Chapter 1002: Jung Yoo-Jin's 1000th (3)
I asked Trainer Park In-Cheon about the mastermind, but he only grinned as he answered, "The mastermind? What mastermind? I already told you. I did it because the president of the Gyeongju Riding Club pays me peanuts."
His shameless response made me drop the formalities.
"Don't remember asking how I figured it out a minute ago?"
"Did you say something like that? I don't remember that at all."
Park In-Cheon dug at his ear with a finger and smirked provocatively. According to him, there was no mastermind behind him.
At that moment, Action Director Ahn Seok-Chil clenched his fists and stepped toward Park In-Cheon. "Chief Jung, move. Bastards like this only come to their senses after a beating. He'll talk once he's been beaten half to death. Hey, you little punk! Get over here! Get over here!"
Ahn Seok-Chil was always praising Duk-Bae, saying it had been a long time since he had seen someone with the potential to become a major action star. He cared for Duk-Bae so much that people joked he looked like a father who had finally found his long-lost son. Now that Park In-Cheon had tried to cause Duk-Bae's riding accident and still refused to reveal the mastermind, Ahn Seok-Chil looked ready to fold him in half.
However, I stopped Ahn Seok-Chil. "No. You can't lay a hand on him."
"Why not?"
"He's doing this on purpose."
If the four of us assaulted him, we would be the ones charged with aggravated assault.
At that moment, Park In-Cheon snapped irritably. "Fuck. What the hell are you? You're just a talent agent, so why are you so damn sharp?"
Ten years as a talent agent was enough to build a mountain out of instinct alone. I hadn't expected him to reveal the mastermind easily, but if he wanted to play it this way, I would have to use another method.
"If you're not going to talk, then forget it."
"Huh?"
I immediately pulled out my phone and made a call.
"Mr. Choi? This is Chief Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment. Sorry for calling so late."
A moment later, Officer Choi Ill-Song from the Gyeongju Police Station, with whom we had been in close contact because of Hwaranjeon's filming cooperation, answered.
-Ah, yes. Did something happen on set again?
"Yes. A lunatic just tried to kill Duk-Bae."
-What? Someone tried to kill Mr. Choi Duk-Bae?
Only then did the calm expression disappear from Park In-Cheon's face. "Hey! Why would I kill somebody? I was only trying to get him hurt a little!"
Park In-Cheon shouted, but I ignored him and deliberately increased the weight of his crime.
'Enjoy this, you bastard.'
After hearing that Choi Ill-Song was on his way, I ended the call and turned back to Park In-Cheon.
"Think it over carefully until the police arrive. If you tell us who put you up to this, I might testify a little differently."
Park In-Cheon grabbed his hair and groaned in frustration.
***
"T-there is no mastermind! And I never tried to kill Duk-Bae!"
Even as the police dragged him away, Park In-Cheon refused to reveal the person behind him and continued shouting. The officers twisted his arms behind his back and handled him roughly.
"Keep your head down, asshole! If you tried to make someone fall from a horse, that's attempted murder!"
Choi Ill-Song was fiercely proud of Gyeongju and had often said how happy he was that Hwaranjeon was bringing tourists to the city. He also happened to be a huge fan of the drama. The moment he heard that Park In-Cheon had endangered Duk-Bae, he began treating him like a violent criminal who had attempted murder.
"Aaaagh! My arm! My arm! It's coming off! Take it easy!"
Park In-Cheon struggled wildly in handcuffs, but the officers didn't even blink. They shoved him into the back seat of the patrol car.
Thunk.
After closing the car door, Choi Ill-Song let out a sigh and made a request. "I heard you have overnight filming, so I'd appreciate it if you could come in tomorrow morning to give a witness statement."
"Of course."
Saying we will meet again tomorrow, Choi Ill-Song drove away.
Vroooom.
As the patrol car disappeared, Ahn Seok-Chil asked, "Chief Jung, is it really okay to let him go like that? He never gave up the mastermind."
"Someone willing to keep his mouth shut that stubbornly, even with prison on the table, isn't going to talk. He must've been paid well... and whoever hired him is probably powerful enough to destroy not only his career at the Gyeongju Riding Club but maybe his entire future in the riding industry."
"True. Even after getting out of prison, a guy still has to make a living..."
That was the explanation I gave, but in reality, I had another way of uncovering the mastermind.
Everyday still showed that Duk-Bae would be rushed to the hospital at 4:30 a.m., which was four hours from now. There was a chance the person behind all this would expose themselves a little more at that time. So I decided to set a trap.
"The mastermind might make another move tonight. They'll know we'll assign bodyguards after what happened."
"Hmm... that's definitely possible."
