To start with, it was simple curiosity.
Gildahyeon, the class president of the class where Seoyeon was, wasn't particularly a fan of thrillers. However...

"Are you going to watch The Chaser today?"
"Huh?"
"It’s the one Ju Seoyeon acted in."

Curiosity piqued by a classmate's comment.
In truth, Gildahyeon wasn’t someone who watched a lot of visual media because of her studies.

TV, YouTube, dramas, movies, animation—she barely engaged with these, except for the occasional movie.

"Hey, didn’t she do a great job acting as a ghost during the festival?"
"Well, yeah, she did."

Seoyeon’s ghost performance at the festival.
Honestly, Gildahyeon hadn’t really seen it. She was too busy managing things at the time.

But afterward, she heard the stories.

"Are you guys insane?"
"I almost had a heart attack, seriously."

It was that terrifying, apparently.
What could it have been like?

Gildahyeon somewhat regretted not experiencing the haunted house herself. Maybe that’s why...

"Alright. Let’s watch it."

She agreed readily to watch the movie with her friends.
And then...

Today arrived.

"?"

Within a 2-meter radius around Seoyeon, who wore a puzzled expression, no one dared to approach.

Even though they knew it was just a role, the impression she left was that powerful.

"Se-Seoyeon, hi?"

The friends who finally managed to greet her were trembling slightly as they spoke.

‘Hey Seoyeon, that was really just acting, right?’

They wanted to ask, but knew how silly that question would sound. That’s how much Cha Seo-ah’s presence dominated the movie for two hours, instilling fear.

‘Could it be that Seoyeon’s expressionless face is because of...’
‘No way, really?’

Such doubts crept into their minds.
And then there were Seoyeon’s red eyes.

‘They’re not red right now, but...’

Didn’t they sometimes turn red? Was it her natural disposition?

These thoughts made Cha Seo-ah’s face overlap with Seoyeon’s in their minds.

‘I won’t be able to go to a convenience store for a while.’
‘Totally agree.’

The image of Seoyeon holding a bloodied fire axe from the movie overlapped with the real Seoyeon in their heads. That’s how strong the impression was—Cha Seo-ah chasing after her victims.

"Uh, excuse me."

When Seoyeon spoke, the students quickly backed away.

"Um."

Again, they backed away.
Feeling awkward, someone finally spoke up.

"Ah, it’s not like we’re avoiding you or anything."
"Yeah, sure."
"A movie is just a movie, right?"

Even though they said that, their actions were telling. None of them could meet Seoyeon’s gaze while talking. In fact, it wasn’t that they couldn’t look at her at all.

Every eye in the room was drawn to Seoyeon’s gaze.
The memory of her holding the axe, the hammer, and all sorts of deadly tools in the movie was still fresh.

‘She’s unarmed.’

That’s what their eyes seemed to say.
The distance that had been narrowed suddenly felt like a huge chasm.

‘Hmm.’

Watching this, Seoyeon thought to herself.

‘...I guess I should take a break from making new friends for a while.’

Seoyeon felt a bit disheartened.
It’s said that actors can sometimes influence the public when they take on roles that leave a strong impression. Right now, she was experiencing exactly that.

She could only hope that Dream Future would help counterbalance this image.

‘What should I do?’
‘You go talk to her.’
‘I just need a little time to prepare myself.’

Of course, the students who were watching Seoyeon were anxious.
Among them was Gildahyeon.

‘Ah.’

She wanted to talk to Seoyeon.
But unlike the others, it wasn’t because she was scared or because she wanted to console her.

It was the opposite.
She just wanted to have a serious conversation as a pure fan.

‘She really is an actress.’

This was the first time Gildahyeon had seen Seoyeon’s acting in its entirety.
Her only experiences before had been watching Seoyeon in variety shows and commercials for Dream Future.

But the Seoyeon she saw in the movie was completely different.
She was so terrifying that Gildahyeon had trembled throughout the entire two-hour duration.

The experience was nerve-wracking, but it also provided Gildahyeon with a new stimulus, a glimpse into a new world.

