A Hero Appears in Turbulent Times
"What the hell, Chief Oh? Why would you run a piece like that?"
Just yesterday the editor-in-chief had given the green light, saying it was perfect for drawing aggro. Now he seemed determined to pin the entire mess on Oh Seung-hwan alone.
"Editor-in-chief, when I briefed you yesterday—"
"Hmph! What are you talking about? Do you have any idea how many articles I green-light in a single day? You expect me to read every last one in detail? You're a department head—I figured you'd written it properly. Sir, this is entirely my failing."
The editor smoothly dumped every ounce of blame onto Oh Seung-hwan and bowed his head toward the company president sitting beside him.
Still, Oh had written the article himself. There was nothing he could say.
The president, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke.
"Chief Oh. We need to stop chasing attention with aggressive takes. It cheapens the company. K-culture is spreading across the world, and for us to tear each other down over scraps of rice in this tiny country is, in a way, treason. The committee will decide on disciplinary action. Until then, consider yourself suspended."
Reporter Oh Seung-hwan bowed his head in silence and bit his lip.
Damn it. How did everything get so twisted?
The explosive interest surrounding Master Plan had tangled far more lives than just Oh Seung-hwan's.
"Ah, the timing is just the worst."
"At this rate we might actually get overtaken."
The production team of Baldur felt the sky darken the moment they realized that audiences flooding to the hit film starring Ryu Yeon-woo—lead of their rival drama Star Beyond the River—would inevitably spill over into the drama itself.
"Why the hell did a dark horse have to come out of a channel like KBC1?"
Baldur, slotted as MBS's major production, had only ever kept an eye on SBC's competing title. They had never even bothered to research whatever was being made over at KBC1.
As a public broadcaster that mainly handled current affairs, news, and documentaries, KBC1's overall ratings were irrelevant; the metric that actually mattered inside the industry—the 20–49 target demographic—was abysmal. Not once had a KBC1 drama ever been considered real competition.
Then Chief Director Kim Seung-gwan, who had been listening quietly, rose from his seat.
"I'll step out for a quick call."
He left the conference room, found an empty corridor, and dialed someone.
"Yes, this is Kim Seung-gwan. Looks like we're going to need to borrow some of your influence. I understand your investment firm put quite a bit into this project as well."
The call stretched on for a long while. Kim Seung-gwan's face showed clear reluctance and unease, yet a murky glint lingered in his eyes.
Star Beyond the River was scheduled to air episodes 9 and 10 this week.
Story-wise, the episodes opened with the horseback chase sequence between Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun—the very scene that had nearly turned into a real accident during filming—then moved into the pursuit of the assassin and the joint action sequence between Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han.
Afterward, Lee Ji-baek confessed his feelings to Hong Ui-yeon, only to be rejected because Seo Hui had already taken root in her heart. Heartbroken, Lee Ji-baek cleanly let go and resolved to bless his foolish friend who still had not realized his own feelings. He then departed for Song as an escort for the Song envoys—and that was where Park Gyeong-wan first appeared, cast as one of the Song envoys' bodyguards.
Today's shoot was the scene of Park Gyeong-wan's first on-screen appearance. Everything before and after had already been filmed; only the portions featuring him remained.
It was a high-impact entrance, and the role of the man who rescued Seo Hui and Lee Ji-baek in their moment of crisis was perfect for building a positive image.
"Cut! Let's go again. Why does the action feel so dead today? Park Gyeong-wan—did you drink last night?"
Park Gyeong-wan shook his head hard at the director's words.
"Absolutely not, Director."
His face, however, told a different story. The aftermath of an all-nighter had left him looking half-dead even while standing still.
This is all because of Ryu Yeon-woo. That bastard. I wish he'd just disappear.
The inferiority complex he had been nursing alone finally exploded the moment Yeon-woo's newly released film received rave reviews and rocketed to success.
Irritated beyond reason, he had been unable to resist when the friends he had recently started hanging out with called him out to a private room and ordered expensive liquor. That impulsive decision last night was the root of the problem.
Of course Yeon-woo had done nothing wrong, but in Park Gyeong-wan's mind every grievance already had Yeon-woo's name stamped on it.
Distracted by those swirling thoughts, Park Gyeong-wan broke the choreography. His hands and feet tangled; the prop sword he was holding clashed against his opponent's blade and went flying straight toward Jin Yu-han.
The wooden sword streaked through the air toward the face of Jin Yu-han, who was mid-exchange with another actor.
Yeon-woo seized the masked man's sword bare-handed, then urgently raised his own blade and knocked the flying prop out of the air before it could reach Jin Yu-han.
Even with Yeon-woo's reaction speed, the best he could manage was to alter its trajectory—from Jin Yu-han's face down toward his lower body.
The sword struck Jin Yu-han squarely in the legs.
Thwack—
"Ugh."
"Are you okay?!"
Yeon-woo and the staff rushed to check on Jin Yu-han.
