Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: If You've Done Wrong, You Must Be Punished (1)
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“Why do you think that?”
The answer came simply.
“Because you’re the only one who could spread that incident around so provocatively and skillfully that it drew in that many reporters.”
“With all the thorns in your voice, it doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
The smile hanging on Woo Do-gyeom’s lips deepened.
“How could it be a compliment? Do you know what our team just went through?”
They had floundered in a flood of the lowest, most vulgar curiosity.
And that wasn’t all. Most of the people there didn’t even care about whether the facts were accurate.
All they cared about was the other person’s misfortune.
How sensational it was. How much it would captivate the public’s interest.
That was their sole focus.
‘Utterly... repulsive.’
This was a fact anyone could read, even without a skill like Intent Discernment.
You could see it, hear it, smell it—impossible not to know.
Just recalling it laced every word with contempt.
Yet.
“Hmm. Why are you getting angry?”
“...?”
What was this baffling reaction?
“Are you seriously asking that?”
“Of course. I mean it.”
Yeonwoo peered into Woo Do-gyeom’s eyes.
Before, Poker Face would have hidden everything, but...
‘Trying to weasel out of it somewhere.’
He had Poker Face too, so false masks were useless...
[Truth]
“...”
What? This wasn’t the time for it to pop up.
‘Did something go wrong?’
Yeonwoo glared at Woo Do-gyeom again.
But.
[Truth]
The Intent Discernment result remained unchanged.
“Is something wrong?”
“...I guess I should say you’re even more abnormal than I thought.”
It didn’t make sense logically.
‘No, how can you ask why I’m angry?’
And it was the truth, no less.
That meant one thing: Woo Do-gyeom genuinely didn’t understand why Yeonwoo was angry.
‘...He’s smart enough to grasp what I’m saying, probably.’
But that was it. He might not know the reason, but he clearly didn’t comprehend this situation at all.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so calmly displaying “Truth.”
“Hmm. Why do you think that? I tried to behave myself in front of you.”
Woo Do-gyeom asked with a smiling face.
“You? Behave yourself?”
Even a passing dog would laugh.
“Since you don’t seem to get it, let me explain. Am I angry? Of course I am. You set it up so we’d be exposed to that kind of vile attention—how could I not be furious?”
“Vile? What makes you say that? I’m curious.”
“After going through something traumatic, with no regard for any potential scars left on us, those questions were dumped on us without a shred of consideration. What makes you think that was driven by any overflowing humanity or noble purpose?”
“Well, you could see it that way. But think about it carefully.”
Woo Do-gyeom said.
“This was a golden opportunity. Something no one could have predicted. In other words, an opportunity no one else could easily get.”
“...What?”
What fresh nonsense was this?
Yeonwoo’s eyebrow twisted oddly once more.
“You go out to film, get stranded. Endure days of crisis. Then everyone makes it back dramatically safe and sound. Isn’t that the perfect dramatic scenario? These days, people are so quick on the uptake that ordinary incidents barely get a reaction. But what you went through? It’s pure, unfiltered reality. And people go crazy for realistic dramas infused with that kind of story.”
“...”
“Probably a lot of people learned about the movie because of this. The impact is huge, so it won’t fade easily. Even if it does, just give it a little nudge, and they’ll remember right away. Stories like this don’t vanish from memory that fast. That’s why I called it a great opportunity.”
“...”
“Phrases like ‘the movie team that got stranded back then’ or ‘the film shot at the actual stranding site’ will pique people’s curiosity. The buzz keeps going, and before they know it, they’re hooked. ‘This is the one everyone’s talking about—maybe I should check it out.’”
Woo Do-gyeom leaned back deeply into his seat, adding leisurely.
“Then it’s bound to blow up. It can’t help but be a great opportunity.”
An opportunity destined for success.
Woo Do-gyeom’s explanation sounded plausible at first glance.
Highlighting a unique experience no one else had, inflating it to draw eyes.
Since it was a dramatic true story, it would naturally generate dramatic interest.
Right. It wasn’t wrong.
Plus, as Manager Lee Gyu-han had said, the entertainment world was one where you survived on that “attention.”
But.
“No.”
“Hm? What’s no?”
“It’s not a great opportunity.”
“Why not?”
Woo Do-gyeom asked back, genuinely seeming unconvinced.
His eyes said he’d explained plenty—still not enough?
“That’s why I’m saying no. Everything you’re saying is just hindsight talk.”
That anything goes as long as it draws attention.
In other words...
‘A deeply violent statement.’
Some would agree with Woo Do-gyeom.
But others?
Take this incident.
If he’d asked permission beforehand, things might have been different.
Yeonwoo might have even agreed and gone along.
But.
“The sequence is wrong.”
This was rude and inconsiderate.
Forcing raw, unrefined pain to be put on full display for the masses.
How was that different from saying human dignity could be tossed aside for attention?
Would the film team happily embrace attention gained that way?
‘At least it’s not the path I want.’
The path he’d jumped into for lifespan.
