Roar of the Mountain King
In the midst of Bukhansan Valley, where only the rushing sound of the stream filled the air.
Shoooo——
Yi Bang-gwa strode to the center of the clearing, hands clasped behind his back. Step, step. No hesitation. Stepping on rocks, crunching fallen branches and leaves, he marched boldly through the midst of the rebel ringleaders slumped in defeat—like a tiger, the mountain lord.
He stopped in front of Yi Bang-won and jerked his chin.
"That pelt looks mighty fine."
Yi Bang-won flinched. In that split second, dozens of emotions flashed through his eyes.
Thump! With Lady Min so close he could hear her heartbeat, he couldn't back down now. Not ever.
"Did you hunt that tiger yourself?"
"·········"
"Hyungnim."
"You had your underlings do it, didn't you? You've always been like that. Never getting your own hands dirty in the important matters."
"Did you come here to scold me?"
"Scold you?"
"Then you're too late."
Yi Bang-won twisted his face into a sneer and laughed. Mockery. His voice, chin raised defiantly toward the eldest brother he'd always looked up to, echoed thunderously through Bukhansan.
"Bang-beon and Bang-seok are both dead! It's all over now!"
One step. Another. Yi Bang-won advanced slowly, facing Yi Bang-gwa. Courage ignited in his voice, laced now with rage and injustice.
"Hyungnim Bang, Hyungnim Bang-gan—even Lord Cheonghaegun—they all sided with this little brother. Do you know what that means?"
"············"
"It means your eyes are wrong, hyungnim. Father's eyes are wrong! The whole world knows this Yi Bang-won's talents, but only those two great men of the Yi clan are blind to it!"
A bellow infused with pent-up fury. Yi Bang-won, having poured out his heart, watched with a mix of relief and unease for Yi Bang-gwa's response.
Ragged breaths. Shoulders heaving, he stared silently before Yi Bang-gwa finally spoke.
"So you killed them? Bang-beon and Bang-seok, those bloodthirsty whelps?"
"The royal bloodline has no 'bloodthirsty whelps.' If they aimed for the throne, they should have staked their lives. Don't you know those words turn their resolve into a joke?"
"Resolve?"
His eyes flashed as he gripped the hilt at his waist.
"Then you must be resolved to die by my hand as you climb for the throne."
"···············!"
Killing intent choked the valley air. Yi Bang-won clenched his fists. Pale-faced, he mustered courage to reach for his own hilt—
Piiiieek——!
A sharp whistle pierced the air. Soldiers burst from the underbrush, surrounding the valley in an instant. Innumerable troops leveled weapons as Yi Bang-won's loyalists roared.
"Why are you so late!"
"How badly did you screw up surveillance!"
"No time! Protect Prince Jeongan!"
"Prince Jeongan's safety first!"
"The one who takes down Prince Yeongan first gets a thousand se of prime farmland!"
"Prince Yeongan! You've gone too far!"
"Protect Prince Jeongan!"
Torches blazed everywhere. In the midnight depths of Bukhansan, their flames reflected off the stream like a band of red and yellow fire encircling the scene.
Fwoosh!
A massive shadow loomed on the cliff above. Yi Bang-gwa's silhouette, cast by the soldiers' torches. Amid the crowd of dozens, his solitary presence announced itself through that enormous, undulating shadow.
"Come to think of it, I never got your answer to my question."
Yi Bang-gwa stepped back from Yi Bang-won, spun, and pointed his drawn blade at them all.
He growled the question again.
"Do you really think you can take me down?"
"What are you waiting for? Follow m——"
"You bastard——!"
A man charging from behind a rock with sword raised collapsed, legs giving out. Splash!
Yi Bang-won's retainer, Yi Suk-beon—one of the braver ones—ended up soaked to the waist in the icy stream from a single shout by Yi Bang-gwa.
Soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Even those bloodied from battle, even the archers, trembled at who might be Yi Bang-gwa's next target—the foremost swordsman of Goryeo.
Grip.
Yi Bang-won suddenly felt a warm hand. Lady Min's. Amid the tense rebels, his sole source of courage from his wedded wife.
He nodded. Valor filled Yi Bang-won's eyes. His trembling fingers steadied. Feet planted firm on the rock. Back straight as a pine.
Shing!
Yi Bang-won drew his sword. He assumed position, facing his brother's exposed back.
Once. The chance was only once.
As his fallen followers, drenched in fear, silently cheered their leader on—
Yi Bang-won raised his sword with both hands, poised to cleave him in one stroke—
"Hyungni——"
Whish!
The tiger whipped his head around and roared.
"Bang-won-ah——————————————————————!"
The sonic blast of unleashed fury. That chilling aura rippled through the air like waves, echoing beyond the screen, filling the entire theater.
Explosion.
The invincible spirit in those flashing eyes hammered straight into the audience's minds.
"·········Hahk!"
"·········Kkh!"
"·········Guhk!"
"·········Heup!"
"·········Euk!"
And it made perfect sense.
Thud. Clang.
Not just Yi Bang-won dropping his sword and collapsing— the entire rebel force lost the will to fight, kneeling in defeat.
Even the shocked audience outside the screen felt a pang of sympathy for the rebels who'd tasted a feral tiger's madness firsthand.
"············Bang-won-ah."
