Chapter 2

“No.”

I answered in a flat tone.

Han Seo-jun’s brows slowly narrowed.

“Why?”

“What is this? We’re not children. A bet based on luck?”

It wasn’t even a joke.

A bet based on luck? What kind of ridiculous fantasy was that?

If he had suggested something like a $100 wager, I might have thought about it for a moment.

But betting luck?

As if that were something a person could choose to stake.

As though he had read my thoughts, the corners of Han Seo-jun’s lips slowly rose.

“Why? What I meant was that we should bet everything we have on luck. If you win, Senior Do Hyun-woo, you’ll get everything I own. Literally everything.”

“And if you win?”

His smile widened even more.

A small dimple appeared on his pale cheek.

“Then I get everything you own.”

The confidence in his expression was so absurd that I couldn’t help laughing.

“How would you even know everything I own?”

“Well…”

Still completely calm, he continued.

“You’ll find out eventually. Every single thing.”

“…!”

Without realizing it, I bit my lip inside the mask.

The situation was completely ridiculous.

Yet somehow, Han Seo-jun’s eyes were serious.

Even the elderly bartender standing behind the counter looked like a witness waiting to watch a decisive match.

Han Seo-jun stared at me for a moment before chuckling.

“Senior, you must be really scared. You probably have too much to lose.”

His words made my gaze drop to my hands.

My open palms.

What exactly did he think I had?

Han Seo-jun acted as if he knew me well.

But clearly, he knew nothing.

I had a lot to lose?

At that moment, old memories resurfaced.

A fire that suddenly broke out in the middle of the night.

My parents died in those flames.

Only I survived, thanks to the firefighters.

After that, my life collapsed overnight.

I was immediately removed from the drama I had been filming.

The burn scars that started around my mouth stretched down my neck and across my chest.

There was no way I could continue playing my role.

I had never been particularly handsome, but despite being a former idol, my acting skills had earned widespread recognition.

At a young age, I had even won an Excellence Award at a year-end acting ceremony.

Veteran actor Ha Soon-jae once praised me in front of reporters, calling me a “born actor.”

But my bad luck didn’t stop there.

Before I could even recover from losing my parents, creditors showed up carrying piles of documents.

I was gaining recognition as an actor, but I was still a rookie.

I had only recently started receiving payments, nowhere near enough to cover the debts.

The house I inherited was auctioned off.

Red foreclosure notices were attached to the furniture.

I suddenly found myself homeless.

And I still owed 300 million won.

There wasn’t even time to feel sorry for myself.

Even in that situation, I still needed to eat.

And every day, the debt kept growing larger.

I worked at construction sites.

I took any job that required physical labor.

Then one day, Shin Yeon-ho’s agency contacted me.

They wanted to borrow my voice.

More specifically, my singing voice.

They wanted me to become the voice of Shin Yeon-ho, a man with good looks and star power but no talent.

I would record all the songs and albums.

Music shows would be handled through lip-syncing.

For live concerts, I would secretly sing from a backstage studio while watching a monitor and matching his lip movements.

The agency knew exactly how desperate I was under my mountain of debt.

They silenced me with money.

They trapped me with a contract that felt like a slave agreement.

Because Shin Yeon-ho knew perfectly well that I had no power, he treated me like a servant despite being much younger than me.

So what exactly did I have left to lose?

“Senior Do Hyun-woo, you’re really scared, aren’t you?”

Han Seo-jun smiled as he provoked me.

Me?

What could possibly frighten someone who had already hit rock bottom?

Heh.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I looked straight at him.

“Fine. Let’s do it. We’ll bet everything.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!”

A victorious grin spread across his face.

“That’s the spirit.”

“So what’s the game?”

“Roulette.”

Han Seo-jun pointed toward a wall.

“…!”

A round roulette wheel about fifty centimeters wide hung there.

Red and black sections alternated around the wheel.

At the top, an upside-down red arrow glowed brightly.

“Well then, let’s make a toast first.”

In Han Seo-jun’s hand was a cocktail glass.

Inside was a liquid darker than black.

I removed my mask.

Cold air brushed against my mouth.

I lifted my own glass.

Clink!

The glasses touched.

For a brief moment, red and black auras seemed to swirl around them.

“…Ahh!”

Han Seo-jun finished his drink in one gulp.

Behind his cheerful smile and bright eyes, I thought I saw a trace of sadness.

I also drank my red cocktail in one shot.

Instantly, it felt as though my stomach had burst into flames.

“Strong, isn’t it?”

Han Seo-jun smiled while watching my reaction.

“If the roulette stops on black, I win. If it stops on red, you get everything I own.”

“…!”

“And just in case you think I’m cheating, you should spin it yourself.”

He gestured toward the roulette wheel.

The burning sensation in my stomach slowly faded.

Instead, a strange warmth spread through my body, along with a mild headache.

It was only one drink.

Was I already getting drunk?

“Come on, Senior.”

He urged me.

“I don’t have much time left. I’m serious. This is urgent.”

It was almost one in the morning.

What could possibly be so urgent?

He grabbed my arm and pushed me toward the wheel.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

I stood before the roulette wheel.

When I grabbed the rim, cold metal pressed against my palm.

I spun it with all my strength.

Whirrrrrr!

The wheel spun wildly before gradually slowing down.

Finally, it stopped.

Han Seo-jun had somehow moved beside me.

Keeping his eyes on the wheel, he then turned and looked at me.

A faint smile rested on his lips.

