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Chapter – 02
“What?”
Startled by the message that suddenly appeared before his eyes, Taewoon jerked his head back. A low, incredulous laugh escaped from his lips.
“They say you only live once and won’t starve to death… but seriously…”
He didn’t need to think hard about what the message was.
Taewoon’s trait — The Theater of All Things — had finally revealed itself after years of silence.
‘But why now?’
When he experimentally placed his hand on the mirror and focused on entering the Theater of All Things, the same message appeared again to welcome him.
“Damn it. Even jokes have limits…”
Opening the entrance by facing a mirror and thinking of “The Theater of All Things.”
Who on earth could’ve come up with such a ridiculous condition?
It felt unfair — yet at the same time, Taewoon couldn’t suppress his excitement.
And there was only one thing to do next.
Ding!
【Would you like to enter the theater?】
【With your current tickets, you may enter a total of three theaters.】
▶ 【The Red Man (★☆) / Action, Mystery, Thriller】
▶ 【Clarte (★★) / Romance, Action, Historical】
▶ 【Match Point (★) / Sports, Crime, Suspense】
‘This is…?’
The meaning wasn’t hard to grasp, but the format was bewildering.
The Theater of All Things — he knew it was a strange name, but he never imagined it would work like this.
‘There’s a title and genre… and these stars?’
They didn’t seem to represent ratings. More likely, they indicated difficulty levels.
Choosing a theater and “entering” it — that must be the proper way to use his trait.
“….”
After a brief pause, Taewoon made his decision and placed his hand on the mirror.
【You have selected ‘The Red Man.’ Enter the theater?】
“Yeah.”
He ruled out Clarte, which looked the hardest, and chose the one whose genre felt most familiar.
‘Action, mystery, thriller. I can roughly guess what kind of scenario this’ll be.’
Whoooosh!
The mirror glowed with mystical light, pulling him in. The moment he touched it, it felt like passing through a curtain as his consciousness was sucked away.
Flash!
When he opened his eyes again, Taewoon found himself in a pitch-black void.
Nothing existed there except him.
Then three new choices appeared.
【You may select an entrance bonus!】
▶ 【A Handful of Blessings】
▶ 【One Step of Change】
▶ 【A Single Piece of Advice】
‘So this is…’
Like a selectable advantage.
‘Which is best?’
There was no way to know. He didn’t even understand what kind of world awaited him.
So naturally, the most straightforward option drew him in.
“I’ll choose a single piece of advice.”
【Entrance bonus selected!】
▶ 【A Single Piece of Advice: Wilson Craig is black.】
Before he could even think about its meaning, darkness swallowed his vision again.
Clank!
When his senses returned, Taewoon was sitting inside a luxurious carriage, dressed in a neat medieval-style suit.
‘…What the hell?’
Everything kept changing so fast it was hard to keep up.
Still, he was certain of one thing — he was inside the theater now.
‘There’s a mysterious woman in front of me… and what’s this in my arms?’
He discreetly searched his coat and felt three unfamiliar tickets.
One of them suddenly ignited in gray flames and crumbled into ash.
Fwoosh!
‘What the—! And she doesn’t see that?’
The woman across from him showed no reaction at all.
Clearing his throat, Taewoon asked carefully,
“Excuse me… where is this carriage headed?”
“Oh my, Baron Werick. Did you doze off?”
From what he gathered, he was now recognized as Albert Werick, a baron invited to a party at the Hendel Marquis estate.
‘So I’ve been given a role.’
He quickly adapted and began gathering information.
“The Hendel family’s parties are famous, aren’t they?”
“Indeed.”
“I was so excited I could hardly sleep. I hope it becomes a memory I’ll cherish forever.”
The woman introduced herself as Mary, a talented local seamstress hired to accompany him.
Clearly, the estate was the starting point — and something would happen there.
‘The Red Man had three genres.’
Action. Mystery. Thriller.
The simplest guess?
A murder at the estate.
‘And the advice pointed to Wilson Craig.’
Instinctively, that suggested he was the culprit.
‘But…’
It was only a “single” piece of advice.
Could it really be that straightforward?
‘Wilson Craig is black…’
“Black” might mean criminal — or something else entirely.
Just then, the carriage arrived.
Taewoon followed servants to his assigned room.
‘This place is ridiculous.’
It was less a mansion and more a fortress.
Four massive floors. Endless rooms.
Ballrooms, libraries, exhibition halls, dressing rooms.
If something happened here, tracking it would be a nightmare.
“…Troubling.”
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Nothing. Is there a formal schedule?”
The party would begin at 10 p.m.
‘Then I’ll investigate until nightfall.’
He wandered through the estate, meeting servants and nobles.
Hours later, one conclusion remained.
‘I know absolutely nothing.’
There were too many people.
Trying to identify suspicious figures like in a movie was pointless.
‘This is insane.’
Then a thought struck him.
Maybe he was approaching this wrong.
Instead of chasing people, he should look into the title — The Red Man.
He asked Mary.
“The Red Man? I’ve never heard of such a story.”
“Some regions like Cologne have many red-haired, red-eyed folk. Maybe it relates to that?”
No progress.
Back in his room, Taewoon sighed.
‘I’m not a detective.’
Why struggle forcing myself into some clever mystery?
People should do what they’re good at.
With that, he stopped overthinking.
And went straight for Wilson Craig.
“He was having tea in the garden earlier.”
“Thank you.”
Soon, Taewoon stood before the count.
“So you wished to see me?”
“Yes, Count Craig. May I have a moment of your time?”
Wilson Craig looked like a prosperous noble gentleman — large, dignified, cautious.
Taewoon showered him with polite praise about his transport business success.
But Wilson barely reacted.
They talked for over ten minutes.
Nothing suspicious.
‘Which makes it even more suspicious.’
This man definitely had something hidden.
Subtle probing wouldn’t work.
‘We’ll talk again tonight, Wilson.’
And with that ominous thought—
Night fell.
The party was about to begin.