Yi Bang-gwa's calm expression returned as he spoke slowly.
"Killing you wouldn't be hard for me."
The audience nodded.
"But."
They breathed sighs of relief at his next words.
"I won't kill you."
"·········Why!"
Only Yi Bang-won, head bowed, bellowed.
Squeezing out his last scrap of courage, he raged against the arrogance of a man who spared his life.
"Why won't you kill me! Why!"
"·········"
"You think I can't even be your rival!? If that's it, then no matter what it——!"
"There's one reason you're not dying here."
Yi Bang-gwa raised a finger before him.
"If I kill you."
Yi Bang-won swallowed hard as Yi Bang-gwa continued.
"How heartbroken would Father be?"
"············!"
"I don't want to commit the tragedy of kin slaying kin, that filial impiety."
Clang.
Yi Bang-gwa tossed his sword to the ground.
"Killing you won't bring back Bang-beon and Bang-seok. But don't forget today. If you still hold any family bonds, hold a rite for them every year—the ones who died for your ambition."
"·········You think I'll obey my brother's order?"
"No. This isn't an order from Prince Yeongan. It's a heartfelt plea from your brother, Yi Bang-gwa."
He disarmed himself and turned to leave, then paused.
"Oh."
Soldiers gasping in relief choked in surprise.
"Touch Father, and you're dead."
His eyes flashed meaningfully.
"Never. Ever point a blade at him."
"This··· isn't a request."
"·········!"
Yi Bang-gwa descended the valley. Unarmed, yet all parted before him.
Shhh.
The valley teemed with defeated warriors, but none could match his presence—they hid their weapons behind their backs and shuffled aside.
Step, step, step.
As if it were the most natural thing, Yi Bang-gwa strode boldly ahead.
Like a tiger.
Yes. A lone tiger amid jackals.
Insanely cool.
——Gulp!
To the point where...
'Whoa.'
...Jeong Yong-il, noir expert and member of Stranger Tastes, shed bitter tears over losing that mad actor's next project to someone else.
'Yoon Chang-ho·········Let's see how good you really are.'
***
Indeed.
The top directors of Korea in Stranger Tastes had all witnessed Lee Tae-gyu's greatness.
It stemmed from Hoshi-jeol's genre-bending nature.
"Honestly, the film's polish is meh."
"Agreed."
"Gu Jeong-hwan must've lost his mind this time."
Who knew what obsessed the director? As the plot unfolded, genres piled up chaotically.
"I won't forget this humiliation."
"Don't carry it all alone."
"I'll become Joseon's greatest man for you."
"Don't worry. I'll help make you Joseon's top man."
"My lady."
It seemed headed for buddy-romance triumph via rebellion success—until
"You want this seat that badly? Sit."
"I'm unworthy."
"Is that so?"
"Hyungnim!"
"You've defied human and heavenly ethics—what do you care now! King, emperor—do whatever you want!"
"Draw your sword!"
"Ha! Sword? Sword! Now every swordsman in Joseon obeys you—yet you tell me to draw?"
"Hyungnim!"
"Just kill me! With your power, you could send a thousand blades while I sleep!"
"You know what? I won't kill you! Not until I beat you man-to-man. You won't die even if you beg!"
"Puh, puhahaha!"
A sudden whiff of gritty noir.
"The moon's··· bright tonight."
Then it shifted again, racing to the end.
If forced to categorize: 'historical-distortion-fantasy-fusion-sageuk-romance-comedy-thriller-horror-melodrama.'
Thus exposed: Gu Jeong-hwan's bizarre direction and editing, tailoring genres to the actor, not vice versa.
And Lee Tae-gyu, making the absurd combo believable through sheer acting prowess—turning his presence into plausibility itself. That mad genius.
So, in Hoshi-jeol's second week, as discerning critics began roasting Gu Jeong-hwan,
"·········Acting was insane, though?"
"·········Where'd this actor pop from?"
"·········Even Seol A-yoon looked shaky."
"·········Needs a feature to shine."
The Stranger Tastes directors, gathered after ages, were hooked.
On Lee Tae-gyu. Less screentime than Seol A-yoon or Cheon Yoo-seong, yet he devoured their presence. That monster.
In other words: Directors who'd missed out on his next gig because they delayed final scripts for DK Entertainment.
"Someone's lucky."
"Next film with Lee Tae-gyu."
"Lotto jackpot."
"Lotto? This could top ten lottos if done right."
"True."
"Can't botch it with him or we're out of the club."
"Exactly."
They vented jealousy over the director monopolizing his next project.
"Ten million viewers, easy?"
"Ha! More than that. Who's directing?"
"Better than Hoshi-jeol."
"Yeah, anyone beats Gu Jeong-hwan."
"Right. No one in our group analyzed him as deeply as 'Flaw Director' Gu."
As Hoshi-jeol's counts rolled in—the actor driving 90% of its success—his next director was
The one who'd treated dramas like trash, brimming with elitism more than anyone here.
"Ten million, no sweat?"
"Nah, twenty."
"Cannes man for sure?"
"This time, Cannes director too?"
In short.
"·········Right, Director Yoon?"
Yoon Chang-ho's hand, directing Lee Tae-gyu's next (working title: 108-Month Full Installment), began to tremble.
Click!
If we don't hit Cannes, we're screwed·········