Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 89

Former Hero is a Ten Million Actor – Episode 89 (89/199)

Cut What Needs to Be Cut (1)

* * *

“Loyalty, you’ve arrived.”

A junior detective saluted Detective Im Hyung-bae as he crossed the police line.

“Oh, I’m here. Where are the crime scene investigators?”

“They’ve already been. They said they couldn’t find anything, not even an ant’s booger. They have no idea what happened.”

“I don’t know either. Some crazy bastards pissed in the back seat of the patrol car.”

Im Hyung-bae rubbed under his nose as if the ammonia smell was still there.

The junior detective burst into laughter.

“Puhaha, didn’t you scare them too much?”

“Wouldn’t you be scared if you saw this? It looks like they hit it with a sledgehammer.”

The smile disappeared from the junior detective’s face at Im Hyung-bae’s rebuke.

A scene of chaos unfolded before their eyes, as if a small excavator had run wild.

The report came in this early morning from a small office building at the end of Sangdo-dong.

The reporter, listing charges of stalking, illegal filming, invasion of privacy, and distribution, added one more thing.

‘The criminals are all here. I have the evidence, so bring the detectives.’

The situation upon arrival was terrible. When they came in and turned on the lights, even Im Hyung-bae was startled.

‘Ugh, heueueugh…’

Three suspicious-looking men were huddled in the corner of the office, foaming at the mouth.

They weren’t unconscious or tied up, but they couldn’t even utter a normal word, let alone run away when they saw the detectives.

What was even more surprising was the interior.

“What is this, really?”

The office floor and walls were cracked as if there had been an earthquake.

Im Hyung-bae looked down at the desk, which had been smashed to pieces and buried in a pile of dust.

Let’s say the floor was from an earthquake. What’s that crater in the wall over there? Could a mark like that be made without a steel ball breaking the building?

The junior detective muttered, looking where Im Hyung-bae’s gaze was directed.

“I know, it’s not like they went around smashing things with a sledgehammer. Why did they only smash the innocent office while leaving the kids unharmed?”

“It looked like a tantrum.”

“Yes? A tantrum?”

Instead of answering, Im Hyung-bae recalled the records of the guys investigated at the station.

Kim, Lee, Heo.

Their surnames were different, but the identities of the guys revealed by the police station were repeat offenders who had caused accidents two or three times.

In addition, the PC, external hard drive, and USB plugged into it contained videos and photos of celebrities’ private lives, as the reporter had said.

‘Celebrity paparazzi and even secretly filmed ordinary people… they were real scumbags.’

It seemed that in the industry, if you said ‘Apache,’ people roughly knew how rampant the fraudsters, burglars, and hidden camera perpetrators were.

The team leader of the relevant department praised Im Hyung-bae’s hard work with a rare look of surprise.

‘No, how did you catch these guys?’

‘Do you know them?’

‘I didn’t know their faces, but I know what they do. They’re the guys who kept running away without leaving any evidence even when reports kept coming in, but you’ve wiped out their office completely.’

That was what he wanted to ask as well. To the anonymous reporter who seemed to have taken the law into their own hands, probably someone who had a grudge against those guys.

The paparazzi had no external injuries. Instead, they showed extreme anxiety and shock symptoms to the point where normal conversation was impossible.

During the interrogation, the guy wearing the beanie rolled his eyes halfway and shouted, ‘Lightning, red lightning!’

“The wall was broken. They probably brought something like a hammer, but if they had hit people with a piece of metal, their heads would have been smashed to pieces. They couldn’t kill people, so they smashed the building instead.”

“Ah, for anger management?”

“Yeah, man.”

Because he’s that thorough. Im Hyung-bae swallowed the rest of his words.

Immediately after the guys were taken into custody, reports poured in from several entertainment agencies.

The paparazzi’s personal information, hideout location, and photos of affiliated celebrities they had taken so far were sent by email.

‘···Cocky bastard, he’s trying to manipulate everything.’

After setting up the whole board and calling the police, why did he bother spreading the data to the agencies?

The answer is obvious.

The reporter was conveying a warning to them. If they tried to bury the case or were slow to handle it, it wouldn’t be fun.

Detective Im Hyung-bae ran his tongue over his dry palate.

“Whoever he is, he’s one crazy son of a bitch.”

*

The ‘Butcher General’ set in Buyeo.

