Huh, it felt like the scent of blood flowed out of the screen.
Cha Sooah saw Seo Kwang-il lying on the ground bleeding from the head.
Her breathing grew coarse as she felt a pain in her waist.
“……”
Cha Sooah stared at the broken window.
It showed the mark of Seo Kwang-il breaking it with her stolen hammer.
And, besides Seo Kwang-il who was breathing heavily, there was no one else. Because while Seo Kwang-il was blocking her, Han Ye-hwa had used the broken window to escape.
“Hah.”
Cha Sooah tied him up with the remaining clear tape before he could regain consciousness.
“Not enough.”
It was because she had used too much of the clear tape to bind Han Ye-hwa. Then the screen flipped, showing Han Ye-hwa hiding in a nearby convenience store after escaping — it had been too difficult for her to run further with glass piercing her feet.
“Ooh my, my, come in and quickly do something about the wound. I’ll call the ambulance.”
The middle-aged woman who ran the convenience store looked shocked as she pushed Han Ye-hwa towards the storage room.
And while Han Ye-hwa, now in the storage room, was catching her breath and preparing to call the police…
“Dear heavens, Seoyeon! Why are you hurt so badly?”
A new customer entered the convenience store — Cha Sooah, the part-timer, who came to buy tools and clear tape to kill Inspector Seo Kwang-il. The moment she entered, the middle-aged woman’s gaze turned towards Cha Sooah.
The audience was momentarily thinking, “Could it be?…”
And then the middle-aged woman opened her mouth with a worried look.
“Really, what’s the world coming to these days? This is the second time today.”
At that statement, Cha Sooah’s hands suddenly stopped. A sigh filled the theater. The audience, forgetting they were in a packed movie theater, let out an involuntary sigh.
Everything after that happened as everyone expected.
As soon as Cha Sooah got the tools, she killed the middle-aged woman of the convenience store. However, something unexpected was Cha Sooah’s reaction afterward.
For the first time, a “readable” emotion appeared on Cha Sooah’s face.
Pain. Regret.
It was an emotion she herself seemed unaware of, vividly displayed on the screen.
It was oppressive.
While biting her lower lip, Cha Sooah made an expression that was indistinguishable between crying and laughing.
“Woah.”
This time, a sigh almost came out for a different reason. A face that was simultaneously laughing and crying. Unaware of herself, Cha Sooah repeatedly touched her own face.
The oppression and intensity coming from Cha Sooah were felt.
For the first time, people empathized with the pain emanating from Cha Sooah.
In the final moments, the face of the deceased convenience store auntie overlapped with that of her parents like a mirage.
Unable to continue looking, Cha Sooah turned around.
The warehouse where Han Ye-hwa was hidden.
She slowly opened the door of that place when Han Ye-hwa struck her on the head with a soju bottle she was holding.
***
Inspector Im Seung-cheol was running.
He had followed Inspector Seo Kwang-il who had already arrived at the scene and then discovered him unconscious.
Noticing Im Seung-cheol’s presence, Seo Kwang-il, with a muddled mind, managed to say only one thing:
“Ran… ran away. I chased… chased after her.”
At first, it sounded like Cha Sooah who had fled, but Im Seung-cheol noticed Han Ye-hwa was missing too.
Inspector Seo Kwang-il had desperately saved Han Ye-hwa.
And Cha Sooah must have chased after Han Ye-hwa.
Or she could’ve gone to gather the tools to kill Seo Kwang-il.
It didn’t matter which.
Im Seung-cheol ran. Again, who knows how many times just today alone. His breath was labored, and sweat poured down like rain.
Checking nearby locations, he eventually reached the convenience store.
On a weekday afternoon.
A convenience store with its blinds drawn tightly so that the inside wasn’t visible.
A place he often visited, Im Seung-cheol knew that the auntie who worked here would never close without a word.
“Hey, you bastard!!”
Kicking the door, Im Seung-cheol stormed in to find Cha Sooah strangling Han Ye-hwa.
Han Ye-hwa, lying on the ground with blood flowing from her head, and Cha Sooah, also with blood all over her face.
Seeing this, Im Seung-cheol rushed over and kicked Cha Sooah away.
The convenience store counter crashed with a bang. In the middle of falling, Cha Sooah grabbed the hammer that had fallen on the floor.
“Alright then, let’s do this~.”
