NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
Have you ever seriously thought about talent?
Have you ever deeply considered the definition of genius?
There are a few phrases that easily describe such people.
They say things like:
“Born different,”
“You can just tell,”
“Making things others find difficult seem easy,” and so on.
There were many thoughts, but Han Tae-geon thought differently.
“The standard for having talent, for being a genius.”
It means to mock others.
For Han Tae-geon, a genius is like a rolling stone.
It ruthlessly shatters the stones that have been embedded for a long time,
And occupies that place as if it were always there.
“That’s just ridiculous.”
Han Tae-geon scoffed as he watched Kim Donghu, or rather the Student Soldier, on the screen.
The Student Soldier’s screen time was, at most, about five minutes.
Truly a character that needed to be placed at exactly the right moment, like a perfect seasoning.
And he knew very well how difficult that role was.
To not appear until halfway through the movie
And then to express a character with just a few lines and simple actions.
Not even a single mistake is allowed.
The moment you mess up, it’s game over.
The instant you’re perceived as a flimsy character,
The character that appears for only five minutes in runtime is treated as defective.
But what if it succeeds?
“It transforms into an anticipated presence.”
Because it appears so little, it leaves you wanting more.
Knowing that the situation changes with its appearance,
That character becomes the switch that alters the narrative.
And indeed, that was the case.
It showed how a young soldier falls apart on the battlefield.
It reveals just how devastating the endless front lines are, and how brutal war really is.
“Sister, what is my name?”
The words from a boy who forgot even his name once again change the atmosphere of the film.
His calm question, seemingly anticipating his own death, scatters in the air,
And as the gaze moves sideways, the screen follows suit.
You can see a foolish-looking officer shouting things like, “Revolution Hill! Great Leader Comrade!”
What’s the point of all that?
Why stake your life on something that becomes useless once you die?
Do they really think if they win here, they’ll return to the North and live their lives?
Hoo,
In a brief sigh, the feeling of futility resonates deeply.
“I’ve lost my mind.”
With that nonsensical expressiveness, Han Tae-geon gripped the armrest tightly.
The feeling was completely different from watching an edited video;
Han Tae-geon was deeply immersed in the film he’d shot.
As the movie progressed,
It quickly arrived at the climax.
American bombing without distinction began,
And the situation turned into a struggle for survival rather than to kill the enemy.
And once again, the Student Soldier appeared.
Having forgotten their purpose for coming here,
They point their guns at each other to survive.
Bang! Bang!
“Comrade, how have you been?”
“Who are you calling comrade, you son of a b*h?”
They’re going all out just to take down one little kid.
But the boy in front of them was no longer just a kid.
A tragedy born from war.
A monster born with questions that no one can answer.
Ka-ka-ka-kang!
As the bullets drop, swords clash.
To survive,
Rolling on the ground desperately, getting back up countless times.
Boom!
A sword pierces the Student Soldier’s lung.
After that, the brief death of the Student Soldier is shown.
The longing to see his sister turned into a question of where to find rice and soup.
But just like he can never see his dead sister again,
No one can answer the Student Soldier’s question,
And even the Student Soldier slowly meets his end, bound by that question.
The scene then slowly shifts to the changing front lines.
In the end, the National Army pushes back the People’s Army and the hill is captured.
Even though they achieved victory at the very end, no one was smiling.
What was this war for, anyway? They’ve fought for so long that they’ve forgotten.
Should they be grateful to be alive?
The weight of the dead weighs heavily on their shoulders.
The Taegeukgi flutters weakly atop the hill.
How many thousands died just to see that one picture?
The movie ends just like that.
“Wow…”
Riding on someone’s admiration, the movie screen explains the true background of [Endless Frontlines].
How brutal the battles were at Baengmagoji,
And just how great their noble sacrifices were, etc.
Various explanations followed, but the VIP audience didn’t really register any of it.
‘What in the world did I just watch?’
‘Is that him? Kim Donghu? The Mise-en-scène four-time winner?’
‘What in the world did Director Kang Sang-hun bring to shoot this?’
‘I want to shoot! I want to shoot my own work, I seriously want to! I want to go right now, beg him to read my script and beg him to star in it!’
Just a running time of 5 minutes.
That short time where Kim Donghu lived and breathed as the Student Soldier on the screen.
Just that little bit of time sent the movie insiders into a frenzy.
‘…The performance I saw in Hydream was not his peak?’
‘And why is his swordsmanship so good? What is going on?’
The audience peeked at the cast.
‘Director Kang Sang-hun’s smile is practically ear-to-ear; if he smiles any harder, he might pass out.’
‘The actors are completely shocked…’
But what about Kim Donghu?
Munch, munch.
He was quietly crunching on popcorn as silently as possible.
Everyone was going crazy because of him, and here he was just calmly snacking?
‘There’s never been a weirdo like this.’
‘Is that how all geniuses are? Really?’
