Casino Jack Mirror Monologue Script

Hi guys!! I'm new here, so pls forgive me if ever I seem clueless about the inside culture going on on this sunny side of the internet...
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K now that's out of the way, let's head straight to business...
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1. What's this post for?? - I wanna make some sort of a shrine for a webtoon I fell in loved with, the title of it is "Hearbeats per Second" (hence the post title, heartbeats remembered) linky here: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/heartbeats-per-second/list?title_no=46502&page=2 as you can see the project has been discontinued right after it got featured (you can't see any content about it now except for Q/A's and announcements on the link above) So ya, it's dead alright; so dead that i wanna make a proper shrine for it, for the fans who still care. I have sufficient reason to believe it won't be coming back. (more on that later)
2. Heartbeats per Second? What is it? What's special about it? - It's a webcomic authored by mjbee; published under webtoon platform (exclusively, as i haven't seen it on any other site save for fansub sites). First released back in nov. 2016 but I think a teaser for it went up way earlier than that. It's a romance/drama title with a hint of supernatural elements. Just by reading the old comments, one thing can be identified that made it special across fans' hearts; its art and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't have one of the best art on a webcomic when it came out (including featured comics). I should say it has one of the most peculiar life cycle for a webcomic too, at first the updates for it were tad erratic, like the next chap was released on jan of 2017, more than a month after the first chap (weird for a webcomic under the same "weightclass" lol) and the next (proper) chap took another month, but some time around march the author promises to update regularly on a bi-monthly basis, so come march of 2017 we got 2 chapters and another one mid april (it started to feel like a proper webcomic by that time) and poof it got featured (deservingly) by the end of april, although announcement for the feature came later than that. It was last updated on jun of 2017 for a Q/A (i believe during the time in between, a "featured" version for it was being worked on). And we've never heard about it again... the social media of the creator went silent at around the same date, according to lifelight (my dear cold blooded king author) mjbee had been sick and on a follow up comment, lifelight further added that mjbee couldn't be reached anymore, heck even webtoon itself can't reach mjbee thus HpS's feature was put on hold indefinitely... Nobody knows what exactly happened to the author to this date, but I may have a few conjectures...

(For those not interested about mere conjectures regarding topic as sensitive as such you may skip this part of the post. However understanding 1 or 2 of them helped me find peace but ya that's just me.)
Theory #1 - "Exactly what it says on the can." - Top comment on the aforementioned "last update" is by lifelight informing the readers that mjbee has been sickly for months and needed time to recoup. This is very likely since if memory serves me right one chap. within the series includes an apology by the author stating that she's been sick hence the updates were as irregular as they are. I myself subscribes to this theory since it's the least hardest to swallow but leaves important stuff unanswered. One of those is that, it doesn't explain the sudden radio silence by the author. You'd think that mjbee would've at least made even just 1 official statement regarding her circumstances. Which leads to...
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Theory #2 - "Yes, but actually no." - It is often said to not take everything at face value and I think that applies here. Ever find yourself saying "I'm not feeling well, guess I'll pass"? Half of the time when I say that, I'm not actually sick-sick, just not mentally willing. But 9/10 your buddy would just be like "Man you got the flu? get well soon." We automatically assume it's a disease or something but truth is we can never discount other forms of sickness. Though I may not be physiologically sick it doesn't mean I'm not sick at all. Just maybe, I'm simply "sick and tired of your antics John." (sorry man)
Having to redo, revise and not to mention churn up production for the official launch probably broke the creator. That's not to mention the pressure it entails; having to work with an editor, when you've mostly been independent all this time, can be taxing, trying to make sure it fits necessary standards and what not, upgrading your work even though you've already given it all. (I wouldn't know though but I can always imagine.) ... or worse... loss of creative control? It's like having your child get mutilated and you have to do the trimming by yourself. (surely i could of put that in a better manner lol but you get the idea lmao). But still it doesn't answer the radio silence... or does it? Prepare your tinfoil lads.
What causes somebody to forget and turn away from someone he/she previously loved? The answer is simple, a BREAK UP!! (specially a nasty one). In this case, it's not a literal one but a metaphoric break up. Heck even the author's last tweet shades about things "breaking apart" see link: https://twitter.com/supermjbee/status/871362419313922048
You may say I'm stretching it, and that it's merely convenient but not exactly a satisfying explanation and you're right about that. But I'd take this all day over the next theory that we all have at the back of our heads...
