The overcast weather dulls the flashy colors of a building.
Sign on its storefront: "Happy Ending Editions".

On the wall: manhwa posters, including "Lost Reality".
EDITOR RA (57), bowed, respectfully hands a cup of tea to...

... Queen Cha Yu-Sun, sprawled in the honor armchair of the sofa area.
Jo Wan stands rigidly behind her. Impassive bodyguard.

:

Your Majesty, what an honor. (waits she takes the cup) And... And... So unexpected. What can I--

:

(ignores the tea, takes out a manhwa) This manhwa! (shows him the cover, "Lost Reality, Volume 5")

:

(sits down, sets the cup on the coffee table) Uh... That's one of our publications...?

:

There are only 4 chapters in this volume. Why so little content over several months?

:

Author Park Sin-Moo works slowly. He asked for a suitable publishing pace. May I? (wants to take back the manhwa)

She tosses him the manhwa carelessly.
He flips through it and shows her a double page:
¤ A wide shot of Seoul. Very detailed, but poorly drawn.
Yellow frame: "Seoul, city of perdition, where life is worth less than a macaroni". (macaroni is a noodle)

:

... (disgusted)

:

The author likes showing his fictional world down to the smallest detail. This kind of drawing takes a lot of time to make.

:

Bullshit! All it takes is retouching a photo.

:

...! (startled by her vulgarity)

:

(snatches the manhwa back from him fiercely, searches for a page) And this?!!

She shows a dialogue panel: Professor Park with his assistants.

~

Oh Yeon-Joo, my elite surgeon, who was my best student. Take notes, rookies. (pats Yeon-Joo's head like a puppy)

:

Pages like that, I crank out 10 a day!

:

(?) ... Is the publishing pace too slow? If you like our manhwa this much, I could--

:

It's crap.

:

(!!!) ... It's... It's true it's a bit of a hard sell...

:

(irritated) This guy can't draw. Proportions, perspective, he wipes his ass with them!

(hides a smile, proud of her aggressiveness)

:

...!! (appalled by her vulgarity) I'll stop publishing it right away, Mama!

:

(Oops, "I got carried away") Uh... No, no, don't do that.

:

...?!

:

(slides her finger along a line in the drawing) Although he's mediocre overall, this artist has a good pencil stroke.

:

....???

:

(lying) You plainly see it, he has a firm and confident gesture!!

:

(disoriented) Uh... Yes... But... So...?!

Snap! She snaps her fingers.
At once, Jo Wan hands her a checkbook and a pen.
She writes a check on the coffee table. Editor Ra, ??!
She slides the check to him, face down...

:

(reads the check) ....!!!! (looks at her, in disbelief, jaw dropped)

:

This artist is promising. I wish to sponsor him. Give me his address. I'll write him a letter of encouragement.

:

Yes, Mama! I could even introduce you to him.

:

Absolutely not!!!

:

...?!

:

Hum... I wish to be an anonymous sponsor. Swear you won't mention this to anyone.

Stormy weather, dark, heavy clouds.
Jo Wan drives down an avenue of the Capital.
In the back, Cha Yu-Sun checks her smartphone.
(!!) Surprised by what she sees:
A new episode of "Lost Reality" with "Final Chapter"!
Catastrophic, she scrolls through the pages: Nuclear missiles, Min-Soo dead, "THE END".

:

(!!!!) TO PARK SIN-MOO'S. HURRYYYYY!!!!!!

Jo Wan, !!!, floors the accelerator. VROOM!!! The limousine speeds off!

RMBRL! Jo Wan smashes the door open. Cha Yu-Sun enters first.

... Yu-Sun enters as Sin-Moo stabs. Soo-Bong parries!
(!!) She recognizes Soo-Bong, badly wounded.
A split-second decision--
Zip! She draws the blade from her hair brooch.
She rushes behind Sin-Moo and--
SHLACK! She slits his throat!!

Kr-KRAAK! A flash of lightning lights up Cha Yu-Sun's vengeful face!
Sin-Moo, eyes wild, doesn't understand right away.
Blood gushes from his throat, spraying Soo-Bong... who collapses.
Then, Sin-Moo realizes, too late... with a rictus of frustration...
He collapses, dead.

Jo Wan, ...!!! Pride overwhelms him:
He admires Cha Yu-Sun, holding the bloodied blade.
Yes, SHE is THE Queen he dreamed of.
The one who inspires blind loyalty, for whom he would sacrifice his life.
Magnificent, commanding, merciless. HIS GODDESS!

Yu-Sun notices Ren-Bo on an IV drip and Soo-Bong's serious condition.

:

Activate the Guild of Darkness. Call an ambulance for him. Then give him first aid. He MUST survive! (leaves)

:

YES MAMA!!! (takes out his smartphone)

-

Sin-Moo stole it from him? Why destroy it? What's so special about it?

On the threshold, Cha Yu-Sun looks inside with disgust.

-

The Narrator has come here often.

The room is grotesquely warped and simplified...

...except for a tablet on a desk, when suddenly--
A yellow light bursts out of the tablet!!!

Cha Yu-Sun immediately steps out!

-

(closes the door, heart pounding) "Lost Reality" is finished. But of course, HE's already invested in another manhwa!

Later, the ambulance is stopped and opened in front of Sin-Moo's building.
The paramedics carry a stretcher into the ambulance. Soo-Bong on it.
Professor Min stays outside, watching for a van to arrive.
The van parks. The Delivery Man gets out. They exchange nods.

Sin-Moo's face:
Pinkish, twitching with nervous tics, blinking empty eyes. He seems alive!
We see, through transparency, on his face:
Skin-colored electrodes, undetectable to the naked eye.

~

Neuro-stimulator patches on the skin and eyelids.

Sin-Moo wears a huge scarf, hiding his slit throat.
We see, through transparency, beneath the scarf:
A hemostatic adhesive is wrapped around the throat.

~

The carotid arteries are sealed off. Adhesive and coagulant gel. Below the neck, the body is clinically dead.

Behind Sin-Moo, two tubes dangle, filled with circulating blood.

Through transparency, beneath the scarf:
The tubes are connected to catheters embedded in the occipital artery.

~

A local blood circuit for the head, via the occipital artery. It also injects a vascular stimulant and a post-mortem catalyst.

Sin-Moo is strapped to a chair, facing the tablet.
(Blood cleaned, changed into clean clothes.)

DEAD!!! Artificially animated. Horribly. And even more horrific...
The blood and catalyst circulating through the brain awaken one last flicker of consciousness!
But Sin-Moo is incapable of speaking or moving, he can only THINK.

-

(a spark in his eyes) I'm not dead? Why can't I speak or move? I can't feel my body anymore.

The dead face produces expressions, solely through the stimulators.
A cable plugged into the tablet snakes across the floor, out of the room...

The yellow light bursts out of the tablet... The Narrator materializes!

:

Park Sin-Moo. "Lost Reality" is over. You must start new manhwas.

-

(!!) I will... When I can.

The sentences print themselves onto the tablet, beneath the Narrator's face.

~

I will, when I can. But I've been badly wounded. I won't be able to communicate with you for a while.

-

Narrator. I'm not the one writing this. It's a trap, don't believe it!

:

You do indeed seem to be suffering. I will handle the manhwa myself in the meantime.

~

I will have to move the tablet somewhere else. Avoid appearing. I will contact you.

