Chul's entire family is murdered...
and Chul is falsely charged for it.
But eventually, he is found not guilty.
After ten years,
he becomes super rich with a net worth of 800 billion won.
He starts W Broadcasting Station to find his family's killer.
One day, he is attacked by an unidentified man.
A woman suddenly appears and saves his life.
"Oh Yeon-joo."
Where are you right now?
But she disappears leaving behind her business card.
-Please let me in. -No, you can't--
Every time Chul's life is in danger,
-Yeon-joo shows up and saves him. -Are you okay?
What do you mean by the world I live in?
The world inside a cartoon.
And you are the main character of that cartoon.
Chul realizes that he is the main character in a cartoon.
And in that moment,
Chul's world comes to a stop.
What's wrong with this?
Chul steps into the real world.
WILL CHUL BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHO KILLED HIS FAMILY?
-Hey, are you crazy? -Do you have a death wish?
Watch where you're going!
-That bastard! -What is he doing?
-Shit. -What's wrong with him?
-What are you doing? -Get off the road!
KANG CHUL, THE MAIN CHARACTER
YOON SO-HEE, CHUL'S FRIEND AND PERSONAL ASSISTANT
SEO DO-YOON, CHUL'S BODYGUARD
He must shoot within 75 seconds.
-He looks really nervous. -He needs to clear his mind.
-Three, two, one... -He must shoot!
-It's 10.9! -It's 10.9!
-It's 10.9 points! -It's 10.9!
-Kang Chul scored 10.9! -He came from behind to win!
I'm home.
Mom?
Dad...
We have all this evidence. You can't stay silent forever.
People with early success always cause problems.
Tell me. Did you learn shooting to kill your family?
What are you looking at? You sick psychopath!
I STRONGLY URGE THE COURT TO GIVE KANG CHUL THE MAXIMUM PENALTY...
YOU CRAZY BASTARD!
HOW IS THIS YOUR CONCLUSION?
FORMER PROSECUTOR, HAN CHEOL-HO...
Former prosecutor Han Cheol-ho entered politics today
as he joined the Changmin Party.
"Rebuild the social justice system that has collapsed."
That is the mission the nation has given me.
And I will fulfill my duty
for the sake of the nation.
-What? What are you talking about? -Please take a look.
CONGRESSMAN HAN CHEOL-HO
Kang Chul is the co-CEO.
I expected him to be an alcoholic who ended up dead in some alley.
It looks like he continued his studies after dropping out of school.
He's been hiding his name to avoid the press.
We confirmed that it was him after the company went public yesterday.
What a crazy world.
He's a murderer who should rot in prison forever,
but he's now a company CEO.
Go.
Do-yoon.
Why do you want to learn from me?
I heard you were the best.
-I like people who are the best. -But why?
With your wealth, you can hire a slew of bodyguards.
Money can't always protect you.
Besides, it looks like I'll be surrounded by enemies from now on.
Let's do it.
Should I put these on?
-Good, again. One, two. -One, two.
Dodge. Dodge again.
Dodge.
Go. That's right.
Go lower. Good.
You can do it. Go again.
-Go! -Good.
That was good.
-You jerk! -How dare you?
Come here, you punk!
CLEAN COMPUTER ART ACADEMY
-Hey! -You punk.
Last night, gang leader and wanted criminal, Park Eun-hyeong,
was arrested by the police.
It was revealed that the criminal had evaded police arrest,
but was caught by Kang Chul, the CEO of JN Global.
This is a video of the scene taken by someone who was there.
FOOTAGE OF KANG CHUL'S MERITORIOUS DEED
He's just putting on an act!
Even so,
people are praising him.
Kang Chul is solving cases that even the police have given up on.
Furthermore,
he's funding the lawsuits for the victims.
Mr. Assemblyman, he's basically buying the public with money.
He's the real criminal. There's no doubt about it.
-That's why I prosecuted him. -Mr. Han.
You shouldn't get upset. Stay calm.
As Chul's popularity grows, your support rate is dropping.
They are inversely related.
In the last two years, the number of people who believe
you conducted a witch-hunt against Chul
rose to over 80%
This is no time to get upset. You must establish countermeasures.
You're the face of our party.
You should consider
what will happen to us
if Chul finds the real killer.
