No one wants to live anymore. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYg5XDKWSy
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCvlO7LeuS
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrbKyZUTMA
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYx7HOuHDT
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84RJkIt4ao
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxLqeRv9rA
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisMAZm5GHg
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLubyaaUQq6
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx3NUe7Jc3
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7zQF8Vjzr
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzxxe17tuM
and waking up just in time to prep for the next shoot.
The result? A literal physiological shadow.
The screenwriter came in first, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYBygad5wN
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, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr46EZebwFc
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, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygVwJUKKup
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBtAeZv7EQ
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB45b3XLNb
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6KPagXtN3
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXSvAyuyAq
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1B7F8ewpz6
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. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbFHjAQ1vV
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!”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwP9OqzGqSb
“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. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpo16upFlJ
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. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8YoGdYWug
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—— 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRS1WsyNDo
because when everyone’s about to explode, 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jpSF2BHjC
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8w8J7PSc6
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLh7H1XZn7C
But these people… 14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGU8LjUNdq
were already done with it.
