Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Sports
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The detective in charge of the Gangwon-do set kidnapping case was spending a rare day off leisurely with his girlfriend.
Next to them, as they casually enjoyed some fried chicken and beer, sat a smartphone. The radio app on that phone was playing a broadcast featuring Shin Eun-ha and Kim Yu-chan as guests.
The detective commented while listening to the show.
"That movie was filmed in our jurisdiction. I went there myself and met them. Man, actors are real actors. Up close, they have this glow about them."
His girlfriend asked,
"Is Shin Eun-ha that pretty?"
"Huh? No, no. I meant Kim Yu-chan. Kim Yu-chan. He's handsome."
But right as he said that, Kim Yu-chan mentioned the kidnapping incident that had happened at that set.
The detective was floored.
"What the hell? They begged us to keep the investigation under wraps, and now this? They're the ones spilling it first?"
His girlfriend asked,
"What's that about?"
"It's about the case."
Normally, she wouldn't pry if he mentioned a case. But this one involved celebrities.
Her eyes sparkled as she hooked her arm through his.
"Tell me just a little. Come on? What about Kim Yu-chan? Why?"
"Uh, well..."
The detective hesitated. He couldn't share details on an ongoing investigation.
Then an idea struck him.
'Wait. Kim Yu-chan already revealed parts on the radio. I can share those, right? They spilled it first anyway.'
The detective grinned.
"I'm only telling you because it's you."
He sent her a link to an internet video on her smartphone.
"This is the video they just mentioned on the radio. Real footage?"
The detective sent the link and headed to the bathroom. Left alone, his girlfriend watched the video.
"Whoa. Oh my god? Oh my gosh! He's flying! A person's flying!"
She tapped the video URL a few times to copy it, then posted it to the radio show's message board.
"Good things are meant to be shared."
THO Entertainment's PR team, monitoring the radio broadcast, went into full alert.
President Lee Tae-ho was fuming.
"Kim Yu-chan's lost his mind!"
The PR team leader chimed in.
"He's totally lost it!"
"Come up with a countermeasure, quick!"
The PR team leader racked his brain. Only one option came to mind. He proposed it swiftly.
"President. We need to drop it now."
"It's already out!"
"No, I mean the one we planned to announce in about 20 days. We have to do it now."
Lee Tae-ho hesitated.
"No other way?"
"We need to seize the narrative early. Miss the timing, and it's impossible to control."
Lee Tae-ho pondered briefly, then made a call.
"Hello."
"Na Gang-in. It's Lee Tae-ho."
After hearing Lee Tae-ho's brief explanation, Na Gang-in said,
"It's breaking later than I expected."
The kidnapping at the Gangwon-do set could have hit the news the very day Na Gang-in caught the perps. The delay was thanks to everyone keeping their mouths shut until now.
"To manage this, we have no choice but to use the method I mentioned last time, right now. If you're okay with it..."
"Go ahead. You said there are no other options anyway."
"Thank you!"
During a music break on the radio, Shin Eun-ha scolded Kim Yu-chan.
"Come on, Yu-chan oppa. Is this how you do it? We agreed to keep that video quiet for Min-ji's sake."
Kim Yu-chan panicked too.
"Y-Yeah? I just wanted to say you were safe... Why did I even say that?"
Shin Eun-ha sighed.
"Sigh. Forget it. It's not your fault, Yu-chan oppa."
"R-Right? It's not on me?"
"It's THO Entertainment's PR team leader's fault for sending such a loose cannon here under the guise of 'heavy firepower.'"
"Huh? What?"
"His firepower's insane. Way more than expected. The message board's exploding right now!"
Outside the soundproof booth glass, Kim Yu-chan's manager waved frantically with a urgent look.
Kim Yu-chan stepped out.
"What?"
The manager handed over his phone.
"Call from THO PR team leader."
"Uh... later..."
"He says he'll flip everything if you don't take it now."
Kim Yu-chan answered quickly.
"Ah, Team Leader Gu. You heard the radio...?"
"We're monitoring with the president at the company."
"The president heard too? It wasn't on purpose. I was trying to do well..."
"Our original plan was: once the movie blows up, reposition Min-ji not as a victim, but as a key player in a flashy rescue op. Just like in our film."
