Chapter 653. Racing Along (3)

Chapter 653. Racing Along (3)

'Who the hell is this?'

The director deeply scowled and glared at Kang Jin-Ho.

A director as an existence had to be... special. Although this story might not necessarily apply to your average, run-of-the-mill directors, those who wish to become the best of the bunch must never miss or overlook even the most insignificant happenings within his film set. The process of making a film was like a living, breathing organism that would start shining brightly only when everyone involved performed their roles to the absolute highest standards.

In other words, even a single little insignificant factor could negatively affect the filming!

As such, a competent director had to look beyond the monitors. He must always stay on top of who was moving where within his film set. And he must always keep an eye out on the overall flow of what was happening.

The director of this TV production, Zhang Xiang, didn't consider himself one of the greatest, but becoming one was his life's ambition. That was why he already knew.

He knew that this fair-complexioned young brat had been sitting where Choi Yeon-Ha's manager and the rest of her entourage were. How could Zhang Xiang not notice someone with such noticeably weird attire? With a baseball cap, a surgical mask and a pair of sunglasses, his whole get-up basically screamed, 'I do not wish to reveal my identity!' to anyone with functioning eyes!

'Hmm. I've never seen this brat before.'

For someone going so far to cover up his identity, though... He was someone unfamiliar to Zhang Xiang. Even without a mask, no one would've recognized him in this place, so why even bother?

What surprised the director was something else, though.

'Why is his Chinese so fluent?'

To say this brat was a local, his enunciation sounded vaguely off. It'd be similar to... listening to a heavily accented local dialect. However, if the director had only been listening casually, this brat's Chinese was good enough to pass off as a local resident.

'Maybe he's an interpreter?'

That sounded plausible. Even if Choi Yeon-Ha's Chinese was good enough to allow her to converse, it'd still be wiser to rely on a professional interpreter than rely on her meager language skills in a film set ripe with lots of technical jargons flying around. However, didn't that mean...

'How dare a mere interpreter get in my face?!'

What did he say just now? To have a chat? He and Zhang Xiang needed to have a bloody chat?!

Zhang Xiang's face reddened instantly. He'd have blown his lid off in rage even if Liu Wei said that to him, but a mere interpreter dared to be so cheeky?! The reason why he still hadn't thrown the script clutched in his hand to the ground and shot up to his feet wasn't because of his superhuman level of patience.

No, he simply couldn't decide how to respond to this flabbergast-inducing situation, that was all! This situation was like... A homeowner would instinctively know how to react when a baseball smashed one of his windows, but a cannon shell crashing through one of the walls would plunge him into a pit of panic instead! Yes, that was what this situation was!

“Uh, okay, so...” Zhang Xiang uncharacteristically stammered a little. 'Am I supposed to get angry at this brat? That's how I'm supposed to react, right?'

If there was a huge chasm of status between them, merely replying would raise the other party's standing. On the other hand, Zhang Xiang's own status might fall precipitously.

Imagine the sight of a lion baring its fangs and genuinely threatening a stray mutt. Would the eyewitnesses shudder at the majesty of the lion? Or laugh at its pettiness for growling at an opponent that didn't even match its status? Most people would obviously fall into the latter category.

That was why Zhang Xiang instantly realized he couldn't lose his temper here. Doing so would be him playing right into this interpreter's schemes. It'd only fuel the circulation of ugly gossip of him losing his cool to a childish provocation.

After quickly analyzing the situation, Zhang Xiang hurriedly scanned the surroundings. He was looking for someone to deal with this brat, and...

That was when he noticed Hang Eun-Sol urgently rushing toward the so-called 'interpreter', Kang Jin-Ho.

Zhang Xiang breathed a sigh of relief after discovering someone willing to resolve this somewhat delicate situation. He couldn't even tell whether he was angry or bemused by what happened here. The absurdity of this situation almost made him laugh out loud, but boiling blood was also rapidly racing up to his head at the same time!

“Get rid of this fool already!” Zhang Xiang angrily shouted at Han Eun-Sol.

The awkward-faced Han Eun-Sol nodded before grabbing Kang Jin-Ho's arm. “Mister Jin-Ho...! Why don't we move over there and...”

Unfortunately for him, though... Kang Jin-Ho didn't budge an inch.

'Huh? Why is he so strong?'

Initially, Han Eun-Sol's tugging effort was mild. However, he strengthened his effort after realizing that Kang Jin-Ho wasn't going anywhere. Even then, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to have morphed into a human-shaped boulder and remained firmly planted to the spot!

“Hold on,” Kang Jin-Ho spoke in a flat, composed voice while raising his hand to stop Han Eun-Sol.

That gesture forced Han Eun-Sol to release Kang Jin-Ho and step back.

'Yup, I can't stop him now...'

Han Eun-Sol instinctively understood that stopping Kang Jin-Ho at this point was impossible. That simple hand-waving gesture was enough to tell him that.

Now feeling lost and panicky, Han Eun-Sol turned his head and stared at Choi Yeon-Ha next. However, other than making a troubled grimace, Choi Yeon-Ha didn't seem willing to talk Kang Jin-Ho out of whatever he was thinking of doing!