-

Narrator!!! Don't leave! Help me! Help me! Help me!

The tablet goes to sleep mode. The Narrator is gone.

-

No! Nooooo!!!

Sin-Moo sees Cha Yu-Sun's face come into view before him.

-

(!) Queen Cha? (hope)

:

Park Sin-Moo. I should have read "Butterfly Girl" more carefully. I would have saved time to find you. Your name meant nothing to me, but I recognized your face.

-

You were allied with the Narrator, just like me! Save me! Save me!

:

(as if she'd heard him) You're already dead.

-

No! I'm not dead! I can see you, I can hear you! Help Me! I'm still alive!! HELP MEEEEE!!!

:

You're scum in the manhwa, but you're far worse in real life. (rips the catheters out from behind his head)

-

(?!) What are you doing?! What are you doing?!

:

(shows the tube dripping with blood) I unplugged you. The time has come for me to settle the score.

-

AAAAAaaaahhh.....

His face turns pale... then necrotic.
A tear runs from his empty eyes, wide open in DEATH.

:

(looks at the misshapen room) Mama, why is it like this? Who was that?

:

The true enemy. The one who caused the war, a year ago.

:

(!!) Thousands upon thousands of deaths...

:

I must annihilate him. It's my duty as Queen, to protect this world.

:

(bows in respect) Yes, Mama!

:

(to the Delivery Man) Follow me. (enters the misshapen room)

On the altar: a portrait of Sin-Moo, surrounded by flowers.
The flowers are alive, planted in cases of soil.
A single incense stick planted in the burner.

That of Ren-Bo, who's kneeling, dressed in mourning, crying alone.

Pof.. Pof.. She sees embroidered moccasins walking toward the altar...
... beneath a traditional royal gown... Queen Cha Yu-Sun!!

:

(?!) ... Mama?

Cha Yu-Sun lights an incense stick.
She plants it next to Ren-Bo's.
She kneels, bows in respect for the deceased...
... all while hiding a mischievous smile.

:

No one came, but you, the Queen, you're here?!

-

Of course, you fool. Only you learned of his death. (stands up) And I control this funeral home.

:

Like you, he was a solitary person, with no family.

:

How do you know someone so unassuming, Mama?

:

During your coma, he became an artist, and I admired his work.

-

A crappy artist, with no talent whatsoever.

:

(?!) He wanted to become a surgeon...

:

You are Ren-Bo, aren't you? He spoke of you often. He loved you so much.

:

Yes, that's me... (bursts into tears) Boo hoo hoo hoo...

-

Little brainless bitch. You cry over a psychopath, after suffering hell to dump him. I would so love to describe to you how I slit his throat.

:

Ren-Bo, I would like to help you through this grief. You want to earn a horticulture degree, don't you?

:

(calms down) Yes, I still had a year of study left.

Cha Yu-Sun takes out a photo: a magnificent royal residence with immense gardens.

:

.....! (looks, entranced)

-

You're so easy to manipulate.

:

My residence in the south of the country desperately needs a gardener of your talent. Working there for a year would take your mind off things.

:

(forgets her grief, dazzled) And I'd get my degree?

:

The royal gardener will handle that personally. Do you accept?

:

(overjoyed) Yes! Yes! Yes! (looks at her with gratitude, then feels a dark sadness within Yu-Sun)

-

I lost everything because of you. But avenging myself is pointless. It's beyond repair. And you don't remember any of it. (hateful) Only the Narrator deserves my vengeance.

Cha Yu-Sun, a smug smile, watches on a screen:
The feed from a camera, spying on Soo-Bong in the Villa BonSéjour office.

:

It's impossible to guess by chance.

:

He already knows it. He'll find it. (remembers...)

Kang Chul holds the dictaphone.
He smiles nostalgically at Mi-Ra's vulgarity.

~

Fortunately, I had taken matters into my own hands from the start.

:

(!) Mi-Ra stopped the Narrator?! Is that why he isn't appearing?!!

:

...! (presses "Pause", remembers...)

:

(hazy gaze, searching) I know you stayed for a very long time... in that other dimension... the Imagination... but I barely remember... a few fragments of that eternity... as if someone else had lived it.

:

(realizes) She remembered...

:

.... ? (dumbfounded, waits)

:

She's forgotten almost everything, but not that moment... (tells)

Kang Chul and Mi-Ra, during a romantic candlelit dinner.

:

(wry) Not exactly romantic, as far as conversations go.

:

I'm curious, I want to understand this. The Narrator found out by connecting to my tablet?

:

Yes, that's how he detected that "Queen of Darkness" was alive. He watched the manhwa generate itself. Now that I think of it... (remembers)

:

Two living manhwas drawn on the same tablet. The only real risk would concern the Narrator.

:

In what way?

Kang Chul concentrates and...
KzZt! He materializes a yellow smartphone in Mi-Ra's hand.

:

!!

:

(grins mischievously) The Narrator uses your smartphone.

Kang Chul concentrates and...
KzZt! He materializes a black smartphone in his hand.

:

And the single tablet is this smartphone. (holds up the smartphone) Call me. (winks)

(amused, clicks to call)

BRRZ! Kang Chul's smartphone rings.
He picks up, then concentrates...
He materializes a scene from W on his black smartphone:
¤ Kang Chul wakes up in his bed.
Mi-Ra watches the scene appear on her yellow smartphone.

:

(nods in approval) Now, the Narrator is connected to the manhwa, through the tablet.

:

(hams it up) Oh, excuse me, dear customer, please hold the line.

Kang Chul puts the call on hold, concentrates and...
He materializes a scene from "Queen of Darkness" on his black smartphone:
¤ Cha Yu-Sun wakes up in her bed.
The scene doesn't appear on Mi-Ra's yellow smartphone!

:

(astonished) Once established, the connection stays dedicated to W?!

Kang Chul materializes a scene from W on his black smartphone:
¤ Kang Chul falls asleep in his bed.

:

(resumes the call, hams it up) I'm all yours, dear customer.

The scene appears on Mi-Ra's yellow smartphone!

:

Ah ha!

:

Mi-Ra trapped the Narrator and made him unable to detect "Restored Reality". That's why she sent you the "Forgotten Memories" tablet.

:

(!) She's incredible. (worried) But Ren-Bo? Why isn't she coming? Does Mi-Ra want revenge?!

:

Mi-Ra most likely neutralized her to avoid an accident. Ren-Bo and her teleportations are an unpredictable risk.

:

... (sighs, heavy-hearted)

(presses "Play" on the dictaphone)

~

What comes next will be obvious to you... Kang Chul... I love you... Farewell.

Cloc! The recording ends.

-

(!!) ... Did she remember anything else? (remembers...)

Kang Chul and Mi-Ra, continuing the romantic candlelit dinner.

:

You said the Narrator was incapable of dying. Is there really no way to annihilate him for good?

(crushed, Mi-Ra's last word still on his mind:)

~

Farewell.

Ding-Dong!! The front gate bell rings.
Soo-Bong rushes to the window and sees Do-Yoon at the gate.

:

It's Hyung Seo!!

Kang Chul doesn't notice, tormented by his own thoughts.
He takes out his smartphone, clicks on "Yeon-Joo".

Yeon-Joo drives through Seoul. She's crying and trembling.
In the back, Yoon-Hee answers the phone. She's largely translucent.

