Chapter 100: The List That Made a 10-Million Director Tremble

“This…… what the hell is this…….”

The paper contained a long list of various companies. 

To anyone else it would look like a random jumble of unrelated businesses, but Byung-hyun knew exactly what it was.

“Been a while, hasn’t it? Do you still keep in touch with them?”

“What kind of bullshit is this.”

“These are the companies you secretly took kickbacks from under the table.”

It was precisely the list of sponsors Byung-hyun had siphoned money from under the guise of product placement.

“What are you trying to do right now?”

The polite honorifics he had been forcing instantly vanished.

“I figured I’d need at least this much leverage to have a proper conversation with you.”

“Looks like you’ve suffered a lot these past years. Bringing garbage like this and waving it around.”

“Thanks to you, I learned exactly what ‘social life’ really means.”

In-cheol had once been so absorbed in art and work that he was completely blind to what was happening around him. As a result, he lost everything.

“You’re planning to blackmail me with this? You think something this old will still work?”

Byung-hyun remained confident. There wasn’t a shred of solid evidence.

“You think I’ll be scared just because you shove some paper with no real proof in my face……”

“Yeah, proof. I was wondering when you’d bring that up.”

As if he had been waiting for it, In-cheol pulled out a small recorder.

“Thanks to you, I had to do a lot of legwork.”

When he pressed play, an excited male voice spilled out.

—Back then, you demanded ten million won from us, saying you’d make sure our product was clearly visible on screen, so we went ahead with it. But it got completely edited out!

Hearing the vivid testimony, Byung-hyun muttered a curse under his breath.

‘Uselessly good memory, what a pain.’

“Do whatever you want~ How much power does a testimony even have? Worst case, you forced them to say it.”

If trouble arose later, he could just settle it with money.

“There’s a saying, Byung-hyun. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Can you really say you’re clean now?”

At those words, Byung-hyun clamped his mouth shut like a clam.

“Just like you knew me well enough to screw me over, I know you just as well.”

“Fuck, so what do you want! Is this because you want to crawl back into this industry?”

“01.”

“What, what?”

He had been the one to speak first, yet he was flustered by the unexpected answer.

‘He’s coming back here?’

He had been certain In-cheol would never set foot in this world again. 

Born into a decent family, never having tasted real hardship or failure—that was In-cheol. That was why ruining him had come with no guilt.

‘I properly taught him how life works.’

Even when the scandal broke and In-cheol disappeared, Byung-hyun had laughed, saying this was why people with weak minds couldn’t survive.

“You made a pretty good movie using the story I gave you, didn’t you?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

“‘Glory Day.’”

Even though ‘Glory Day’ came out of In-cheol’s mouth, that story had definitely been his own.

“It’s my work.”

“Sure, it’s your work. But I can still raise some doubts, right? Just like you did to me.”

The clear intent to return the favor in kind was palpable.

“Shit.”

He had been the one to create this situation, yet he never imagined In-cheol would turn into this kind of madman.

“I’m going to shoot an indie film.”

“An indie film?”

For In-cheol, who had only ever done large-scale commercial films, this was an unexpected move.

“Who would invest in me now? Indie is all I can do.”

“So what.”

“I need to use your name to gather some staff. Thanks to you, no one wants to work with me.”

Byung-hyun’s mind raced.

There was no way a director who had reached ten-million-ticket status would fall because of old controversies, but the investment money he had secretly siphoned into his own account still bothered him.

‘If it’s just an indie film…… it might not be bad.’

The chance of an indie film succeeding in Korea was less than one percent.

And no matter how much of a genius he once was, how sharp could In-cheol’s senses be after more than ten years away from the megaphone? 

Even geniuses rust with enough time.

“I won’t touch your rice bowl. Just one indie film. This will be the last.”

Seeing In-cheol practically begging filled Byung-hyun with a sense of superiority, and his heart softened.

‘It’s going to flop anyway.’

Moreover, now that he was a ten-million-ticket director, unnecessary noise would only be troublesome.

“If I help you with that, you won’t do anything stupid, right?”

“Of course.”

“That’s it. Consider this me doing it out of loyalty to an old hyung.”

In-cheol felt ridiculous watching him act like a cat toying with a mouse, but this was the time to bow his head, so he said nothing.

‘You taught me that life is long, so I’ll teach you the same.’

He wasn’t the only one sharpening a blade of revenge.

‘Love Some’ filming set.

“Director~ Have some coffee?”

“Of course.”

The lighting director pointed to the coffee in front of him; the cup holder had my face printed huge on it.

“It’s airing today, right?”

“Yes!”

“I’ve watched every episode so far, and I’ll definitely watch this one~”

“Please do!”

The coffee had been sent by Seung-kwon and Hae-jin, and today was the premiere day of ‘Countryside Three Meals.’

“Hyeon-jae~”

“Noona~”

Hae-won approached, holding a coffee and calling my name.

“Aren’t you getting way too popular lately? Even receiving coffee trucks from senior actors?”

“What are you talking about~”

“Earlier a whole swarm of schoolgirls came to see you, come on~”

Since the background was a school, we occasionally ran into students, and the kids who hadn’t recognized me at the start of filming now spotted me instantly.

“Everyone who appears on that show becomes a star. Even if you blow up, you can’t forget me, okay?”

“You better not forget me either, noona~”

“If you subtract ‘euri~’ from me, I’m a corpse.”

Hae-won clenched her fist and struck a pose showing off her biceps.

“I probably won’t be able to watch it live because of filming today?”

“Most likely. It’s a shame, but I’ll have to catch the VOD.”

