Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 119

Rising Rockets (1)

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-Woohyun Construction, a company that creates tomorrow. We are with good people.

The advertisement plays on the screen. Even though the main broadcast is over, no one speaks.

“······.”

Park Seon is the first to break the silence.

The atmosphere feels twice as heavy because the living room is much larger than their old house.

Park Geon and Park Yeol-ho’s gazes also shift to one side. Their mother, Han Young-ju, who came without knowing anything, remains stiff and silent.

“Uh, um. Mom? Are you very surprised?”

There is no answer. Park Seon carefully reaches out and waves in front of her mother’s eyes. Han Young-ju, startled, stands up and staggers into the master bedroom.

Click.

Han Young-ju closes the door and sits down on the bed. Her legs are shaking, making it impossible to stand.

“······.”

The old scars have been reopened.

Unspeakable emotions swirl within her. Helplessness, pity, and anxiety mix together, flowing through her.

‘Mom, my brother and dad are filming something together. It’s a special documentary for the 65th anniversary of Fire Prevention Day, they said?’

From the moment Park Seon spoke with an excited face, she had a vague idea. That her two sons had chosen a project for her husband. A project about him.

She only truly understood after seeing it directly. This wasn’t just a special documentary, but a tribute to firefighters.

‘They’re just, completely telling their own story······.’

She knows the terrible trauma that her husband suffered for years after losing his right hand.

Originally, injured firefighters can continue their careers in internal affairs positions.

However, it was impossible for Park Yeol-ho. Not only work related to firefighting, but even ordinary daily life was a struggle.

-Young-ju, I have to go out.

-Snap out of it, honey. It’s three in the morning! Where are you going?

-The kids are trapped. Can’t you hear that sound, the sound of them calling for help?

Hyeonseo Apartment was the site of a devastating fire where more firefighters died than civilians.

He sacrificed his hand to save citizens, but nine firefighters from the same team died in the line of duty. He said that his usually cherished junior colleague and close same-age friend were among them.

-It’s severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Take absolute rest for the time being, and avoid environments that stimulate trauma.

With psychiatric treatment and devoted care, her husband slowly got better, but for several years, he was startled even by the sound of sirens.

She will never forget her husband waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, staggering to the kitchen.

The story of how he felt guilty even drinking water because he was reminded of the people he couldn’t save… the faces of his colleagues.

Knock knock.

At that moment, a knock sounds, and the door opens. Her second son quietly enters.

“My brother and dad are really hopeless.”

Han Young-ju couldn’t open her mouth. Park Seon, wiping her mother’s eyes, smiles, her own eyes reddened.

“I’ve been busy lately too. I couldn’t even watch Dad act properly on set, so I didn’t know he would have such a big part. Now that I see it, the two of them completely planned to surprise us. Right?”

“Yes, really. Why did they film something like that?”

“Because they feel sorry to Mom.”

Han Young-ju’s head shot up.

“What are you talking about? What do you have to be sorry about?”

“Mom suffered the most after Dad got hurt. Every day, you went out early, and when you came back after work, you took care of our studies and meals, so you couldn’t even sleep. We couldn’t have gone to college without Mom.”

When a firefighter is injured or dies in the line of duty, the burden falls entirely on the family.

Before selling green juice and selling imported cars, why wouldn’t she have had dreams? She just devoted herself to supporting her family for the sake of their immediate livelihood.

“Anyway… oh, this. I wasn’t going to say this at this timing, but I’ve already finished talking with my brother.”

Park Seon, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression, hands something over.

“After Grandma passed away, you said you’d like to run a flower shop, right? It’ll be big enough to open near the house, and with Mom’s sensibility, you can even add a cafe.”

After giving her a new house, a new car, and even pocket money, now it’s a bright yellow bankbook [savings account]. When Han Young-ju doesn’t reach out, Park Seon forcibly hands it over.

Park Geon and Park Yeol-ho, who had come in at some point, also add their voices.

“Just accept it as the kids’ sincerity. Anyway, the semester will be over soon. When you take a break from lectures, it’ll be nice to look at the store with you.”

“That’s right. You’ve been working all the time even after we and Dad did well.”

“I’ve been doing it all my life, what’s so great about it······.”

Han Young-ju, who was continuing to speak, eventually lowered her head. Her cheeks, still beautiful but unable to hide the traces of time and drier than in her maiden days, tremble slightly.

The two brothers hug their mother, and finally Park Yeol-ho puts his arms around his family.