How can he find the true killer?
Kang Chul is the true killer.
Excuse me, sir.
Are you all right?
We're closed for the day.
We have to lock up.
Does this book
sell well?
Pardon?
Is it popular?
Of course. It's been a bestseller for over five years now.
I see.
That's funny.
I'll bag them for you. Please wait a moment.
That's not necessary.
I already know the story.
IF I HEAR THAT ONE MORE TIME, I MIGHT GET SWAYED.
PARK SU-BONG
Hello? What happened?
I called a technician, but he said there's nothing wrong with it.
There's no problem with the server either.
Is everything okay with you?
I'm at the hospital.
I just left the workroom. I'm too scared to be there alone.
It felt like it was haunted. I'll go back once Mr. Oh returns.
Alright then.
Dr. Oh, you have room three.
Okay.
Yeon-joo.
Did you...
Did you get engaged?
Engaged?
What nonsense is that?
Someone claiming to be your fiancé came to see you.
My fiancé? Who?
He didn't give his name. He just said you'd know if I said he was your fiancé.
He must be confusing me with someone else.
He's not, right?
How could I be engaged when I'm not seeing anyone?
Right, that's true.
Is he drunk?
Anyway, good luck.
OPERATING ROOM
I think you might be mistaken.
I think you have the wrong person.
Seok-beom.
Do you know each other?
Yes.
Have you been well?
I wondered how you were after the jailbreak.
You look good.
How...
Did I get pulled in again?
It can't be. This is definitely the hospital where I work.
Even Seok-beom is here.
I came here.
I came out...
into your world.
How?
How did you come here?
The world I live in stopped.
What?
Everything stopped.
Except for me.
That's why I escaped and left everything behind.
I don't know why I'm the only one who survived.
Maybe because I'm the main character as you said.
Maybe it's a privilege the main character gets.
I read all 33 volumes of W with all the money I had.
Now I'm convinced
as to how you knew me so well.
You must have been a fan.
You watched me for seven years after all.
Do you know...
how much I'm regretting it now?
I should have listened to you back then.
Answer me.
I can't.
I told you. You'll become miserable if I do.
I didn't imagine...
the truth would be like this.
I should have listened to you.
I understand now
that it was for my sake that you didn't say anything.
I came here
because I wanted to say goodbye.
Thank you so much
for being considerate of me.
You're a very good person,
and you're qualified to become a good doctor.
Dr. Oh, Professor Park is here.
I'll be right there.
You're busy. Go back in.
Are you going somewhere?
Where are you going? Just wait here for me.
It's not a big operation, so it will be over soon, okay?
Don't do anything and just stay here.
Think of me as your guardian and wait for me.
Are you trying to act like me?
It's because you don't have anything.
You don't have money, a place to stay, or an ID.
I know well how lost you must feel.
And I'm really a doctor in this world.
Sure, I can't compare to you, but I have money and a home.
Just trust me and wait
until I come out.
Don't go anywhere. Just stay here.
All right?
Please do as I say.
It won't take long. I'll finish in 40 minutes.
Why did you do that?
After I finished reading all the books,
I'm 99 times unhappier than before,
but one good thing came out of it.
I always felt that I was at a disadvantage,
but I read everything you thought and felt as well.
So don't try to act shy and say things you don't mean.
Wait here.
If something happens while I'm gone,
look for Dr. Kang Seok-beom of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
He'll help you if you say you're my friend. Okay?
The guy from a while ago?
He acted sassy when I told him I was your fiancé.
He's not your boyfriend, is he?
I told you I don't have a boyfriend.
Sorry I'm late.
The name Oh Yeon-joo is the problem. Everything with that name is doomed.
Look at W for instance.
Ever since that Oh Yeon-joo character appeared,
it has been going downhill.
It's not just going downhill. It's going down the Himalayas.
And the other Oh Yeon-joo is about to ruin
the great Myungsei's cardiothoracic surgery department.
-You're dead. See you after the surgery. -Sorry?
Okay.
SURGERY: 15 MINUTES ANESTHESIA: 24 MINUTES
OH SEONG-MOO
W BY OH SEONG-MOO
KANG CHUL'S PENTHOUSE BEDROOM
KANG CHUL'S PENTHOUSE BATHROOM
SEO DO-YOON
YOON SO-HEE
KANG CHUL
Excuse me. Hello? Wake up!