“…”
Glancing sideways to check on Han Ye-hwa, Im Seung-cheol slowly stepped forward to block her and drew his taser.
Facing him, Cha Sooah’s lips twisted.
In a way that resembled laughing.
A repulsive grin that didn’t resemble human laughter.
The moment it turned to stone.
Cha Sooah charged at Im Seung-cheol.
“Ugh!!”
He fired the taser, but she dodged it by hiding behind the tilted counter.
And without stopping, she charged toward Im Seung-cheol, wielding the hammer.
Ducking and throwing the fallen items, Im Seung-cheol resisted. Kicking with his feet, and punching Cha Sooah’s face with a right hook, but…
Cha Sooah’s hammer hit his side.
“Kack!”
Im Seung-cheol’s body collapsed with a scream audible in the theater.
Though already battered, Cha Sooah attacked like a wild beast — seemingly immune to pain.
Just as she was about to finish things off, raising the hammer,
“!!”
Cha Sooah’s knees buckled.
It was the impact from Han Ye-hwa hitting her head with the soju bottle after confirming her via CCTV as well as the blows from Seo Kwang-il and Han Ye-hwa previously that broke her knees.
Confusion.
While staring at Cha Sooah’s expression, clearly revealing her emotions in that moment, Im Seung-cheol’s fist struck her face.
Cha Sooah, unconscious, and crowds starting to gather at the convenience store due to the sudden uproar. The sound of policemen approaching.
As the screen gradually faded to black, people were finally able to let go of their tension with a sigh of relief.
Sighing.
***
“Did you watch [The Chaser]?”
“Ugh, I did. I almost cursed at some point at the convenience store scene without realizing it.”
“Whoa me too. That scene was really intense, wasn’t it?”
The small ripple soon turned into a wave, spreading everywhere.
First, the advertisements. Then combined with the topics from variety shows, people began flocking to the cinemas.
“Wow, my hands were sweating, you know?”
“Joo Soo-yeon?? Is that right? Wow, her acting is really impressive.”
“Was Seoah really sobbing while laughing? I almost cried watching that.”
“Damn, that guy is our age as well?!”
“Who? Cha Sooah? Seriously?”
Was it because there were no good movies to see recently?
Even though it was a thriller, people didn’t stop visiting the cinema.
Tickets were all sold out to a point where they started adding more showtimes. If such talk was happening offline, it was natural that communities started to buzz on the internet.
==
[Post: OMG OMG [The Chaser] is gonna hit 10 million?!!!!]
Is this Joo Soo-yeon’s first movie?
Is she a debut 10 million actress from the start?
==
Replies:
– Ah, come on now.
– Stop trolling.
– Absolutely she won’t hit 10 million. LOL!
– Does it feel easy to hit 10 million for a thriller?
==
On the opening day, as the box office figures were revealed, similar posts went up.
The community’s reaction was mostly negative.
It was just because there were no good movies recently, and thriller fans watched it.
That sort of vibe.
But then…
3-day cumulative box office: 1.2 million.
– Hmm… Is this going to hit 10 million??
– [Utopia] has good reviews so it won’t rise soon.
– Lmao, no way she’ll hit 10 million.
– If she hits 10 million, I’ll dance naked in Gangnam. Seriously.
– Is she really?!!?
– But definitely impressive.
By the weekend on the 7th day of release,
[The Chaser]: 5 million.
– Wait a sec.
– Seriously, this might actually hit 10 million? 5 million already??
– I watched it and the acting was incredible. All the actors were great!
– Seriously, the tension was incredible. When you see the convenience store scene, you can’t help but curse now.
– But Joo Soo-yeon was so pretty! That’s why I’ve started watching Dream Future now. Lol.
– Dream Future? Is it worth it?
– Actually, it’s watchable.
– But Joo Soo-yeon’s role was so small, wasn’t it?
– She’s going to become popular soon.
The wave of success was turning into a tsunami.
Cheerful news articles on [The Chaser] began flooding in.
[Director Bae Jin-hwan: ‘Thank you for 3 million viewers!!’]
[[The Chaser] Actors Receiving Love Calls from All Sides]
[Who is Responsible for the Success? ‘Cha Sooah’]
In the midst of this wave of articles, one place was secretly worried.
<Éclat Étoile>.
The company that entrusted their cosmetic advertisement to Seoyeon.
