Chapter 169
Chapter 169
Snake (7)
“What are you all doing here? Didn’t I tell you to back off?”
“A Japanese restaurant in Cheongdam-dong with the chairman of Muyeong Group… You must have had a fine meal.”
“What?”
The prosecutor’s shoulders flinched. How did he…
“As it happens, the chairman’s eldest son is tied to the organization… Prosecutor Park, why did you meet with him?”
“H-How did you…”
Prosecutor Park shot a hurried glance at Oh Tae-seong. Oh Tae-seong had been specially recruited after hacking into the National Police Agency’s electronic displays. The look in his eyes accused Oh of hacking his personal information.
But Oh Tae-seong was just as surprised. He had no idea what they were talking about, but seeing Prosecutor Park’s reaction, it was clear he was cornered and didn’t know what to do.
What the… What’s with this guy?
It was as if he could read people’s minds… Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first or second time something was suspicious.
What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?
It was a bit strange, though. How does he get everything right just by interrogating them?
Now that I think about it, Team Leader Son used to…
Feeling his colleagues’ increasingly strange gazes on him, Han Yu-jun spoke nonstop.
He detailed where Prosecutor Park had met someone, what he was thinking on his way here, how he had taken bribes, and with whom he was colluding.
“Th-That’s enough!”
“How much was in the beverage box you received from Assemblyman Choi? What do you think will happen when this gets out?”
“What do you think you’re doing? Are you framing me?”
“Framing you? I’m just stating the facts.”
I’m reading your thoughts, you see. Meeting Han Yu-jun’s gaze, Prosecutor Park took a step back. He was looking at him as if he were a monster, but it didn’t matter.
‘But how did he know?’
Even Prosecutor Park didn’t know they were going to raid the ‘Snake’s’ headquarters. It had been kept secret. He had read his colleagues’ thoughts, but no one had betrayed them.
‘I told you to back off when I asked nicely, just like Son Jin-ho.’
The ‘voice’ he had heard at the crime scene suddenly came to mind.
“How did I know? Why don’t you ask ‘Snake’?”
“…I won’t let this go. You’d better be prepared.”
His dirty laundry aired, Park Ki-hoon acted tough until the end before fleeing the scene. Han Yu-jun turned to look at his colleagues. He smiled bitterly at their hesitant expressions.
“…Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“But how did he know?”
“What do we do now? Do we close the investigation?”
But his colleagues’ ‘voices’ were resolute. He could hear their determination to find ‘Snake’, the one who killed Son Jin-ho. He could trust these people. Lost in thought for a moment, Han Yu-jun suddenly lifted his head.
“…We need to look into Team Leader Son’s informant.”
‘Snake’ had known about Son Jin-ho’s ability. That was how he got caught.
And so, with Han Yu-jun at the center, they began to search for ‘Snake’s’ true headquarters. Since Son Jin-ho’s death, Han Yu-jun had been in a strangely heightened state, no longer filtering the voices but collecting every sound in his vicinity.
In a warehouse where containers were stacked high, the climactic action scene of the drama unfolds—an all-out war with ‘Snake’.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay without a wire?”
“Yes. You saw the rehearsal earlier.”
“I did, but… if you get hurt…”
“I’m fine.”
The staff member stepped back with a reluctant expression. He had seen Yu Yeon-seo practicing with the action team. In fact, everyone on set had been watching, mesmerized. But with Yu Yeon-seo’s high value, it would be a huge problem if he got hurt even a little.
“Please let me know if you sprain anything or feel any pain. We have medical staff on standby.”
Yu Yeon-seo nodded and gripped the prop police baton. Beta’s words were still bothering him, but work was work. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up.
After a moment of immersion, Director Lee Seul-gi’s shout was heard. Yu Yeon-seo, now Han Yu-jun, sharpened his gaze and effortlessly subdued the stunt actor rushing toward him.
“Get him!”
He then snapped his head to the side as choreographed, dodging a model knife. He followed up by grabbing his opponent’s wrist and driving a knee into their stomach.
Bang!
“Ugh…”
Han Yu-jun, rolling backward to dodge a bullet, let out a soft groan. His arm had been shallowly cut while subduing the last opponent. He roughly staunched the bleeding arm and hid behind a container wall. The ‘voices’ were approaching. Han Yu-jun launched himself in sync with the sounds and snatched the opponent’s gun.
He then used the subdued man as a shield to block the incoming bullets and fired the stolen gun to take them down.
“Director, we should cut now…”
“…Just a moment.”
Normally, they would have cut and shot again from a different angle. But the director had a gut feeling that they shouldn’t stop here.
“Let’s go for one take.”
Just then, the other staff members ducked behind containers to stay out of the camera’s view. Since the director didn’t yell cut, the stunt actors continued with their planned moves.
Yu Yeon-seo matched their rhythm, swinging the police baton and throwing the knife he had taken. It was the birth of an unintentional one-take action scene.
When his gun ran out of bullets, Han Yu-jun threw it at an opponent’s face, then grabbed the container handles with both hands and launched a two-footed kick, taking down his target. His movements were so light it was as if gravity didn’t affect him.
“Wow…”
When Han Yu-jun evaded the people swarming him by climbing onto a container and leaping to another one far away, a sound of awe escaped the director’s lips.
He had jumped a distance that seemed impossible without a wire, landed, and even executed a perfect roll to break his fall. It was a flawless sequence. Not stopping there, he launched himself again to take down an opponent from behind.
“This is what I wrote this for…”
Writer Kim Dae-seong, who had visited the set for the long-awaited action shoot, clenched his fists. On the screen, Yu Yeon-seo was moving like a fish in water.