Can you hear me?
-Please let me in. -No, you can't--
Oh, no. Please.
Are you okay?
I am one of those people
who want your life to have a happy ending.
I'm your fan. I swear.
OPERATION IN PROGRESS
Good work, everybody.
-Good work. -Good work.
-Where are you going? -Pardon?
Did you forget that I was going to dismiss you?
-I didn't forget. -So where are you going? Come here.
Right now? There's someone waiting for me outside.
Assume position in one, two...
Hey, you've always
been bad and thoughtless,
but when I thought about it, you started getting smart with me
precisely after I said I was a fan of W.
That's when you started to get really smart with me.
How dare you use your father to your advantage?
It's not like that.
What do you mean it's not like that?
And since it's out, I'll get this off my chest, too.
I'm so stressed these days because of W.
What's up with your father?
Why is there romance when they should be busy looking for the killer?
What's going on? It's like he's forgotten the genre!
That can happen, can't it?
-What did you just say? -How can people work all the time?
I think that's more unrealistic.
Even a hero can fall in love.
No matter how important his revenge is,
there must be a moment when he's blinded by love.
Chul is human, too.
Are you upset because I insulted your father?
-No, sir. -Besides, that's not love.
It's just a fling.
Chul and that girl with your name are just having a fling.
It could be love, too.
-Why are you so sure it's not love? -What?
How can you think of that as just a fling? I didn't see it that way.
Hey. What have they done?
Chul never said anything to her. Has he ever told her that he loves her?
Do you have to say it out loud?
How would she know otherwise?
How would she know?
I know how,
-but I won't tell you. -Wait! Spoiler alert!
You must have heard something.
Is that right? Don't tell me
that girl will end up with Chul.
No. Stop it!
That's craziness! That cannot happen!
Why is that crazy?
-It can happen, too. -Does it make sense?
He needs to marry Yoon So-hee.
Why? Why does he have to marry Yoon So-hee?
They've been friends for almost ten years since high school.
-It's obvious they should marry. -No, it's not obvious.
Do you have to get married if you're together?
Why do you think Chul likes So-hee?
Okay, I see. It's obvious that So-hee has a big crush on Chul.
It was mentioned many times.
But there isn't a single scene
suggesting that Chul sees So-hee as anything more than a friend.
I remember everything.
Do I have to vocalize it?
Even if he doesn't say it, it's meant to go that way.
It's obvious.
"So-hee, I didn't realize until now, but the person I truly love is you."
He professes his love, they kiss, and that's the end.
-It's like a formula! -There's no formula in human feelings!
Why do you judge Chul however you want?
You don't even know him well.
Chul likes me.
That is a fact.
Dr. Oh.
Chul likes you?
No.
I mean the character with my name.
You have the same mental age as my daughter.
My daughter in junior high acts just like you. Like a fangirl.
Should I introduce you to her? Would you like to meet her?
No, thank you.
Why not? You would share a deep friendship.
Professor, I'm so sorry, but I have something very urgent to attend to.
Can you scold me later?
I'm not scolding you. You're the one who raised your voice.
I'm sorry!
Yeon-joo, where are you going? Yeon-joo!
Where did he go? I told him to stay here.
I understand now
that it was for my sake that you didn't say anything.
I came here
because I wanted to say goodbye.
DAD
The person you have reached is not available.
Dad, where are you?
PARK SU-BONG
Sir, where are you?
It looks like Yeon-joo got dragged into the cartoon again.
This is Park.
Is the one you sent me this morning the final draft?
The content seems a little strange.
Since you're not responding, I uploaded it.
PARK SU-BONG
Sir, have you read the new chapter?
Yeon-joo is safe, but I can't deal with the story.
Please call me.
YEON-JOO
Dad, where are you?
YEON-JOO
Mr. Oh Seong-moo?
Hello, Dad? Where are you?
Hello?
It was you.
I had a feeling it was you.
We've met several times now.
You remember, right?
Please come.
We have a lot to talk about.
How...
How did I come to this world?
You should explain that to me.
I thought you created me.
Come here.
Have a seat.
Dad!
Get up.
Be grateful to your daughter.
I'm going easy on you because of Yeon-joo.