"Park Gyeong-wan! The guy who's supposed to come save them ends up attacking Lee Ji-baek—what the hell is that? If this had been a real sword, you would've just killed Seo Hui and Lee Ji-baek!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Director Lee Sang-hun sighed as Park Gyeong-wan bowed over and over.
"Haa… Cut it there and reset. Everyone take a short break. Yu-han, just to be safe, go see the team doctor. Actor Ryu—how's your hand?"
"I'm fine."
Park Gyeong-wan crouched in a corner and slapped his own cheeks.
"Come on, get it together. Was last night's booze that strong? Why is this hangover so brutal? Damn it."
He was still trying to clear his head—washing his face, loosening up—when the murmuring among the staff in the corner grew louder. Looking over, he found every single one of them staring straight at him.
Why are they looking at me? Did Jin Yu-han get seriously hurt? It was just a prop sword…
One of the special-effects team members he usually trained with approached and held out a smartphone.
"…Gyeong-wan. You need to see this."
Park Gyeong-wan tilted his head and took the phone. An article filled the screen.
The CCTV still attached as reference material looked unmistakably like the private room he had visited last night. The pants were missing, the face was mosaicked, but the top was definitely the shirt he had been wearing.
"…What is this? They're saying this is me?"
He had blacked out last night. He had no memory of how he got home, and he had woken up aching all over.
More damning still: he had appeared in both Dead End and One Meter Ahead, and he was the only actor who had been in both.
His entire body went ice-cold. Park Gyeong-wan hurried to a corner of the set and started making calls.
Rrring—
No matter how long the signal rang, none of his friends picked up.
The new circle he had recently started hanging out with—the ones who always called him "Star," "Actor Park," who flattered him perfectly and answered on the first ring—all four of them now refused to answer.
The moment he hung up on the unanswered call, his phone rang again. Hoping it was one of them, he checked the screen—only to see his agency president's name.
"Hel—"
"You crazy bastard! What the hell have you been doing?! I already sent Tae-uk. Get in that car right now, go straight home, and do not set foot outside."
Click—
The situation was so urgent that the president spat out the bare minimum of curses and instructions and hung up immediately.
Park Gyeong-wan climbed into the waiting car and fled the set in a rush.
Off to one side, Yeon-woo massaged the hand that had caught the prop sword bare-handed and quietly sorted through his thoughts, recalling Han Hae-un's earlier words.
I thought Park Gyeong-wan had gone quiet and would just fade away… but it finally blew. Plus10's Byeon Hak-gyu.
If this was a deliberate attack, the motive would of course have nothing to do with Yeon-woo himself. He needed to consider who stood to gain the most.
Who profits from this mess? Baldur is the most likely candidate for now.
Yeon-woo lifted his phone and sent a message to Han Hae-un.
Yeon-woo glanced at the reply, then looked back across the set.
Right now the filming location felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck out of a clear sky.
"How are we even supposed to shoot today? Get Writer Kim Jin-ju on the phone. This is a disaster. Do we rewrite the entire back half and cut every scene with Park Gyeong-wan? And what about today's sequence?"
Even if they rewrote the later episodes to erase his appearance, the problem was today's shoot.
Every masked sequence had already been filmed; all that remained was for Park Gyeong-wan to finish the final action and remove the mask. Instead he had vanished along with the scandal.
"Damn it. This is supposed to air next week—how do we even cut this?"
Director Lee Sang-hun was in full panic.
A masked stranger suddenly appears, joins Seo Hui and Lee Ji-baek, saves them, and then disappears forever? Never appears again?
It would be like dumping filth all over a finished drama.
Rumble-rumble—
Just then a truck with a diesel engine rolled onto the set.
Son Jin-uk's treat.
Please take good care of our Yeon-woo.
The banner hanging on the coffee truck Son Jin-uk had sent fluttered forlornly in the cold wind that swept across the frozen set.
"Ah… the timing…"
One staff member muttered under his breath as he stared at the truck.
Under normal circumstances a coffee-truck event would have been welcomed with open arms. Right now, however, the timing could not have been worse for the ice-cold atmosphere on set.
Clunk—
The passenger door of the coffee truck opened and a man stepped out.
He surveyed the chilly atmosphere of the set and spoke.
"What? Doesn't look like you're as happy to see me as I expected."
Son Jin-uk grinned.
This was his little brother's first lead role. He might not have been able to visit the film set, but he had decided he absolutely had to show up for the drama—coffee truck and all—to cheer him on in person.
Yeon-woo's face lit up as he hurried over to greet him.
"Jin-uk hyung!"
"Ohhh, my little brother."
In that same instant, a man shot past Yeon-woo at an even faster speed.
"No way! Actor Son Jin-uk!"
Director Lee Sang-hun sprinted over with the expression of a man ready to offer up his liver and gallbladder both.
This is a miracle sent by the gods—no, a miracle sent by Yeon-woo himself! I have to lock him down for a cameo as the bodyguard no matter what.
Even if it meant demanding the extra production budget Director Hwang had so confidently promised last time, he was going to seize this opportunity.