Hyun-ho Nam’s mental education came to a temporary end when he passed out.
Did it all happen in about 30 seconds?
Since everything unfolded so quickly, Hyun-ho Nam’s manager didn’t have time to intervene.
If there was any moment to stop it, it would have been when I put on my gloves, but even then everyone was just standing around going “Huh?”
When Nam and I actually clashed, he jumped onto the ring like his tail was on fire, but by then it was already too late.
And our older brother Cheol-nam…
“How do you stop an actor who’s lost their mind and is set on doing something? You can’t exactly punch them to calm them down.”
His final recourse was threatening to report the incident to the company, but if that didn’t work, there was nothing he could do.
While his job involves preventing or monitoring sudden situations, he wasn’t going to use force to stop my actions.
Since I’m the kind of guy who can easily knock out a guard in a sparring match, stopping me would inevitably require violence. And if they tried to forcefully stop me and I ended up injured, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
Especially in a situation like this where it’s actor vs. actor, there’s absolutely nothing that Brother Cheol-nam could do.
“I think we need to increase the number of guards assigned to the actor. I can’t handle it alone.”
With that, he was planning to request additional guards be dispatched.
He thought that, to prevent something like this from happening again, at least three guards would need to restrain me.
“So, you’re going to report this to the company?”
“Yes, of course that’s necessary. That’s my job.”
“But didn’t everything end cleanly? No one’s hurt.”
“…Then what about the person passed out over there?”
“Oh, that’s nothing. He just fainted for a moment. He’ll wake up soon. His face is fine.”
“That’s unacceptable.”
Damn. Looks like I’ll get another lecture from Yuah Cheon.
“Ugh, was I unconscious?”
“Yes, sir. You passed out cleanly.”
“If I didn’t get hit in the head, why did I pass out? Hmph, what am I saying…”
As I sighed, realizing this incident would likely bring disapproval from Yuah Cheon, Nam Hyun-ho woke up, having briefly lost consciousness after getting a proper blow to the chest.
“Hey, why are you still here?”
“There’s stuff to settle before I leave.”
“Oh, right. Then let’s talk. What was the deal with Yoo-shin? Yoo-shin…”
The deflated Nam Hyun-ho immediately asked about what exactly had happened with Jo Yoo-shin upon waking.
About time, I thought. If he had done this earlier, perhaps the situation wouldn’t have unfolded like this.
It sounds like Yoo-shin was spouting nonsense.
That I was causing trouble behind his back and was the reason why he was being excluded from the filming site.
Well, the person who stirred up the scene with the staff on set wasn’t him? The victim act is absurd.
He’d have been better off admitting outright that he got into a fight with me, but what he’s doing is simply low-quality.
I explained in detail what happened on set, and what exactly I did to Yoo-shin, as it became too ridiculous.
“So… you hit him?”
“Yes, just like what happened to you.”
“Wow, you really are an idiot.”
“I don’t think I have a reason to hear that from you. It was you who called me to the gym in the first place.”
“This is bluffing… well, never mind. What’s important now? Yoo-shin really is…”
To Nam Hyun-ho, who sighed in exasperation, I gave my final word.
“To put it bluntly, which I shouldn’t, choose your company wisely. There are lots of good senior actors, so why did you pick Jo Yoo-shin? Talking ill of others behind their back isn’t very manly.”
“Ah.”
“And as for you, if you had just asked Director Yoo or even Actor Leon who’s also part of this drama, you would’ve known that Yoo-shin had issues.”
By now, that’s enough.
He must’ve felt that maybe he wasn’t in the right, so from now on, I trust he’ll handle things himself. Whether it’s because of Yoo-shin or his distaste for political actors, the reason I was disliked has disappeared, so I don’t expect further trouble from him.
Innocent and naive as he is, still, he’s not the type to hold grudges or retaliate, so it’s unlikely he’ll dwell on today’s events.
Rather, I wonder if it’s Jo Yoo-shin who should be worried.
Nam Hyun-ho appears genuinely upset.
With the thought that I had swiftly and surely resolved the issue, I returned to the company with a relatively light heart.
“Ah, so you hit Nam Hyun-ho?”
“That makes it sound like I assaulted him unilaterally. Light sparing? Or call it life education?”
“He only said you hit him. You didn’t get hit, did you?”
“Well, yeah, that’s true. But still, my face was spared. Now, can we shoot?”
“…You’re truly admirable.”
“Then what should I do? When someone invites me onto the ring, what should a man do…”
After returning to the company, I had a meeting with Heavenly Yuah waiting for me. Even trying various ways to sugarcoat my actions didn’t work; her gaze remained icy.
Honestly, I did make a mistake, so I couldn’t argue extensively.
“Gang Cheol-nam, one of the on-site guards, requested additional support. He said he couldn’t handle such situations alone.”
“…Yes, he did that.”
“So from now on, when you leave for reasons other than filming, three guards will be assigned to you. Their mission has also been changed from mere monitoring or restraint to strict prohibition. If three guards isn’t enough, Se-jin will be added.”
