Chapter 455
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 455
Click. The slow sound of a gun’s safety being disengaged echoed.
Police officer Jang Seong-sik, blind in one eye, struggled to his feet on trembling legs, flinching at the sound. He fumbled across the floor, turning his head to find the source of the noise.
Watching this scene on the screen, Jeong Da-jun took a sharp breath.
【Kang Ki-young… Ki-young, is that you?】
Through the gap in the open door, the sea was visible. Seo Ho-yun, drenched in blood and shrouded in deep shadows, stood there staring at Jang Seong-sik.
Even though it was clearly the face of the Seo Ho-yun that Jeong Da-jun knew so well, the man standing silently with a gun in one hand was so much the embodiment of ‘Kang Ki-young’ that goosebumps prickled down Da-jun’s spine.
【Yes, Mister.】
Terrified by the low voice, Jang Seong-sik stepped backward.
Startled by a squelching sensation beneath his foot, he looked down. His face turned pale as he discovered a corpse.
Jang Seong-sik realized instinctively that Prosecutor Kang Ki-young, whom he had known since the boy was a child, had been blinded by revenge and had committed something irreversible.
All to avenge the enemy who had driven his family to the edge of a cliff and killed them.
【…Since when?】
【It’s been a while, hasn’t it?】
Only the sound of Jang Seong-sik’s ragged breathing filled the theater.
【……A great cause isn't built by killing someone.】
【Great cause, my ass….】
With a scoff, Seo Ho-yun aimed the muzzle at the back of Jang Seong-sik’s head. Like a dog herding sheep, he slowly guided him out of the warehouse.
Perhaps Jang Seong-sik had called ahead, as police sirens began to wail loudly in the distance, but Seo Ho-yun’s expression remained calm. Jang Seong-sik pleaded with him to stop, but Seo Ho-yun only replied with his eyes cast down.
【The moment I received these documents, I had a feeling. No matter how hard I struggled, I would never win this trial.】
【Hey….】
【I waited for so long, but thinking that… it felt so hollow.】
【Ki-young, please….】
Jang Seong-sik bit his lower lip hard and tried to catch his breath. He opened his mouth several times as if to argue, but eventually closed it, overcome by streaming tears.
【Turn yourself in… let’s turn ourselves in. Ask for forgiveness, beg and say you’ll never do this again. What are you going to do with the rest of your life!】
【…….】
As if through Jang Seong-sik’s eyes, the hazy screen captured Seo Ho-yun’s pale, blood-stained face.
After staring quietly at Jang Seong-sik, he spoke slowly in a playful tone.
【…Mister, can I give you a piece of advice? From now on, don’t say a word. Cover your eyes, plug your ears, and say you can’t remember anything because of the shock.】
【What are you……?】
Jang Seong-sik’s brows furrowed deeply, as if he couldn't understand what Seo Ho-yun was saying.
【…Try living a bit more despicably.】
Walking away from the warehouse to the center of the empty harbor, Seo Ho-yun spun around to face Jang Seong-sik.
Their gazes locked.
The corner of Seo Ho-yun’s mouth, which had been keeping the gun aimed at Jang Seong-sik’s head the whole time, twitched upward slightly.
【You should close your eyes, Mister.】
The moment Jang Seong-sik stumbled back and squeezed his eyes shut—
Bang—!
The gunshot rang out in all directions.
Blood splattered across Jang Seong-sik’s face. Soon, a trembling hand came up to wipe his cheek.
Before long, the sirens grew louder along with the clamor of a crowd. Amidst the voices calling out for Jang Seong-sik, the screen faded to black.
Jeong Da-jun sat there dazed, unable to react, and dropped his popcorn. Kim Seong-hyeon, sitting next to him, quickly caught it and let out a small sigh.
* * *
[Is Seo Ho-yun in Despicable Trial for real...??]
Late September. A week after the VIP premiere and the official release, Director Kim Je-hyeok’s Despicable Trial rode a wave of word-of-mouth from various screenings to rank number one in all-time opening day audience numbers for a Korean box office hit.
[Title: Despicable Trial) Major, major, major spoiler warning
I went in thinking, "Oh, a decent movie is out," but when Seo Ho-yun committed suicide at the end, everyone in the theater gasped at the same time...
└ For real;; No, it’s a total commercial film, but that last scene made it so much better.
└ The fact that the cop Jang Seong-sik closed his eyes at the end means the police are intentionally staying silent about this, right?
└ Korea seemed like it was going to be noisy for a bit, but then it went quiet again immediately...]
