Free Web Novel<Strange Tales>
Claim the throne of the king!
Even using the invisible hand.
The sun rises in the east, apples fall downward, and the crown prince inherits the king’s seat. These are all laws so natural they go unquestioned. But Seonghwi, the Grand Prince of Yeomho Kingdom, receives a thunderbolt of a prophecy from Yeomga, the shamaness who holds the nation in her grip.
“Sadly, this country is fated to fall into the hands of the Grand Prince’s younger brother, Yunhwi.”
For the sake of the throne, fate must be twisted at any cost.
Even if that means severing the bonds of heaven itself.
I checked the synopsis of <Strange Tales> that had been handed to me. It was very different from the synopsis before my regression.
If the previous <Strange Tales> had been the story of the loyal retainer Myungdo and Seoryeong, who possessed mysterious powers, the revised <Strange Tales> shifted its focus entirely elsewhere.
The lowliest occupation in the world: a shamaness.
Yeomga, who became a servant of the gods against her will, has endured a lifetime of contempt and bitterness.
But she cannot go on living like this forever.
Driven by relentless scorn and oppression, Yeomga resolves to seize the royal authority of Yeomho Kingdom. This time, she will trample the world that has crushed her beneath its feet.
If Yeomga becoming a shamaness was a predetermined course, then the destruction of Yeomho Kingdom is the principle Yeomga herself has chosen.
To bring ruin to the nation, Yeomga commands vengeful spirits and even prepares Seoryeong as the ultimate sacrifice—but her plan is thwarted by the interference of the Buddhist nun Jeongan.
Yet the end is merely delayed. And the more it is delayed, the more fiercely her desire burns.
Who dared to call a shamaness base and lowly? The one who shall rule all under heaven will be none other than Yeomga.
It had become a story of Yeomga, the shamaness who challenges royal power, and Seoryeong, who stands against her.
“Director Jang really is something else....”
I’d felt it since <ParCheHi>, but his sense of direction is anything but ordinary. He instinctively understands that what the public expects from <Strange Tales> isn’t a run-of-the-mill love story, but ghostly folklore.
“If it’s structured like this, the romance line weakens relatively, so the male lead’s acting won’t draw excessive scrutiny.”
Dramas and films are like meticulously planned operations.
Investors and directors, actors and broadcasters, staff and crew—everything has to interlock like gears for the machine to run smoothly.
And the moment I turned the page of the script, I knew that every condition for <Strange Tales> had clicked perfectly into place.
“It’s... not even comparable to before. It’s so much more engaging.”
No—“engaging” wasn’t quite the right word. A more serious expression was needed.
The level of completion was on an entirely different plane.
“It completely overturns the structure—from a love story between the retainer and the shamaness.”
Originally, a curse—sal—is an exceptionally vicious thing. It’s born from resentment and the intent to harm.
And once you cast such a curse on someone, the karma inevitably returns to you.
“It’s staking your life....”
In the original <Strange Tales>, Seoryeong was prepared to bear all of that and still hurl the curse at Yeomga.
For the sake of Myungdo, whom she loved.
For the lord Myungdo swore to protect.
For the peaceful world that lord dreamed of.
“Seoryeong finally has her own narrative.”
Now, however, the story revolves entirely around Seoryeong. Almost as if Director Jang had prepared this as a gift just for me.
I had memorized everything—from the original source of <Strange Tales> to the previous script—and completed my character analysis. It felt like I had to start all over again.
“But still....”
My heart was pounding. With this version of Seoryeong, I felt I could act far more fully.
I was certain I could feel that same sensation again—the one I experienced during the filming of <No Interest Whatsoever>.
‘That sense of complete unity, of briefly becoming Jung Yeondu.’
Could I feel that thrill again, this time as Seoryeong?
I read through Episode 1’s script to the end and closed it. What I had in my hands amounted to only four episodes.
Yet something bothered me.
“With a Seoryeong rewritten like this, that scene at the end doesn’t quite fit.”
The ending of <Strange Tales> as I remembered it—the climax that followed after Seoryeong exposed all of Yeomga’s atrocities.
A pure catharsis scene. Seoryeong pouring every last ounce of her power into cursing Yeomga.
“That’s what’s bothering me. That part....”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Some actors can perform even with fragmentary scripts, but maybe because I still lack experience, I don’t think I could do that yet.
A protagonist who has to carry a sixteen-episode series. I wanted to understand Seoryeong more deeply.
“How will <Strange Tales> end?”
I tightened my grip on the script. What kind of Seoryeong was I supposed to draw? I wanted to create a Seoryeong who could force her way out from between the lines of text.
“The final scene. That’s what matters.”
Will it linger in viewers’ minds for a year as merely an “interesting” drama—
—or will it remain as a legend, remembered as a truly ‘well-made’ series?
Everything depended on the ending scene of <Strange Tales>.
Clunk—clunk—.
The misaligned gears ground to a halt. ƒrēewebnovel.com
* * *
Chapter 1
Heavenly Vein, Earthly Pulse
Gyeoul unfolded the <Strange Tales> script she had obtained with ease.
From the moment she saw the article stating that Han Yeoreum would be cast as the lead, she had already memorized the entire original work.
The airplane’s first-class seat swallowed Gyeoul in plush comfort.
“What changed, exactly?”
Her analysis, however, had been insufficient.
With calm eyes, Gyeoul flipped through the script. Beyond the title page bearing the name of Chapter 1, the opening of <Strange Tales> unfolded in dazzling fashion.
