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Chapter 336: Shadow (3)

Yoo-Jin moved her hands around and shook her head. "No, it\'s better than I thought. It\'s not noticeable and pretty comfortable. Where did you get something like this?"

"I know a place. Anyway, let\'s get ready for the shoot right away if you\'re okay."

After leaving Yoo-Jin with Lee Yung-Jin, I hurried over to Cha Soo-Yeon.

In front of the set where the shoot would take place shortly, Cha Soo-Yeon was alone under a tent as she organized scattered props and cue sheets.

"Ms. Cha, are you busy right now?"

"Oh, Mr. Jung. What brings you here?"

"Ah, I just wanted to ask you something."

I requested her to double-check the prop knife because I was worried Yoo-Jin might get hurt.

Cha Soo-Yeon wore a troubled expression. "The props team will be up in arms if we mess with that... It\'s hard to refill the fake blood and the whole shoot could be delayed if it leaks by mistake."

She explained that there were originally two prop knives, but one was broken.

"Then I\'ll just take a look."

Cha Soo-Yeon thought for a moment and then agreed. "Alright. Just a moment, please."

After a moment, Kim Yung-Joo, the youngest member of the props team, brought a tray with the knife after receiving a call from Cha Soo-Yeon.

She was being careful, making sure the fake blood in the handle didn\'t spill. "Ms. Cha, here it is. I brought the knife."

"Hold on."

Cha Soo-Yeon told me to check it out.

I took a close look without touching the knife and saw that the blade had been sharpened when it was supposed to be blunt.

"Ms. Cha, someone has sharpened this blade."

"Pardon me?"

"Look over here."

It was sharpened so subtly that you wouldn\'t notice unless you looked closely.

"W-what is this?"

The blade made of reinforced plastic could still cause injury if swung in its current state. On closer inspection, I noticed there weren\'t any tiny holes for fake blood to spurt out. It also seemed like the handle had been wiped clean beforehand, making fingerprint retrieval impossible.

After inspecting the knife, I grabbed it to confirm my suspicions.

"Huh?"

Kim Yung-Joo and Cha Soo-Yeon looked surprised.

"This isn\'t the knife for today\'s shoot. It\'s slightly heavier too," I said.

Although it looked like a regular plastic knife, the blade\'s hardness made it noticeably heavier.

I added, "And... look at this."

I immediately plunged the knife into a styrofoam box used for storing kimbap on the table.

Thud!

Even though it was a plastic knife, the blade didn\'t bend or retract when it hit the surface of the box. Instead, it pierced straight through the solid 5 cm styrofoam lid.

Startled, Cha Soo-Yeon looked at Kim Yung-Joo in shock. "What? W-why is the knife so sharp?"

Kim Yung-Joo shook her hands with her face white beyond pale. "I-it wasn\'t me! Ms. Cha, the team lead from the props team just told me to bring it over. I swear!"

With the situation almost resulting in an accident, Kim Yung-Joo tried hard to prove her innocence.

Cha Soo-Yeon calmed down and bit her nails as she pondered. "The props team lead isn\'t the type to make mistakes like this..."

After wearing a serious expression, she turned her head toward me. "Hold on. I\'ll request to stop the filming. Please wait here."

I also wanted to stop the shoot. But if I wanted to completely root out the crisis for good, this was the moment to make a move. If I couldn\'t identify the culprit now, Yoo-Jin could be at greater risk in the future.

"Ms. Cha, hold on a second."

Cha Soo-Yeon was about to take the knife to Kim Sung-Woon, but stopped in her tracks upon my call. "What is it?"

"Let\'s proceed with the filming first," I replied.

"With this knife?"

"I have an idea."

I asked the frozen Kim Yung-Joo if there were any prop blood packs.

"Yes, we have about four prepared as a backup."

"Could you bring me two of them without anyone noticing?"

Kim Yung-Joo blinked. "Right now?"

Cha Soo-Yeon urged Kim Yung-Joo. "Go get them right now, Miss Yung-Joo."

"Y-yes, Ms. Cha."

Kim Yung-Joo glanced at Cha Soo-Yeon, then hurriedly ran toward the props team.

After Kim Yung-Joo disappeared, Cha Soo-Yeon asked with a worried look. "What are you planning to do?"

