NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
What is a hero?
They always taught us that we must defeat the villains.
Fairy tales said so, and so did TV shows.
When shining heroes vanquish the bad guys, everyone is happy.
Heroes always win, and even in tough situations, they turn things around.
Losing once? No biggie.
They always have the next chance, with power-up opportunities at every corner.
I admired and longed to be such a hero.
In this black-and-white world, only heroes could wear white,
while the rest were all dark shadows.
I really wanted to be a hero.
Burp! Burp! Burp! Burp!
To become one, I put in a lot of effort.
First, I thought I had to get strong, so I did whatever it took to become good at fighting.
Just like every other hero.
“Hey, what are you?”
I began very weakly at first.
“P-P-Please spare me! I-I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, okay? I messed up, I messed up.”
“What did you mess up? You didn’t do anything wrong; you were just born that way.”
Burp! Burp! Burp!
As time went on, I gradually got stronger and started winning against villains.
The bad guys deserve punishment, so that’s totally acceptable.
“Head!”
Then one day, I heard a sound and turned my head.
Kids swinging swords.
They were just wooden swords, but they looked a lot like the ones I dreamt heroes would wield.
Thinking about it, heroes usually used weapons, and most of those weapons were swords.
Just like the knife I used when I killed the wild dog that tried to bite people,
I realized I needed a weapon too, and I started learning kendo.
“Waist!”
Crack!
Even as my hands got torn up,
I kept practicing as long as my wooden sword didn’t break.
Kendo was really suited to my aptitude.
Especially carrying a wooden sword was a huge perk.
I guess in a way, I powered up too.
I went from fighting with my bare fists to having a weapon.
Maybe that’s why?
My second heroic moment came around faster than I thought.
“If you borrowed money, you have to pay it back!”
It was a cliché.
In an era where legal interest rates could go up to 49%.
When TV was coaxing people to get loans like nuts.
The only option for our crumbling home was to borrow from such places.
We were thoroughly the underdogs.
“You always avoided us even when we promised to pay back the principal!”
“Ah, I don’t care about that. Just pay the interest properly, okay?”
They were thoroughly evil.
Burp! Burp! Burp!
But I was a hero.
“…Son, run away. Get far away from here; I’ll handle this, so go!”
Even though it came to this.
“Get far away, anywhere!”
The fact that I’m a hero doesn’t change.
I dealt with evil.
+++++
Whoosh!
As soon as I emerged from my immersion, I realized what it meant to be a hero.
“A criminal catching criminal.”
Vigilante.
Evil punishing evil.
Those who seek to realize justice outside the bounds of law.
A being that believes it acts for good, despite being clearly evil.
The title suggests, “Since he punished evil, can we not call his actions good?” A hero.
The intention to portray the ambiguity of good and evil was palpable.
“Must be short since it’s a short piece.”
Especially when the mention of this black-and-white world popped up.
I could already guess how this film would unfold.
“A black-and-white movie, huh?”
A brief moment of pondering.
So, there was no need to think deeper.
“Seok-ho hyung, I’ll go with this one.”
I placed the hero script on the passenger seat.
“Huh? Ah, the hero? But are you sure? It’s a bit violent, you know.”
“Hey, this is nothing. I watch stuff like Saw all the time.”
“Saw? You’ve already seen that? Aren’t you too young for it?”
“They showed it in school!”
“….”
Seok-ho hyung concluded with a sigh that kids these days are certainly different
and said he would contact the director.
“I heard he’s a college student; this should be his graduation year, right?”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they said it’s his first project after graduating.”
“Have you already contacted him?”
“No, he wrote a long post in the café with the script, guess he’s lonely.”
“…”
“Anyway, if you say so, I’ll handle the rest. I should have some time before Christmas. And then next week there’s a presentation for Hydream.”
That made me suddenly check my phone.
“Oh right, Christmas is coming soon.”
The Christmas party with Su-jin’s family.
I was already looking forward to it.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
-[Determined that vital energy for the hero character cannot be perfectly infused]
-[Downloading the application ‘Cheonmu Jiche’]
-[From now on, when embodying martial arts-related characters, talents related to martial arts will also be acquired]
The early Christmas gift from The Sims – The Real Life was a bonus.
+++++
On December 25th, as Mariah Carey’s Christmas song spread throughout the world,
Su-jin’s family was bustling with excitement preparing for the Christmas party.
“When Dong-hu arrives, we must keep him inside!”
“…Why?”
“If he goes right out, he won’t be able to eat the food I prepared.”
Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s what you meant.
Kim Su-jin’s father, Kim Gi-cheol, felt a pain in his heart.
His daughter, who he wouldn’t even grudge putting his eye on, his one and only treasure.
To think such a treasure had a crush on someone!
He hadn’t realized it. No, in fact, he had.
“It’s impossible not to know.”
He just chose to ignore it.
Singing ‘Kim Dong-hu~ Kim Dong-hu~’ every single day,
Not knowing that would be the real problem.
“Honey, quit pretending and come help out. Dong-hu will be here soon!”
“Come on over and help out. Donghu will be here soon.”
“Alright, let’s get ready.”
