of the cave sat a one-armed skeleton.

It seemed to have died while sitting, as it was still clothed, with only its neck bones bent forward. Judging by the sculpture and the state of the arm, it appeared to be Kim Ilwoo. There was no phone, and no wallet or diary-like things either.

If Kim Ilwoo were alive, he would be in his mid-forties by now. The art director had met Kim Ilwoo about ten years ago and said that at the time, he had secretly taken a photo of ‘Seok Ryu of Persephone’ and kept it until now. For the flesh to have completely rotted and decayed to this extent would take at least ten years, which meant Kim Ilwoo had died not long after meeting the art director.

In that case, Kim Ilwoo would have met Seok Ryu at least ten years ago to sculpt him, but at that time, Seok Ryu’s age would have been at most an elementary or middle school student. However, the face of the sculpture was exactly Seok Ryu’s face now.

The moment Cha Yilhyun shone the flashlight on the wall opposite Kim Ilwoo’s skeleton, his hand froze. There stood the sculpture of Seok Ryu he had seen in the movie. It seemed Kim Ilwoo had been looking at that sculpture until his last breath.

With it as the centerpiece, sculptures modeled after Seok Ryu were displayed in various parts of the room. The shape of the muscles as the thighs tensed when the legs were spread, the small, round nipples, and the shape of the genitals were all things one could never know without having observed Seok Ryu’s naked body in detail. The only one with both arms cut off was ‘Seok Ryu of Persephone’. Cha Yilhyun gritted his teeth.

The poses of the other sculptures were varied. Some were looking at the sky with their legs spread, or in lewd positions one might see in sexual arts, lying on their stomachs and revealing the wrinkles of their rear orifice. In each of the orifices, models of a tongue and a man’s genitals were embedded.

His brow was furrowed not in anticipation of imminent pleasure, but as if enduring pain. It was a monstrous work, kneaded and carved from a mass of undiluted desire.

Blood rushed to his head, and for a moment, his reason flew away. He picked up a wooden plank with dried clay stuck to it. With the plank, he smashed every sculpture in the place to pieces. Plaster fragments like bone chips flew in all directions. The sharp, cracking sound was like Seok Ryu’s scream. After shattering even the last remaining sculpture, he jammed the wooden plank into Kim Ilwoo’s hollow eye sockets.

At that moment, something rolled out of the skeleton’s hand. Cha Yilhyun let out a rough breath and stared at the spot. His boiling mind had not cooled, and his judgment on what to do next had stopped. He soon bent down and picked up what had fallen on the floor. It was a jewel box covered in old dust.

He shone his phone’s flashlight on it. Inside the jewel box, which looked like an open clam, was a thin plaster plate the size of a credit card. On the plaster plate, tiny grains were clustered together. They were wine-colored crystals.

The moment he touched a few grains with his finger, they crumbled with a sense of futility. The wine-colored powder scattered in the air and disappeared without a trace. At that sight, his heart suddenly sank.

He picked up the small plaster plate from the jewel box and shone the flashlight on it. On the faded plaster plate, neat handwriting was inscribed.

My own garnet that fascinates all

A guardian angel who turns its master into a demon

Cha Yilhyun stared at the short phrase with a blank expression. Seok Ryu, Park Yejun’s accessory, casts hypnosis by looking into people’s eyes. The people bewitched by Seok Ryu all become Park Yejun’s slaves and offer him infinite loyalty.

Seok Ryu will come running even if I call him to hell

My guardian angel

My garnet

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It was past dawn when Yejun arrived at Lee Sak’s villa. He had sent Manager Byun home. He had rented a car to drive here, thinking a taxi would leave a trace.

The log cabin villa was nestled at the foot of a mountain. A large fan on the ceiling of the living room, which was open between the first and second floors, circulated warm air throughout the house. One wall was lined with all sorts of books, and on a rocking chair by the window lay a notebook and a pen.

The writer never exposed himself to any media, so very few people knew his face. When doping Lee Sak, Seok Ryu had dealt with him alone, so today was the first time Yejun was meeting him in person. All he knew about Lee Sak was what he had heard from Seok Ryu. If Lee Sak had not acknowledged Yejun first, he might not have recognized him.

While the writer prepared coffee in the kitchen, Yejun looked around the living room.

“I’m sorry for showing up so suddenly late at night.”

“Don’t say that. I start my day watching your drama, Mr. Yejun, and I’ve even been scrapping all the articles. I always felt sorry that I couldn’t do anything for you during your hard times, Mr. Yejun, so I’m glad to see you looking well. Back then, I even got into keyboard battles with the people who were leaving malicious comments about you, you know?”

A laugh escaped him at the sight of Lee Sak getting angry all over again. Yejun answered cheerfully to put Lee Sak’s worries to rest.

“I’ve shaken it all off now, so I’m fine! Oh, and the puzzle you sent, writer, I’ve hung it up nicely in my living room. Everyone is so envious.”

“It’s an honor to have it hanging in your space, Mr. Yejun.”

The words were not elaborately embellished, but Lee Sak’s words had a power that made them sound sincere. There must be a reason why he had moved so many people. He continued as if he had just remembered something.