On the set where the lead actor has returned, a fierce acting showdown unfolds again today.

“Hey, Butcher Mask. What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t ask if you know. I heard that during this Emperor’s birthday celebration, the Governor-General’s office is going to take the lead in dragging our brothers out and shooting them.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? We have to stop them!”

In the hideout where the midday sun streams in, Park Geon, disguised as the Butcher Mask, and Lee Dong-soo, the leader of the Gyeongseong Independence Army [Gyeongseong is the former name of Seoul, used during the Japanese colonial period], are engaged in a war of nerves.

The one who is frustrated is Lee Dong-soo, the young leader of the Independence Army.

After much effort, he succeeded in contacting ‘Butcher Mask’ and establishing a friendly relationship.

However, despite possessing tremendous power, he is selfish and self-centered.

He suddenly attacks and annihilates more than a dozen Japanese policemen, and he remains silent, ignoring our offers of cooperation.

Look at him now. Even though the Governor-General’s office and the Jongno Police Station are trying to execute the captured independence activists, he remains indifferent, as if it has nothing to do with him.

Lee Cheon-in, wearing the Butcher Mask, replies bluntly.

“Why should I? They’ll be prepared for the Independence Army to come anyway. Those who have been caught are destined to be tortured to death.”

“Even so, our compatriots are right in front of us…”

“You seem to be mistaken, but I’ve never thought of Koreans as my compatriots.”

That voice, which sounds like scraping iron and whose age cannot even be guessed, finally bursts Lee Jeong-nyeong’s resentment.

The leader of the Gyeongseong Independence Army, grinding his teeth, took off the jacket he was wearing.

“If you’re so great, why don’t you fight me once? Whoever loses will obey without complaint, how about it?”

The Butcher Mask’s head tilts crookedly.

“I’d just be wasting my energy.”

“You, you arrogant bastard… !”

Even though his brother is putting on a fiery performance over there, Park Seon is squatting on one side of the set, staring blankly.

If Park Geon is a highly skilled problem solver, Park Seon boasts such a vibrant energy level that he is called ‘Seon-tamin’ among the staff.

However, ever since his brother returned from Paris, a shadow has fallen over his always smiling face. It’s only natural to be concerned when a normally positive person is like that.

A staff member, unable to watch any longer, approached him.

“Are you okay, Manager?”

“Ah, yes! I’m sorry, my expressions immediately show what I’m thinking…”

“No need to apologize. I was wondering if you were still not feeling well because of the car accident back then.”
The staff member, who kindly said to let them know if there was anything they could help with, left to go to work.

The fact that a member of the filming crew is worried about the actor’s manager shows that the atmosphere on set is very positive, but…

There are other worries that are bigger right now.

“… Haa.”

Just as Park Seon sighed, the sound of heels stopped next to him.

“Excuse me.”

“Bae… Actress Baek!”

These days, the lead actress, who used to be holed up in the van, has been spending more time wandering around the set.

Baek Ha-ni, with her arms crossed, said irritably.

“Forget about Actress Baek, what’s wrong with you?”

“Yes?”

“Why have you been spacing out since your brother came, like someone who’s sick? Is it really because of the aftereffects of the car accident? If it’s hard to say, I’ll call the CEO and ask for a vacation.”

“Uh, no. It’s really not that…”

“I’m getting frustrated. Fine!”

Just as Baek Ha-ni was about to leave with a frown, Park Seon suddenly straightened up.

“Excuse me, Actress Ha-ni.”

“What?”

“What should I do if I have to stop a fight but I can’t possibly stop it?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“So, there’s a bad guy… and someone I know went to punish him, but I’m worried about what might happen between them…”

“Cough!”

While Park Seon was rambling insecurely, Lee Dong-soo, who had been knocked down, groaned. Soon, the leader of the Gyeongseong Independence Army began to be hopelessly beaten.

Baek Ha-ni, watching Park Geon’s beating show, threw out a question.

“Is he going to beat him like that?”

“Yes? No, I’m not talking about my brother.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Anyway, I think if you avoid a fight, a bigger fight will happen. You should just go in and stomp on them first.”

Park Seon’s mouth closed as he tried to explain that the protagonist in the story was not his brother.

Baek Ha-ni continued in a cold tone.

