Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 146

The Rise of the King of Arrogance (1)

The beginning of ‘King of Arrogance’ wasn’t marked by a flashy symbol like M Corporation.

It simply began by depicting a scene reminiscent of a classic Hollywood crime movie.

-KABOOOOM!-

Explosions rocked a vehicle transporting tens of millions of dollars in cash.

A regular vehicle would have been instantly penetrated and blown apart, but this one, armored with thick steel, merely crumpled and flipped over.

-RAT-TAT-TAT! TAT-TAT!-

Soon, masked robbers emerged from the burning wreckage, firing their weapons.

They riddled the heavily armed guards, disoriented by the sudden attack, with bullets, then quickly moved to loot the vehicle.

-KABOOOOM!-

They planted another explosive to blow open the steel door and stuffed the spilled cash into bags they had brought.

The looted cash bags numbered in the double digits, and these were then divided and transported separately.

The entire process took less than three minutes.

Even that was only because of the time it took to gather the massive amount of cash; any other cash transport vehicle would have been breached in under a minute.

-WEEEOOO!-

Shortly after, sirens wailed from all directions as police cars converged on the scene.

An emergency signal was automatically sent to the police the moment the attack occurred.

Thanks to the black box and CCTV footage from the cash transport vehicle, they were able to identify the criminals’ means of transportation and soon located one of the getaway vehicles.

From this point, a tense and spectacular chase scene unfolded.

-DA-DA-DA-DAK!-

-THUD-THUD! THUD!-

After a helicopter joined the pursuit, a fierce gunfight ensued between the police cars and the criminals’ vehicle.

After three or four police cars were wrecked, the criminals’ vehicle finally ground to a halt.

The police approached.

-KABOOOOM!-

However, as if the vehicle itself was bait, it exploded in a spectacular burst of flames.

The banknotes inside scattered everywhere. The faces of the police officers, who were unconsciously picking them up, contorted.

They realized that the banknotes were blatantly fake.

Only then did the police realize that this vehicle was a decoy to confuse them, and their faces showed disappointment.

Meanwhile, the criminals abandoned their vehicle and moved the money bags to their hideout on prepared motorcycles, where they celebrated.

They applauded the success of their prank on the news special on TV.

They snickered and mocked the police, reveling in their catharsis.

-WHOOOO!-

-BANG!-

Then, suddenly, a heavy, gloomy violin melody began to play, and all the lights in their hideout went out with a loud pop.

“!!!”

The criminals were thrown into chaos as the TV and lights that had been illuminating the darkness went out.

“No way!”

“…Him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Our plan was perfect…!”

The voice of a criminal, who had been confident in their flawless plan, was abruptly cut off.

“D…Dark Knight?”

“…Damn it!”

Fear began to spread across the faces of the hardened criminals at the mention of that name.

-TAT-TAT-TAT!-

-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!-

One of them fired his gun wildly at the sound of footsteps, but the more he fired, the greater his fear became.

The bizarre figure, barely visible through the muzzle flashes, was more terrifying than any nightmare.

“Damn it! The gun doesn’t work!”

“Aaaagh!”

The fact that bullets had no effect because he was wearing armor made entirely of bulletproof material gave them the feeling of facing a ghost.

No… not even facing an evil spirit would inspire such dread.

-THWACK!-

-THUD!-

The Dark Knight subdued more than a dozen vicious criminals in less than 30 seconds from his appearance, then threw something towards the window.

-WHOOOOSH!-

It stuck to the window and burst into a tremendous light, projecting a symbol into the foggy night sky.

The Dark Knight’s symbol.

Soon after, the police cars that had been searching in vain began to converge on the light, and after confirming their arrival, the Dark Knight disappeared into the darkness as he had come.

“Wow….”

Jaemin couldn’t help but exclaim as he watched the Dark Knight, even though he knew he shouldn’t in the movie theater.

It was because the hero’s agony that unfolded after the flashy and intense action was so vividly portrayed.

His secret identity… the constant criticism from citizens. The resulting decrease in crime rates.

The Dark Knight’s life became more and more miserable as the city became more stable.

Perhaps if it hadn’t been for the enormous inheritance his family had left him, and if he hadn’t had collaborators to help him, he would have collapsed long ago.

Jaemin was impressed by the Dark Knight, who showed an even more absurd presence than in the previous installments, but on the other hand, he was also worried.

He was worried about what kind of villain could possibly challenge such a powerful hero.

Perhaps even if the formidable Pierre of the past came back to life… it wouldn’t be easy.

Jaemin wasn’t the only one who showed such concern.

Jicheol and several others in the movie theater expressed similar worries alongside their admiration.

This is because a truly formidable enemy is needed for a hero movie franchise like this to continue to unfold.

Of course, the story could develop through situational changes, but that was a difficult path to take.

There was a high possibility that they would force a frustrating development to create dramatic tension.

The best approach is for the situation to unfold naturally through conflict driven by a compelling character.

This is why villains are so important in hero movies.

So it was no wonder that they expressed such concerns.

However, Jaemin and the others who had voiced their worries realized how futile they were when ‘Jin’ suddenly appeared at the subway station 20 minutes later, completely changing the flow of the movie.

Even amidst the noisy backdrop of the subway station, the more the camera focused on ‘Jin’, the more the audience fell into an unknown silence.

