The Third-Gen Chaebol Becomes a Genius Actor

Chapter 143 < Vicious Murder (1) >

“You’ve lost some weight, haven’t you?”

“I wanted to lose more, but I didn’t have time.”

“You look fine as you are, don’t you?”

They started filming right after signing the contract. It was possible because they had no problem with staffing, as ‘Only’ had just finished shooting, and they had plenty of funds.

“Ugh, of all days, today is the coldest ever… Are you sure you’re okay?”

“We have no choice.”

Director Kim Jae-ho paced around his spot, feeling cold. Park Seung-hwan was still on a diet, and today they were only shooting Yoo Yeon Seo. There was a scene that had to be filmed at this time of the year.

“Do we need to tone down the makeup?”

“It’s better to look pale in this cold. The wounds will stand out more.”

“Should we make the uniform more worn out?”

The makeup team was busy working. Yoo Yeon Seo sat still as they applied fake injuries on her face. Lee Taegyeom, who was doing something in the car, handed her some clothes.

“Hey, it’s done.”

“Uh, thanks… What is this, armor?”

“Isn’t it better than freezing to death? Hey, stick these on your feet too.”

Yoo Yeon Seo gave a hollow laugh as she saw the adhesive hot packs attached to the clothes. She handed over the long padded coat she was wearing and changed into those clothes.

Hwang Min-jae, the protagonist of ‘Vicious Murder’, was from a low-income single-parent family. He was a high school student who barely survived the cold with an old hooded zip-up, without a proper padded coat even in this freezing weather.

“Hey, what kind of electric blanket did you make? It’s so unrealistic.”

“With this cold, your face would freeze in no time, right? Your nose is red.”

“Really? That’s fine.”

Yeonseo looked at the mirror. His hair was trimmed like a student, his eyes had bruises and his mouth had cuts. His nose and ears were red from the cold.

He had changed into his school uniform and looked at the sky from a distance at the filming site. No one bothered him because they knew he was preparing to immerse himself in his character.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Of course I am.”

In case of any unforeseen situation, Taegyeom and Seunghyun watched him from outside the car.

‘This is the time when Hwang Minjae had just buried his mother and became alone.’

His body gradually regained its past. So now, when he thought of his family, he remembered his brother and parents first. So at times like this, reviving his soul’s memory helped him immerse himself.

Kang Jinhoo was born with modified genes to become a soldier. But that didn’t mean he lost his emotions. He also sometimes watched old videos and imagined what it would be like to have a family.

‘Why do I only have a mom?’

‘It’s cold… I wish I was born in a rich family.’

‘No, just having parents alive and grandparents would have been enough…’

He revived the emptiness and loneliness of being left alone on the battlefield and melted it into Hwang Minjae. And what did a child of this age who was in a difficult situation think? He answered the same question consistently.

Yeonseo’s eyes changed as he returned to the filming site. He didn’t have his usual upright posture and confident stride. He walked with a hunched posture that looked like he was shrinking from the cold, dragging his old sneakers.

“Let’s start.”

He breathed out in the cold. There was no hope in his eyes that could be seen through his breath. His appearance caught the eye of director Kim Jaeho.

Hwang Minjae made his first appearance by getting punched by someone. Thug 1, Yeonseo named him Cheolsu, a minor actor, swung his fist in the air and Hwang Minjae flew out to the dump.

Yeonseo was famous for using his body well, and the camera captured his acting as if he was really hit.

“You think you’re something because you look good?”

“Is it my fault that your face looks like it went through a blender?”

“What? This bastard.”

Cheolsu swung his fist again at Hwang Minjae, who didn’t back down with words. Hwang Minjae, who was hit on the other cheek, groaned in pain but didn’t stop provoking.

“Even if I get beaten up like this, Iyaeji, she doesn’t like you.”

“This fucking bastard…”

Hwang Minjae, who was grabbed by the collar by Cheolsu, closed his eyes tightly. But the fist didn’t come. Instead, Cheolsu loosened his grip on his collar and dusted off his shoulder.

“Hey, your mom died, right? What are you going to do now?”

Hwang Minjae’s eyes, which were close to resignation, mixed with anger. He would have preferred to be hit. If he was going to be mocked like this.

“Your mom is an orphan too, right? Then you have no family or anything, right? You’re a beggar from the start.”

“…”

“Poor Minjae, what are you going to do? Can you even go to school?”

“This bastard…!”

Hwang Min-jae, who had been quietly taking the beating, suddenly got up and rushed at Cheol-su. But it was not easy to beat a group of thugs by himself. The other delinquents who followed Cheol-su tripped Hwang Min-jae’s feet and made him fall, then hit his head lightly and mocked him without stopping.

“Isn’t his mom working at night?”

“Wow, is she doing that kind of job? Crazy dog, so dirty.”

“No!”

Hwang Min-jae’s mom worked at a night logistics center. They paid well. She worked hard until she collapsed and never opened her eyes again. But his words didn’t matter to them.

“Why are you so angry? Your mom is already dead. There’s no one to listen to you.”

“This kid is a mama’s boy.”

“Haha! Idiot.”

He couldn’t even throw a punch and fell miserably. They laughed and watched Hwang Min-jae, who was groaning and propping himself up on the ground.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Ugh, fuck.”

