Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 138

The Former Hero is a Ten Million Actor – Episode 138 (138/199)

To the World Stage (1)

* * *

It’s KBC’s flagship entertainment program.

A soccer entertainment show that gathers all sorts of actors, idols, and retired popular sports stars.

After the first season ended successfully, causing a nationwide sensation, the production team was contemplating the members for the second season.

And around that time, news like a godsend was delivered to the PDs [Program Directors] who were racking their brains.

“Oh, Mr. Park!”

“Hello, PD.”

The room was set up for a preliminary meeting. PD Kim Nam-hyeok greeted the actor with a beaming smile.

When they first heard that Park Geon had contacted them, the entire ‘Knockout Guys’ production team doubted their ears.

Of course, KBC and Roman’s relationship had improved significantly since Jin Ji-yu’s appearance on ‘Human Camp’ last time.

Park Geon, who they had directly asked, was returning a favor, but he was the main character of Cannes, no less.

It was a situation where they couldn’t dare to scout him carelessly, so they were extremely grateful that such a precious person directly contacted them and expressed his intention to appear on the show.

“I was really surprised. I didn’t know Mr. Park liked soccer so much. I heard you even watch Nice games when you go to Cannes. If I had known, I would have invited you sooner.”

“That’s right. My brother is a big sports fan… He likes watching everything, but he hasn’t really played properly since he was discharged from the military. He became interested in soccer entertainment because he became close with Ji Seon-su.”

Was it Team Leader Park Seon? The younger brother’s manager, who had met him during ‘Human Camp,’ watched his brother carefully and chimed in.

Who cares about skills when the protagonist of the Palme d’Or is going to play? Another PD who was sitting quickly raised both hands in agreement.

“That’s even better! That’s exactly what our program is about. Isn’t that right, PD Kim?”

“That’s right. It would be a problem if you were too good. In season 1, Kim Hwa-wook, who was a soccer player until high school, came out, and everyone was worried.”

Even the assistant director who followed along hurriedly agreed, and the meeting went smoothly.

The second thing that surprised the production team was the name of the ‘special appearance’ candidate that Park Geon mentioned.

“Ji… Ji Jang-hyeok? He said he would appear on our program?”

“Yes. He said he’ll be in Korea for a while when the recording starts because it’s the off-season. He said it would be fun to come out with me.”

The PDs were once again speechless. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and this time, he’s bringing the national team ace.

At this point, it’s not 1+1, but closer to 5+5. Kim Nam-hyeok PD quickly moved the conversation forward, afraid that he might change his mind.

“Well, then, let’s take a simple audition while we’re at it? Everything is ready, so if the actor has time…”

A rough audition immediately after the preliminary meeting is one of the concepts of ‘Knockout Guys.’ They check physical abilities and basic ball-handling skills, and this is also edited like raw audition footage, which is very popular.

Park Geon nodded readily.

“I’ll do it as is.”

“Yes? You’re in a suit and dress shoes?”

“It’s okay, I practiced last night.”

And 30 minutes later,

The production team unanimously agreed.

[Park Geon, confirmed to join ‘Knockout Guys’ season 2! Position is strictly “confidential”]

*

“Huh? This episode is the last one?”

The day ‘Knockout Guys’ aired.

Friends from high school gathered after a long time.

The meeting place was Park Geon’s house. Bae Young-ho and Seo Seung-ah each brought drinks, and they ordered a lot of delivery food to prepare for watching the live broadcast.

As soon as his friends sat down, today’s protagonist dropped a bombshell.

He’s only appearing in one or two episodes of the soccer entertainment show he worked so hard to get on, and then his screen time will disappear.

“No, it’s not that the program is disappearing. The episode I’m in is the last one. Considering the editing, it’ll probably go on until next week.”

At Geon’s words, the two friends looked at each other. Seo Seung-ah asked, as if she was dying of frustration.

“No, why? Did you fight with the PD or something?”

“You’ll see when you watch it. It didn’t end badly.”

Bae Young-ho shook his head.

“Wow, you’re spoiling it like this. Is it okay for an actor to spoil an entertainment show like this?”

