Chapter 7 Part 13: Fear Is Stronger Than Any Weapon

“This son of a b*tch… If you came to Korea, speak Korean.

How dare some Chinese bastard come into South Korea and start stirring shit?”

Jiang Wei either didn’t understand or was pretending not to, smiling faintly.

Moreover, he was still sitting cross-legged in front of a police officer holding a gun.

Jiang Wei uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and fixed his gaze on Cha Seunghyun.

Then, he grabbed a burning log from the bonfire, twirled it around, and grinned.

“超强这一个 (This is insanely strong).”

Cha Seunghyun watched him carefully, scanning the surroundings.

Confirming that Jiang Wei was alone, he holstered his gun with a sly smile.

“Not gonna happen.

Today, you’re gonna get hit.”

Cha Seunghyun charged and delivered a kick to Jiang Wei’s chest.

But Jiang Wei, who had already bent his body in preparation, quickly dropped his cigarette, dodged to the side, and swung the burning log.

The flaming log passed right in front of his face, singeing his hair slightly, but Cha Seunghyun immediately ducked again to avoid the next incoming log without even a moment to catch his breath.

Jiang Wei was incredibly fast.

One strike over the head, one with his body, one aiming at the legs.

The burning log followed him like a guided missile.

Fortunately, when Jiang Wei aimed at his legs, Cha Seunghyun stomped on the log, breaking it, and landed an uppercut to his face.

Jiang Wei’s head tilted back, stepping a few paces, but he touched his jaw with his hand and smiled again, as if savoring the pain.

“太好了 (Excellent).”

“What the hell are you saying, you Chinese bastard?

Speak Korean!”

Cha Seunghyun swung his fists.

But Jiang Wei effortlessly dodged five punches in an instant.

Having fought all his life, Jiang Wei used minimal movement to evade and then slammed his knee into Cha Seunghyun’s chest.

“Ughk!”

The impact was enough to lift him off the ground.

Blood spurted from Cha Seunghyun’s mouth as he fell back, rolled, and got up again, clutching his chest in pain.

Jiang Wei strolled casually a few steps closer, his terrifying smile spreading once more.

“你怕了吗? (Scared?)”

“F-f*ck… you son of a b*tch…”

Cha Seunghyun tried to tackle him around the waist, but Jiang Wei simply sidestepped and elbowed the back of his neck as he bent down.

Cha Seunghyun collapsed onto the ground, groaning.

“Ugh… uh…”

Jiang Wei chuckled, flipping Cha Seunghyun over with his foot.

At that moment, Cha Seunghyun drew his handgun from his chest holster and aimed it at him.

“Gah… he’s really gonna shoot.

This son of a b*tch.”

Jiang Wei saw the gun aimed at him and scratched his head, smiling.

“没办法 (No choice).”

Jiang Wei’s leg swiftly kicked the gun away, and the slightly delayed shot hit the factory ceiling, sending the weapon flying.

Jiang Wei then began stomping on Cha Seunghyun.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

“想死吗? (Wanna die?)”

Cha Seunghyun raised his arms to protect his head, waiting for an opening.

But the moment his eyes met Jiang Wei’s, his breath caught.

These were not human eyes.

A killer consumed by madness, a lunatic whose insanity had reached his very brain.

Suddenly, fear gripped him like nothing he’d ever felt before.

“Gah!

S-stop!”

Desperately protecting his head with his arms, Cha Seunghyun glimpsed Jiang Wei’s gaze in between.

It was like staring at a tiger.

After relentlessly stomping on his arms and torso, Jiang Wei clicked his tongue as if done playing, then pulled a bloodstained axe from his waist.

He stomped on Cha Seunghyun’s face and waved his hands playfully.

“去死吧 (Die).”

Cha Seunghyun didn’t understand the words, but the intent was clear.

This guy really intended to kill him—the South Korean police officer.

“You… you bastard.

You think you’ll get away with this?”

He laughed.

The man laughed.

Insanely.

Like he was about to die laughing.

Seeing that, the fear in Cha Seunghyun’s eyes surged even higher.

‘I’m gonna die… really die!’

Panicked and disoriented, Cha Seunghyun kicked with all his strength at Jiang Wei’s foot.

Having taken so many hits, blood streamed from his mouth and face, and possibly with broken ribs, he couldn’t get up.

He could only crawl away from Jiang Wei, still prone.

Crunch!

Startled, he glanced back to see the axe embedded in the ground between his legs.

Even though Jiang Wei could easily aim at him, he played with him like a cat playing with a mouse.

Trembling slightly, Cha Seunghyun started crawling again.

Crunch!

Another axe planted into the ground between his legs.

He had to survive.

He would survive and catch that bastard.

Crunch!

Crunch!

The sound of axes landing followed his crawling path.

His mind was consumed by fear.

All he could hear were his own groans and the axes striking the ground.

‘I must get past him!’

Jina, hospitalized, the anger he felt when witnessing his colleague hurt… The frustration of being powerless in this reality filled him with fury.

“You son of a b*tch!”

He twisted his body, wildly kicking upward.

By luck, one of the strikes landed squarely on Jiang Wei’s face.

“Ughk!”

Seizing the moment, Cha Seunghyun crawled quickly toward the fallen gun.

Jiang Wei’s smile vanished as he clutched his face.

