Chapter 18: It Would Be Too Trouble some to Find Another Actor Now
Park Sungmin and Jung Sunae, currently occupying Room 205 at the Paradise Resort, originally met through a mountain climbing club.
Though both were married with families of their own, they joined the club at the urging of acquaintances and soon discovered it was remarkably easy to find a lover there.
Typically, women hunting for boyfriends were dubbed ‘mountain rabbits,’ while the men seeking them out were known as ‘mountain rabbit hunters.’ The signal was simple: men would roll up one pant leg during a hike, and women would tie a handkerchief around their wrists.
Spotting Park Sungmin’s rolled-up pant leg, Jung Sunae struck up a conversation by offering him a snack. Their connection deepened quickly, evolving into a full-blown affair.
Now, they were at this secluded resort to enjoy a secret rendezvous, far from the prying eyes of the world.
Though an illicit affair, Park Sungmin believed this was true love. Wanting to prove it to Jung Sunae, he secretly prepared a late-night candle event in their room.
“Ugh, what am I even doing at this age?”
Despite his grumbling, he painstakingly arranged a path of candles from the entrance all the way to the bed, waiting eagerly for Jung Sunae’s arrival.
*Click.*
The door unlocked. Someone slipped in discreetly, glancing around to ensure no one was watching.
“Oh my! What is all this? Did you do this yourself?”
Treated like nothing more than a middle-aged housewife at home, Jung Sunae felt a surge of overwhelming emotion. Seeing Park Sungmin go to such lengths for her, she felt like a true woman again.
“For my Sunae, something like this is nothing.”
“Honey…”
“You haven’t eaten anything because you rushed over so late, right? There is a grilled clam place nearby, so let’s go grab a bite first.”
Park Sungmin blew out every candle he had arranged, grabbed his coat, and affectionately took her hand before they stepped out of the resort.
Yet, even then, Park Sungmin remained oblivious. He had yet to realize that a single candle hidden in the deepest corner still burned brightly—and it was only a matter of time before it ignited the curtains fluttering in the breeze.
The fire spread with terrifying, uncontrollable speed, engulfing the entire second and third floors in mere moments.
However, amidst the misfortune, a sliver of luck remained. The fire alarms shrieked to life, and the sprinklers activated.
*Sssssssss.*
As the water from the sprinklers met the roaring flames, the corridors and emergency exits were instantly suffocated by thick smoke.
“F-Fire!! There’s a fire!!!”
Confirming the blaze, the resort guests scrambled out of their rooms in a panic. Recognizing the severity of the situation, the staff swiftly evacuated the building.
Fortunately, it being a weekday meant there were few guests, allowing almost everyone to escape the resort without any casualties.
“What on earth is happening? This is a bolt out of the blue.”
The staff of the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ barely managed to check on one another through their sheer panic.
“Wait!? Hold on, where is Jung Seola? Has anyone seen Jung Seola?”
“Seola’s room is on the fourth floor. Don’t tell me she hasn’t made it out yet?”
At that exact moment, Kyuha sprinted back toward the burning resort like an arrow loosed from a bow.
“Huh!? Are you crazy! Kyuha! It’s dangerous. Kyuha!! He’s out of his mind! Running back in there…”
***
Dead to the world in her fourth-floor room, Jung Seola’s instincts finally kicked in, jolting her awake.
“Huh…? *Cough, cough.*”
Opening her eyes in a groggy haze, she found her room swallowed by a dense, gray fog. For a split second, she thought she was dreaming, before the horrifying reality set in—the building was on fire.
“I-I have to get out!”
Flinging the door open, she stepped into the hallway, only to be met with absolute despair.
A raging inferno already blocked the path to the stairwell, and for some inexplicable reason, the sprinklers in her section had failed to activate.
Driven by sheer panic, Jung Seola retreated into her room and lunged for the window. Yet, it was a solid pane of tempered glass. She couldn’t open it.
“Mom… I am scared.”
*Cough, cough.*
Inhaling the toxic smoke made breathing increasingly agonizing, and her consciousness slowly began to slip away.
