The Third-Gen Chaebol Becomes a Genius Actor - Chapter 148: Vicious Murder (6)

Chapter 148 <Vicious Murder (6)>

It took him a long time to reach the conclusion, but the execution was quick. Hwang Daesik slowly prepared his farewell letter.

Don’t skip meals because I’m gone, I believe you’ll live well. You don’t need me. Study hard and go to college.

He crumpled up the paper after finishing it without any hesitation and shoved it deep into the trash can. Then he sat next to his grandson who had fallen asleep soundly.

Hwang Minjae had wandered around outside for a while and fell asleep quickly. Hwang Daesik paused his hand that was reaching for his grandson.

‘I’m sorry.’

His palm that had been hovering over his face gently touched his grandson’s forehead.

He clumsily stroked his grandson’s hair and sat there for a long time. Outside, the rain was pouring down as if reflecting his feelings.

The next day, Hwang Minjae woke up earlier than usual. When had he felt so good? He got up first and helped his grandfather with the breakfast. His body was light and his mood was good.

“Why are you doing all this?”

“You have to eat a lot if you want to do that after school.”

There were more side dishes than usual. Hwang Minjae didn’t feel any discomfort and sat at the table and ate heartily.

“It seems like it will go well.”

“Really?”

The company he was protesting against had also agreed to talk. They wanted no noise because of the listing, and Hwang Minjae only needed his grandfather’s medical expenses, he didn’t ask for much.

“Please go to the hospital today.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s go together from next week, it’s vacation.”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Hwang Daesik answered calmly without grumbling. Hwang Minjae, who was suddenly engulfed by anxiety, looked at his grandfather with a blank stare. The grumpy look that he used to show when he didn’t want to be affectionate was gone and now his smile was natural.

“…I’ll be back.”

It’s nothing… He thought and left the house.

As soon as his grandson left, Hwang Daesik cleared the table as usual. And he threw away the things that would be useless after today one by one.

He sat at the desk to write a new letter instead of the one he wrote and threw away last night. He hesitated several times and left a brief note and put down the pen.

Was there any need to write long? He was a bad father who was leaving his grandson alone anyway…

Before he left, he glanced around the house for a moment and lightly dusted off his shoulders. As if he was shaking off an invisible burden.

He couldn’t remember the things he had done with his son as he got older. His grandson had filled that place.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, uh… over there.”

“Your face brightened up when your grandson came. You look good.”

The people who had worried and shared food with him no longer worried about Hwang Daesik. They were relieved that the grandfather and grandson were living together and relying on each other. Hwang Daesik smiled and greeted them. His expression was bright, maybe because he was happy.

He crossed the bridge at the entrance of the village without wandering. He didn’t remember exactly, but he had crossed here with his son, daughter, and wife who had passed away.

Hwang Daesik leaned his head and looked down. The river was quite swollen. At this rate, he wouldn’t wake up in the emergency room like last time.

“Oh…”

He had to leave his shoes. Someone gave them to him. He couldn’t just leave them to be swept away.

He carefully placed the shoes he had been wearing cautiously in case he got lost. And he left the world without any regrets.

Hwang Minjae, who felt uneasy about sending his grandfather to the hospital alone, left school early. And he found a brief letter on the desk.

[Live well.]

As soon as he saw it, he kicked his seat and ran. He ran around the corners of the alley and asked the passing people if they had seen his grandfather.

‘Where is he?’

He asked and asked and stopped for a moment at the entrance of the village. He looked around like a lost child looking for his parents.

“Huh, huh…”

He sobbed with his breath. He cried and ran.

(You had fun with your dad here…)

There was a place that came to mind. The bridge at the edge of the village. It must have rained heavily yesterday and the river must have swollen a lot… Could it be.

‘Please…’

He ran and wiped his tears with his sleeve. He was out of breath, but he didn’t stop. He felt like he would miss his grandfather if he was late.

He reached the riverside after running desperately. There was no one on the bridge.

“Grandpa!”

There was no one on the bridge. Only something in the center caught his eye.

“Oh, no…”

A pair of shoes neatly placed. He could tell from afar that they were the shoes he had gifted. He stumbled and fell as he ran towards the bridge. He was so anxious that he didn’t get up, but crawled on his knees. Just like he had clung to his grandfather, begging him not to go.

“Ah, Grandpa…”

Hwang Min-jae grabbed the shoes with his trembling hands. They were the shoes that Hwang Dae-sik had carefully kept and only wore when he went out for a drink. He never wore them for work, afraid they might get worn out.

The river flowed with a cool sound, and Hwang Min-jae sobbed. He couldn’t control his body, and he lay down and got up again repeatedly.

He tried to lift his head and look at the riverbank. But he couldn’t bear to see it, so he bowed his head and cried until he couldn’t breathe.

“Cut! Okay!”

The director had arranged the shooting schedule in order, for the sake of the actor’s emotions. With Hwang Min-jae’s scene of crying on the bridge, the filming of ‘Vulgar Murder’ was over.

The staff held their breath and looked at Yoo Yeon Seo, who was lying on the ground. Someone swallowed hard. When Lee Taegyeom and Lim Seunghyun tried to approach him, he got up and dusted off his knees.

“Yoo Yeon Seo, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

They had to do many retakes of the running scene because of the onlookers.

