
No one wants to live anymore. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAlhSEoerL8N
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 25Please respect copyright.PENANArf8IR7sHyW
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.25Please respect copyright.PENANArWkmtkahGB
25Please respect copyright.PENANA4Co4D5uKqP
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 25Please respect copyright.PENANADKIljMImL0
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 25Please respect copyright.PENANA8fwyRO7l6F
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAbU948peNgE
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 25Please respect copyright.PENANAIhphC63emU
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAzXMlRH6liO
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAvFHll5DIaC
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 25Please respect copyright.PENANA8G0tZHV31r
and waking up just in time to prep for the next shoot.
The result? A literal physiological shadow.
The screenwriter came in first, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAM8ZTJmD4KR
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, 25Please respect copyright.PENANA9Hj8Uneahb
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, 25Please respect copyright.PENANA3l5hKXZZEW
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAyJq0LJhYVB
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAuSDHUeZOwX
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 25Please respect copyright.PENANAWAJkSSBQio
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 25Please respect copyright.PENANA7u5mst37FW
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”25Please respect copyright.PENANA13ysSBdHrM
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. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAOJpLD8cPYq
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!”25Please respect copyright.PENANAbFxxHIOnuB
“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. 25Please respect copyright.PENANA8RlNPT0MZz
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. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAJsgfxQDhce
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—— 25Please respect copyright.PENANAGufLS9XpUt
because when everyone’s about to explode, 25Please respect copyright.PENANAhHR1baTteK
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAt2v7gYtCew
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 25Please respect copyright.PENANAQyTRbZ7JxD
But these people… 25Please respect copyright.PENANAusLJRsXuva
were already done with it.