"Which is why I'd like to catch them myself this time. Could you help me?"
"For Duk-Bae? Of course. Just tell me what you need."
After securing his cooperation, I immediately began outlining the plan.
***
The current time was 4:00 a.m.
Thirty-two-year-old So Hyung-Joon, the operations leader of the Namdaemun Gang, parked his car some distance away from the Hwaranjeon set. He was there to carry out orders from his boss.
Click.
Stepping out of the vehicle, So Hyung-Joon led three gang members in their twenties toward the set. The darkness made it easy to approach unnoticed. By 4:20 a.m., they had reached the eastern wall of the Hwaranjeon set.
"Phew. Hold up. Wait."
So Hyung-Joon carefully raised his head above the wall. The shoot appeared to be wrapping up, as the lights were beginning to go out one by one.
-Alright, that's a wrap! Great work, everyone. Staff, actors, thank you for your hard work. Go wash up and get some sleep. Miss Yoo-Jin, you should head back and rest too.
He had heard filming was supposed to continue until six in the morning. Instead, it had ended two hours early.
"Looks like we're lucky."
Since there was no need to wait around any longer, So Hyung-Joon began giving instructions to his group.
"Listen carefully. I'll say it one more time. Our target tonight is Choi Duk-Bae. Follow him. If he ends up alone with his talent agent, move in immediately. Don't hit his face. Knock him down and rough him up a little. If you get caught, you're all Jung Yoo-Jin fans who couldn't stand seeing Choi Duk-Bae getting close to her. That's your story. Then sit tight and wait. A lawyer will come for you."
At that moment, one of the masked gang members quietly raised a hand.
"What is it?"
"Hyung-nim... are we really okay doing this? If we mess with a famous actor and this blows up..."
"Hey. If you're scared, leave now. And don't bother coming back to the office tomorrow."
"N-no, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry."
So Hyung-Joon snapped irritably. "We got paid a lot for this job, so shut your mouths and follow orders. As long as we don't touch the actor's face, it'll be fine."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
Just then, one of the gang members pointed and said, "Hyung-nim, over there. Choi Duk-Bae is coming out."
At the gang member's words, everyone turned to look. A man dressed as Kim Beop-Min could be seen silently bowing to the people around him.
-Duk-Bae, you did an amazing job today.
-Yeah, Duk-Bae. Thank goodness you weren't hurt. Get some rest and see you tomorrow.
The surrounding staff kept praising the disheveled man, calling him Choi Duk-Bae. It was still dark and the man was wearing a half-mask, making it difficult to see his face clearly. Still, between his costume and the way everyone treated him, So Hyung-Joon was convinced it was Choi Duk-Bae.
After confirming his target, he gave instructions to the men who had come with him. "Get ready. And you left all the tools behind, right?"
"Yes. Nothing's in the car either."
"Good. And just in case, don't even pick up a rock off the ground."
So Hyung-Joon was doing everything he could to make it look like the actions of obsessive fans.
"Yes, hyung-nim."
"Don't call me hyung-nim. We're just fan club members. Call me Hyung-Joon hyung."
"Ah, yes, hyung."
At that moment, Choi Duk-Bae slipped away alone along the eastern path of the set.
"Looks like this is going to be easy. Keep quiet and follow me."
So Hyung-Joon took the lead. The other three followed silently behind him. A short while later, they had closed the distance to about ten meters from the lone Choi Duk-Bae.
'Here we go!'
After giving the signal, So Hyung-Joon charged toward him.
Tap tap tap.
Perhaps because of the approaching footsteps, Choi Duk-Bae turned around.
At that moment, So Hyung-Joon threw a punch and shouted, "This is for hitting on Jung Yoo-Jin, you bastard!"
The men who came with him rushed forward as well, yelling embarrassingly obvious lines.
"Jung Yoo-Jin f-f-forever!"
"Stay away from Yoo-Jin!"
Choi Duk-Bae raised both hands and covered his face as though taking a guard position. However, So Hyung-Joon had never intended to hit his face. His real target was the abdomen. The plan was to hit an unconditioned stomach, knock him down, and then stomp on him.
'I'll break a rib for you, Choi Duk-Bae.'
Thud.
However, it felt like punching a stone wall. Startled, So Hyung-Joon pulled back his fist. His wrist was bent at an unnatural angle. At the same time, a wave of agony surged through his arm.
"Ugh... you bastard... what the hell did you put under your clothes?!"
Then the others arrived a moment later and threw punches of their own.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Aaaagh!"
"My fist!"
"Aaaah!"
Even after seeing what had happened, the idiots still punched him in the stomach and ended up clutching their hands and rolling across the ground in pain.
