Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 74

The Unprecedented Tag Team Match (6)

* * *

“······.”

Even behind her sunglasses, Baek Ha-ni’s brow furrowed noticeably.

The scandal itself wasn’t the primary concern. With Manager Yoo and the other managers absent, even a slightly raised voice in front of the fans could trigger a disaster.

Geon stepped forward, positioning himself as if to shield Baek Ha-ni, and briefly lowered his mask.

“Hello.”

“…Oh, uh?”

The eyes of the female customers, which had been darting towards Baek Ha-ni, widened as if they might pop out of their sockets.

“Park, Park Geon······!”

“Yes, that’s me. Though, my surname isn’t Park.”

“Wow, what are you doing here? Does that mean the woman behind you is really Baek Ha-ni?”

Geon glanced back. Baek Ha-ni was anxiously rolling her eyes, her expression screaming, ‘What is this crazy guy doing?’

“I guess so. As you may know, the two of us are working on the same project this time…”

The female customers, who had been jumping up and down with excitement, shouted in unison.

“We know, ‘Butcher and General’!”

“Yes. So, we were doing a guerrilla-style [unscheduled and spontaneous] content shoot. We disguised ourselves roughly, hoping to get caught and have an article published, but no one has recognized us so far. I guess Baek Ha-ni’s recognition is lower than I thought.”

“Pfft, no way.”

“Of course not. We like Baek Ha-ni too! Not as much as oppa [term of endearment used by younger women to address older brothers or male friends], but among female celebrities?”

“······.”

Geon could feel a furious gaze boring into the back of his head, but he brazenly continued.

“Thank you. Then, would you please promote us nicely on social media? I feel like I’ll be kicked out of the company if another discord rumor surfaces.”

“Of course! If you combine my followers with hers, it’s over fifty thousand? I’ll write and post about it like crazy!”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Geon smiled and turned to Baek Ha-ni.

“What are you doing, Ms. Baek?”

“What do you mean, ‘suddenly what’······.”

“Take some pictures. You have hands to spare.”

As Baek Ha-ni barely managed to compose herself and reluctantly took their pictures, a new, uninvited guest appeared.

“What, is that a celebrity?”

“Looks like someone’s here… Oh? Hey, isn’t that Baek Ha-ni taking pictures over there?”

“It is! Park Geon is with her too!”

Soon, a crowd began to gather. Glancing at his colleague’s darkening complexion, Geon quickly whispered.

“Let’s take pictures with just ten people and then leave. I’ll buy you food.”

“······.”

*

The ten people quickly turned into twenty, and soon the number exceeded thirty.

Thanks to this unexpected turn of events, the two actors found themselves holding an impromptu fan meeting on one side of the luxury goods store hallway.

“We have another schedule, so we’re sorry. Please give a lot of love to ‘Butcher and General’ as well.”

More people were gathering, and it seemed like the situation would never end, so Geon wrapped things up at a reasonable point.

Perhaps due to the influence of Hapki [likely referring to Hapkido, a Korean martial art], people dispersed without much complaint, even though he spoke quietly.

In the first place, they were in the middle of a luxury goods store, and the fans seemed satisfied simply to have seen top stars who are usually so difficult to encounter.

“Are you really crazy?”

Baek Ha-ni, who had been guided by an employee to the VVIP lounge, asked with a shudder as she collapsed onto the sofa.

“Why do you say that? The reaction was good, though.”

“That’s not the problem. What if people gather and we get trapped? What if a scandal breaks out since we’re here?······.”

Baek Ha-ni’s words trailed off, as if she sensed something was getting twisted even as she spoke. Geon asked with curiosity.

“A scandal? Between us?”

“…It could happen. There are so many people trying to get involved with me somehow.”

“First, it’s definitely not me. Second, I have some amnesia, but I don’t have any other illnesses.”

“Huh?”

Baek Ha-ni let out a hollow laugh, but Geon nonchalantly looked around the lounge.

“By the way, this is my first time here, and it’s quite nice. Is this a department store you come to often?”

“I don’t come here. I just stopped by.”

“You bought a lot of things earlier.”

“Are you crazy? Were you following me the whole time?”

Geon took off the wool hat he was wearing.

“I don’t have a hobby of stalking. I wanted to talk a bit about this audition.”

“…Ah. So that’s what you were after? Jin Ji-yoo, who followed you to the audition, got dropped, and I got in?”

Instantly, Baek Ha-ni’s expression changed. Her genuine face vanished without a trace, and a familiar mask of cynicism froze in its place, stark white.

