Chapter 62: Taco and Granjo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: Taco and Granjo
I was rolling around at home, debating whether or not to go on an "incentive hunting" spree at Hermès.
[Caller: Curator Han Ji-woo]
"Wait, wait. It’s the Curator. Ahem. Hello, Curator. This is Lee Yu-jin."
—About that Hollywood drama casting we discussed. There’s been a major change.
"But I swore to God before I was even born that I would never set foot on American soil, where ten billion firearms roam free—"
—They said they’ll film all of your parts in Korea. You won't have to leave the country.
"Huh? Really?"
Hollywood must be rotting in cash.
But why have all their recent releases been so boring?
—And the appearance fee is 13 billion won.
"Gasp! Seriously?"
Wow, the Hollywood folks truly are the Gods of Wealth themselves.
"I’ll decide after I see what the role is."
Another chance to mine my precious Envidium stocks.
As long as there isn't some weird love line, I absolutely, definitely have to take it.
As soon as I hung up, my mom and Jang Ji-hye rushed me with questions.
"Sweetie, how much is the fee that it surprised you that much?"
"Yu-jin, Yu-jin! Are you making your Hollywood debut? I thought you said you wouldn't go because you're scared of guns?"
"They said they’ll film all my parts in Korea. And the fee is 13 billion won."
"13 billion... When did our daughter grow up so much...?"
I saw my mom’s pupils shaking violently.
But seriously, Hollywood’s scale is on another level. Wait, if it’s like this, what happens to my fee for Hwan's Torch Season 2? Eh, I’m sure the Curator will squeeze them for every penny.
*
"..."
Awkward, anxious, flustered.
Those were the words that best described my current state of mind.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Chris Hertiland, an actor and producer."
"H-hello..."
Chris was wearing the same eye-smile he had back at the Hermès store, making me want to crawl into a hole.
Fortunately, Chris didn't bring up the masquerade incident and treated me as if we were meeting for the first time today.
He used simple English, so even I—a mock exam Grade 3 student whose ears had only been opened by Classical Latin—could more or less understand him without an interpreter.
[Game of Sins]
A medieval fantasy drama set in a world rife with moral decay.
It was a blockbuster masterpiece filled with magic, swords, dragons, and mysteries.
Since the production budget is 700 billion won, I guess that’s why they can afford to give me 13 billion.
"You're really giving me 13 billion won just to appear briefly in the first episode and then exit?"
"Yes."
I’d heard Hollywood pay scales were insane, but now I was feeling the full weight of it.
Not that I’m actually going to move to Hollywood, though.
How could I go to a country where 10 billion automatic assault rifles are out in the hands of civilians? It’s too dangerous.
Wait, but the role they offered me...
A Heretic Inquisitor?
Carrying a Doctrine Codex in the left hand, a mace in the right, and wearing full plate mail?
"Since you'll be using only Classical Latin throughout the show, there shouldn't be any issues with the acting. You won't have to use English, so don't worry. Though, I suspect you’d be quite good at delivering English lines with the right pronunciation, Yu-jin."
"I might not be the smartest, but I’m very, very confident in my ability to mimic pronunciations convincingly."
Isn't this role perfectly tailored to my tastes?
I felt embarrassed for even worrying about a weird love line.
But wait, this role is exactly like that person, isn't it? The fanatic who shoved Latin into my brain.
Memories of my terrible past life surfaced—lugging around those massive Doctrine Codices and being forced to master Classical Latin against my will...
Suddenly, it clicked.
Chris had decided to cast me after hearing my Latin pronunciation.
Ah! So that life did have a great purpose after all! Without those days, this 13-billion-won role would never have come to me.
What was that fanatic’s name again? No, no—what was the name of His Eminence, the holy and dignified Cardinal?
Dammit, Yu-jin! How can you not remember the name of the mentor who guided you toward your brilliant future hundreds of years in advance?
What was his name...? No, I remember all the Latin, so why is it only his name that...
Seeing me struggle as I tried to recall the Cardinal's name, both of them seemed to misunderstand.