“Why Se-jin?”
“If someone grabs you with their arms or legs, you wouldn’t throw them off, would you? Se-jin is strong, so she’d be able to hold on tightly.”
“…There’s no need to be this thorough.”
Originally, a guard is assigned only when an entertainer leaves for a schedule. In my case, it’s quite the opposite.
There’s peace during filming, so only a manager is necessary then, but something invariably happens when there’s no shooting schedule, hence the assignment of three guards.
Not to mention the coordination staff stepping in to prevent my erratic behavior.
It’s a bit annoying, but I can’t really refuse since I was the one who started this mess.
“Then, about having Selly assigned…”
“…”
“…Sorry, don’t look at it like that.”
Trying to see if I could gain some small advantage from this situation, I casually mentioned Selly, but Cheon Yuah glared at me like a demon.
It seems I went too far again.
Of course, if I get one of the few female guards to myself, it’d inconvenience her.
“Still, the filming site should remain quiet, so let’s be content with that.”
With the root cause removed before filming begins, there shouldn’t be any problems during the shoot.
If something this extreme happened during the filming period itself, it would’ve been even bigger chaos.
The atmosphere makes me feel a bit wronged, as if I’m the only troublemaker here, but I’ll console myself by thinking I’ve contributed to a smooth filming environment.
*
After that incident, Nam Hyun-ho didn’t attend practice for three days.
It was probably because his body was sore.
Even if he looked fine outwardly, his entire body must’ve been throbbing.
After resting for three days, when Nam Hyun-ho returned, the first person he sought out was me.
“I dealt with a few people. Apparently, there were some problematic ones.”
“Is that so?”
It turns out that during his absence, he had investigated those around him through other people.
There, he discovered quite a few suspicious individuals, and as a result, he had kicked out a few people who he thought were beyond repair, including Jo Yoo-shin.
It seems he was quite surprised to learn that the seemingly kind Jo Yoo-shin was, in fact, a pretty bad character.
This guy may be an idiot, but he’s not completely clueless.
“By the way, why are you sticking around me so much?”
“What do you mean? Are we on bad terms?”
“…Considering our relationship, there’s a lot missing, isn’t there?”
“Hey, quit being hurt. Aren’t you the guy who exchanged punches with me?”
“Well, technically… you didn’t land a single punch, did you?”
To be honest, all that about tidying up his surroundings has nothing to do with me.
I just gave him some advice as a throwback to old memories, but for some reason, after that event, he began oddly sticking around in my vicinity.
Isn’t this a bit much?
Wouldn’t it be better to avoid me out of embarrassment after getting hit like that?
“There aren’t many people who talk to me so candidly.”
“…Ah.”
So when I questioned why he was doing this, he gave me this reason.
Apparently, it’s because this is the first time someone is treating him this way.
I somewhat understand.
Supreme good looks, youngest son of a wealthy family, and a popular star. Sure, he’s currently trying to keep his family background concealed, but there aren’t many people who outright criticize such a good-looking star.
People who know his background would be even more cautious.
That’s why my straightforward approach, without worrying about such things, might seem intriguing to him. But this kind of approach would be preferable if it came from a woman, to be honest.
At this rate, it feels like he’s giving off gay vibes, and it’s kind of scary.
“What are you saying? I only like women.”
“…Who said anything? Just be careful about scandals.”
At least it’s not that, right? This is all so confusing.
Still, there was an advantage to this guy clinging onto me. The guy knows a lot of showbiz gossip, given how easily persuaded he is.
“Didn’t you say you and Cheon Yuah were in the same company? Are they all like you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Cheon Yuah used to act like that, right? It happened several years ago, with an opponent who was especially malevolent. Everyone’s been quiet about it, but it was quite the story.”
Particularly, the old story about Yuah Cheon was amusing.
Nam Hyun-ho was saying that around Cheon Yuah’s third project, she had some trouble with a very unpleasant female actor.
It escalated into a physical altercation, where during the scuffle, Yuah Cheon revealed her true colors.
Amidst the chaos when the staff gathered, she managed to discreetly land three uppercuts to the other woman’s abdomen.
The female actor immediately fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital. When she returned to the set, she quietly filmed and then disappeared.
“The amusing part is how thoroughly they covered it up; the person who got hit had no idea who did it. The only witness was a staff member I know, but he kept quiet because he disliked the actress.”
“Huh, that happened?”
“Nowadays, everyone knows. The only person who could’ve done such a thing in that situation was Cheon Yuah. Since then, it seems other actresses have stopped challenging her spirit. The news must have spread.”
“Indeed….”
Indeed, Cheon Yuah. With her personality, it’s unimaginable that she’d lose any sort of confrontation.
Still, to throw a punch like that to an ordinary actress is perhaps a bit excessive?
I’ll keep this story in mind for when Cheon Yuah lectures me next time.
It’s evident that this guy intends to continue our friendship. If I continue sharing useful information like this, maybe it’s worth considering being somewhat friendly with him.