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Theory #3 - "As art does, life so mirrors." - HpS heavily plays on the idea of "sudden disappearance" which made me very engaged and invested on the comic during the short time it was up. However it is not fun anymore when it happens irl. I've knocked on so many wood, praying for it not to be the case but deep down I know things as such are possible. From an arm injury causing her unable to perform at the level she previously did, to carpal tunnel syndrome, to nerve damage; none of these are fun. These cases corroborates to theory#2 so much too, in that such a fortuitous events may have forced her in the dark.
I don't even wanna go further with the other possibilities...
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Theory #4 - "It's just that good." - On a lighter note (though I myself considers this as a fringe theory) it is possible that the creator of the series simply just dropped it. Why? It could be that the creator got engaged or became part of a bigger project and is no longer able to work on HpS. It's a weak theory with the same symptoms as the first one but it's a "good end" and there are nights that I wish for this to simply be the case. Who knows maybe the spirit of HpS still lives on albeit on a different title. Mjbee's twitter says that she's a "drawer of things" and I believe once an artist will always be an artist. :)
When you actually think about it, this theory kinda makes sense. You produce something of quality, gain exposure and eventually newer, bigger opportunities will come knocking. It's just that good, the art doesn't need further mention and even with the art alone, it's already enough. But just about everything is amazing with HpS, the scene direction, dialogue, overall writing, story, even the layout is amazing. I still remember just how crazy hooked I was when I first read the prologue. And even if it's in spanish (fan sub upload, the last living remnant of HpS) I can feel every emotion in a scene and the cliffhangers are absolute bangers, in fact I've never seen a comic that got featured with the same or fewer amount of proper chapters. So yes, I wouldn't wonder if mjbee got involved into something else though it stings to think that we didn't get any official news buttttt the world doesn't revolve around me, as long as everything's fine I can be happy for her.
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Last one I promise, Theory #5 - "Get those tin foils back on." - Bear with me for a bit. It could be that mjbee isn't an individual, or she's not completely independent. It is possible that she's affiliated with an organization or is actually one. It may explain why HpS has to be abandoned on such an auspicious of a timing, maybe it has something to do with rights management. Maybe webtoons was only interested with the artist that did the art and didn't want to involve the rest so no understanding was reached. It sort of reminds of the case with "Your Favorite Martian" by Ray William Johnson for those familiar with it. Both share the same "abandonment" circumstances.
"Hahhh?? an organization??" you ask, well it's not that uncommon. I've seen other creators who produces inhuman amount of content with varying degrees of style, it can only mean it's a bunch of individuals sharing the same creator id to easily hit metrics for monetization, or idk lmao. (told you this is tin foil-y). This is not to downplay mjbee's talent or anything, somebody still has to actually do it, and I believe that the individual who makes and draws is actually mjbee. The one we interact with, it's just that there may be others involved behind the scenes.
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Anyway those are my theories, one may be true, or a mix, or all of them or none of them. We don't know perhaps we may never know.
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1. Who am I? - Well, I'm a fan of the series. For the longest time HpS was my favorite. I've been a fan since the teaser went up and I've been patiently waiting for any drop of news despite being years since the last nugget we got. I still check back from time to time, and it pains me to see that the amount of subscribers slowly drains away bit by bit, but I can't blame them. I just wish HpS won't be forgotten... So I carved this little corner here on reddit dedicated to fellow fans, to convene, discuss and share memories about the series. That's the gist of it...

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"That's not all there is to it, there's more right?" heh heh heh... Yep... FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS BOIS n GALS!!
I'd like to think I've inherited the will of Heartbeats per Second. What? What do I mean? Well hear my story.
