Ch.204So it’s you.

“Stop, stop! Boss! Why are you so strong, huh? You seem even stronger than before.”

“Yeah, at this rate, dominating the Asian Games would be a piece of cake, right?”

“Someone who could go pro right away… Whew!”

“No matter how much you praise me, I don’t get anything out of it.”

“What do you mean nothing? Those burritos you made for us last weekend were delicious.”

It was mid-May, and Kim Donghu was training hard at Drake Gym.

“America’s going crazy after hearing about you, Boss. They’re saying a heavyweight champion has emerged.”

“Really?”

“So people are coming from all over for matches. Are you interested? Some of them are pros.”

“Pros?”

“Yeah, there are heavyweight pros and… all kinds. They all want a round with you, Boss. What do you think?”

“I don’t mind.”

Unlike Kim Donghu, who had no idea how time was passing at Drake Gym.

Click, click, click.

There were people experiencing every minute and second in real time.

“…Director, are we really supposed to be walking through here?”

“We were invited… we were invited!”

It was Director Lee Seongdeok and Usami Chisako.

Normally, those in the short film competition wouldn’t walk the red carpet on the first day.

But due to Director Lee’s special circumstances, they were treated as VIPs.

“I had no idea The Real Hero would be this popular overseas.”

“You directed it, how could you not know…?”

“It’s because Donghu isn’t here. He’s my light and salt, the lighthouse showing me the way forward…!”

The special circumstance was the international distribution schedule for The Real Hero.

Generally, the process needed to export a film overseas takes about 3-6 months.

In the case of The Real Hero, it took 4 months.

And somehow, it perfectly aligned with the Cannes Film Festival schedule.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was a high chance of being invited to Cannes.

No, it was almost impossible.

Because what Cannes valued most wasn’t “box office success.”

Is it new?

Is it impactful?

Is it worth attention?

One had to break through these elements to receive an invitation.

But why did they pass all these requirements and walk the red carpet on day one?

“Donghu… where are you? Please, couldn’t you come?!”

It was obviously because of Kim Donghu.

A god-given appearance.

A physique that seemed as if even the gods had created it while dreaming of their ideal.

Looks and acting skills that captivated all the Cannes jury members.

And the crazy charm that carried the film.

Because of these, despite being invited for the short film competition,

Director Lee Seongdeok was walking the red carpet on day one.

‘Of course, there’s also the midnight screening.’

So at this Cannes Film Festival, Director Lee had two films in the running.

A rare case even at Cannes.

Naturally, it attracted attention.

And the more attention it got, the more urgently Director Lee took his anxiety medicine.

“We’re still far from our turn, right?”

“Yes, still far. So until then, I’ll try my best… to calm down as much as possible.”

From the moment he said “as much as possible” three times, it seemed wrong.

Chisako thought so to herself.

‘Wow, I didn’t know Director Lee had this side to him.’

When Donghu was around, he seemed like someone who wouldn’t be afraid of anyone in the world.

But as soon as Donghu was gone, he suddenly seemed so small.

It showed how much he had been relying on Donghu.

The only fortunate thing was.

“Oh… at least there aren’t as many cameras flashing.”

“Yeah… now that we’re actually walking, I really miss Donghu.”

They received less attention when actually walking the red carpet.

Without the main attraction, Kim Donghu.

With just Lee Seongdeok and Usami Chisako, it was difficult to attract attention on the red carpet.

“Who are they?”

“A director invited for the midnight screening section, from Korea.”

“Korea? Korean films have been on a roll lately. They seem like impressive newcomers.”

To the photographers, they both looked like newcomers anyway.

Just as the tension was easing,

As their entrance ended, cheers erupted from behind.

“Wow, it’s Yerim!”

“Shin Yerim!”

Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-bak!

An overwhelming difference in attention.

At the sudden flash of cameras, Director Lee glanced back.

‘Huh?’

Director Lee tilted his head at the sight of a woman who looked familiar.

‘I’m sure… I’ve seen her somewhere with Donghu.’

Where had he seen her?

But he couldn’t remember properly.

Actually, he wasn’t in the right state of mind to remember anything.