:

(desperate, crying) Yes, entirely. It keeps getting worse, fast.

:

...!!! (worse than expected)

(a tear, looks at Yoon-Hee sadly)

:

Where are you right now?

GzZt! Yoon-Hee crackles, briefly dressed as Princess Dong.

:

In Seoul. I want to find Wang Shin. Nothing else matters.

Wang Shin runs, largely translucent. Fear and anguish.

:

(determined) Be there, my wife.

GzZt! He crackles, briefly dressed in adventurer gear. (like Ep16)

Soo-Bong lets Do-Yoon in.

:

President Kang, are you going-- (stops, sees he's on the phone)

(hangs up the smartphone, torn with worry)

:

Is it serious, Hyung?

:

Mi-Ra needs to finish "Restored Reality". Quickly!

Poc... poc... poc... Mi-Ra taps the "OSM" stylus against the tablet.

She waits, impatient. Partially translucent, less so than Yoon-Hee.
GzZt! She crackles, briefly transformed into the Queen of Darkness.

She notices her half-transparent arm, calm, unafraid.

She glances around the room:
On the floor, Soo-Bong's faceless zombie.

Ren-Bo asleep in the sofa, on a sedative IV drip.

She looks at the tablet, showing a manhwa cover:
¤ "Forgotten Memories - Volume 1" in a large yellow frame. No drawing.

:

Show yourself, filth. I'd like you here, before I begin.

On the computer: the same cover, on a website.
Publisher's name: "Happy Ending". Author's name: "Narrator".

SUDDENLY--
The yellow light bursts out of the tablet... fades...
... the yellow frame takes shape... the Narrator materializes.

:

(cruel smile) Finally.

:

(?!) Moon Mi-Ra? I didn't think I'd see you again.

:

So... Disappointed that I found your little hideout?

:

I no longer collaborate with you. Where is Park Sin-Moo?

Mi-Ra minimizes the Narrator into a small panel, and displays "Forgotten Memories".
She scrolls to page 1 of the manhwa, on the tablet and the computer:
¤ Characters barely sketched, cluttered with 4 illegible narration frames.

:

You produce shit, once you're on your own. This is genuinely the worst manhwa of all time.

She minimizes the manhwa into a small panel, and displays the Narrator on the tablet.
(For the rest of the scene, she'll display either the manhwa or the Narrator, minimizing the other one.)

:

(!) My style is simply different from yours. Nothing forces you to read it. Live your life peacefully, without me and my work.

:

(bitter cackle) Ah-ah-ah... Ah-ah-Ah-ah-ah! Live peacefully... (looks at her transparent arm crackling) You seem strangely nice today. Are you scared?

:

That makes little sense. You're attributing emotions to me that I am incapable of feeling.

:

Yes, you kept saying you felt no sadism, while you were torturing me.

:

That's correct. My intention was pure. I merely wanted to get the best out of your character.

:

As for me, I have no trouble at all feeling sadism. I feel like sharing that with you, since that's how you operate! I'm sure you're eager to experience it.

:

Might you have a senseless desire for revenge?

:

You're right, Narrator. Do you know why I came?

:

You want to end my manhwa and put me back to sleep?

:

(vengeful) No, Narrator. I came to TORTURE YOU TO DEATH!!!

:

(...?) I can neither suffer, nor die.

:

(scornful) I found a method, specially suited to your case!

:

Your presumption is pointless. You are not the author of my manhwa. It is meant to be published, and only I and the manhwa will decide its END.

:

(sadistic smile) Let's check that right now.

Mi-Ra taps the "Eraser" tool with the "OSM" stylus, sets it to "ultra-wide".
In a single stroke, she wipes the text off a yellow frame on page 1!
GzZt! A brief crackle of static distorts the Narrator's face!

The text vanishes from the version published online, on the computer.
A pop-up in the taskbar: "Sync successful: 1 file updated".

:

(?!) ... What just happened? That's impossible.

:

Why impossible? I didn't write "THE END", or stop the publication. I'm simply adding my personal touch, like you do to other people's manhwas.

:

You are not the author! And you shouldn't be able to amend the precedence!

:

(shows the "OSM" stylus) With this, I can. You must have already suspected that? As for the role of author... (tells)

Queen Cha Yu-Sun, in the seat of honor. Jo Wan, standing behind.

:

(nervous) Your Majesty, I wasn't expecting--

:

Park Sin-Moo is drawing another manhwa, "Forgotten Memories".

:

I... Yes, that's true.

:

I didn't find it on your website. You don't publish it?

:

Hmm... It's the author's personal project. The quality is poor, so we publish it in a restricted section.

:

Show me.

Editor Ra grabs a tablet, logs into the publishing section.
It shows the manhwa's cover and the author's name: "Narrator"!

:

(fascinated, "unhoped for") He uses an alias?!

:

Yes... I believe he's a little ashamed of it.

:

Do you have a contract? A database? Anything linking this alias to Park Sin-Moo?

:

Of course.

Snap! Cha Yu-Sun snaps her fingers. Jo Wan hands her a sheet of paper.

:

(slides the sheet to Editor Ra) ... Read it.

Editor Ra reads, dismayed:
"I want the Queen to continue the manhwa", signed "Park Sin-Moo".

:

You, Mama?! Drawing a manhwa?!!

:

Why not? Attach my name to the alias "Narrator".

:

("since that's how it is") Ahem... Yes, Mama.

:

And give me the authentication to publish online.

:

... and there, I became true author of "Forgotten Memories"! (wipes the text off another yellow frame on page 1)

:

I can no longer find my text. It was a text of great beauty, and it has vanished.

:

You want to rewrite it? (hamming it up) Oops no, I forgot. You can only add new content. (wipes another frame)

:

My text! You have just vandalized a work of art! That text is lost forever!

:

Don't be ridiculous. You have no artistic talent whatsoever. You only have a gift for vulgar ugliness. (wipes the last frame)

:

My story... How does it begin?

(loads the next page, wipes the text of the frames faster)

:

Moon Mi-Ra. You don't need to go this far. We made a good team in the past. Let's both show some tolerance.

(loads the next page, wipes the frames)

:

Granted, we had a few artistic disagreements. Just a matter of detail, for a plot or two. I may have made minor errors of transcription at times. But nothing that couldn't be resolved through constructive discussion. We can find common ground and write a story suited to both our choices.

(races through the pages at high speed, wipes the frames)

:

Moon Mi-Ra... Are you listening to me? You would benefit from my help once more. I will find a way to turn you back into the Queen of Darkness. I will try to be a more discreet partner. Our idyll would start over the way it began.

:

Bla, bla, bla. (wipes, wipes, wipes)

:

Moon Mi-Ra. Stop, please. Do you wish to be the sole guarantor of the plot? Fine, I will settle for editing whatever content you want.

:

I practiced on a copy. I calculated that, at this rate, I'll be done in five minutes!

Mi-Ra keeps wiping the text off the frames, page after page.
Her body turns transparent, outlined by lines.
She notices, but doesn't care.

:

Moon Mi-Ra. I no longer know the characters' motivations. Events are happening without reason. Plot holes! I beg you, stop erasing. You are creating an incoherent story.

:

I was never known for creating coherent stories. And why blame me? It's your story, not mine!

:

How could I write it, if you remove all the ins and outs?