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Sometime around 2018, just couldn't recall the date exactly probably Q2-Q3 of the year, I had a chance encounter. By this time it has already been more than a year since HpS last updated and I was starting to forget the series. I couldn't even remember the names of the characters anymore. An instructor in one of my class has this habit of incorporating references in the materials. The references ranges from pop culture, to anime; from mythologies to lovecraftian stuff. Some are easy to identify such as "Ackerman AOT Inc. has the following data related to it's 2018 statement of financial position" bla bla, that's clearly referring to mikasa ackerman from attack on titan. While others require a bit of digging. Well one day i decided to pay close attention to the said references, especially the ones I'm not familiar with. Oddly, names like "Mira" and "Tyke" showed up (separately), well the names didn't particularly rang a bell at that time but out of sheer curiosity I asked away where the references that I can't identify were from. "Tyke and Mira were from a discontinued project". Looking back now I would of killed myself for my stupidity, I never did recognize the names, ever not until recently! but I'm so glad I had the audacity at that time to ask for the manuscripts from the said "discontinued project". I wasn't really interested in it I was just trying to be chummy for extra marks lmao. Well ya I got em, but it wasn't til early 2019 that I discovered what i had. I checked back on HpS's page for news one day, nothing, so I went for the bootleg spanish fansub version, just to reminisce. And then I noticed, Tychus' name was often shortened as "Ty" or "Tyke". I was literally shaking... I compared the notes I had in me, and just about everything checks out. Is it the script of HpS? Not sure it's not a 1:1 copy but it's so close it couldn't be a mistake or coincidence. Well you can argue that it may be a fan-fic? and the parts related to the released portion were simply copied while the ones that aren't yet cannot be verified but it's too compelling to be so. Even the concept art for future events released on intstagram checks out!
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DISCLAIMER: I cannot verify the authenticity of the script or whether it is even related to HpS at all, it may or may not be the script of HpS. It may actually be just an elaborate fanfic but I feel like, something like this has to be shared among other readers who, like myself, fell in love with the series.
SIDE NOTE: I don't think my former instructor was mjbee, i am pretty positive about that. I do however, think that either my theory about HpS not being a one-man-show is correct, or they are simply related like friends or something IDK I wanna leave it at that. It is something I still haven't forgiven myself for not confirming.
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So yeah guys, here I am typing away on reddit despite not dropping a single comment on the series while it was ongoing (hey don't judge me)... I will post whatever related HpS content I can process via edit (does that work out? sorry new here) But for now I need some sleep.
EDIT: Hi reddit its been a long time, sorry i kinda forgot i made this post lol was just reminded when i checked the webtoon page for hps, anyway I have compiled my files related to Hps and as promised will share the processed bits
First off lets start with char bio as i believe these ones are official and are generally harmless to the overall story incase it does resurface again, and i feel like they are meant to be published soon anyway (unlike most of the bits i have which have already been reworked or dropped or drafts of plans, some bits still have author's remarks left intact in them)
CHARACTER BIO
Jack
Jack Tarver De Vera
Age 20
Jack is the resident bartender of The Verthandi, the hottest bar in town or so he claims. His uncle, who owns the joint, also entrusted Jack in overseeing the bar's whole operation despite his seemingly young age. He's good at what he does if that's just it, indicating that he may have years of experience under his belt but despite that he still lacks the necessary refinements in dealing with drunken customers; that's where Mia and Alex come in. That and the occasional 'inventory misappropriation' which he adamantly claims as 'just compensation' for the troubles he has to put up with.
He's rough around the edges, blunt and cynical at times (most of the time); a punk through and through. Good thing he can take in as much spew as he can dole out or he'd be insufferable. Well, Alex takes full advantage of this fact, capitalizing every opportunity to rub, technically, her 'boss' the wrong way. Maybe for stress relief? Maybe to get even at his punkish demeanor? Or maybe, entirely something else...
Jack may have had a tough childhood; orphaned at a young age, raised by just his uncle who's not getting any younger, it is even hinted that he never got any formal schooling, but despite all these he got to where he wants to be. Friends by his sides, top shelf spirits behind, and the rowdy shenanigans of drunks and merrymakers in the forefront.
Trivia: "In vino, veritas" Jack usually isn't honest with himself, but if you can outlast him in a drinking session he might just spill his guts out, sometimes literally.
Mia
Mirabelle Corlin (assumes mother's maiden last name)
Age 20
Mia was raised by her mother without knowing much about her father, she grew up to live a prudent life because of this. She's a model student with great grades during her time in school and was often the class representative. A kind hearted soft spoken girl by nature, she often keeps to herself, leading others to assume she's unfriendly; due to this she never had much friends.
