Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 118

Former Hero is a Top Star – Episode 118

To Stop the Spreading Flames (7)

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Cheongdam-dong, a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

As the customers left, the bustling store finally had some breathing room.

The deputy manager, the number two at the dealership, sipping coffee from a paper cup, spoke to Han Young-joo.

“Team Leader Han, you said you’re leaving right away, right?”

“Yes. The documentary is airing today.”

As Han Young-joo replied with a smile, people gathered around as if they had been waiting for it.

“Wow, is that the one you mentioned last time? The documentary your son is in?”

“I told everyone around me to watch it! And you’re still not coming? Not getting an autograph is my biggest regret…”

“Hey, you guys at least got to see him! I couldn’t even look because of a vehicle release back then!”

After the legendary ‘Park Gun Incident’ last time, Han Young-joo’s position soared through the roof.

Four cars at once. And high-end models at that, fully loaded with almost no installments.

That alone was enough to relax for a few months, but what’s even more surprising is that the customer who purchased them is Team Leader Han Young-joo’s family.

‘Please continue your great work in the future. Team Leader Han’s reputation has reached the head office, so if you have any difficulties, let us know.’

‘Hey, Manager! What difficulties would our Team Leader Han have? Even if she takes a week off for vacation, we’ll cover for her, so just don’t quit. Okay?’

She received rave reviews from the center manager, and even the head office manager came to hand her a bonus. Being the family of a celebrity is not just about being a team leader.

A super-special celebrity.

If her son says just one word, the number of potential customers will increase by dozens each month, so even if Team Leader Han quits her job as a dealer, they need to maintain a friendly relationship.

Speaking of which, thanks to the suit advertisement taken by the ‘Roman Trio,’ Hanjo Corporation’s suit lines are sold out and even being resold.

So who knows, maybe the three of them will even film a Mercedes-Benz advertisement together?

“Wow, so are you becoming an honorary firefighter now? Like, receiving a medal of valor?”

The youngest employee, who had been tapping on his smartphone, asked. He had been taking care of a demanding elderly couple recently, and his spirits were high.

Another employee immediately scolded him.

“Ugh, how can you become an honorary firefighter just by filming a documentary? And medals of valor are for soldiers.”

“Soldiers and firefighters are similar! They’re both people who dedicate themselves to our country, anyway?”

“Team Leader, leave him alone and go quickly. You’ll catch stupidity if you’re with an idiot.”

“Wait! I’m also following actor Park Gun’s SNS [social networking service]! Let’s watch it together today and take a picture… !”

Receiving countless greetings, Han Young-joo packs her things and makes a glamorous exit.

Han Young-joo’s steps are light as she heads to the public parking lot. A car with a better color than the one displayed in the store is waiting for her.

She can’t park it in the office, so the commute home is a bit longer… but there’s no walk as enjoyable as this.

After getting into the driver’s seat, Han Young-joo stopped before starting the engine.

“Look at my mind, I didn’t tell people that he was going to be on.”

*

10 PM, JNBC headquarters.

The PR team leader who opened the door to the 2nd editing room flinched. Amidst the pile of energy drink cans, PD [Production Director] Na Jong-mo raised his head like a zombie.

“Wow, PD-nim [term of respect], you’re still alive?”

“Don’t talk to me, I’m dying trying to get the time right.”

The plumpness that he used to have was all gone, and anyone could tell that he was a terminally ill broadcaster. The PR team leader opened a new can and smirked.

“But weren’t you still filming? Did something happen that you need to change the broadcast?”

“Night shooting is postponed until tomorrow. I have a show to monitor today.”

“It’s not ‘Manghwe-dol’ day today. What is this, why are you playing EBC… Ah!”

Only then did the PR team leader snap his fingers.

“Park Gun’s documentary! Is it coming out today?”

“It’s already in commercials. Other actors said they’d upload 인증샷s [proof shots], so they went in early.”

“PD-nim, why don’t you watch it comfortably? What is this? It’s like zombies are rampant in the headquarters.”

Even as the conversation went on, the editing of ‘Manghwe-dol’ continued on one monitor.

Na Jong-mo PD cracked his neck left and right and turned up the volume on the opposite monitor.

EBC, the ‘Path of Fire: Into the Firefighting’ logo in the upper right corner of the screen was just being erased.

“You don’t know anything. This is monitoring out of loyalty.”

*

A newly built apartment in Dongjak-gu.

The sons who had left home returned to Park Yeol-ho and Han Young-joo’s main residence for the first time in a while.

Park Seon, who was full of luggage in both hands, cheered at the changed interior.

