Ch.132Then, shall I show you?

Early October.

On the day of the press conference to promote “Traitor: The Root of Corruption.”

Reporters were surprised by the bustling crowd.

“Looks like all the entertainment and media reporters are here?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s because everyone involved is famous.”

“It’s Director Yoon Seongbin after all, you know, ‘War with the Mob,’ right?”

“From the director to the actors, it’s honestly a star-studded lineup.”

The reporters exchanged various topics while sharing their impressions.

Among them, the most popular subject was the rising star who seemed unstoppable lately,

“That’s part of it, but Kim Donghu is another reason. Did you see that article?”

“Ah… The Noble Gourmet? Yes, I did. I wonder what made him decide to appear on that show?”

The conversation was about Kim Donghu.

“You should focus on the fact that he was invited, idiot. Is this how you plan to be a reporter?”

“…”

“Going to Japan for voice acting, appearing on The Noble Gourmet, and becoming the model for spicy fire noodles right after returning…”

Delivering three shocking pieces of news in a row, each one surprising enough on its own.

It was enough to make one understand why everyone kept talking about Kim Donghu.

“If this wasn’t a press conference, I’d have a mountain of questions to ask.”

“I know, that’s really unfortunate.”

“Well… I’ll try to work something in and ask.”

Gil Gil-dong from Daily Happy, who had been following Kim Donghu since he filmed “High Dream,” shrugged his shoulders.

“By the way, there are some flies buzzing around.”

“Flies?”

As his junior reporter responded, Gil Gil-dong’s gaze swept across the press conference.

“There are always those who try to stir up dust.”

Gil Gil-dong didn’t particularly like that type.

Even with speculation, you should write articles with at least some evidence.

But there were those who would write sensationalist articles without any basis.

“You shouldn’t become like that, okay?”

“But would they do that here? There’s not much to work with.”

The junior reporter looked genuinely puzzled.

Trying to make trouble at a press conference…

He couldn’t think of anything worth stirring up.

“What do you mean there’s nothing? There’s one thing we’re all thinking about but keeping our mouths shut about.”

“Ah, that! But would someone really bring that up?”

“Right? They wouldn’t, would they? Not if they had any conscience at such a nice event.”

However, contrary to these expectations.

When the press conference began and it was time for reporters’ questions.

“Is the action shown in the trailer real?”

“I heard you didn’t use stuntmen, isn’t that a lie?”

Two outrageous questions came one after another.

‘Isn’t that a lie? Is that the right tone to use?’

The language was so aggressive it surprised even fellow reporters.

And these questions were directed right at Kim Donghu.

Asking such questions to someone who doesn’t even have an ID card yet?

‘Are they crazy? Have they completely lost it?’

Dispatch.

An entertainment media outlet famous for celebrity scandals and exclusive reports.

Everyone knew they’d been growing rapidly with their boundary-pushing content lately.

‘Do they really act this recklessly?’

But no one imagined it would be to this unbelievable extent.

However.

‘He seems… like he was expecting this?’

Unlike the surprised reactions around him, Kim Donghu calmly took the microphone.

With a face that suggested he had anticipated such questions.

“Would you like me to show you?”

That calm response somehow felt…

“…Is it suddenly getting colder, or is it just me?”

“I feel it too.”

It was frightening.

+++++

Just as a merchant’s day is determined by their first sale,

the first question at a press conference was more important than anything else.

When sharp questions come, everyone thinks that’s the acceptable atmosphere,

and they tend to fire off pointed questions without hesitation.

Perhaps that’s why?

‘What kind of event is this supposed to be?’

I was extremely displeased when I received that question.

This was an event everyone had worked hard to create for promotion.

But to deliberately try to ruin the atmosphere…

They seemed to have a talent for clearly crossing the line.

“Donghu, you can just ignore questions like that.”

“Or should I answer instead?”

While I was thinking for a moment.

The people around me were concerned for me.

‘I don’t like this.’

That such an atmosphere could be created because of just one person.

I couldn’t stand it.

“Would you like me to show you?”

That was my response.

A moment of silence.

Gazes filled with questions about how I would demonstrate.

I shrugged and picked up a few pens from the table.

“I guess the movie trailer was so well-made that it caused this misunderstanding. Hahaha.”

I briefly lightened the mood.

“I’d like to swing a sword right here to give you a real demonstration, reporter.”

But since there’s nothing like that here, I’ll use these pens instead.

