Chapter 178
Chapter 178
The Interrogation Tape
What Lee Tae-gyeom had delivered was a video recording of Park Gyeong-won’s confinement and interrogation. The file was so large it had come on an external hard drive.
(The, the eldest young master?)
Park Gyeong-won, still dazed from the shock, was startled to see Yu Eun-ho sitting next to Baek Seo-jun. For Park Gyeong-won, whose life had been dragged into the gutter by gambling, his past as a Juseong bodyguard was the golden age of his life.
Whenever he was on the run from gambling debts, he would often get lost in nostalgia, thinking, ‘I shouldn’t have taken that job and quit back then…’
(He’s not your young master.)
Yu Eun-ho wore his usual blank expression, but Yu Yeon-seo saw it differently.
‘My brother is scary when he’s angry.’
He recalled a memory from his childhood. It wasn’t that Eun-ho had used violence, like he was with Park Gyeong-won in the video, but when he had foolishly talked back during his adolescent years, he had been met with a bone-chilling glare.
(So, if you didn’t kill her, who did?)
Baek Seo-jun slammed his fist on the desk, forcing Park Gyeong-won’s attention back to him.
(I, I…!)
(Speak properly.)
(I don’t know anything!)
Baek Seo-jun watched intently as Park Gyeong-won repeatedly opened his mouth to speak, only to clamp it shut again.
(Then why are you making excuses about not being the killer? That’s suspicious.)
(Th-that’s…)
(So, someone ordered you to do it, right? You just did it for a price.)
Park Gyeong-won’s eyes darted around restlessly as he gasped for breath. Even in his confusion, his lips wouldn’t open easily.
He knows what will happen if he talks… Baek Seo-jun decided to move on for now and presented Choi Nam-yun’s memorial portrait.
(Then do you know this person?)
(Uh, uh uh…)
He pointed a trembling, handcuffed finger at the photo. It seemed he vaguely remembered the face but didn’t know exactly who it was.
(You were a bodyguard at the Juseong Chairman’s mansion at the same time as him.)
(Ah! Ah, right! That’s right!)
(And you both quit at the same time. Just a few days after the family’s daughter-in-law died.)
(No, that’s…! We were almost all fired. They asked how the security could be so lax that no one stopped the kid until she ended up like that…)
The daughter-in-law’s death had not only tarnished the company’s image, but the atmosphere at home was unbearable. Unable to watch it any longer, the Chairman had given the order in a fit of anger, and most of the bodyguards from that time were let go under the guise of voluntary resignations. Both of them knew this.
But what was important now was the feeling that if they just poked Park Gyeong-won, everything would come spilling out.
(Do you know what happened to this person?)
Baek Seo-jun revealed Choi Nam-yun’s death certificate, which had been hidden under the photo. The word ‘Deceased’ was highlighted in fluorescent marker, impossible to miss. Park Gyeong-won’s eyes widened.
(Who do you think killed him?)
Park Gyeong-won looked back and forth between Baek Seo-jun and Yu Eun-ho with trembling eyes.
(N-no way.)
(Come on, is your brain not working? How could we kill someone? I’m a cop, and he’s the precious heir to the family business.)
Baek Seo-jun said nonchalantly, easing Park Gyeong-won’s tension. Yu Eun-ho, as if his eyes didn’t hurt, continued to stare intently at Park Gyeong-won.
Desperately avoiding that terrifying gaze, Park Gyeong-won took a deep breath. Why was Yu Eun-ho here? And why were they suddenly asking about what happened back then?
[Park Gyeong-won, you’d better watch your back. That person still hasn’t forgotten about that incident.]
At the time, he had hung up, thinking, what’s with this guy? but now the call seemed suspicious.
(Then… you mean?)
(So your head isn’t completely empty. Mr. Park Gyeong-won, your life is hanging by a thread right now.)
(…)
(What will it be? Stay here in comfort and then disappear somewhere quiet? Or go outside and die?)
The ‘somewhere quiet’ Baek Seo-jun meant was obviously prison. But what Park Gyeong-won imagined was a foreign country. Hope filled his eyes.