While you were determined to kill me,
your daughter worked hard to save me.
Hello?
Su-bong, where are you?
I'm at an Internet cafe, just killing time.
Hurry over to workroom. I think something bad is happening.
Something bad?
Chul went to Dad.
What? What are you talking about?
Chul is here.
He is with Dad right now.
What are you...
Chul is here?
Run to the workroom now!
Go and tell Chul to wait. Tell him I'll be right there.
Tell him to wait and do nothing because I need to talk to him. Okay?
Hello, Yeon-joo? That's... Yeon-joo?
Chul... Chul is here?
Why did he come?
Sir, please shut down computer number 35!
You're bleeding.
I guess you're not immortal in this world.
You're an ordinary human being.
You get hurt and bleed.
This is how it's supposed to be.
It's fair this way.
It's so unfair that I was the only one who bled and got hurt.
Yeon-joo wasn't the first person I grabbed after being stabbed.
It was you.
Help me. Please help me.
Please call an ambulance.
Let's stop.
Let's stop this now.
The stabber didn't fatally injure me. It was you.
Then your daughter appeared and saved me.
Nobody knew
there were two people who stabbed me.
I kept quiet as I had no evidence, but I could tell instinctively.
The person who wanted to kill me without rhyme or reason
was you.
I didn't even know who you were then.
You must have created me here.
With your pen in hand,
you thought of ways to kill me here.
Now that you have money, honor and success, you don't need me anymore.
You created me and made me suffer.
You became successful by making my life a roller coaster ride.
Then you wanted to kill me, so you stabbed me,
injected me with poison, and hit me with a truck.
Drawing it wasn't enough, so you stabbed me yourself.
I asked for mercy, but you stabbed me coldly and cruelly.
While I was waiting, I did a research on you.
You're so popular
that you're all over the Internet.
-Stop drinking. -I don't want to drink either.
I'm only drinking because I'm so miserable!
-You drink because you're miserable? -Yes.
Then I should double what you're drinking!
-Go ahead and drink. Drink. -I'm sick of this.
I'm sick of it all too.
That's enough already!
Oh Seong-moo was an incompetent head of the family.
He was a cartoon artist who had never succeeded even once.
You couldn't live without alcohol and had no will.
You felt inferior like a loser all the time.
On top of that, you were old.
That's why you created me.
Someone young, successful, wealthy, and famous.
Someone with a strong will.
A strong man who is the complete opposite of you.
That's why you named me "Kang Chul," which means steel.
It was written in an article.
You wanted to live vicariously through me to escape reality.
However, it didn't last long
because your wife finally left you.
You immediately fell into depression.
You've always been like that.
You have an inferiority complex, lack confidence, and give up easily.
That's why you killed me...
unlike your original plan.
You made me commit suicide because you weren't brave enough to do so.
Because the only thing you could control
was me.
That's when things started going wrong.
I kept having the same nightmare.
A nightmare of drowning in the Han River.
I wondered what it was.
I guess I was really dead
before you changed your mind and saved me.
I didn't save you.
You resisted death.
I actually
killed you there, but you resisted.
You pleaded with me to save you.
That's why I saved you
because I felt pity.
I was fond of you then.
And that was the problem.
From then on, you became a monster
like you are now.
You're right. I gave you everything.
I gave you everything that I wanted to have,
but what happened?
You tried to learn about this world with the brain I created.
It makes no sense. You're nothing but a drawing!
You're not even human,
but you kept tormenting me.
And now, you show up here!
Sometimes, the pen moves on its own.
When I wake up in the morning,
I find a completely different drawing.
At first, I went to a psychiatrist because I thought I had lost my mind.
Do you think I've lost my mind?
No, it's because you're always drunk.
You're not a child anymore.
I talked to my friends about it, but nobody believed me.
I tried to run away because I was so scared,
but I couldn't.
Because of Yeon-joo.
Dad.
I did...
nothing for her while she was growing up.
Yeon-joo, come here.
I'm sorry.
I told myself to keep working
because people liked my work
and it made money.
If I earn a little more,
I could open up a hospital for her and help her not worry about money.
Do you think you're the only one who had nightmares?
I had a nightmare every night too!
A nightmare that you would come to me like this.