It was like magic.

What else could it be but magic to steal away sound and even restrict one’s freedom of sight?

The bizarre magic instantly transformed into fear.

-!!!-

As in the movie teaser, ‘Jin’ turned his head towards the camera, and with that simple gesture, the audience’s hearts plummeted.

From that moment on, people were gripped by a strange discomfort and fear, even though there were no special effects or brutal scenes.

At the same time, an unknown joy filled their heads.

This was the feeling of being safe while witnessing fear and dread, just like the citizens who were enthusiastic about the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum [ancient Roman amphitheater].

In this way, ‘Jin’ immediately shattered the intense image of the Dark Knight that had been built up over the preceding 20 minutes.

No, even “shattered” doesn’t quite capture it, because Chris was the Dark Knight.

In most cases, it would have been erased to the point where the word ‘deleted’ would be more appropriate.

If Chris’s presence as the Dark Knight was a 1 or 2, ‘Jin’ was a 10 or more.

Thanks to this, the movie maintained a constant sense of tension even in a plot that might have otherwise felt predictable.

People were startled by even the smallest actions in various parts of the movie.

And finally… in the finale, ‘Jin’s hidden narrative was revealed.

The audience learned why he was committing these crimes and why the title of this movie was ‘King of Arrogance’ instead of Dark Knight.

In this way, the movie ended with a twist that wasn’t really a twist.

Even though the ending credits were rolling, no one got up from their seats.

It wasn’t because they were waiting for a post-credits scene like M Corporation’s movies.

It was because they couldn’t easily shake off the lingering feelings that ‘King of Arrogance’, which lasted for two and a half hours, had given them. Just like the feeling of falling asleep tired on the way home after a fun day of playing in the water, the audience felt similarly spent.

If the movie theater staff, who had already experienced this phenomenon, hadn’t urged them to leave, the audience wouldn’t have been able to get up easily even long after the movie was over.

Jaemin and Jicheol left the movie theater with slightly dazed faces, following the staff’s guidance.

“This is crazy, isn’t it?”

“…It was amazing!”

Jicheol also expressed great enthusiasm, echoing Jaemin’s awe. Similar exclamations were heard from people all around them.

Jaemin and Jicheol smiled at the scene and then spoke at the same time.

“Let’s watch it again.”

“We can’t end this with just one viewing.”

As if in a well-rehearsed skit, their thoughts coincided for the first time in a long time, and they laughed and hurriedly began to book tickets for ‘King of Arrogance’.

However, perhaps because word of mouth had already spread, the only time they could book tickets for ‘King of Arrogance’ was in the evening.

Originally, they had promised to have a get-together with other friends at that time, but they booked the tickets without hesitation.

No, they even bought tickets for the friends they were supposed to meet.

Shouldn’t this crazy experience be shared with friends?

-‘King of Arrogance’ Records 720,000 Viewers on Opening Day!-

-Attention as it Surpasses ‘Battle of Myeongnyang’ [a famous Korean historical war film] with 620,000 Viewers to Take First Place!-

-Numerous People in Korea Praise YC, Who Played ‘Jin’ in ‘King of Arrogance’!-

-A Certain YouTuber Officially Apologizes for Criticizing ‘King of Arrogance’!-

-‘Jin’ from ‘King of Arrogance’ Tops the Virtual Character Search Rankings for the 1st Week-

-‘King of Arrogance’ Surpasses 8 Million Viewers in its First Week!-

The enthusiasm in Korea, where ‘King of Arrogance’ was first released, was hotter than expected.

In fact, the audience who saw ‘King of Arrogance’ showed such an enthusiastic response that there was a saying that there were people who hadn’t seen ‘King of Arrogance’, but no one had only seen it once.

Thanks to this, not only was the record for the number of viewers on the first day broken, but also the phenomenon of surpassing the record for the number of viewers in the first week was created.

However, the place that welcomed ‘King of Arrogance’ most enthusiastically was, of course, the United States.

-‘King of Arrogance’ Syndrome!-

-People Imitating ‘Jin’. In particular, the demand for fountain pens has exploded recently after seeing him carry one!-

-King of America! Americans Who Saw ‘King of Arrogance’ Shout That Their Own King Has Now Appeared!-

-The Emergence of Fans No Less Than the Star Series! Moviegoers Who Had Been Hesitant Due to SNS [Social Networking Services] Are Returning!-

Even though it has not been two weeks since its release, the production cost of 500 million has been covered in the United States alone.

Experts are saying that if this continues, it will approach Star Series 1 [likely a reference to Star Wars or Star Trek, depending on the context], which boasts the second-highest number of viewers of all time.

What’s really amazing is that this enthusiasm isn’t only in the United States.

Japan, which has been on the path of decline since the 90s, is showing enthusiasm as if it has returned to the 80s, causing a rare box office success.

As expected of a place with a huge subculture, people cosplaying the Dark Knight and ‘Jin’ from King of Arrogance are already seen everywhere on the streets.

Some even fought because of this, and the reason was amazing.

“Don’t insult our king!”

Crazy fans who seemed to worship ‘Jin’ as a real king used violence against those with terrible appearances that negatively affected ‘Jin’s image.

As these things happened in various places more often than expected, news outlets often covered related incidents in detail.