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墨書 Inktalez
The frigid air caused Anna's initial enthusiasm to meet Jamie Stanford to vanish instantly. Fortunately, Mrs. Smith provided her with an old cotton coat; otherwise, she would have surely perished in the snow and ice of Alaska.
After disembarking from the plane, they drove towards Fairbanks, which was said to be home to many wild animals, including moose, caribou, and grizzly bears. Anna had never seen such sights before. Even Fairbanks itself, if not for the alarming temperature she felt firsthand, seemed incredibly beautiful, like a world that only existed in fairy tales.
The working style of the American team was indeed different from that of Korea; it didn't seem as tense. Everyone was aware of what they needed to do and had their own unique yet principled way of working. In terms of on-site coordination, Allen played a crucial role. Anna had never witnessed before how Allen directed the Camera Crew in a manner similar to filming long takes in movies, allowing for more coherence and immersion during editing.
This operation method resembling a movie long take was indeed challenging, requiring cooperation from the director, guest performers, and filming personnel. However, it wasn't forced cooperation; it was simply the perfect timing for camera movements.
The results were truly distinctive.
Anna thought to quickly jot this down in her small notebook.
Allen glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled slightly. Compared to the tall Americans, Anna's height, which was not short by any means, felt somewhat diminished. As Allen walked ahead, Anna had to run to keep up with him; if she fell too far behind, she wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying.
Anna finally understood the meaning behind Allen's words: no high heels and no skirts.
Here, no one would sit down and teach you lesson by lesson; everything had to be learned through practical experience where one extracted innovative and advanced knowledge on their own.
The snowy terrain was difficult to navigate; she had no idea how deep the snow was here. It varied from ankle-deep to mid-thigh deep, and after walking for a short while, her boots felt damp inside.
Anna hesitated slightly and accidentally bumped into someone nearby, falling into the snow. Allen quickly pulled her up. She hurriedly brushed off the snowflakes from her face and head. Just as she wanted to say thank you, she noticed that Allen looked somewhat displeased.
"I told you I can't take care of you while working; I hope this situation doesn't happen again," Allen said before continuing to walk briskly away.
Anna felt a bit wronged but knew Allen was right. Biting her lip and sighing, she hurried to catch up with Allen's figure.
In the afternoon, the wind and snow were too heavy to continue filming, so they had to wrap up and stay in two wooden cabins next to Finger Lake, with no special treatment for the big star, Jamestown.
"Get some good rest," was the only thing Allen said to himself.
Anna smiled happily and returned to her small room, closing the door behind her. She took off her shoes, and her socks and shoes were indeed soaked through. Even though she wore gloves and a scarf, her hands and face were still red from the cold.
What a tough journey it has been. Anna sighed. Who would have thought the first stop would be Alaska?
Ding~~
A ringtone sounded, and Anna picked up her phone to see an unfamiliar number.
Curiously, she answered. "Hello?" Anna tried to speak, but on the other end was a chilling laughter. No matter what, Anna could tell who it was.
"My dear Anna, dear sister, you lied to me."
Anna instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that Andy already knew everything? How did he find out?
No, perhaps it wasn't surprising at all. With Andy's personality, even if he was abroad, he wouldn't easily let that matter go; he would definitely investigate what was going on. It was just unfortunate that fate played a trick on Anna by having her encounter him here. If it weren't for this, Jin Yu Cheng would never have allowed Andy to return home; even if Andy knew the truth, there would be nothing he could do.
"Andy, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to see you go down the wrong path," Anna said.
"My only sister in this world, for another man, you’ve left me with no way out and made me lose everything. You're even more formidable than our deceased father. I really want to thank you properly."
"Why is it that at this point, you still push all the blame onto others? Yes, it's true that Jin Yu Cheng and I teamed up to bring you down from Century Group, but why don’t you ask yourself why? You've done so many heinous things, eliminating anyone who disagrees with you, even betraying me for your own sake. Andy, when did you become like this?"
Andy laughed wildly upon hearing Anna's words. “Anna Zheng, great, truly my good sister…”
“You are the only family I have in this world, Andy. No matter what, this matter is indeed my fault; I deceived you. Andy, if it weren't for your completely extinguished conscience, how would we have come to this point?”