Lee Min-ji was the child actress in the movie. Director Son Tae-min had tweaked the script during reshoots for her sake.
"At least the movie's a hit..."
"Sunny Day has way more people who haven't seen it yet. Revealing in a month would've been perfect."
Kim Yu-chan bowed repeatedly, even though no one could see.
"I'm sorry. Tell me what I can do."
"Spill it all."
"Pardon? Spill what?"
"On the broadcast, talk about that day as dramatically as possible. No fabricating, of course. It's all on video anyway."
"Is that okay?"
"The president's already approved. Make people see that video not as some grave incident, but as cool. Shift Min-ji's image from pitiful to awesome. That's our goal."
Kim Yu-chan nodded vigorously.
"I'm good at that stuff."
The PR team leader added a caveat.
"Don't mention Na Gang-in by name. Just call him the food truck uncle. That's the condition he agreed to."
Kim Yu-chan returned to the booth.
The music ended after two songs.
The host said,
"Yu-chan, the board's blowing up with questions about that video during the music break."
Kim Yu-chan spoke up.
"Listeners, that video? It happened for real on the first day of reshooting at the Gangwon-do set."
Shin Eun-ha didn't stop him. He'd come back from the call saying they'd coordinated a plan.
The host chuckled lightly.
"So it wasn't CG after all. But they used wires, right? Haha."
"No wires."
"Pardon?"
"It was a real situation. I really leaped down that slope like flying, jumped onto the moving car, bashed it with a steel pipe to stop it. And everything after is real too."
"If a stuntman died doing that without wires, what then?"
"It wasn't a movie. It was real kidnapping footage."
The host's face stiffened.
"Wait, what? A real incident?"
Shin Eun-ha caught on to Kim Yu-chan's intent. She backed him up.
"Of course, the kidnappers were all taken down on-site, and our child actress was safely rescued. You saw the video, right? Like a movie, huh?"
A entertainment reporter took a call from THO's PR team leader.
After brief greetings, the team leader asked,
"Remember that video I mentioned? Guy jumps onto a moving car and stops it with a steel pipe."
"Of course. From the THO movie, right?"
"We never said it was from our movie."
"But you publicly released it..."
"We did release it. But it's not movie footage. It's real."
The reporter was stunned at first, then got serious.
"This is juicy. Give me details?"
"Want me to email the full materials? Check after dinner."
The reporter paused.
'They prepped separate email materials?'
"Is this exclusive?"
"It just went public on live radio."
"Forget dinner. Heading back to the office. Send it now."
The radio show ended.
In the station elevator, Shin Eun-ha scolded Kim Yu-chan.
"Yu-chan oppa. Are you insane?"
"Hey, it was a slip..."
"Lee Tae-ho's famous as a doting dad. Bet he praised you, huh?"
"He won't kill me. Said to go full public and handle it well."
Shin Eun-ha wagged a finger side to side.
"Nah. To me, you're as good as dead. You're just on borrowed time."
"What am I, yogurt?"
The video was already public online.
People had assumed it was CG-enhanced promo footage for some movie. They didn't know which, but it made sense.
Then the radio reveal hit. Articles followed fast.
As soon as the video and article links hit community boards, comments poured in.
Others marveled differently.
The PR efforts were paying off.
AI Jeon Ji-in scanned various internet boards.
"Various claims are popping up, but no mentions of the Earth Union."
Na Gang-in said,
"You didn't seriously expect that info on these boards, did you? You're oddly serious about weird things sometimes."
Reporters requested info from police. Though ongoing, police released some details.
The police statement was straightforward.
Some analyzed the video.
More analysis.
Na Gang-in, seeing that, asked AI Jeon Ji-in,
"Could I compete in the Olympics?"
AI Jeon Ji-in searched the net swiftly and replied,
"Agent, you couldn't pass Olympic finals doping tests."
"Knew it."
"You might dodge prelims depending on circumstances."
"Nah. Pass."
Most boards agreed: his insane speed was due to the downhill.
But baseball fans fixated elsewhere.
Na Gang-in asked AI Jeon Ji-in,
"Baseball then?"
"Amateur leagues don't test, but pro baseball does occasionally."
"Wasn't planning pro anyway. For real."