The van is heading to North. Remi, Ryan and Jeff are sitting in it.
Jeff looks around. No sign of the crews.
He asks, "Where are the others?"
Remi explains, "They already departed yesterday. We will meet the crews and an actress in the village."
"An actress? Do I know her?"
Ryan adds, "I doubt it. She's just a small timer in the drama club. She doesn't have any debut yet."
"Hmm..."
Ryan is busy writing in his notebook. Remi has a headphone on. Listening to music. It's clear they don't want to talk right now.
Jeff closes his eyes and takes a nap.
Just one day and I missed him already. My heart be calm.
Jeff smirks like an idiot with eyes closed. The continuous car movement drifts him to sleep.
Ryan whispers, "Do you think he could pull it off? He only acts in few small movies."
"A beggar can't choose a gourmet dish. We are running out of time. All the actors we know are engaged in shooting."
"Maybe if you cooperate with a producer, you could have attained more investment fund," complaints Ryan.
Remi scolds, "No. I want total freedom in directing my movie. Even if it's just a small show. Hate it when a producer kept shoving useless people into the crews."
Ryan sighs.
Remi is as stubborn as a mule. It will be hard to find a rich producer with such criterias. Almost all of them have young pets. Shoving untalented actors and actresses into the crews are normal procedure.
The director needs funds. The producer wants their pets to be famous. It's a win and win game.
Unfortunately Remi is old school. He isn't willing to take a short cut. That's why he isn't very popular among investors.
Five hours later, they arrive in a small rural farming village. The nearest city is five miles away.
Jeff stares around.
An elderly man has been waiting for them. A chubby middle aged man is standing behind him.
He introduces, "I'm Yang Gai, the village chief. This is my son, a doctor."
The doctor greets, "Hello. I'm Yang Xiu. Nice to meet you. Please follow me for a free health check up."
Jeff and the others look at each others.
The village chief explains, "This place is simply too far from the city. My son often gives regular check ups to prevent people collapsed from unknown illness."
Remi says, "We are still young and healthy. No need for that."
The doctor asks anxiously, "Anyone with heart disease? Kidney failure? High blood pressure? Diabetic?"
Ryan shakes his head.
Jeff tilts his head.
Dunno why. This doctor gives me the creeps. His gaze. It felt like he's going to devour me.
Jeff shakes his head. Probably just psychological problem. He got a little fright whenever he faced a chubby fellow. Blamed it on his crazy sasaeng fan.
The village chief says, "Your lodging is ready. Please follow me."
They are going to stay in his house. Because there is no Inn in this rural village.
They follow the chief. Remi walks ahead, followed by his brother. Jeff is the last in the line.
Jeff stops walking when he feels someone stares at him.
It's an old woman. She points to him.
"Leave! You'll get eaten! This village is cursed! CURSED!"
Her eyes are blood red as if she's been crying for a long time. Her hair are messy and very dirty as if she hasn't washed for many days. Her clothes are nothing more than dirty rags.
The Chief looks back.
He yells, "Ignore her! She lost her child and went mad."
The woman screams, "Murderer! All of you killed her!"
She begins to curse and then wails like a Chinese banshee.
The Chief snorts and ignores her. Jeff and the others follow him.
"Murderer! Demon Lord shall eat you all!"
She laughs like a mad woman. Correction. She is a crazy old woman.
They walk pass a large black bear statue made from stone. It looks eerie enough even in broad daylight. As if it's a man killer beast.
The Chief notices their gaze.
He praises,"Impressive, yes? It's our guardian deity. Hei Xiong has been protecting us for ages. No outsiders are safe from it's wrath."
He laughs heartily.
Jeff follows the others into the house. It's old building with cracked walls. At least the interior is neat.
The quilts are old and a bit moldy.
Ryan collapses to the bed.
He closes his eyes and complaints, "Signal is bad. How could I update my script online?"
Remi says, "It's a backwater village. What do you expect?"
Jeff checks his phone. The signal is on and off.
He sends a Wechat message to Victor, "I arrived in the village. Love you."
No response.
Victor might be busy at this moment. He is preparing for a big project. Something about huge VR tech.
There's a knock on the door. A pretty young woman walks into their bedroom as if entering her own place.
Remi greets, "Xiao San, you're here. Let me introduce you to Jeff Lin."
"I know him. I watched his idol drama."
Remi complaints, "Another star chaser."
He makes a gesture for them to gather around him. His brother closes the door.
Remi takes out clipped articles from old newspapers. He spreads them out on the bed. He starts filming using his vidcam.
He claims, "I changed my mind. It's better if we shifted the topic into the black bear deity."
He points to the articles of missing persons.
He explains, "They are missing around this area. A guy in the net speculated that this village is the center of a cult."
Jeff glances at the others. None of them look surprised. As if they already knew it from the start. He covers his face with a hand.
I've been scammed! This is the real objective of the show. To investigate the cult in this village.
Maybe Remi could read his mind.
He asks, "You still remember our deal, right? Jeff, the car won't pick us up until the recording is over."
The village is a bit secluded. No other public transportation available. He could call for Baozi to pick him up if it's necessary.
If I left the crews, I will loose two young talents. One is a great director. The other is a talented scriptwriter. I must endure this hardship.
Ryan asks, "We need this project for our graduation. You promise to help, remember?"
"Of course. A gentleman never went back on his words. It's safe here, right?" comments Jeff.
Remi approves, "Yes, it's safe. It's just an old superstition. There is no mountain deity here."
"Good. At least the deity won't make us lost in the woods," jokes Jeff.
It ain't like I will be lost in the woods.
Jeff doesn't know he just set up a huge flag for himself. He forgot his crow mouth often jinxed himself.
Remi asks, "Xiao San, is the crews are still resting in their rooms?"
She blinks few times. She looks doubtful with slightly open mouth.
Finally she asks, "What crews? Aren't they all here?"
Remi scratches his head.
He comments, "Strange. They should be here by now. One cameraman and his assistant."
Xiao San shakes her head.
She confesses, "My friend drove me here. He left soon afterwards."
Remi shrugs his shoulders. It's a good thing he brought a spare vidcam. At least they could keep filming until they arrive.
He grabs his vidcam and continues shooting.
He says cheerfully, "Day 1. First log. We are going to start investigating the black bear deity and the cult behind it. Wish us luck!"
He takes few close ups to Jeff, Ryan and Xiao San. The last one is of course himself.
Jeff grabs the papers and starts to read.
The missing persons are mostly youngsters. They went hiking and got lost in the woods.
Few corpses found not intact. Got eaten by forest animals. Many of them remained missing until present day.
Xiao San yawns loudly. She is a pretty woman with lack of ladylike manners.
She says, "I'm beat. Talk later. I wanna take a nap first."
"Sure. We will start our investigation by asking the villagers about the deity. Tell them it's for school assignment."
"You betcha. Bye!"
Jeff shakes his head. That's one lovely girl. Even a gay like him could notice her.
Ryan scolds, "Don't keep your hope up. She's taken. Her boyfriend is a heir of a rich prestigious family."
Jeff chuckles. He is gay. Not interested in her. Remi seems attracted to her. Ryan better advised him. Not Jeff, the shou.
He sends another message to his boyfriend. A kiss emoji and a hug. Still no response from him.
Outta sight outta mind. Hope Victor isn't this type of guy.
Jeff sighs. Hoping his boyfriend to be romantic is simply impossible wish.
--------------------
Please vote and comment.
A farming village filled with cult members. Will unlucky Jeff survive?