"If you don't like it, please feel free to—"
"No. I like it. I was just getting into character."
When Han Ji-woo relayed the translation, Chris clapped and laughed heartily.
"That’s the mark of a true professional. I’m excited to see what we’ll create together."
I’m excited too.
56,000 shares of Envidium...
*
Today, I was busy protecting the peace of the Summoner's Rift.
"Ugh, why do these Grandmaster kids keep crawling into the Rift?"
Since both the enemy and our team had exactly one Grandmaster each, the game had become dreadfully boring.
On the other hand, it was tense.
Since I couldn't predict what either of them would do, they were sowing variables all over the place.
"Yu-jin, Yu-jin! What’s this sketchbook picture book? Did you draw this yourself? It’s so good. When did you draw it?"
As soon as the game ended, Jang Ji-hye brought over a sketchbook.
I stretched and told her.
"I can't draw. My younger brother drew it."
"Whoa, when?"
"When was it? I think I was in first grade."
[Taco and Granjo]
Even I thought my brother had some talent in that area.
Thinking back, he seemed to be good at everything except his looks. To think a kid like that skipped science high school and went to a regular one because of me...
Jang Ji-hye began to read the picture book (Author: Lee Yu-seok) in a clear voice.
"Taco and Granjo fell in love at first sight. But Granjo’s dad tried to stop them. So Taco and Granjo ran away, had a very pretty Boogie, and lived happily ever after."
"The story isn't much, right? Just a happy ending a kid that age would come up with."
"I know what Granjo is! It’s a Gundam!"
"I know that too. Who doesn't know Granjo is a robot?"
"What’s Taco?"
"Isn't it a traditional Mexican food? Meat and vegetables and all sorts of ingredients on a tortilla with sauce."
"Then Boogie must mean a hamburger?"
"Kids these days call hamburgers 'boogies.' Was my brother the one who started that?"
A Mexican dish fell in love with a Granjo robot, gave birth to a hamburger, and lived happily ever after.
What on earth was going on inside my brother’s head back then?
Suddenly, I noticed my mom, who was ironing my clothes nearby, trying to stifle her laughter.
"Mom? What is it?"
"No, nothing. It’s just funny seeing you two misunderstand so wildly."
"Ma'am! Is Taco not Mexican food?"
"Is Boogie not a hamburger? Maybe it means a turtle?"
"Ma'am! Which one of us got it right?"
"Mom, it’s me, right? It’s me?"
Neither of us doubted that Granjo was a robot.
However.
"Bzzzt! You're both wrong. Actually, all three of you are wrong."
"Mom, Taco isn't Mexican food?"
"Granjo isn't a robot?"
Mom was now clutching her stomach and rolling around, literally in tears.
Dammit, then what does it mean? What was my brother’s intention?
I’ve believed that for the last seven years.
"Yu-seok actually drew and wrote that in his sketchbook after hearing the story of how Mom and Dad met. Isn't it cute?"
"This was Mom and Dad’s story? Wait, then is Boogie me?"
"Yes, Boogie is our daughter."
"Why am I a Boogie!"
It was time to beat up my brother again.
There is no statute of limitations for the crime of insulting an older sibling.
"Do you know how Mom and Dad met?"
"I heard you two got close after a car accident when you were very young?"
I heard Mom wasn't even ten years old back then.
In other words, Mom and Dad were childhood sweethearts.
"The car Mom was in back then was a Tico, and the car Dad was in was a Grandeur."
"Ma'am, a Tico? There’s a car like that?"
A story where a car and a car got married and gave birth to a Boogie?
"Mom, then what’s a Boogie?"
"A Bugatti. But Yu-seok was young and didn't know better, so he called them Taco, Granjo, and Boogie."
Suddenly, Jang Ji-hye pressed her hands together and looked at me with those strange eyes again.
"That’s right, that’s right. Yu-jin is definitely a Bugatti..."
I looked up "Tico" and was shocked.