“Why, were you disappointed? That Jin Ji-yoo who followed you to the audition got dropped, and I got in?”

“I judged that Baek Ha-ni was more suitable for the role of Song Yi-seol. Whether we get along well as colleagues is another story.”

“······.”

Baek Ha-ni leaned back on the sofa. Her eyes narrowed, gazing intently at him.

It was a face quite different from her usual annoyed expression.

Slowly, her red lips curled into a sneer.

“Do you like Jin Ji-yoo too?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Why, everyone at the company likes her. She’s always smiling and pretending to be nice. Are you smitten too?”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Jin Ji-yoo is a good colleague and senior.”

Baek Ha-ni’s eyebrows slanted downward.

Looking at her face, which clearly conveyed that she didn’t believe it, suddenly reminded him of someone.

“Besides, I prefer people who nag me over people who are nice to me.”

Baek Ha-ni scoffed.

“Oh, are you trying to act pure again? Sorry, but she has even worse things inside her than I do.”

“I know.”

“Funny. What do you know?”

Instead of answering, Geon looked down at his chest. His long fingers traced a line like a scalpel over his turtleneck.

“Everyone has secrets they want to hide. And in this company, the most hideous person when you cut it open won’t be Jin Ji-yoo or Baek Ha-ni.”

“Then who is it?”

At the answer that came out as if it were obvious, Baek Ha-ni stopped speaking, startled.

Geon smiled quietly and muttered.

“CEO Noh misjudged people.”

Tick, tock, tick.

While the second hand of Baek Ha-ni’s wristwatch completed one revolution, the two remained silent.

The silence was broken when an elderly woman came in with her manager.

“If you rest here, I’ll bring it to you soon. Shall I get you what you usually drink?”

“Yes, please.”

Fortunately, they weren’t interested in what was happening there. Baek Ha-ni, lowering her voice, snapped fiercely.

“So what are you saying? ‘I’m crazy too, so be careful,’ that kind of threat is for the CEO······.”

“You’ll be able to do well.”

“······?”

A question arose in her expression, which had been full of wariness like a wild fennec fox.

“There are various kinds of people here… and I know that many of them are trash that can’t be fixed. The entertainment industry is as fierce a world as the one I was in.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well. I’m glad I saw you today?”

Before Baek Ha-ni could say anything, Geon stood up.

“We probably won’t have time to argue once filming starts. Is it about fifteen days left now?”

“…I don’t know, I don’t look at that kind of thing. Moon Sung-hoon takes care of my schedule.”

She smashes her own company’s headquarters nameplate, but she remembers her manager’s name.

“Anyway, be careful. It looks like they’re digging for dirt by releasing reporters and paparazzi, and Baek Ha-ni might be the next target.”

Baek Ha-ni retorted as if it were ridiculous.

“Take care of yourself first? I’m Baek Ha-ni.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Geon nodded and extended his right hand, then withdrew it.

“I don’t think we’re at the point of shaking hands yet, so let’s save that for when we’re closer.”

“What, this is a refreshingly crazy human being······.”

“Then I’ll see you at the reading.”

As he turned and walked away, he was inwardly wary, but no objects were thrown.

‘That’s a bit disappointing. I was expecting a fastball pitcher [someone who throws a curveball].’

The outing was successful enough. The attitude of the employee who seemed to know Baek Ha-ni well, and the pupils that trembled slightly whenever the department store was mentioned.

He had a hunch. There’s probably a backstory involving family or relatives, something like that.

There’s no need to delve more deeply. Of course, he had no intention of showing premature camaraderie.

He had simply confirmed.

“What this colleague wants.”

One more reason not to lose has been added.

*

Time flew by.

In the meantime, the final castings for supporting roles and extras were confirmed, and the set in Buyeo [city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea] was being built.

Park Geon spent his time looking through old Joseon [Korean dynasty that ruled for approximately five centuries] swordsmanship techniques with materials and YouTube videos that his younger sibling had found.

While the actors were preparing for their respective roles, the war outside the drama was also fiercely unfolding.

‘Hyperion,’ which was originally scheduled to air on the same date as ‘Butcher and General,’ suddenly moved up its script reading and first broadcast date by a week.

[‘Hyperion’ Director Byung Seo-han, “A Choice After Much Deliberation… Better to Be Hit Sooner Than Later, Will Showcase a Good Work”]

He says things like he thought about it for a long time, and it’s better to be hit sooner than later, but everyone knows it’s just a bluff.

