Chapter 34: Black Hole

༺ Black Hole ༻

“Is that really my son?”

Yoomyeong’s mother was utterly astonished.

Her son had been invisible since childhood.

Up until his early years of elementary school, he was the first to raise his hand to the teachers’ questions, only to complain tearfully when he wasn’t called upon. He also threw tantrums when his older cousins would only play with and dote on Jiyeon and not him.

But at some point, he stopped trying to stand out in front of others. As if he’d given up on something he couldn’t have.

It was heartbreaking and worrisome for her as a mother.

“Simply compensating for the medical fees should suffice! To even concern oneself with such lowly creatures like that old man, you’re certainly an overreaching teacher. Either follow me or not.”

A throaty voice reverberated.

A smile full of malice and deceit fleetingly appeared.

Where did that gentle child learn to make such an expression?

Feeling suddenly afraid, Yoomyeong’s mother looked around her surroundings. Then, she gasped.

Ah—

From here to there in the audience, everyone’s gaze was nailed to the stage.

A black hole.

Her son was absorbing all the attention as if to make up for the 23 years of neglect he’d experienced, sucking it in like a vortex.

The intense first appearance of Hyde came to an end, and the next scene began.

Richard showed Utterson the check.

On the lower part of the promissory note that Hyde had given for medical fee compensation was a signature: “Henry Jekyll.” Concerned, Utterson went to visit his friend Jekyll.

“Well, the source of that note? I’m curious, too. Seems like someone paid in promissory notes.”

“I was worried, thinking that a friend like you might be involved with such a scoundrel.”

“Ha ha, thank you.”

Bang—

Struggling to maintain his composure, Dr. Jekyll firmly closes the door and begins to lament in a soliloquy after Utterson leaves.

“Initially…”

Words struggled to come out.

“At first, the pleasure I sought in my changed form was simply the undignified behavior that I normally abhorred. I wanted to take a walk and feel the wind without buttoning up my shirt to the top and without tightening my necktie all the way.”

A clean life, an obsessive personality, and a dignified doctor. Henry Jekyll.

“I miscalculated, thinking that my darkness was just that much, even if others did not know.”

Boom—Boom—

A drum-like sound lightly underlaid the atmosphere.

“But what lived within me was a monster I was not aware of. A monster who took pleasure in assaulting people and felt euphoria in the bed of a filthy prostitute. I resolved never to summon him again, but…”

Dr. Jekyll glanced at the desk.

On it was a vial of purple liquid.

“But… why is my throat choking up?”

With a voice parched as though it had lost all its moisture, Jekyll takes step by step towards the desk. He tried to turn away several times, but in the end, his hand grasped the vial.

“Breath… I need to breathe!”

He tried to unbutton the top button of his choking dress shirt, but eventually, his fingers froze. Dr. Jekyll was a man who couldn’t even unbutton a single button unless he was on the bed.

The audience, watching his desperate struggle for breath, held their breath as well.

In the end, he brought the flask he was holding to his lips.

The light went out with a snap, then the drumming intensified.

BoomBoomBoomBoomBoomBoom—

Ahhh—

A hair-raising scream spread out.

And when the light came back on, Hyde stood there, having unbuttoned his tie and shirt all the way, his hair tousled.

He seemed to be relishing the air as he breathed in deeply.

*

Act 1 had ended.

The immersion and tension were unbearable.

Those who had read the novel thought, “This Jekyll and Hyde is different from the ones we knew.”

An almost psychotic obsession, and the self-destructive urge that grew in proportion to it.

But that’s what makes it human, as if that person were actually there, giving a vivid sense of immediacy.

Act 2 began.

It opened with ‘that incident.’

There was no room for the tension to disappear due to the merciless sequence of scenes.

“Hehehehahaha—”

A laugh saturated with pleasure resonated.

“Danvers Carew, dead? Just like that?”

Unlike during practice, a contorted figure under the bridge. Of course, it had to be a mannequin, but the arms and legs were bent in impossible directions, creating a chilling sight.

However, Hyde was looking at this horrifying scene.

He was smiling gently as if appreciating a beautiful work of art.

“Ah, is there no one else to break? If not a person, then maybe a cat.”

Hyde, who muttered these chilling words to himself, stretched out gracefully.

Then, suddenly, his body elongated.

Squirm—

As if a sound could be heard, Hyde’s compressed body violently extended.

There was an illusion of him growing taller and having a slightly more bloated physique.

The actor’s excellent bodily expression was complemented by the lighting. The angle of the lights shifted, elevating the brightness.

The size of the shadow was far longer and darker than his increased height.

‘What is this…!’

Baek Lee-shin, who was sitting in the back and staring at the stage, gripped the armrest with a shocked expression.

‘To physically manifest Hyde’s growing presence as the latter half approaches on stage, how can this kind of acting…?!’

Should I have clung on to him during the Changcheon performance and brought him to July…? Baek Lee-shin, who had been biting his nails, shook his head.

‘It’s a good thing that I didn’t. I need to build a good relationship with him for the future.’

Doom— Doom—

The play was steadily approaching its climax.

The London Metropolitan Police began investigating Sir Danvers’ murder, and a cornered Jekyll improved his reputation by leading an even more virtuous and service-oriented life than usual. Hyde’s whereabouts became a mystery.

However, in the end, Jekyll, unable to forget the taste of ruin he once experienced, picked up the vial again.

Little did he know that it would be his last chance.

He enjoyed a bout of debauchery and returned to Jekyll without a hitch, but by then, Hyde’s shadow had grown so large that it overwhelmed Jekyll.