“Kim Donghu, who the heck are you to sweep my daughter and my wife off their feet?”
“Just how handsome are you?”
Kim Gi-cheol took pride in his looks.
Well, he had every right to; he was married to the famous actress Kim Yu-ryun, who once ruled the television screens.
Objectively speaking, Kim Gi-cheol was quite a handsome guy, and until five years ago, Su-Jin had said she would marry him.
“That changed the moment she met Kim Donghu.”
Just thinking about that still enveloped Kim Gi-cheol in despair.
“Dad! I want to marry Donghu!”
“Donghu? Who’s that?!”
“My partner! He’s the most handsome in the world! And!”
“And?”
“He’s the first guy to treat me so coldly and make me cry.”
“He made you cry?”
“Yeah, but when I cried, he held my hand, hehe.”
“Bad boy! And he’s just five years old!”
“Isn’t that a little too mature?!”
To calm his chaotic mind, Kim Gi-cheol stared at the turkey roasting in the oven.
The perfectly golden turkey was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
“One leg is for Donghu.”
“…!”
That was supposed to be for Dad!
Kim Gi-cheol looked at his daughter beaming with joy from behind, his face in shock.
Kim Donghu, what on earth do you look like to steal all my daughter’s affection?
What kind of charm do you possess?
“I won’t forgive you!”
It’s pretty lame to genuinely feel threatened by a little kid.
But today, I have to be lame.
Ding dong ding dong.
“Oh, it’s Donghu!”
They say when you talk about a tiger, it comes running.
As Su-Jin reacted to the doorbell, Kim Gi-cheol dashed to the front door.
Let’s see what he looks like!
Boom!
The moment he swung the door open to greet Kim Donghu.
“Hello! I’m Kim Donghu, Su-Jin’s friend. Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner! Oh, and this is just a small gift, strawberries. Su-Jin said she loves strawberries…”
“Accepted.”
“What?”
Kim Gi-cheol was convinced.
+++++
Time flew by, and it was early January.
Due to the production announcement event for Hydream, the reporters were having a busy start to the year.
“Whew, it’s cold.”
“Definitely chilly.”
“On days like this, I just want to eat fish-shaped pastries and lie at home.”
“Like you’d actually do that on the day of the production announcement.”
“Oh ho? Look at you getting sassy these days.”
Even with the heater blasting, it seemed a challenge to block out the cold air coming in from outside.
The reporters clung to their hot packs, trying to warm up as fast as possible.
They couldn’t afford to freeze when it came time for photos.
“Oh, they’re starting, they’re starting.”
At the senior’s words, the junior reporter focused his gaze ahead.
The stage, labeled ‘Production Announcement,’ shimmered, and an idol group took to the stage to kick off the performance.
“Still, since we’re taking pictures with an idol agency, the opening lineup is quite fancy.”
“Wow, the opening performance lineup is dazzling!”
“Right? It’s such a treat for the eyes!”
After a few opening performances,
the moment that reporters had been eagerly waiting for—the entrance of the cast—was finally approaching.
Click, click, click.
“Look over here!”
“This way too!”
“Please wave your hand just once!”
The entrance of the cast everyone had been anticipating.
The reporters began snapping photos in unison.
But one question lingered in their minds.
‘Who is that?’
The star with an insane appearance who briefly appeared in the making film.
Netizens had speculated about their identity, but nothing surfaced.
Even when reporters on-site inquired, this mysterious figure remained unresponsive.
As everyone’s curiosity peaked,
“…Wow, what is that?”
A boy who would answer that question slowly walked towards the production presentation stage.
He was handsome.
But not just handsome—like, off-the-charts handsome.
Was it fair to even call it good looks?
His presence made the surrounding area feel like it was swamped with squids.
He looked as if he was carrying a halo all by himself.
With Kim Donghu’s entrance, everyone could do nothing but swallow their saliva and keep clicking the camera shutters.
++++++
At the same time, in Studio Geumgang.
The movie editing was in full swing.
Director Kang, intently watching the edit, furrows his brows more and more.
“The material’s perfect…”
Is my cooking not up to par? Why does the footage feel so bland?
I feel like it could be elevated, but I don’t know how to utilize it.
After pondering for a while, Director Kang realized what the problem was.
“There’s a lack of intensity.”
In the later stages of the Korean War,
with the desperate struggle for more front lines, soldiers fought valiantly in dire conditions.
To capture that moment, the taste just wasn’t right.
“I wish there had been a bit more close-quarters combat.”
Bullets that fell during the final 12 hours of a desperate battle.
Struggles for survival turning into intense scuffles.
It would be nonsensical to skip close combat in such a situation.
Especially.
“I hope Han Tae-geon and Kim Donghu can work together.”
He wanted to portray the horrific aspects of war through the conflict between Kim Soo-ha and the Student Soldier.
For that, the action needed to match seamlessly.
“Han Tae-geon, the actor playing Kim Soo-ha, has the experience and can handle action.”
But on the other hand, Kim Donghu, playing the Student Soldier, was just fifteen.
“Can he really handle action acting?”
What if adding something unnecessary ends up ruining the movie?
Director Kang fell into deep contemplation.