---

---

Kang Chul scrolls the manhwa, from the most recent episode.
He stops on the panel showing Fairy Spark on Ren-Bo's hand.

:

Could Soo-Bong really have drawn this?

:

Same graphic style, and he's attached enough to the character to consider God knows what.

:

When "W" was autonomous, it perfectly mimicked your father's style.

:

Is there really a chance it could happen again?

:

To find out, I need to analyze the story.

:

Remind me of the outline of "Butterfly Girl".

:

The main character is the archetype of the pure and innocent girl.

Zoom in on the portrait, seen frontally, and...

---

In the colorful world of "Butterfly Girl", beneath the midday sun...

Soo-Bong is half lying on the ground, his head next to the gutter.
Ren-Bo looks at him, curious, hesitant. Her lips pouting.

:

Ren-Bo...

Soo-Bong stands up, unable to take his eyes off Ren-Bo.

:

You know my name?

-

The Manhwa! I entered the manhwa, like Yeon-Joo!

-

What to do? (worried)

-

Try to be natural. Avoid doing nonsense, unlike Yeon-Joo.

:

... ("is answering that creepy?")

:

I... I'm not from the neighborhood.

:

I heard about you, and I really wanted to see you.

:

So, there you are, the famous girl with butterfly wings...

-

That's it! It's flawless, script-wise!

:

... ("what's this weirdo getting at?")

:

You look so wonderful... Wow!

:

Uh, I mean... Your wings, they're beautiful, it's amazing.

:

(incredulous) My wings... beautiful?

-

Goof!

---

:

The kind who spends her life crying and instantly turns cheerful again.

:

Easy to cheer up, when you can fly.

:

...??!

:

She CAN'T fly!! Her wings are useless, just a malformation.

:

...!!!

:

Yet, even as a malformation, her wings are beautiful.

:

That's true, but it's not the way the script goes.

:

... ("what's that depressing thing?")

---

:

You find my wings pretty, Ajusshi? Really?

-

I should do like everybody here and say it's an abomination!

:

I really had no idea... how beautiful your wings could be once real.

:

Once real? Huh?

:

You're saying some pretty weird things, Ajusshi.

-

Why can't I say something consistent?

-

I'd better create a diversion.

:

(impatient) Hello? Ajusshi?

:

Ah! I'm still too young to be called Ajusshi.

:

How old are you?

-

It works! Good thing she has a bird's brain!

:

Barely 29 years old.

---

:

Ren-Bo wishes to get rid of her wings, to live without suffering injustice.

:

Haven't surgeons tried to amputate her?

:

Why did they fail?

Yeon-Joo becomes serious and sad. She pauses briefly.
Although she's driving the car, she can't help but lower her head.

:

Ren-Bo's wings are directly connected to her heart.

:

...!!!

:

No surgeon can find a method without it killing her.

:

And so she is doomed to live without hope.

:

Until she meets Park Sin-Moo, a student in her class who falls in love with her.

Zoom in on Sin-Moo's portrait, seen in a frontal way, and...

:

How do they get closer to each other?

:

He succeeds a few years later. They get married, and the manhwa ends.

:

Yes, Ren-Bo is then 26 years old.

---

:

29 years old ?

(pensive, doubtful)

Ren-Bo takes the time to examine Soo-Bong from every angle.

Soo-Bong also examines Ren-Bo, then the surrounding scenery, with disbelief.

-

By the way, she looks younger than 26.

:

Dressed in a suit, you look a bit older...

-

Her wings... she shouldn't have them anymore.

Ren-Bo looks down towards Soo-Bong's feet (which we don't see).
She is surprised, then looks away, discreetly stifling a laugh.

-

This place... this is not the end scene!

-

Why did I land here?

:

... ("what's bugging him again?")

-

Yeon-Joo always landed where the manhwa was set...

-

... at the same moment as--

-

The moment!

:

Say, aren't you a bit of a daydreamer?

:

Sorry. Hmm...

:

And you, Ren-Bo, how old are you?

:

I am 20 years old.

-

Huh?!!! What the hell is this crazy thing?!

-

Assuming traveling into a manhwa isn't crazy enough in itself...

:

Besides that, why was your head in the gutter?

:

I... I was walking around... and... and... ... and unfortunately I stepped on my shoelace.

:

That's why I stupidly fell here... And yes, that's it......

:

... (suspicious)

:

... (dumb)

:

How did you manage to walk on your shoelace while wearing slippers?