The camera rail couldn’t keep up with his speed and stopped for a moment. Yoo Yeon Seo felt annoyed then. He had to find his grandfather right away, but this damn camera kept stopping him.

‘Ah… I felt like I almost got it.’

He felt a blur between Hwang Min-jae and his own self. And that sensation, though brief, made him feel ecstatic.

It was different from the acting he had done before, when his past memories interfered. That time, it was a lucky coincidence that created a masterpiece. But today, he felt like he had become ‘Hwang Min-jae’.

Someone had called this method acting, he thought. He stretched out his arm.

“Hey, water.”

“Here.”

Yoo Yeon Seo exhaled deeply. He had run so fast that he was out of breath. But thanks to the influence of the soul, he didn’t take long to breathe normally.

He went straight to the monitor and stared at Hwang Min-jae on the screen.

“I don’t think I need to shoot any more…”

Even though it was just a scene of running mindlessly, he could feel Hwang Min-jae’s aura.

The director nodded, though reluctantly. The result was pretty good. And he had already lost the sense of Hwang Min-jae, and his eyes stung whenever the wind blew. The assistant director jumped up and shouted.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work!”

“It’s over!”

The staff cheered. The actors who weren’t filming today were also there.

“Let’s go to the after-party.”

“Yeon Seo, let’s go.”

Yoo Yeon Seo followed them and looked back. The village where Hwang Dae-sik and Hwang Min-jae had lived, he felt strange and gazed at it for a long time.

***

“Hey, you graduated, what are you going to do? Let’s hang out with the kids.”

“No, I have to go to work.”

“What? Didn’t you get compensation?”

“Do you think they’ll pay me on time? And that’s for tuition. It’s tight even if I go to Seoul.”

“Hey, you’re no fun.”

Park Ji-woo swung his hand, and Hwang Min-jae dodged it. He didn’t have the dark and depressed atmosphere he had when he first appeared. A faint smile lingered on his lips.

“I’m going. See you later.”

“Yeah. Go.”

Hwang Min-jae turned and walked. He wore the long padding that his grandfather had given him. It was cold, but the sky was blue without a cloud, and the uphill road was not that steep.

It was not the shabby and narrow village with winding and sloping roads where he had gone to find his grandfather. The road on the main street was straight. Unlike then, he didn’t wander around because the address was not written properly.

Hwang Min-jae, who had just started to stand on his own, moved forward without any hindrance.

***

‘Choi Nam-yoon shouldn’t have died…’

The diary could be a decisive evidence, but it was weak. And Yoo Yeon Seo’s words bothered him.

[There must be an accomplice. Find out.]

‘That’s easy to say…’

Baek Seo-jun groaned and leaned his weight on the back of the chair. The chair creaked dangerously.

“Baek, why are you ignoring my words?”

“I have something to do.”

You always ignore my words. Baek Seo-jun gritted his teeth inwardly. Kwak Chi-hoon, who was sitting next to him, frowned at his dry response, but only for a moment.

“You seem to be hanging out with Yoo Eunho, the vice president of Juseong, lately?”

“······How do you know that, Lieutenant Kwak?”

Baek Seo-jun leaned back from the backrest and glared at Kwak Chi-hoon. Kwak Chi-hoon clenched his teeth, feeling humiliated by his gaze.

“Well, he’s very popular, isn’t he? He was in the photos, right?”

True, Yoo Eunho was almost a celebrity. No wonder he felt the eyes on him… Baek Seo-jun sighed. He always got attention when he was with the two brothers, whether he liked it or not.

“He’s my high school classmate.”

“Hmm, really? You must be close?”

He was close. They had been friends for ten years.

He answered casually, hoping to ignore the person who kept nagging him, but Kwak Chi-hoon’s eyes changed as soon as he heard that.

“Well, if you need any help, just let me know. I have quite a lot of connections, you know?”

Baek Seo-jun read the greed in Kwak Chi-hoon’s eyes. He chuckled. It was funny that he got along with him because he was friends with the grandson of Juseong, while the son of the chief director didn’t work.

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“No, but…”

Just then, his phone vibrated. Baek Seo-jun jumped up.

“Hey, did you get the record?”

(Buy me dinner.)

“Of course, send it to me quickly.”

It was the call record of Choi Nam-yoon, whom he had been waiting for. He didn’t need Kwak Chi-hoon’s help. He had plenty of contacts.

‘If there’s a problem, the brothers will cover for me.’

Besides, it doesn’t matter as long as he doesn’t get caught, right? Hoping for a clue, Baek Seo-jun smiled faintly.

He ran outside, and Kwak Chi-hoon cursed softly behind him.

“Son of a bitch…”

He hated the way he ignored him just because he had some connections.

“A reporter, was it?”

Kwak Chi-hoon fiddled with the business card in his pocket and entered the number on the card into his phone.

[Your colleague seems to be meeting with the children of Juseong a lot lately… Yoo Eunho and Yoo Yeon Seo.]

[Oh, I don’t want anything big. You don’t think I’m asking you to spy on them, do you?]

[Just, sometimes he suddenly goes out for something other than work, right? Just give me a call then.]

Kwak Chi-hoon hesitated for a moment on the call button, then pressed his thumb hard.