Chapter 191:
“How's your condition?”
Time flowed swiftly, and before I knew it, the day of the audition had arrived. Just before heading to the audition venue, Jang Sunho asked for confirmation.
"I'm good. I adapted to the time difference faster than I thought."
"Good to hear."
With a brief reply, Jang Sunho didn't say anything more. It seemed like he didn't want to disturb me, especially since the audition was imminent.
Although Kang Jinseok claimed to be in good condition, the truth was, that it wasn't as great as he made it sound.
"Now, if I start acting, I'll be embodying ‘Andy Miller,' and honestly, watching his life still scares me."
"Nevertheless, I can't stop here; I'll have to give it a try until it works out."
***
Surprisingly, there weren't many people in James Won's office, which served as the audition venue. Unlike the audition venues I had been to before, which were always bustling with actors.As I was carefully looking around, a woman who seemed to be part of the production staff came out of the office. After checking my face, she called me.
"Actor Kang Jinseok. You can come in."
"Oh, sure."
As I stood up, Jang Sunho, without saying anything, lightly clenched his fist and gave me a ‘fighting' sign.
After nodding slightly in response to Jang Sunho, I followed the woman into the office.
James Won greeted me with an expectant voice.
"Finally, we meet again."
"Hello, Director. Thank you for waiting."
"Haha, no, not at all. I can wait as long as needed. I've been eagerly anticipating how you'll portray ‘Andy Miller.' And…"
James Won started to say something but chuckled lightly, deciding to cut his words short.
"I got too excited, and my words got too long. Well, let's get right to the performance then."
"Yes."
I took a slow breath, recalling the script's instructions and lines.
Slowly, the familiar sensation of 'embodiment' began to set in.
I closed my eyes lightly and then opened them.
"It begins."
The perspective shifted.
***
It was a filthy room. Clothes and empty bottles were scattered everywhere, and leftover food clung to the dishes.
In that room, a ten-year-old Andy Miller was sitting.
Andy Miller held a small hand mirror.
He was conversing with his reflection in the mirror.
——
"I got beaten by Mom again today."
"Again today?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"My throat and buttocks."
"Still better than yesterday. Yesterday, she tied me up and slapped me."
"But it still hurts the same."
"That's true. But did you make a friend today?"
"No. Dad won't let me go to school. It doesn't matter; nobody plays with me at school anyway."
"Don't you feel lonely without friends?"
"Well, yeah, but… It's okay because you're here, ‘Ramil.'"
——
It was such a natural conversation that it would be hard to believe it was a monologue while looking at the mirror.
Moreover, when the reflection in the mirror spoke, changing its voice, if one were to listen without watching the scene, it would sound like two kids talking.
The Andy Miller in the mirror, or perhaps the boy who wasn't Andy Miller, smiled and spoke.
There was a sinister undertone in that smile.
——
"I hate your mom and dad for hitting you, but still, I'm thankful to them."
"My mom and dad? Why?"
"Thanks to them, I could meet you. I was always so lonely because I was alone."
——
The reflection of Andy Miller in the mirror, about to respond to ‘Andy Ramil,' was interrupted.
——
"Andy!!"
——
A menacing voice echoed.
It was Andy Miller's stepfather.
——
"Are you muttering to yourself again?!"
——
With those words, the sound of footsteps running up the stairs was heard. Andy Miller hastily hid the mirror under the bed.
The bed was poorly made, old, and light, but it was his only refuge.
However, his stepfather, in his intoxicated state, couldn't remain oblivious to Andy hiding under the shabby bed.
With rough language, the heavily drunk stepfather yelled at Andy.
——
"You can't hide in there forever! What's this mess in the room again?! Adopting an Asian like him was a mistake, as expected!"
"…?"
"Not coming out, huh?!"
——
When Andy didn't come out from under the bed, the stepfather, as usual, prodded Andy's bed.
Then, Andy Miller, who had been hiding under the bed, came out.
Terrified, Andy Miller.
The stepfather used his belt as a makeshift whip and lashed it at Andy.
Snap!
In the pain akin to being struck by the whip, Andy Miller screamed and fled to a corner.
But there was nowhere to escape the stepfather's whipping.
Eventually, Andy Miller lost consciousness.
A while later, the dimmed vision brightened.
It was still Andy Miller's messy room, but before him was not his stepfather but another man.
A pastor with a kind smile.
——
"Andy, from now on, you'll be living with Pastor at our church. You don't need to worry about anything. Your mom and dad won't be able to touch you anymore."
——
The pastor warmly embraced Andy, whose body was full of scars from his step-parents' beatings.
In the warmth of the newfound love, Andy, fearful at first, gradually opened his heart.
Having escaped from his step-parents, Andy sorted out everything in that place and came out. The only thing he took with him was the ‘mirror,' his friend.
And the scene quickly transitioned.
