Chapter 165
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: A Fateful Connection
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“Jisu!”
-Dad!
“Why… why did you call so many times? Is something wrong?”
-Uh, I'm at the hospital...
“The hospital?”
Kim Hoyoung's cry made everyone's eyes widen.
“Where, which hospital? Are you hurt?”
-No, I'm not hurt. They're just running some tests.
“Why… why are they running tests?”
-There was a fire where I was hanging out. But we evacuated quickly, so no one's hurt.
Fire.
The damned thing that had taken his wife years ago had reappeared. Kim Hoyoung's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor. Seojun and Director Woo Jeonghan rushed to his side.
-No one was hurt. Everyone evacuated. You know what? When the emergency bell rang, 'One Step,' the video we watched together, just popped into my head.
Kim Hoyoung's trembling finger brushed against the phone's screen. Switched to speakerphone, the little girl's voice came through clearly.
One Step?
Seojun, who had been using his energy to calm Kim Hoyoung, blinked.
-At first, I was so scared I couldn't move, but when I remembered that, I was able to evacuate right away. I wet a handkerchief with water, covered my mouth and nose, and escaped through the emergency exit.
“You're really not hurt anywhere?”
Hearing the near-sobbing tone in Kim Hoyoung's voice, the child on the other end of the line seemed to speak even more cheerfully.
-Yeah. I'm totally fine!
“What about your friends?”
-They're all okay. They're crying now, I think because they're relieved after seeing their parents.
“Ah, should Dad come over?”
After saying that, Kim Hoyoung looked up in surprise at Director Woo Jeonghan and Seojun.
Filming wasn't something one or two people could do. It required countless staff and actors to coordinate their schedules, so changing an already set schedule was a difficult task.
This was especially true for a rookie actor like himself, not a famous star like Lee Seojun or Lee Jiseok.
‘There's still the afternoon shoot...’
The set was far from the hospital, making it difficult to go and come back during the lunch break. He couldn't ask Lee Seojun, Lee Jiseok, and the staff to wait for him. Kim Hoyoung bit his lip, frustrated by his inability to rush over immediately.
Sensing Kim Hoyoung's distress, Seojun caught Director Woo Jeonghan's eye and spoke up.
“Director. Didn't you say the afternoon shoot was changed?”
At Seojun's perfect performance, Director Woo Jeonghan thought, ‘Did I?’ before catching on to Seojun's intention and quickly playing along.
“Oh my. I forgot to mention it. Hoyoung. The afternoon shooting scene has been changed.”
What good was Seojun's perfect acting when Director Woo Jeonghan was ruining it all? Seojun gave the director a pitying look.
‘Director Woo really shouldn't try to act.’
The staff shook their heads at Director Woo Jeonghan's awkward performance. Still, they could roughly guess what was going on.
It wasn't uncommon for filming schedules to change due to the director or unforeseen circumstances. Since Director Woo Jeonghan, the man in charge, and the lead actor Lee Seojun both said so, the staff just shrugged.
“Well, these things happen.”
“I was wondering why this film shoot was going so smoothly.”
Since Lee Seojun rarely had any NGs, they often finished filming earlier than expected. Even if the afternoon shoot was postponed today, they could easily make up for it.
Besides, they felt sorry for Kim Hoyoung. The staff members had also experienced times when family emergencies made work difficult.
Seojun took Kim Hoyoung's hand. The trembling in Kim Hoyoung's hand slowly subsided.
“It's a scene we can shoot with just me and Jiseok-hyung. We've decided to film the original scene another day. So, please, hurry and go. Samchon.”
“Ah...”
“On the next shooting day, let's work hard without any NGs so we can finish early and make up for today's portion. All of us.”
Seojun's bright smile made Kim Hoyoung's throat sting. His stomach churned. An Daho brought Kim Hoyoung's things, and Director Woo Jeonghan called a taxi.
Getting to his feet, Kim Hoyoung bowed deeply to everyone on set. He knew Seojun and Director Woo Jeonghan were lying, but thinking of his daughter at the hospital, he couldn't refuse their kindness.
“Everyone, thank you so much.”
Seojun and Director Woo Jeonghan gestured for him to hurry.
Once in the taxi, Kim Hoyoung pressed his eyes, which felt like they were about to overflow with tears, and called his daughter.
“...Jisu. Dad's on his way now.”
Seojun watched the taxi drive away with a pleased expression before turning back to the set. He had done a good thing, but he still had to apologize for changing the schedule on his own.
“I'm sorry.”
When Seojun apologized to Director Woo Jeonghan, the director smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Don't be. I was going to send Hoyoung off anyway.”
In fact, he felt sorry for not being able to send Kim Hoyoung off immediately.
‘If I'd sent him off on my own, it would have messed up Seojun's and Jiseok's schedules.’
