Never Say Never (2)

Filming for Batman Forever was progressing smoothly. As he did his absolute best to keep it that way, Sion, who had naturally found himself at the center of everything as time passed, thought to himself, Man, I really feel like Lucid.

Funny enough, in a broader sense, he felt that way because he was manipulating people to achieve his own goals. Unlike Lucid, however, he was doing it for the public good, so surely he deserved some leniency. But then again, didn't Lucid also believe he was doing what was best for people?

Ah, whatever.

For now, Sion decided to act based on his knowledge of the future to secure a better outcome.

According to various interviews that surfaced in the distant future, Batman Forever was a film riddled with so many problems that it was a miracle it even succeeded at the box office. Val Kilmer, who played Batman, was constantly annoyed by being forced to deliver a light, campy performance that clashed with his acting philosophy. Tommy Lee Jones, playing Two-Face, made no secret of his disdain for Jim Carrey, bluntly letting him know that he couldn't stomach his over-the-top antics. To top it off, Jim Carrey, playing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Riddler, was emotionally exhausted.

And in that state, the director was ordered to make a kids' movie instead of the serious Batman film he wanted. He ended up ruining the Riddler by forcing Jim Carrey to mimic his style from his previous hits.

With so many volatile elements colliding, future generations would eventually look back on the film as nothing short of a failure. Even the audiences of this era couldn't help but tilt their heads in confusion at a Batman movie whose tone had plummeted to the level of a Saturday morning cartoon.

Is this right?

This is Batman?

If I wanted this, I'd just watch TV cartoons!

Ultimately, Warner Bros.' failure to read the room and their terrible misjudgment ended up ruining a thriving franchise. But now that he had regressed to the past, Sion was determined to find the best possible solution by talking directly with the actors and navigating the various choices before him.

Keep the tone slightly elevated, but don't let it go over the top.

That aspect was already being handled through discussions and judgments by other professionals. Still, perhaps thanks to the massive success of Pain Walker, Warner Bros. seemed to have abandoned the idea of rebooting the franchise into a complete children's show like the 1966 Batman. Even though they were undoubtedly reviewing the somewhat "deep" and dark dailies, no counter-instructions had been handed down.

That's good. Very good.

Just as he was feeling confident that everything would turn out well since the ingredients were all in place, it happened.

One morning, Sion happened to open the newspaper and found an interesting piece.

"Oho."

It was a column of the exact flavor he had been expecting to pop up around this time. He crossed his legs comfortably and read through it slowly.

Sion's take on the column was simple.

"Hmm. What a beautifully written load of absolute horseshit."

Today happened to be his day off. After pondering in silence for a while, Sion finally dialed Charlie.

Ring... Ring...

The line rang a few times before connecting.

"Ah—I am so incredibly pissed off right now—"

Sion deliberately started acting like a brat to test him. ...Well, in this case, it was more like bratty talk.

"Is this guy serious? Russ Campbell? Some bastard with a name like a can of chicken soup wrote a garbage article about me, pretending to be a journalist. I'm seriously furious. I want to grab this guy and grind him into dust."

"...?"

Sion had brought it up half-jokingly, but Charlie's calm response showed he was willing to trust whatever Sion did. Perhaps Charlie didn't take it too seriously because Sion had called him with a playful tone instead of storming off in person, but either way, Sion felt quite pleased that Charlie Kang no longer saw him as the loose cannon he used to be.

In the past, he would have panicked and tried to calm me down if I so much as raised my voice.

Did this mean they had finally built a solid foundation of trust? Sion grinned and asked, "Did you read that article? What do you think?"

"Still, things have been quiet for the past few months, so it's interesting to see this pop up out of nowhere."

He was right. Ever since his regression, Sion had calculated every single move with absolute precision. The reason he occasionally flipped off the paparazzi or picked fights with them was because he excelled at his day job and was completely confident he would never cause any actual, career-ending trouble.

The public already hates the paparazzi anyway.

If an actor who was usually quiet flipped off a paparazzo and cursed at them, most people just shrugged it off. In fact, if you excelled at your craft and didn't have a squeaky-clean, goody-two-shoes image like Elena, the public might even find it cool.

I've used that to carefully craft my image, so in a way, you could call it a symbiotic relationship.

Sion chuckled, amused by how easily he could spin even his bad behavior into a positive. Regardless, maintaining a slight "bad boy" edge meant that even a tiny good deed would earn him massive praise. Sion used this to navigate Hollywood with complete freedom.

"Reading it today, it felt a bit more calculated. Charlie, can you gather all the negative articles that have come out about me recently?"

"Because turning it back on them is going to be so much fun."

At Sion's words, Charlie felt a sudden chill run down his spine all the way in the CK Agency office in downtown Hollywood.

Sion hung up abruptly, leaving Charlie to mutter anxiously to himself.

"Maybe... he was better off when he was just a regular brat..."

At least back then, his tantrums fell within a somewhat predictable range.

A few days later.

In a bustling area of Hollywood.

Amidst the passing crowds, Sion sat openly on an outdoor terrace, reviewing the collection of negative articles Charlie had brought him.

I spent that on home repairs.

Yet, they had somehow dug up a crumpled receipt and attached it, pretending to offer a meticulous "critique." In reality, they were just bashing him to pander to a public hungry for drama.

"Sion..." Charlie, who was sitting across from him sipping his coffee, spoke up uncomfortably.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think we should go somewhere a bit more private? We don't know where the paparazzi might be shooting from."

"There's one behind those bushes. Two on the rooftop. Oh, and another one inside the cafe."

"...How did you know that?"

"My superpower."

Sion gave a playful wink from behind his sunglasses. "These articles are pretty entertaining."