From the beginning, they were planning to move up the broadcast date, and they used dirty tricks to maximize the effect.

In the car heading to the set. PD [Production Director] Jeon In-woo, who heard the news, nonchalantly instructed.

“It’s okay, let them go first. Either way, people who are curious will watch it to compare. The era of drawing aggro [aggression] with readings is over.”

In a professional match, this level of trickery doesn’t even leave a scratch.

In the end, what knocks down the opponent is a lightning-like straight or a heavy hook.

One day, two days… The calendar, which had been flipping through like a wind tunnel, stopped at D-DAY.

March 2nd.

The first day of filming for ‘Butcher and General’ dawned.

*

Chungcheongnam-do Buyeo [province and city in South Korea].

Large and small vehicles flocked to the large set, which resembled a street in Gyeongseong [old name for Seoul] during the Japanese colonial era.

Minivans, Starcraft vans, Explorer vans… There were many celebrity cars alone, and adding the personal vehicles that the staff brought, there was a parking crisis.

“Director, there’s no more room to enter!”

“Damn it, just shove them in roughly and leave the keys in! These cars will only leave after filming is all done today anyway.”

Even after occupying all the nearby parking lots, Starexes [Hyundai Starex, a popular van in Korea] continue to come in.

Park Seon, who was watching the commotion at the set entrance, clicked her tongue.

“Wow, there are really a lot of people.”

The assistant director standing next to her chuckled.

“Because the work itself is big. We’re just stuck here and holding on, but if this many people move around inside Seoul, there’s no answer.”

“Finding a place to sleep will also be a problem.”

“Right, I heard the director rented a room nearby… He’s so happy he could die.”

“Oh, why? Did he always like traveling?”

The assistant director, who looked around before answering Park Seon’s innocent question, covered her mouth.

“He’s been married for six years. He says he’s a desperate head of household who needs to escape.”

“Oh my gosh······.”

Without knowing that his story was being told over there, PD… no, Jeon In-woo, who is now the general director, is busy inspecting the site.

“Director Yang. It looks like the ridgepole is all finished on the outside… Can we shoot the scenes of people climbing on the roof?”

“It’s still a bit dangerous. Half of it is colored steel plate, and half of it is props, so it doesn’t have as much support as real roof tiles. Because we were trying to get it up quickly.”

“Then let’s go with what’s possible first.”

Yang Yeon-tae, the art director who oversaw the construction of the ‘Butcher and General’ set, saluted.

“Yes, Director.”

On the other side, the main actors of the drama are looking around the set with wonder.

With makeup and costumes, Lee Dong-soo, who had already transformed into the Japanese police officer ‘Taisei,’ was constantly exclaiming in admiration.

“Wow, it can’t be compared to filming historical dramas. It’s more plausible than a folk village?”

Jo Hyun-ah, also from C&J, looked around the street with a Gyeongseong-era atmosphere with curious eyes.

“I know, to pull off this scale in that period… As expected, everything is possible with money and people.”

She is also an actress in her early 30s who is recognized for both her acting skills and her mask [ability to hide her true feelings].

She came to see the first filming even though she doesn’t have any scenes today, but most of the supporting and minor roles are here to see ‘that actor’s’ performance.

“But noona [term of endearment used by younger men to address older sisters or female friends], who are you looking for so much?”

Lee Dong-soo asked Jo Hyun-ah, who was looking around the set, in a playful voice.

“It’s not you, Dong-soo. I heard that Actor Park’s acting is different during the reading and on set, and if I can’t see that, there’s no joy in working together.”

“Well, he was amazing during the reading too. I heard the director told him to tone it down a bit on purpose.”

“But is he going to be late today? I heard he usually arrives at the set really early······.”

At that moment, a shadow jumped down from the roof of a Japanese-style house on the side of the road.

“Kya!”

Jo Hyun-ah screamed briefly, and Lee Dong-soo also flinched and stepped back.

A white durumagi [traditional Korean overcoat], straw shoes, a bamboo hat, and a fierce-eyed, crimson butcher’s mask.

The ‘Butcher’s Mask’ who slaughters Japanese military police and police officers in the drama was standing in front of them.

“Actor Park······?”

Park Geon, who raised the mask above his head, bowed to the two actors.

“Have you arrived? I was looking around the set.”

As promised, a huge Sprinter van appeared at the entrance of the set.

All of Roman’s aces had gathered.