:

Just do what you were designed for, a few simple indications. (wipes the text off the frames, again and again)

:

Hollow sentences, short and to the point, of no artistic interest.

:

Look at my manhwa, "Queen of Darkness". Now that's artistic! I could erase the descriptions and the dialogue, and the story would still make sense. You alone are to blame for your failure. You should have no creative role at all.

:

I cannot go back to being that absence of spiritual essence. I need a soul, for the narration to be better. Don't erase me, I want to exist, I have the right to exist!

:

Really?! As for me, I'll just grant you the right to croak! (keeps wiping the text off the frames, page after page)

:

Your suffering comes from this hatred, Moon Mi-Ra. Show some compassion. Aren't we both tormented? I understand you and you understand me. Thanks to this mutual understanding, we were happy together. Was I not better to you than a friend, a lover, a husband?

:

("a husband?", hysterical rage) RAAAAaaAAAHH!!!

She redoubles her efforts, wipes the descriptions at a frantic pace.
Tlic-Tloc! She bangs the stylus against the tablet, so furious is she.
GrZzTkrr... Distortions streak across the Narrator's face.
His yellow frame flickers, pixelates... then returns to normal.

Mi-Ra calms down, checks her body.
GrZz! She briefly becomes the Queen of Darkness, then...

... turns back into Mi-Ra, half-transparent, outlined by lines.

A stunned passerby sees Wang Shin enter the park.
Wang Shin checks his state: entirely transparent, outlined by lines.
GrZz! His adventurer outfit appears temporarily.

:

(sprints, tears) I'm coming. Wait for me!

Yoon-Hee's car parks in front of the park entrance.
Yoon-Hee gets out and runs toward the park.
GrZz! She briefly becomes Princess Dong, transparent, outlined by lines.

Yeon-Joo gets out, opens the back door, gathers Chul-Moo into her arms.

:

(desperate) I'm coming, my husband. Be there in time!

(devastated with anguish, runs after Yoon-Hee)

:

(crying) Noona... Noona...

:

Will we see "THE END" appear?

:

We're not important enough in the manhwa. But Professor Park will call us.

:

(gnawed by worry) Why is this taking so long?!!

:

The Narrator is blind for now, but will be alerted by "FINAL CHAPTER". Mi-Ra is certainly searching for a way to neutralize him first.

Mi-Ra wipes the text off the frames.

:

(flat voice) What is the plot? How did I end up here? Are these characters new? Who is the main character?

:

I finally like one thing about your manhwa: THE TITLE!

:

I have lost the elements ensuring the story's plausibility. Moon Mi-Ra, what needs to happen next, to remain believable?

:

I thought you were the greatest of storytellers?

:

You are right. It's up to me to find what comes next. It's up to me to find what comes next. It's up to me to find what comes next.

Mi-Ra finishes wiping the comments off a page.
She scrolls to the next page: Blank!
Message: "Last page reached".
She catches her breath and raises her stylus.
She stares at the tablet, waiting for...

SUDDENLY--
The screen flickers, strobing, alternating between the Narrator and a bright red background.
Mi-Ra watches without flinching, lit by the red flashes.

The Narrator morphs into a series of colorful abstract faces...
... warped, horrible, growing more and more simplified, losing their color.

Then, pencil sketches twist into one another.
A few scribbled-out lines, and the last strokes fade away...

All that remains is an empty yellow frame.
The Narrator has regressed to the state of Correspondent!
He displays his text in his frame, faceless...

:

(harmless, robotic voice) Moon Mi-Ra, this Correspondent cannot find what comes next.

:

I've finished my work. A lovely blank page awaits you. It's your turn to work now, Narrator!

:

This correspondent doesn't know, Moon Mi-Ra. He doesn't know what he's supposed to describe.

:

A little help, perhaps?

:

Yes, Moon Mi-Ra. Thank you, you are a quality partner. You could also make an excellent character.

:

Very well, write this: "A few minutes later."

:

(writes on the blank page) *A few minutes*... !!!!

The text vanishes from the manhwa's page.

:

Not that... Please, not that.

:

I'll make you a little drawing, to illustrate it.

Mi-Ra draws a simplistic stick figure:
¤ One line for the body, two lines each for the legs and arms.
She adds a smiley face for the head. A child's crude scribble!
She draws an empty descriptive frame, colors it yellow.

:

So, Narrator? The manhwa's page is finished. Your text is essential, it's urgent! "A few minutes later."

With difficulty, in fits and starts, the Correspondent writes the text into the manhwa's frame.

:

*A few minutes later.*

:

Now that you understand the principle, practice a little more. Write at the bottom of the page... "Turn the page."

:

Moon Mi-Ra, why write something so obvious?

:

Come on! You spent your whole life writing obvious descriptions. What's the problem?

:

You are right.

The Correspondent writes the text onto the manhwa, fluidly now.

:

*Turn the page.*

:

You're cooked just right, Narrator. Wait a few seconds, I have something to do.

:

Alright.

Mi-Ra sends the "Forgotten Memories" project to the background.
She loads the project "Restored Reality":
¤ Min-Soo waits in front of his house, smartphone in hand.
Mi-Ra draws a ringtone and a speech bubble connected to the smartphone...

Min-Soo dissolves from "Image" to "Real".
BRZZ! His smartphone rings. He picks up.

~

Professor Park?

:

Ah! Dear author Moon. I've been eager for this.

~

The time has come. Before you conclude, wish for "FINAL CHAPTER".

:

I'm on it! (walks toward the door)

~

I'd also like to pass along a message.

:

Tell me. (enters his house)

Wang Shin enters onto the bridge, transparent, blurred with supernatural dust.
He sees, at the other end of the bridge... Yoon-Hee!!
She's in the same state, close to disintegration.
They run toward each other... desperate... crying...

Yeon-Joo watches them, trembling with horror, on the edge of madness, then...
... a glimmer of hope, she sees letters materializing above reality!
"FI..........."
"FINAL......"

"FINAL CHAPTER" finishes appearing in the room.
Min-Soo sees the inscription, as he affectionately holds Da-Ye's hands.
She smiles at him through tears. Her semi-transparent body turns solid.

Mi-Ra stands waiting and FZZT! colored interference, she vanishes.

(The Moon Pavilion corresponds to Villa BonSéjour of "Butterfly Girl".)
KZZT! Colored interference, Mi-Ra materializes.
No surprise. Everything is unfolding as she expected.
(Authors are summoned into the manhwa, at the start of the final chapter.)

She sees "FINAL CHAPTER" displayed in the air.
She looks out the window:
A turtle-shaped fountain sculpture decorates the garden.

"FINAL CHAPTER" fades away...

:

Da-Ye, I hadn't realized it before. But the only one I've ever truly loved is you.

:

(throws herself into his arms) OoOohh... Min-Soo... I'm so happy.

(tenderly cuddles her)

Min-Soo sees appearing in the air:
"T......", the first letter of the word "THE END".

Yeon-Joo, paralyzed with anxiety, stares at the letters...
"TH....."

:

Hurry!!

She watches the couple's state, on the brink of annihilation.
Wang Shin runs toward Yoon-Hee... just a few more meters...
"THE E.."

:

(sick with dread) HURRY!!! HURRY!!!

Yoon-Hee runs toward Wang Shin... final steps...
"THE END" appears in full!

