No one wants to live anymore. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7ilJinZGF
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ3mpAOXlp
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo1n4p2hAR
49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfe9DGB8D3
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdZ1g7mBPZ
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmI7QYsnV1o
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncyuoYUkbA
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN56sVfolrI
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCAuVuAZ19
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrHDDf3qwY
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM46ozIpJit
and waking up just in time to prep for the next shoot.
The result? A literal physiological shadow.
The screenwriter came in first, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g3KgICXXp
his face was grayer than drywall, and the circles under his eyes deep enough to drown in.
“I mean… just because I went to bed late doesn’t mean I’m immune to sleep.”
He slumped into the chair with a sound like a bellows giving up its last breath.
Next came the art lead, carrying an empty egg tart box of unknown origin.
“So… food really can taste like nothing…”
She stared blankly at the box.
“I did add Thai basil…”
No one asked why there was Thai basil in an egg tart.
When the director walked in, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXUTBlHRSb
this was the scene he saw:
The manager sitting upright, still looking somewhat operational.
But their tie was off by thirty degrees, one sleeve rolled up, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyTFFTxqpg
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkq4x3k8VQB
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7f5j26hpP6
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RzdK4PgbY
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2wS3e2NzP
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EX7iaQSZb
The screenwriter let out a cold laugh.
“So we’re wrapping up a nearly 80,000-word script on the last day? Seriously?”
“And me…”
“I still have to get a bar, a warehouse, props, costumes, blood packs, a flying lighter, and the key to a pair of handcuffs… all in 24 hours.”
The art lead chanted the list like a curse.
“At this point, I’m not even sure if that handcuff belongs to our prop box or the boss’s personal collection…”
The manager didn’t join in the sarcasm. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhXSQvHc1F
Instead, he calmly opened his notebook.
“We need to cast two male actors this afternoon. The kind who are comfortable with explicit scenes.”
“Requirements: not shy, okay with blood, able to handle brutal filming hours, and with good chemistry…”
He glanced up mid-sentence.
“Because the director says there’s no time for rehearsal.”
The director looked up.
“I never said no rehearsals!”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xcP5V3PjH
“I said… maybe we’ll have to act with our eyes.”
The room went quiet for a beat.
Then, the art lead pulled out another egg tart, plucked the Thai basil out, and dropped it into her coffee cup.
“Mmmh…”
“This is straight-up impossible.”
“Everyone knows it—except our beloved client.”
“At this point, I kinda feel like we’re being hunted.”
“We basically exorcised our own damn spirits——only to find out the script is called _Guiltbound_?”
“The next one should be called Deliverance. So we can deliver ourselves.”
The director looked around the table. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYjpDvTmbi
Everyone had dead eyes, cold coffee, and the collective thought of never wanting to wake up again.
“The name?” he asked.
“Main character’s name.”
This time, all three fell silent.
Three seconds later, the art lead bit into her tart and said:
“Just call him ‘Tragic.’ Then we’ll have a couple: Tragic × More Tragic.”
The manager flipped through the notes.
“Or maybe Shen… something Shen… you know, like ‘sink-to-the-bottom’ Shen.”
The director didn’t answer. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqQIKxqCXB
He quietly wrote down a few names, thinking he’d fix them later.
He didn’t want to disturb the fragile balance in the room—— 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVFgBhsutA
because when everyone’s about to explode, 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTUYaJ2TyY
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBIbAWk5tI
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4AhinGZoN
But these people… 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIXgxXhlW1
were already done with it.