Rescued from his step-parents, Andy Miller lived with the pastor at the church and attended school.
Initially, there were difficulties in school life. However, Andy Miller quickly made friends like any other child and enjoyed a happy life.
Having a life as good as anyone else, Andy no longer needed to alleviate loneliness by talking to the mirror alone.
Living those happy days, one day…
——
"Pastor, I'm back!"
——
Returning to the church from the dormitory during the vacation, Andy Miller greeted the pastor with a bright voice.
The pastor welcomed Andy Miller as if a proud son had returned home after a long time.
——
"Oh, Andy! I got a call from the school principal. You're getting a scholarship again next semester, right?"
"Yes! I have to study hard to repay the grace I received from you, Pastor. Honestly, I was worried this time because my grades were slightly lower than last semester, but I was lucky."
"Haha, I see. But I hope you live for your life rather than for my grace. You deserve to live for yourself."
——
After exchanging affectionate greetings, Andy Miller and the pastor had dinner together after a long time.
They talked about college experiences and stories about people Andy encountered while working part-time.
After listening to Andy Miller's stories to the end, the pastor rose from his seat as the night deepened.
——
"Let's continue the remaining stories tomorrow. I need to get some rest if I'm going to attend the dawn service."
"Understood. I'll take care of the cleanup."
"Thank you."
——
Sending the pastor back to his room first, Andy cleaned up the dishes. Although there were only two of them, the amount of dishes for washing was quite considerable, so he felt quite tired.
As soon as Andy returned to his room, he threw himself onto the bed. Enjoying the comforting sway of the worn-out but familiar mattress, Andy drifted off to sleep.
——
"…It feels damp. There's a smell. What is this?"
——
From the quilt, Andy felt a damp and warm sensation. Not only that but there was also a pungent smell of iron coming from somewhere, piercing his nose.
With half-opened eyes, Andy struggled to lift his quilt.
It was bright red. No, it was deep crimson. The color had changed due to the blood that had been spilled for a long time, that kind of deep crimson color.
And there was so much blood that it seemed to have soaked the entire quilt and bed. In his left hand, there was also a blood-stained knife.
——
"W-What is this?!"
——
Startled, Andy jumped out of bed. In his haste, he fell under the bed.
Underneath the bed, Andy discovered the owner of the blood-soaked bed.
——
"…Pastor?"
——
The pastor lay dead, beaten all over his body.
The only untouched part was his face. For some reason, his face had not a single scratch.
Andy looked at the knife he was holding, trembling.
——
"No way… Did I do this?"
——
There was no way. Why would he kill the pastor, the benefactor who had saved his soul?
But all the evidence pointed to him as the culprit.
——
"No. It's not me. It's not me."
——
Panic struck Andy's mind. What should he do? That was the only thought running through his mind.
After trembling for a while, Andy looked at the knife in his left hand.
——
"I-I didn't commit murder. I can't be framed as a murderer. Not."
——
And not just any murder, but the murderer who killed a father-like pastor.
It was impossible. He needed to buy time somehow to find the real culprit.
The problem was that if the church members came for worship tomorrow morning, the pastor's body would be discovered quickly.
In that case, he would undoubtedly be the first suspect.
What should he do? To avoid suspicion, he had no choice but to hide the body.
——
"Uh… Ugh… I'm sorry, Pastor. I'm sorry."
——
Even though he didn't commit the murder, Andy felt immense guilt about burying the pastor.
While burying the pastor, he thought it wasn't right, but once he had come this far, there was no turning back.
Since the moment he started digging to bury the body, there was the possibility of suspicion that he killed the pastor.
If he wasn't the murderer, there would be no need to secretly dispose of the body.
——
"I'm truly sorry. Pastor, I'll catch the one who killed you, and I'll kneel here to repent."
——
After burying the pastor in one of the least frequented sections of the cemetery, Andy returned to the pastor's room.
The room was completely covered in blood.
——
"There's no time to clean all of this up."
——
Now, there wasn't much time left until the morning service.
Since realistically it was impossible to tidy up the room, Andy just locked the door.
——
"When people come for worship, I'll just say that the pastor went somewhere urgently last night and asked them to leave. That's the right thing to do."
——
After coming up with a plausible excuse, Andy threw the bloodstained clothes into the furnace in one corner of the church to dispose of them.
Then, Andy headed to the shower. He needed to wash off the blood on his body.
——
"Blood… I need to wash it off."
——
Shhh-.
Unlike the showers at the university, the church's shower facilities were modest.
The water flow was minimal, and there was no hot water, but Andy vigorously washed his body until it was nearly peeled.
After finishing the shower, with trembling hands, Andy wiped his body and happened to glance at the mirror.
——
"Long time no see, Andy. How have you been?"
——
In the mirror, his reflection was grinning strangely and sinisterly.
It was his long-time friend, ‘Andy Ramil.'