After a moment of thought, Director Woo Jeonghan spoke.
“Well, since it's come to this, should we really change the schedule?”
“Can we do that?”
At those words, Seojun's eyes widened.
“There's a scene where King Danjong and Grand Prince Suyang meet here without Eunuch Kim. It's a short scene, so it'll be over quickly, but it's better than doing nothing at all.”
“Yes. That's great.”
The filming schedule was actually changed.
The unexpected event caused a slight delay in the lunch break, but the staff headed to the food truck to eat. A staff member who had just gotten his lunch spoke up.
“But if it was a fire, wouldn't it be on the news?”
“I heard Hoyoung's daughter is fine...”
A staff member, holding chopsticks in one hand and his phone in the other, scrolled through the online news. It wasn't hard to find, as articles flooded the feed.
“Around 10 AM today, a fire in a 5-story building in OO-dong. The fire started on the 2nd floor, so people couldn't get down to the 1st.”
“Whoa. So how did they escape?”
“They evacuated to the roof. Everyone's safe except for one person with minor injuries.”
“That's a relief.”
The staff member's hand stopped as he browsed through various articles. He blinked. He tilted his head.
“What's wrong?”
“No, it's just... why is this showing up here?”
The staff member held out his phone screen.
[One Step, The Video That Saved Countless Lives!]
The staff members reading the article gasped.
* * *
“Did she say she wasn't hurt?”
Lee Jiseok asked, listening to Seojun's story. Jiseok had shown up at the set earlier than expected.
So, he ended up having lunch with Seojun. My goodness. To think Hoyoung's daughter was caught in a fire.
Seojun quickly replied to Lee Jiseok's worried gaze.
“She sounded fine over the phone.”
“Hoyoung must have been terrified.”
“Yes. Director Woo called him a taxi, saying he didn't look like he was in any condition to drive.”
Lee Jiseok nodded. Few parents could remain calm when their child was in danger.
“Driving in that state would only lead to bigger trouble.”
“So the shooting scene was changed. Is that okay with you?”
“It's fine. This is the only thing I'm working on right now, so my schedule is wide open.”
Just then, An Daho's phone, who was eating lunch at the same table, buzzed.
It was a message from Cocoa Entertainment's Team 2.
>News! News! KBC!
“Who is it?”
“It's Team 2. They're telling me to watch the news.”
An Daho pulled up the KBC news on his phone. Seojun, Lee Jiseok, and Yoon Sungoh looked at the screen.
Under the news title [Fire in OO-dong!], a woman in a hospital gown appeared. She seemed unfamiliar with the camera, constantly averting her gaze and scratching her cheek.
[You were the last one to evacuate?]
“Yes.”
[Is there a reason for that?]
“The private singing rooms have CCTVs, so you can tell if anyone's inside, but the restrooms don't. I went to check just in case there were customers in the restroom.”
[What do you think was the reason you were able to evacuate so calmly?]
“It was probably thanks to 'One Step.'”
One Step.
Seojun and Lee Jiseok blinked.
“'One Step'... is that the one Seojun filmed?”
“...Here?”
The reporter interviewing the woman said with a hint of confusion.
['One Step?']
“Yes. I'm a fan of actor Lee Seojun.
Unaware that the very actor she mentioned was watching her interview live, the woman smiled brightly.
“I've watched all of actor Lee Seojun's videos multiple times, and I've seen 'One Step' many times too. I think remembering it helped me stay calm and move.”
The next interviewee was a child who had called 119.
[How were you able to evacuate so calmly?]
“Uh... they showed us 'One Step' during a fire drill at school. I only saw it once, but when the emergency bell rang, it suddenly came to mind. I think I was able to escape safely because I copied what Lee Seojun did.”
Several other people also said that 'One Step' had helped them a great deal in remaining calm.
The set grew quiet as other staff members also seemed to be watching the news. Director Woo Jeonghan and the cinematography director were both engrossed in their phones. Just then, a familiar face appeared on the television screen.
“It's Hoyoung-samchon.”
“Huh? You're right.”
Behind the little girl in a hospital gown that the reporter was about to interview, Kim Hoyoung's frantic face appeared. The staff members who recognized him also began to comment.
“Jisu!”
“Dad!”
About to rush forward at the sound of his daughter's voice, Kim Hoyoung hesitated for a moment at the sight of the camera and reporter, then ran over in surprise.
“Wh-what is all this?”
“A news interview! They're asking how we evacuated so well.”
“Yes. Everyone evacuated safely, with no one seriously injured. We're conducting interviews in the hope that you can share how you evacuated with our many viewers.”
Flustered by the reporter's words, Kim Hoyoung let out a sigh as Kim Jisu took his hand, and he stepped back. A look of relief washed over his face as he scanned his daughter with his eyes.