“What are you talking about? You’re acting like I’m spoiling a movie.”

“It’s worse than that! Park Geon, you’ve become a complete celebrity while I haven’t seen you. You call your friends over just to tell them you’re leaving the show.”

Seo Seung-ah poked Bae Young-ho, who was grumbling, in the side.

“Hey, hey, it’s starting.”

The three people ate, drank, and focused on the TV.

‘Knockout Guys’ is basically a format of a showdown between a celebrity team and an amateur team.

The goal is for retired popular soccer player Oh Jeong-han, who is the coach, to train various celebrities and sports stars to create a single team.

Last season, the team was quite well-organized, and they put up a good fight, winning 2-3 games against strong amateur teams.

-Coach, so what’s the goal for this season?

-What else could it be? Winning the AK League.

The scene of coach Oh Jeong-han and the PD talking passed, and then the auditions of the contestants came out.

-Hello! I’m comedian Seong Jong-gu. The position I want is striker, and my wannabe player is Asia’s Tiger, Ji Jang-hyeok!

From a comedian who passionately reveals his ambitions,

-I’m actor Seo Il-jung. Please take care of me.

-I’m baseball player Jo Hoon, who used to play for Seoul DN. I’ll try to help the team with my trained speed.

Even a fairly famous actor and a retired baseball player. Bae Young-ho, who was meticulously tearing apart chicken wings, muttered.

“If Jo Hoon does as well here as he did in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], he’ll be the ace here too. Was he good at soccer too?”

“Look at how bloated he is. How can he be good if he’s not taking care of himself like that? Anyway, everyone else is a supporting role now that Park Geon is on.”

“Hey, you never know. Have you ever seen him play soccer before?”

His friends’ eyes turned to him. Geon calmly stated the facts.

“Twice in middle school, three times in high school.”

“This is a disaster. He really wasn’t good.”

When Seo Seung-ah covered her forehead, the screen changed and Park Geon appeared.

-I’ll do it as is.

-Yes? You’re in a suit and dress shoes?

-It’s okay. I practiced last night.

After a seemingly indifferent Q&A, the astonishment began from the test that followed.

Everyone knows that he has good physical abilities. However, in the scene where he was wearing a suit and dress shoes and perfectly keeping and trapping the ball that the production team threw at him, the staff’s admiration poured out.

Bae Young-ho scratched his nose blankly.

“I should have known, I got tricked again.”

After that, the ‘Knockout Guys’ season 2 members gathered for the first time to introduce themselves.

The atmosphere, which had been rising, reached its peak when Ji Jang-hyeok appeared as a special coach.

-I’m Ji Jang-hyeok, playing in Nice. Although it’s a short time, I’ll teach you the basics of playing as a soccer player.

The training that took place immediately after.

Anyone who had seen the audition would have expected it, but from then on, it was Park Geon’s solo performance.

He sprints the 100 meters with terrifying speed, and even if several people stick to him, he pushes in like a tank and scores goals in the mini-game.

The celebrity FC members, who had been expected to be the ace until then, as well as Ji Jang-hyeok, who came as a coach, could only laugh in disbelief.

-No, he definitely said he had no experience…

Certainly, there is a bit of an amateur feel in the delicacy of his toes and the angle of his shots.

However, if there is overwhelming force, skill is meaningless in the amateur world.

The speed that instantly collapses the side defense, the trapping that is faithful to the basics, and even the body fight that sends the opponent flying when they collide.

Bang!

A cannonball shot tears through the net, and the goalkeeper, who couldn’t even react, turns his head blankly.

-I’m getting a feel for it now. Thank you.

After the mini-game, Park Geon’s appearance of greeting Ji Jang-hyeok and the preview for next week were interspersed.

Watching the poster of the match between ‘Knockout(@Guys) FC’ and ‘Angels FC,’ Geon cut another piece of pizza.

“Looks like I’m coming out for another week. That’s a relief.”

“That’s not the problem… Hey, Bae Young-ho. Say something.”

“Um… I have nothing to say either. Could it be that he was cut because he was too good?”

It was similar. He scored 9 goals in the first half alone when playing against those Angels or whatever.

