Busan (3)
Black high heels stepped onto the red carpet. The actress had just climbed down from a van. Black dress. A deep, subdued shade that reflected almost no light.
She let go of the guard’s hand and straightened her back with easy grace.
It was Yoon Dayeon.
She lifted her head.
Flashbulbs erupted like machine-gun fire. Domestic and foreign reporters shouted over one another. Around them stood well over a hundred spectators, each with a phone in hand. The red carpet stretched out in a long line, washed in multicolored lights.
Yoon Dayeon lightly gathered the fabric at her thigh.
“······”
It felt like coming home. A place she had wanted so badly to return to, yet never could. Gooseflesh rose over her whole body. Even as the flashes blinded her, it felt good; even if the shouting around her seemed ready to split her ears open, she could live with that too.
How long has it been, really?
For a moment, Kang Jaeha came to mind, the same Kang Jaeha who had been dry and curt even when he opened the van door.
At first I thought he was just a crazy bastard.
She had thought he was just another lunatic, but he wasn’t. He was nothing like the image she had heard in rumors, either. He was always blunt, but sharp; rough, but seeing everything.
He told me that if I threw away my ego and walked the road he pointed me down, if I hit rock bottom, there’d still be a chance. I never dreamed that road would lead to the Busan International Film Festival.
She had swallowed her temper and done exactly what Kang Jaeha told her to do, and now the has-been actress was being cheered by hundreds of reporters and onlookers.
This is proof, Kang Jaeha. You still seem crazy, but there’s something incredible about you. It’s like you keep everything on the palm of your hand and run it all.
Then one of the reporters in the crowd called out to her.
“Yoon Dayeon-ssi!! Dayeon-ssi!!! Over here, over here!!”
The reporters were shouting for her to wave. Yoon Dayeon shook off her reverie and slowly faced reality. This wasn’t the destination. This was where it started again.
She lifted a hand, wearing the faint eye-smile she almost never showed in public. At the same time, she glanced to the side. An Jihee in a white dress had frozen solid.
“U-Uh? My legs are giving out.”
She was creaking on the verge of collapse. Seeing her reminded Yoon Dayeon of her past self, and she leaned in to whisper while lightly gripping An Jihee’s upper arm.
“Smile, walk, wave, and just follow behind me. That’s all you have to do. You can manage that much, right?”
“···Yes.”
“Keep your head on straight. That indifferent man sent us here, so if we screw this up, he’s going to chew us out even more coldly. You want that?”
“Ah, that’s scary.”
“Get your mind right. Let’s go. If you freeze up, run back to the car or something.”
It was terrifying and wildly unfamiliar, but An Jihee held on by thinking of Kang Jaeha.
“No, Senior! I’ll go!”
The two actresses began walking slowly. The reporters called to them.
“Over here, over here!!!”
“A little left!!”
“Actress-nim!! Straight ahead!!”
Maybe the firepower was weaker than what top-tier actors or directors drew, but for two washed-up actresses, it was far more attention than they deserved. This was An Jihee’s first-ever red carpet march, but she waved as best she could.
What do I do! I-I seriously feel like I’m going to throw up! The first actress to puke on a red carpet?? Anything but that!!
Somehow she even managed to meet the reporters’ eyes. Several of them looked at An Jihee and, while snapping photos, tossed out question marks of their own.
“Who’s the girl in the white dress?”
“No idea. Probably a rookie actress invited to this year’s Busan International Film Festival.”
An Jihee’s face was unfamiliar. In fact, there probably wasn’t anyone here who knew her.
“Wow, a rookie? She came to the Busan International Film Festival with her debut work?? She’s lucky.”
“Lucky? If the Busan International Film Festival is the starting point, that’s basically a miracle, man. I don’t know who her company or manager is, but they must be seriously good.”
Because she was unfamiliar, An Jihee unexpectedly drew the reporters’ attention.
“That white dress girl, the mask is good too.”