“I don’t want to die like this. I finally get to do some proper acting… I can’t die such a meaningless death. Is anyone there? If anyone is out there, please save me. I don’t want to die. I still have so much left to do…”
Just as Jung Seola’s voice began to lose its strength…
*Bang!*
The door to Room 402 was kicked open violently, and a silhouette emerged from the smoke.
“K-Kyuha? Is this a dream…”
With that final thought, Jung Seola completely lost consciousness.
“Fortunately, I am not too late.”
Hearing that Jung Seola was still upstairs, Kyuha had charged into the building without hesitation. Yet, even for him, plunging into the heart of a raging inferno without any protective gear was incredibly dangerous.
Knowing full well that smoke from a fire was lighter than air and naturally rose due to its high temperature, he stripped off his jacket the moment he breached the resort’s entrance.
Drenching the jacket under a working sprinkler, he wrapped it tightly around his mouth and nose. Keeping his posture as low as possible, he tore through the flames, ascending straight to the fourth floor without pausing for breath.
Kyuha draped his soaked jacket over the unconscious Jung Seola, hoisted her onto his back, and sprinted through the inferno with everything he had.
***
Unable to withstand her anxiety, PD Jung Yeonhee nervously chewed on her thumbnail.
“What do I do… What should we do? Will they be okay? They have to be okay…”
She desperately tried to hypnotize herself into believing everything would be fine, but staring at the resort—now entirely consumed by thick, billowing smoke—left her feeling completely hopeless.
Suddenly, someone screamed.
“Ah! He’s coming out! He’s out!! Someone is coming out!!”
Emerging from the resort with Jung Seola still strapped to his back, Kyuha handed her over to her manager, Choi Chungil. Though his body was littered with cuts and burns, he remained relatively composed.
“Seola!! Are you okay!? An ambulance!! Please, call an ambulance!”
Seeing the unconscious Jung Seola, Choi Chungil began acting like a madman. Kyuha spoke calmly.
“She will be fine. She just fainted for a moment.”
PD Jung Yeonhee stared at Kyuha, her face etched with profound worry.
“Are you okay, Kyuha? How could you even think of running back into that!”
“It would be far too troublesome to find another actor at this stage. I am not severely injured, so I am fine.”
“What? Regardless, you need to get to the hospital immediately.”
PD Jung Yeonhee found Kyuha’s reasoning utterly bizarre, but amidst the sheer chaos of the situation, she had no room to dwell on it.
Just then, Bonggu sprinted over to Kyuha, gasping for air.
“Hyungnim!!! Are you alright? I truly thought something terrible had happened to you… *Sniff.*”
Overwhelmed by the terrifying thought of losing Kyuha, Bonggu burst into tears.
“I am sorry for making you worry. But look, everyone is safe.”
“You need to get treated first, Hyungnim. Quickly.”
Confirming that blood was seeping from various lacerations on his arms and legs, Kyuha and Jung Seola were immediately loaded into the newly arrived ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
The fire was swiftly extinguished by 11 firetrucks that responded to the emergency dispatch, bringing the terrifying incident to a close.
***
– Fire Breaks Out at the Accommodations for TVM’s Upcoming Drama ‘Pygmalion Effect’. No Casualties Reported.
– Inferno at an Incheon Resort! All Staff Members of TVM’s ‘Pygmalion Effect’ Confirmed Safe.
– Exclusive! Firsthand Accounts from the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ Staff on the Scene of the Fire!
– What Caused the Blaze at Incheon Paradise Resort, the Basecamp for ‘Pygmalion Effect’?
By the next day, articles detailing the fire flooded the internet, instantly accumulating thousands of comments.
[User1: I can’t believe fires like this still happen these days.]
[User2: My friend’s close hyung is a cop. He said an adulterous couple started the fire.]
[User3: Stop spouting bullshit.]
[User2: I’m serious lol.]
[User4: Wow, but is it actually true that the male lead ran back into the fire to save someone? Is that not made up?]
[User5: No, it’s legit. Everyone who was there confirmed it.]
[User6: That’s fucking insane… shivers.]
