(A/N: Thanks everyone for supporting me all the time! I hope the story always gets better.)

It's a blank round.

It must be a blank round.

It has to be a blank round.

Woo Young saw Ji Eun's trigger finger snap; he heard the click, the gasps of the judges; and for one instant, he completely forgot that they were acting. He threw himself onto Ji Eun, sending them both toward the ground: The hardwood floor crashed painfully into his left shoulder, and he heard it crack.

Why don't I feel a bullet?

Was it really a blank round?

Of course. She wouldn't really kill me... right?

His eyes flickered upon Ji Eun's face—far too close for comfort. His nose was nearly brushing against hers; he could feel the warmth of her body soaking into his jacket.

I like this.

I really like this.

Then he remembered that he was acting.

"Ji Eun," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

Ji Eun stared into those mesmerizing brown eyes, unable to speak. His arms around her waist, his warmth, his breath against her cheekbone... They roused feelings inside her, feelings that were new and foreign and strange...

I like this.

I really like this.

Then she remembered that she was acting.

"What do you mean?" she whispered. "I'm the one that shot you."

"It wasn't you who fired the bullet," he said, tracing the apples of her cheeks with his fingers: The action made her heart flip in her chest. "It was your dad... wasn't it? He was behind me, wasn't he? You... you just had a blank."

"No, Woo Young," Ji Eun said; she felt tears in . "I didn't have a blank. I shot you. I'm a murderer."

"You liar." Woo Young managed a painful smile. "You never would kill me." His eyelids fluttered shut.

"Woo Young. Woo Young, open your eyes. Woo Young!"

For a moment, everything seemed real. She felt as if she had actually fired that bullet, killed him, obeyed the Director's orders; she was lost in the darkness of her vision. She only saw blood—crimson blood, Woo Young's blood—pouring over her hands, running down the hardwood and staining her knees—he was cold, his lips were blue—he wasn't breathing—she was screaming, screaming for his name, burying her hands in his hair, crying, crying so much—

"Lee-sshi!"

Ji Eun was yanked back into reality. The female judge was kneeling beside her, staring at her in fear and concern.

"Lee-sshi, are you okay?"

It took Ji Eun a few seconds to mask her expression, to re-erect her walls of composure. "Yes, of course." She offered a smile. "It was just acting, after all."

"Just acting?" Another judge, a middle-aged man, stood. "My word. That was incredible. When I imagined chemistry, I imagined fluff—nothing dark like that. The moment you whipped out the gun, I was hooked." He scribbled madly on his clipboard. "Though the storyline itself was quite cliché, your delivery and dramatics was absolutely impeccable. Both of you." He turned to the female judge. "You may dismiss all of the other performers. This one is going to be Jason."

"But sir, what if we find a better—"

"Dismiss them." The judge bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you two. I'm the director." He turned to Ji Eun. "My first question is for you, Lee-sshi: Why do you have a gun?"

"I really apologize for any alarm I may have caused you," Ji Eun said. "I assure you that it's completely blank. I carry it around when I go into the city, just in case any erts or gangs try to attack me." Truth was, she didn't need even need a gun to take out a group of erts or gang members. She'd always had the gun specifically for missions.

The director nodded understandingly. "Ah, them erts and gangs. Always a pain in movies." He turned to Woo Young with a grin. "Young man, you just got the job. Your English was the best of those we've had so far, and your singing and dancing was incredible. Welcome aboard to the cast."

Woo Young bowed. "Please take care of me."

The director handed Woo Young a slim iPad. "Our script has gone digital—save the environment, you know. You'll find every scene of every episode on here. If you want to find your lines, we've got it organized by character too. Look over the first few episodes, will you? The whole cast will meet in two days."

"Yes, sir," Woo Young said. He bowed to the director and left the room; Ji Eun followed him.

She expected Woo Young to whirl on her, screaming, "WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" However, he did nothing of the sort.

"I'm glad you came at that moment," was all he said.

"Wh-what?" Ji Eun said, surprised.

"None of the others who auditioned had a chance to showcase their chemistry," Woo Young said. "I think it really helped me get the position." He looked at her. His eyes were startlingly warm. "What was that about IU last time?"

"O-oh." Ji Eun gave a sheepish grin. "Ah, Woo Young... is it okay if you forget everything I said last time? Until I tell you to remember, that is?"

He blinked at her odd request, but inclined his head. "Not like I can really forget strange things like that. Why did you jump off the roof? You could've just exited through the front door."

"Ah, please just forget it!" Ji Eun placed her palms together. "Please... Please just forget everything!"

Woo Young glanced down at her feet. "Is your leg better?"

The truth was, no; when he had pulled them down to the ground, she'd nearly screamed at the sudden flare of pain in her leg. "It'll be okay if I just rest it," she said. 

Woo Young obviously had a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue. To his credit, he did not ask one of them.

Ji Eun tried a smile. "I guess I'll see you in two days?"