"What if switching the prop knife wasn\'t a mistake?" I suggested.

"What do you mean it wasn\'t a mistake?" Cha Soo-Yeon asked with a frown.

"To be honest with you, I brought all the talent agents from the company today because of the rumor that a stalker is targeting Yoo-Jin."

Cha Soo-Yeon\'s face turned pale. "Then we should definitely stop filming. What if Miss Yoo-Jin gets hurt?"

"I\'ve already put a protective gear on Yoo-Jin."

"What?"

"Just in case."

Cha Soo-Yeon sighed in relief. "That\'s good."

"Whoever swapped the prop is likely expecting Yoo-Jin to get stabbed. I plan to use that moment to catch the culprit."

After a brief moment of thought, Cha Soo-Yeon nodded.

"Alright, then I\'ll ask Mr. Kim for his cooperation."

In the scene where Yoo-Jin was to be stabbed, the knife was supposed to go under her armpit while she pretended to be stabbed in the chest. If we attached a blood pack under her armpit, blood could still spurt out even if the knife didn\'t retract into the handle.

At that moment, the panting Kim Yung-Joo returned with the blood packs. "M-Mr. Jung, here they are. I made sure no one noticed."

"Good job. And please don\'t tell anyone about this. If word gets out, you know you\'ll be the first suspect, right?"

Kim Yung-Joo nodded fervently. "Yes, okay!"

"Now, please follow me without making it obvious."

"Yes, Mr. Jung."

I took the blood packs and hid them in my jacket before heading to the filming location with Kim Yung-Joo.

***

Dressed in the Manshin Wol-Ah costume, Yoo-Jin was talking to Lee Byung-Jun as they waited for the prop knife.

When Kim Yung-Joo brought the knife, Lee Byung-Jun carefully took it from the tray as he thought it was a special prop that would release blood when pressed.

"Hopefully, we get it in one take..." he remarked.

Lee Byung-Jun worried that if there was an NG, the delay from changing into new bloodstained clothes and refilling the knife with blood would slow the shoot.

\'At least it\'s clear Lee Byung-Jun isn\'t involved,\' I remarked inwardly.

Relieved, I quietly approached Lee Byung-Jun. "Mr. Byung-Jun, listen to me carefully. Don\'t be surprised or show it on your face."

Lee Byung-Jun flinched but quickly smiled. "Why are you acting all serious suddenly?"

"That knife, it\'s not a special prop. Look closely. Do you see the blade is sharpened?"

Lee Byung-Jun glanced at the blade and immediately realized the problem. "W-what? What is this?"

"Keep your expression in check. Someone switched the knives," I replied in a low tone.

Lee Byung-Jun tried to hide his shock, but he couldn\'t stop his voice from trembling. "Th-Then shouldn\'t we stop the filming first?"

"No. I already put protective gear on Yoo-Jin. We need to catch the culprit. If we don\'t catch them now, they\'ll pull this stunt again."

Then, I called Yoo-Jin over.

"Yoon-Ho oppa, what\'s up?"

"Yoo-Jin. The knife that Mr. Byung-Jun is holding—the blade doesn\'t retract."

"What?"

"Someone swapped the prop with another one. It\'s a reinforced plastic knife, but the blade is sharpened."

Yoo-Jin asked with a puzzled expression. "Then what do we do? We can\'t film with that, can we?"

"We can. Since you\'re wearing protective gear, you won\'t get hurt as long as you match the moves. Let\'s proceed as planned."

"As it is?"

"Yeah. And everyone is on standby to catch the culprit."

Although it was to prevent a bigger danger, the one who had to perform the risky stunt was not me but Yoo-Jin. As such, I sought Yoo-Jin\'s cooperation. "If we don\'t catch the culprit now, they\'ll try something again. But of course, we\'ll stop the filming now if you\'re scared."

Yoo-Jin, who had been quietly listening, shook her head. "No. It\'s making me nervous in a good way. And I\'m wearing protective gear, aren\'t I?"

\'Honestly, she\'s really brave,\' I thought to myself.

"Alright, then I\'ll leave it to you. You can trust us."

"Okay, oppa."

"Wait just a moment."