Ever since her mother moved out with her partner, Mia lived alone with her pet cat, Milky. She works at a local bar nearby as a waitress along with her long time bestbud from way back, Alex.
Mia may appear timid on the outside but she's cunning and sharp. Although she's a bit sentimental, she never lacks hope and often looks forward to what tomorrow brings.
Trivia: Mia has an allergy with crustaceans, poor girl can never completely enjoy a lobster. She also dreams of becoming a vet! :3 soft spot for kitties!!
Tychus
Tychus Fortuna
Age 21
There's not much to say about Tychus, much of his info is unknown. He is presumed to be from a foreign land judging from his peculiar last name, when asked where specifically he just blurts out a different place every single time. Rumor has it that he has a penchant for gambling, sightings of him in gambling dens and casinos aren't unheard of but when asked about it he adamantly denies though.
A wisecracking charmer, it's hard to think he's the type to be secretive, yet he is. He carries himself with staunch composure even under duress. He likes avoiding attention and often seems uninterested about most things.
Trivia: His favorite sport is pro wrestling but it's fake so he settled for boxing. Also, he sleeps alot and just about anywhere you'd think he lived on the streets one point in his life.
Alex
Alexis Jean Ridley
Age 20
Alex, as she is fondly referred to by her friends, was born in the countryside by a loving couple. Due to the laid back environment she grew up in, Alex developed to be a congenial and gregarious girl, the kind that you'd expect to be friends with everybody. A spark plug of energy, Alex has always been enthusiastic with just about anything as long as she deems it fun. Well, studying is out of the question but it doesn't take much for her to consider a thing fun. Don't let her jolly nature and small stature fool you, she's way more athletic than she appears. In fact it was due to an athletic scholarship that she was able to attend high school in the city, where she met one of her long time friends, Mia.
Her spunky upbeat attitude coupled with her sporty nature may make it seem like she's a tomboy but truth is, she's a romantic that longs for love's first embrace. And so when the time came where athletics no longer proved beneficial, she dropped track altogether, vowed to take better care of herself and be more feminine. Love may just be around the corner after all.
Currently, she works at a local bar with her friend, Mia, since the post doesn't require her to be up early in the morning. Happily living day by day with not much worries or plans, taking life one step at a time with a smile.
Trivia: She claims to be one of the "cool kids" back in high school as she was the star of the track team, even making it as far as the regionals; her record for 100m dash is at 12.49 sec!! Bonus Trivia: She easily gets carried away by sappy romance flick.
EDIT2: METASTUFF - the following entry is my own inference and take regarding the original plan for the overall flow of HPS -
HPS seems to have been originally intended to be told in an achronological manner through the eyes of different perspectives. An ambitious and truly unique way of story telling, had it been the case I think I can say that we might have been robbed of a potential masterpiece considering the fate HPS has ultimately faced. (though there were already signs indicating that the idea for the narrative structure was dropped midway through)
Anyway based on an old printout regarding its skeletal and general flow HpS was planned to have 2 major spheres of events, i say spheres since it isnt exactly gonna be told in a chronological order especially events relating to the past; pre time jump. Yr2014. The other sphere being the then present yr2016. The first arc is told through the eyes of mia and next perspective would be alex's. Tyhus and another character were originally planned to have aswell. It was also planned to have quasi independent side stories tht are presented regardless of the chapter that preceded it, and are intended to flesh out the main story further, one such example is the "Valentines Special" originally intended to be published on feb 2017 i suppose (i will upload the storyboard writeup for it later on) and on top of that, a "SideB" of it. (sadly no write up of it exists just mere plans) Side B is used by the author to denote the same event under Tychus' eyes. The author explains it as "SideA=result SideB=how". After understanding what i can from the mess of scripts it was made apparent to me why the need for such thing, some readers have correctly guessed why so way before. The author described the past sphere as a "whimsical school romance with a bang at the end madoka style" if you would read it from chronological start to end. While the present sphere is like "clannad minus the harem" according to what seems to be a pitch summary.