“I’m okay, honey. I’ll repay you for what you’ve done for me for the rest of my life.”

Sometimes actors become the characters they play… overcoming trauma through acting.

The person the firefighter saved in the work is not only his son. The shadows are no longer visible under Park Yeol-ho’s eyes, which were always dark.

“Now do what you want to do, Mom. My brother and I will take responsibility for the rest.”

Park Seon’s words unleash the tears that she had barely been holding back. Geon-ah, Seon-ah! Honey······! While the embraced family members are wailing,

The returned hero smiled.

The long-cherished wish that he could not forget even after being dragged into another world. That old wish has come true at this moment.

‘I’ve come a long way… but I’m here now.’

Bamboo grows even in burnt land.

More upright than anyone else, towards the sky.

*

Actor Park Geon,

He was always at the center of attention.

He appeared like a comet in ‘Dog of Seoul,’ and received the spotlight when he brought the Outcasts to the top in ‘Black Priest.’

It was the same when he renewed the highest viewership ratings for each work, literally tore up Paris Fashion Week and returned, and revived the dying CVN [Cable Variety Network].

However, it is the first time in the history of the entertainment industry for a documentary to receive national attention after his debut.

[‘The Road of Fire: Into Firefighting’ Highest Viewership Rating 7.6%, Highest in the Last 3 Years]

[Fire Department Chief Considers Awarding Special Commendation to Actor Park Geon… Raising Awareness and Rebuilding the Honor of Firefighters]

[Park Geon and his family donate 100 million won to the Firefighting Development Fund… Actors from the ‘Park Geon Division’ also join one after another]

[The reason why the recent entertainment industry drug scandal is being compared to Park Geon’s good deeds]

The highest viewership rating per minute exceeded 7%.

The viewership rating, which is unusual for educational broadcasting, is also a viewership rating, but the aftermath was even greater.

Short clips were reproduced on YouTube and SNS, and eventually made it to terrestrial news.

Can we compare it to Yoo Jin-ryong’s criminal report 20 years ago, where an actor appeared directly and hit the jackpot, not just providing narration?

Title: [You must watch this EBC [Educational Broadcasting Corporation] documentary]

This is a movie… I will definitely go see it even if it is screened at UGV [Yunseong Group Venture]… I won’t criticize screen monopoly, so please, Yunseong Group marketing teamㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-I watched the room screening 6 times. It was just light.

└Light Geon… even the last light road ending…

└└This friend doesn’t know the meaning of the light road ending…?

-It was more immersive because my father came out ㅠ

└I guess there really is such a thing as genes ㅋㅋㅋㅋ How can both father and son’s acting be so perfect?

└└Like father, like son~

-But Yunseong needs to be criticized a bit;

└Let’s put aside the screen monopoly and win-win first ㅇㅇ If UVG doesn’t put up a theater, the damage will be great

└└Isn’t that a fuss? Is it really coming out in theaters?

-I’m a current official. With this much buzz, there’s no reason not to do it. The actors’ acting and quality itself are crazy good.

└Fire Road opening 존버 [ 존버 is an internet slang term meaning to stubbornly hold on until the end] 35 hours

└└I’m 50 hours

The public is enthusiastic about true stories.

The fact that the main characters are real people, although there is some dramatization, the independent film-like direction, and Park Geon’s ticket power have combined to create a real fire.

The EBC viewers’ bulletin board was flooded with posts to the point where traffic was stopped for the first time in years. For a while, it even reversed the topicality index of ‘Manghoe-dol.’

“Team Leader Yoo, there are so many requests to release the movie? What are you going to do, are you really going to get a theater and go?”

“What are you asking? We have to row when the water comes in [strike while the iron is hot]. Ask PD [Production Director] Choi to cut out what needs to be cut out and attach the unedited version to the front and back. If we just do the color correction hard, it’s the movie itself. Let’s ride the wave properly!”

The Fire Department, which has been dedicated to the front lines of safety but has not received the spotlight, has suddenly emerged as the main character.

Tags for current firefighters were posted in competition, and the Fire Department Chief directly appeared and awarded a special commendation to EBC and Park Geon.

Park Geon’s impressions, who attended the awards ceremony in a simple black suit, also became a hot topic.

‘I am fortunate to have a job that receives the spotlight. While receiving excessive love, I am often sorry and sometimes ashamed. I hope that those who silently dedicate themselves will receive more attention.’

The simple and calm impressions were translated into English and spread to global fans.

Even a non-profit association was formed under the leadership of fans, and fundraising began for firefighters who died or were injured in the line of duty.