‘That might just mean he casually reaches such levels.’
So, amidst the shock and admiration, when the theater lights turned on,
‘I want to act! I want to act even better.’
‘I want to go and review this right now, just like this feeling!’
“I want to critique everything just as I’m feeling right now.”
“Did Kim Donghu leave right after? I want to at least give him my business card.”
Everyone seemed entranced, hurrying off in their own directions.
And thus, on the night of the VIP premiere of [Endless Frontlines],
★★★★☆
A sharp jab at the lackluster war film
– Park Dong-jin
★★★☆
A switch that erases the tedious first half
– Lee Pyeong-sik
★★★★
Capturing unforgettable memories from that day
– Ji Hye-ri
Three critics posted their thoughts.
“N? What am I even watching?”
“Is Lee Pyeong-sik’s 3.5 correct?”
“Park Dong-jin gives it a 4.5?! Wow!”
“Ji Hye-ri also rated it 4? What the?!”
Netizens reached a conclusion upon seeing this.
“Not watching this would be a total mistake, right? LOL”
They were convinced they had to see it.
+++++
With about ten days left until the release of [Endless Frontlines],
Brilliant CEO Han Seong-mun was still shaking his legs nervously.
“…Is this our uniform sales number?”
“Yes, it is.”
“How is it that sales have gone up after the semester ended?”
“More and more people are switching from existing uniforms to ours.”
Naturally, the reason behind this was the presence of actor Kim Donghu, the current uniform model.
Han Seong-mun stared blankly at the sales graph as he listened to his employee.
The graph shot up like it never knew fear.
Was it really us who only recently held the title of the uniform brand’s underdog?
“Wow, wow….”
He was so flabbergasted that reality felt unreal.
It reminded him of the times when he took out a loan, even putting up his house as collateral, just to create a good uniform.
So, does this mean he’s cleared his debts now?
“Is it really possible to hit all this just because of one model?”
Of course, quality must have played its part, but even a fool could see the current trend wasn’t entirely due to quality.
“Hey, that thing we sent to Kim Donghu and Ryu Jaerin’s agency… what’s going on with that?”
“Oh, you mean that special meeting? We were picking a few people who bought our uniforms to have a meeting.”
“Right, that… what was the deadline again?”
“By tomorrow?!”
The employee, who had been reporting casually, quickly covered his mouth.
He realized too late what was happening.
“We need to, we need to draw lots, right? How many people applied?”
Brilliant had prepared a small event.
They planned to leverage the popularity of [Hide Dream], believing that if people bought uniforms and verified their purchase, they would get a chance to meet actor Kim Donghu, which would further boost sales even more.
And in certain aspects, Han Seong-mun’s strategy had indeed worked well.
But.
“Isn’t he getting way too famous all of a sudden?”
Kim Donghu’s popularity skyrocketed unexpectedly.
Hydream? It did hit a 30% viewership rating, but that’s a drama that’s already wrapped up!
But what about the short film [Hero] and the commercial film [Endless Frontlines]?
One’s racked up four awards at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, while the other is being hailed as a masterpiece by critics.
Is there really an official event where we can meet actor Kim Donghu in this situation?
“C—Can you believe the crowd? How many people were we supposed to select again?”
“I’ll check!”
Just as one subordinate prepared to give a precise headcount…
Bang!
“Boss! The site crashed?! What do we do?!”
The dreaded news shot in from another employee.
‘Wait, what do you mean the school uniform site crashed? That’s just absurd.’
But the shock didn’t end there.
“Oh, and right before it crashed, we had 30,000 applicants.”
“…What? 30,000? I must’ve misheard that.”
“Yes, 30,000. And the calls just kept coming in, so we yanked the phone line for now.”
Why would you do that?
As he was about to ask…
Brrring!
Without a hint of self-awareness, his phone began to ring.
“Hello?”
-Oh, Seong-mun! I’m your fifth cousin, and I heard my daughter is crazy about Kim Donghu! Turns out you…
“Ah, yes, yes, I’m also a huge fan of Kim Donghu. Stay healthy, fifth cousin.”
Click.
So that’s why you pulled the phone line.
Well done.
Han Seong-mun praised his subordinate’s cleverness and suddenly thought,
‘Was it really a good idea to hold a special meeting?’
It was supposed to be an informal event!
Originally, there weren’t many applications, to begin with!
He could practically see the disaster he summoned coming right at him.
+++++
As Han Seong-mun was caught in this whirlwind, at the same time,
Kim Donghu was currently…
“…So, uh, you’re going to have a little brother.”
“…Ah, uh, yes.”
He was receiving the news of a second baby through [The Sims – The Real Life].
“Ahem… It’s really nice when mom and dad say they love each other, right?”
“Ah… That’s true, yeah.”
A scene where his usually quiet dad’s ears were flushed red as he shared the news about the second child.
If he hadn’t known beforehand, he would’ve been shocked out of his socks!