[Despicable Trial was carried by Jang Seong-sik’s acting, but Seo Ho-yun just snatched the highlight at the end... I thought the corrupt prosecutor was just being annoying the whole time, but then he took the fall for everything and died. What the hell...
└ I’m crying because of the interpretation that Seo Ho-yun staged the hostage situation even though he was going to kill himself anyway, just so Jang Seong-sik could claim he was just an innocent hostage caught up in it. Fuck,,,,]
[This is going to hit 10 million viewers. Look at the opening score.]
[Title: Why is Seo Ho-yun so good at acting?
Didn't he only do Please Take Care of the Camera? This is his big screen debut.
└ Same here. I was about to lose it because of the "idol" tag, but I take it back. His acting was insane.
└ Seo Ho-yun is definitely getting the Best New Supporting Actor award, right?
└ I thought Shin Hee-chan would get it, but sorry Hee-chan, Seo Ho-yun was too legendary.]
[Title: About Seo Ho-yun’s line
Is it true that "You should close your eyes, Mister" wasn't in the original script???
└ Yeah, confirmed by the director.
└ Originally, it was just Jang Seong-sik wailing after finding Seo Ho-yun already dead. The director saw Seo Ho-yun’s acting and agonized over adding more until the very end.
└ He even got the new side-script on the day of the shoot lol.
└└ Crazy, I found the article.
"I asked him what he thought Kang Ki-young’s last words would be. I remember Seo Ho-yun answering, 'I think he’d tell him to turn his head because he doesn't want to show him.'"
└└ Wow, fuck, that’s so cool lol.]
[Title: This is a request from an old lady,,
With Seo Ho-yun’s screen debut as the catalyst... Min Ji-heon, Yoo Ji-ah, and Please Take Care of the Camera 2... please,,
└ Oh my... Grandma... how long are you going to talk about Kabu!
└ No, I’m not joking, I’m genuinely shocked. There are still people who like Kabu..?
└ lol don't lose heart Kabu fans, we will achieve victory one day.
└└ Ah fuck, that’s actually pathetic lolololol.]
Despite being busy with their soaring popularity after Song Camp ended, the members of The Dawn made sure to attend the VIP premiere.
<‘The Dawn’ Attends VIP Premiere to Support Member>
<The Dawn’s Da-jun Moved by the Movie, ‘Eyes Swollen from Crying’>
[fck "eyes swollen" lolololol]
[What is that headline lolol]
The youngest, Jeong Da-jun, seemed to find Despicable Trial exactly to his taste. He frequented the theater as if it were his neighbor’s house, going for repeat viewings at dawn, morning, evening, and night.
[Title: I saw Da-jun at a dawn screening
He was like two rows in front of me?
He came in really quietly. He looks so much "colder" in person than I expected, so I was surprised and thought it was someone else.
But he was silently sobbing during that Seo Ho-yun scene.
It was our Da-jun-ging for sure h
└ What is this Billboard singer’s sensibility lolol
└ Does Da-jun come alone lately? When I saw him last time, he was with Ji-won.
└└ ?? When I went, he was with Seong-hyeon.
└└ ?? How many times has the maknae seen it now?
Anyway, he’s seen it more than me lolol
└└ At this point, just release the DVD/Blu-ray for Da-jun’s sake lolol
└ Da-jun usually has picky tastes unless it’s a rom-com, but I guess this really hit home for him seeing how he’s revolving through the theater lol]
* * *
“Ho-yun hyung! I discovered something while watching it for the eighth time!!”
As soon as I returned to the company studio with an armful of bouquets after the premiere and some stage greetings, Jeong Da-jun rushed at me.
“Hyung, when you smile, you usually lift the left corner of your mouth. But in the movie, when you’re holding the gun, you smiled the opposite way!! It was weird, so I looked closely. Was that a hint to tell the cop coming from the right to feel relieved, or something like that?!”
“Do you really think so?”
“Gasp! Was it a device the director put in on purpose so even the actor wouldn't notice?!”
He really must have enjoyed it.
I pushed away Jeong Da-jun, who was persistently clinging to my leg—it always ended with the same conclusion—demanding that I bring Kang Ki-young back to life.
“Move.”
“Mr. Kang Ki-young, you should try living despicably yourself… sob.”
Can’t you see I’m already living quite despicably here, kid?
Our highly emotional maknae tilted his head back toward the ceiling and pinched the corners of his eyes with two fingers as if he were truly holding back tears.
Ignoring him, I set the bouquets down roughly on the sofa table and looked for the other members.