Btw some few facts worth sharing:
Heartbeats per Second's original working title was called Linking Hearts
And it was suppose to be a visual novel but was transformed into a webcomic, this explains Mia's blank personality abit as pointed out by some comments early on the series
This is it for now I'll see you guys again. Next up Recap!
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EDIT3: RECAP (WARNING!!! EXTREMELY LONGGG!!!)
I'll post the storyboard script (no drawings) of the episodes from here on out, i believe these are the final text output before everything gets drawn and dialogue gets put into speech bubbles. Things in brackets [ ] are i think panels of illustrations, which the author uses as guides when actually illustrating the webtoon. I'll also post a link to the fansub version for the starting episodes so you can compare. Also note that the written dialogue is not 1:1 from what was released, I think some revisions are still done during actual writing down of dialogue inside speech bubbles. Here goes...
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Prologue - https://tmofans.com/viewe5af4e62c0159f/cascade
Time... They say time is like a flowing river... And we are merely flotsams at the mercy of its current.
[environment shot: raining,leaf floating on a rain stream by the curb: closeup and sidepanel: profile face of heroine in the past wearing uniform, apply bloom effect or sumthng to indicate dreaminess]
At times it would rage on like a coursing rapids; stopping for no one despite your pleas...
[wideshot of heroine walking along on the street holding her umbrella and bag, sidepanel: checking her phone for the time 4:48pm july 25 2014 1new message unopened]
And sometimes it feels like a tranquil stream, cradling you gently as you weave through its meandering banks...
[close up heroine admiring the scene]
I wonder, can time hear me? If i cried hard enough would the droplets of tears make a ripple?
[full body shot wind blowing trees swaying abit and leaves swirling in the air heroine looks wondering]
Sadly all i can ever do is float along with it lest i drown in its depths, time is a cruel mistress it is unforgiving as it is all powerful...
[back focus on the leaf along the ditch floating downstream]
I wish time could stop for a little bit, i wish it can let me drift around in circles on a quiet pond, i wanna relish those fleeting moments filled with butterflies a lil bit longer...
[obvious flashback scene: guy presenting girl necklace] [obvious flashback scene some more: late night hugging by the park under a streetlight with fireflies] [obvious flashback scene: walk together shoulder to shoulder, guy holds umbrelle, girl fully covered guy has his outer shoulder getting wet]
[focus on puddle with leaf by the curb]
[back shot of heroine by the crossing about to step forward, light turns green, construction site across it,, side panels: pitterpatter]
[pitter patter] [car] [scaffolding]
[ stomping on the puddle, splash]
[shoutout: Mia!!! Full body matrix shot: mia turning back water splashes and rain drops frozen suspended in air, leaf fluttering by them, heroine surprised look, necklace swings along, back of hero shown reaching out]
[focus on girl mouth: smiling] [saying: tychus] [one more panel focusing on her necklace being clutched by her]
[car goes by blurred]
[whiteout]
[big title with fancy font: linking hearts]
That was the last day i saw him... Since that day i felt like swimming against the current, maybe if i stood still he'd come rushing back just like before.
[repeat matrix shot minus shoutout and change her expression from surprised to longing, outfit changes too from uniform to server less bloom now we cn take off the dreamlike filter]
[same focus on girl mouth too: but this time she's sad] [speech bubble:tychus] [same same still clutching on the necklace]
Every time i chance upon that place i always find myself looking back to the past... Its an awful habit i know and im just making it hard for myself but i'm just a slave subject to the whims of my heart...
[crestfallen look back shot of heroine by the same crossing no more scaffolding, side panel: focus on her pony-ed hair, side panel: checking phone 4:50pm july 29 2016]
Ive always known it was too much to ask... Sigh...
[black]
[traffic light: green]
Well time to keep moving...
[ focus: leaf on a puddle] [ wind blows, leaf flies]
[zoom out shot panning to the sky, sunny, leaves flying by carried by wind, below small figure of heroine, crossing the street, moderately densed population, abit busy environment]
Prologue end huffhuff
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Episode 1 - "I still remember..." (on the official release ep1 is titled "Nothing but Memories")
https://tmofans.com/viewe5af4e62d1ee6a/cascade
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Scene1
[chime clings as the back door opens]
[setting: staff room]
[mia enters]
Alexis: hi hi mia-mi! So sorry i had to ask you to come despite your off, it's gonna be a busy friday night so we gonna be short on hands not to mention our 2 part timers are coming in late so ...