A few days later, Park Sungmin was apprehended as the prime suspect in the Incheon Paradise Resort arson case. The National Forensic Service concluded that his lit candles were the ignition point, and following the revelation of his affair, he was officially arrested.
***
“It seems you are cleared for discharge tomorrow. The test results show no major abnormalities.”
Having regained consciousness in the ambulance, Jung Seola underwent a battery of detailed examinations—including lung scans—at Seongguk University Hospital. The diagnosis confirmed her health remained perfectly intact.
“You are incredibly lucky. Had you been delayed even a moment longer, your lungs would have suffered severe damage.”
“Thank heavens. Thank you, Doctor.”
Jung Seola’s mother, Lee Mido, clutched her chest and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Standing nearby, the CEO of her agency, Jung Seungsoo, finally let the tension bleed from his face as he slumped into a chair.
“Thank god. It is a true blessing that Song Kyuha saved you so quickly… If he hadn’t… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. I need to make sure to convey my deepest gratitude to CEO Han of Stella.”
Expressing a desire to rest alone for a while, the others cleared out, leaving Jung Seola alone in her private VIP room.
Basking in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, she slipped deep into thought.
***
Filming for the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ resumed shortly after.
“Alright, everyone! We endured a massive ordeal, but let’s rally together and create a phenomenal masterpiece!”
With PD Jung Yeonhee’s fiery encouragement, the crew dove back into production.
[Pygmalion Effect]
Six months had passed since Sichang and Nayeon’s fateful encounter on the beach.
The first semester concluded. Over the vacation, Sichang earned his pocket money working as a freelance ice sculptor.
He primarily utilized a talent-selling platform called ‘Kkumon.’ While the rates varied slightly depending on size and complexity, he earned roughly 200,000 to 500,000 won per commission crafting ice sculptures for events.
When the second semester commenced, Nayeon spotted Sichang in a general elective class titled ‘Understanding Modern Art.’
‘Oh? That’s the guy from back then! I finally found him.’
After the lecture ended, Nayeon marched up to Sichang and tapped his shoulder.
“Excuse me…? Do you remember me..?”
Sichang spun around at the sudden voice, only to freeze in shock.
Wasn’t this the exact woman who had haunted his thoughts for weeks following the MT?
Just when he had finally managed to erase her from his mind, crossing paths with her like this left him utterly flustered.
“Uh… Haha, well… I don’t really… Anyway, I should get going.”
As Sichang frantically tried to escape, Nayeon grabbed his arm.
“Are you going to run away again like last time?”
“Who said I ran away? It was simply time for me to leave.”
“See! It is you!”
“…..”
Nayeon stared at Sichang with a triumphant smirk before speaking.
“I have something to tell you, so make some time for me.”
“I don’t have time. I am busy.”
“Hiss! I’m going to tell everyone, you know? That you were all alone at dawn, doing mhm-mhm—”
Desperately slapping a hand over Nayeon’s mouth, Sichang realized he needed to get them out of there immediately.
“Alright, I get it. Where do we need to go?”
Relocating to a nearby cafe, the two finally engaged in a proper conversation.
Sichang maintained a wall of heavy vigilance, but Nayeon’s inherently bright aura and disarming smile slowly began melting his frozen heart. Starting from that fateful meeting, grabbing meals and visiting cafes together after class became their daily routine.
As this routine solidified, their relationship naturally blossomed into romance.
Sichang found himself completely overwhelmed by this sudden influx of happiness.
His dark, pessimistic world began reclaiming its light, all thanks to Nayeon—an existence that felt like a gift descended straight from the heavens.
“Let’s try that cafe tucked away past the North Gate today! My friend said it’s absolutely amazing!”
She dictated nearly every date location, and for Sichang, the destination never mattered as long as she was by his side.
Merely basking in Nayeon’s smile was enough to guarantee his day would be a happy one.
***
A drama set operates like an active warzone every hour of the day, yet even amidst the chaos, brief pockets of rest exist to allow the cast to recharge.
Jung Seola approached Kyuha, who was seated in a chair on the edge of the set, quietly reading his script.
“Kyuha, do you have a moment to talk?”
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