“Looks like she's okay.”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
Seojun, Lee Jiseok, and the staff smiled at the sight of Kim Hoyoung.
The reporter asked Kim Jisu.
[Is there a reason you were able to evacuate so calmly?]
“It's thanks to 'One Step.'”
The little girl on the television screen, Kim Jisu, said in a cheerful voice.
['One Step?']
“The video with actor Lee Seojun. When the emergency bell rang, it flashed in my mind. I covered my mouth and looked for an exit, just like the kids in the video.”
The reporter asked without much thought.
The woman who evacuated last to check for anyone left behind was a fan of Lee Seojun, and the child who called 119 had seen the video during a school drill. This child was probably the same.
The reporter had no idea this was a massive scoop. He didn't know that this one statement would earn him a bonus.
[How did you come to watch 'One Step?']
“My dad is starring in the same movie as actor Lee Seojun! So lately, we've been watching all of actor Lee Seojun's movies and dramas together. We watched 'One Step' then, too!”
At Jisu's words, the people watching the news, the people in the hospital, the reporter, and the cameraman all froze for a moment.
Did I just hear that right? He's in what with whom?
Such doubts were dispelled by the voices of children from the next bed.
“That's right! Jisu's dad is in the same movie as Lee Seojun!”
“He even has a picture with him!”
Jisu's friends in the next bed chattered away. The reporter's mind slowly started to turn.
[Uh, so you're saying your father, Jisu, is filming a movie with actor Lee Seojun? You mean, 'Yeok (Reverse)?']
“Yes! Today was a filming day, too.”
At Jisu's proud declaration, the cameraman instinctively turned the camera lens to the side. Kim Hoyoung's flustered face came into view.
“Oh my god.”
Realizing the situation, Seojun's eyes widened.
He had hoped the public service video could save many lives. He had even used his ability to be more effective for people rather than for his acting.
But he never expected to feel its impact so closely. Seojun's ability, Seojun's acting, had saved Hoyoung-samchon's daughter.
‘Well, maybe not *saved*...’
Wouldn't she have been able to evacuate safely even without the video? Even as he considered that possibility, the corners of Seojun's lips twitched. He was truly happy. It was a joyous thing to help a stranger, but helping someone he knew was even better. How could he not be happy?
While Seojun was feeling proud, Director Woo Jeonghan's phone rang. The cinematography director's phone rang. Phones all over the set began to ring.
[Danhong Productions, Head of PR]
Director Woo Jeonghan answered the phone with a dazed expression.
-Director Woo! The person on the news right now, that's actor Kim Hoyoung, who plays Eunuch Kim, right!?
“Yeees.”
-Is that really actor Kim Hoyoung's daughter?!
“Yeees.”
-And actor Kim Hoyoung's daughter was able to evacuate after watching actor Lee Seojun's video?!
“...It seems so.”
-Amazing!
[OO-dong Fire, The Reason Everyone Could Evacuate Safely! One Step!]
[National Fire Agency's Public Service Video! A Resounding Success!]
[Part-timer Who Stayed Until the End! Netizens Shower Her with Praise!]
[Such a Fateful Connection?! The Link Between Actor Lee Seojun and Actor Kim Hoyoung!]
[Actor Kim Hoyoung, "I'm grateful to both the National Fire Agency for making the video and to actor Lee Seojun for his unforgettable performance."]
-I could see the smoke from my house, so I thought a few people would be seriously hurt. I'm so glad that's not the case.
=I'm even happier that everyone is safe.
-Public service announcements. They really do work.
=This. I thought they were useless too... but it actually worked.
-The part-timer. She's so cool T_T I wouldn't have been able to do that.
=They say she's also the one who found the rooftop key T_T
=The owner who made a copy of the rooftop key is cool too T_T
-So Lee Seojun and Kim Hoyoung are in the same movie, and Kim Hoyoung's daughter is safe because she watched Lee Seojun's video? This is like a movie itself lol
=Isn't this material for MBS's 'Surprise'? ㅋㅋ
=A fire broke out in OO-dong! At the scene was Kim Hoyoung's daughter!
=Fortunately, Kim Hoyoung's daughter was able to evacuate safely!
=Just how did this happen!
=One year ago. A public service announcement was broadcast.
=It turned out that the star of that PSA was none other than the lead actor of the movie Kim Hoyoung was starring in!
=It was actor Lee Seojun!
=ㅋㅋTeamworkㅋㅋ
-But it's amazing that everyone thought of 'One Step'.
=Right? Lee Seojun's acting must be that impressive.
-At this point, isn't this a must-watch video for everyone?
=Seems like it ㅋㅋ I'm gonna watch it again.
=Me too. I'll watch it until I have it memorized.
Due to the explosive public reaction, the public service video 'One Step' was broadcast once again on every station.
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