“But seriously, it’s insane. How did you end up filming in your own neighborhood and becoming the youngest member?”

I only realized at the production announcement that the word “guest” in front of my name had disappeared and been replaced with “youngest member.”

‘No wonder my face was on the poster and they called me to the press conference.’

All of this was thanks to the hyungs who had taken good care of me and to Young-jae.

“You’ve used up all your lifetime luck. I…… properly paid for mine with suffering.”

While talking, Hae-won looked up at the sky with a wistful expression.

“Our drama is definitely going to be a huge hit.”

“It will, right? It has to. I’m really putting my life into this.”

Up to the middle of the drama, the story moved from the female lead’s perspective and had a lot of her scenes, so Hae-won was working like crazy.

“I know. I heard you even shot an underwater scene recently.”

“Ah~ I did. I thanked the heavens it wasn’t winter.”

“I think mine will be shot in winter…….”

Kang-ha falls into a reservoir and dies, so an underwater scene was confirmed for the second half.

“…..Good luck..”

“Ugh.”

“That reservoir was pretty deep.”

Hae-won, who had already finished filming there, told me.

“Really?”

“You can swim, right?”

“Of course!”

The owner had jokingly threatened to rename me “Seal,” I was that good.

“I even swam in Bali.”

“I’m terrible at it, so I was scared. You’ll probably be better.”

“Jae-hee, Kang-ha. Let’s start filming!”

“Coming.”

“Yes!”

At the assistant director’s call, we ended the conversation and headed to the set.

[Today is the broadcast day for Countryside Three Meals, right? Everyone watching?]

Loo I’m gonna dip my toe in for the first episode.

└Nope. Bored to death. It’s so predictable, why do they keep making it?

└Ratings are good though.

As TVM’s flagship variety show, many people were looking forward to ‘Countryside Three Meals.’

[From the preview it looks the same as previous seasons. Going to a fishing village was way more fun.]

[Still, Jung Hyeon-jae feels fresh this time?]

└I’m watching because of him. Our peachyyy live prettily there.

└How many episodes of the fruit shop drama are out?

└Up to episode 8.

└How many episodes total?

16 episodes.

└I’m holding off until it finishes, gotta wait a bit longer.

└My biggest regret is not watching sooner. If you like well-made dramas, you MUST watch.

└Ugh, now I’m torn.

└The moment you start, you’ll be screaming four names while sobbing.

[I’m enjoying Countryside Three Meals, what’s wrong with you guys.]

[Exactly, don’t ruin my kimchi jjigae. Making soy sauce crab at a kimchi jjigae place.]

└Protect my kimchi jjigae.

Some were tired of the similar format, but most said they would at least watch the first episode. 

Soon the broadcast began, and real-time comments exploded.

[Wow~ They completely cut out all the dragging parts at the beginning. This is way better.]

L At this rate Na Young-jae knows he’s self-replicating lololol

└Of course he knows.

Obviously lol

-Meeting-moving-house intro all done in 10 minutes, what a legend lololol

└Perfect speed for impatient Koreans.

Comfortable~

Young-jae boldly cut recurring scenes and focused on tempo and fresh visuals.

[But where’s Hyeon-jae?]

└Right? Didn’t see him at the start, did they explain why?

└No mention at all.

└What’s going on?

[Please let him be cute in this episode, I came for him and he’s not here, are they saving him for the very end??]

└Hate that so much.

Young-jae, bring him out.

People expecting a new face kept asking for Hyeon-jae, but while the cast slept one night in the new house and began farm work, Hyeon-jae’s face was nowhere to be seen.

[Is he really not appearing?]

[I waited for nothing.]

[Maybe he didn’t film the first shoot and joins from the next one?]

└Could be.

[That grandma looks exactly like mine lololol classic countryside grandma.]

[Yoo Seung-kwon getting scolded is hilarious.]

[First time seeing him like that lololol]

[Forget filming, she’s busy ordering the workers around lololol]

[Grandma keeps chasing Yoo Seung-kwon and Choi Hae-jin lol]

[They’re properly caught lololol]

The mood completely shifted once the two started learning farm work from the grandmas. 

The sight of fifty-something celebrities being scolded and dragged around by the grandmas brought endless laughter.

[They must’ve really suffered, look at Choi Hae-jin’s face lololol]

Looks like he aged ten years in a short time.

[So this is what happens when celebrities work hard lololol]

[They’re looking for a guest.]

[Wait? Jung Hyeon-jae coming soon?]

Exhausted from the hard labor, Seung-kwon and Hae-jin called for a guest, and at that moment the screen changed to show the silhouette of someone leading a puppy.

[It’s Jung Hyeon-jae!]

[Isn’t that Jayden?]

└Who’s Jayden?

Hyeon-jae’s dog. Super smart. You can see him on Taewoon’s YouTube.

[So this is how he appears, thank god it’s not next week.]

[I was wondering why there were no animals this season, turns out it’s him lol]

With his face covered by stickers, Hyeon-jae walked awkwardly. Seung-kwon and Hae-jin instantly recognized the guest, the stickers disappeared, and his face was revealed.

[So you can meet him in any countryside?]

[Suddenly the screen feels brighter.]

[He’s handsome.]

[They didn’t even know who he was but pretended to because he looked like a celebrity lol]

[He said he lives in the neighborhood, looks like it’s real, look at grandma smiling lol]

└Honestly I slightly suspected it was staged, but there’s no room for doubt now.

[(Photo) Grandma’s expression before and after, can it really change this much? lololol]

└Who knew she could smile like that?

Everyone was shocked by the transformation of the stern, scolding grandma’s face, and this scene quietly became a small topic even after the broadcast ended.