Chapter 67
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Scene 67, Cut! Okay!
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Scene 67.
Cut! Okay!
The bullets Yu-hyeon fired relentlessly hammered the masked men.
Perhaps because the vehicle Yu-hyeon was in had only been taking hits without retaliating, they never imagined bullets would come flying their way.
It would be strange for a prop vehicle carrying actors to have counterattack weapons in the first place. But that strange thing had just become a reality.
Hit with a full thirty-round magazine in an instant, the SUV erupted into a fountain of blood and chaos.
One of the masked men, who had been aiming a rocket launcher, shook as if he were dancing disco before screaming, “Argh!” and falling backward. At the same moment, a *fwoosh* sound of combustion erupted from the rocket launcher he was holding.
He had accidentally pressed the fire button.
*KABOOM! WHOOSH!*
The rocket, launched with a loud burst of flames and smoke, shot out, pierced the SUV's roof, and seemed to soar into the sky before exploding with a bang!
*KABOOOOM! FWOOOSH!*
As the rocket detonated on top of the vehicle, the force of the blast caused the roof to cave in with a crunch, and scorching flames raged inside through the hole. The windows shattered, and the vehicle's interior was instantly wrecked.
In such a situation, proper driving was out of the question.
It was unclear whether the driver was panicking or already dead.
The vehicle swerved left and right with a screech, then spun sideways and flipped over completely.
With a series of thunderous crashes and bangs, the SUV tumbled for dozens of meters.
The spiderweb of cracks on the front windshield made it difficult to see what was happening outside clearly, but they could still make out the vehicle exploding and flipping over.
*The filming techniques here are on another level,* he thought.
But that thought was fleeting. Seong-hyeon's face turned pale as a sheet, and he froze.
He trusted the action team, but at this rate, it looked like they were going to collide with the car in front.
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
As Seong-hyeon cried out in alarm, Yu-hyeon yanked the handbrake and sharply turned the steering wheel to the left.
The vehicle spun sharply, teetering on the edge of flipping over.
Yu-hyeon quickly released the handbrake and yelled.
“Hit the gas!”
Seong-hyeon, who was half in a daze, instinctively slammed his foot on the accelerator.
*VROOOOOM!*
The engine's RPM skyrocketed as the car shot forward, and thanks to the friction of the tires and inertia, it avoided flipping over. But just because it didn't flip didn't mean the danger was over.
The car lunged forward, heading straight for the guardrail.
“Snap out of it! Foot off the gas! Brake!”
“Yes!”
Seong-hyeon followed Yu-hyeon's command and switched pedals again.
As Yu-hyeon pulled the handbrake and deftly turned the wheel, the entire vehicle spun in a drift. The rear of the car slammed into the guardrail with a *thump!* and finally came to a stop.
The film crew and the food truck that had been following them stopped at a distance.
Marcos quickly got out of his car and, along with his men, immediately took up positions behind the film crew to secure the perimeter.
“Professor! Are you alright!”
At Marcos's shout, Yu-hyeon tapped the side of his helmet with his fingers. He then flipped his body around, changing his position, and kicked the corner of the front windshield with both feet.
The battered windshield, which had been hanging loosely, was pushed outward with a clatter. Yu-hyeon grabbed his rifle and ran out.
He looked at the overturned SUV about twenty meters away and started walking toward it.
After ejecting the empty magazine and inserting a new one, Yu-hyeon stood before the wrecked SUV.
Whether it was because human life is tenacious or because the airbags had brought him luck, one of the masked men was crawling out from the broken passenger-side window.
“He… help…”
Yu-hyeon aimed his rifle at the man and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
*Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!*
With a series of sickening thuds, the man's body went limp.
Yu-hyeon scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and spoke into his receiver.
“We’re still rolling. Keep it natural. Film crew, when I call cut, run over, applaud, and check if anyone's hurt.”
“Yes… Professor.”
“Marcos.”
“Sir!”
“Clean this up. No loose ends.”
“Sir! Yes, sir!”
Following Yu-hyeon’s instructions, the film crew did their best to film the scene to the very end, as if to prove that this entire event was ‘staged.’
Yu-hyeon turned and walked back toward the armored car with its missing windshield.
He then smoothly took off his helmet.
The four people inside the vehicle, who had been staring blankly at the scene, were once again dumbfounded when a familiar face appeared from under the helmet.
*'Wri... Writer-nim?'*
*'No! How is this possible!'*
*'N-no way! He wasn't a stuntman?'*
While Lee Ha-na, Seong Ye-rim, and Jo Seong-hyeon were stunned, Elizabeth simply nodded.
