At night, Aren waited for the episode to begin. He had already bought the yearly membership of AxisPlay.
As AxisPlay opened on the television screen, a massive banner filled the display:
[To Your Heart — Finale Live at 8:30 PM]
Aren's picture in his character's attire was inside the top right corner box with the word "debut."
Aren clicked on it, and the episode page opened, displaying a countdown.
Only 120 seconds remained.
The day had been a hectic one. Ventage fans had even gone to Leon and Gisha's PulseX profiles to troll them.
They both shared screenshots in the group chat of the drama.
Even the director had a similar experience.
Some even went as far as to troll the dramas the director had directed in the past.
There were fans of To Your Heart trying to defend their favorite drama; however, the wave of Ventage fans was just too massive.
Among these fans was a nineteen-year-old girl named Sasha, who was staring at the very same countdown on her tablet.
She had followed the show from the very first day it aired.
The reason?
Her newfound crush on Leon Shern — the male lead of the drama.
Although she had started watching for him, she stayed for the story.
It was thrilling to watch the protagonist and female lead compete for the same position at the network company, clash as reporters, uncover crimes, support each other, and slowly fall in love with each passing episode.
Even though the series was only twelve episodes long, Sasha waited for each new release with excitement.
And today marked the grand finale.
In her friend group, To Your Heart had become the hottest topic, and they had already planned to discuss the ending afterward—just like always.
On her screen, the countdown ticked down.
Ten seconds remained.
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
…
Three…
Two…
One…
And the episode began.
The screen turned bright as the AxisPlay logo began the episode.
The episode then showed the scenes from the previous episode.
The previous episode had ended on a cliffhanger.
It also allowed new viewers to get an idea of what was going on in the story.
In the previous episode, the villain of the story, the affluent businessman, sends his men to tamper with both the hero's and heroine's car brakes.
The scenes depicted the story through a series of minimal but impactful moments.
The heroine finds evidence and gets into the car with it.
She calls the male lead named Leo and tells him to come to the network studio.
They planned to expose the villain's crimes to the world together by broadcasting them live.
And while driving the car, both finds out about the failed brakes.
They talk on the call, supporting each other while trying to find solutions.
This shows their bond that they had developed throughout the series.
And that's where the previous episode ended, leaving the viewers on a massive cliffhanger.
They were left guessing whether the villain would win or the protagonists would survive and expose him to the world.
The latter would be a perfect ending to the drama, but the former was also possible.
It hadn't been announced that To Your Heart would get a second season and that this was only season one.
The Dramas having seasons were rare but not impossible.
So the viewers were pumped to see what happens in the last episode.
After the recap ended, the opening song of the drama hit the screen.
Sasha even sang along softly, enjoying the opening.
Meanwhile, Aren was impressed by the direction.
"He really left everyone guessing with that cliffhanger. This episode will have a high viewership, no doubt."
Aren complimented.
"His direction really pulls the viewers in. Even the story seems compelling. No wonder this drama became successful."
And then, the opening ended, returning to the crisis the protagonists were going through.
They were panicking while driving the car.
The male lead, as usual, was trying to calm the heroine down while telling her what to do.
The episode was fifty minutes long, so they had a lot of time to show the severity of the situation.
To make the situation thrilling, many obstacles were coming in front of their cars, which were too close to hitting them.
They were escaping by a hair's breadth each time.
Even the thrilling background music enhanced the situation.
This scene was taking time from most of the episode as viewers were kept on the edge of their seats, guessing if the protagonists would survive or the villain would win.
And then on the screen, it happened.
The camera shifted to the male lead, focusing on his situation.
In front of him was a sharp turn that he knew he couldn't make with the speed he was going.
Sasha's grip tightened on the tablet involuntarily, hoping to see her crush survive.
Leo's eyes glistened as he said on the phone:
"Remember this, I love you no matter what happens from here on out."
The female lead's shout came from the phone as he disconnected the call and looked straight, his grip tightening as his eyes reflected resolve.
He opened the car's door, and just before the car was going to collide in the turn, he jumped.
Sasha gasped.
And then, the screen showed the female lead, leaving viewers questioning whether the male lead was alright.
She screamed Leo's name on the phone despite the call having disconnected.
This showed her desperation and the care she had for her lover.
Even when her own life was in danger, she cared more about him.
Aren, however, frowned upon seeing the female lead's outburst.
"That's bad acting."
He turned his gaze away, almost unable to keep watching her scream.
"I didn't know she was this bad."
He wondered, almost cringing at the scene.
He shook his head in disappointment.
"The scene is written beautifully, but her bad acting ruins the whole sequence."
He muttered under his breath.
"I pity the director."
Aren had been the CEO of an entertainment company. Though he couldn't act himself, he could still point out bad and good acting.
Thankfully, the unbearable scene ended as he returned his gaze to the screen.
The female lead's phone rang as the camera displayed the name on her phone screen.
It was the male lead's name, Leo, with a heart in the end.
Her eyes brightened as she hurriedly picked up the call.
The voice on the other side groaned, "I'm alright; don't worry about me."
She let out a sigh of relief along with Sasha, who was also delighted.
But then, Sasha realized and said knowingly,
"So the protagonists survive and the villain loses, huh?"
It mirrored the reaction of most viewers.
No one could guess that only the male lead would survive.
And it was the writer's intention and the director's genius that made this even more believable.
When everyone was relieved to see the male lead survive and let their guard down, the drama hit them with a jumpscare.
Suddenly, a child came running in front of the speeding car.
Instantly the female lead turned the steering and rammed the car straight into a tree.
The crashing sound was deafening.
The male lead's voice rang from the phone inside the crashed car, while the female lead's lifeless hand was shown lying beside the phone.
For a moment, everyone thought she had died.
Sasha gasped, unable to process what had just happened.
The people were shown pulling her out of the car that had caught fire.
Just when they took her to a safe distance, the car exploded, destroying the evidence against the villain.
"Is she alive?" Sasha mumbled to herself, eyes glued to the screen.
The episode was coming to its climax with only twenty minutes left.
Then the ambulance was shown taking the female lead, who was unconscious.
The focus then shifted to the male lead, who was limping, one shoulder clearly broken and held tightly with his other hand.
His body was injured and bloodied, yet his only concern was his lover.
"What happened?
What was that sudden noise?
Why did the call end so abruptly?"