This is a car? People can actually fit in this? I think the wheels are smaller than the ones on my Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
"Ahem, I’m a Bugatti? Not a Rolls-Royce?"
"Hey, a Bugatti is in a much higher weight class. The cheap ones are billions of won, and the expensive ones are over ten billion."
Suddenly, I wanted a Bugatti.
My fists were itching; I found myself wishing my brother would hurry up and come home.
"Yu-jin, but the regular concert is coming up soon. Don't you need to practice?"
"I’m practicing right now."
"How is LoL timpani practice?"
"This act of farming minions is an artistic performance that tunes my biological beats down to the split second."
With the regular concert approaching, the seniors and friends in the music department had all been on edge lately.
It’s not like their intestines are going to rupture and kill them if they make a little mistake; I don't know why they can't just relax.
"It can't be helped. I’ll just have to carry them again."
"Is that why you're intentionally acting relaxed in front of the seniors and friends?"
"Of course, of course."
"I don't believe you. Not for a second."
*
[JJH Holdings]
[CEO: Choi Seo-hwi]
CEO Choi Seo-hwi and Chris Hertiland sat facing each other at a table in a private meeting room.
Aides sat on either side, but no interpreter was needed. No one in the room was anything less than fluent in English.
Choi Seo-hwi spoke with a social smile.
"From production, distribution, and logistics to set construction and on-site control in Korea, our group prides itself on being number one in every field."
"We also have deep trust in the capabilities of JJH, the undisputed leader of media in South Korea. I heard your company also built the sets for Hwan's Torch."
"You’ve come to the right place. It’s an honor to work with you."
Choi Seo-hwi smiled, offering her assurance.
"We will provide the quality you desire for the set replication."
"I’m counting on you. And as for security..."
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
Chris had made a bold decision.
He decided to replicate the medieval sets already built in Hollywood right here in Korea.
Of course, they wouldn't replicate the entire set—only the parts where Lee Yu-jin would appear.
He had commissioned JJH, Korea’s top media group, for the task.
While his team would lead the project, a reliable local partner to serve as their hands and feet was essential.
It was, in a sense, a construction subcontract.
Naturally, Lee Yu-jin’s casting was kept a secret from JJH as well.
To shock the audience the moment she removed her helmet in the season premiere, strict security had to be maintained.
After reaching a smooth agreement, Chris’s team rose from their seats.
After seeing them off, Choi Seo-hwi returned and fell into deep thought.
Why go through the trouble of replicating sets just to film a US drama in our country? For the promotional effect in Korea? Or is there another purpose?
Choi Seo-hwi didn't know this was a measure taken for Lee Yu-jin, who was wary of gun-friendly countries.
Therefore, she tried to deduce why they were throwing money around like this from a rational, profit-oriented perspective.
As Hollywood production costs continue to rise, are they laying the groundwork to move their main production base to Korea?
If so, this would be a massive opportunity for the Korean media market.
Korea, already treated as a cultural powerhouse, would be able to leap even higher.
It’s an opportunity our group can't afford to miss.
Feeling good, Choi Seo-hwi wanted to release this excitement with a bit of shopping for the first time in a while.
"Maybe I should go on a date with my daughter for once?"
She called her daughter, but there was no answer.
She sent a text, but it went unread.
Without a change in expression, Choi Seo-hwi called Jung Yoon-ah.
—Yes, Unni. Ji-hye isn't answering, right?
"I’m telling you, Yoon-ah, you really do have divine intuition. Could you maybe tell my fortune and see where Ji-hye is and what she’s doing?"
—It’s hardly a fortune-telling matter. She’s right in front of me, learning how to play LoL from Yu-jin. So that was you calling just now? Actually, I knew the moment I saw Ji-hye’s face crumple.
"I see."
Hanging up with an indifferent expression, Choi Seo-hwi focused on her monitor.
A mutter in a nonchalant tone slipped out of her mouth as if drifting away.
"How long is she going to hold a grudge over me stopping her idol debut? It was all for her own sake, since she’s tone-deaf."