Ch.262Easy to Recruit

A peaceful Saturday morning.

Now ingrained in my body, enjoying the mindless weekend commute.

Slurp.

The employee, drinking coffee, checked his email and casually spoke into the air.

“They say Kim Donghu can do it in two years?”

And at those words, people hiding in the partitions raised their heads.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Eh?”

Everyone had a face that said ‘Do you realize what you just said?’

The employee, with a half-asleep expression, asked back instead.

“What’s wrong with you all.”

“Did you just say Kim Donghu agreed to do Physical 300?”

“Yes… what’s the… huh? Wait, whaaaaat?!”

Only then did the employee realize what he had said.

Kim Donghu received an offer to appear on <Physical 300>?

Of course, the conditions themselves were the best in the industry.

There were special clauses and extremely accommodating contract terms, but still.

“B-but… but this, this?!”

They never dreamed a superstar of Kim Donghu’s caliber would readily accept something like this.

In the case of <Physical 300>, the filming date was two years away.

They had planned to keep making offers until the day before filming.

“R-really, he agreed to do it… Maybe he confused it with something like the movie 300?”

“Are you kidding? The first person to check offers is Choi Seokho.”

Choi Seokho.

Now so well-known in the industry that no one doesn’t know him.

Perhaps even more famous in broadcasting circles than Kim Donghu.

Usually, someone at the representative level would only handle big things and step back.

But he’s still active, running around the entertainment industry.

Famous for providing high-quality care.

‘That’s why most people want to go to Veritas.’

A company with the best in the industry.

An agency that gives the best treatment in the industry.

Who wouldn’t want to go there?

But the funny thing was that not just anyone could go.

‘Because the lineup is too intimidating.’

With Kim Donghu as the destructive tank at the forefront.

Han Taegeon and Seo Jinwoo were chasing madly behind him.

Not only that.

The model with the best career in Korean history.

Shin Yerim, who had graced all four Vogue magazines.

Despite being only four people, their caliber was off the charts.

Anyway.

Choi Seokho had confirmed it.

And Kim Donghu had agreed to do <Physical 300>.

“If that’s the case… wait, I think we can completely overhaul our plans?”

“I think so too.”

When creating variety or survival programs,

the most important thing is selecting the MC or main character.

Even in shows featuring multiple people,

a central figure was essential to hold everything together.

But if that figure was Kim Donghu?

There was no need for additional directing or manipulation.

All stories would naturally revolve around him anyway.

Moreover.

“Let’s change the casting lineup too. We’ve got the best card, so we need to rearrange our hand accordingly.”

“Yes! Understood!”

With Kim Donghu’s presence alone, they could tremendously increase the quality of the program.

The <Physical 300> PD ordered the writers to rearrange everything.

“If they seem like they’ll refuse, leak discreetly that Kim Donghu is participating in Physical 300, but don’t mention his name directly, okay?”

“We said Korea’s top actor is participating, which is a shame, how about this?”

“Let’s go a bit more childish, but with a definite tone… ‘The world’s strongest man will also appear’ or something like that?”

“Yes! Understood! Then shall we go with that casting list we scrapped before?”

“Of course, the moment Mr. Kim Donghu participates, this will go to the world stage.”

You can’t surround a top-grade main ingredient with strange sides.

They easily overturned their original plan.

“Contact famous international athletes, with the feeling of truly testing physical abilities.”

“Should we include former athletes too?”

“Focus on active ones first. Then former athletes, influencers, that kind of feeling.”

No matter how times change, the values people want to see remain the same.

It’s no coincidence that things like the Colosseum existed in the past.

‘Now it’s just transformed into boxing, MMA, and such.’

The main PD became genuinely curious about the <Physical 300> program.

What kind of performance would Kim Donghu show here?

He desperately wished for two years to pass quickly.

And he wasn’t the only one with such thoughts.

-“…Is he really appearing on this program?”

“Well, you can think of it comfortably.”

-“Comfortably… comfortably… The very fact that he’s appearing makes me extremely tense?”

A video call that took place right after the main PD finished speaking.

People who originally had no interest in <Physical 300>,

but contacted immediately after hearing about Kim Donghu’s filming news.

They were thrilled at the confirmation of Kim Donghu’s appearance.