Kang Jin-Ho shifted his attention away from Han Eun-Sol and back to the director. “All I need is a little bit of your time.”

“...”

Zhang Xiang blinked his eyes in astonishment while staring at Kang Jin-Ho.

'Just what the hell is going on here?'

Why did the Korean manager trying to dissuade this interpreter suddenly stop? Maybe this brat wasn't really an interpreter but a big shot from the Korean talent agency? But that couldn't be right, considering his young age...?

“I'm sorry?”

“Well, you know. We might still have a chance at salvaging things if Mister Jin-Ho can keep it civil, but there's nothing we can do if he beats up the director. That's why I'm hoping he can control himself.”

“B-beat up the director?! Mister Jin-Ho will?! Seriously?”

“I'll be relieved if it's only beating, you know?” Choi Yeon-Ha cocked an eyebrow at Han Eun-Sol, wondering just how on God's green Earth her manager had been viewing Kang Jin-Ho until now.

“But, but...? I thought he's a shockingly reasonable man...?”

“Reasonable, my foot. Mister Jin-Ho's probably one of the most irredeemable cases in the whole of South Korea, Eun-Sol.”

“If that's true, shouldn't we try to stop him?!” Han Eun-Sol asked in a slightly panicky voice. It wasn't as if he agreed with what Choi Yeon-Ha had said, but... If there was even a sliver of a chance of violence, wouldn't the right thing be for them to rush over there and talk Kang Jin-Ho out of committing a crime?

Choi Yeon-Ha noticed Han Eun-Sol's desperate expression, but the best she could do in this situation was casually shrug her shoulders. “Sorry. I can't stop him.”

“Huh?!”

“Once that guy gets pissed off, no one can stop him. Not even me.”

“B-but, that can't be? Don't you always phone Mister Jin-Ho and yell at him? Like, all the time?”

“You dummy! A woman only yells at her man after making sure he'll humor her tantrums without losing his temper! Have you ever seen me raise my voice during my early days with Mister Jin-Ho?”

“...No, I haven't.” Han Eun-Sol shook his head. Back then, he thought Choi Yeon-Ha was as crafty as a fox!

“I can whine and get angry at him because Mister Jin-Ho doesn't mind humoring me. That's all! If I get in his face when he's so pissed off like that? I'm only gonna lose points in his book. I can't afford that.”

“Eh? Noona! This whole production is about to go down like a sinking ship, so what are you even saying...!”

“Are you an idiot?”

Han Eun-Sol's jaw fell in stupefaction when Choi Yeon-Ha stared at him with an expression that screamed, 'I'm so disappointed in you!'

“Between the show and Mister Jin-Ho, which one do you think is more important to me?”

Han Eun-Sol nearly blurted out, Of course it's the TV show, you damn woman! How could a top actress in Korea ask such an obvious question?!

“Holy cow, noona! Even if it's coming from you, that's totally wrong, don't you think?!”

Choi Yeon-Ha tutted loudly. “Nonsense! A production like this can always recover. However, I can never rescue this relationship if I get on that guy's bad books! This is my life we're talking about!”

“What? This production is just as important, noona!”

“Don't be ridiculous. I'll still find work as an actor even if this whole thing crashes and burns.”

“...Right back at you. Even if you break up with Mister Jin-Ho, I know you can find other men.”

“And that's exactly why you'll always be a solo player, Eun-Sol.”

“And that's not something a thirty-year veteran of solo play should be saying.”

Choi Yeon-Ha got ready to kick Han Eun-Sol just then. “Say what now?!”

Before the assault could begin, though, Han Eun-Sol sensed everyone's attention was suddenly shifting away, so he followed suit by turning his head to look. That was when he discovered two men emerging from around the corner of the distant building.

Not only that, but they were heading to their original positions as if their discussion had ended already!

'I wonder what's going on now...'

Han Eun-Sol narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the director, Zhang Xiang's complexion. It wasn't only him, though. Every crew member was holding their breath, utterly focused on figuring out what the director's mood was like!

Zhang Xiang returned to the director's chair, then loudly called out. “Hey, Assistant Director!”

“Yes, sir!” The deeply tense assistant director responded quickly and rushed toward Zhang Xiang's position.

Zhang Xiang stared in silence at the assistant director's face before yelling in a loud voice, “All the B-cuts we shot today! Bring them to me!”

“Sorry?”

“I said, bring me all the B-cuts! You haven't disposed of them yet, have you?”

“Ah, no, sir! We haven't gotten rid of them yet! I'll fetch them right now!”

The atmosphere in the film set rapidly became weird. Han Eun-Sol dazedly stared at Kang Jin-Ho, who had already returned to his original spot and was in the middle of putting on the mask and sunglasses.

No matter how much he thought about this situation, Han Eun-Sol wasn't smart enough to figure out what happened. However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't seem to care either way as he casually sat down on an empty chair, put his baseball cap back on, then relaxedly crossed his legs.

'Just what... did he do?'

Han Eun-Sol's head filled up with even more questions.