Chapter 2: Awakening as Kang Tae-ha

“What are you staring off into space for like that?”

“Ah.”

Though he answered reflexively to the voice calling out to Kang Tae-ha, Ho-jun couldn’t hide his dazed confusion.

“Wasn’t I dead?”

The pain he’d felt in his heart wasn’t a lie.

The moment of dying had been so vivid.

“Did I just faint and now I’m dreaming or something?”

Honestly, dying from overwork just as things started to look up—that was a bit much.

He wanted to think that, but Ho-jun instinctively knew the truth.

The spring breeze tickling his nose.

The earthy scent mixed in with the spring wind.

This wasn’t just a dream.

It was reality.

“But then this… is supposed to be me?”

The suddenly changed surroundings.

And along with that, how could a person’s appearance change so drastically?

Ho-jun blinked his eyes in disbelief.

The face reflected in the large hand mirror looked nothing like his original appearance.

Inside the mirror was not the worn-down, haggard man in his late thirties, his face battered by the hardships of life, but rather the radiant face of a young man, as if he had been completely reborn.

His skin was not just clear but practically glowing.

Everything fit perfectly onto his small face, and every feature seemed to be placed with the care of a master artist, arranged in the most handsome manner possible.

Even if the original Ho-jun were to be reborn for real, he could never look like this.

Which meant that the current Ho-jun was a completely different person.

“What is this? It’s not regression, so is this possession… or something?”

Possession.

It was a trope he’d seen often in webtoons and web novels while doing research.

“Ha…”

“What are you thinking about, staring at yourself in the mirror like that? Are you so good-looking you can’t stop looking at yourself? Don’t tell me, is that it?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“I can’t believe that this young and handsome guy is me… I really could stare at myself all day. No matter how much I look, I just can’t get tired of it.”

It wasn’t just the looks.

Even the voice was unfamiliar, yet pleasing to the ear.

Anyone would be shocked in this situation.

The problem was, this appearance wasn’t only strange to Ho-jun; everyone else saw it too.

Manager Im Chan-hyung, who would never normally say such a thing, was also shocked.

But he seemed to take Ho-jun’s behavior as a joke and let out a laugh as he asked.

“Suddenly feeling that way now?”

Ho-jun, tearing his gaze away from the mirror, looked at Im Chan-hyung, who had just asked him that.

A familiar face.

With the thought that this was a familiar face, a rush of information flooded his mind.

That’s right.

It really did seem like he’d been possessed by a stranger.

Ho-jun was no longer Ho-jun.

The name was Kang Tae-ha.

Age, twenty-four.

Other information and memories poured in as well.

But above all, what was most striking was Tae-ha’s occupation… that he was an Actor.

“An Actor?”

Before he could even be surprised, Im Chan-hyung called Tae-ha’s wandering mind back to reality.

Im Chan-hyung was Tae-ha’s Manager and friend.

“We don’t have time for this. We got a call. Hurry up and get in there.”

At Im Chan-hyung’s words, Tae-ha asked, flustered.

“Huh? Where are we going…”

But Im Chan-hyung seemed even more baffled by Tae-ha’s question.

They were in the middle of waiting for the lead’s solo scene to finish so they could shoot next.

Im Chan-hyung all but snatched the mirror from Tae-ha’s hand and answered.

“Where else? To film, of course.”

Indeed, the place where they stood was an outdoor Set, crowded with dozens of Cameras and filming equipment, with the Director and staff bustling around.

Tae-ha gazed at that familiar yet unfamiliar scene.

‘Kang Tae-ha’ might have been an Actor, but ‘Lee Ho-jun’ was not.

He belonged behind the Camera, cheering people on, more at home at the Scriptwriter’s desk in the Studio than on a filming Set.

Im Chan-hyung gave Tae-ha, who was standing there dazed, a push on the back.

“What’s gotten into you? Snap out of it and get going!”

But Tae-ha didn’t budge.

Im Chan-hyung looked baffled as Tae-ha refused to move.

