"I'm Kim Dae-hun, playing the role of Im Seung-chul."

The Chaser is a story centered around two detectives pursuing a criminal. Im Seung-chul is the main character, a detective in the violent crimes division. He’s a passionate detective who won’t hesitate to fight criminals, having trained in martial arts.

Reflecting this character's setting, actor Kim Dae-hun had a striking appearance. With a chiseled jawline, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes, his towering height of over 180cm made him quite an imposing figure when standing face-to-face.

“Wow, I've played criminals plenty of times, but this is my first time as a detective.”

His joke drew laughter from the group. Kim Dae-hun was known for often playing generals in historical dramas, though in modern settings, he was more frequently cast as the criminal.

It was his first time playing a detective, but no one there doubted his ability. His acting skills were well-regarded in the industry.

"I'm Jung Si-hyun, playing the role of the victim, Han Ye-hwa. I look forward to working with you."

A woman with a delicate appearance bowed and greeted the actors sitting around the large table. Jung Si-hyun had recently starred as the lead actress in a popular drama.

With a good image and growing recognition, she was cast as the victim, though in truth, her role was more akin to the main heroine whom the protagonist must save.

And then…

“……”

All eyes turned to one girl. The youngest among them, seventeen-year-old actress Joo Seoyeon.

‘Isn’t she Princess Yeonhwa?’ ‘She was on TV recently, right?’

Seoyeon’s appearance at this meeting was something of a surprise. This was the first time many of the cast were seeing her, as it was only today that the director, Bae Jin-hwan, had finally introduced the actress playing the film’s main villain.

‘I heard he had been struggling to find an actress for the role of Cha Seo-ah and finally managed to cast someone…’

‘But I never imagined it would be Joo Seoyeon.’

Joo Seoyeon. The child actress who had suddenly disappeared ten years ago.

Child actors retiring abruptly wasn’t uncommon. The reasons varied, but it wasn’t a rare occurrence.

What made Seoyeon unique was that she vanished at the height of her popularity.

“I'm Joo Seoyeon, playing the role of Cha Seo-ah.”

Her voice was calm and pleasant to listen to. She had a serene expression and a beautiful face.

She was the perfect visual fit for the character of Cha Seo-ah. However…

‘The image of Princess Yeonhwa is so strong.’ ‘I heard that her performance in Eyes Closed really impressed the director.’

The staff whispered quietly among themselves. Those who hadn’t seen the play were puzzled by Bae Jin-hwan’s casting choice.

The most recent memory of Seoyeon was from Looking Back at the Past, where her poignant reunion with the grown-up Yoon Seo-il and Park Jung-woo after ten years had left a deep impression.

To see Princess Yeonhwa, who had moved them all to tears… playing a villain?

“This is really surprising—Joo Seoyeon as Cha Seo-ah.”

The one who spoke up was Park Hee-jun, who was playing the role of Seo Gwang-il, the other detective in The Chaser. Unlike Kim Dae-hun, who was a good fit for the hot-blooded detective Im Seung-chul, Park Hee-jun had a more cold and calculated demeanor.

His character, Seo Gwang-il, was meant to be the more restrained and strategic partner, reining in the impulsive Im Seung-chul.

“The role of Cha Seo-ah is crucial to this movie, so I hope we can work well together.”

It sounded like a friendly remark, but…

‘There’s an underlying edge to his words.’ ‘It seems Park Hee-jun is a bit skeptical about Seoyeon.’

In truth, Park Hee-jun wasn’t thrilled about Seoyeon. He had auditioned rigorously for his role and immersed himself deeply in the character of Seo Gwang-il.

This role felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And with GH Group backing the film, it had a high chance of being a major hit. He had essentially put everything into this movie, so it was only natural that he felt uneasy about Seoyeon.

Honestly…

‘It’s not that I doubt Director Bae Jin-hwan’s abilities, but having Joo Seoyeon play Cha Seo-ah…’

It wasn’t hostility, but there was a strong sense of unease. Sure, Seoyeon had received good reviews for her acting in the past, but that was ten years ago, and what she had shown recently was merely in a variety show.

And on a theater stage. This was neither drama nor film.

Her first real opportunity to showcase herself to the public would be in this movie. So, he wasn’t the only one feeling uncertain.

At that moment…

“Let’s go ahead and do a script reading today.”

The words came from Director Bae Jin-hwan. There was a slight stir among the group at his suggestion.

It wasn’t uncommon to move straight to a script reading after introductions, especially when there was tension in the air that needed to be addressed quickly.

‘Indeed.’

Producer Cha Dong-jin, who was present at the meeting, understood Bae Jin-hwan’s intention. He had seen Seoyeon’s performance in the play.

So, he had a certain level of confidence.

This young actress, Joo Seoyeon, was the real deal.

But the other actors might not see it that way. To them, Seoyeon was just a child actress making a comeback after ten years.

“Let’s go with scene number 24.” “Huh? But that’s…”

Kim Dae-hun, who played Im Seung-chul, reacted with confusion. Scene #24.

It wasn’t a scene where Cha Seo-ah, the villain, did anything particularly noteworthy.

It was the scene where Cha Seo-ah, standing at a bus stop, first encounters the two detectives. While chasing a serial killer, the detectives happen upon Cha Seo-ah at a bus stop not far from the crime scene.

At that moment, Im Seung-chul feels a strange vibe from her and strikes up a conversation. After a brief exchange, Cha Seo-ah gets on a bus and leaves.

It was just a simple scene.

“…Understood.”

The actors, though curious about what could be shown in such a scene, agreed and picked up their scripts.

Scene #24. The setting was a bus stop.

The large table where the actors had been sitting now symbolized the small bus stop. When Kim Dae-hun and Park Hee-jun faced Seoyeon with the script in their hands…

And then…

“Excuse me, miss.”