Although it hadn't been as intense as today, she had already seen this side of Yu-hyeon several times during the Urus Club shoot. However, Elizabeth was determined to make an issue of today’s filming.
*'This wasn't planned. This is too much. No matter how tight the schedule is, making an actor do a car action scene!'*
If someone had gotten hurt, the entire production could have been halted.
*'And most of all... that impossibly loud gunshot. And the shell casings.'*
Elizabeth rubbed her forearm, which was red from being hit by a hot casing.
The others were dazed, as this was their first time filming a Hollywood action scene, but Elizabeth was a veteran in this field.
She had considered letting it slide since it was a shoot with Yu-hyeon, but the more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
There was no way Yu-hyeon hadn't noticed the things she did. If he was acting as if nothing was wrong, there had to be another reason she wasn't aware of.
*'I need to visit him tonight, without the others knowing. No matter how I look at it, this isn't normal.'*
After taking off his helmet, Yu-hyeon ran his fingers through his sweat-matted hair, sweeping it back.
As if he had applied pomade, his hair was perfectly slicked back, revealing his broad forehead.
*'So... cool!'*
*'Ha, stop looking like that. You're making my heart flutter.'*
Lee Ha-na and Seong Ye-rim's hearts skipped a beat at Yu-hyeon's chic and charismatic appearance.
“Is everyone okay? Jin-woo, are you hurt anywhere?”
At Yu-hyeon's question, the four quickly snapped back to reality.
The words Yu-hyeon had just spoken weren't just a casual question; they were M's lines from the script.
The three women shook their heads to signal they were fine, and Seong-hyeon shouted his final line as he ran out of the vehicle.
“Hyung? Is it really... you? Hyuuung!”
Yu-hyeon hugged Seong-hyeon as he ran to him, patting him on the shoulder. He then looked back and forth between the burning SUV and Elizabeth—or rather, Annie.
His gaze seemed to ask, *Isn't all of this related to you?*
Although Elizabeth's mind was in turmoil after the action scene that had far exceeded her expectations, she knew she had to finish the shoot cleanly.
She bit her lip slightly, as the script directed, and turned her head to avoid Yu-hyeon's gaze, her expression a mix of fear, apology, and anger.
Yu-hyeon peeled off Seong-hyeon, who was clinging to him like a leech, and shouted toward the film crew.
“Cut! Okay!”
As Yu-hyeon called it, everyone erupted in applause, showering the actors with endless praise and whistles for their passionate performance.
Except for Elizabeth, the other three actors looked bewildered but pleased, their faces breaking into wide smiles.
And Jo Seong-hyeon looked at Yu-hyeon with an expression that went beyond respect to outright adoration.
***
Jaden, who had been watching the scene from a distance, tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“What the? It wasn't a hyena on a rampage... it was a drama shoot?”
It was too real to be staged, yet too ambiguous to be real. There was no way a Hollywood star like Elizabeth would film such an insane scene for real.
“Well, it's none of my business. As long as the prey is alive and kicking, that's all that matters.”
Jaden crawled low to the ground and stealthily disappeared from view.
***
As Yu-hyeon called "cut," Yu Han-seong, who was watching the monitor, lost himself and shouted "Okay," just as he had during the barrel incident.
“Okay! Good! Okay! Goooood! O-o-o-o-kay!”
Everyone cheered, exclaiming that they had captured an incredible scene. Beside them, the stunt team leader, who was drenched in a cold sweat, let out a series of breaths he had been holding.
*'Fuck. I barely made it out alive. Seriously, how is a drama set more intense than a CIA operation! Someone explain this to me!'*
***
A tense atmosphere filled Yu-hyeon's study.
“Marcos!”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Give me an excuse, anything!”
“...I have no excuse.”
Following the information leak, a direct attack had occurred. If not for Yu-hyeon's swift response, all the actors involved in today's shoot would have lost their lives.
While he considered that a better outcome than his own death, the resulting fallout would have caused immense problems.
“Bring me a plan for what you're going to do from now on!”
“I've reported it to headquarters. Soon…”
“Soon? Is that your answer right now?”
Yu-hyeon was genuinely furious. If the CIA had just done its job properly, none of this would have happened.
“The Borderless Consortium, was it?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“By tomorrow. Bring me a list of every bastard who's part of that consortium.”
“Pro... Professor.”
“This is the last time. If you can't even handle this properly, the United States is out of the project!”
“Professor!”
Marcos looked at Yu-hyeon again, insisting it wasn't a matter to be decided so drastically.
