Chapter 66: Watching the Same Screen

There weren’t many people around to begin with, so the risk of being recognized was low.

Still, they couldn’t walk around too boldly.

Wooju suggested that Won Jitae should wear a mask just in case, but Jitae refused, saying it would only make him look more suspicious.

After arriving at the theater lobby, Jitae naturally walked toward the kiosk.

These days, unless there was a special situation, most on-site reservations were done through that machine.

Wooju, who obviously didn’t know that, ended up looking around for an employee and got thoroughly teased by Jitae.

It wasn’t like he came to theaters often.

And even when he did, his teammates or Park Hyunjin usually booked the tickets for him.

How would he know about something like this?

“Hurry up and book already.

What exactly did you come all the way here at this hour to watch?”

Wooju glanced at Jitae, then deliberately turned his back and stood in front of the kiosk.

His determination not to show him was so obvious from his posture that Jitae’s lips slowly curled upward.

Even something so trivial looked ridiculously cute.

Soon the machine beeped and spat out the tickets.

“Here.”

Wooju shoved the ticket toward Jitae and started walking first.

Jitae looked down at the paper indifferently—

then noticed the title printed on it and let out a quiet gasp.

“Ka… Kang Wooju.”

He quickly strode forward with his long legs and grabbed Wooju’s hand.

“What? Why?”

“You’re really going to watch this?

I told you not to watch it.”

“When did I say I wouldn’t watch it?

I just said I’ve never seen it before.”

“You didn’t look like you wanted to…”

Jitae stared at the ticket with disbelief.

It was just a movie—what was the big deal?

“Just… seeing you do that interview earlier made me curious.”

More precisely, Wooju had wondered how much effort it must have taken for Won Jitae to speak about movies so confidently like that.

He simply wanted to see the film that person had appeared in.

“You must be sick of it by now, so if you don’t want to watch it, don’t.”

But the ticket Wooju had printed clearly had two seats reserved.

When the showtime approached, the two of them naturally entered the theater.

At such a late hour—

and for a movie released long ago—

there was no one else there.

Which meant the entire theater was occupied by just Wooju and Jitae.

“Wow. I’ve never seen a movie theater this empty before.”

Wooju looked around in amazement at the wide, open space with no one inside.

With the huge screen in front of them, a thought came naturally to him.

“It feels like a ghost might appear.”

“……”

At that careless remark, Jitae immediately began glancing around nervously.

Wooju burst out laughing.

“Hey, d-don’t tease me.

Why would there be ghosts in a movie theater?”

“Why not?

There could be.”

They sat roughly in the middle seats.

Soon, loud advertisements filled the theater with booming sound.

Startled by the sudden noise, Won Jitae’s body jolted upward.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I wasn’t startled.”

“Sure. Let’s say that.”

“Kang Wooju, that’s not what I—!”

“Ah, it’s starting. Be quiet.”

Right on cue, the advertisements ended and the theater went dark.

Light filled the screen, and the production company’s intro video played first.

Jitae carefully turned his head and looked at Wooju.

The light from the screen cast shadows across his face.

Even before the movie began, Wooju’s expression was already focused.

There was something straightforward and sincere about it.

It didn’t look like someone watching out of obligation.

He looked like someone who truly intended to watch the movie.

This situation, which Jitae had never expected, felt like a dream.

Something he had only imagined countless times had suddenly become real without warning.

Watching a movie he starred in—

sitting side by side with Wooju.

Earlier his heart had pounded because of the ghost joke.

But now it raced for a completely different reason.

And being alone together in an empty theater felt strangely like a date.

If he had known this would happen, he would have dressed a little better.

He was wearing almost the same outfit he had worn during his schedule earlier.

A slight regret crept in.

Though the person sitting next to him probably wasn’t thinking about things like that at all.

Even more than the first time he tried acting,

even more than the premiere of his first film—

this moment felt far more nerve-racking.

The black screen displayed the large title: Rail.

And the story began.

The protagonist of Rail, the character played by Won Jitae—Kang Hyun—had a story like this.

