That Actor Knows (2)

How did I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know, when I don't have eyes in the back of my head?

I'd been filming in secret from the moment Cha Eun-yu walked in. When it comes to settling who's right and who's wrong, nothing cuts through the noise like video.

"That's Cha Eun-yu? Holy shit, it is. Almost didn't recognize him with the mask."

"He said he was a regular here. Guess he wasn't lying."

A fresh piece of gossip had landed in their laps, and the three men's conversation slid straight into trash-talking Cha Eun-yu.

"A buddy of mine did a short stint as a manager at his company. Says the guy looks all quiet and well-behaved, but he's knocked over a whole string of actresses."

"Heh. Knocked over? More like they were lying down waiting for him, right? Girls these days go stupid over Cha Eun-yu."

"Pale little pretty boy who looks like he couldn't even pass a physical. What's so great about him that everyone's losing their minds?"

"Heh-heh. Right? I could treat a girl a thousand times better than that guy."

The tattooed men snickered back and forth, trading crude gestures and dirty jokes like it was all in good fun.

The contrast could not have been sharper. Three dark, hulking men hunched over their drinks, muttering poison — while at Cha Eun-yu's table, the mood was warm and easy. The female staff hung on every word he said, bursting into bright laughter at each remark.

The women's laughter must have grated on them, because the three men's voices climbed steadily louder, until they were tearing into Cha Eun-yu out in the open.

"Ha, fuck. I get pissed off every time I turn on the TV these days. These guys can't act for shit, but they've got a pretty face so women like them, and suddenly they're all over every commercial and every drama, strutting around like they own the place."

"Tell me about it. At least the old stuff had some variety. Now it's love, love, love, every damn night. I don't even know why I bother paying the TV license fee."

"That's all Cha Eun-yu's fault. Scrawny little thing who'd fold from one punch, and they're all squealing over him."

One of them threw a ridiculous punch at the empty air, pulling a clownish face. His friends found the whole performance hilarious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and roared with laughter.

The mockery was loud enough to reach my ears without even trying. There was no way Cha Eun-yu hadn't heard it. But true to the upright, well-mannered image he always carried, he seemed determined not to get dragged into a pointless fight — letting it go in one ear and out the other.

His party had clearly heard them too. They traded uneasy glances, and once the food arrived they simply ate in silence.

His patience with the thugs, however, did not last.

One of the men pretended to head for the restroom and shoved past Cha Eun-yu's group as he went. It happened just as one of the women was reaching for the meat; she came within a hair of burning her hand on the grill and let out a startled scream.

When the man tried to walk on as if nothing had happened, Cha Eun-yu finally couldn't take it. He shot to his feet and caught the man by the arm.

"Excuse me. You bump into someone and just walk away?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You. Apologize. Now."

Cha Eun-yu demanded an apology with real anger on his face. The man played dumb, as if he'd been waiting for exactly this.

"Got any proof?"

"What?"

"Proof I shoved anybody. You got it or not?"

Faced with that brazen attitude, Cha Eun-yu looked utterly incredulous. Deciding there was no talking to the man, he let go of his arm.

"Forget it. You've clearly had a lot to drink. Just be more careful."

The man snorted, twisted the arm Cha Eun-yu had been holding, and picked the fight himself.

"If you're a celebrity, keep your head down and stay in your lane. You've got dick-all for strength, but you're puffing up like a man in front of the girls? What is that?"

Cha Eun-yu pretended not to hear a word of it, returned to his seat, and soothed the startled staff member.

The instigator took that composure as a snub. His face flushed a deep red as he marched straight up to Cha Eun-yu's table and started shouting without so much as a preamble.

"Fuck. So if you're famous you get to look down on people? Huh?"

"When did I ever look down on you?"

"You did, just now! Otherwise why'd you walk off in the middle of talking to me? You think I'm gonna let it slide because you showed up with a bunch of women? You little shit. I'm filing assault charges!"

"Assault?"