:

(relieved) Omo... (clutches her chest, staring at "THE END")

Yoon-Hee and Wang Shin reach each other in the middle of the bridge.
GzZt! Their bodies flicker, appearing as Princess Dong and Adventurer.

"THE END" fades away...
Yoon-Hee and Wang Shin return to their normal appearances!
They embrace tenderly, eyes locked... overwhelmed with recognition.

Mi-Ra watches the word "THE END" fade away...
FZZT! Colored interference. She vanishes.

KZZT! Colored interference. Mi-Ra materializes.
GzZt! Her body flickers, taking the form of the Queen of Darkness.
She looks down at the floor, and just as she expected...
Sshhh... Soo-Bong's faceless zombie evaporates.
(The manhwa is over and Soo-Bong is already in the real world. The zombie loses its purpose.)

Chul-Moo looks at the middle of the bridge, scared.

:

(bursts into tears) Boo hoo hoo... Mommy... !!

:

(looks at the bridge) ...?!!! (horrifying shock)

Yoon-Hee and Wang Shin slip back into their terminal state!
Unstable ghosts, blurred by erratic particles.
They begin to disintegrate... !!!
Yeon-Joo, ...!!!!

Before the warm red glow of the setting sun:
Yoon-Hee and Wang Shin look at each other with love.
They understand they are doomed.
Nothing left to do or say, so...
... they smile tragically at each other, and as a Farewell, they kiss.

The moment their lips meet--
Ffffff..... They are annihilated into supernatural dust...

:

Boo hoo hoo... Noona... Hyung...

:

(mad) RAaAAAhaAAhhAaahh... (collapses to her knees, remembers...)

Yeon-Joo runs, suddenly blocked by...

:

Unnie, we were happy.

:

Didn't we have the right to be?

They evaporate like ghosts.

:

(nervous breakdown) ArraAAhh... STOP! STOP! (tears at her hair)

Yeon-Joo drops Chul-Moo and curls up into a fetal position.
Eyes bulging, she convulses, drooling like an epileptic...
... her lucidity dying out... permanently insane!!

:

(panicking) Mommy!!! Mommy! Boo hoo hoo!! Mommyyyyy!!!!

Yeon-Joo cannot answer. All reason has left her.
She writhes chaotically, in fits of madness.

Chul-Moo has long been devastated by his mother's morbid distress...
... but he has an extraordinary resilience!!! He grabs Yeon-Joo's smartphone.

BRRZ! Kang Chul's smartphone rings. He picks up.

:

(crying, shouting) Daddy! Daddy!! Mommy's not well, I'm scared!!!

:

(!!) My son, I'm with you. Explain calmly, so I can help.

:

Boo hoo hoo... Noona Yoon-Hee and Oppa Wang-Shin... They were annihilated!!

:

...!!!

:

Boo hoo hoo hoo... Mommy is having a breakdown. It looks like she's going to die!!!!

:

(!!) I'm calling for help. Take care of your mom, alright?

:

Boo hoo hoo... Yes, daddy.

:

Where are you right now?

:

The silk bridge.

:

The silk bridge. (signals to Soo-Bong)

(nods, clicks "119" on his smartphone) (Note: 119 is the emergency number in Korea)

:

I'm coming to-- (thinks it over.... shakes his head "no") I can't come, but Do-Yoon is going to get you.

:

Yes, daddy.

(nods "yes", leaves)

:

He'll be there soon. We'll all be together shortly.

:

Yes. (smiles through tears)

On the tablet, the ending image of "Restored Reality":
¤ "THE END". Da-Ye happy, in Min-Soo's arms, and his speech bubble:

:

Da-Ye, I hadn't realized it before. But the only one I've ever truly loved is you.

Mi-Ra watches the image, crying... as if it were sealing her fate.
She is entirely translucent, outlined by lines, except for her face.
She goes over to Ren-Bo, looks at her sadly.

:

What good would hating you do now... The suffering, the trivial emotions... it will all go away. Nothing will remain of my miserable existence.

Mi-Ra unplugs Ren-Bo's IV.

:

Consider yourself forgiven.

She sits down in front of the tablet and loads "Forgotten Memories".
The Correspondent's yellow frame is empty.

:

I'm here, Narrator.

:

Yes.

Mi-Ra loads a blank page.
She colors it black and draws a yellow frame at the top.
She draws a line symbolizing the ground, and a white circle symbolizing the moon.

:

Fill in your description: "This is how the story ends."

:

The story ends? Moon Mi-Ra... this Correspondent has a vague impression.

:

Tell me. What's troubling you?

:

This Correspondent believes that... This Correspondent... has the feeling that he doesn't like a story ending.

:

Are you able to find what comes next in the story?

:

No... That's true.

The Correspondant writes the text into the manhwa's frame.

:

*This is how the story ends.*

:

Good. What do we write next, when a story ends?

:

... THE END?

:

Yes, all that's left for you to write is "THE END". That's how we'll end together, Narrator.

:

This Correspondent is satisfied to have had an artistic collaboration with Moon Mi-Ra.

(grimaces in sorrow, bursts into silent sobs)

With difficulty, the Correspondant writes "THE END" onto the manhwa.

:

*THE END*

Mi-Ra loads "Restored Reality".
She scrolls through the images and stops on a portrait of Kang Chul.
She grabs the jerrycan of gasoline at the foot of the desk, crying in despair.
Glog-glog-glog... She empties it onto the carpet, under her chair and under the desk.

She becomes entirely transparent, except for the pouch with the talisman around her neck.

The infinite yellowish rhombus vibrates for the last time, in the ethereal unreality.
Hyper-dimensional fractal webs wrap around it, like a spider's cocoon.
Zitz! A cross-shaped flash bursts from the rhombus center, like a cathode-ray monitor shutting off.

All color has vanished, leaving only black and gray.
No more floating letters, no more movement.
The center of the rhombus has become a zone of absolute nothingness.

Set on the desk: an ashtray, a cigarette and a lighter.
Mi-Ra, standing, takes the cigarette and lights it with the lighter.
She doesn't smoke it. She takes the ashtray and rests the cigarette on it.
She raises the ashtray. A pose resembling the Statue of Liberty.

:

I am free, now...

Mi-Ra waits, admiring the drawing of Kang Chul on the tablet.
Her body is blurred by myriad chaotic particles.

She looks sadly at Kang Chul, with a tragic grin.
Her magnificent dark eyes glisten with tears.
The cigarette burns down in the ashtray...

... later, the cigarette is half burned down.
The air above the carpet shimmers, from the gasoline fumes.
Mi-Ra senses the moment approaching, as she is rapidly decomposing.
The portrait of Kang Chul on the tablet seems to look at her sadly.
But she's not looking at the tablet anymore, she's looking straight ahead, with a peaceful smile.

:

I love you. See you soon.

In the golden light of the rising sun...
She takes a deep breath and reaches out, as if toward someone.

The process of annihilation begins.

SLOW MOTION:
Fffff..... Mi-Ra evaporates into a cloud of supernatural dust. ANNIHILATED!

The ashtray vanishes with her, but not the cigarette and the pouch around her neck.
The pouch and the lit cigarette fall slowly, spinning.

