
No one wants to live anymore. 41Please respect copyright.PENANAjmAjcXT2sV
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 41Please respect copyright.PENANAsxSUQ7s2fL
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.41Please respect copyright.PENANANDrQV7K4rJ
41Please respect copyright.PENANA2qUcPEjXik
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 41Please respect copyright.PENANABGvFwY9K7M
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 41Please respect copyright.PENANAfjCbdIDEk6
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 41Please respect copyright.PENANA8SoRcnuBDi
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 41Please respect copyright.PENANAzLBaa0SkbL
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 41Please respect copyright.PENANAtHnRKe5nbr
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 41Please respect copyright.PENANAjUZ41zaSZ5
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 41Please respect copyright.PENANA5qYqOqcXHs
and waking up just in time to prep for the next shoot.
The result? A literal physiological shadow.
The screenwriter came in first, 41Please respect copyright.PENANA6biNFXhrj9
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, 41Please respect copyright.PENANA6kzEVL2NLo
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, 41Please respect copyright.PENANAtUweEWDmh9
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 41Please respect copyright.PENANAm1KUD5G11D
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 41Please respect copyright.PENANA3ctYqjDuzJ
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 41Please respect copyright.PENANAMeLO5gDawI
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 41Please respect copyright.PENANA2D0UREW2S0
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”41Please respect copyright.PENANAQLLQWUtiDx
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. 41Please respect copyright.PENANAoLGaBOjkyu
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!”41Please respect copyright.PENANAfJ36m5rwYW
“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. 41Please respect copyright.PENANASDqyoVi2g7
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. 41Please respect copyright.PENANA0l3jsgnjqH
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—— 41Please respect copyright.PENANA72lunm1UjG
because when everyone’s about to explode, 41Please respect copyright.PENANAJndZkUrTRL
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 41Please respect copyright.PENANA5iL3nPGFJn
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 41Please respect copyright.PENANAbnibxEvndX
But these people… 41Please respect copyright.PENANArtJllbAM9o
were already done with it.