Kim Dae-hun, or rather, Detective Im Seung-chul, furrowed his thick eyebrows and spoke.

“Didn’t you see the news today? It’s dangerous to be out here alone! There’s a killer on the loose, you know?” “Geez, senior, don’t scare people like that. Why do you have to act like that whenever you see someone?”

Im Seung-chul was in a foul mood. There had already been three murders in his jurisdiction.

The victims had no gender distinction. This made it even harder to identify the culprit.

Given that a burly man had been killed, it seemed more likely that the killer was male.

“Yeah, but you never know when the killer might suddenly appear, so we should give people a heads-up, right?” “Is that really a heads-up, or are you just being a pain?”

The two detectives bantered as they watched the woman. She stood at the bus stop, silently watching them.

There was something off about the atmosphere. Yes, that atmosphere.

Normally, Im Seung-chul would have just passed by, but there was something about this woman that held him in place. She looked to be around twenty, maybe in her late teens?

A small woman who couldn’t possibly have killed an adult male. Yet, there was something about her that drew his gaze.

And then she smiled.

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll be careful.”

It was a simple line. An ordinary line.

But something… Something felt wrong.

‘What is this?’

Kim Dae-hun was the first to sense it—the oddness in Seoyeon’s portrayal of Cha Seo-ah’s smile.

It was a smile as if drawn in a painting. Acting. It was clear that it was acting, but something was different.

‘Is she acting, acting?’

Yes, that’s what it felt like. She was smiling, but it felt like she was acting the smile. This is what people refer to as “awkward acting.”

But there was something else to it. Something that made it feel… off. It was an indescribable unease.

‘People…’

Seoyeon, still in character as Cha Seo-ah, slowly erased the smile from her face.

‘People feel uneasy when they see something that’s almost human but not quite.’

There’s a term called the “uncanny valley.” It’s the feeling people get when they see a robot, doll, or drawing that looks almost human but isn’t quite right.

It’s the emotion felt when something is close to human but is instinctively recognized as not human.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be sure to call if anything happens.”

It was a simple statement. A smile on her lips, eyes curving with the gesture.

It would seem like a kind woman talking to the police, but anyone who saw her in person wouldn’t describe it as kind.

‘Cha Seo-ah is like me but different.’

In her past life, Seoyeon believed she had been loved. Or so she thought.

She was given opportunities. Time to observe and mimic the emotions of others.

Even if she was scolded or punished during that time. It wasn’t abuse… or so she thought.

In her past life, she was forced to be “normal.” She was expected to be a normal person who laughed and cried like everyone else.

Her parents, she thought, had that expectation of her.

But Cha Seo-ah didn’t even have that chance. Cha Seo-ah’s smile was a survival tactic learned through abuse.

It wasn’t even an attempt to mimic emotions like Seoyeon had done in her past life—it was just a crude imitation.

‘Mimic the emotions faintly, just on the edge of awkwardness.’

Seoyeon knew. She knew at what point people would sense “something’s off.” She remembered the faces of those who had looked at her when she laughed or cried in her past life.

In those moments, she had seen fear. What she was performing now was that unsettling edge.

If her usual emotional mimicry was over 95% accurate to real emotions, now it was about 70%. Just enough for people to recognize it as emotion but still feel something was off.

“And…”

Seoyeon, or rather, Cha Seo-ah, smiled calmly again as she spoke.

“Are you two officers stationed at the nearby police station?”

It was a simple question. But a heavy tension hung in the air.

A simple line had struck the hearts of the two detectives like a scene from a thriller.

“Uh, yes. That’s right.” “Oh~, I see. So if I call, you’ll come right away? How long does it usually take? Can you get here quickly?”

Was she asking out of concern for the threat of the killer? It felt strange to think so.

She seemed very interested in how long it would take them to arrive and where they usually were stationed.

“Why are you asking?”

Detective Seo Gwang-il asked cautiously, trying to shake off the strange feeling he got from the woman.

“Well, you said it’s dangerous. I’m a weak woman, so I thought it would be good to know how quickly I can get help.”

It was a plausible reason. But her line had no hint of actual “concern.”

It was pure curiosity, detached from the content of her question. And the smile that accompanied her words only heightened the unease.

It was as if she didn’t know how to express genuine concern, so she simply smiled as best as she could.

“Oh, the bus is here.”

Seeing that the two detectives were silent, the woman said this and bowed slightly.

“I’ll rely on you next time.”

On any other day, Detective Im Seung-chul might have made some light-hearted remark in response, but now he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

He felt it. A sense that he would meet this woman again.

It was a vague but certain feeling.

The two detectives could only watch as the woman boarded the bus and left.

And so, Scene #24. The first encounter between Cha Seo-ah and the two detectives ended.

“…Phew.”

Someone exhaled. The tension that had settled over the table dissipated with that breath.

The script reading. It was an effortless finish. There were no heightened emotions, just a smooth exchange of lines. But…

‘What was that?’

Everyone’s eyes were on Seoyeon.

‘Was that really acting?’

Method acting. No, it wasn’t even that.

What they had just witnessed was the real “Cha Seo-ah.” They were actors, people whose livelihood depended on their ability to act. So they should have been able to distinguish between acting and reality. But this time, they couldn’t.

They couldn’t tell the difference.

“Se… Seoyeon?”

Even Bae Jin-hwan’s voice trembled as he spoke. He had believed Seoyeon would do well, but he hadn’t expected it to be this good. This felt entirely different from the role of Hong Jeong-hee in Eyes Closed.

“Yes?”

Seoyeon looked puzzled at their reactions. The way they were staring at her, their gazes filled with tension, made her wonder what was going on.