No one wants to live anymore. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVOdyXa0Fi
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsA2nYTzKn
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjiYMuLoG7
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTi8nAS25k
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOPuLoTTQi
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCo18Uofnj
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvka99LI9X
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuehH7Eh5H
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDhdF5fDzD
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8fv3HWtFr
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gB9scg5V4
and waking up just in time to prep for the next shoot.
The result? A literal physiological shadow.
The screenwriter came in first, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuxXsEWGq8
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, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiU5uaN4Rd8
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, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXgHxUd2nh
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXdTnZOeEL
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARHaRNBBZP
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEu2KWsHuzY
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xWuICIwnB
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnUu87WaIj
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. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENlt7c33BL
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!”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNWXbrao4C
“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. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3Y0xj7FVy
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. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRwsXRzDBF
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—— 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mHJvvRHVR
because when everyone’s about to explode, 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsc37rhwjqE
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqEn6Z5MD4
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhTVPaCU1v
But these people… 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYBbL1xQDe
were already done with it.
