Episode 44

Without delay, Yeon-woo raised his hips slightly, leaning towards Ma Seok-do beside him, and walked confidently to the monitor.

“Oh, it’s tight! This elephant.”

Ma Seok-do matched his breath with Yeon-woo’s confident start, making fun of Yeon-woo’s bulkier figure, causing a comical collision.

“Oops, goodness.”

“Goodness? Oops, goodness?”

Pierre Choi elongated his words, giving a stern look to Gwak Ji-cheol, who flinched at his intense gaze and stuttered in response.

“Stop it! Really.”

With a sudden burst of crazy laughter, Pierre Choi, like a madman, turned his head and made a loud noise.

His face transformed into a scary, devilish expression, exuding charisma.

“Hey, Gwak Ji-cheol.”

Gwak Ji-cheol’s thick neck shrank like a withered plant in response to Pierre Choi’s low-pitched voice.

“Do you think I can afford to pay the team members I hired with the compensation you suggested? Even that deer won’t move for less than five million.”

Pierre Choi pointed to the monitor.

In the monitor, Jennifer happened to escape from Park Kang-woo’s grasp and walked over to the water cooler, glaring at the CCTV, and cursing.

“Why did I take on this job? To fleece those guys? Well, that’s one reason.”

Yeon-woo nodded while pointing to the gangsters on the monitor, then turned back to Gwak Ji-cheol.

“…I thought you helped because you felt sorry for our family.”

Gwak Ji-cheol folded up his large frame as much as possible to make space, offering the chair to Yeon-woo.

“Sorry? You’re joking. In my world, even kids don’t learn such low-level bullying from their parents.”

“…But, Mr. Solver, what does using the chair have to do with this?”

Pierre Choi suddenly pulled a gun from his pocket. Gwak Ji-cheol, who was taken aback, stepped back and raised his hand.

In fact, Seok-do was genuinely shocked by the unexpected turn of events, and his expression was captured realistically on the screen.

“Gwak Ji-cheol’s drill instructor told you to lie down and stretch out. Execute!”

“Y-yes, execute!”

The camera frame, based on the sitting position, captured only Gwak Ji-cheol’s massive back and buttocks when Seok-do lay down, extending his body.

It made the situation even funnier.

“There’s only one reason I took on this job. Gwak Ji-cheol, our esteemed client.”

Click!

When Pierre Choi pulled the trigger, a feeble flame shot up from the gun barrel.

“Isn’t it fun? Just joking.”

While looking at Park Kang-woo inside the CCTV, one corner of his mouth lifted. His mischievous smile gave off an aura that was hard to grasp.

“Okay! Cut!”

After half a day, the long-awaited “Okay” was called out. Applause and cheers erupted on the set, witnessing Yeon-woo’s diligently “planned” and “improvised” acting.

Meanwhile, Yeon-woo quickly helped Ma Seok-do, who had been following his instructions, to get up.

“Seok-do hyung, sorry.”

“Apology accepted. But when did you prepare this? You surprised me.”

With the refreshing “Okay” cut, Seok-do’s heart lightened, and he patted Yeon-woo on the shoulder, appreciating how he had handled the ad-lib as intended.

Park Chan-hong, the director, turned to the assistant director beside him and spoke.

“The actor’s creativity sparkles on set. Today, the young actor has taken another step forward.”

This is why the director, even while working as an assistant director under Park Chan-hong, admires him. Although it seems like he often shifts responsibility to the actors during important scenes.

An hour earlier.

“Do people play with that stuff these days? Where on earth can you find that?”

In response to Yeon-woo’s urgent request for a toy lighter gun, Minsoo aimlessly drove his car out of the studio’s outskirts towards the city of Paju.

After visiting four convenience stores, stationery shops, and large discount stores, Minsoo hadn’t found what Yeon-woo was looking for.

Having witnessed Yeon-woo’s continuous struggles since the morning shoot, Minsoo felt sympathetic. Yeon-woo wasn’t just another actor he handled but a younger brother who went above and beyond, giving him bonuses separately from his monthly salary.

That’s why Minsoo was anxious to help him in any way he could.

As he drove past a narrow alley towards another shop, he spotted one place.

“Hmm? Maybe there?”

In a hurry, he parked his car on the roadside and rushed into the establishment. It was a claw machine arcade, which had become incredibly popular a few years ago, but now seemed to have lost its appeal.

“Please, please.”

Minsoo desperately exclaimed, and began examining the claw machines one by one.

He quickly surveyed the store’s interior and found a doll with a lighter gun hanging from it.

“Wow! It’s here. I found it.”

He wanted to shout, “I did it.” However, the prize inside the claw machine wasn’t his yet.

He exchanged a lot of money at the automated currency exchange machine and made several attempts. However, most of these items were bait prizes, making it difficult to win.

After several minutes, a seemingly impossible third doll, which was located near the lighter, came up.

“Oh, this is almost impossible to get with the claw machine,” Minsoo thought.