Noticing this, Baek Seo-jun nudged Yu Eun-ho’s side with his elbow.
(Hey, you say something too.)
(If you provide the information we want, we can show you some humanitarian consideration.)
Though quietly seething, Yu Eun-ho understood Baek Seo-jun’s intention and calmly bluffed.
(Living in a shithole is better than being dead, don’t you think? Think carefully.)
The first round of psychological warfare ended there. Yu Yeon-seo paused the video and rubbed his dry face.
‘They’re doing fine without me.’
No, they always did manage to solve things well without me… Yu Yeon-seo pressed his closed eyes and focused on the screen again. But feeling unwell, he repeatedly pressed the arrow key to fast-forward.
(W-well, actually… I was told to gather people who needed money. The more desperate, the better…)
(Who was it? Someone we know?)
(I don’t know. I-I’d have to see them in person to know.)
(Mister, stop trying to be clever. A photo is all you need, right?)
Baek Seo-jun was not one to be trifled with. Besides, with Park Jeong-ho on the case, there would be no roadblocks. Park Geum-ju had solidified her position as the matriarch of Juseong for a long time. Naturally, she had more information than Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo.
(Mister, do you think we locked you up just to catch some small fry like this? Who’s the head!)
(I-I don’t know either!)
It seemed they had worn him down by not showing their faces for days after the first encounter. Then they released information one by one.
By presenting Choi Nam-yun’s diary and fabricated materials suggesting that someone in the Juseong family was after his life, they instilled fear and dangled a carrot. Park Gyeong-won opened his mouth easily.
It must still be afternoon over there… Yu Yeon-seo immediately called Baek Seo-jun.
(Hey, how are you feeling?)
“I watched some of the video. What was the result?”
Baek Seo-jun chuckled at how he got straight to the point.
(For now, I think we’ve secured all the ‘tails’.)
“Who are they?”
(Three in total. Park Gyeong-won, the stalker who swapped with Choi Nam-yun, and Yang Hong-sik, who worked as a gardener.)
“…I see.”
(We’ll have to catch them and shake them down. But if the ‘head’ catches on… Anyway, I’ll take care of it, so I’ll see you when you get back.)
Deciding he could trust him with it, Yu Yeon-seo ended the call and lay down on the bed. A ringing in his ears, along with the loud thumping of his heart, disturbed his sleep.
As a child, Yu Yeon-seo had been lively and outgoing. Park Gyeong-won was the one who would pretend to give in and let him ride on his shoulders when he threw a tantrum, and Yang Hong-sik was one of the people he had spent a lot of time with in the garden.
A sudden wave of nausea washed over him, and he spoke.
“Beta. How did the adjustment go?”
“Tell me.”
“You don’t look so good.”
“Ah, I just haven’t been sleeping well.”
Yu Yeon-seo rubbed his heavy eyes. What came after the soul adjustment was insomnia.
‘Beta gave me two boons…’
One was a boon to reduce the pain of the soul adjustment, and the other…
<What my master desires is to catch the culprit and end his life as ‘Yu Yeon-seo,’ correct?>
<Insight will be helpful in catching the culprit. You will know how to use it when the time comes.>
It was a vague benefit, but he figured he would have to try it to find out. Yu Yeon-seo looked forward to returning to Korea.
Park Seung-hwan, interpreting his answer as a failure to adjust to the time difference, lightly patted his back.
“I’m over my jet lag, but you’re still not?”
“You’ve been busy running around, hyung. I’ve just been resting.”
“Your production company took care of everything, so we just relaxed and went sightseeing.”
Park Seung-hwan and Director Kim Jae-ho had arrived in the U.S. two weeks prior to participate in various campaigns. Yu Yeon-seo was scheduled to join them midway and handle several events.
“Today, you’ll just be watching some of the films submitted to the festival. The GV is tomorrow morning, and the red carpet is in the evening.”
Yu Yeon-seo nodded at Cha Yun-ho’s words. Although Filicide had a considerable production budget in Korea, it was classified as an independent film here, where the average budget was much higher.