“Uh, manager.”
“What is it.”
“Uh, the sales….”
“You mean they increased?”
“No, they’re being maintained right now.”
Still being maintained was reason enough to sigh in relief for Director Baek Min-chan.
Who would’ve thought she would appear in a movie as a murderer?
Although there wasn’t a clause blocking her from acting in movies, he didn’t think she would take on such a role.
“Nonetheless, she was really amazing, don’t you think? Director Jung, you really should watch it.”
“Yeah, sure, I already watched it. Holy crap, it’s hard to believe it’s the same person.”
“Watch Dream Future as well.”
“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”
Director Jung Tae-soo gave a hollow cough after hearing Director Baek Min-chan’s comment before continuing.
“The thing is, it’s strange that sales are being maintained. It’s a negative image, after all. Normally, they should have decreased.”
“So what, they didn’t?”
“Not exactly. They did decrease.”
“So isn’t that what we expected?”
“No, they only dropped a little. To a point where we could consider it an error.”
“Ah, right? Could it really be? How so?”
“Well, let me speculate.”
Looking at the image Seoyeon had presented, it could have affected the advertising.
Yet, the expected drop in sales was much less than anticipated.
Why is that?
After pondering but unable to come up with a reason, it was simple.
“Could it be because she’s beautiful?”
“…… Time for a manager change, I guess.”
“Seriously, there’s no other reason. Plus, surprisingly, Seoah has been getting sympathy from the female audience.”
Indeed, Seoah from the movie had a chilling image that suited her well.
Moreover, the decadent vibe she exuded as a serial killer ironically matched Éclat Étoile’s advertising perfectly.
And, just as Jong Tae-soo thought.
Two weeks after [The Chaser]’s release,
Sales for Éclat Étoile began to rebound.
***
The runaway success of [The Chaser].
In just two weeks, 8 million viewers.
By now, hitting 10 million seemed practically guaranteed.
However, not everyone was celebrating.
“Are you sure about this?”
“No… We were told it would succeed. We got funding!”
A sharp voice rang out.
Another movie had released alongside [The Chaser].
[Utopia].
GH Group had invested in [The Chaser] and it released the same day as [Utopia].
The lead, Hwang Min-hwa, frowned and snapped at her co-star who shared the role.
She was now part of ‘Horizon Company’.
Through her, Hwang Min-hwa was able to land this [Utopia].
“But it hasn’t failed… right?”
“2 million.”
“….”
“Yes, possibly 4 million if things go well. There’s still potential.”
But no one talked about [Utopia].
Online or offline, everywhere was about [The Chaser].
It was humiliating.
Especially being utterly defeated by an actor she had left the Nova Entertainment company for.
“Joo Soo-yeon.”
Recalling the brief encounter with the young actress,
Hwang Min-hwa bit her lower lip.
Surely, she had an aura.
A dazzling talent could be felt.
But still, just a rookie, she thought.
Grinding her teeth, Hwang Min-hwa resolved never to forget this.
In the midst of her contemplation,
“Director Bae Jin-hwan, congratulations!”
“Oh, nonsense.”
“You’re going to be a 10 million director!”
“Not yet. Not yet!!”
Bae Jin-hwan laughed broadly while clinking glasses.
They were about to hit 10 million.
Today? Or maybe tomorrow.
“Finally becoming a 10 million director.”
To achieve that glorious honor,
As a young director.
“Truly, I owe this to all the actors’ hard work.”
“It’s a shame Seoyeon couldn’t join today’s party.”
“She’s still in high school.”
“To be doing this at such a young age… wow, is she going to Hollywood or something?”
“Yeah, possible. I, Bae Jin-hwan, guarantee it!”
Clang!
Just as they were laughing and clinking glasses, Kim Dae-heon, who played Inspector Im Seung-cheol, pointed out that Director Bae’s phone was ringing.
“Who in the world would call at this hour…”
Putting down his glass with a thud, Bae Jin-hwan’s eyes widened upon seeing the screen.
And he immediately stood up and answered.
“Oh, hello. This is Director Bae Jin-hwan. Hey, how are you, Director?”
The director of the culture department at GH Group.
The individual who had generously supported the shooting of [The Chaser].
Even as a 10 million director, he couldn’t treat this person lightly.
And…
“Yes? Seoyeon?”
This was an unexpected request.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")