It was hell to continue until now,
but I persevered because I knew it would end soon.
That was my only light and hope,
that I won't have to draw you anymore once I finish.
Yet you didn't die! You pulled me into your world.
You even pulled Yeon-joo in, which was why I stabbed you.
I didn't think this curse would end otherwise.
You're just an illusion.
You're nothing. You're just a character I created.
So why did you show up here
and act like you're human?
Why are you continuing the story by getting my daughter involved?
You're just a character, understand? Just something I created!
You want to shoot me?
Go ahead.
Do you think you can shoot me?
No, you can't shoot me.
Do you know why?
Because you're a character who can never commit murder.
I made you a righteous man.
A man of morals who abides by the law.
Even when you take revenge, it has to be lawful.
That's why you became a hero
and people like you.
You're a guy who can't shoot a helpless and unarmed old man
just because you're angry.
That's who you are.
That's your character.
Do you think you're here by your own will?
By your free will?
No. It was all set up that way.
I made you into a person with an unusually strong will.
You have the will to endure and get through any hardships.
The problem was, I took it a little too far.
I gave you such strong will
that you can even overcome death even if you don't accept it.
However,
even that will is my creation.
You've never strayed from the character I gave you.
Shoot me if you want to.
Dad, stop it.
Please don't say anything.
Can you shoot me?
Shoot me!
Sit and draw the ending you originally planned.
You changed your initial plan and made me commit suicide.
Everything went wrong after I refused that.
If you follow the original plot, I'll accept it.
Then everything will go back to normal.
Don't you agree?
My friends are still there.
Do-yoon?
They're neither dead nor alive.
I can't leave them so miserably like that.
That happened only because you popped out of the cartoon.
Stop looking for reasons and look for a solution.
Just draw and put everything back.
I don't know anything.
-What do you mean? -There's nothing I can do.
I can't even end it the way I want.
The story continues only when you accept it.
You know what kind of ending I would accept.
It's simple.
Catch the real killer and make him pay for what he did.
And I want to live a normal life. That's all.
Just tell me who the real killer is.
As you said, my will to find the suspect is so strong that I can't even die.
I even ended up here.
Draw the real killer's face
so that I can remember it.
Draw it.
I don't have it.
What?
There is no real killer.
It was just an initial set-up.
It was a set-up to make the main character stronger.
Mom?
It's a common set-up for a hero cartoon.
A shocking trauma from his youth.
Oh, Victory Korea
Even I don't know who the killer is.
Are you...
serious right now?
You can only become a hero if things don't get solved.
If you catch the criminal, the story will simply end there.
If you're happy, why would you bother to go through all that?
That's why there's no clue.
It never existed.
You don't know?
There's no killer?
You killed my entire family.
You framed me and put me in jail, yet you don't know?
They died before my eyes.
They died miserably in front of me.
My parents and my younger siblings.
I saw the bodies with my eyes, but there's no shooter?
Sir, please hurry up. Hurry.
I see.
That's why
you tried to kill me.
There could never be a happy ending.
If this never happened,
you would've continued to draw this and enjoyed your success.
Meanwhile, I would be suffering from insomnia every night
and get hurt every day chasing a killer I can never catch!
I would go suffer endless pain and repeat the same things.
Do you have...
any idea what I went through?
You wouldn't be able to withstand any of it,
but I went through it countless times.
You drew like you were a god with those fingers.
You took no responsibility.
I still remember every painful moment.
That's how fiction is.
It's my job as an author.
No.
You're not just an author.
You saw me alive and breathing, but you tried to kill me anyway.
That's your true nature.
You're a brutal and abusive man.
It didn't show because you were holding a pen instead of a knife.
You're a son of a bitch on the inside.
You might as well have committed murder.
No!
No! No, please!
Mr. Oh!
Think of a solution.
Do whatever it takes.
Figure it out before I come back.
Consider yourself lucky.
It's not that I'm lucky.
You couldn't shoot me to begin with.
That's how you were written.
Why did you save Chul back then? You should've let him die.
This happened because you saved him that night.
This is the most logical ending for the main character
who became a murderer while searching for a murderer.
If it says "the end" in the cartoon, what happens next?
What does "the end" really mean?
Please save Chul. Please save him.
He can still be saved.
Subtitle translation by Jeong Lee