As soon as we returned from the US, Seong Ji-won had gone straight into filming as a mentor for Starlight, and Kim Seong-hyeon was also busy having been cast in some reality lodging program. Jeong Da-jun, who was preparing for the album alone, seemed exceptionally clingy, perhaps out of boredom.
‘I’ll see everyone tomorrow.’
We had coordinated our schedules to all participate in the program Kim Seong-hyeon was appearing in. Before that, our self-produced content from the US was scheduled to be uploaded.
Thinking I should buy some drinks to soothe the maknae, who was pestering me about when the Blu-ray DVD would be out, I turned and headed to the second-floor cafe. There, I spotted Kang Yi-chae crouching by the window in the free space, looking out at the river.
Just as I was debating whether to just go to the vending machine, Kang Yi-chae lifted his head.
Upon spotting me, he stood up with a sly, fox-like smile and trotted over.
“Ho-yun hyung-nim, where are you go~ing?”
“…The cafe.”
“Aha~!”
Ever since emerging from the unconscious world, Kang Yi-chae’s mood had been sky-high.
He hummed as he followed me toward the cafe counter. I carefully flicked my finger, out of his line of sight.
[Kang Yi-chae, Main Rapper
Singing: S0
Dancing: A+
Variety: A0
Acting: B-
Charm: S0
Contribution: 32%]
“I wanna go too.”
I hadn't said much to Kang Yi-chae, but even though the System had returned, there were too many questions.
[‘Contribution’ is linked to Player Seo Ho-yun’s ‘???’ and represents the degree to which someone has been helpful or beneficial to Seo Ho-yun.]
[※ Contribution can also be increased by taking on physical penalties on behalf of Player Seo Ho-yun!
Frequent substitution will result in physical penalties leading to death. Please be careful.]
I asked what this was, but the System only gave a vague answer, saying it was nothing special.
Just in case, I checked the contribution levels of the other members. They were all lower than Kang Yi-chae’s, but they all had some points assigned.
‘What’s even more suspicious is that it doesn't work on Seo Ho-jin or Min Ji-heon.’
Furthermore, the System never managed to identify the ‘External Existence.’
Whether it truly couldn't identify it or was hiding it, I couldn't tell, but it was certain that I had saved Kang Yi-chae thanks to that existence’s warning.
‘Why did it help me?’
Whatever it was, I doubted it had such pure intentions.
Organizing my thoughts, I stood at the ordering counter and watched Kang Yi-chae order my drink without me saying a word.
“—A Vanilla Cream Frappuccino with half the Java chips blended in and the rest on top, please. Add chocolate drizzle. And an Iced Latte, too.”
I remembered reuniting with Kang Yi-chae at the broadcasting station, and I think we talked about him being the kid I met when we were young, but I couldn't remember anything after that.
It seemed to be the same for him; he said he couldn't remember anything after our conversation.
‘Seo Ho-jin doesn't remember him either.’
Anyway, there were more than a few suspicious points….
“I was thinking of adding one more B-side track to this album~.”
Kang Yi-chae was grinning as if everything was great.
‘Now the other guy is the problem.’
Kang Yi-chae, who had been wary of Min Ji-heon, readily expressed his gratitude after returning from the unconscious world and learning that Min Ji-heon was his savior. However, Min Ji-heon himself had remained silent with a lukewarm expression.
Thanks to that, I was able to move past the situation without explaining in detail to Kang Yi-chae how I was able to go into the unconscious world.
After dropping us off at the hotel, Min Ji-heon hadn't appeared at any official events.
‘I thought he’d at least come to the VIP premiere.’
Though I had been busy myself, shooting pictorials and self-produced content in the US.
I took the drinks and tapped the cup with my finger. Kang Yi-chae stopped talking, realizing I wasn't listening. A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he suppressed a smile and poked my shoulder.
“…Hyung.”
“What.”
“There’s quite an age gap between us.”
“And?”
“Can I call you Uncle?”
What a brat.
My eyebrows twitched in disbelief. Kang Yi-chae calmly reached out, covered my eyes, and lowered his voice.
“You should close your eyes, Mister….”
“…….”
“Cover your eyes, plug your ears, and say you can’t remember anything….”
…How did he end up like this?
He was prickly but quiet and cute when he was a kid. No, even when he visited me in the middle, he still had a fresh, youthful vibe that was okay.
“……Yi-chae.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember sobbing at the playground because I didn't show up?”
Kang Yi-chae, whom I expected to respond shamelessly, lowered his head and went quiet instantly. While he was subdued, I pulled out my phone.
‘Min Ji-heon hasn't replied.’
Since returning to reality, I had tried calling him several times, but Min Ji-heon hadn't picked up once.