Chapter 33
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Died? Why?
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Chapter 33
"Died? Why on earth?"
In his previous life, Kangyul had holed up at home as a pretty hardcore drama and movie otaku.
Compared to public broadcasters, where production involved endless haggling over every little detail, cable channels had far fewer of those headaches.
'In just a few years, terrestrial TV will start losing its grip.'
Kangyul planned to invest in film and drama production, which would explode in growth as broadcast stations multiplied.
He knew every single blockbuster that raked in over 8 million viewers.
'I can't just walk past those gold mines lying around.'
Kangyul thought of someone who should know a thing or two about this field and fired off a message.
It was Kim Donghwan, the Manager Team Leader.
[President: Kim Donghwan Team Leader. You busy right now?]
[Kim Donghwan: No, sir. What is it?]
[President: Just thinking about dipping into movie and drama investments. What do you think?]
Maybe it was too out of the blue, because Kim Donghwan went quiet for a bit.
Then, once he'd gathered his thoughts, he replied cautiously.
[Kim Donghwan: President, I'd suggest rethinking movie investments.]
[President: Mind telling me why?]
[Kim Donghwan: Investments need to turn a profit, but the risk is huge. You're lucky if one or two out of ten even succeed, and even then, individual investors don't see much return.]
That was why most folks in the movie investment world said private investors had dried up completely.
Only public funds, broadcasters, and big players like CJ were left standing.
But that risk didn't apply to Kangyul.
'Not for me. My hit rate's 100%, so no worries there.'
[President: It's fine. What's our company called? Midas. We'll cherry-pick the hits, so I need your help with that, Kim Donghwan Team Leader.]
[Kim Donghwan: ...Yes, sir. Understood.]
Kim Donghwan gave up trying to talk him out of it.
Once the president had made up his mind, pushing back would just come off as overstepping.
'He'll figure out how tough movie investing really is once he takes a real bath on one.'
[President: Introduce me to someone who's studied movie investments or knows the ropes. Someone who can scout films for me instead is good enough.]
[Kim Donghwan: Our management staff can handle that much! I'll look into it right away and report back to you, sir.]
[President: Thanks. Appreciate it.]
Kangyul set his phone down and leaned back in his chair.
Lately, he'd been feeling oddly overworked.
Just then, he spotted Kim Min-a getting ready to head out in her going-out clothes.
Im Honggyu was dressed the same way beside her.
"President, your charming lady Min-a is off to film 'Meerkat's Horror Game.'"
"And your charming guy Honggyu is tagging along as a guest."
"...Stop copying me!"
Kangyul nodded and saw them off.
Seeing how drained he looked, Kim Min-a and Im Honggyu tilted their heads curiously before quietly heading out.
'Oh yeah, haven't checked the YouTube uploads yet. Better do that.'
He opened his email, and there they were: Park Gyusu's 'What's Up Man' video, 'Gourmet Kangyul A', Jeong Chanseong's 'Introduction to Fighting Studies', and this week's 'Meerkat's Horror Game' upload—all arrived.
Click—
—Yo!! What's Up Man is here! Back?! Korea's heart! Gyeongbok Palace, overlooking from up here!
This time, Park Junhyeong had gone to Gyeongbok Palace.
He'd changed into hanbok and hit up a place like an old tavern for seafood pancakes and makgeolli.
—Hanbok's super pretty, but there's a problem. The nipples are chafing like crazy. You get what I mean?
Kangyul chuckled every time Park Junhyeong opened his mouth.
Every other word was something you wouldn't dream of hearing.
'A collab with Kim Min-a later could be fun.'
—Subscribers! Leave tons of comments on places What's Up Man should check out! Subscribe! And like! Forget, and you're dead meat!
He finished 'What's Up Man' and moved on to the rest in order.
Once he'd approved them all for scheduled upload, only his own 'Gourmet Kangyul A' was left.
Click—
—Yoo-ha! My beloved subscribers! Nice to see you!
On screen, Kangyul was hamming it up with full aegyo mode.
—Today, I've got a special dessert ready. Subscribers, ever heard of tanghulu?