Cha Eun-yu's face went blank with disbelief, and the man exploded.

"You grabbed my arm just now, you bastard, and then you shoved it off! I almost went down because of you!"

He bellowed his absurd accusations at the top of his lungs, and diners at the other tables — people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who hadn't been paying the slightest attention — started turning to look. A few of them recognized Cha Eun-yu and began recording on their phones.

That only made the instigator bolder. He started inventing things that had never happened.

"Fuck, so Cha Eun-yu gets to go around hitting people? Huh? You're good-looking so you can just grab people and beat on them?"

As his voice climbed, a restaurant employee finally hurried over to mediate and tried to talk him down. Cha Eun-yu, concluding that conversation was hopeless, urged his party to leave.

One by one they rose from their seats — and the instigator's companions, who had been sitting quietly and watching the show, stood up and blocked their path.

"Oh yeah? Shove somebody and then run? Hey, call the cops. Police!"

"Who shoved anyone? Please get out of the way."

Trying to keep his staff from getting caught in the mess, Cha Eun-yu turned his back on the men blocking the aisle and opened a path — and the instigator, brushing past him by the faintest contact, threw himself to the floor as if he'd been shoved.

Well now. The parkour wasn't half bad. That was not the work of a first-time scammer.

"Ahhhh! I'm dying! Actor Cha Eun-yu is trying to kill me!"

Jin Sun-mi, who had been watching the whole thing unfold right in front of us, leaned in with a face full of outrage and whispered to me.

"Wow. What is wrong with people like that? They pick the fight themselves and then turn a perfectly innocent man into an assailant. That's not a misunderstanding — those guys are straight-up con artists."

"Yeah."

"Ugh! If I were just a little stronger I'd go over there right now and knock every last one of them flat."

Under the table, Jin Sun-mi threw a flurry of punches at the empty air. The sight was so endearing I couldn't help smiling. Those tiny fists could have hit as hard as they liked and I doubted anyone would have felt a thing.

The moment I stood up, Jin Sun-mi startled and caught me by the sleeve.

"Deputy, you're not actually going to jump in, are you? You'll get hurt."

"I can't just sit here and watch them pull a stunt like that."

I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol all evening. I had been waiting for this moment. I was not about to let a chance to tie my fate to Cha Eun-yu slip away for nothing.

I walked over to the man on the floor, grabbed him, and hoisted him upright in one motion. He came up so easily I was the one who was surprised. He had to weigh at least two hundred pounds. All that extra time under the bar lately must have been paying off.

I asked him as gently as I could.

"Are you badly hurt? Should we get you to a hospital?"

The instigator, finding himself suddenly airborne, stumbled backward in a panic. Watching someone lift a frame well over two hundred pounds as if it were nothing had clearly rattled him. Then he took in the height difference — a full head — and the breadth of my shoulders, and his manners installed themselves on the spot.

"I-I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. That was a hard fall. Let me take a look."

I caught his wrist and gave it a twist too small to notice, then pressed my thumb into the small of his back. He made a strangled sound and let out a scream that was almost blissful.

"Oh dear. That seems to hurt quite a bit. I really think you ought to see a doctor."

"I-I'm seriously fine."

If I let him walk away like this, there was no telling what story he'd cook up later, so I asked for his phone.

"I'll give you my number. If it starts hurting later, you make sure you call me. There are a lot of extortion scams going around these days — if you just show up at a police station, they won't believe a word you say."

"E-extortion?"

His eyes flickered hard.

"Come on. Give me your phone. I'll put it in for you."

Convinced I was not going to let this go, the man handed over his unlocked phone with a miserable look on his face. I called myself from it and saved the number.

Leaving the newly well-behaved instigator where he stood, I walked over to the other two, who were still squaring off with Cha Eun-yu's party.

"Your friend says he doesn't need a hospital. How about we call it here?"

"What? Who the fuck are you to stick your nose in? Go drink your beer, old man."