"Oh! 'Bout that." Woo Young shifted nervously. "Since Jason and Pil Suk are supposed to have a special relationship, why don't we get together sometime? You know, just to get to know each other. Not like the... other meaning. So that we can connect to our characters more. And make the screen interaction genuine. And—"

Ji Eun stifled a laugh. "That's a good idea," she said. "How's tomorrow? We can grab some lunch and look around the city."

A broad grin stretched across Woo Young's face. "Awesome. Rendezvous point?"

"Eleven at the Melodíe Music Shop?" Ji Eun suggested. "There's a lot of interesting things around there."

Woo Young nodded. "Then it's a date. A meeting, I mean. Not date-date. A coworker-interaction-thing."

Ji Eun laughed. "Of course."

Then her watch vibrated. Her happiness instantly came crashing down.

That's right. I have to kill him.

As Ji Eun excused her self from the room (almost as if she was taking a phone call), Woo Young began to contemplate the Second Equation of Almost-Famous-But-Not-Quite-Singer Dynamics.

When watch = buzz, Ji Eun = sad.

(The First Equation was: when Ji Eun = close, heart = stop.)

There's something funky about that watch. Something very, very funky...

He had a guess on what it was; it would fit all the pieces together, but she couldn't be...

"Yes, Director?" Ji Eun asked. "It's still daytime."

"I know. If you're finished with that audition or whatever you call it, I'd like to request an early transformation. There's a little side mission that is also good for a test."

Ji Eun glanced apprehensively at Woo Young, who was reading over his script. "Ah... now?"

"Yes. Now."

"Yes, Director." Ji Eun cut the communication and hurried inside. "Uh, Woo Young-sshi..."

He instantly looked up and shut off the script. "Yes, Ji Eun-sshi?"

"I have to run now," Ji Eun said. "There's something really urgent that I need to see you. I'm really sorry."

"Oh. No problem." Woo Young smiled. "Do you have a ride? I can drive you if you would like."

Please, stop being so nice! "I'm good. See ya!" And she dashed out of the building, not as Ji Eun, but IU, answering her buzzing watch. "Yes, Director. Could you supply me with more details?"

"Agent NE just completed an extermination mission, but there was an unknown witness to the killing. He's running toward Emerald Suites. Dispatch him immediately."

IU's blood ran cold. "Dispatch means..."

"Yes."

IU sprinted toward the Emerald Suites apartment complex; she almost fell over at the responding pain in her leg, but pulled her balance at the last moment. "Which part?"

"Northeastern. By the indoor pool."

IU bolted toward the northeastern side of Emerald Suites, pulling out her gun; this time, she loaded it. "Status?"

"Target has not spotted you yet."

IU slipped from building to building, following her target: a middle-aged man in a black trenchcoat was skulking toward one of the apartments. "Is the target dressed in a highly suspicious-looking trenchcoat?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," the Director said. "Would you like to know a little more about him?"

"I think I shall pass the opportunity." If she had to kill, she'd rather kill someone who she knew nothing about.

"No, no, I'll tell you. He's a drug dealer who goes to various high school dances, illegally selling his repulsive substances to unknowing or angsty teenagers. This is a process which always results in addiction, and usually results in death. He deserves to die in the most agonizing possible way."

IU felt her stomach clench in horror. "So... he really does deserve to die, doesn't he?"

"We're running the loop on the cameras, IU. If you're gonna shoot, now's the time."

In one fluid motion, IU raised the gun and pulled back the hammer. He's a terrible person. He deserves to die. Pull the trigger, IU! Pull it! Pull it before he escapes!

But there was always that little voice inside her, nagging her: He's still a human being. You would still be taking a life. Don't do it, IU.

"IU! How many times have I told you to shoot before you think?" the Director cried. "Fire!"

IU squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The bullet was exploding from the barrel—blood, blood was spurting from the target's shoulder—someone was screaming—he was falling—he hit the ground—

"Daddy!"

Out of the apartment tore two small children. One was a scrawny boy with his thick clump of black hair buried underneath a baseball cap. The other was a chubby-cheeked girl in a worn blue dress.

"Daddy! Daddy!" They were screaming, crying, shaking the man, begging him to wake up, stop acting, come on Daddy, this isn't funny...

"Well, now that you've shot him, I guess I can tell you the truth," the Director said coolly. "He's not a drug dealer. He's the father of three children, two of which he adopted from the streets. I suppose that he must be a pretty good man in that respect, but he witnessed a killing, so he had to be taken care of."

Wh-what?!

Not a drug dealer. Not even a bad person. He adopted two kids who were struggling on the streets. 

IU's shaking hands dropped the gun. She watched it clatter once, twice, thrice against the cement.

What have I done?

(A/N: I'm not sure if there's a law against owning your own weapons in South Korea. Is there? If there is, ignore it just for the sake of these past two chapters... okay? XD Oh, and all locations are fictional. Because I've never been to South Korea... Come to think of it, I don't know if they have apartment complexes either...)

Chapter Eight Preview

"Did something happen?" Woo Young asked, helping her stand. "You look like you're about to faint..."

Oh, nothing. I just killed a man who I thought was a drug dealer but ended up being a father of three children, two of which he saved from the streets. Just an ordinary day in the life, yunno?

(Estimated release date: July 29)