“Wow, the house is nice! What’s changed so much? There’s even a closet I haven’t seen before?”

“You wouldn’t know since you don’t come in. No, isn’t it too much to come home at 2 AM and leave at 5 AM?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t even that busy when you were a rookie.”

It’s just as difficult to see the eldest son who lives independently as it is to see the second son who lives with them.

He either sleeps in his brother’s officetel [a multi-purpose building with residential and commercial units] near the headquarters or comes home late at night and leaves early in the morning.

“Hey, it was easier back then because I only did what I was told. I’m busy these days, our team leader formally scouted me, you know?”

The airing time of this documentary is somewhat later than the dramas they used to film.

They had already eaten dinner, so Han Young-joo cut up a lot of fruit that her sons had bought. Meanwhile, Park Yeol-ho brings beer and wine according to his taste.

Soon, the family sat side by side on the newly bought sofa.

“Wow, watching it together like this reminds me of that time. We used to monitor 형’s [older brother’s] first drama together at home, Mom, do you remember?”

“Of course, I remember. Gun-ah, you said you went into this drama with that PD-nim again?”

Park Gun nodded.

“Yes, he’s the director. It’s a different person on the EBC side.”

“I was surprised to hear that you were on educational broadcasting. I thought our son only did dramas and movies, but somehow you filmed a documentary.”

“No, it’s a mockumentary. It’s like a documentary, but it’s a drama with a script.”

As the broadcast time approached, Park Yeol-ho, who had been unusually quiet, cleared his throat.

“Well, sometimes it’s based on a true story…”

“Huh? Honey, what did you say?”

Park Seon, who was holding the remote control, shouted.

“Everyone, focus! It’s starting now!”

The first start is simple.

PD Choi Young-oh edited the video in a sophisticated yet trendy way. There are no burning buildings, loud sirens, or fire trucks rushing to the scene.

Like an observational entertainment show, a camera is simply placed, illuminating a narrow room.

It’s still a pale dawn. A shadow rises from the floor where only a blanket is laid out. Soon, a face that is not fully awake is caught on camera. As if the filming is awkward, the young man who picks up the camcorder narrows his neat eyebrows and mutters.

“4 AM, wake up.”

Soon, the screen turns off and a scribbled red font appears.

[Path of Fire, Into the Firefighting.]

Park Seon, who had been completely immersed with her mouth open, sighed loudly.

“Wow, amazing. It’s like a foreign reportage. There’s a movie made like a fake documentary.”

“I know, it’s very different from the documentary Mom thought of. But why are you so quiet?”

“Oh, no. I’m just watching intently.”

“Something’s strange…”

While Han Young-joo was sending suspicious glances, the dark screen brightened.

Now, the documentary proceeds from the perspective of the filming team. The PD holding the camera goes down to a shabby basement, and Park Gun opens the door to greet the broadcasting staff.

―Ah, you’ve arrived.

Following is the angle of the father and son. There is no long explanation, but you can guess the poor family relationship and financial situation just by looking at the atmosphere of the house.

A young firefighter, Park Gun, sits roughly on the floor and gives a dry interview.

―I don’t really do anything. I sleep on my days off. Sometimes I go to the playground in front and sit there blankly. I feel good when I see the clear sky.

―Your father was outside.

―Dad works at the same fire station… Did you see him earlier? We hardly talk to each other.

―What about other family members?

The young man’s gaze turns down for a moment. The special makeup team recreated the dry cheeks and chapped, scabbed lips.

With the addition of the actor’s acting skills, the famous actor disappears and only a firefighter exhausted by life remains.

―Can’t we just talk about something else?

Next is close coverage. The camera follows Park Gun to work, showing the daily life of a firefighter without adding or subtracting anything.

In the early morning, he transports a drunken person who has fallen to the hospital, and in the afternoon, he rescues cats stuck in manholes and citizens trapped in elevators.

Han Young-joo, who was watching the scene of rushing to a fire scene and pouring water in the late afternoon, said.

“Good 고증 [historical accuracy/research]. It’s originally harder for firefighters to take care of drunks.”

She has lived as the wife of a firefighter for almost half her life. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she knows the difficulties of the industry better than anyone else.

Park Yeol-ho muttered inaudibly.

“I’ve seen it all, so you can turn it off now…”

On the third day of filming, the camera slowly illuminates the father, not the son.

‘I won’t, I said I won’t!’ The middle-aged firefighter, who had been angry several times, finally allows the interview after the staff’s persistent persuasion.