"In that case, instead of making a scene in a restaurant, why don't we all go down to the police station together? I watched the whole thing from start to finish. I can give a very precise statement."

I took both of them by the arms and smiled. They strained with everything they had to shake me off. They couldn't. My grip didn't budge.

Two hours of weight training every night. Worth every minute.

Their eyes went round with panic. Meeting my gaze, they finally understood they were not getting free on their own strength. They looked away and called to their friend.

"Yong-seok, you okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. I think I'm fine. Let's just go."

I asked them with a look of genuine disappointment.

"You're sure you want to leave it like this? Sorting it out properly at the station would save you a lot of regret later."

"Well — he says he's fine, so…"

The three Zerg specimens who had been roasting each other's looks never even threw the punches they'd been so proud of. Their combat power evaporated on the spot, and they couldn't even meet my eyes. The moment I let go of their arms, the three friends bolted for the door as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they were racing each other out of the restaurant.

Cha Eun-yu came over and thanked me with a formal, careful bow.

"If tonight becomes a problem later, please get in touch. I'll appear as a witness."

I hesitated over which card to give him, then handed him my Iljin Group Deputy business card. Cha Eun-yu's expression tightened, just slightly. Whatever he felt toward Iljin Group, it was not affection.

"Even if those people are that stupid, would they really try to make something of a thing this small? The lie would fall apart in a second."

A firm, unmistakable refusal to have anything to do with Iljin Group. I pretended not to notice what sat behind the words and smiled like a man with nothing on his mind.

"Then that's a relief."

He thanked me once more and left with his party.

When I returned to our table, Staff Member Jin was flushed with excitement.

"Deputy, that was seriously cool."

"Heh. Was it?"

"But why did those guys run?"

"Beats me. I just wanted to help."

She went on and on about how much better-looking Cha Eun-yu was in person, singing my praises for bringing her here. Our company dinner ran until ten. The second round was fried chicken and beer, and we closed the night on a sweet note with the ice cream Team Leader Kim liked so much.

I went home, showered, and lay down. Thinking I might as well catch the news before I slept, I pulled up a search portal — and the entire site was plastered with stories about Cha Eun-yu.

"Cha Eun-yu really is that hot, huh."

I pulled up the video that had been posted to YouTube. They had sliced off everything before and after and edited it with surgical malice, leaving only the stretch where the instigator claimed to be the victim, so that it looked as if Cha Eun-yu had been the one throwing punches.

The comments underneath were a spectacle.

Famous people really do live exhausting lives.

At this point I understood, with perfect clarity, why genuine rich people refuse to put themselves in front of a camera. And thanks to that, I had learned something important.

"Until I'm a genuine powerhouse, I'd better keep media exposure to an absolute minimum."

I was thinking Cha Eun-yu — or his agency — might get in touch before long when a text arrived from a number I didn't recognize.

A follow-up message arrived with the Ace Entertainment address and a time.

Tomorrow, at last, I'll find out why Cha Eun-yu turned down the Iljin Group ad.

The clip had gone up on a video-sharing site under the title Cha Eun-yu Assault Video. There was not a single frame of actual violence in it — but the words "Cha Eun-yu" and "assault" alone were enough. Within an hour it had hit five hundred thousand views and seized the number-one spot on the trending list.

Most of the comments urged people to wait until the facts were confirmed, since the video showed no actual assault. The malicious speculation, though, was not in short supply.

Team Leader Kim Moon-hwan, scrolling through the comments, couldn't take any more. He shut off the tablet.

"Haaah. Still nothing on the CCTV?"

"No. The restaurant hasn't opened yet…"

"I should have gone with him. Where's Eun-yu? What's he doing right now?"

"He's taking it pretty hard. His image is in free fall over a fake video, of all things. He says he'll get here a little after one. The reporters are camped out in front of his place, so he's trying to move as quietly as he can…"

A short while later, a call came in from the staffer who had gone to check the restaurant's CCTV. Kim Moon-hwan picked up with a hopeful face — and the color drained out of it in an instant.