Leaving the determined Yoo-Jin behind, I ran to Kim Sung-Woon.

"Mr. Kim, do we have time to fix the makeup?"

Kim Sung-Woon nodded heavily.

Cha Soo-Yeon standing beside him discreetly made an \'O\' shape with her fingers, signaling that the discussion was over.

"We\'ll start shooting in two minutes. Please hurry up."

I called Yoo-Jin over and took her to the car to attach the blood pack under her armpit. With the help of Yang So-Ri, Yoo-Jin quickly got the blood pack attached and returned to the set.

Yoo-Jin looked at me. "Make sure you catch the culprit, oppa."

"Don\'t worry."

With her arms pressed to her sides, Yoo-Jin carefully headed to the set.

***

All the talent agents started recording the scene while pretending to film Yoo-Jin on their phones. This was to catch the culprit who might act differently from the others.

A moment later, Kim Sung-Woon grabbed the mic. "Alright. This scene will cause a huge delay if there\'s an NG, so let\'s get it in one take. Actors, give me a signal when you\'re ready."

Manshin Wol-Ah, sitting on the floor of the house used as a shrine, took a deep breath and got into character.

When she gave a light gesture to indicate readiness, Kim Sung-Woon shouted. "Ready~ Action!"

The moment the camera started rolling, Manshin Wol-Ah let out a long sigh.

『It\'s such a beautiful day to die...』

Looking up at the sky with a forlorn expression, Manshin Wol-Ah gently picked up the phone. Then she slowly dialed a number with trembling hands.

Ring ring.

The ringtone played out loud on the speakerphone, but there was no answer from the other end.

『The person you are calling cannot answer the phone right now...』

As if sensing it might be her last call, Manshin Wol-Ah began to leave a quiet voicemail.

『My dear daughter, stop drinking so much and make sure to eat your meals. I sent some kimchi, so make sure to put it in the fridge before it over-ripens. Got it?』

After finishing her message, Manshin Wol-Ah hung up the phone. She shed tears with her eyes filled with regret.

『I tried to leave a last will, but all I could do was nag. No wonder Cheongmyung avoided me. I\'m pathetic, truly pathetic.』

A moment later, Manshin Wol-Ah wiped her tears and looked at the main gate beyond the courtyard of the shrine.

『What are you doing standing over there? Why don\'t you come in?』

Lee Byung-Jun entered the shrine with a cold expression. In his right hand was the problematic knife.

『I waited because it seemed like you were saying goodbye to your daughter.』

『Now that you\'ve heard everything, you should know—I didn\'t mention you to my daughter, so don\'t you dare touch her!』

Lee Byung-Jun snickered and raised the knife.

『If you can get stabbed by this knife and endure the pain without even a whimper, I might grant that wish.』

In the drama, the psychopath was trying to kill Manshin Wol-Ah to get revenge on Cheongmyung, who constantly interfered with him.

Manshin Wol-Ah glared at Lee Byung-Jun and spoke.

『Then swear to the ghost that possesses you! Promise that if I meet your demands, you won\'t harm my daughter!』

Lee Byung-Jun flinched, then patted his chest and smacked his lips.

『So that\'s why they call you a shaman. Fine. I swear it to the spirit that has claimed my soul.』

Finally reassured, Manshin Wol-Ah spread her hands.

『Then go ahead. Do as you please.』

『Alright. Let\'s see how long you can endure. I\'ll stab you exactly four times. You won\'t die right away, so hang in there if you want to protect your daughter.』

Lee Byung-Jun snickered as he walked slowly toward Manshin Wol-Ah. As Lee Byung-Jun slowly raised the knife, Manshin Wol-Ah gulped with a nervous expression.

At that moment, I also started scanning the surroundings with tense eyes. \'There must be someone showing a different reaction...\'

Just then, a woman showing a distinctly different expression from the staff in this moment when everyone was tense caught my eye.

She was none other than Script Supervisor Jang Si-Ah, known as an obsessive fan of Ju Yung-In.

I could see her barely holding back a smile.

\'It\'s you! You are so dead now!\'

I clenched my teeth and started staring intently at Jang Si-Ah.

Ristretto\'s Thoughts

Some fans are just crazy smh