Is acting ability 부전자전 [like father, like son]? If Park Gun played a tired young man, Park Yeol-ho’s face captured by the camera is the firefighter himself who has fought 화마 [fire demon; a metaphor for destructive fires] his whole life.

―How did you get hurt in your hand?

―…How else would a firefighter get hurt? I got like this while putting out a fire.

―If you could tell us a little more detail… .

It is truly the metaverse of the broadcasting world, a cynical reality 고증 [historical accuracy/research]. The documentary team plays the staff who are so rude that they seem inconsiderate.

The man, whose body and mind were burned by the flames, answers the question.

―Hyeonseo Apartment, do you remember? When the cameraman was young, there was a big fire there. Many people died… and were injured.

If it was a normal fake documentary until now, the genre changes from now on.

The eyes of Park Seon and Han Young-joo, who have never seen the edited version, as well as Park Yeol-ho, who filmed it, gradually widen.

The lead actor, Park Gun, who exceptionally gave his opinion from the planning stage, is only watching his father on the screen with half-lowered eyes.

Before they knew it, time passed and it was the last day of filming.

Like a trick of fate, a 대불 [large fire] occurs in the jurisdiction.

―We don’t have enough 대원s [firefighters]! The Shindaebang construction site collapsed, and most of the support went there…!

―Then what do we do, are we not going? We’ve requested support from other stations, so scrape them all up and leave!

The boiler room of an old villa exploded.

Unfortunately, an accident occurred at a nearby construction site 30 minutes ago, and there was a shortage of manpower.

A hasty mind leads to an accident. A firefighter who entered to find a survivor trapped inside the villa is isolated in the flames.

―Hoo, hoo, hoo… .

The rough breath roams inside the 방화복 [fire suit]. Every time the firefighter turns his head, the small cam attached to his ear shows where he is looking in the first person.

In front and behind, left and right, only red flames are surging no matter which way you look.

―…The situation is not good.

A heavy murmur flows out. After entering in a group of two, they succeeded in rescuing the survivor, but the pillar collapsed and the road was blocked.

―Dongjak Nine! Sapal (current location) Resend (resend) required. ···Small Nine······.

The radio, which had been poor in reception all along, finally cuts off. Hearing the sound of something collapsing, the firefighter senses it.

Today, he will die here.

―I haven’t been home since yesterday… .

The flames themselves are a problem, but the bigger enemy is the devil of smoke that tightens every moment.

By now, Stage 2 response will be issued, and a fellow firefighter rescue team (RIT) will be entering… but there is not much time left. Perhaps within a few minutes, his consciousness will become blurred and 수마 [sleep demon; a metaphor for death] will come.

All firefighters live with death on their backs.

Since choosing this job, it would be a lie if I had never thought about dying in the line of duty. In his rookie days, he even wrote a will every time he went out to a fire.

And at this moment, what flashes before the firefighter’s eyes is not regret for life.

He only regrets not being able to restore the happiness that his hand-lost father, scattered family, and flames took away.

Bang, bang!

Suddenly, the camera turns to the side. Park Gun’s pupils, which were about to close, widen.

The closed door is being 찍혀나가 [smashed open] with a firefighting ax and falling over. The flames and smoke recede for a moment, and a human figure enters in its place.

The firefighter who came, brushing aside the flames blocking his path, propped him up.

His vision is already blurred, but he can still tell. The fact that one sleeve of his colleague’s 방화복 [fire suit] is empty.

ㅡFather······?

As if responding to the call, a firm arm grabs his armpit and lifts him up.

Finally, his father has come. To save his son from the 화마 [fire demon; a metaphor for destructive fires].

.

.

.

The fire is out.

Thanks to the rapid response of the Dongjak Fire Station and the support of other 관할서s [jurisdictional stations], there were few casualties even in the record-breaking fire.

A heavy footstep is heard between the sound of sirens and crying. Park Gun, who was sitting blankly on the muddy sidewalk, raises his head.

How did you get here, how could a desk worker get permission to 출동 [be dispatched], what would you have done if something happened to my father, it’s dangerous… .

There are many things to say, but his mouth won’t open. Because what was conveyed was already ahead of all those words.

―Father.

Like a distant old memory, his father in 방화복 [fire suit] comes to him and holds out one hand.

―You worked hard.

And the screen goes dark. The narration of the 부자 [father and son] flows over the black background.

The number of firefighters in Korea, 59,822.

The number of firefighters who are injured or injured every year, 458.

The families of those firefighters… are still fighting endlessly.

After Park Gun and Park Yeol-ho’s voices come out in turn, the two voices say together.

In the unquenchable flames.

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