A shadow so long that stretched across the entire stage.

The next day.

Jekyll was indulging in a languid afternoon nap when he felt a sense of dizziness.

The stage swirled.

Sound effects accompanied it like a violent noise, and various colors flickered on and off in chaos.

And then, he stood in front of a mirror.

“Ugh…”

Even though he hadn’t taken the medicine, Jekyll was turning into Hyde.

His dark persona had overtaken his brighter one, and now Hyde had become the dominant personality.

On Jekyll’s face was an expression of terror after he hurriedly drank the medicine to revert before fully turning into Hyde.

“Medicine… I need enough medicine!”

He ordered a large amount of ingredients to make as much medicine as possible, but for some reason, the medicine no longer materialized even with the same combination.

Dr. Jekyll, engulfed in anxiety, impatience, and despair, let out a scream.

Ahhhhhhhh—

That hysterical scream echoed in the ears for a long time.

* * *

Finally, Act 2, Scene 7.

Jun-ho was on the staff-only second-floor balcony, overlooking the stage and offering prayers to various gods.

“Please, let this scene go smoothly.”

Today was the first performance.

Jun-ho had experienced the magical sensation of seeing the world he’d imagined come to life.

Joining Oedipus had been the luckiest moment of his life.

As a novice playwright, he met actors who could bring his scenes to life even beyond his imagination, even surpassing his written words.

“Please, just this scene…!”

If he could perform this scene just like during the rehearsal, the first performance would be flawless.

He stood on his toes, too anxious to sit down even once. It was fortunate that he was in a balcony seat where he wouldn’t disturb other viewers.

“That guy is really incredible.”

Juran whispered. It was a remark she had already made several times.

Jun-ho pressed his index finger to his lips.

It began.

“Dr. Lanyon.”

The setting was Dr. Lanyon’s office.

Dr. Lanyon had been waiting for Dr. Jekyll after receiving his desperate letter and retrieving the specified medicine from his home. It was then when that infamous, loathsome figure appeared.

“You… how are you here?!”

“I’ve come on an errand for Dr. Jekyll.”

Though dubious, Dr. Lanyon handed over the drug due to Jekyll’s request. Just as Hyde was about to leave after taking it, he turned back.

On his face was a sinister smile.

“Disappear from my sight at once!”

“Dr. Lanyon, aren’t you curious about Dr. Jekyll’s discovery?”

Though he found the murderer in front of him unpleasant, Dr. Lanyon hesitated upon hearing Hyde’s words.

“What are you talking about?”

“If I drink this medicine here, you will witness something incredible. It is a truth that is as close to heaven as it is to destruction, grotesque yet beautiful.

You can either turn away from it and continue to live as the foolish, safe doctor you’ve been, or you can look into it and become the one who has come closest to the painful truth. What will you choose?”

The devil extended both his palms with a voice and laughter as smooth as honey.

Ahh, humans are such foolish things.

Dr. Lanyon’s choice was…

“…Show me the truth.”

Upon hearing those words, Hyde gulped down the medicine bottle in one go. And then…

The transformation began before his eyes.

The twisted spine cracked, straightening section by section.

The contorted arms found their places, plumping back to normal.

The distorted facial muscles reached out here and there before gradually returning to their proper places.

The transformation was so grotesque that one might suspect it was all CGI.

The face, which had only been grim, started to pale, and soon that face was filled with despair.

“La… Lanyon.”

It was Dr. Jekyll.

* * *

The unfolding plot was suffocating, leaving them no room to breathe.

The ongoing Act 3 developed tragically with Lanyon’s death and Jekyll’s suicide.

Utterson then heard the news of Dr. Lanyon’s passing and received his will.

And then, one day, Jekyll’s servant came running.

Following him to Dr. Jekyll’s mansion, he found the body of Hyde, who had committed suicide, and a single letter.

As Utterson carefully opened the letter left for him, the final scene unfolded.

Jekyll stood alone under the blue spotlight.

His monologue began.

“My greatest flaw was my hedonistic tendencies. Pleasure makes many people happy, but for me, who had an arrogant desire to appear completely solemn to the public due to a lofty self-pride, it was difficult to coexist with pleasure.”

His confession…

Led to the discovery of the truth that human nature could be bifurcated, to the temptation and conflict that had led him to create and drink the medicine.

It continued with Jekyll’s regret for falling into an uncontrollable abyss.

And then,

The very brief respite he gained by taking the last dose of the medicine.

In order to live his last moments as Jekyll, he aimed a trembling hand at his own head.

Bang—

And then, a blackout.

Wowwwww—

As the curtain fell, enthusiastic applause erupted.

As if responding to it, the curtain opened again.

Whoosh—

the saddened soul departed, and Yoomyeong deeply bowed.

This was his first official leading role.

When all the lights turned on for the curtain call, illuminating the surroundings brightly, he could faintly see the audience.

Sending the most fervent applause from the best seats were two people.

His parents.

“They came…”

How much he had longed to see this image in his past life?

Even when he had a minor role in a performance, he would put two tickets in an envelope and carry them with him.

There were many times when he tried to go to the post office and mail it, but then turned around. ‘When I get a more significant role, then for sure…’ he would promise himself.

His mother was tearing up.

His father was clapping so forcefully it looked like his arm might fall off.

Under the dim light, their eyes met.

And Yoomyeong knew that they had given their approval.

*

Numerous bouquets were passed to him.

Hugs from his parents, congratulations from business school juniors and Oedipus seniors.

And the last person to hand him flowers was…

“It’s my turn tomorrow. Watch me closely.”

It was Ryu Shin with a determined look on his face.

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