“You can think about it slowly. We have plenty of time and flexibility.”

-“Flexibility….”

Hearing that word, the figure on the screen,

NFL Kansas City Chiefs linebacker,

Cade Walker recalled a meeting from just a few days ago.

‘Back then, they seemed to be watching my reactions.’

They say the position makes the person.

To think they would talk about flexibility the moment Kim Donghu was cast.

‘I liked the conditions, but the level of the members was lacking.’

Cade Walker didn’t particularly like influencers.

Not only was it not a real profession,

but it was obvious they would disappear quickly without his profession.

‘Profession… or some kind of belief?’

But with such people participating in large numbers,

it seemed like it would be just clowning around rather than a real Colosseum battle, so he refused.

But with Kim Donghu involved, things changed significantly.

‘970 pounds for the big three.’

That was an insane number even in the NFL.

And on top of that, a natural who didn’t use drugs could lift such weight?

‘That’s crazy… absolutely insane.’

To be able to compete in strength with such a being.

To be able to do something truly intense while testing physical abilities.

This wasn’t a matter where one could afford to be relaxed.

-“I’ll need to discuss details with my agency, but I’m in.”

Unconditional approval.

And Cade Walker wasn’t the only one making such a decision.

-“Would sparring be possible?”

“You’d have to discuss that separately. It’s dangerous, so honestly, I’m not sure.”

-“No, wait. If I film, does that mean I can talk with Donghu Kim?”

“Yes, personal time allows for free conversation.”

-“To be able to share friendship with him! I’m definitely in!”

Starting with the UFC champion.

-“I wanted to have a serious contest of strength. He may be an actor, but he’s also a strongman worthy of respect.”

The WSN champion, World Strongman.

-“Hahaha! Netflix! You guys are really crazy!”

An ice hockey player.

-“Looks like I’ll meet the strongest opponent.”

A former special forces member.

-“Physical abilities… honestly, I’m somewhat confident.”

A ssireum wrestler, and others.

Besides these, marathoners, sumo wrestlers, cycle racers, and other

professions that couldn’t be left out when talking about physical abilities began to gather.

They couldn’t fill all 300 spots with famous physical athletes,

but a significant number were filled with talents who wouldn’t be surprising if they won.

And they all unanimously said:

“You don’t know who’s better until you try, right?”

The one to catch Kim Donghu,

would be themselves.

+++++++

January 1, 2021.

Rejoicing in another new year,

I headed to America to film <Pianist>.

“Riding a private jet really amazes me every time.”

“I know, it’s so convenient that even I’m dumbfounded.”

Traveling to shoots on a private jet.

What else could this be if not being a superstar?

Plus, the key point was that the maintenance cost was zero.

Marveling at the greatness of the private jet, which couldn’t be praised enough.

This time, we proudly disembarked at the airport.

Because of the attack incident last time,

today we showed ourselves to the public while entering the country,

to demonstrate that our current state was sound.

“Are you really okay after the previous attack?!”

“Is it true that your reason for declining the talk show is unrelated to the attack incident?”

So we received various questions as soon as we appeared.

“Yes, I’m fine, and it’s unrelated. I couldn’t go because of my schedule.”

“So you’re here to film Pianist now, is that correct?”

“Yes, of course. That’s such an obvious question.”

“There are no dating rumors about you at all, do you perhaps have a hidden girlfriend?”

“What kind of question is that all of a sudden?”

At first, the questions were quite ordinary, so I answered them while walking.

But as time passed, questions with intentions to pry into my private life started flying in.

With dozens of reporters,

there seemed to be some annoying ones hiding among them.

‘No need to entertain them anymore.’

Having reached that conclusion, I exchanged glances with Seokho hyung.

A signal that we would get into the van without delay.

In sync with the bodyguards, we left the airport right away.

“Whew, reporters are similar whether in Korea or here.”

“I know, there are always malicious ones.”

Casually responding to Seokho hyung’s words, we headed straight to the filming location.

The location wasn’t the cornfield from before, but

inside a very large warehouse.

It seems to have changed due to security concerns.

But to change it so quickly like this.

Just as I was admiring the scale of the United States,

“Guess who.”

Someone covered my eyes from behind as a joke,

and I was genuinely surprised.

“Jae, Jaerin?!”

Because I heard such an unexpected voice.