“Kang Tae-ha! Stand by!”

But then, a staff member holding a Script shouted loudly to hurry him along, and Tae-ha could no longer back out.

“This is crazy…”

He’d been through all sorts of things, but this was something he never could have imagined.

He’d never even dreamed of being an Actor; honestly, he wanted to just run away.

“But if I run… today’s shoot will be ruined, right?”

The Actors gathered here, dozens of staff members—the time and effort everyone had put in for today would all go to waste.

They’d have to find a new Actor and reshoot, which would cost even more effort and energy.

“Not just for the people on Set… how stressed will the Writer be?”

He remembered the times when news of accidents on filming Sets came in—he always pretended to be fine, but he’d worried himself sick about whether the project would be ruined.

Thinking about that, he couldn’t bring himself to mess up someone else’s work.

“Man, I’m really going crazy!”

As Tae-ha hesitated, Im Chan-hyung grew even more frustrated.

Giving in, Tae-ha finally stepped forward.

He bowed his head, making an apologetic gesture, and hurried toward the Cameras.

At that moment, the unfamiliar and scorching Spotlight poured over Tae-ha’s face.

Fortunately, he had the memory of having memorized the Script.

It was something the previous Kang Tae-ha had already done.

It wasn’t even a particularly tense or difficult scene.

“Still… me, acting? I’ve never acted in my life.”

Writing a Script and saying lines out loud, acting with expressions and gestures—that was a completely different story.

Even if he’d memorized the whole Script, that didn’t change the facts.

“Can I do this?”

Whether Tae-ha was burning up inside or not, the shoot pressed on relentlessly.

With the Director’s cue, the Camera started rolling and his scene partner began acting.

Tae-ha watched, then closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.

He’d been through so many tough situations in life.

Hadn’t he always managed to get through somehow?

“Ah, whatever. Let’s just go for it.”

Ho-jun’s first ever acting.

It was about to begin, in Tae-ha’s body.

***

A Netflix 8-episode drama.

A story where the male protagonist, a victim of school violence, meets new people in the Military, undergoes changes, and ultimately takes revenge against his bullies by resorting to violence and murder.

It was a drama filled with brutal scenes and an obvious theme: “To what extent can personal revenge be justified?”—a topic sure to spark debate.

“But the catharsis viewers will feel as the victim and perpetrator positions are reversed is also unmistakable drama.”

In , the role Tae-ha had wasn’t particularly big.

He wasn’t one of the main perpetrators—just one of the bystanders who witnessed what happened to the protagonist.

“It’s just a bit part.”

Still, his face appeared in several scenes throughout the past and present.

Even though he didn’t have many lines, he still had two one-on-one scenes with the main character.

Not a bad role for a nameless rookie Actor from a small agency, starring in his first project.

But as Tae-ha, this role wasn’t all that satisfying.

Because—

“I’d just started to get my name out there…”

That was the thought that popped up.

Honestly, the fact that his job had changed, but he was in a position of having to make a name for himself all over again, was almost absurd.

“Of course, that’s not my main problem right now.”

The Camera’s red recording light caught Tae-ha’s eye.

And the Actor standing in front of him.

It was Han Yun-seong, the male lead.

Today’s shoot was one of the few one-on-one scenes Tae-ha had with the main character.

The story was that the protagonist, having just finished his Military service, happened to run into a former classmate from high school.

“Been a while.”

At the low, deep voice, Tae-ha looked at Han Yun-seong.

On Han Yun-seong’s face, a vivid burn scar was drawn so clearly it was almost shocking.

“So that’s supposed to be a scar from school violence, huh.”

Even though five years had passed in the story since high school, just that burn scar made it impossible to not recognize the protagonist.

“You don’t remember me?”

Han Yun-seong acted as if he was happy to see him, but couldn’t quite hide the contempt in his voice.

Now it was time for Bystander 2, Tae-ha, to deliver his line, having recognized the protagonist at a glance.