“You’re in your second year now, right? I know you’re nice, but you should start learning.”

“Learning what…”

“In this industry, you can’t hold back. The moment you look easy, everyone will come and kick you. Like when that crazy idol and manager got to you in the past.”

It was an episode that brought the brothers into the entertainment industry, but it was also a not-so-pleasant story.

The fact that Oh Gwi-jun and Wow Kidz had harassed Park Seon was still talked about within Roman as a mistake that ‘should never be repeated.’

“So don’t worry. I’ve never seen anyone more thorough than our CEO.”

“…?”

When Park Seon turned around, a rare expression appeared on the face that looked like it was sculpted from ice.

A cool smile flickered across her red lips.

“If you’re good at fighting and smart, that says it all, right?”

*

3:45 AM,

In front of an officetel [a building with individual office/living units] in Cheongdam-dong.

Cha In-hyuk parked his Benz in the building’s parking lot.

How many glasses of whiskey did he just drink… did he have more than two bottles?

He had a meeting with a representative from an investment firm at a nearby bar and simply drove the two kilometers.

‘There hasn’t been a crackdown in this area for almost a year.’

All illegal or unlawful acts must be committed in this way.

When the safety of this side is generally guaranteed… when the risk is judged to be less than the return.

The head of DG’s Artist Development Headquarters, the ‘Midas Touch’ who always moves between departments, pulled out his car key.

“… Damn busy.”

He did a variety of things today as well.

He discovered evidence of a sound source hoarding [illegally inflating sales numbers] by a small and medium-sized agency, put pressure on them, and narrowed down the list of competing idols in the first half of the year.

One team’s mother was evading taxes… another team was secretly dating a non-celebrity boyfriend… and another team was suspected of being perpetrators of school violence.

The day quickly disappeared after giving orders to several paparazzi teams, DG-friendly broadcasting stations, and magazines that were essentially subcontractors of their agency.

Suddenly, his chest felt tight.

He always felt this way when he sprinkled dirt and ashes on other people’s paths. Even though guilt and conscience had already been dulled, cut off, and disappeared.

“You have to accept that much. You came into this industry knowing all that.”

A numb voice, not knowing who it was speaking to, lingered in the car and then scattered.

In reality, the entertainment industry is a dirty mud fight.

It’s a game of morons who are more wonderful and beautiful than anyone else, but even more vulgar, and incredibly stupid compared to their shiny shells.

So, even if it wasn’t him, someone else would have done this job.

Beepㅡ

A short, thick, groan-like alarm came in. The text on the screen was just a long string of numbers.

[Web] Withdrawal of 8,687,190 won

Cha In-hyuk indifferently put his smartphone back in.

The numbers earned by insulting, harming, and exploiting others were being drained and consumed for his desires.

-Director Cha, there’s no one like you.

-Do you have any thoughts of returning? How long are you going to live off the small change in the entertainment industry while raising entertainers?

-Oh my, Cha In-hyuk in entertainment… the victims you’ve harmed must be pounding the ground in resentment.

He still received calls from several places. They were people who knew him from the past, when he was wielding a sword in a department disguised as a ‘Strategic Development Emergency Planning Office’ at a large corporation.

‘There are so many people who want me to harm others, geez.’

He had no intention of returning to that den of iniquity… but the situation these days was unsettling.

The ‘Apache’ guys were robbed.

The entire cautious team was arrested, and more than ten individual paparazzi who had often been commissioned were handed over to the police in the past week.

It wasn’t heavily featured in the news, but he could roughly guess who was responsible.

‘It must be that bastard. I don’t know how he found out.’

Or it could just be someone with a grudge.

This job was inherently risky. It wouldn’t be surprising if the family of an entertainer he had sent to hell broke into his officetel with a sashimi knife.

And now.

Even the head of DG, who could even predict the retirement dates of idols, didn’t expect the person in question to come directly.

Cha In-hyuk, who got out of the car, raised one hand.

“You’ve come a long way. If it were you, I would have made an appointment even if you had contacted the company.”

A tall shadow wearing a pressed hoodie answered.

“It’s an unofficial matter.”

“Why, are you going to cause a car accident like your brother?”

As the wind blew, the clouds that were covering the moon moved aside.

Park Geon, who had taken a step forward, raised the hood he was wearing slightly.

“Old debts need to be settled little by little.”

*