“I believe I've already warned you.”
“...”
“Memento Mori.”
“Professor…”
“Go and tell them. If they want to keep their stake, they need to do their job right. If this is how it's going to be, there's no reason for me to work with the CIA, is there?”
He spoke again to Marcos, who stood with his head bowed in silence.
“And.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“I told you not to set up a perimeter, didn't I? Don't you remember I said it would only draw more of their attention?”
“But, for your safety…”
“And are we safer now? Random assassinations are happening, but they're trying to kill a completely unrelated drama writer? Do you really think that makes any sense?”
“...”
“If you have a brain, then use it! They must have suspected something to pull a stunt like this!”
At Yu-hyeon's words, Marcos's face went white.
“Even if, by some chance, I was on their list, if they had no reason to find me suspicious, they would have no reason to touch me. What they want is the Project Master, not some irrelevant drama writer! So why did this happen?”
“The security…”
“Exactly! Who puts up such heavy security for a drama shoot! You moronic CIA bastards! Marcos, if you were part of the consortium, what would you have thought seeing that?”
At Yu-hyeon’s pointed question, Marcos squeezed his eyes shut.
He had accepted Yu-hyeon’s opinion and reported it to headquarters, but they had insisted on raising the security level, refusing to accept even the smallest risk.
“I've said my piece. Either you bring me that list by tomorrow, or the U.S. is out. I have no intention and no reason to give you any more chances!”
“One day is…”
“If you can't do it, then that's the limit of the CIA's abilities. Incompetent fools who can't even catch an internal leaker and leave traces everywhere they go. Why should I work with you?”
Marcos realized that nothing he said would get through. Either he met Yu-hyeon's demands, or he would be pushed out of the project.
Marcos seethed with anger at the attitude of his headquarters, which had made one mistake after another.
He felt like a moron who couldn't even eat the food spoon-fed to him.
“I will return before it's too late. And.”
"And?"
"Your actions today were too risky. We should have stepped in to handle it..."
"Hey, Marcos."
"Yes, Professor."
"Your job at the CIA isn't to ride a motorcycle and shoot guns in my place. It's to prevent such things from happening in the first place. And if I hadn't stepped in, could you have saved the actors in time?"
"..."
"I've had more than enough of your nonsense. Just bring me what I want, and don't be late."
"What will you do once you have the list..."
"Are you going to keep asking the obvious? I was trying to live quietly not because I was afraid of anyone, but because I wanted to avoid trouble. Did you think I'm some fool who'll turn the other cheek after being slapped on the right?"
"Fighting them directly is too dangerous."
"When you hit someone, you must be prepared to be hit back. If you don't have the stomach for it, then get out. I don't want the CIA's help anyway."
Not long after Marcos left with a grim expression, a call came from Elizabeth.
“Annie. What is it at this late hour?”
“Today's incident.”
“...”
“Don't you think we need to talk?”
“I don't know what you mean.”
Yu-hyeon tried to play dumb, but Elizabeth's voice cut in again.
“Yu-hyeon. I'm a Hollywood action star. And I've handled my fair share of guns.”
“...Where should we meet?”
“At your place.”
“I'll be waiting.”
After hanging up, Yu-hyeon rubbed his face in frustration.
***
The action scene from today was truly groundbreaking.
Unable to calm the excitement from the shoot, Lee Ha-na and Seong Ye-rim went out for some night air.
When they spotted each other, they shared a knowing smile.
“Want to take a walk?”
“Sure.”
“Today was incredible, wasn't it?”
“It was a complete shock. Especially when Writer-nim took off his helmet.”
Seong Ye-rim nodded in agreement with Lee Ha-na's words.
“The more I see of Writer-nim, the more amazing he is, and the less I understand him. I felt like we were getting a little closer... but now it feels like he's distant again.”
Lee Ha-na nodded, feeling the same way.
“By the way, you don't call him Oppa these days, do you?”
“Neither do you, right?”
They both fell silent for a moment before speaking at the same time.
“I don't want to call him that without meaning it.”
“I don't want him to be just any other Oppa.”
Though their words were different, the meaning was the same. Silence fell between them once more.
Just then, they saw Elizabeth walking quickly toward the main house.
*'Elizabeth?'*
*'To the main house at this hour?'*
They knew Elizabeth was close to Yu-hyeon, but for her to visit the main house so late at night, when it was nearly dawn...
*'How annoying!'*
*'She gets on my nerves!'*
The two women exchanged glances with hardened expressions, then nodded as if they shared the same thought.