“Conscience? Do you still have the right to talk to me about conscience?” Andy sneered. “I already know where you live in America…”
Anna trembled all over. “What do you want to do?”
“Anyway, I have nothing left now. I can do whatever I want,” Andy continued to laugh maniacally.
“Don't do anything reckless. Three days! After three days, I will return to New York. We can meet, and I will take responsibility for everything I've done wrong to you!”
Andy thought for a moment and said, “Fine, I'll wait for you for three days. After three days, at ten o'clock in the evening, there’s an old warehouse behind Water Forest Garden next to 9th Street in New York. I'll be waiting there; don't miss it.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, Anna felt lost and helpless. This was in America; who could she turn to for help? Moreover, mentioning this matter to those around her would only drag them into it. What would Andy do? Anna couldn't guarantee anything. She had long since lost the ability to imagine where Andy's bottom line lay.
This matter, which she thought was already in the past, unexpectedly took a malicious turn. Anna really lost her bearings for a moment; she didn't know if the person she would face in three days could still be called her brother. That Zheng Andy, who had disappeared years ago, seemed impossible to find again. She could sense an inexplicable threat, but there was nothing she could do; he was her family, and no one else was obligated to help her end this.
Since they had agreed to meet, that moment would inevitably arrive; worrying was pointless. When Allen worked, he was always fully focused. The work atmosphere in America was completely different from that at home. In just three short days of filming, Anna could feel how much more advanced America was compared to her home country in many aspects.
Not to mention the filming techniques that were unattainable back home; even the state of the staff was worth learning from. If everyone devoted all their energy purely to making their work perfect instead of dividing some of it into various interpersonal relationships, perhaps this principle should not only be emulated in the entertainment industry but also learned by society as a whole.
This made Anna gradually come to terms with her feelings about Han Yufei. Originally, she felt a twinge of guilt and conflict towards her, but now Anna understood anew the true meaning of working with the Running Man Production Team. As Allen said, no one is obligated to take care of others; the only thing one can do is take good care of oneself and complete one's own work. Anna Zheng had no right or obligation to feel guilty because of Han Yufei's emotional struggles; all she could do was strive towards her dreams and get closer with each step.
After finally uploading her hard-earned photo with Jamestown to social media, Anna noticed that the comments from Yoo Jae-suk and Jung Kook were filled with envy. From the comments, she learned that Jung Kook was currently in California. Anna thought about casually mentioning to Jung Kook that she was going to meet Andy, but she ultimately decided against it.
On the flight back to New York, she received a call from Park Chan-yeol, who had taken some time out of his schedule to reach her. It must have been late at night in Korea.
"I saw your photo; it looks amazing! A picture with Jamestown?" Park Chan-yeol asked with a smile, his voice slightly hoarse from fatigue.
Anna smiled shyly and glanced at Allen sitting next to her. He had already put on his eye mask and seemed to be asleep.
"Why is it snowing there? It shouldn't be snowing in New York at this time," Park Chan-yeol said.
"We've been recording in Fairbanks, Alaska for the past couple of days, so of course there's snow. Last night, we even saw the Northern Lights," Anna replied with a smile.
"Are you tired?"
"Not really. Just a bit cold," Anna said, her lips curling up. Hearing his voice was enough to make her happy.
"I'm going to try to get two days off next week to come visit you in America."
Upon hearing this, Anna felt excited at first and was about to say yes, but then she remembered that Andy was also in America and quickly shook her head, saying, "No."
Park Chan-yeol's confusion grew due to Anna's unusual response. "What's wrong? Don't you want me to come?"
Anna thought for a moment, gave an awkward smile, and said, "It's not that; it's just that I don't have any days off. If you come, I won't be able to spend time with you... Just wait for me in Korea. Wait for me to return with a fresh new look; we promised each other, didn't we?"
Park Chan-yeol paused for a moment before replying, "Alright then. I'll wait for you to come back."
Simple After a few words, the unending longing became more pronounced. The more she wished for this separation to end quickly, the more unexpected errors seemed to arise.