He’d see her again someday.

Thinking that, Director Lee hurried off to enjoy the opening ceremony.

++++++

Day 2 of the Cannes Film Festival.

Generally, this was when the festival truly began.

With feature-length competition films starting to screen,

The official judging process began.

At this time, Director Lee and Chisako were busy watching various films.

“Learning English really pays off in places like this. I never expected everything to have English subtitles.”

“I know, I didn’t realize it would be this helpful…”

The dialogue was so fast that it would have been extremely difficult to follow the story without subtitles.

After enjoying the officially screened films, time flew by and it was 11 PM.

Non-competition section.

It was time for The Real Hero to be shown at the Midnight Screening.

“The Real Hero? What’s supposed to be the real hero?”

“But the guy on the poster is so handsome?”

“Let’s watch it. I’m really into Korean films these days.”

Every time Director Lee heard the conversations around him, his shoulders twitched.

Originally, the director and actors could introduce the film before it started.

But with Kim Donghu absent, Director Lee skipped this process.

‘It’s more common not to do it anyway.’

Anyway, shortly after, the screening of The Real Hero began.

“…What? Did they just shoot a 10-minute one-take?”

“Isn’t this insane? Using a baseball and brass knuckles for this kind of direction?”

Admiration began to pour out.

Just because a film was a huge hit in Korea didn’t automatically guarantee good results overseas.

But success stories of films similar to The Real Hero had already been proven.

“Is this the Korean version of John Wick?”

“They’ve incorporated vigilantism really well, and the direction…”

“Feeling that legal justice is insufficient seems universal wherever you go.”

Therefore, the result was, needless to say, highly acclaimed.

The overseas export of The Real Hero was practically guaranteed success.

It even received a standing ovation after the film ended.

Consequently, Director Lee’s shoulders straightened.

While this warm atmosphere continued.

‘He’s become even more handsome, and his acting has improved.’

There was a model maintaining a seductive smile while fixing her gaze on the screen.

‘He has amazing chemistry with Director Lee.’

It was Kim Donghu’s former manager.

Currently a model recognizable to anyone.

‘I want to see his face soon. And hold him tight like before.’

It was Shin Yerim.

After the midnight screening ended,

She wanted to request a meeting right away, but deliberately didn’t.

Relaxed and unhurried.

They were destined to meet someday, so there was no need to rush.

Then on day 3,

The time finally came for the short film competition entry Cutting the Knot to be screened.

And at this time, Shin Yerim casually sat down next to Director Lee.

“You’re not introducing your film this time either.”

“What? Ah… yes… I’m not really that type… haha, as a director, I want to let the film speak for itself.”

“That means you’re confident in your film. That’s cool.”

“Th-thank you.”

“I’m Shin Yerim. I used to be Donghu’s boxing manager.”

“Ah, that’s why you looked familiar… I saw you in that documentary.”

The natural conversation that followed.

For Shin Yerim, who was used to big stages, such conversations were very familiar.

“Oh! You’re Donghu’s former manager?! I-I’m Usami Chisako. I appear with Donghu in this short film!”

“So it’s you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, I misspoke. Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Yerim.”

While chatting lightly with Chisako,

Shin Yerim discreetly examined Chisako from head to toe.

And quickly came to one conclusion.

‘She likes Donghu, but there’s no connection between them yet.’

If Kim Donghu had touched her, it would have been obvious.

Even Kim Sujin and Ryu Jaerin, whom she had only seen on TV,

Had visibly changed just from what she could see on screen.

But Chisako didn’t have that.

‘That’s a relief.’

It was still a stage where she could feel relieved.

But she couldn’t be completely at ease.

This wasn’t to say Donghu was a playboy.

Rather, he was the type to take responsibility for everyone.

From a woman’s perspective, that wasn’t entirely welcome either.

‘But I was his first, so…’

She would tell him that when they met.

Despite taking my virginity…

For some reason, she really wanted to say that.

With that in mind, she turned her attention to the screen to watch Cutting the Knot.

“…Ah.”

By the time the film ended, a single tear rolled down her cheek.