That was when Choi Duk-Bae lowered his guard and removed his half-mask and long wig.
"I thought you'd go for the face, but you aimed for the stomach? And honestly, if one guy gets hurt, shouldn't the rest of you stop?"
The face beneath the wig and mask wasn't Choi Duk-Bae's.
"Y-you... you're... Jung Yoon-Ho?"
Grinning, Jung Yoon-Ho tore open the front of his hanbok.
Rip.
Beneath the bloodstained costume was a solid suit of armor.
"Nice to meet you, So Hyung-Joon. Thanks to you, I now know exactly who's behind all this."
The moment those words left Jung Yoon-Ho's mouth, a chill ran down So Hyung-Joon's spine. The fact that his opponent knew his name meant only one thing—He had walked straight into a trap.
Just then, Ahn Seok-Chil burst out from behind the shower building and shouted, "Get those bastards!"
More than ten action actors suddenly emerged from all directions and surrounded them in an instant.
***
"How do you... know who I am?" asked So Hyung-Joon
As I removed the costume I had been wearing to disguise myself as Duk-Bae, I answered, "You don't need to know that. Anyway, thanks. Because of you, I don't have to waste time figuring out who's behind this. Namdaemun Gang operations leader So Hyung-Joon."
Thanks to So Hyung-Joon, I now knew the real mastermind behind today's events. Because the person who had been using him like a puppet was an actor I knew very well.
'Bae Yung-Ill.'
Five years ago, Bae Yung-Ill had debuted at the age of twenty-five and immediately shot to stardom after starring in MBS's The Lawyer Who Rode a Harley-Davidson, winning both Best New Actor and the Grand Prize in the same year.
Handsome, masculine, and blessed with charismatic eyes, he was widely praised as a leading man. Like the righteous characters he portrayed, he was known for charitable work and social service. He was polite to industry professionals as well, earning a stellar reputation from nearly everyone.
However, I knew what he was really like. Before my regression, he had been one of the infamous "Three Kings of Trash" at Top Entertainment.
'Trash Number One. So we're meeting again after all.'
Whenever Bae Yung-Ill became interested in a woman, he would first remove any man around her, just like today. His goal was to prey on women when they were emotionally vulnerable, using his looks and wealth to seduce them.
Before my regression, I had tried to stop his disgusting behavior. However, Kim Dong-Soo had constantly interfered, preventing me from doing anything about it.
On top of that, Bae Yung-Ill had been an equestrian athlete since childhood and had learned horseback riding from Park In-Cheon. His father, Bae Gyu-Hyun, was an influential veteran actor who served as a director of the riding association and donated enormous sums of money.
Now I finally understood why Park In-Cheon had refused to talk. The man giving the orders was someone powerful enough to destroy his future. Of course he had kept his mouth shut.
In any case, I already knew the true mastermind.
Looking at So Hyung-Joon, I said, "So Hyung-Joon, have the police get that wrist set as soon as you arrive. Otherwise you'll be dealing with it for the rest of your life."
Clutching his arm, So Hyung-Joon suddenly shouted, "Hey! What mastermind? Sure, I'm a gangster, but I'm also a Jung Yoo-Jin fan! I got angry because Duk-Bae and Jung Yoo-Jin have something going on! Jung Yoo-Jin forever!"
I chuckled and casually flipped my middle finger. "You expect me to believe that? A stalker-level fan who's not even on the fan club membership list?"
When I told him I knew every member of the fan club by heart, So Hyung-Joon was finally speechless. I stopped talking to him and called the police.
"Mr. Choi, do you have a moment?"
-Ah, yes. I'm on duty, so that's fine. Are you coming to the station?
"No. I was thinking of giving you information that might earn you a promotion. It'd probably be better if you came here and made the arrests yourself."
After I explained the situation, Officer Choi Ill-Song replied in an excited voice.
-I'm on my way right now!
***
"Mr. Jung, thank you. Hahaha."
After arresting multiple criminals in a single night, Choi Ill-Song waved enthusiastically as he drove away in the patrol car. I told him I would come by later and then checked Everyday.
[Everyday V13]
[Date: May 27, 2021]
-04:30 a.m.: <Schedule Entry Deleted>
(Deleted Schedule Entry: [NEW. Choi Duk-Bae] Emergency transport to Pohang Hospital.)
At last, the schedule entry concerning Duk-Bae had disappeared. However, the schedule entry involving Yoo-Jin remained unchanged despite today being her one-thousandth day since joining the company.
[Everyday V13]
[Date: May 27, 2021]
-09:30 p.m.: [NEW. Jung Yoo-Jin] 1,000-Day Celebration Event Cancelled. Emergency transport to hospital.