Tanghulu was fruit coated in hardened syrup made from sugar, corn syrup, and such.
Kangyul proudly held up a huge tray piled high with it.
Bright red strawberries, green grapes, and cherry tomatoes gleamed on skewers.
—Pretty, right? That shiny coating is the syrup. Let Kangyul give it a try!
Kangyul picked up the reddest strawberry tanghulu and popped it in his mouth.
Crunch!
The crisp candy shattered with a snap as the soft strawberry yielded under his teeth.
Kangyul chewed it up, winking at the camera.
—Wow. Sweet and tangy, with that crunch—it's so good!
He grabbed another one.
Crunch!
'Truth is, it stuck to my teeth like crazy and was a pain to eat.'
At least it looked delicious on video.
Kangyul rested his chin on his hand, watching himself devour it with gusto.
Crunch!
Chomp chomp—
The repetitive munching sounds lulled him like a lullaby.
Maybe it was the day's excessive tension catching up, but exhaustion hit hard.
Unable to fight his drooping eyelids any longer, Kangyul drifted off to sleep.
In the dream, Kangyul was in his adult body.
'Huh?'
He looked around, and the scenery felt strangely familiar.
Amid the throng of people, he gazed up at the dusky evening sky.
Something streaked across it, trailing a long tail of light.
"Oh, a shooting star. Make a wish!"
Hearing the shout nearby, Kangyul finally realized when this was.
Donghyun's final moments.
The idiot who'd mistaken a Donghae missile for a shooting star and died mid-prayer.
'Damn. Of all the dreams, why this one?'
Reliving it now, it wasn't all that scary.
The dream world was too vivid for a dream, but that was it.
"W-what is that?! Kyaaah! Run!"
People screamed shrilly and scattered in all directions.
The missile soon slammed into the ground, shredding everything around it.
'The end?'
But the dream didn't stop.
As if to show what came after his death, the world kept turning.
'What the...?'
Kangyul stood amid the shattered earth.
Up until now, he'd chalked it up to bad luck—hit by a stray missile.
But the sky was stitched with countless shooting stars. No, missiles. That illusion shattered.
Whiiiish—
Boom!
Bang!
Dozens, no, hundreds of missiles turned the city into a smoldering wasteland in seconds.
'...Not an accident?'
Kangyul scanned his surroundings in horror.
Amid crumbling buildings and ripping asphalt, screams mingled in the chaos.
"It's... it's war!"
"Run! Do...!"
Bang!
A man's head exploded from a bullet as he fled down the street, collapsing in a heap.
In the missile-ravaged ruins, gunfire popped like bursting corn.
Bang!
Bang!
Those who survived the missiles were pierced by bullets, slumping onto the molten asphalt.
'What the hell is going on?! What's happening?!'
When the bullets finally stopped flying, heavy boot steps echoed through the hazy dust.
Thud thud!
Soldiers marched in perfect unison, parting the dust as they appeared.
The red insignia on their shoulders gleamed faintly under the dim light, stars embedded within.
'...North Korean troops!'
The moment Kangyul recognized them, he jolted awake.
"Gasp!"
Kangyul shot awake and checked his surroundings.
The 'Gourmet Kangyul A' video had finished playing and gone dark.
Only about 10 minutes had passed.
'Fuck, what a shitty dream! That's not actually what happened, right?'
Kangyul steadied his racing breath and sorted through his thoughts.
When the first missile had killed him, he'd just figured it was rotten luck.
But what if—just what if—that was only the beginning? What if North Korea had invaded, like in the dream?
'...Then what do I do?'
Kangyul's mind went blank.
If the dream was real, war with North Korea was only 11 years away.
'No. It's just a dream.'
He didn't want to jump to conclusions over one nightmare.
He wanted to believe it was just a vicious bad dream.
But the TV news he'd left on was reporting something North Korea-related.
The content made Kangyul's face twist in shock once more.
Breaking news! Reports confirm that Chairman Kim Jong-il, his son Kim Jong-un, and Kim Jong-nam have all passed away!
"Died? Why on earth?"