No one wants to live anymore. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZVfZjI1yc
Only the client still thinks this can be finished. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIQ7lEYAia
Casting hasn’t even started, and we’ve already sold our souls.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiIKSVyZiU
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMfPLmsbWS
Dragging their heavy feet into the meeting room, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZTHFoghQu
no one said a word.
Not because they didn’t want to—— 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwLZc1tapb
but because they simply couldn’t.
Current time: 5:00 a.m. sharp.
With each person who entered, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaY1pLyJNr
the room grew colder.
Not because the AC was too strong—— 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5eHaP1INE
but because everyone was radiating cold from within, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6E2mp2aXH
thanks to the full-body trauma of:
writing 8,000 words in three hours, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwWLjgxmJH
dreaming only of wrap scenes and car crashes, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzi9BiqNB2q
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MHazknqBI
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBXBEgM8Ki
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2c1A62hwv
and three cups of coffee sat by their side. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgCea9AWyE
Their schedule had been scribbled into a summoning circle.
The director scanned the room, made sure everyone was still breathing, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoa2XdQ2r0q
then finally set down his laptop.
“We need to finalize the main character’s name this morning,” 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQzv4aJ0yK
“and finish casting by this afternoon.”
He tried to speak in a tone that said: 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsH0YYxNloV
“I'm staying rational, but just barely holding on.”
“Heh.”41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQHKfsgxiH
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtpX75oFtq
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCssU5BU8k5
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQhekIeUIY
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm3ylevy8j
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTYH9Z0q1N
because when everyone’s about to explode, 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4GlsR5dGS
even one extra sentence could be the trigger.
The sky was starting to brighten. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38MMvsmvkl
Birds chirped faintly outside the meeting room.
The day had barely begun. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3r96x0dGyb
But these people… 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnXEY4GHrJ
were already done with it.