Because of her high expectations, she was caught off guard even more.
Anna never dreamed of what would happen in the next few days. Her life was about to take a turn that was far from the quiet path she had envisioned. The chaotic trajectory still had too many unresolved knots.
“Mrs. Smith, I’m back.” Anna returned to Mrs. Smith's house, where Mrs. Smith was preparing dinner. The door was open, and Jack was watching over the yard at the entrance. “Hello, Mr. Jack,” Anna greeted him as he smiled widely and nodded.
“Oh, Anna, that's great! You’re finally back. How have you been these past few days?” Mrs. Smith asked as she held a spatula, greeting Anna before continuing to tend to the frying chicken legs.
“Thanks to your winter coat, otherwise I would have turned into frozen meat in the mouth of an Alaska Grizzly Bear,” Anna joked.
Mrs. Smith laughed happily.
“My clothes are not bad, right?” Mrs. Smith said proudly.
“Yeah, they’re really great,” Anna replied, giving a thumbs up.
“You can go put your luggage in your room first and then come downstairs for dinner. I’ve prepared fried chicken and my treasured red wine,” Mrs. Smith said.
“Okay, I’ll be down soon,” Anna responded.
As Anna turned to head upstairs, Jack, who had been lying beside the sofa, suddenly stood up alertly, adopting a defensive and aggressive posture before rushing out the door.
“What happened?” Mrs. Smith exclaimed in surprise.
Anna quickly followed outside, and a figure disappeared around the corner of the street. Anna could probably guess who it was. She hurriedly called back to Jack, who had chased after.
"Jack, come back! Don't go after them, come back!"
Fortunately, Jack was very obedient and soon stopped, turning around to run back.
"What happened?" Mrs. Smith asked, looking confused. "What did you see, Jack?"
"I didn't see clearly either; I only saw someone's back," Anna said.
"Jack is very smart. I think that person must have shown some dangerous signals. We should call the police," Mrs. Smith said.
"Do the police in America work efficiently?" Anna asked.
"No, they are not very efficient, which is why we need to inform them in advance about potential dangers. Otherwise, they might end up arresting some innocent Black people in some inexplicable places," Mrs. Smith joked.
Anna felt both helpless and amused as the two of them slowly walked back with Jack when Mrs. Smith suddenly changed her expression dramatically.
"Oh my God."
"What’s wrong?"
"My fried chicken legs! I can already smell something burning; oh my goodness." Mrs. Smith said as she quickened her pace back to the house.
Anna smiled and stopped to look at the wide, clean street behind her, but her smile gradually faded.
She took out her phone, sent a text to Andy's number saying, "I will definitely be there at ten o'clock tomorrow night. Please don't come again."
The next evening, while Mrs. Smith returned to her room, Anna quietly slipped out of her own room. Jack, confused, followed Anna all the way to the front door. Anna patted his head and told him to wait at home. Jack obediently sat down as Anna closed the yard gate. He watched her figure until it disappeared from sight.
America is vast, which has its advantages, but at night, it can be eerily quiet. After walking for a long time, she only saw one or two cars pass by. Anna wrapped her coat tightly around herself, but her palms were still sweating cold.
For the first time, she experienced the scenes from American horror movies firsthand, always feeling that at any moment, a group of zombies might suddenly rush out.
In the distance, she could see a large warehouse brightly lit. However, the area around the warehouse was surrounded by trees and lakes; surely if she disappeared here today, no one would know.
She opened the rusted door and found Andy sitting in the empty warehouse's center, his stubble making him look much older.
"You're here, sister," Andy said with a smile, playing with a shiny dagger in his hand that glinted coldly.
"Andy," Anna replied.
Andy chuckled coldly and said, "You can still recognize me? I've been looking in the mirror lately and can barely recognize myself. After all, you are my real sister."
"You are mistaken, Andy. No matter how your appearance changes, I can still recognize you. It's just that I can no longer recognize your heart." Anna said. "The Andy I knew was kind and hardworking, not like this—filled with killing intent and utterly selfish."