Saying that, I roughly drew a target on an A4 paper with a pen.

Like a target you’d see in regular archery.

And I placed it at what would be considered quite a distance.

“This is one of the highlight scenes you’ll see shortly.”

A scene where Lee Taesung throws a dagger in the film.

A performance that only Lee Taesung, who had mastered Muyedobotongji, could show.

I was going to recreate that.

It wasn’t difficult at all.

“Like this…”

After lightly bouncing in place a few times.

Whoosh!

I did an aerial flip and threw the pen.

And then naturally.

Thunk!

The pen stuck right in the center of the crudely made target,

a very simple and easy principle.

Of course, once could be considered luck.

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

I used three pens in succession, all landing in the center.

And then immediately.

“This is a film made with sincerity. There is no falsehood in it whatsoever. Please believe us.”

Delivering my sincere message was the end.

A stern warning not to ruin the press conference anymore.

Even someone with no sense would understand.

“…Thank you.”

The reporter who asked the question sat back down without saying anything more.

Honestly, some might call it an overreaction.

They might say I could have just lightly brushed off such a question.

But.

‘This might not be a question that ends here.’

Thinking carefully about the reporter’s question.

I suddenly felt that this wouldn’t be the end of the suspicion.

‘There aren’t many actors who perform without stunt doubles.’

As an actor’s value increases, there’s no need to deliberately put oneself in danger.

That’s why I felt the need to make things clear.

‘I need to show them I’m really doing it for real.’

So I threw those pens with the intention of settling the matter once and for all.

“Donghu, but the pens… they’re all broken?”

“What?!”

“It seems because of our youngest’s passion… we’ll need to buy new pens….”

“Ah, no, that’s….”

“I’m joking, just joking.”

Perhaps because I had firmly set the tone, everything was lighthearted afterward.

No more pointed questions came in.

Only questions truly aimed at promoting the film continued to arrive.

After calming the atmosphere to some extent.

The highlight video was revealed.

To avoid spoilers for the latter part,

the battle between Jo Seonghak and Lee Taesung wasn’t shown.

The scene shown this time was Lee Taesung’s winter mountain path battle.

Lee Taesung fighting traitors on a narrow winter mountain path.

Scenes that were nothing short of one-sided massacres were displayed.

While showcasing Lee Taesung’s power.

A scene that showed how the action sequences would unfold.

Normally, people would think stunt doubles were used for such scenes.

But perhaps because of my flashy pen throwing?

“Have you practiced swordsmanship separately?”

“I handled a sword as a child actor in a previous drama, and I’ve been practicing steadily since then.”

“Self-taught… are you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Our youngest likes doing things on his own. That’s why my wish is to play with him.”

There was no atmosphere of doubt at all.

The flow of typical praise and promotion continued smoothly.

After a final photo time.

The press conference successfully concluded with a positive atmosphere.

“I’m thinking of holding a preview screening for general audiences selected by lottery one week before the release.”

During the after-party that followed.

Director Yoon Seongbin shared his thoughts.

“With questions like we had today… I don’t think we’re in that era anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s this thing called smartphones, they’re quite accessible. And they’re very influential.”

While everyone was confused and unsure what he meant.

I understood his words clearly.

‘Right, now it’s the era of YouTube.’

Media promotions are gradually losing their prestige.

Individually run YouTube channels are gaining more power in this transitional period.

That’s exactly where we are now.

“I think word of mouth from people will have a greater impact now, so anyway, that’s why I want to hold a preview for general audiences.”

While the roles of critics and reporters are important.

We’re in a time when individuals are becoming closer to mass media.

Director Yoon Seongbin had intuitively predicted this.

‘That’s impressive.’

It was truly remarkable intuition.

‘Come to think of it, there’s one more person around me with such intuition.’

Speak of the devil.

>Donghu, help me choose my next project

A KakaoTalk message suddenly came from Jinwoo hyung.

<What?

>I’ve got three big offers but I’m not sure

Jinwoo hyung was the one who negotiated contract terms better than anyone.

++++++

At the same time.

“…Wouldn’t we be fools not to write an article about this?”

“Exactly.”

All the reporters were uploading the same scene as if they had planned it.

That scene was:

Whoosh!

Kim Donghu doing a tumbling pass and throwing a pen that stuck in the center of the target.

And at that moment.

Ding!

<Traitor: The Root of Corruption, B, B, C>

A rating for “Traitor: The Root of Corruption” was suddenly added.