“Great, that’s a wrap!”
“Good work, everyone!”
Everyone cheered loudly and applauded. The final shoot for ‘Snake’ was finally over. Yu Yeon-seo, led by the staff, stood in the center holding a cake for a group photo, then gave curt nods and greetings to the people patting his shoulders.
“Young Master.”
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh?”
Finally snapping back to reality, Yu Yeon-seo quickly raised his head. He could feel Im Seung-hyeon’s puzzled gaze.
<…Data received.>
<…Analyzing…>
Beta still hadn’t given him the results he wanted.
‘Tell me when you’re done analyzing.’
<Understood.>
Yu Yeon-seo frowned. What could it be that was taking so long…
“Hey, let’s go to the after-party!”
“Yeon-seo!”
He ignored the voices calling him and turned away. He wasn’t in the mood right now.
“…Let’s go home.”
“What? You’re not going to the after-party?”
What are we going to do if the lead actor bails? Lee Tae-gyeom stood in front of Yu Yeon-seo, flustered, but he stepped aside at the next reply.
“I’m not feeling well.”
“Let’s go. I’ll go talk to the director first. Seung-hyeon.”
“Let’s head to the car first.”
He had just performed high-difficulty action scenes, but at his words about not feeling well, Lee Tae-gyeom and Im Seung-hyeon packed up without another word.
Having witnessed countless times how Yu Yeon-seo got sick, they didn’t forget to place a soft handkerchief in his hand.
‘What on earth could it be….’
There was no one from the future who would send him a message. Colleagues? They were all dead. Family? Impossible. His public record was perfect, so there were no issues with his qualifications for time travel.
“Did you get hurt during filming? Should we go to the hospital?”
“No, it’s not that.”
If not that, then could it be… again? Lee Tae-gyeom and Im Seung-hyeon sensed the gravity of the situation. His complexion wasn’t looking too good, either. The only silver lining was that Yu Eun-ho was at home.
“If anything feels off, tell me right away. We’ll go to the hospital.”
“…Yeah.”
“I’ll call you later, so pick up. Hey, are you listening?”
“Go. You can head home too, Mr. Im.”
The front door closed on Yu Yeon-seo’s dazed, soul-less expression. Left in the hallway, the two men sighed in unison as if on cue.
“…He’ll be okay, right?”
“Senior Managing Director Yu is there, so he should be fine.”
“Eun-ho has been getting off work early these days… Where are you headed?”
“To see Detective Baek.”
Im Seung-hyeon had been helping Baek Seo-jun with finding the culprit, so he had only visited the set sporadically. Lee Tae-gyeom exchanged a brief farewell with Im Seung-hyeon and turned his car around, heading for the agency.
“Oh? It’s the manager!”
“Manager!”
As he got out of his car, someone who recognized him shouted loudly.
‘What is happening….’
Lee Tae-gyeom hung his head low and entered the agency building. Even after arriving at the office, he had to endure the staff’s jeers.
“Manager Gyeom is here?”
“Well, well, look at the popular guy.”
“Ah, seriously, stop it.”
Lee Tae-gyeom ducked his head.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to do it…”
In truth, he hadn’t even agreed. Yu Yeon-seo had unilaterally told him to do it, so he had been dragged into it against his will.
Seeing Lee Tae-gyeom’s troubled expression, CEO Han, who was passing by, chuckled.
“Enjoy it. This kind of thing doesn’t last forever.”
The reason for the sudden increase in people recognizing Lee Tae-gyeom was the filming of a variety show to promote ‘Snake’ before its broadcast.
“Me?”
“Who else? The show’s concept is a manager’s 24 hours.”
Lee Tae-gyeom’s eyes widened at the unexpected proposal. M Network’s popular variety show, ‘Manager 24 Hours,’ gained huge buzz by focusing on the bond between celebrities and their managers, and what managers do for them.
Moreover, every celebrity they cast was a top star, and Yu Yeon-seo was scheduled to appear to promote his drama.
“You said you’d do all the promotional activities, so you have to do this.”
“Damn it… I have camera anxiety.”
“Just act like you normally do. The observation cameras aren’t obvious anyway.”
His appearance had already been decided. His refusal was futile. Lee Tae-gyeom had no choice but to nod helplessly.
‘It’s not like people will be watching for me. They’ll all be watching for him.’
The one getting the attention would be Yu Yeon-seo anyway, so it should be fine… And on the day before the ‘Manager 24 Hours’ shoot, Lee Tae-gyeom broke into a cold sweat seeing the production crew at his house.
“…You’re filming at my place first?”
“Yes. It’s a manager observation show, after all. We’ve installed cameras at Yeon-seo’s place too.”
“Uh… just a moment.”
Dashing into his bachelor pad, Lee Tae-gyeom managed to clean up his pigsty of a home before letting the production crew in.
He stared blankly at the observation cameras installed in his house, then quickly snapped out of it and turned on his tablet to check his to-do list. The ‘Snake’ shoot was coming up, and there were promotional activities in between.
(Writer from M24) Manager, please say something. There’s dead air.
Lee Tae-gyeom, who had been staring at the screen for a while, felt his phone vibrate. Why should I care about dead air… ah, right. I’m being filmed too.
“Uh… tomorrow’s schedule is for the ac, for the actor’s photoshoot.”
Is this how I do it? He looked toward the camera with a questioning gaze, and it nodded slightly up and down.
“Whoa… this is weird.”
He thought this kind of thing only happened to celebrities. To think I’d be on ‘Manager 24 Hours.’ Lee Tae-gyeom sighed.