Soo-Bong opens his eyes wide, and looks at his feet.

:

...!!!

:

(annoyed) I feel like you are making fun of me, saying impossible things!

:

I'm just distracted... I probably forgot to put my shoes on, when I got out.

Ren-Bo's wings change color, shifting from green to red.

:

Enough with the nonsense!!!!!

:

I saw you appear out of nowhere, like a ghost teleporting!

:

Aaaaah...

-

How can it go into such a tailspin, right from the start?

-

Quick, quick, I have to say something, anything!

:

I... I am... uh... I'm some kind of magician!

:

And I prefer not to let anyone know...

-

No, not that! Raaah!

Ren-Bo's wings turn green again.

:

Mmmh, it's true you're dressed like a magician. This could be realistic...

:

Huh?

:

Yes, yes, it is true!

:

I can appear and disappear, like Fairy Spark!

:

You know Fairy Spark?!!!

:

But... how?

-

(gaping eyes and mouth, reeling from his own blunder) She is the only one who can see her!

-

No one knows if Fairy Spark exists, or if Ren-Bo has a screw loose.

-

Even writer Jang Soo-Bin never specified the subject.

-

I'm definitely screwed!

-

(whiny grimace) Inside my own manhwa...

---

Soo-Bin enters...

:

Soo-Bong?

No one in the room.

:

Are you here?

She scans the exits, empty, then approaches the tablet.

:

I have to find a way to rectify this myself.

She takes an electronic stylus from a pot and turns it on.
The tablet displays an image of Ren-Bo, green wings, examining something.

Soo-Bin clicks the "new" button, the tablet displays a blank page.
She draws a few lines, but nothing prints on the screen.

:

Grrr, why doesn't it work? (shakes the stylus)

Her gaze is drawn to the tablet, which we can't see.
Her eyes gradually widen with fright.

:

...!?!! (terrified)

:

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!

---

:

I have never told anyone about Fairy Spark.

:

How could you know her?

-

Too bad, I'll do like Yeon-Joo...

-

Punt!

:

There is an explanation.

:

But I can't tell you about it now.

:

We don't know each other well enough yet.

:

Is that a secret?

:

Exactly.

Ren-Bo's wings turn yellow and orange.
She starts making Aegyo. (Aegyo = Infantile and adorable expressions)

:

What is it? (pats his chest)

:

Come on, tell me.

:

I can't do that now.

:

So tell me your name. You know mine well!

:

Park Soo-Bong.

:

That's it, Soo-Bong! Now we know each other well enough!

:

So what's your secret?

:

Mmh? (chases him left)

:

Mmh? (chases him right)

-

What a damn idea to make her a character stubborn to the last degree!

:

Come on, Soo-Bong, I won't tell anyone...

-

As if, nobody's ever kept a secret in this manhwa!

:

... not even to Fairy Spark.

:

No, no and no!

:

... (cute discontent)

-

(he looks away, to seem inflexible, but mostly because...) If she keeps playing cute, I'm going to crack!

-

To think there are fools saying it doesn't work.

-

They have never met a girl like her... (looks tenderly at her)

:

Tell meeee... (pulls his sleeve)

:

... OPPA Soo-Bong!

-

I crack!!!!! (prays to the sky)

---

:

What does Fairy Spark think about their love story?

:

Odd, because she usually always helps Ren-Bo.

:

Soo-Bong was right to trust Jang Soo-Bin, the script is well constructed.

:

(all happy, so obvious) Yes, the universe is fanciful, the starting point unreal, and the story against the flow, but it's believable!

:

It's not just counter-intuitive.

:

...??

:

There is a major problem!

---

PLUFF! A small puff of light appears in front of Ren-Bo.

:

Oh !

Ren-Bo notices that Soo-Bong is looking at the little fairy.

:

(a gleeful payback look) There's no doubt left you can see her now!

:

What is it, Fairy Spark?

:

There are people who want to hurt you, Ren-Bo.

:

You have to go hide.

-

Damn it! I remember everything!

:

Go home quickly, Ren-Bo.

:

No, she won't have time!

-

Better to fix this situation from the start.

:

Ren-Bo, listen to me carefully. You have an important decision to make!

(concentrates)

FLUFF! Fairy Spark disappears in a puff of light.

---

:

Decisions!

:

The character's real desire.

:

How would she live without being story-driven?

:

Gosh! That's just one of my dramaturgy teacher's tips!

:

I too know a lot about the art of writing a manhwa!