He’d entered to survive, but that didn’t make everything besides lifespan meaningless.
He didn’t want to gain lifespan like this.
“What if someone had gotten seriously hurt? What if someone died? You stirred up such a crowd— if that happened, we’d have been utterly screwed. It would’ve blown up, alright. In the worst way possible.”
“I proceeded based on the judgment that the risk was near zero, so that wouldn’t happen.”
“How could you be so sure?”
“The young master of the Kwon family who asked me assured me. He’s a bit of a saintly type, but he doesn’t mince words, so no reason not to trust him.”
“Is Kwon Seong-hyeon a prophet? Does he always get it right? What if he was wrong? That would’ve tanked the movie for real.”
Woo Do-gyeom tilted his head.
As if to say, so what?
“Well, that wouldn’t have been so bad either.”
“...What?”
“It would’ve gone viral in a different way. Tragic news draws even more attention. Do you know why Romeo and Juliet is still talked about? Because it ends so tragically. Come to think of it, an accident might’ve made it easier to grab headlines.”
“...”
Was this guy a psychopath?
Yeonwoo hesitated for a moment.
“It’d be tricky if it was an actor, but if it was the director, it might’ve been even better? Final works get lavish treatment. Marketing it that way wouldn’t be...”
Muttering seriously, stroking his chin as if genuinely intrigued, Woo Do-gyeom’s words were cut short by a cold voice.
“Pull over.”
“...bad... Hm? What did you say?”
“Pull over.”
“Pull over? Right here?”
They were in the middle of the highway toward Seoul.
But Yeonwoo’s response held no hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I just don’t want to ride with someone worse than a ghost.”
“Worse than a ghost—that’s me, right?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
He’d known from the first meeting that something was off about him.
‘If you have a request, you ask politely—not kidnap someone outright.’
A fact he already knew. He’d overlooked it because it was for the kids.
Plus, there was the vague absolution of using extreme measures under Kwon Seong-hyeon’s guard.
But...
‘Normal people don’t go to extremes in the first place.’
What made the living better than ghosts? Their humanity.
The ability to get angry, happy, or sad together.
Empathy like that.
There were plenty of other divides between living and dead, but that’s what came to Yeonwoo’s mind first.
If you chose means over ends regardless, how was that different from a ghost’s doing?
‘Worst case, I slap on a talisman, amp up my spiritual power, and jump.’
Crazy, but Yeonwoo had the skills for it.
Spiritual power wasn’t infinite, so he’d burn through his reserves.
“Are you angry?”
“...Are you asking just to rile me up?”
“I’m really curious.”
[Truth]
Oblivious, the Intent Discernment window popped up.
“Do you seriously not know what’s wrong?”
“If I knew, would I be asking? What’s wrong with what I said? I thought I was giving you the best support. Especially this—it was prime marketing material, so I made full use of it.”
“I’m going insane...”
“Is something lacking? Or insufficient?”
“It’s not on that level.”
“Then?”
“...”
Yeonwoo glared at the floating “Truth” window, as if taunting him.
‘Does this guy really not know?’
How could he not? He’d thought him abnormal, but not to this degree.
The problem was.
‘I’m going insane.’
Even as that thought hit, the burning rage rising to his jaw cooled with a hiss.
“From what I see, you’re not the type to do something reckless like jumping from a moving car. Yet you demanded it, so you must have lost your reason enough to consider it. In this situation, it’s probably anger. And most likely at me.”
A brutally detached self-diagnosis.
“You’re really angry? Not at the marketing results, but... the sequence I mentioned earlier, right?”
A smart psychopath—or sociopath—had figured it out himself.
“Hmm. It’s the process. You’re offended that I displayed your ‘unfortunate accident’ so carelessly?”
“...How can you know and still do it?”
“I didn’t know. I didn’t realize you cared about that.”
“Any normal person would!”
“Sorry, but there are no normal people around me.”
“...”
Yeonwoo clutched his head.
Right. It’d be more surprising if there were “normal” people around the Blue King Chairman.
On the other hand, it gave him a headache.
Woo Do-gyeom, who’d lived believing himself always right.
Would this abnormal man accept this, admit fault?
‘He’ll argue whether he did wrong or not.’
Like those “high-and-mighty” visitors to his mother Kang Yeon-hwa’s shrine.
So stubborn, hating even a whisper of criticism.
Yet.
“I was wrong, wasn’t I?”
“...?”
“No response means yes.”
Still clutching his head, Yeonwoo froze briefly.
‘Did I hear that wrong?’
Woo Do-gyeom’s voice was the same as ever.
His demeanor too.
In that state, he casually admitted his mistake.
The opposite of Yeonwoo’s expectation.
“The Kwon young master laughed in my face. He said you’d definitely get angry. Naturally, I didn’t believe him. How could I pass up such a good item? But... he was right this time. Yeonwoo, I was wrong.”
Woo Do-gyeom went further.
“He said if you do wrong, you must be punished. Will you punish me?”