Then he noticed a sign on the wall: “[If the machine is out of order or has issues, please call the contact below.]”

Minsoo quickly made the call.

[Yes, hello?]

“Oh, you’re the owner of the doll shop. We are currently shooting a movie, and we urgently need a lighter gun from one of the products inside. We’re willing to pay any amount, can you please take it out immediately?”

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded hesitant.

[Uh, what should I do? I’m a bit far away… It would take around 40 minutes to get there.]

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m sorry, but please come as soon as possible. We’re really counting on you.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, Minsoo exchanged all the bills in his wallet and stacked them next to the claw machine.

“Okay, let’s see who wins this.”

Minsoo had been targeting just one item for the past 30 minutes, attacking it with the three-pronged claw relentlessly.

“Yes, right there! Right there!”

The claw finally managed to go through the yellow rubber band that was tying the lighter gun to the doll.

“Please!”

– Zing! –

– Thump! –

With a heavy sound, the doll with the lighter gun fell to the entrance.

“Wow!”

Minsoo shouted loudly in the empty claw machine shop.

He achieved victory in the arcade after a 30-minute battle, just 50 minutes after leaving the set where he had been filming.

“No, this is not the right time.”

Minsoo quickly returned to his car.

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Since he had won the doll, he carried it and the other dolls he had picked up on the way back to the car.

After a successful day of shooting, Yeon-woo climbed into the car to go home with his exhausted body.

He repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Minsoo, holding Minsoo’s hand with both hands and glistening eyes.

Even in his own opinion, the experience of the day seemed to have elevated his acting skills by a step.

But… were there always this many dolls in the car?

“Minsoo hyung, were there so many dolls in the car originally?”

“Well, to explain that, it’s a long story.”

Minsoo’s car was heading from Paju to Seoul.

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The cherry blossoms, which had been blooming brightly, were now beginning to wither as mid-April arrived, and the film shooting continued without any hiccups.

Of course, the shooting didn’t progress in sequence according to scene numbers, but following the script, it was somewhere in the middle. According to information collected by “Information Network,” when Park Kang-woo was involved in organized crime in Incheon, there was a big shot in the industry, “Chairman Roh,” who kept an eye on him. Park Kang-woo owed Chairman Roh money due to issues related to managing the gang’s finances and delayed the payment date, which led to Chairman Roh, who valued trust above all else, casting him aside.

Park Kang-woo, feeling cornered, approached Gwak Ji-cheol for assistance and threatened him. Pierrot recorded the voice of Chairman Roh’s close associate and had Gwak Ji-cheol convert it into a voice modulation program. Then, using the SIM card switched by Jennifer, Gwak Ji-cheol successfully hacked Park Kang-woo’s smartphone so that the outgoing number appeared different.

– Drrrring. Thock. –

[No, Director Koo! Long time no see.]

The call was connected, and Park Kang-woo’s voice sounded cheerful.

With headphones on and a microphone in front of him, Pierrot nodded to Gwak Ji-cheol, who was giving the okay sign.

“Director Park, or should I say, Chairman Park now, we’ve heard the news that you’ve become a chairman in the construction industry.”

[Hahaha. Please, don’t call me a chairman. I’m scared that Chairman Roh might hear.]

Pierrot’s voice, expertly disguised as Chairman Roh’s right-hand man named director Koo, was transmitted through the phone.

“Then let’s address you as Mr. Park. The Chairman mentioned that he’s having a gathering soon.”

It was a party where the people supported by Chairman Roh gathered to exchange information and socialize. Being invited to such a party was in line with Chairman Roh’s intention to provide support.

In fact, Park Kang-woo had never received an invitation to the gathering, even when he was receiving Chairman Roh’s support.

-… Are you talking about the gathering?

“Chairman Roh suggests you should attend. The Chairman highly values you, right?”

[Oh, it’s an honor. Please convey my heartfelt gratitude, Director Koo.]

“Sure, Mr. Park. I’ll send someone soon. You know the rule, right? Regarding the gathering, you should go alone.”

Originally, Park Kang-woo had no way of knowing if such a rule existed, but the hope of re-entering the underworld’s mainstream had him bowing repeatedly toward the invisible phone on the other side.

[Yes. I will keep that in mind.]

– Click. –

After the call ended, Gwak Ji-cheol, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in real time, gleefully high-fived Pierrot.

Pierrot also laughed and extended his hand to high-five, but suddenly withdrew it, changing it into a thumbs-up, which surprised Gwak Ji-cheol.

“That, too, is embarrassing, isn’t it?”

“Embarrassing? What?”

As Pierrot resumed his speech, Gwak Ji-cheol put on his headset again and muttered naturally.

“Oh, we’ve got a mountain of work to do.”

Observing Gwak Ji-cheol, Pierrot chuckled.

“Okay, cut!”

With the “okay” sign from Director Park Chan-hong, Ma-seok-do removed his headset and began to speak.