The final game score was 16:3. It’s a skill that can’t be stopped at the amateur level. But putting in a K-League [Korean Professional Soccer League] 3rd team or a university team would go against the purpose of the program.

In the end, after that day’s game, Kim Nam-hyeok PD approached Park Geon with a grim face and said.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re good, but they said you’re graduating. They said there’s nothing more to learn from our team.”

“Pfft, so he was kicked out because he was too good.”

Seo Seung-ah finally burst into laughter, and Bae Young-ho diligently searched for internet reactions.

“Park Geon is crazy good… this is what you call combat soccer from a special forces unit… isn’t that an irregular… well, everyone thinks the same thing.”

“It’s okay. I kept my promise with Ji Seon-su, so the people at the company liked it too.”

Seo Seung-ah shook her head.

“So, are you going to another program now?”

“Well, my mother is greedy for the Family Singing Contest.”

“Hmm, that’s not bad either. If you’re a star, it’s Lunch Plaza and the Family Singing Contest.”

They decided to watch the next episode separately and leave their impressions. While chatting, Seo Seung-ah asked.

“That’s right. What about that person? The director you said you remembered in Cannes, the one with the intense eyes.”

“Yeah, the one named Raymond or whatever, the guy who kept pushing to do an invitation work together.”

If there’s one thing he’s learned so far, it’s that the relationships that are meant to come will come somehow.

Geon turned off the smartphone screen he was looking at.

“He’ll contact me if he has something to say.”

*

Incheon International Airport.

Among the people pouring out after completing immigration procedures, a tall, middle-aged white man raised his sunglasses.

“Oh, is this Korea?”

If you were to look at the eyes hidden behind the dark Boeing sunglasses, no one would be able to argue about why he was wearing sunglasses indoors.

The agent, who had been tossing and turning throughout the trip, followed him to Korea and muttered discontentedly.

“I still don’t get it, Raymond. Did we really have to come? There are plenty of actors who are good at using their bodies, so why not just use the lead in the Kill Thorn series…”

The agent flinched as he spoke. Raymond, who had turned around, was glaring at him.

“Don’t say ridiculous things. Then it’s not my work, it’s just Kill Thorn 5.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Don’t look at me like that, you’re really scaring me.”

As Raymond, frowning, began to walk, the agent followed him with hurried steps.

“Okay, I know you need a new face. I saw that friend’s acting in Cannes. He definitely… fits perfectly into the picture you’re envisioning.”

“Plus, he said he was a soldier. It hasn’t even been three years since he was discharged.”

“A soldier? Really?”

The agent’s needle-hole-like eyes twinkled. He had been half-dragged along by this stubbornness when he came, but wasn’t he the one who saw the acting that the young priest would unfold in Cannes?

As an agent of the production company and investment company, Jack & River, he couldn’t help but be interested in the actor that his fellow director had filmed.

‘If this stubborn guy is coming all the way here to give him his scenario…’

Gwyn Raymond.

He is already a well-known rising star in Europe.

A former plumber who had lived his whole life without any connection to film.

He debuted with art films and is slowly gaining a foothold, praised for his ingenious combination of Hollywood-style commercial films and humanity.

But the agent knows. The real monstrous thing about this director is the crazy directing and sequence composition that is demonstrated in action movies.

Due to his inherent perfectionism, he has not yet revealed his series to anyone…

“Oh, right.”

Raymond, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around.

“What did you say that friend’s company was?”

“How would I know that? You kidnapped someone who was sleeping, telling them to come.”

“I should have known anyway. You’ll be fired soon if you’re so lax.”

“Why are you cursing me like you’re breathing…”

The airport entrance was crowded with people coming and going, and taxis getting in and out. The agent, shuddering, pointed out the most important fact.

“But what are you going to do if you get rejected? This is probably when his value is at its highest. Not only us, but all sorts of hyenas are coming with bundles of money and works.”

Raymond replied nonchalantly.

“There’s a saying like this in Korea. I learned it while listening to live streaming.”

“What saying?”

“The thirsty guy digs the well.”

The agent blinked.

“What does that mean?”

* * *