“Right? How should I put it, she’s got that oriental beauty thing going on? She’s distinctive. She’s going to blow up. I don’t know who scouted her, but they’ve got a good eye.”
“I’m thinking the same. If she’s got that unique visual and can act, she’ll be stuck in the public’s head in no time.”
Even as she fumbled along, An Jihee kept stealing glances at Yoon Dayeon, who was a few steps ahead.
Wow. She’s cool.
Yoon Dayeon’s red carpet walk was polished and smooth. She carried herself with ease, posing for the reporters, waving to fans, smiling. The angle of her chin, her posture and attitude, the direction of her gaze, the exact moment her lips lifted.
Even if she had been out of the game for a long time, Yoon Dayeon was showing her real class.
The reporters’ reactions to her were very different from how they had been with An Jihee.
“Oh! Dayeon-ssi!! Wave over here once!!”
“Long time no see, Dayeon-ssi!!”
“You’ve been quiet and then came back with a real bang, Dayeon-ssi!”
It was just a difference in recognition. The onlookers filming Yoon Dayeon with their phones were getting worked up too.
“Holy crap, Yoon Dayeon is still so damn pretty!!”
“Honestly, I thought Yoon Dayeon had quit acting.”
“She’s been quiet for a long time, right? But I heard she took a supporting role in a short film this time. Saw it in an article.”
“Kind of cool, though. Feels like she’s awakening as a real actress.”
In any case, the two of them were imprinting themselves on everyone with a single strike of the Busan International Film Festival red carpet. But this was only the beginning. The real impact would come after all of this reached the public.
By then, at the entrance to the red carpet, the people connected to the two actresses had just arrived and were preparing to walk in.
“Are you all right, Director?”
“Now that I’m here, I’m actually less nervous than I thought I’d be.”
“Director, your glasses are on backward.”
“Ah, really?”
“Let’s go.”
It was the Gyeollo team: Director Kwon Seongmin, CEO Jeong Taewoo, and the actors. Of course, their investor, Lee Chanhoo, was with them too. He wore a fairly relaxed smile, but inside he was a little dazed.
Why am I here, exactly??
He had once worn ragged armor in another world and cut down monsters for a living, and now he was in a tuxedo, getting blasted by reporters’ flashbulbs. It was absurd in every possible way. Soon, Lee Chanhoo recalled his conversation with the commander, Kang Jaeha.
Commander, do I really need to go all the way to the Busan International Film Festival?
You should go. We’re the main investor. After the screening of Gyeollo, MEG’s name is going to be printed right there too.
Then what about you, Commander?
Managers are support from the rear.
Liar. Commander, you just don’t want to bother going, do you?
Before long, the Gyeollo team began their own march too. Lee Chanhoo waved reluctantly, clearly not in the mood for any of this. Then his eyes widened sharply.
There was a reason for that.
He had spotted a woman he knew among the reporters. Brown hair rolled up in coils, big eyes.
It was Ha Yeonji. Behind her, among the spectators, stood a large man as well. It was Go Chunseok. Of the two fellow mercenaries, Ha Yeonji was the one snapping photos of Lee Chanhoo while cackling to herself. Even so, she mouthed the words, “That’s ugly as hell.”
Lee Chanhoo was dying to show her his middle finger, but he held it in. Instead, he mouthed back:
Go to hell.
He quickened his pace. Ha Yeonji watched him disappear in a tuxedo and snorted with laughter, then casually looked over the photos she had just taken of him.
“Clothes really do make the man. Dress him up like that and he’s at least worth looking at.”
After that, the Gyeollo team, including Yoon Dayeon, An Jihee, and Lee Chanhoo, joined together at the end of the red carpet. Merged into one group, they struck one last pose for the reporters.
Then staff guided them into the enormous hall inside the Cinema Center.
The moment they passed through the doors, the noise from outside was pressed down by another layer. The cheers and the afterimage of flashbulbs that had poured over them outside faded away as if filtered through the glass doors, and a lower, more refined air wrapped around them instead.