INTRO. BLACK SCREEN
(A dark screen. The faint sound of bells is heard. The sound gradually draws closer. Camera, FADE IN: transition to the first scene.) freewebnøvel.com
Background Sound: The sound of bells grows clearer and clearer.
SCENE 1. INT. MOUNTAINSIDE – INSIDE A BOX – DAWN
(The camera begins inside an abandoned box. A dark, damp space. A small child’s hand weakly scratches at the inside of the box.
Camera, CLOSE-UP: The sound of fingernails scraping against the wall of the box. The chilling scratching grows louder.)
Background Sound: A flute’s tone drifts faintly, mingling with breathing-like sounds.
A screen unfolded before Gyeoul’s eyes. Perhaps because she had spent years analyzing countless works, simply reading the text allowed her to immerse herself as though she were an audience member in a movie theater.
Along with the dark screen came the grating sound of fingernails.
Gyeoul tightened her grip on the script. A nameless tension crept in. The darkness on the screen slowly brightened.
SCENE 2. INT. INSIDE THE BOX – A HAND WRITING A TALISMAN – DAWN
(Camera, CLOSE-UP: Another hand descends over the hand that had been scratching weakly. A red drop of blood falls from the thumb, and with that blood a talisman is written. The blood seeps into the talisman, revealing grotesque patterns.)
As the screen slowly zoomed in, the hand of the shamaness writing the talisman overlapped with the refined hand of a noblewoman from a wealthy household—untainted by hardship.
SCENE 3. INT. HOUSE – A HAND DOING EMBROIDERY – DAY
(Camera, CLOSE-UP: A mother’s hand embroidering a beautiful orchid pattern onto cloth. The screen is tranquil, but from far away comes the anguished scream of a grown man.)
Man (OFF-SCREEN) Mother! Mother!
Background Sound: The screams continue faintly from a distance.
(The mother shows no reaction and continues embroidering.
Camera, WIDE SHOT: The quiet room and the stitching hand alternate.)
The screen was both serene and chaotic. While the camera remained still, the relentless sound design sent chills crawling over the skin.
‘Now from the inside to the outside... expanding the scene rapidly.’
With cold eyes, Gyeoul analyzed the script and swallowed hard. The screen shifted once more.
SCENE 4. EXT. MOUNTAIN VILLAGE HOUSE – SACRED ROPE – AFTERNOON
Background Sound: A loud clang of a gong.
(With the gong’s resounding strike, the screen, DISSOLVE TO: chili peppers and bundles of millet hanging from a sacred rope. Camera, TRACKING SHOT: the frame slides downward beneath the rope. The rope appears old, rotten, as though decayed.)
“It matches the title perfectly.”
With the expanded narrative compared to the original, the focus was on driving up the pacing of Episode 1. On the screen before Gyeoul, the scene shifted yet again.
SCENE 5. INT. OLD WALL – SHADOWS – EVENING
(Camera, TRACKING SHOT: An urgent drumbeat sounds as flickering shadows dance across a worn wall. The shadows grow increasingly violent and sharp.)
Background Sound: The bells ring again, joined by the distant roar of a tiger. An anxious janggu ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) drum beats.
(The screen trembles slightly, then CUT TO: the next scene.)
The scenes came crashing in, leaving no room to breathe.
Day to night, night back to day—the rapid shifts made her dizzy, and she could feel uncanny beings clinging stubbornly to the human world.
“After the saetani, there’s the eodukshini and the changgwi... what else was there?”
Rustle—.
Gyeoul flipped to the next page, continuing her relentless analysis.
Her page-turning grew faster and faster.
SCENE 6. INT. ALTAR – SHAMAN’S DANCE – NIGHT
(Camera, FULL SHOT: A shaman dances atop blades. The sound of bells and drums overlap, saturating the frame with tension.
The screen quivers as if vibrating. Camera, CLOSE-UP: Blood flows along the blade held in the shaman’s hand.)
(The shaman suddenly turns around. Camera, CLOSE-UP: A brightly smiling mask covers the shaman’s face. The expression is grotesque.)
Background Sound: The crash of a kkwaenggwari rings out loudly.
A piercing sound that seemed to rattle the mind rang sharply in Gyeoul’s ears. Perhaps due to the deep immersion, her head spun and goosebumps rose along her arms.
SCENE 7. INT. PALACE – SEONGHWI’S BEDCHAMBER – DAWN
(Seonghwi jerks awake on his bed, unable to breathe properly. Camera, CLOSE-UP: Seonghwi’s sweat-soaked face and his chest heaving violently.)
Seonghwi (panting, gasping) Huh—!
“Probably about thirty seconds up to here.”
Having grown up reading thousands of scripts, Gyeoul could calculate it almost mechanically.
A drama’s first impression is decided within the opening ten minutes.
“That’s all the time you get to tell viewers what kind of drama this is.”
In an era overflowing with entertainment, viewers can no longer be held easily.
You have to hook their interest, no matter what.
And <Strange Tales> captured that need perfectly.
‘Direction that herds both sight and sound relentlessly....’
From the very first moment, it leaves no choice but to be absorbed.
“From the camera work to the scene transitions, it just keeps coming without pause....”
Holding viewers through the ending of Episode 1 didn’t seem difficult at all. No—she had already finished calculating that it might become the most talked-about work of next year.
Reading the script for Episode 2 only solidified that conviction.