It was just an ordinary line, but he was so nervous, his heart felt like it was tightening.

“Given that I literally died of a heart attack just before, this is a really uncomfortable sensation.”

Tae-ha’s gaze wavered.

“You… yeah. It’s been a while.”

An expression and tone that clearly revealed the awkwardness at this sudden reunion.

The moment he uttered his first line, Tae-ha was pretty surprised.

“This actually works?”

He had acted exactly as he’d intended.

It must have been Kang Tae-ha’s well-trained vocalization, breathing, and acting skills, but it was still amazing.

But Tae-ha didn’t show it.

Though he was amazed inside, he worked hard to maintain the subtle expression of barely concealed discomfort.

Seeing this, Han Yun-seong smiled as if this was the reaction he’d expected.

A soft, but somehow lonely and poignant smile.

“Wow, Han Yun-seong. From his rookie days, I thought he had talent… No wonder he landed the leading role.”

As Tae-ha marveled inwardly—

“Cut.”

The Director’s voice rang out on Set.

“What? It’s not over yet?”

As Tae-ha was thinking that, the Director explained why he’d called cut.

“Hold on, the acting was great, but Yun-seong’s makeup looks like it’s gotten smudged. Let’s fix it and shoot again.”

At that, the Makeup Specialist in charge of Han Yun-seong’s special effects makeup quickly grabbed their tools and came over.

Honestly, it was a subtle change no one but an expert would notice.

But Director Lee Hae-ik was known for being extremely detail-oriented, so anything out of place bothered him.

“Director Lee Hae-ik… yeah, I remember hearing he was like that…”

As he stepped away from the Camera, Tae-ha thought.

He never imagined he’d be meeting people he never had the chance to work with while working with Baek Seung-chul.

“You did well! I was worried you’d mess up.”

Im Chan-hyung came over to Tae-ha, who was back to waiting.

He still looked pretty worried, probably because of how strangely Tae-ha had been acting before the shoot.

“I was the one who was most worried.”

Tae-ha muttered to himself.

Even now, it was a bit amazing that the acting came so naturally.

It was a different kind of thrill from the satisfaction of writing lines in a Script.

“Ha.”

Tae-ha let out a sound that could have been a sigh or an exclamation—he himself wasn’t sure.

Im Chan-hyung looked at him strangely.

“What? You did well.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

With that, he finally relaxed a bit.

He was just relieved that he hadn’t ruined someone else’s drama with bad acting.

Honestly, he was still all over the place, but for now, Tae-ha decided to just do his best with the job at hand.

“There’s only this one scene left today… I’ll just focus for now.”

Finishing that thought, Tae-ha turned to Im Chan-hyung.

“Where’s my Script?”

“Huh? Here.”

Tae-ha accepted the Script that Im Chan-hyung handed him.

Standing there, he quickly flipped through the Script, displaying remarkable concentration.

[BYUN KWANG-JA 2 (failing to hide discomfort) You… yeah. It’s been a while.]

The Script matched his memory.

His acting had been exactly as written.

But the more he read the scene, the more he felt something was missing.

“Is this really what the Writer wanted?”

He didn’t know the Writer personally, but he had a pretty good grasp on this project.

That’s because Kang Tae-ha’s memories included the full Script for every episode.

He must have studied it many times, as he remembered every stage direction for his own scenes in great detail.

“With that as a base, I can even guess the Writer’s style.”

Ideas sparked in his mind, and he thought of ways to make this scene come alive even more.

“We’re starting again!”

At that moment, a staff member called out, and Tae-ha, after a moment’s thought, closed the Script.

***

“It’s been a while.”

Bystander 2, startled by the sudden reunion.

His gaze wavers at the protagonist’s greeting.

“You don’t remember me?”

So far, it was just as before.

Now it was Tae-ha’s turn to respond with a stiff, uncomfortable line.

But Tae-ha made a different choice.

“You… yeah. It’s been a while.”

Feeling the heat at his fingertips, Tae-ha smiled brightly at Han Yun-seong.