-The brave sheriffs who are always fighting against the flames are receiving such poor treatment. We must quickly repair the problems in the system to prevent fundamental recurrence, and for this, we promise the public······.

Eventually, even an opposition lawmaker expressed regret and promised to formally put an amendment on firefighter safety on the agenda of the National Assembly.

Some cheered that the actor’s good influence had reached the National Assembly, but······

“Anyway, those politicians are good at using celebrities to put spoons on the table [to freeload or take credit]. Do you want to pretend to be fixing the barn late?”

Harsh criticism pours into the waiting room.

Choi Phillip’s manager, Kim Young-tae, pleaded with an expression that his heart would drop.

“This isn’t our filming set? Please speak quietly, what if someone hears you!”

Choi Phillip, who had been closing his eyes, snorted.

“What does it matter? I can say the same thing in front of the ministers. If they had properly allocated the budget and personnel rights earlier, firefighters wouldn’t have been in danger.”

“That’s true, but······.”

If you receive attention, you will be known, and if you don’t, you will be buried without a sound.

It is a bitter reality of society. It’s no use having legal safety nets or welfare benefits for firefighters late; the dead don’t come back to life.

Kim Young-tae quickly changed the subject.

“Well, Park Geon is doing the work of a hundred people. He even started screening at UVG.”

“Screening?”

One of Choi Phillip’s closed eyes opened.

“Did they release it as a movie?”

“Yeah. It seems like he got quite a few theaters… well, this has to be unusual popularity. My sister is going to watch it at least twice.”

“The acting monster is also getting good at things. It would be a problem if he becomes like our CEO.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with CEO Noh?”

“What’s wrong? He’s a stubborn, illegal, immortal money ghost.”

Choi Phillip, who cut it off, suddenly asked.

“By the way, what about Yeo Jin-ju?”

“Oh, it’s quiet? Did those writers reach a dramatic agreement not to touch each other? Or did Yeo Jin-ju yield to the pressure from the original author?”

Perhaps inspired by the actions of Park Geon, who has risen to prominence. According to the information coming in, both sides are quiet these days.

Leaning languidly on the sofa in the waiting room, Choi Phillip mutters to himself.

“That ajumma [a Korean term for a middle-aged or older woman] doesn’t seem like that kind of person······.”

*

‘Yeo Jin-ju Division’s’ officetel [a portmanteau of “office” and “hotel,” referring to a multi-purpose building with both office and residential units].

A strange air floats in the studio, which was filled with suffocating pressure. The gazes of the assistant writers sitting in the living room also keep turning.

Yeo Jin-ju’s study is closed, with an annoyed voice coming from inside.

“No, don’t you still know the drama grammar? You said you watched it five times until episode 6, but why are you saying that Eun Seon-chang shouldn’t join hands with Daeyang Group······.”

Who could it be?

The mysterious call that started a few days ago is now setting the direction for the ‘Manghoe-dol’ adaptation.

The assistant writers sitting in front of their respective laptops move only their lips and have secret talks.

‘Episode 9 script, right?’

‘I’m sure, it’s the part that the teacher [a respectful term for a writer or professional] is revising.’

‘But who is it? PD-nim [Director], or CP-nim [Chief Producer]?’

‘PD Na Jong-mo doesn’t contact the teacher personally, he always gives it to us first.’

While speculations were rampant, one of the assistant writers carefully offered an opinion.

‘···Could it be the original author? Why, there’s a rumor that the teacher had a production meeting in Hongdae recently······.’

‘Hey, do you believe that? What kind of personality does that human have!’

‘That’s true. She would never give in.’

They are assistant writers who know Yeo Jin-ju’s tendencies better than anyone else, having worked together for several years.

She would rather break her pen than work with the original author.

At that time, the voice that had been flowing out stopped and the study door burst open.

“Na So-hee, Choi Yu-ri, Moon Ah-reum.”

“Yes, yes!”

“We were working hard!”

The startled assistant writers raise their voices. Yeo Jin-ju, who opened the door, scanned the assistant writers with an unpleasant expression.

“Is anyone going to eat you? Why are you so scared?”

“Ah, it’s not that······.”

“There’s an Italian restaurant or something that opened down here. I ordered food from there, so eat it and do it. Bring only a plate of salad to my room when it comes.”

Bang! The door closes after she finishes speaking.

Silence falls, and the assistant writers look at each other with eyes as if they have seen a ghost.

Na So-hee, the most senior, muttered blankly.

“···Is the writer dating these days?”

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