“Ah, Director. You’re also scheduled to attend the LA charity event afterward, correct?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Director Park said she will be coming with the Vice Chairman.”
“…Is that so?”
It wasn’t surprising that Choi Yu-jin was coming. She had made a fuss about needing to build connections with foreign dignitaries if she was to inherit her company, though of course, her underlying concern was for Yu Yeon-seo’s health. But Park Geum-ju was unexpected.
‘I didn’t think she would come…’
He had expected that even if she found out what they were chasing through Park Jeong-ho, she would simply turn a blind eye and say, ‘handle it yourselves,’ without taking any action.
‘She might even tell us to back off.’
That was a possibility. Since a close family member was a likely suspect, she would probably want to bury the matter. Just because she felt guilty toward her grandson didn’t mean she cared for him as much as her own child.
“What are you spacing out for? You really are sick, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not. Let’s go.”
Shaken from his thoughts by Park Seung-hwan’s urging, Yu Yeon-seo followed him toward the film festival venue.
Heading to the theater where Filicide was being screened, Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes widened when he saw that the audience seats were already more than half full, even before the movie had started.
“There are a lot of people for a foreign film.”
He had heard it wasn’t even dubbed, but a subtitled version. Despite the potential for reluctance, the audience continued to stream in.
“It was packed at other film festivals too, so it’ll probably be the same today.”
“Really?”
“They’re all film buffs. Plus, I heard Filicide has been getting a lot of word-of-mouth buzz here lately. You heard that too, right?”
The rumor, tinged with a bit of pretension that true cinephiles had to see the Korean film Filicide, certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
On the way to his seat, he encountered a few audience members who recognized his face. Experiencing it firsthand was different from just hearing about it from Cha Yun-ho.
“Man, maybe I should have come in my old man makeup.”
“But hyung, you haven’t seen the final cut either?”
“What? I think this is my fifth time watching it.”
“…Huh.”
“What can I do? My acting is just that killer.”
Ignoring Park Seung-hwan’s playful remark, he focused his attention on the screen. His body had felt heavy just a moment ago, but clearing his mind of complex thoughts made him feel much better.
The theater lights dimmed, and the screen lit up. The first scene was a courtroom.
(However, while the defendant was suffering from financial hardship, he devotedly cared for his mentally ill son…)
The camera slowly zoomed in from a distance on the back of Hwang Dae-sik as he received his sentence. The courtroom scene directly showed what crime Hwang Dae-sik had committed and the circumstances behind it.
Director Kim Jae-ho
Production & Investment Yu Yeon-seo / JS Ent.
The scene of Hwang Dae-sik heading to prison was used as the opening sequence, layered with various color schemes. The scene then transitioned, and the film began in earnest by showing Hwang Min-jae being beaten by a thug.
Hwang Min-jae, with no money for the bus, drags his feet home. The road was a major component of Filicide‘s structure.
When life was tiring and difficult, the roads were steep and winding. Conversely, when a hopeful situation appeared, the film showed an unobstructed, open road. Perhaps that was why there were many scenes showing the grandfather and grandson walking along a path.
‘…The lighting is unique.’
What Yu Yeon-seo observed carefully was the use of color and light in the film.
In the scenes of Hwang Dae-sik’s trial and Hwang Min-jae returning home alone after being beaten by the thug, gray tones were used to convey coldness. When Hwang Dae-sik met his grandson, his chaotic state of mind was shown directly. This was represented by sunlight passing through a glass ornament on a desk, chaotically mixing a multitude of colors.
Yet, it wasn’t strenuous on the eyes. It seemed care had been taken to ensure the changes in color were natural, so the audience wouldn’t easily notice.
‘No wonder he was discussing things so earnestly with the lighting director.’
At the time, he was too focused on his acting to notice, but seeing the completed film like this was a new experience.
‘This is interesting…’
Comparing it to when he was filming, he felt a different kind of enjoyment. So this is why filmmakers search for mise-en-scène. Yu Yeon-seo soon became completely engrossed in the film, his eyes fixed on the screen until the very end.