[mia interrupts]
Mia: hushh it's okay alex! of course i'd come i work here after all besides i cant say no to you, hey that's what friends are for :)
Alexis: [stoked] waiii yaayy, you're a life saver, my best bud <3 [glomps]
[jack interjects]
Jack: [cynical] everyone's your best bud alex, but you know if everyone is your best friend then no one is wahaha
Alexis: [pouting] muhh is it like that? [proud] well everyone's my best bud here, uncle rus is my best bud, big rob too even our cook, i like everyone except you jack-o wacko :P
Jack: whatttttt?
[everyone shared a laugh]
[mia monologue on her laughing panel] "this is where im at now, it's been 2 years since that fateful day. I'm holding up pretty well, still waiting, hoping... I wonder how have you been?"
[mia clutches her pendant shown underneath her clothes]
[a flash of tychus full smile and chuckling hand out stretched as if asking to be held]
[black out] [voice: Mia...]
[setting back to staff room]
Alexis: [unamused] mia... Oi mia... Knock knock you there? *poke* *poke*
Mia: [apologetic] oh sorry i kinda zoned out ahaha *light chuckle*
Alexis: ehhh what have you been zoning out for? Mah anyway come help me log the purchases they arrived a little while ago quick before you-know-who chugs em
Mia:*nods*
Jack: [called out from the bar] hey!!! It wasnt me i swear!
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Scene2
[setting: back alley]
[mia and alex checking and logging cases and kegs of beer]
[mia logging stuff on a journal]
Mia: [blank look zoning out] that's one and hmmm 2 from yesterday and this should be for...
[alexis interrupts]
Alexis:[surprised] wait wait! Those were already accounted for... Since yesterday... By you... [dumbfounded]
Mia: [flustered] oh my god im sorry *sigh*
[mia bites lip out of frustration, monologue "what is wrong with me"]
["somehow i still, up to now, can't take you out of my mind"]
Alexis: [worried] hmmm don't worry about it, uhmm let me take care of that one, you can just start with the kegs, i'll go ask big rob to sort this lot out
Mia: [down casted] thanks alot, i seem to be out of it *sigh*
[switches places]
Alexis: [sad worried look]
[mia bends down to check a keg and her pendant slips out of her blouse]
[pendant dangles]
[alexis wide eyed look, staring at the pendant]
Alexis: [realizes] [saddened] hey mia, what really happened that day?
Mia: [tight lipped] [a faint smile] [focus only up to her nose and lips down as she holds a fist near her chest] that day... He was strange that day...
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Scene 3
[setting past street crossing/flashback]
[raining]

[money shot: tychus calling out for mia as she turns around on the street or just recycle the panel from prologue]
[tychus closes in on mia] [panels showing their expressions tychus relieved and mia eager]
[moneyshot tychus took her by the hand and around her waist pulls her close and shared a passionate kiss]
Mia: [surprised] hey whats gotten into you? [blushes]
[tychus shakes his head gently eyes closed almost in tears]
[tychus hugged her tight]
Tychus: [thankful] im just happy to see you well in my arms
Tychus: [determined] i just don't want to spend another second without you anymore
Mia:[bewildered] but it has only been an hour since
[tychus tightened his grip lowered his head and a drop of tear fell along with the raindrops]
[tychus pained expression]
Mia: [softened look] [strokes his face] it's ok i'm here [hugged back]
[wide shot with lots of negative space for narration, zoomed out 2 of em hugging it out while raining]
Narration: i didnt know what's going on, he acted strange, desperate, and almost as if worn out like a soldier who's just been to war. He was a bit forceful, but i felt like... For the first time... I felt like i've finally connected to him, past beyond his shell...
He's usually always composed and collected, cool and elegant, it's actually eerily surreal... But at that moment... He looked vulnerable, first time i saw him like that. First time he felt like... a human.
[expression focus on mia as she smiles]
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Continued here - https://www.reddit.com/LINEwebtoon/comments/djerss/heartbeats_remembered_recap_continued/