Before long, the grand, imposing hall welcomed the Gyeollo team.
An Jihee, Director Kwon Seongmin, and the others who were inside the Cinema Center for the first time let out exclamations without meaning to.
“Wow—”
“Whoa······”
Simply calling the ceiling high was not enough. It rose so far above that you had to tilt your head back to the very end of your field of vision to take it in. The ceiling was laced with a latticework structure of glass and metal, and the lights falling through it washed the floor below.
There were also thousands of seats, a massive stage, and huge screens or monitors illuminating it.
A giant logo was set up on the stage.
Busan International Film Festival
There were cameras everywhere too. Probably broadcast crews. Half the thousands of seats were already filled, and famous faces were scattered among the audience: top actors, directors, and so on. Han Taeseong, the head of Leon, was also in attendance, currently deep in conversation with other executives.
Then An Jihee spotted a foreigner and her eyes went round.
“I-isn’t that, that foreign guy, h-holy crap, a Hollywood actor?! He’s super famous, I just can’t remember his name all of a sudden!”
Just as she said, there were quite a few Hollywood actors in the hall. And not only that; as befit the largest-scale festival in Asia, people from China and Japan were mixed in as well.
The Gyeollo team took their assigned seats.
At the same time, a few people came over to them.
“Dayeon, long time no see?”
“Oh. Oppa.”
They were domestic actors who had come to see Yoon Dayeon.
A few days later, in the Busan International Film Festival waiting room.
More than half of the Busan International Film Festival had already passed. The closing was now only about three days away, and the Gyeollo team was still taking part in the event. Around this time, Kang Jaeha was in the waiting room, monitoring the situation at the festival in Busan.
Of course, he wasn’t alone. Section Chief Kim Daeyong and the rest of the staff were all gathered there too.
Then Kang Jaeha looked at the Gyeollo team on the monitor, including Yoon Dayeon, An Jihee, and Lee Chanhoo, and gave a small laugh. They were in the middle of an interview.
They’re almost all frozen stiff, except for Yoon Dayeon.
The road ahead was long, but they had made it this far.
Once the Busan International Film Festival ends, the situations for Director Kwon Seongmin, Yoon Dayeon, and An Jihee are going to change a lot.
By then, Section Chief Kim Daeyong was briefing Jaeha and the staff on the festival schedule.
“There are three days left until the closing ceremony, where the awards will be presented. There are a few more Gyeollo events in between, so we need to stay on top of those. And also······”
More than 200 invited works were already being screened. The screenings were spread across the cinemas around the Cinema Center.
Of course, Gyeollo was among those works.
Meanwhile, Director Kwon Seongmin, Yoon Dayeon, An Jihee, and the rest of the Gyeollo team also had to attend events and interviews. So Kang Jaeha and the Gyeollo team were staying in nearby lodging until the closing ceremony.
It’s been a while since I’ve really seen the sea like this. Feels good.
When Section Chief Kim Daeyong finished his briefing, a few of the stylists and other staff who had gathered nearby whispered to one another.
“But isn’t it really amazing? That we’re actually here.”
“Totally. I heard the picture came together because Manager Kang Jaeha pushed the actresses into Gyeollo.”
“I heard that too. They say Manager Kang Jaeha’s awakened or something, and it seems true.”
“Seriously. I heard he used to be really quiet and timid······ Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“Hidden powerhouse. For real.”
Even while pretending not to listen, Section Chief Kim Daeyong was taking in their murmurs. He glanced at the yawning Jaeha and found himself straightening a little.
He sounded so confident from the beginning that I thought he might just be full of hot air······ No, why would a man with that level of ability hide it and live like that?
At that moment, road manager Ryu Jinwoo cried out while looking at his phone, his voice full of excitement.
“S-Section Chief! The articles about Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee’s red carpet are blowing up way more than expected!! They’re spreading on social media too!”