Kang Hyun was once a genius doctor with a bright future ahead of him.

But after a certain incident left him with trauma, he could no longer continue working as a doctor.

On the screen, Won Jitae first appeared wearing a doctor’s coat, looking confident and charismatic.

Soon after, however, a medical accident occurred.

Burdened by false accusations and the trauma of believing a patient had died because of him, he reached the point where he could no longer even stand near an operating table.

As the impact of the incident grew worse, he gradually became what people might call a wreck.

The intelligent and perfect image from the opening scene disappeared completely.

With a scruffy beard and a gaunt body, he almost looked like a different person.

Wooju remembered Jitae mentioning in an interview that he had struggled to rapidly gain and lose weight for filming.

The movie flowed with such immersion that it was impossible to look away even for a moment.

Cut off from human relationships and with his life ruined, Kang Hyun boarded a train without a destination.

Then the train, racing powerfully along the rails, suddenly derailed.

When Kang Hyun regained consciousness—

he found himself in an entirely different dimension.

The unusual development pulled Wooju completely into the movie.

He even forgot that this was Won Jitae’s film.

Meanwhile, Jitae occasionally glanced at Wooju’s profile, though Wooju didn’t notice.

Dropped into a new dimension, Kang Hyun struggled to survive and slowly adapted to the unfamiliar world.

The fantasy sci-fi story and its impressive CG effects truly lived up to the praise people had given it.

It almost felt like such a world might actually exist somewhere.

But what captured Wooju’s attention the most was something else.

“I’ll try… to live.”

The gentle yet unstable voice echoed through the theater.

The performance perfectly expressed the psychology of a character who went from a capable doctor to a defeated man, then to an unwelcome guest in a strange world.

Even Wooju, who didn’t know much about acting, could tell it was remarkable.

Before he knew it, Wooju had become deeply immersed in Kang Hyun.

He found himself silently cheering for him.

Seeing Kang Hyun slowly change after meeting precious neighbors in the new world moved him deeply.

When Kang Hyun faced difficulties, Wooju felt angry.

And by the end—

when Kang Hyun overcame his trauma and moved forward with the people he cared about—

Wooju almost found himself tearing up.

Near the end of the movie, Kang Hyun returned to his original world.

The train that had derailed was once again running smoothly along the rails.

After staring at the dark scenery, Kang Hyun got off at the next station and left behind the rail that had brought him there.

Having gone through extraordinary experiences, he began living a second life, completely letting go of being a doctor.

“At first, I thought I had to be a doctor.

I believed people only recognized me when I held a scalpel.”

Wooju’s eyes trembled slightly as Kang Hyun spoke while sharing a drink with an old friend.

“But now I don’t think that way anymore.

I realized there are countless ways to prove myself to the world.”

On the screen, Won Jitae—

no, Kang Hyun—

was smiling brightly.

A smile without even a trace of regret.

“……”

The moment Wooju saw that smile,

he felt all the strength leave his body.

Soon majestic background music played,

and the screen slowly faded to black.

Wooju stared at Won Jitae’s name appearing first in the cast list.

Then a hand tapped his shoulder.

“The movie’s over.”

“Huh… oh. Right.”

Wooju scratched his head awkwardly.

To be honest, he had even forgotten that Jitae was sitting beside him.

He had been completely absorbed in the rectangular world on the screen.

Had he ever been this immersed in a film before?

“Let’s go.”

Jitae gathered his things and stood up first.

The time was already approaching dawn.

Since they had parked in the outdoor lot, they had to step fully outside the building.

The two of them didn’t walk side by side.

Jitae walked ahead,

and Wooju followed about two steps behind, staring at his broad back.

“Hey. Won Jitae.”

Wooju suddenly stopped walking.

Watching Jitae’s figure slowly grow distant under the dim moonlight, he called out.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you ask me anything?”

“……”

“You have something you want to ask me, don’t you?”

Jitae fidgeted with his hands for a moment,

then slowly nodded.

“Then ask.”