Slowly, he drew another axe from his waist, gripping it tightly with both hands.

He approached.

The gun was about three meters away.

But Jiang Wei was charging.

Before Seunghyun could reach it, he would be attacked again.

Biting his lip, Cha Seunghyun abandoned the gun and flipped his body defensively.

The siren blared loudly.

Jiang Wei paused mid-leap, staring at the factory door.

Taking advantage of the moment, Cha Seunghyun crawled to the gun and finally grabbed it.

“This bastard!”

Turning to aim, Cha Seunghyun’s eyes widened.

The demon with dual axes was already flying past the back door like the wind.

“You son of a b*tch!

Stop!!”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bullets sparked at Jiang Wei’s feet and along the factory wall.

But he escaped.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

If he’d been a moment slower, he’d be dead.

Touching his neck, eyes wide, Cha Seunghyun gulped and stared at the back door Jiang Wei had fled through.

‘Not human.

A beast!’

The factory doors burst open, and his fellow officers, along with reinforcements from nearby stations, poured in.

“Senior!

Are you okay?”

“Where’s Jiang Wei, sir?

Senior!”

Shouts of his juniors.

He needed to respond, but… strangely, his mind felt distant.

The extreme tension released the moment he heard the voices of his fellow officers.

Cha Seunghyun collapsed sideways, letting go of his fading consciousness.

‘Sorry, Jina.’

***

“Cut!

Okay, that was perfect!!”

Director Kim Minsu’s satisfied shout was met with staff applause.

“Wow!!”

“Actor Lee Jihoon’s acting is amazing.

He really looked terrified!”

“No wonder he came an hour early today.

Nailed it.

First time the director gave ‘okay’ in one take, right?”

“Yeah, except for actor Yejun’s scene, we rarely got one-take approvals.”

“Lee Jihoon’s acting is impressive!”

“Impressive?

I got goosebumps watching him.”

Amid his fading consciousness, voices floated to him.

‘Where… am I?’

Jiang Wei?

Didn’t catch him?

It’s all my fault… I lost.

How am I going to face Jina?

Then a familiar voice called out.

“Jihoon!

Are you okay?”

The voice sounded so familiar.

Forcing his stubborn eyes open, he saw his manager standing before him.

“Hyung…?”

“Yeah, it’s me.

What happened?

Did you actually get hurt?”
“….”

Even seeing his manager, Jihoon wasn’t fully conscious.

His eyes widened as he looked around and shouted:

“So, Jiang Wei?”

“Huh?

What do you mean?

Yejun went back to the car.”
“….”

What had just happened?

What had he seen?

Swallowing hard, Jihoon looked around.

Director Kim Minsu, smiling, had removed his headphones.

Staff applauded.

But Jihoon remembered nothing.

From the moment the factory door opened and he met Jiang Wei’s eyes, everything was a blur.

“Hyung… what about the shoot?”

His manager beamed.

“Man!

That was the best acting of your life!

Out of all the times I’ve watched you, this was the best!

See the staff reaction?

They’re clapping for you!

Man, you’re officially an actor now, kid!”

“…It’s over?”

“Ha ha, got too immersed, huh?

Yeah!

One take, okay!

Believe it?

That complex action sequence was done in one take!

Director Kang In-ho even praised you!

Alright, get up.”

Holding his manager’s hand, Jihoon rose, suddenly realizing something and blushing.

“Hy-hyung.”

“Huh?”

“I… need to go to the car.”

“Why?

Are you hurt?”

“No, just… give me your jacket.”

The manager removed his light fall jacket, and Jihoon hurriedly covered himself, face red.

“Why, Jihoon?”
“….”

Even after being helped up, he desperately shielded his lower body with the jacket.

“Are there spare underwear in the car?”
“…?

Yeah.”

“Let’s go to the car.”

Hurriedly, Jihoon moved toward the car.

His manager followed, puzzled.

Then he noticed liquid dripping where Jihoon had walked.

‘No way… did he… pee himself?’

His manager, unaware of the situation, laughed happily.

‘Our Jihoon has truly become an actor!’

They reached the car unnoticed, Jihoon roughly cleaned up with a towel, changed into clean underwear, and swallowed nervously.

He still couldn’t process it.

‘From the moment the factory door opened… when I met Jiang Wei’s eyes, I wasn’t myself anymore.

I became Cha Seunghyun.’

It was a monumental experience as an actor.

But was it his own effort?

No.

During his first drama, he had stayed up all night analyzing the script and acting as if his life depended on it.

But even then, he had never experienced this.

Jihoon slowly turned to look at Yejun’s car parked at a distance.

‘I didn’t do this.

Jiang Wei did.’

After staring at Yejun’s car for a while, he changed into new pants and got out.

Outside, his manager smiled, joking:

“Wow~ our big actor.

You really looked like Cha Seunghyun!

The assistant director just came by, and Director Kim Minsu praised you big time.

Can you believe it?

That strict guy praised you.

That’s proof your acting killed it today!

Congrats, Jihoon!

You’ve leveled up as an actor.”

“….”

Listening quietly, Jihoon spoke with a serious expression:

“Hyung.”

“Huh?”

“I need to talk to Yejun hyung for a moment.

I’ll go to the car, wait here.”

“…?”

His manager tilted his head, confused.

“Yejun?

Since when do you call that guy ‘hyung’ all of a sudden?”