Ch.32Merry Christmas!

A Hero.

I was taught that heroes must defeat villains.

That’s what fairy tales said, that’s what TV said.

When shining warriors defeat villains, everyone is happy.

Heroes always win, and even in unfavorable situations, they always turn things around.

It’s okay if they lose once.

They always have a next time, and opportunities for power-ups are always available.

I admired and aspired to be such a hero.

In this black and white world, only heroes could possess white,

while everything else was dark,

I truly wanted to become a hero.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I made many efforts to become one.

First, thinking I needed to be strong, I did whatever it took to fight well.

Like any hero.

“Hey, what are you?”

At first, they start extremely weak.

“P-please spare me, please, please? I was wrong, I was wrong.”

“What did you do wrong? You did nothing wrong, you were just born that way.”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

As time passed, I gradually became stronger and followed the path of defeating villains.

Bad guys deserve punishment, so it’s okay.

“Head!”

One day, I turned my head at a sound I heard.

Children swinging swords.

Though they were just bamboo swords, they closely resembled the weapons of the warriors I dreamed of.

Come to think of it, heroes usually used weapons, and those weapons were mostly swords.

Just as I had used a knife when I killed the wild dog that tried to bite people,

I realized I needed a weapon again, so I learned kendo.

“Waist!”

Crack!

Even as my skin tore off,

I continued practicing as long as the bamboo sword didn’t break.

Kendo really suited me perfectly.

Especially being able to carry a bamboo sword around was a huge advantage.

In a way, perhaps I had powered up too.

Going from fighting with bare fists to obtaining a weapon.

Maybe that’s why?

My second heroic moment came sooner than expected.

“If you borrowed money, you should pay it back!”

It’s a predictable story.

In an era when legal interest rates were allowed up to 49%.

A time when nuts and such appeared on TV urging people to take out private loans.

Such places were the only ones willing to lend money to our family on the verge of collapse.

We were thoroughly the weak ones.

“Even when I said I’d pay back the principal, you always avoided us!”

“Ah, I don’t care about that, just make your interest payments properly, okay?”

They were thoroughly evil.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

And I was a hero.

“…Son, run away. Go far from here, I’ll handle this, so go!”

Even though the situation turned out like this.

“Go far away, anywhere.”

The fact that I’m a hero doesn’t change.

I punished evil.

+++++

Whoosh!

As soon as I emerged from the immersion, I realized what this “Hero” meant.

‘A criminal who catches criminals.’

A vigilante.

Evil punishing evil.

Someone trying to realize justice outside the boundaries of law.

A being who believes they’re doing good despite being clearly evil.

The title “Hero” implies: Can we call his actions good since he punished evil?

I could strongly feel the intention to portray the ambiguity between good and evil.

‘Maybe because it’s a short film, the content itself is quite brief.’

Especially when the mention of a black and white world came up.

I could guess how this film would turn out.

‘Is it a black and white film?’

A moment of contemplation.

‘There’s no better script than this at the current point.’

If so, there was no need to think deeper.

“Seokho hyung, I’ll go with this one.”

I placed the Hero script on the passenger seat.

“Hmm? Ah, Hero? But will it be okay? It seemed a bit cruel.”

“Come on, this level is fine. I watch things like Saw well.”

“Saw? You already watch such things? Aren’t you not allowed?”

“They showed it at school.”

“…”

Seokho hyung, concluding that kids these days are certainly different,

said he would contact the director.

“I heard he’s a college student, probably graduating this year.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, this is his first project after graduation, they say.”

“You’ve already been in contact?”

“No, he wrote a really long post when uploading the script to the cafe, he must be lonely.”

“…”

“Anyway, if that’s what you want, I’ll take care of the rest. You’ll have free time until Christmas. And then there’s the High Dream production announcement the week after.”

At those words, I suddenly checked my phone.

‘Come to think of it, Christmas is coming soon.’

Christmas party with Sujin’s family.

I was already looking forward to it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

-[Judged unable to perfectly breathe life into the Hero character]

-[Downloading application ‘Cheonmujiche’]

-[From now on, when immersing into martial arts characters, you will also acquire talent in martial arts]

The early Christmas gift from [Sims – Real Life] was a bonus.

+++++

On December 25th, when Mariah Carey’s Christmas song was spreading throughout the world.

Sujin’s family was excitedly preparing for a Christmas party.

“When Donghu arrives, we have to keep him from leaving right away!”

“…Why?”

“If he leaves right away, he won’t be able to eat the food I prepared.”

Daughter, I don’t think that’s what you meant?

Kim Sujin’s father, Kim Gicheol, felt his heart breaking.

His daughter, whom he cherished more than anything, his one and only treasure raised with utmost care.

To think that such a treasure was in the midst of an unrequited love!

He hadn’t known. No, actually he had.

‘How could I not know?’

He had just been in denial.

Day after day, she sang Kim Donghu~ Kim Donghu~.

Not knowing that would be a problem in itself.