'Right. There's no way a piece of trash like Bae Yung-Ill would give up that easily.'
I clicked my tongue at his persistence before turning to Ahn Seok-Chil. "Mr. Ahn, thank you for your help."
"No, no. Of course I had to help. Duk-Bae almost got hurt. But... who is this mastermind that everyone keeps protecting? You seem to know who it is, Chief Jung. Is it someone important?"
Since he had come with me to catch Park In-Cheon, Ahn Seok-Chil already knew there was someone behind it all.
I said, "Just a moment. Let's talk once Mrs. Oh gets here."
Shocked by how close Duk-Bae had come to being injured, PD Oh Bok-Hee and AD Geum Eun-Dong came running over. Duk-Bae was right behind them.
Panting for breath, Oh Bok-Hee and Geum Eun-Dong looked me over from head to toe before letting out sighs of relief.
"Phew. Thank goodness you're not hurt, Chief Jung."
Duk-Bae, however, looked around anxiously. "Hyung. You're really okay, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I was wearing several layers of protective gear underneath."
Only then did Duk-Bae finally relax.
At that moment, Ahn Seok-Chil spoke up. "Mrs. Oh. Apparently there's a real mastermind behind all this. Let's hear it."
"There's a mastermind?"
"Yeah."
Oh Bok-Hee glanced at me. "Who is it?"
The nearby staff had already backed away, but I lowered my voice even further to make sure nobody overheard.
"The person who orchestrated this is Bae Yung-Ill."
The moment I said his name, everyone froze. They couldn't believe that someone with Bae Yung-Ill's righteous public image could be behind something like this.
"Bae Yung-Ill? That Bae Yung-Ill? Not someone with the same name? He... left for the United States after finishing his military service three years ago."
"Looks like he's back. Bae Yung-Ill is close to President Gong of the Namdaemun Gang. He uses people like So Hyung-Joon, one of their operations leaders, to get rid of any men around actresses he's interested in."
I explained that the reason Bae Yung-Ill had targeted Duk-Bae was simple—he wanted Yoo-Jin for himself.
Oh Bok-Hee stared in disbelief. "That's not flirting. That's a crime."
"Exactly. The problem is that he probably doesn't even see it as a crime."
"Bae Yung-Ill... I never would've guessed. That guy's completely insane."
"Yes."
"More importantly, what are we supposed to do? Bae Yung-Ill's father is Bae Gyu-Hyun."
Even now, Bae Gyu-Hyun was one of the most respected veteran actors in the industry, appearing in both films and dramas. He also served as the current chairman of the Film Actors Association and wielded tremendous influence throughout broadcasting and the film industry. More importantly, everyone knew he doted on his son.
Oh Bok-Hee was clearly worried.
I was about to tell her to leave everything to me when Geum Eun-Dong suddenly asked, his face pale. "Mr. Jung... are you absolutely sure it's Bae Yung-Ill?"
"Yes."
"Damn it. So that's why."
"Why do you ask?"
"Bae Yung-Ill came to the set earlier."
"He did?"
"Yes. He stopped by briefly while Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin were filming the promotional video for Gyeongju's Firefly Festival. He had a hat pulled down low, so I was the only one who recognized him. He told me not to mention it because he just wanted to watch quietly. I guess he saw Duk-Bae and Miss Yoo-Jin together and thought they were actually dating."
'So that was it.'
The close interaction between Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin earlier must have set him off. Which meant Bae Yung-Ill was in Gyeongju right now.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," I said.
Geum Eun-Dong shook his head. "That's not the issue. I heard Bae Yung-Ill is staying at Anbinjae, the traditional hotel in Gyeongju. Isn't that where Miss Yoo-Jin and the Hoop Entertainment staff are staying?"
The words made me stop. Earlier, to keep her from witnessing Duk-Bae's attack, we had sent Yoo-Jin back to the hotel ahead of everyone else with Team Lead Yeon So-Hee.
'And now Bae Yung-Ill is there too?'
If things went wrong, Yoo-Jin and Bae Yung-Ill could run into each other.
I immediately turned toward the parking lot. "I need to go."
Duk-Bae hurried after me. "Hyung, don't worry too much. Yoo-Jin noona will be fine!"
As I dialed Yoo-Jin's number, I answered him, "I'm not worried about Yoo-Jin!"
"Huh?"
"I'm worried about Bae Yung-Ill!"
"What does that mean?"
After two rings, the call connected. However, it wasn't Yoo-Jin who answered. It was Yeon So-Hee.
-Mr. Jung. We've got a big problem.
"What happened?"
-Yoo-Jin... She beat up Mr. Bae Yung-Ill!
'I had a feeling this was going to happen...'