The next morning.
The location was a hotel near the Cinema Center in Busan. Lee Chanhoo was lying in bed, almost dead to the world after staying out for drinks at the after-party the night before.
Then his phone rang.
Half-awake, Lee Chanhoo picked up the phone with his eyes barely open. The caller was Kang Jaeha. Lee Chanhoo answered in a rough voice.
“Yes··· loyalty, loyalty.”
On the other end, Kang Jaeha’s voice was perfectly normal.
“Get out.”
“Where to.”
“Let’s work out.”
“···Commander. I’m going to die.”
“You won’t die.”
“Commander, you and I shouldn’t be hanging around together.”
“It’s fine. Your lodging and mine are far apart. Even if someone sees us, we can just say we ran into each other while working out.”
“Ha-”
With no other choice, Lee Chanhoo dressed in workout clothes and shuffled out of the room. Jaeha was waiting in front of the hotel, also dressed casually in exercise wear. Kang Jaeha looked at him and asked,
“Are you increasing your training volume, investor?”
“I am, Commander. You’re just pushing too hard.”
“Let’s run a bit.”
“What about Ha Yeonji and Go Chunseok?”
“Those two together are kind of awkward anyway. You, on the other hand, are already tied to me through Gyeollo, so it’s fine.”
“That’s tyranny.”
“Then why don’t you become commander?”
For the record, Kang Jaeha had been steadily increasing the amount of exercise he was doing. It was nowhere near what he had done in the other world, but if he wanted to get even vaguely close to that level again, he still had a long way to go. In any case, Kang Jaeha and Lee Chanhoo went running along the beach in front of the hotel that morning.
Lee Chanhoo was panting hard, but Jaeha still looked relatively fine.
“Let’s do one more round.”
“Commander, I’m going to take a walk around the neighborhood. You’re a manager, so you can back me up, but I’ve got an afternoon schedule too, something like an interview, right?”
“Hmm.”
“Please spare my life.”
“Fine. I grant you freedom.”
“I am deeply, profoundly grateful.”
Kang Jaeha gave a small laugh and soon headed off in the opposite direction. Lee Chanhoo breathed out in relief that he had survived.
That monster.
Slowly, he started walking the other way from Kang Jaeha.
Man, Busan. I can’t even remember when I was last here.
The crowds were heavy even in the morning. Busan was a tourist city to begin with, and with the Busan International Film Festival underway, there had to be at least twice as many people as usual. Lee Chanhoo people-watched while sipping a coffee he had just bought.
Had he walked for about an hour? As he was about to head back, he hesitated.
“Hm?”
Standing at a crosswalk, Lee Chanhoo noticed someone across the street and tilted his head slightly. He was looking at a man who had just come out of a subway station moments earlier. From the man’s side profile alone, there was a certain weariness about him.
“······”
Lee Chanhoo suddenly grew serious and, for some reason, started following the weary man. The man moved at a slow pace toward a side street, and Lee Chanhoo trailed him from about twenty steps behind.
Ten minutes later, Lee Chanhoo stopped walking. He was in front of an elevator with its doors shut.
The weary man had taken the elevator in a shabby building, and Lee Chanhoo checked which floor it stopped on.
“Third floor.”
He went back outside and looked up at the sign on the building’s third floor. The sign was in rough shape. It looked like some of the letters had lost their color or fallen away.
Still, it was readable.
Tax Accountant Cha Chunghyun
At the same time.
After finishing his workout, Kang Jaeha had returned to his hotel room and was drying his wet black hair, as if he had just finished showering.
Then—
♬♪
The phone he had left on the table rang. The caller was Lee Chanhoo. Kang Jaeha picked it up without much thought.
“Yeah. What is it?”
Lee Chanhoo’s voice came through the phone.
“Commander, do you remember that guy from the mercenary group?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Who?”
It was quite calm.
“The guy who always lived so damn lazily, handling supplies. I think I just found him.”