"They're all idiots. Don't let them get to you. We already put out a statement saying the Porsche 911 was sponsored, and we clearly stated that the giveaway was either from your personal collection or sponsored by the broadcast... even if it was in small print."

"Even if it was in giant bold letters, do you think people would care? They're just looking for their next hit of dopamine."

"Ugh... We're doing our best to handle it, but..."

"Let's hire someone to handle PR professionally, Charlie. The money I'm bringing in now must be dozens of times what it was a few years ago. You and Chloe can't keep managing all of this on your own."

"That's true. I'm actually thinking of moving the office."

"Oh, really? I thought you insisted on staying there because of feng shui or whatever."

"Looking at the recent trends, the 'Qi' of our current location is starting to wither. It's about time we moved."

"..."

Even the great Sion Lee couldn't help but feel a bit dumbfounded by Charlie's brand of oriental shamanism.

"Anyway, what do you think?"

"Looking at them all gathered like this, they do feel a bit different from the articles we used to get. Before, they mostly criticized your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behavior, but now, it's all about your extravagance."

"It means I've grown."

As the saying goes, one should live modestly and pretend to have less than they do. Wealth isn't a crime, but displaying it can breed resentment in those who don't have it.

But no matter what, once you make a name for yourself in Hollywood, boasting about your wealth and success becomes almost inevitable.

From a spoiled brat to a flawless superstar. The backlash of shifting his image was slowly catching up to him. It was especially true now that he was filming back-to-back blockbusters like Pain Walker and Batman Forever.

When people saw Sion signing autographs for every single fan on the red carpet and volunteering at children's hospitals, there were bound to be those who whispered that he was only showing his good side to hide his dark secrets. Some bitter souls were likely burning with jealousy, wishing he would stop rising and fall back down to where he belonged.

If his past "brat" image had given him certain advantages, it was now demanding its toll. And a few journalists made their living by writing articles that scratched that exact itch for the public. It was an unavoidable tax on any celebrity who made a living by putting their face out there and receiving the public's love.

Of course, that didn't mean Sion had any intention of just taking it lying down.

"This is why daily conduct is so important. You have to act out a little so people don't get suspicious. I guess I've been too well-behaved lately."

"Yi-siony, don't let it get to you. Just focus on your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠acting." Charlie looked at Sion with worried eyes. "I'll file a formal complaint against the articles, so don't let it weigh on your mind. I know who you really are."

"..."

Sion felt a sudden, unexpected warmth in his chest.

Even though his profession as an actor forced him to constantly perform on the stage of reality, there was still someone who understood his true self, even if only a little. Perhaps that was why he could keep doing this.

And besides, he does what needs to be done.

Like cleaning up after him whenever he caused trouble.

"No, Charlie. There's no need for that. An actor should speak through their acting."

"Huh...?"

"Since I don't have to be on set every day for my current shoot, I have some free time. I was thinking it'd be nice to take on another project to film concurrently. Is there anything that could ruin the image the public is trying to force on me right now? Something that can completely erase this obnoxious, newly-rich vibe."

In a way, because he had only shown a "flawless" image recently, he was experiencing a rebound effect of criticism. They were grasping at straws to criticize him, but if those rumors piled up, they could eventually harden into "truth" in the public's mind.

Comparing himself to Michael Jackson would be a massive exaggeration, but it was a similar kind of dynamic. Therefore, to completely shatter that perception, he felt it was time to let himself go a bit.

"Are you actually suggesting double-booking yourself?"

"It's necessary."

"Hmm..."

"Don't overthink it. Just something light and funny. You know, like Arnold Schwarzenegger did. It's a bit of a different approach, but he starred in family comedies with kids to change his image, right? Though, rather than that exact vibe, I think a project with a bit of romance mixed in would be better."

"...Well, it's not like we're short on offers. I'll look into it. In the meantime, try to avoid the media as much as possible and just focus on your work. Got it?"

"Hmm, I was wondering if there was something else I could do right now."

"What?"

"If I'm going to let myself go in a role, shouldn't I do the same in real life?"

Sion Lee stood up with a smirk. As he suddenly began to bounce on his feet with dramatic steps, Charlie's face turned pale.

"W-what are you planning to do?"

"Every Hollywood superstar suffers from the paparazzi. And they all fight back in their own unique ways... Today, I think I'll go with the Keanu Reeves style."

With that, he marched straight toward the bushes where a paparazzo was hiding.

Click, click, click.

The man didn't even have the decency to stop; he just kept snapping photos.

"Ah, Sion. Good afternoon. Give us a pose, will you?"

Sion stared silently at the man who was boldly continuing to take pictures, then suddenly snatched the camera right out of his hands.

"W-what?!"

"Aaaargh?!"

The first startled cry came from Charlie Kang; the second belonged to the paparazzo. Having his camera stolen so suddenly, the photographer let out a shriek, and Sion immediately bolted like an Olympic sprinter. As Sion ran like a madman, the stunned paparazzo gave chase, while another paparazzo ran behind them, frantically snapping photos of the absurd spectacle.

"G-give it back! You camera thief!!"

"Hehe, nope!"

Now that filming for Pain Walker was over, it was time to return to his roots before any more negative press could solidify. With that thought in mind, Sion dashed through the city streets, feeling thoroughly refreshed. Behind him ran the chubby paparazzo. If one were to summarize the scene, it looked suspiciously like a classic case of schoolyard bullying.

"Hehe, catch me if you can!"

"Please! Please give it back, Mr. Lee!!"

Watching the spectacle unfold from behind, Charlie Kang, the head of CK Agency, could only think one thing.

"We're doomed."

He had awakened a sleeping demon. Charlie wanted to slap his past self for ever thinking that Sion was better off as a brat. Because whether then or now, Sion Lee was always going to be Sion Lee.