"Because you haven't experienced what it's like to have everything taken away from you. To have your dreams stolen by the same person who takes away your loved ones and family."
"Why don't you ask yourself why those so-called dreams, lovers, and family members keep leaving you?" Anna said helplessly.
"Why? Hmph! Why do they leave me? And betray me too?!" Andy stood up and quickly stepped forward. Before Anna could react, he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall behind her. The impact on her back and head left Anna dazed; then came the choking grip around her neck—a suffocating feeling akin to death itself.
"Don't...!" Anna clutched Andy's hand that was choking her neck, gasping for breath, but no air was entering her lungs. She saw the red veins in Andy's eyes, like a beast under the pale light, his face was truly eerie.
"I have nothing left. Since you destroyed everything I had, my dear sister, you will stay by my side forever, always accompanying me. After all, we are family." Andy laughed maniacally.
Extreme fear spread infinitely; she was about to faint. Anna lifted her foot and with all her strength, kicked Andy in the stomach. The grip on her neck suddenly loosened, and Anna coughed violently, desperately trying to breathe as she hurriedly attempted to escape the warehouse.
"Trying to run away!" Andy picked up a wooden stick from the ground and struck Anna hard on the back, knocking her down and draining her strength.
"Why! Why does everyone want to leave me?! I just want you to stay with me! Why don't you want to? Why do you want to run?! I'm your brother! Didn't you always want me to call you sister? Now I'm calling you that! So why run away?! Why?!" As Andy spoke, he swung the stick repeatedly at Anna, one blow landing on her cheek, making her feel like her teeth were about to be knocked out.
"You betray me over and over again for outsiders?! In your eyes, I'm not even worth that damn dog! Since I'm your brother, why can't you just stay by my side like before? Huh?! Why, why?! Do you think you and Park Chan-yeol will have a good ending? You won't! You two are destined for a tragic end!"
Anna's mouth was filled with blood as she struggled to lift her head; she felt no pain in her body because her heart ached beyond measure.
"Andy, let me ask you, since those two years you disappeared and came back, do you really still see me as your sister? I, Kim Mi-kyung, am just an object of your affection—one of 'family' and one of 'love.' Because deep down, you know you're becoming less and less human. Keeping us around makes you feel like you're still a person; that's all it is. Andy, think carefully about how many bad things you've done and how many people you've harmed."
"Who lives for anyone but themselves?! And do you think you're any better? Sister, we are family; you're just like me."
A sense of foreboding surged in her heart. "What do you mean?"
"Jiang Zhenyuan? Jiang Yan? Choi Yoon-lim? Don't these names sound familiar? Or have you forgotten? Forgotten those who have died?"
Anna was completely shocked; it felt like her scalp was about to explode. These names she hadn't thought of in a long time belonged to souls that had once passed away. She had suspected it before but only limited to doubt. This terrifying suspicion was gruesomely confirmed at this moment, sending chills down Anna's spine.
"You think you're so innocent? So pure? Heh heh, these people died because of you! Sister, we are family; we are kindred!"
Anna's tears instantly streamed down her face. "No! No!" Anna screamed, "It's not like that... We're different... I didn't... I didn't..."
"They all died because of you! Didn't you dream of their souls crying out to you?! Huh?!"
"No... it's not like that..." Anna covered her ears, her mind beginning to spiral into chaos.
Andy crouched down with a smug expression. "Do you think your dear Park Chan-yeol would still want to be with you after knowing all this? He would only find you terrifying, only see you as dirty as me. Our souls have long been cursed, destined to remain in hell..."
"That can't be true! I never wanted them to die! Never!"
"But they still died because of you! You've already fallen into the filthy abyss with me, and yet you still dream of flying to heaven? God has long since rejected us. Sister, we are kindred spirits, both souls hated by others!"
"No, it was you! You killed them?!"
Andy's smile finally faded as the sound of the door being opened interrupted their conversation.
Neither of them had anticipated anyone coming here. The steady footsteps echoed in the empty warehouse, silver hair shining even brighter under the white light.
Andy's smile vanished completely as he realized he no longer had control over this place.
"Hogga..."
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