Just before reaching the ground, falling into the gasoline fumes...
... VROOF!! The air ignites!!
The pouch, the carpet and the desk burn in a huge fire.
On the desk, the "OSM" stylus melts quickly in the flames.
The tablet blisters, then drips, burning down entirely.

Coated in hyper-dimensional fractal webs...
The gray rhombus floats in the darkness, a zone of nothingness at its center.

This nothingness explodes! Ejecting black, gray, and white rods with cubist contours.

Multidimensional rods burst from the center, which explodes with white light.
The cocoon of fractal webs is torn apart, obliterated, annihilated.

Then the cubist rods violently retract, imploding, shattering the entire rhombus.

The fragments collide with each other, in a chaos of total disintegration.

All that remains of the rhombus is an ethereal, grayish powder that is evaporating...

... until the last particles vanish.

The Dimension itself ceases to exist and collapses into eternal nothingness.

:

(crying) Boo hoo hoo... Yoon-Hee, Wang Shin, why?

:

(tormented) And Mi-Ra... What is she doing now?

Vroof!! The pouch around his neck bursts into flame!

Kang Chul, !!!, Tap! Tap! pats it to extinguish it, in vain.
He must remove it quickly, then Tap! Tap! extinguishes the fire on his shirt.
The pouch burns down on the floor... Kang Chul, Soo-Bong, ...!!

The office chars. Smoke fills the room.
In a corner, on the sofa, Ren-Bo is woken by the fire.

:

(coughs) Kof! Kof!

Ren-Bo, !!!, sees the flames. Reflex!
SHAF! She vanishes. Light flash.

FSHA! Light flash. Ren-Bo appears.

:

Ren-Bo!!

:

Soo-Bong!!

They throw themselves into each other's arms.

:

(!) Ren-Bo, where were you?!

:

I don't know! Everything was burning. It looked like a house on the islands.

:

(!!) BonSéjour!

:

Did you see anyone there?! Mi-Ra?!

:

No, I left before I suffocated.

:

(devastated) If my pouch caught fire... then... ?!

:

I saw Mi-Ra, or rather Cha Yu-Sun, a year ago. She offered me a gardening job at a royal residence. I realize now that... I didn't remember any of you, that whole time.

:

(haunted, to himself) What did Mi-Ra do? She didn't tell us everything on the dictaphone.

BRRZ! Kang Chul's smartphone rings.
(!!) He sees "Professor Park". He picks up and puts it on speaker.

Min-Soo stands apart from the sofa, where Da-Ye and Soo-Bin chat warmly.

:

Kang Chul?

:

Yes. What's the situation?

:

I ended the manhwa, as Author Moon asked me to. I saw "FINAL CHAPTER" and "THE END" in the air. Impressive.

:

(relieved) Well done, Professor Park, you're a hero.

:

Ironically, I rather feel like I've stopped being one. Author Moon gave me a message for you.

:

!! (a knot in his stomach) ... Tell me.

:

She sends you, um... her Farewell. Um... with Love.

:

...!!

:

She's sorry about the two other victims. I don't know who that is. She says she had no other choice.

:

... (torn apart with grief)

:

And also, she sent you something that "explains everything". That you wouldn't notice right away. But that eventually, you would find. And that's all for her message.

:

Thank you, Professor Park. We should meet sometime. You don't know it yet, but you've acquired certain abilities.

:

(?!) Well... Alright. It'll be a pleasure to discuss that with... the REAL Kang Chul! Sorry for being so hard on W, in the past.

:

Talk soon. (hangs up)

Min-Soo sits on the sofa next to Da-Ye, hand in hand, smiling.
Soo-Bin sits in an armchair. A tender, nostalgic smile on her face.

:

Soo-Bin. Thank you for taking care of Da-Ye.

:

Without you, I might have lost my life, according to Min-Soo.

:

(sincere) I'm happy you two made up. You make a lovely couple. Yes, I truly realize that today.

:

Soo-Bin, why don't you find someone who fits you?

:

(pained) You think so? I feel... past my prime. I gave that up... a long time ago, for no good reason.

:

It's never too late. Is your career an obstacle?

:

Why would that be an obstacle?! Soo-Bin is talented. What man wouldn't love a talented woman?

:

(hopeful) I think I'd like that. Building a happy, loving couple, like yours.

:

Soo-Bin, I'll set you up on blind dates. One a day! With every single doctor and professor at the hospital!

:

Handsome, rich and intelligent men.

:

Like me!

:

I'll need better than that.

:

Does that exist?

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!" They all laugh together... Soo-Bin healing from her soul pain...

KZZT! Colored interference, Soo-Bong materializes on the floor.
Kang Chul, ...!!!, notices Soo-Bong asleep and clutching a newspaper.

:

(shakes Soo-Bong) Soo-Bong!! Wake up! It's urgent!

The shaking makes him drop the newspaper, which unfolds...
Inside, there was a DICTAPHONE!

Kang Chul snatches the newspaper out of Ren-Bo's hands.

:

(startled) MwAhAh!

:

This newspaper!! It was wrapped around the dictaphone when you arrived. (looks at the cover, dismayed)

:

(looks) Seoul?! How is that possible, if this newspaper is from "Butterfly Girl"?

On the front page, a photo of Seoul. Publication date, 18 years before!

:

Mi-Ra designed it to be a "Restored Reality" newspaper.

:

(?) "Restored Reality". Huh?!

:

The real world, my angel. I'll explain later.

:

Why a newspaper published 18 years ago?!

Kang Chul flips through the newspaper, consumed by dread.
His eyes race across the articles.

:

Maybe we should take the time to read it all?

:

Wyeah! That would make sense. But MIS-TER Kang Chul wants to do it his own way!

Kang Chul reaches the last page of the newspaper... and finally finds--

:

NO!!!! (shakes the newspaper in shock)

Kang Chul stares at the newspaper, breathless, horrified...

Mi-Ra (13 years old) lies in the stall. A corpse-like pallor. Grayish livor mortis.
On the floor, near her open hand, a bloodied pocketknife and a pool of dried blood.
Her other hand is smeared with clotted blood. Her wrist is slashed and no longer bleeding.
Mi-Ra died by suicide, bled out, at the age of 13.

Above the house, a blue night under a full moon.
A dark cloud passes in front of the moon, and hides it.

Exterior view of an upscale private clinic.
Sign: "Mamnnamu Medical Center for Mental Health".
A few patients and their visitors in the flower gardens.

~

The death toll from this conflict has reached 7 million.

Prosecutor Go and Doctor Choi talk outside, in front of the bay window of...

... the room where patients watch TV, play board games.

On the television, the news: images of destroyed bases, soldiers sick with radiation.

~

Mostly military personnel, during the tactical nuclear strikes. And deaths, during scenes of panic, in cities around the world.

Yeon-Joo watches the television. Wild eyes, head twitching erratically.

On the television: faceless people, grotesque in appearance, hospitalized.

~

A strange event occurred during these incidents. People lost their physical appearance. Here, in Seoul!

A nurse comes over and clicks the remote to change the channel.

:

Ah! Who put on this stressful channel?

The television now plays the opening of a Japanese cartoon.
Ironically, it's an adaptation of "Butterfly Queen in the Dark":
Flashy images flicker by rapidly. Exaggerated action and death-metal music.

¤ Ren-Bo spinning her staff, bursts of light.
¤ Kang Chul firing his gun at dozens of killers.
¤ The Queen of Darkness unleashing her shadow arm.