:

Kang Chul the jack-of-all-trades genius...

:

So what is your conclusion?

:

I seriously think Butterfly Girl could have woken up as I did.

:

But how? This is crazy!

:

How could such an absurdity happen again?

:

Not enough data to know, but there is a difference between us.

:

Apart from being a girl?

:

But her case is more complex.

:

A dream?

:

No, that would be too huge.

:

I had some hard times, but Ren-Bo suffered more in the long run.

:

Who knows what happens, when such a character becomes alive?

On Kang Chul's smartphone, the drawing view tilts frontally, and...

---

---

There is nobody here, until...
... Soo-Bong and Ren-Bo's heads protrude from behind the low perimeter wall.
They peek out at the street.
Then they duck back down, kneeling behind the perimeter wall, out of sight.

:

Soo-Bong, I don't feel safe here.

:

They were going to come too quickly for us to hide elsewhere.

In the distance, we hear rumblings of motorcycles.

:

Listen, at the end of the avenue, they're already there!

:

I'm afraid.

Tears run down Ren-Bo's cheeks. Her wings turn blue and purple.
Soo-Bong gently pats her shoulder, to reassure her.

:

Let's stay safe here, everything will be fine.

Vroom-Vroom... Fifteen roaring motorcycles file past behind the low wall.
They're all driven by a guy, with a girl in the back.

:

Yah! This is where she was spotted.

:

She couldn't have flown away!

:

Take out the nets.

The motorcycles pass without detecting anything.
Shaken by a wind gust, one of Ren-Bo's wings protrudes from the low wall.
HONK! HONK! The last motorcycle honks.

:

Yah! Turn around, everyone! (head turned to Ren-Bo)

:

I saw a wingtip protrude here!

All motorcyclists brake and stop.
The command quickly goes from rider to rider.
The procession turns back.

:

(takes a look) They saw us!

(briefly overwhelmed)

:

(but reacts quickly) The garden!

:

(looks back) Through the back of the house!

Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong run on the blue grass of the garden.

---

Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong take a side path, hugging the house wall.
But at the end, the way is blocked by a 3-meter high hedge of purple thuyas trees.
And the adjoining fence consists of a 2.5-meter high metal barrier.

:

A dead end.

-

We won't get caught so stupidly?

-

What to do, what to do?

:

Hyung Kang, help!!!

:

Why are you screaming on this wall?

---

Yeon-Joo's car brakes harshly in front of the house's gate.

---

Kang Chul and Yeon-Joo rush in.

:

Soo-Bong?

:

Oh ! (sees Soo-Bin, passed out on the floor)

Yeon-Joo kneels down to examine her.

:

Did she hurt herself?

:

A contusion to the head, but she doesn't bleed.

:

This should be fine.

:

What could have happened to her?

:

I move her to the sofa.

Kang Chul carries Soo-Bin to the sofa.
Yeon-Joo goes in front of the tablet, displaying a blank image.
She reaches for the tablet, but stops her movement, her eyes widening!

:

Chul!!!!!

Kang Chul dumps Soo-Bin onto the sofa and rushes back.
On the tablet, black lines and colored areas come together to form a drawing.

:

It... it draws itself!

:

When she saw that, she fainted.

The drawing becomes a metal wall, trees behind it, and continues to shape up...

:

What about Soo-Bong?

:

There!

:

Hyung Kang, help!!!

:

Soo-Bong! He was dragged inside!

:

He's already in trouble.

:

Does he know this message can reach you in time?

:

What can we do to help him? To draw?

:

Try.

Yeon-Joo takes the electronic stylus from the table.
She draws a few lines but quickly...
The drawing fades and is replaced by another one.

:

No, it doesn't work.

:

It changes too fast, as if time passes more quickly there.

:

Why can we see it live, before it's published?

:

This was triggered when his story contradicted the hero's will.

:

This means that...

:

Two years after "W"... a new manhwa came to life!

:

And Ren-Bo, its heroine, wants to decide her own destiny...

---

Soo-Bong looks at the top of the purple thuya hedge.

:

We'll never be able to climb that!

:

They know we're here.

:

Soo-Bong, there is no turning back.

:

I know how to do it!

:

Ren-Bo, you could fly away, and go to the other side.

:

It doesn't matter if they catch me.

-

Especially since I am invulnerable here.

-

Hoping that this theory is still valid.

:

I can't, Soo-Bong.

:

My wings are unable to make me fly.

