By Zephyria 
Yoo Jiha, having tripped over his own feet, hurriedly bypassed him and ran ahead to speak to Han Geun-woo first.
“Um, would you like some water?”
As he spoke, he stole a glance sideways; Jeil Heon had stopped walking and was facing away. Thank goodness.
It wasn’t that he had any particular feelings for him, and their only interaction had been through a chat window, but it was true that he felt a bit worried since they were acquainted. After exchanging a few words, the topic shifted to how Han Geun-woo used to be an actor.
“But why didn’t you take on a role with more prominence? Your acting seemed quite good…”
“Why should I step forward and take on the burden?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Maybe you’re too young to know, Agent, but if you take the lead role and fail to hit ten million viewers, who do you think people will blame? Besides, in this movie, the lead never dies or gets hurt. They’d probably resent me for acting safely while they might die from a stray bullet.”
“….”
“The Management Bureau said they’d come rescue us anyway, so there’s no need to push myself and take responsibility. The Agents should take the lead roles, increase the viewership, and rescue us. We are, after all, tax-paying citizens and victims.”
He wasn’t wrong, but the more Jiha listened, the more uncomfortable he felt in a corner of his heart. Seeing his stiff expression, Han Geun-woo spoke with a lingering intensity.
“Do you not like that I’m not a victim clinging to you in gratitude for saving me? What, should I file a civil complaint saying the Agent’s attitude is impure?”
Han Geun-woo laughed, telling him not to take it sensitively since it was a joke, but Yoo Jiha couldn’t bring himself to smile at all. He had never imagined this man would be like this when they were chatting.
Just as he was about to excuse himself, a large hand wrapped around his shoulder, and a familiar mid-low voice, tinged with a slight old Seoul dialect, flowed out.
“As the gentleman said, we are civil servants who work for a salary, so we have a duty to do our best for any victim, provided they do not refuse rescue.”
Jeil Heon bowed slightly toward Han Geun-woo and whispered very softly, so only he could hear.
“However, the Management Bureau values the life and worth of one Agent more than a hundred victims. This means that even if a victim is left behind in an Aberrant Realm by ‘mistake,’ it can be settled with a single incident report.”
The moment he finished speaking, Han Geun-woo’s face turned pale. Without bothering to tell Jiha what he had whispered, Jeil Heon kept his arm around Yoo Jiha’s shoulder and swept him away from the spot, and Yoo Jiha followed silently.
Only after they had retreated to a corner of the studio where Han Geun-woo could not be seen did Jeil Heon sigh and rub his face. A low mutter was chewed gloomily.
“Of all people, why a man like that…”
“What did you say?”
When Yoo Jiha, who hadn’t heard the mutter clearly, asked back, Jeil Heon relaxed his expression and said it was nothing.
“Don’t pay any mind to what that man says. Do you think the company would threaten not to rescue people just because someone filed a complaint? There are all sorts of people in the world, so there’s no need to waste your mental energy.”
As Han Geun-woo said, it might be because he was still young and naive about the ways of the world, but Jiha didn’t want to deny responsibility or watch from the sidelines like an outsider as if it weren’t his business. In truth, even if he had stayed huddled in a corner without saying a word at Eight Phases Mental Hospital, as long as he hadn’t died, he would have been rescued eventually.
But then, he wouldn’t have met Jeil Heon in Room 404.
Perhaps in the future, as he became worn down by the hardships of life, he might make a choice similar to Han Geun-woo’s, but even so, he wanted to face life as a person who had the possibility of meeting Jeil Heon.
…In the end, no matter how hard he tried to forget by meeting other people, the end of his consciousness always converged on him.
“…You’re really a bad person, Mister.”
Leaving behind words full of sulkiness, Yoo Jiha hurried off toward his teammates without even thinking of looking at the expression the man made.
The viewership numbers were sluggish. The ninth shoot ended without ever surpassing 6 million. Fortunately, thanks to the Director Entity’s baseless confidence, the viewership didn’t drop.
The team members huddled together seriously.
“Whatever it takes, we have to see this through next time. Darling, do you have any good ideas?”
“Should I set my cane on fire for a realistic fire show?”
“Not bad, but that’s not enough to get another 4 million…”
“It can’t be helped. I’ll have to use my final method. I’ve been consistently managing my body for a situation like this.”