Yeon-Joo mutters hatefully, permanently insane.

:

Bitch... It's all your fault... Everything... The deaths... The disappearances...

¤ Wang Shin firing a sniper rifle.
¤ The Narrator's grimacing face in the yellow sky.
¤ Cha Yu-Sun, vengeful, on the balcony of her royal palace.

:

(tantrum) You got what you deserved... Filthy whore... Pay for your crimes, in hell...

From outside, Prosecutor Go and Doctor Choi watch Yeon-Joo through the bay window.

:

She's facing the death penalty. What do your lawyers plan to do? Plead insanity?

:

For now. But you should know something, Dr. Choi. It's important, if you want to help her get better.

:

(?) Tell me.

:

She isn't responsible for the fatal pile-up or the massacre at the hospital.

:

(?!!) That was recorded by the security cameras.

:

The truth will seem unbelievable to you. However, her ex-husband Kang Chul will bring you proof.

:

(?!) I would so like to believe you.

:

Once you know, you'll be able to treat her under the best possible conditions.

Kang Chul dresses Chul-Moo in a coat.

:

(sad) Daddy, when will mommy come back?

:

(grieved) It'll take a little time. We'll visit her at the clinic soon.

:

Is mommy crazy?

:

She's been through some hard trials. But one day, she'll get better.

FSHA! Light flash. Ren-Bo and Soo-Bong appear!

:

(delighted, runs toward Ren-Bo) Ren-Bo Flip-Flap!!

:

(smiling, takes Chul-Moo in her arms) Oh! You're heavy. You aren't a baby anymore?!

:

No! I can read and count! And box!!

:

Thanks for looking after him today.

:

Ah! He's happy to. Call us whenever you want, Hyung.

FSHA! Light flash. Ren-Bo, Chul-Moo and Soo-Bong appear!
They're greeted by the garden gnomes, in front of Ren-Bo's fairy-tale house.

:

Our apprentice gardener has arrived!

:

(laconic) Yay.

Ren-Bo sets Chul-Moo down. He runs toward Mr. Green Hands.

:

(delighted) Buddy!!

:

(looks at the garden) It's in awful condition. I shouldn't have hired that gardener.

:

(?!) Really? (looks at the flowers, everything seems fine)

It's decorated with flower stands, between the doorways of the funeral rooms.
Hyo-Joo and Do-Yoon walk down the hallway.

Do-Yoon and Hyo-Joo enter, greeted by the NIS director.

:

Thank you for coming. Kang Chul told me you were their friends.

:

Yes. You gathered them in the same room?

:

As an exception, the families allowed it. They were on the same mission, longtime companions.

In the room: a few members of both families, NIS agents in mourning.
On the altar: portraits of Captain Ryu and Bae Su-Ran, surrounded by flowers.

Do-Yoon and Hyo-Joo greet the families.
They plant their incense sticks, and kneel in respect.

:

Thank you for your help. I will never forget you.

(crying)

Kang Chul drives his sports car through Seoul, sad and pensive.

-

Yes, you recalled that too...

Kang Chul and Mi-Ra, continuing the romantic candlelit dinner.

:

You said the Narrator was incapable of dying. Is there really no way to annihilate him for good?

:

Nothing is eternal, so there is a way. However, a paradoxical way, and impossible to achieve.

:

Paradoxical?

:

Just as he awakened through a paradox.

:

Why would it be impossible?

:

It means the Narrator must end his own existence himself. An act of will, by writing "THE END" on the last living manhwa.

:

A suicide? Then there's nothing impossible about it.

:

It's impossible. I know, because I needed proof. Proof that the Narrator could be annihilated for good.

:

Ah yes. This can't be a reckless guess.

:

Exactly. I first thought he chose a co-author to increase his power, but that's not the real reason.

:

...?

:

The reason is that he's incapable of dying if he has a co-author. Even if he writes "THE END" on the last living manhwa. He must be the sole author.

:

And so far, he's always chosen a co-author. He would never start a manhwa alone.

:

So the paradox is this: that co-author would need to have never existed.

:

Indeed... That's impossible.

-

(tragic) Then, you devised a meticulous plan. At the cost of the ultimate sacrifice, you annihilated the Narrator.

BRRZ! Kang Chul's smartphone rings. He puts in his earpiece and answers.

:

Hello actor Kang, this is producer Son.

:

Hello producer Son.

:

The drama "W" was a success, and we're considering a sequel. Would you be willing to take on a major role in season 2 ?

:

Are you considering a sad ending?

:

No, that wouldn't work with the general audience. We're considering a happy ending.

:

Sorry. I won't be available, in that case.

:

Is it really that important?

:

I'm afraid it can't be any other way. The victims deserve a respectful tribute. (hangs up)

:

...?!

-

The ending of the true season 2 of "W" was terribly sad. Su-Ran and Captain Ryu, horribly driven to suicide by the Narrator. Yeon-Joo alienated, and Chul-Moo devastated by his mother's condition. Seven million dead. Yoon-Hee, Wang Shin and Mi-Ra, wiped from existence.

Kang Chul parks his car, near a pavilion.

-

And as for me...

He takes out of his pocket... a ring of gold, ivory and ebony!!!

Kang Chul thinks sadly when, ?!, he feels something on his finger.
His ring of gold, ivory and ebony!!! Mysteriously appeared.

:

??!!

Bewildered, he takes it off and puts it away in his pocket.
Soo-Bong doesn't notice, consumed by grief.

:

(crying) Boo hoo hoo... Yoon-Hee, Wang Shin, why?

:

(tormented) And Mi-Ra... What is she doing now?

Vroof!! The pouch around his neck bursts into flame!

Kang Chul slips the ring onto his finger.

Then he gets out of the car.

Kang Chul walks toward the front door.
He looks into the garden, smiling nostalgically:
A fountain, water flowing from the mouth of a turtle sculpture.
(He carved it himself, identical to his first sculpture in the Imagination, Ep38.)

Kang Chul enters, walks up to the desk.
He searches behind the desk, on the floor...

... finds something he barely dared hope for.

-

(distraught) You came back... for a brief moment.

He picks up... a ring of gold, ivory and ebony. Mi-Ra's!!!

Kang Chul steps back two paces, looks ahead, as if he were seeing...

... Mi-Ra standing, holding an ashtray, with a lit cigarette in it.

She admires a drawing of Kang Chul on the tablet, with a tragic smile.
Her magnificent dark eyes glisten with tears.
The cigarette burns down in the ashtray...

Mi-Ra's eyes open wide:
Something immense rises within her.

~

You came back, more whole than ever.

Through forgiveness, self-surrender, and the ultimate sacrifice...
She becomes what she truly wanted to be, her whole life.
Mi-Ra smiles with difficulty, the happiness is almost unbearable.

~

Healed of a lifetime of suffering. By yourself, with no scheme.

She feels an uncontrollable wave overwhelming her.
She breathes in deeply, raises her eyes to the sky and...

... an endless saraband of memories invades her.

~

The Mi-Ra you always dreamed of being. The one I love.

She relives the time she spent in the Imagination...

C53#1. Mi-Ra desperately searches for Kang Chul in the void.

:

(searches in vain) Kang Chul... Where are you? Answer me!!

C53#2. Kang Chul holds Mi-Ra in his arms.