:

I can just make a little wind, like a fan.

-

Of course it's impossible. What did I expect?

-

To ensure that her wings are only a burden, the script made them useless.

-

Wait...

---

---

(downcast, tears flowing)

-

No one has definitively determined whether or not she can fly...

-

In the story, Soo-Bin forbids her to fly, but her true potential is unknown.

:

Ren-Bo, you can do it!

:

I assure you that you can fly!

:

Soo-Bong, I would have loved it so much, but it's impossible.

:

That's what people always wanted you to believe, but it's wrong.

:

Make me believe it?

:

You just don't have the right technique, nothing more!

:

... (sighs)

-

What would be the trick? That she believes it?

-

No, she can't believe it. And I don't know any technique.

-

Or is it up to me to define it?

:

Soo-Bong, they're coming...

-

Insects have to flap their wings at a very high frequency to fly, but humans cannot perform such jerky movements.

-

We need to find the controlled movement closest to that.

-

Voluntary tremors!

:

Ren-Bo, you have to force yourself to shake. Like when we play video games on arcade machines.

:

On a Shoot-them-up with manual shooting, you have to shake your finger with the elbow jerk to shoot faster.

Soo-Bong demonstrates the gesture on a garden table.

:

Tac-tac-tac-tac-tac. Just like that, you see?

:

You have to do the same, but with your wings!

:

I don't play these kinds of games.

:

I prefer interactive romances.

-

Me and my Geek advice... Let's make it easier.

:

Then chatter your teeth, using a voluntary jaw cramp.

:

Clac-clac-clac-clac-clac. Like a laughing skeleton.

Ren-Bo tries in vain to bite her teeth out.

:

clac.... tic... tloc...

Suddenly:

:

So, having fun, you freaks?

Thirty high schoolers come into the side path.
Some have hair of various bright colors.
They block any retreat to the front of the villa.

:

These idiots put themselves in a trap.

:

Yah, girls, come on!

:

And don't forget the hardware.

Soo-Bong puts on a responsible-adult stance and protects Ren-Bo.

:

Ki... Kids, it's okay now, go home.

:

That's an Ajusshi telling you to!

RAE-NAM (19), the high-school leader, is strong and a head taller than Soo-Bong.

He comes close to Soo-Bong, as if he was going to kiss him.

:

Or else?

:

...

:

What do you mean "else"? You--

BONK! He headbutts Soo-Bong in the face and smashes his nose.
Then he grabs Soo-Bong by the collar, and...
SVIZZ!, he sends him flying against the wall, like a piece of straw.
Soo-Bong ends up spread out on the blue grass.

-

Crap, getting my ass kicked by a kid!

-

And it hurts like hell!

-

(touches his nostrils) Nevertheless, it's true that my nose doesn't bleed.

Soo-Bong gets up, and...

---

... FREEZZ!!! A shrill sound from nowhere.
A supernatural phenomenon takes place...
A high school student walking, unsteadily balanced, doesn't put his foot down.
A bird in flight no longer flaps its wings and is motionless.
Nothing moves except Soo-Bong.

:

(stunned) What... what now?

:

Time has stopped?!

Soo-Bong squints his eyes, and notices that the bird is not entirely still.
Its wings are flapping, but at an incredibly slow speed. It would take a minute for one flap!

-

(calms down) Not really a time stop... Everything is just slowed way down...

-

An unknown phenomenon... to make matters worse...

-

The best ultra-slow-motion camera is pitiful in comparison.

Soo-Bong's gaze is drawn downwards.
What he sees appalls him. Fascination and repulsion.

At his feet stands a strange figure, facing the wall and paying no attention to Soo-Bong.

This humanized ladybug looks and talks to YOU, as if you were in the wall!
Mr. Ladybug has the same sarcastic, jaded and annoying voice as Byeong-Se's imitation.

:

Soo-Bong is still getting scared unnecessarily!

:

As you can see, this guy can't even defend himself.

:

Soo-Bong is really not a manly hero!

:

You wouldn't think he did his military service. He must have been holed up in a switchboard office.

:

Mr... Mister Ladybug!

-

Did my first visit here really have to turn ridiculous?

---

Yeon-Joo and Kang Chul look at the tablet.

:

Soo-Bong should be safe. However, Ren-Bo is at high risk.

:

It weighs on me so much, if only we could do something...

:

This small character, the talking Ladybug...

:

Why does it feel like he's addressing us?

:

(jaded) Oh, that! It's Mr. Ladybug, one of the comical characters.