“Honey, stop pretending and come help. Donghu will be here soon.”

“Even you, dear.”

Kim Donghu, who on earth are you to have completely captivated my daughter and my wife?

How handsome are you?

Kim Gicheol had some pride in his own appearance.

After all, he was married to Kim Yuryeon, an actress who once dominated the small screen.

Objectively speaking, Kim Gicheol was quite handsome,

and because of that, until she was five, Sujin had said she would marry him.

‘That changed as soon as she met Kim Donghu.’

Kim Gicheol was still overwhelmed with despair whenever he thought about that time.

-Dad! I want to marry Donghu!

-Donghu? Who’s Donghu?!

-My classmate! The most handsome in the world! And!

-And?

-He’s the first boy who treated me so coldly and made me cry.

-He made you cry?

-Yes, but when I cried, he held my hand, hehe.

Bad boy!

And a five-year-old bad boy at that!

‘Isn’t that too mature?!’

To calm his confused heart, Kim Gicheol looked at the turkey roasting in the oven.

The turkey, browning nicely, made his mouth water just by looking at it.

“One leg is for Donghu.”

“…!”

That was originally for dad.

Kim Gicheol looked at his daughter, who was smiling brightly behind him, with a shocked face.

Kim Donghu, how do you look to have taken all my daughter’s affection!

What charm do you possess!

‘I can’t forgive this!’

It’s ugly to seriously compete with a young child.

But today, I can’t help but be ugly.

Ding-dong ding-dong.

“Oh, it’s Donghu!”

Speak of the devil.

Ignoring Sujin who was reacting to the doorbell sound,

Kim Gicheol quickly ran toward the front door.

Let’s see how he looks!

Fling!

The moment he opened the door to greet Kim Donghu.

“Hello! I’m Kim Donghu, Sujin’s friend. Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner today! Oh, and this is just a small gift, strawberries. Sujin said she likes strawberries…”

“Pass.”

“?”

Kim Gicheol understood.

+++++

Time quickly flowed to early January.

Reporters were having a busy new year due to the High Dream production announcement.

“Wow, it’s cold.”

“It’s chilly, for sure.”

“On days like this, I should just be lying at home eating fish-shaped pastries.”

“As if you’d do that on a production announcement day, senior.”

“Oh? You’re getting bold these days.”

Despite the heaters being on full blast, was it impossible to block all the cold air coming from outside?

The reporters attached hot packs all over their bodies, trying to warm up as quickly as possible.

They couldn’t have their bodies frozen when taking photos later.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

At the senior’s words, the junior reporter looked straight ahead.

The stage marked “Production Announcement” flashed with light,

and an idol group came up to start their performance.

“Still, since they’re filming with an idol agency, the opening performance lineup is impressive.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to feast our eyes like this.”

After about three or four opening performances.

The moment the reporters had been waiting for, the cast’s entrance, approached.

Click click click.

“Look over here!”

“This way too!”

“Wave, wave your hand just once!”

The entrance of the cast everyone had been waiting for.

The reporters began taking photos with one heart and mind.

Yet, one question arose.

‘Who is that?’

The owner of the incredible appearance who briefly appeared in the making film.

The existence whose identity netizens tried to deduce but found nothing.

The mysterious figure who wouldn’t even respond when reporters who went to the scene directly asked.

As everyone’s curiosity amplified.

“…Wow, what the?”

The boy who would resolve that curiosity slowly walked toward the production announcement stage.

He was handsome.

But the level was unbelievable.

Should I say he was handsome beyond reason?

A presence that turned everyone around into squids.

A selfish appearance as if he alone had a halo.

At Kim Donghu’s appearance, everyone silently swallowed and continuously pressed their camera shutters.

++++++

At the same time, Studio Geumgang.

In the midst of film editing.

Director Kang’s brow furrowed as he carefully examined the edited version.

‘The ingredients are perfect but.’

Is my cooking skill lacking? Why does the footage seem so bland?

It feels like I could elevate it more, like I’m not utilizing something.

After contemplating for a while, Director Kang realized what the problem was.

‘It lacks intensity.’

The late stages of the Korean War.

A battle fought desperately in harsh conditions to secure more frontlines.

The footage didn’t properly capture that moment.

‘I wish there was a bit more hand-to-hand combat.’

The last bullet dropped during the desperate fight for the final 12 hours.

The physical struggle that unfolds in the midst of fighting for survival.

It was nonsensical to omit hand-to-hand combat here.

Especially.

‘I wish Han Taegeon and Kim Donghu could work together.’

He wanted to show the horrific nature of war through the confrontation between Kim Suha and the student soldier.

For that, the action sequences needed to match.

‘Actor Han Taegeon, who plays Kim Suha, has the experience for action scenes.’

But Kim Donghu, who plays the student soldier, is just fifteen.

‘Can he perform action scenes well?’

Would adding unnecessary elements ruin the film instead?

Director Kang fell into deep contemplation.