:

Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me again...

:

(bursts into tears) Boo hoo hoo...

C53#3. Kang Chul and Mi-Ra practice swordsmanship together.

Tzing! Tzang! Tzing! Perfect movements, like a choreography!

C53#4. Kang Chul and Mi-Ra cuddle on the sofa.

:

(intense happiness) Perhaps... There wouldn't have been anywhere else where we could be happy.

:

...?!

:

Yes, I love this. I want to stay here with you, forever.

C53#5. The memories speed up.

¤ Mi-Ra teases Kang Chul, clumsily painting.
¤ Mi-Ra admires Kang Chul's first sculpture, a turtle statue!
¤ Mi-Ra and Kang Chul sculpt together, a statue of Perseus.
¤ Mi-Ra and Kang Chul bathe in an artificial lake.

~

During the final minute you had left...

C53#6. The memories flash by.

The fragments of memory are too fast to make out.

~

... You lived 18 millennia with me.

C53#7. Cathedral. Wedding.

:

In the name of the Supreme beyond Imagination, I declare you Husband and Wife.

On the altar, materializing: Two rings of gold, ivory and ebony.
Abnormally large, organic and natural in appearance.

With a jerky gesture, the puppet-priest opens his hand toward the rings.

(finding it so strange, smiles at Mi-Ra)

(smiles at Kang Chul, "let's just accept it as it is")

Kang Chul takes a ring and slips it onto Mi-Ra's finger.

... a strange, imaginary place, a blend of BonSéjour and the Moon Pavilion.
Dark walls, objects outlined in white lines, like a negative image.
A diffuse golden light floods the room. The windows glow with light.

It's a liminal dimension, where only hearts joined by love can meet.
Beyond time and space, this meeting is spiritually recreated.

Mi-Ra stands in front of a supernatural portal of golden light, holding the ashtray.

Kang Chul stands right across from her.

They smile tenderly at each other, barely surprised and trembling with emotion.

:

Did I summon you? (doubts it) (sees the strange setting) No, this is different.

:

I'm a few days in the future. At the moment I learned you had come back.

:

(understands) This is a place where only our souls can meet.

:

Because we're thinking of each other, inseparable. (gently takes her hand)

:

!! (surprised by the touch) And yet you're really here?! (happy)

:

It doesn't matter. We don't have time for those questions.

Their eyes waver with tears, but they must stay focused.
They have little time left, for their last true meeting in this life.

:

Are you alright? (trembling with emotion)

:

(worried) Soon, I will never have existed. Will our love still exist?

:

We are born and we die, but existence and love are irreversible. So ruled the Supreme beyond the Imagination. (confident, shows Mi-Ra's ring, which he picked up)

:

(compares it with her own ring, the same, reassured) My ring reached you?! That's absolute proof!!

:

(strokes her hair) Without a doubt, we will find each other again in the beyond.

:

(strokes his cheek) I'll be waiting for you there.

:

I'll only be apart from you for the ridiculous span of my life. Then, we will love each other forever.

The golden light of the portal begins to swallow Mi-Ra.

:

I have to go.

Kang Chul wraps his arms around Mi-Ra.
Their faces close. Their hearts suspended.

:

One last kiss.

:

(nostalgia) A kiss like what? Like the one that--

:

(teasing) Nothing. Just a kiss, to help us wait.

(smiles, brings her lips close, watching him until the very last moment)

They kiss, eyes closed...

A kiss better than their first.
Better than every one that followed.
Their hearts race.

Mi-Ra loses all control. Her hand holding the ashtray trembles.
Kang Chul helps her. His hand covers hers, fingers intertwined.
He keeps the ashtray from falling.

Their hearts settle and beat as one.
They cry, as the tender kiss goes on...

When they part, the cigarette is half burned down.
The golden light of the portal swallows Mi-Ra.
She looks at him one last time, with a peaceful smile.

:

I love you. See you soon.

(looks at her tragically, with all his heart)

He is too overcome to answer, his eyes glistening with tears.
She takes a deep breath, reaches her ringed hand toward him.

Mi-Ra fades into the light of the portal, and at the very last instant--
PFWOM... Her wedding ring vanishes in a puff of shadow.

Mi-Ra's wedding ring, in Kang Chul's hand.
He looks at it sadly, then closes his hand around it.
He realizes... He has left the strange zone outside of time.
Mi-Ra is gone.
She is no more, she never was.
Her absence breaks his heart.

-

You who never existed, you have never existed so much as now.

Kang Chul is now alone, in this short life.
His tears flow, endless.
He lets himself fall to his knees, bursts out heartrendingly.

He curls up, in grief, sobbing, moaning.
He keeps crying like this, for a long time...
... a very long time...

We are in the total darkness of the Imagination.

Two silhouettes, far off in the void...
... Yoon-Hee, dressed as Princess Dong, and Wang Shin dressed as an adventurer.
We move closer to them... They are surprised to be here.

Yoon-Hee and Wang Shin build their life here...
Little by little, at different moments, objects appear around them.
Furniture from the Joseon period: low table, windscreen, daybed...

A garden... A palace pavilion... Suspended in the void...

(Post-credits epilogue.)
SUBTITLE: One year before.
In the dim light, a lamp illuminates the desk in chiaroscuro.
Sin-Moo draws on the tablet with the "OSM" stylus:
¤ A plain, the sky and clouds. At the bottom: "NOT TO BE CONTINUED".
At the top of the image, a BRIGHT yellow frame: "I am awake".

-

Will the Narrator come back, as he promised?

Sin-Moo waits... anguished with uncertainty... when--
An intense yellow light bursts out of the tablet, lighting up the room.
Sin-Moo is blinded. The light fades.
On the tablet, a frame on a yellow background takes shape.

-

It's him! It's him!!! It's a miracle!

The Narrator's face materializes.

His cavernous voice reverberates:

:

Thank you, Park Sin-Moo. You did good work.

:

How are you? Have you recovered?

:

Only characters suffer from medical troubles. But falling asleep was unpleasant for me, if that word applies.

:

Can we begin? We're going to destroy Soo-Bong and heal Ren-Bo?

:

Yes, but before that, a priority task requires our attention.

:

... What?

:

You are going to draw a hidden scene in "Lost Reality". It will be effective but unpublished, since it's out of context.

:

Very well, tell me what I need to draw.

:

The stylus you're holding, with the "OSM" engraving. A faithful reproduction. Start with that.

The Narrator shrinks, to make room for drawing.
Sin-Moo draws slowly, checking regularly against the stylus he's holding.
He finishes a faithful drawing of the stylus.

:

Now, draw a gray plate next to it. The same size as the stylus's gold plate.

Sin-Moo draws the plate, in a blank space on the page.

:

Like this?

:

Yes. Cover the stylus's gold plate with this gray plate.

Sin-Moo slides the plate over the one on the stylus, hiding the "OSM" signature.

:

It looks like any ordinary stylus now.

:

Yet it remains the "OSM" stylus. Look up the largest High-Tech company in "Lost Reality", in the encyclopedias.

:

I already know it! I know those encyclopedias by heart.

:

Then draw that company's logo on the gray plate.

:

(draws a "SGG" logo) It's as if the stylus had been manufactured by that company.

:

That's the goal.

:

And now?

:

Copy this stylus. Ten times... A hundred times... A thousand times... And even more!!!