“Ah, I found out later that the puzzle picture was Klimt’s ‘The Tree of Life’. At first, I was angry about what CEO Songhyul was thinking, throwing a ten-thousand-piece puzzle at me, but as I did it, my distracting thoughts disappeared, you know. So it ended up becoming a hobby.”

Come to think of it, large and small puzzles were hung in frames on the walls here and there. Lee Sak was still isolated in his own world, but it seemed he had found a reason to live within it.

As Lee Sak headed toward the sofa with a coffee cup, Yejun also turned. Suddenly, his gaze was captured by the notebook on the rocking chair. The notebook was filled with scrawled handwriting. From a distance, Lee Sak scratched the back of his neck as if embarrassed.

“Thinking of you, Mr. Yejun, makes inspiration well up, so I just scribbled a little. I was going to show it to you later, but it’s still a first draft, so there are many places to fix.”

“It’s really great that you’ve started writing again!”

For the genius writer who had shaken Asia to dedicate his writing solely to him felt like a dream. He had heard that he had not been able to write a single letter, but now he seemed at ease. Yejun read the phrases written in the notebook. It was an unorganized piece of writing, as if he had jotted down whatever thoughts came to mind.

[You threw me into the abyss and crushed me with a lead weight.

Lying there, I chewed over the harsh words you left behind countless times.

Thinking about it quietly, it seems you too were trapped in an endless winter.

Snowflakes always fluttered in your eyes.

But I soon remembered one fact.

That snow, too, was once rain.

Before I knew it, I came to love even that lead weight.]

When he read the last phrase, a twitch ran through the corner of Yejun’s mouth. Yejun had met Lee Sak for the first time in his life today, so he had never said anything hurtful to him. This was like a love letter written to Seok Ryu.

Everything Seok Ryu offered was supposed to be his, yet there were many times it did not feel like his. If so, did Seok Ryu also feel like everything was being taken from him when he offered it to his master? Was that why he had hooked up with Cha Yilhyun and stabbed his master in the back?

As Yejun sat on the sofa, Lee Sak also took a seat opposite him. His face was filled with emotion, like a fan meeting a long-admired star, and his hands trembled. Suddenly, Lee Sak’s clean fingernails caught Yejun’s eye. The lanky man hesitantly opened his mouth.

“I have a favor to ask you, Mr. Yejun. Is it alright if I go look for my friend? I reported him missing to the police, but they say they don’t know his whereabouts. His phone is also still off. As soon as I find him, I will come back to the villa.”

His complexion was pale, perhaps because Team Leader Kim Myungjun was missing. But commendably, he was faithfully following Yejun’s command to stay secluded in the villa. Lee Sak might have secretly wished for Songhyul to produce the ‘Lake of the Gods’ drama. Entrusting it to Songhyul rather than his friend would ensure it did not fail.

Winple, having lost the rights to ‘Lake of the Gods’ to Songhyul, was staggering to a point where recovery was impossible. Songhyul was watching for an opportunity to acquire Winple. Yejun replied.

“I’m sorry about your friend, but you can’t do that. He probably ended his life lonely somewhere.”

Lee Sak waved his hands in denial, looking horrified.

“He’s not a friend who would do something like that, leaving behind a wife and child.”

“People who have never been betrayed by someone they trusted will never know that feeling.”

Lee Sak ultimately did not accept Yejun’s words. His friend must have hated the world so much that he wanted to let go of even himself. He himself had already died twice at Seok Ryu’s hands.

He had sworn countless times while driving the rented car. That he would do anything if it meant he could bring about the downfall of Cha Yilhyun and Seok Ryu. They say a guardian stone that betrays its master is disposed of and lies in a jewel box. That was too luxurious an end for a traitor.

Yejun placed the mug on the wooden table.

“I don’t think I can play the role of Biryu after all.”

Lee Sak’s eyes widened, and he stammered.

“I gave you the rights on the condition that you, Mr. Yejun, would play the role of Biryu. This is absurd! I’ll call and protest right now.”

Yejun smiled bitterly.

“It’s no use. The CEO said he’ll sue if you withdraw the rights, writer. I probably won’t be safe either.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me, but what sin have you committed, Mr. Yejun…”

Yejun gripped Lee Sak’s hand. Lee Sak, who was frozen stiff, swallowed hard.

“Right now, you’re the only one who can save me, writer! We have to join forces to fight against Songhyul.”

“If it’s something that can help you, Mr. Yejun, I will do anything.”

The power of the garnet to turn a complete stranger into a fervent devotee was once again astonishing. It was an opportunity to test the limits of his followers’ loyalty.

“I would like ‘Lake of the Gods’ to be your final work, writer.”

At Yejun’s words, Lee Sak froze with a pale face. He was a person who was going to die anyway, who had only been put on a temporary oxygen respirator after meeting Seok Ryu. Since the guardian stone’s ability is activated only through a binding ritual with the master, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Lee Sak was alive thanks to him.

He was not originally this cruel a person. But after meeting Seok Ryu, a demon had been growing inside Yejun. Could it be that this demon had been a parasite using Seok Ryu as a host and had then moved on to him?

“Please write a suicide note as well.”

The writer Lee Sak, following his friend who had committed suicide out of pessimism, to atone for his sins. It was a sufficient scenario to serve as a stepping stone to tarnish Songhyul’s reputation and bring about its downfall.

Lee Sak lowered his head powerlessly.