At that moment, they heard a loud scream from the window and quickly ran away. Hwang Min-jae, who was left behind, struggled to get up and looked for his bag that was thrown away in the trash can.

“Are you okay?”

“······Yes.”

“Let’s go to the infirmary.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

The homeroom teacher knew that Hwang Min-jae was being bullied like this. But he had no will to solve it.

So he didn’t give any real help to his situation, but just comforted himself by saying ‘I didn’t ignore it’ with his insincere consolation.

“I’m going.”

“Min-jae. Hwang Min-jae!”

He limped as he walked. He must have hurt somewhere when he fell. His walking speed was slow, but the homeroom teacher only shouted and didn’t catch him.

Hwang Min-jae left the school gate and headed home. He had no bus fare and walked on the cold street. He sniffed his nose because of the cold. He stopped in front of a snack bar for a moment, but he only had 200 won in his pocket.

He swallowed his saliva as he looked at the fish cake skewers and headed home again with his dragging steps. He went to the end of the alley where there was a lot of garbage, the walls were covered with strange graffiti.

“I’m home······.”

He opened the old door with a creak. A small studio, it had been neglected for a few days because of the funeral.

“······.”

He greeted habitually and felt the cold floor without any warmth. He threw his bag away and opened the rice cooker. He scooped up the dried rice that was not kept warm and poured water over it.

“I’ll eat well.”

He greeted the air and ate the rice with a spoon.

(Your mom is dead, right? What are you going to do now?)

Hwang Min-jae’s basic setting was affection deprivation. Eating, he was hungry, but he also tried to fill his empty heart somehow.

“Ugh······.”

He swallowed a big spoonful of rice. His torn lips hurt and he fluttered his eyelids.

On the shelf, there were small cosmetic bottles that he could only afford to sample, not buy the real product, electric and water bills, and a note from the landlord asking for rent. He didn’t turn on the boiler because it was cold, and he pulled the blanket over him. It seemed like his mom’s scent was still there.

“Ugh······.”

As soon as he smelled it, his emotion that he pretended to be calm burst out. Mom, where did you go. Leaving me alone······ He scooped up another big spoonful of rice and stuffed it in his mouth. That’s right, I said I would work instead of you. Why did you leave like that······ I only had mom.

‘Mom.’

It was a heavy word for both Yoo Yeon Seo and Hwang Min-jae. He tried to create a virtual mom to immerse himself in the work, but it was a word that made him think of someone else.

As soon as he thought of her, he felt ‘it’ blur his vision.

[Yeon Seo.]

He heard a whisper-like hallucination near his ear and choked on the rice he was eating.

“Ugh······! Cough!”

The rice that he couldn’t swallow splashed on the floor. He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed hard. His eyes turned red and tears welled up. Soon, they turned into sadness and dripped down.

It was obviously a mistake, and it was not in the script or the storyboard. But Director Kim did not call cut. It looked natural, that’s why.

“Waaahhh…!”

Once the tears burst, he couldn’t stop them. His mouth was covered with rice grains and he wailed loudly. He looked pitiful and pathetic. It was a scene that well explained the situation Hwang Min-jae was in. Yoo Yeon Seo was not afraid of ruining herself.

He gasped and gulped down the rice in the bowl.

“Cut! Good job!”

Yoo Yeon Seo stopped his hand and sighed. He had lost his immersion as soon as he thought of Lee Hee Seo. He was lucky to get away with some ad-libs.

‘That was close…’

He wiped his eyes with the tissue that the staff handed him after swallowing the rice and blood. He went straight to the monitor and was quite satisfied with his appearance on the screen.

“Yeon Seo, how was it? I think it was brilliant.”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Then let’s move on to the next scene.”

“Wait a minute.”

He needed some time to regain his focus.

Hwang Min-jae, who was looking for a first aid kit to treat the wounds he got from the bullies, found a photo in his mother’s diary.

‘What is this?’

Hwang Min-jae’s eyes trembled. The man in the photo who had his arm around his mother’s shoulder looked a lot like him. He looked like his father.

On the back of the photo, there was a name, Hwang Joon-ho, and an address. If he went to this address… could he meet his father?

The thought stimulated his impulse. He stuffed a few things in his bag and hurried out of the house.

“Hey! Hwang Min-jae! Where are you going?”

“If you have nothing to do, go buy some bread over there.”

He flipped off the bullies who were yelling at him from across the street and got on the bus.

“Kid. Not yet?”

“I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t bring it. I’ll get off next time.”

The student who rummaged through his pocket for a while had a face full of scars. The bus driver frowned.

“Ugh… just get on.”

“Thank you.”

Hwang Min-jae turned his back on the bus driver and headed inside. His expression changed. He knew very well that he could ride the bus without paying this way. It was a smile of cunning.

The screen showed the flashy downtown behind the bus and then the road that Hwang Min-jae walked on. It was a narrow and steep shabby neighborhood. The address was not even written properly on the door, so it was hard to find.

“Excuse me… do you know where 311 is?”

“311? Oh… oh! Isn’t that old man Hwang’s place? Over there…”

After asking around for a while, he found the address in the photo and took a few deep breaths. Then he rang the doorbell.