:

And sometimes he walks around in the backgrounds, performing offbeat gags.

:

Can other characters see him, or talk to him?

:

No, this character breaks the 4th wall, and speaks to the reader.

:

I see, a humorous, modern version of the ancient chorus.

:

Huh?

:

Original, but contradictory for a melodramatic story.

:

Jang Soo-Bin wanted a touch of humor, to achieve a tension-release effect.

:

I will study this in more detail soon.

:

I'll read the entire "Butterfly Girl", to deal with the situation.

:

(sardonic) And not just look at my drawings...

:

... ("about time!")

:

Hey, Madam didn't know the writer of my drama either!

Kang Chul smiles and winks at Yeon-Joo.

---

ZEERFF! Mister Ladybug disappears, time flows normally again.

:

Hiiiiiiiii!

A bitch approaches Ren-Bo with a marker.
Her wings become icy blue.

Soo-Bong rushes to help her, but the burly high schooler Rae-Nam anticipates.
SBAM! He kicks Soo-Bong in the chest, taekwondo style.

:

Argh!

Soo-Bong falls back, his breath cut off, paralyzed by the pain.
A trio of mean girls surround Ren-Bo.

Ren-Bo is terrified, in tears.

:

We're gonna make you forage on your own poop, bug girl...

Ren-Bo trembles with fear, and clacks her teeth in panic.
Traumatized, the spasms of horror spread through her body.
She shakes her head in refusal.

Unbeknownst to her, an intense vibration appears behind her...
VVFFFFF! Surprised by herself, Ren-Bo is torn from the ground by her wings!
FLAP-FLAP-FLAP! Her wings flap at a speed that the human eye cannot perceive.

WOSHH! High schoolers are blinded by a powerful blast, like under a helicopter taking off.

:

Soo-Bong!

Ren-Bo reaches out to Soo-Bong.
He grabs Ren-Bo's hand, and is ripped off the ground.
With a somewhat anarchic trajectory, Ren-Bo flies over the hedge of purple thuyas.
Soo-Bong is towed with difficulty.
He rubs the top of the hedge, and the leaves whip his face.

---

Spent, Ren-Bo drops Soo-Bong on the other side of the hedge.

Soo-Bong falls into the grass, lying on his back.
Ren-Bo, no longer able to flap her wings, also falls.
And she lands lying face-first, square on Soo-Bong!

They look at each other with round eyes, for an endless moment...

:

Sorry!

She blushes, and her wings turn pink.

:

I'm sorry, I couldn't do it anymore...

:

It's nothing.

:

It's a bit like a muscle that hasn't been used in a long time.

:

Hum...

:

Oh!

FLAP! Ren-Bo gets up fast, sucked upward by an instinctive wingbeat.

Soo-Bong also gets up.

:

We shouldn't stay here, they could go around the house.

:

You're right.

---

Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong are on a sidewalk near the green space.

-

Which way to go?

On one side, an ordinary road, and on the other, a pedestrian street with shops.

-

(look at the road) I don't know that way. An unknown place specific to the world of "Butterfly Girl".

-

(look at the alley) I know this way. It's a place I've already drawn.

-

We'll have a better chance in a place I know.

:

This way, Ren-Bo. (points to the shopping aisle)

They smile at each other, and Ren-Bo takes Soo-Bong's hand. Pink wings!

---

Yeon-Joo and Kang Chul look at it.

:

They're pretty aggressive for high school kids. I arrested less violent crooks.

:

Arf, yeah... The good ones are very good and the bad ones are very bad. It is a simplistic and Manichean universe...

A new drawing develops on the tablet...
The group of high schoolers on motorcycles, going around the block.

:

They bypass the shops. They will surprise Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong at the end of the street.

New drawing: Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong in view of a roundabout.

:

There! They've been spotted!

New drawing: the motorcycles arrive from all the exits.

:

They're surrounded now. I don't think Ren-Bo can fly that far.

:

But... what's Soo-Bong doing?

:

What's he staring at, motionless? There's nothing here.

:

Or maybe... he's obsessed with this... lamppost?

We don't see the next drawings, but...

:

What? It doesn't make any sense!

:

But... but... How?!!!

Yeon-Joo and Kang Chul stare at the tablet, without believing their eyes.

:

It's totally unthinkable!!!!!

---

---

Starring:

-

Kim Woo-Bin is Rae-Nam. Excerpts from the drama "The Heirs".