‘I need to tell her later that I really enjoyed it. Ah, I should watch Dream Future too.’

She resolved to make sure to watch any movie or drama that Seoyeon appeared in from now on.

Word of mouth spreads like waves.
And it doesn’t take long for waves to become tsunamis.

The Chaser was just like that.

"Wow, I just watched The Chaser, and it’s insane. How long has it been since we got a truly solid Korean thriller?"

The first to spread the word was Han Bong-sik, a YouTuber on his way to 1.2 million subscribers.

"I can’t give away spoilers, but the killer—she’s small, and a woman, right? Ah, this isn’t sexism; it’s about the atmosphere."

Han Bong-sik explained the scenes he had watched in the movie.

"In most horror movies, the ghost is usually a woman, right? Especially in Asian movies. Maybe it’s that emotional aspect—this movie is really scary."

• He’s exaggerating.
• I watched it, and yeah, he’s right.
• Is it really that good?
• Yeah, it’s that good.

"The killer has her reasons. There’s a backstory, but does that make her pitiable? No, not at all."

Han Bong-sik thought about the movie he had watched.
Certainly, Cha Seo-ah was a woman who evoked pity.
But at the same time, she was too brutal to be pitied.

"You really need to watch it to understand. This movie is definitely going to hit 10 million! Ten million!"

Han Bong-sik declared with confidence.
If this movie doesn’t reach ten million viewers, it wouldn’t make sense!
The Korean thriller film industry would be doomed!

He shouted this out in excitement, and that was the first wave.

"The Chaser is supposed to be really good, right?"
"Yeah, should we go watch it?"

First, there was interest.

"I spent half the movie with my eyes closed."
"Too bad, it was really something."
"I don’t mean it wasn’t good—it was just really scary. But it was fun."

Interest led people to the theaters.
Given that Korean films had been struggling lately, it was inevitable that a suddenly popular movie would draw attention.

"Honestly, isn’t it overhyped?"
"I swear, if it’s not good..."

Normally, people don’t care much about which actors are in a movie.
Usually, only actors with a solid reputation would have their names remembered by the general public.

Among them, Ju Seoyeon’s name was relatively unknown.
Despite past appearances on variety shows and recent drama roles, her roles had been minor.

So, there wasn’t much interest in who played Cha Seo-ah.
That’s why...

When the movie started, the audience saw the actress for the first time without any preconceived notions.
They experienced her intensity firsthand.

Sitting in their seats.
As the rain poured down and Cha Seo-ah appeared.

Calmly disposing of a body.
Her expressionless face evoking thoughts of a psychopath, she filled the audience with fear.

A human-like monster wearing a human’s face.

"Do you work at the police station nearby, Detective?"
"Oh, I see. So if I call, you can get here right away? How long does it usually take? You can come immediately, right?"

Cha Seo-ah’s calm voice filled the theater.
The audience already knew she was the killer.

In the scene where she first encounters the two detectives, Cha Seo-ah casually asks these questions.
At that moment...

There was no background music.

"But why do you ask?"
The detective, sensing something odd, asks.

Cha Seo-ah responds casually, as if it’s nothing.
The tension remains as she rides away on the bus.

Despite the mundane conversation, the audience couldn’t take their eyes off Cha Seo-ah’s every word.
The smile she gave during the conversation was oddly awkward.

That awkwardness brought discomfort.
And that discomfort turned into fear as Cha Seo-ah continued her actions.

"Wh-What did we do wrong? Why, why!!"

As the victim screamed in terror, Cha Seo-ah said nothing.
She merely watched them silently.

As if enjoying their reaction.
Or perhaps searching for an answer.

"I don’t know, either."
"What the hell does that even—"

Before the victim could finish, the axe embedded itself in their head.
The scene didn’t show it explicitly, but the chilling sound made the audience shudder.

"You bastard!!"

Detective Im Seungcheol, who arrived a moment too late, shouted in fury and chased after Cha Seo-ah.
With no weapon on hand, having just disposed of the previous one, he pursued her as she leaped out a window.