As Kim Min-seop solemnly began to undo his buttons one by one, Song Hilda’s expression became grotesque. It was then that Jeil Heon, who had been listening in silence, spoke up.
“I’ll do it.”
“Mis— Team Leader, you’re going to strip?!”
“Hmm? Do you want to see? Was what you already know not enough?”
“I have to clearly state that I accidentally opened the door while the Team Leader was showering! The Sunbaes will misunderstand!”
“It’s okay, Jiha-ssi. No one will misunderstand. At most, they’ll just think you went to the sauna together.”
Song Hilda’s comforting words actually made his mood feel strange. Was there really not a shred of sexual tension between him and the man, to the point that no one would even misunderstand…?
And Jeil Heon, who walked over to the Director Entity, didn’t strip… instead, he rolled up the script and smacked the thing’s back of the head.
Whack! With a crisp striking sound, three of the director’s eyeballs popped out. Jeil Heon ruthlessly stepped on and crushed the rolling eyeballs. The Director Entity, who had lost most of the four eyeballs that moved in a 270-degree field of vision to closely observe the filming site, was enraged.
[Ten mil■ion■■ten■viewers■■give me the ten■■■million…!]
「Youuuu will be made into a prop right now…」
“What’s the point of having useless eyeballs dangling around that serve no purpose in filming?”
「Whaaat¡」
“The script, the mise-en-scène, the direction—everything is below standard. Even the settings within the play are a mess.”
He didn’t particularly raise his voice or mix in much emotion, but just by speaking scathing words with a blank face, it felt as if the surrounding temperature dropped by 2 degrees. Even the Aberrations flinched.
“My role is also utterly crude.”
In the play, Jeil Heon’s role was the protagonist’s godfather, teacher, friend, and advisor—basically, everything good—before dying young.
“Why must I retire early?”
「Th-that is because by dying gloriously, the protagonist’s mental growth…」
“No, you must utilize my face. Isn’t it a director’s capability to revise the script depending on the actor? Keep me alive until the end.”
「My, my art is not th…」
“Art? A piece of trash that hasn’t even achieved ten million viewers after filming nine times dares to discuss art?”
「Haaa, but if that happens, the protagonist’s awakening…」
“What viewer is expecting a scene where that thing awakens?”
A merciless sneer pointed toward the Protagonist Role Entity. The Aberration, which had taken the form of a bust by mimicking the ‘sculpted looks’ humans often describe, broke into a cold sweat.
To the despairing Director Entity, Jeil Heon delivered one final bit of gaslighting.
“Trust me. I am the only one who can make you film a ten-million-viewer movie.”
The paper-like ears of the slumped Director Entity fluttered in all directions. It then kicked the Protagonist Entity with a director’s chair attached to its rear and began re-filming. It was a movie of Jeil Heon, by Jeil Heon, and for Jeil Heon.
The movie, which changed genres from a fantasy adventure to a Jeil Heon visual pictorial, achieved the feat of 18 million viewers.
「To hell with the story and direction, only the faaaace saves meeee¡ Faceeee¡ Faceeee¡ Faceeee!」
Along with the Director Entity’s joyful wailing, the sealed entrance of the studio opened, and the Dividing Mist could be seen in the distance.
“As expected, for a man, the face is everything…”
“Couldn’t we have been rescued if only the Team Leader had entered?”
Kim Min-seop also muttered as he followed Song Hilda, who was wearing her Ear Guard, leading the victims out.
“Let’s go too.”
Only Jeil Heon patted Yoo Jiha’s shoulder as usual. Following blankly, just before stepping through the Hongsal Gate, Jiha turned back to Jeil Heon and asked.
“Ah, right. I just remembered, to enter this Aberrant Realm, a person from the film industry had to be included, right? Did one of the Sunbaes film a movie in the past?”
“I filmed a movie once.”
“Huh, really?!”
“My second brother filmed an independent movie in a college film club, and he said he couldn’t find an actor.”
“Wow…”
Wait, he had filming experience and his acting was still like that? Was it perhaps a silent movie? While he became very curious about what kind of movie it was, he felt relieved and let out a light complaint.
“If you had thought of utilizing your face just a little sooner, we could have finished this comfortably. Right?”
“I guess so.”
It was a casual answer. It was something that could be brushed off, but the fact that a man who was always serious when dealing with anomalies was so nonchalant strangely bothered him. Could it be that he did it on purpose…?