“…Looks like you won, Senior.”

“…!”

“Well, nothing can be done about that. From now on, you’re me. Got it?”

“…What?”

Here he goes with the nonsense again.

I checked the color the arrow pointed at and turned my head.

Then I froze.

Bright light was pouring from Han Seo-jun’s face.

“Senior, I’ve always respected you.”

“…!”

“I wanted to become someone like you… but it was too difficult for me.”

The light spread from his face to his entire body.

His hair floated in the air, glowing brightly.

“Hey, what the hell is—”

I reached toward him in panic.

“Don’t touch me right now.”

His firm voice made me immediately pull my hand back.

His eyes looked distant.

A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on his face.

“Senior… please take care of things from now on.”

Those were his final words.

In an instant, his body turned into a shower of light and disappeared.

Not only him.

The bartender and the entire bar dissolved into countless particles of light.

“…!”

The only thing left before my eyes was the roulette wheel.

But now there was no black on it.

The entire wheel was covered in red.

It twisted and warped into an oval shape.

I knew it.

Even the name, Blood in Hell, had sounded suspicious.

That drug everyone talked about must have been mixed into the cocktail.

I have to get myself together.

I took a deep breath.

I rubbed my face with both hands and forcefully rubbed my eyes.

Then—

“Haa…!!”

A brilliant flash exploded before me.

I instinctively shut my eyes.

At the same time, my throat tightened as though I were being strangled.

The air became as heavy as lead.

And then my consciousness slowly sank into darkness.

♪♬♩♪♩♩♬

A cellphone ringtone pierced my ears and gradually pulled me back awake.

“Gasp…!”

I inhaled sharply.

My heart, which felt as though it had stopped, began beating again.

Air rushed into my lungs.

When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling filled my vision.

The texture of the bedsheets.

The scent lingering in the room.

Everything felt unfamiliar.

The phone kept ringing.

I fumbled around and picked it up.

Through my blurry vision, the caller ID glowed.

Manager Hwang Dong-jun.

“…H-Hello.”

A rough, scratchy voice escaped my throat.

• Han Seo-jun! What the hell took you so long to answer?

“…!”

• You said you’d be at the filming location before dawn. Do you even know what time it is?

The cold scolding hit me like a slap.

Instantly, reality came crashing into my mind.

“Uh, well… I…”

The voice coming from my mouth sounded strange.

The tone wasn’t mine.

My hair stood on end.

• Don’t tell me you got drunk and passed out again. Seriously, you’re hopeless.

Another voice suddenly joined the call.

• Obviously.

The voice was full of mockery.

• Whatever. Filming is paused right now. Cha Seo-young is arguing with the director again over her lines and refuses to come out of her trailer. The atmosphere on set is already terrible. You can’t be late too. I’ll come pick you up, so get ready.

In the background, I could hear a woman’s sharp yelling.

Then someone sighed and muttered,

• There she goes again…

Before I could respond, the call ended.

I barely managed to sit up.

Dawn light seeped through the blackout curtains.

Staggering toward the window, I pulled them open.

A city stretched below from a high-rise building.

The gray dawn covered everything.

Far away, sunlight was beginning to rise over the horizon.

As the room brightened, my mind cleared.

I remembered meeting Han Seo-jun at the bar.

The absurd roulette bet.

Could it really be true?

Had I actually become Han Seo-jun?

“Haa…”

A chill ran down my spine.

I looked around the room.

Beside the bed sat a small plastic pill bottle.

Next to it lay a folded note.

Instinctively, I picked it up and unfolded it.

It was a suicide note.

The writing was messy, as if written while drunk.

It was filled with despair and hopelessness.

“Gasp…!”

I immediately crumpled it in my hand.

Then I gathered the scattered pills and put them back into the bottle.

After that, I shoved everything into the bottom drawer.

There was no time to think about it now.

I didn’t even know where the filming location was.

And the manager could arrive at any moment.

First, I needed to get myself cleaned up.

When I left the bedroom, a huge living room greeted me.

A sofa sat on one side.

A large television stood opposite it.

A movie magazine on the table caught my attention.

FilmMaze

On the cover was a man holding a trophy and smiling brightly.

It was me.

A photo taken after I won Best Actor at the MBS Year-End Awards.

Beside it were neatly organized interview articles about my acceptance speech.

“…Ha…”

I let out a low sigh and looked away.

An island kitchen and spotless cooking area came into view.

I opened the door on the left.

“Here it is.”

I threw off my pajamas and turned on the shower.

Whoooooosh!

Cold water poured over my head.

I rubbed my face and wiped away the water.

Then I looked into the mirror.

A stranger stared back at me.

The same face that had smiled at me in the bar last night.

Han Seo-jun.

“Haa…”

When he said he was betting everything, this was what he meant?

Either way, I needed to hurry.

I squeezed shampoo into my palm and worked it into my hair.

White foam flowed down the shower floor.

A little later, wrapped in a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

The intercom rang.

Then—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded impatiently on the front door.

“Han Seo-jun! Open up!”

It was the manager’s voice.

Only a few minutes had passed since the call, yet he was already here.

The filming location must be nearby.

“Han Seo-jun! Are you asleep?!”

Judging from how urgently he was shouting, the situation seemed serious.

“…I’m coming.”

The voice that left my mouth was still rough and hoarse.

Exactly like someone suffering from a hangover.

Tightening the towel around my waist, I slowly walked toward the front door.

Droplets of water ran down from my thighs to my calves.