The ensuing chase scene gripped the audience.
Cha Seo-ah showed no fear in her actions.
Though she was being chased, she kept glancing back at Im Seungcheol.

And when she spotted a fallen iron pipe, she immediately turned and struck him across the head.

"Ugh!!"

Im Seungcheol staggered and collapsed.
As Cha Seo-ah approached with a box cutter pulled from her pocket, another set of footsteps approached, and she turned to face them.

"I’m fine. Just go! She went that way, that way!"

Im Seungcheol, his face drenched in blood, shouted desperately at his partner, Detective Seo Gwangil, who had arrived too late.
But Seo Gwangil simply lowered his head.
It was too late to give chase.

Moreover, Im Seungcheol was bleeding heavily. It looked like his head had been split open by the iron pipe.

"I...damn it, I lost her because I’m useless. Damn it..."

Tears mixed with blood could be seen.
A voice filled with regret and grief escaped his lips.

The audience felt sympathy for Im Seungcheol.
As they focused on his performance, their anger towards Cha Seo-ah grew.

Im Seungcheol and Seo Gwangil then refocused their efforts on tracking down Cha Seo-ah, following every clue.

During this process, Cha Seo-ah’s past was revealed.
The traces of how she became a murderer.

"Excuse me? Abuse?"
"Ah, it seems she was abused by her parents."

A neighbor had reported it, but Cha Seo-ah had continued to live under her parents' care for a long time.

"Emotionally numb?"
"Yes, Cha Seo-ah cannot properly feel emotions. She doesn’t know how to express them."

The words of the doctor echoed as Cha Seo-ah pursued her next target.
This would be her final victim.

Han Yehwa, the convenience store clerk who had kindly spoken to Cha Seo-ah.
She was captured and dragged away.

Normally, Cha Seo-ah would have killed her on the spot, but this time, her hand hesitated.
Humanity or morality.

It was as if something she had forgotten resurfaced.
The audience believed that Cha Seo-ah felt something when she saw Han Yehwa.

"When I look at you, it hurts here."

But Cha Seo-ah, looking down at Han Yehwa, who was now wrapped in duct tape, spoke instead.
She was simply curious.

"You wouldn’t know, would you? Yeah, no way you’d know."

Muttering to herself, Cha Seo-ah touched the tools beside her.
A hammer, a saw, an axe.

All difficult items to acquire.

"My chest feels strange. It’s so hot, so, so... I don’t even know how to describe it. Should I laugh? Should I cry? Ah, am I angry? Or is it that I feel wronged?"

She knew the names of the emotions.
But she didn’t know how to express them, or even if she was feeling them correctly.

Her anger towards Han Yehwa, who had been kind to her.
Wasn’t that strange?

To be angry at someone who had been kind to her.

And so...
Or maybe because of that...

She didn’t want to just kill her.
It wasn’t about humanity or morality, nothing so grand.

It was simply that it felt like a waste.
Killing Han Yehwa in an ordinary way felt like a waste.
Han Yehwa had stirred something in Cha Seo-ah’s heart.

What could it be?
Pure curiosity arose.

She wanted to know, and if she killed Han Yehwa like she did the others, she felt she might miss the chance to find out.

"I’m strange, aren’t I?"

A flash of Cha Seo-ah’s past appeared on the screen.
Flickering like a light bulb about to go out.

The abuse from her parents.
The bullying from her classmates.

Each time, the sound of a pounding heartbeat resonated through the theater.
As she gripped the hammer and approached her victim...

"Stop right there, you murdering bastard!!"

Detective Seo Gwangil broke through the door to Cha Seo-ah’s house.

"Hah."

Cha Seo-ah, holding the bloodied hammer in her hand, tilted her head.
As if reflecting her mood.

Holding their breath, the audience watched as Cha Seo-ah’s face filled the screen.
Finally, her mouth twisted into a crooked smile.

"Ah, I get it."

Cha Seo-ah’s words escaped her lips as if she were exhaling.

"This... is what they call 'fucking bullshit.'"

Cha Seo-ah raised the hammer and advanced towards Detective Seo Gwangil,
who was twice her size, with not a trace of fear.