Chapter 107

Chapter 107. Not Narrow-Mouthed Frogs, but a Shepherd

"If the actress who passed was a ten out of ten, then Serin would be... about an eleven?"

"Ah... Is that so?"

"Eleven out of ten. Serin interpreted the character a little differently from how I had imagined her. You remember the scene she performed during the audition, right? The one where she eats bibimbap made with ingredients her father stole from an American market."

Of course I remembered.

The setup was that her father had been beaten several times while they were escaping.

It was the scene where she described the bibimbap as tasting like blood.

Serin was especially good at monologues, so I had suggested that scene myself.

"I had originally planned to direct it like an ordinary kid picking at the bracken because children usually don't like it. But in the notes Serin wrote, she interpreted it as something she couldn't eat because it was neither a plant nor a mushroom, and that strange in-between state reminded her of herself. I didn't really understand the emotion at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked that emotional line."

"So?"

"So I want to cast Serin and adjust the character slightly in the direction she interpreted her. But she's so busy these days..."

The reason Serin had become known as being busy lately was because of 〈The Stranger〉.

If she was busy because of 〈The Stranger〉, then that meant it was now officially part of Serin's schedule.

As expected, I wasn't the only one who thought highly of her acting ability.

"Understood. Thank you very much. Serin is going to be thrilled."

"No, not at all. Her interpretation of the role was honestly incredible."

"By the way, remember when I asked about the music director last time? I have a proposal regarding the main OST. Would that be possible?"

At my question, Choi Gyu-sik gave a small laugh.

"CEO Do Jun-hyeok already changed the entire set with one word. You think you can't change the music?"

"The set could always be changed back."

"It can't. Odu-ri is an extremely popular set too. I checked the other day and construction has already started there. Apparently some music program is using it."

So that's how it ended up.

Well, it was a great set.

Who could've known it was actually a time bomb being passed around?

Whoever got it next was about to get a full taste of narrow-mouthed frogs.

"Anyway, I choose the music myself. I'm thinking of something in the mellow hip-hop range. Once I pick a track, I send it to the Shin brothers, they make a few adjustments, and we insert it directly. You could almost call them the music directors."

"The Shin brothers?"

"Yes. They're famous in the film industry, so remember their names. Director Shin Yo-han and Director Shin Woo-ram. Shin Yo-han is the music director, and Shin Woo-ram is the production designer."

Production designer.

Come to think of it, 〈The Stranger〉 was supposed to win Academy Awards in every category except production design.

Just then, I heard the notification sound of a text arriving.

I kept message notifications on even during calls because texts came in fairly often.

I checked it.

As expected, it was future spam.

"Anyway, thank you. I'll tell Serin. Ah, and I'd like to meet those Shin brothers today if possible. Could you send me their numbers?"

"Sure. I'll let them know first and send you their contact information. Thanks for taking such an interest. Oh, and I'd also like to ask Actor Kim Min-jun from Universe to make a special appearance. Should I discuss that with your actor team?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then I'll see you again soon!"

It felt like things were finally starting to fall into place.

Now then.

What kind of gift was the spam sending me this time?

I opened the message with excitement.

[Title: 3/10]

[Recorded: 2023.12.24. 11:21]

[Free Opt-Out: 02-xxxx-xxxx]

I played the video immediately.

What the spam showed me was shocking.

The footage itself was disturbing.

But more importantly, it made me realize I'd misunderstood something.

There was another reason 〈The Stranger〉 failed to win the production-design award.

"Look at this. Maralak isn't just good at rap. She can drink too."

Revick had grown much closer to Billy lately through their shared interest in Do Jun-hyeok and had started visiting Billy's studio all the time.

He was here again today, sitting there with headphones on, staring at his laptop.

The studio belonged to the company, of course.

Billy personally didn't think they had become quite as close as Revick seemed to believe.

But Revick was almost ten years older and constantly acted friendly toward him.

It was difficult to treat him coldly.

Billy walked over with both hands in his pockets and lightly tapped Revick's arm.

"What are you watching that's so interesting? 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 again?"

"Ah, sup, bro."

Revick paused the video and removed his headphones.

"Giving Maralak that track was the right choice. I've gained quite a few Korean fans. Shouldn't I help boost the views too?"

"Really? Koreans think every American rapper has at least one or two bullet scars. Won't they be disappointed?"

"Then I can live up to their expectations."

Revick rolled up both his pants and sleeves.

There were scars.

He pointed to one on his thigh.

"California, 1999. Got hit during a mass lynching by a drug gang. Two holes. And this one..."

"They're real. I guess I've been rapping on easy mode."

Billy had actually been feeling somewhat down.

He had just received a call saying the new-song project would be postponed indefinitely.

The reason was that a sudden retro trend had begun in Korea, making Billy's song impossible to use right away.

Once he heard the explanation, he could understand.

The debut-group members all belonged to different agencies, so they couldn't simply wait until the trend ended.

And if the song went to Blue Moon instead, the debut-group fans would curse them endlessly.

Billy understood.

But remembering how much he'd bragged about it to Emil Lipa still made his stomach hurt.

Billy had always achieved good results with experimental songs.

And just as he was starting to run out of new things to try, this had looked like a perfect opportunity.

It was a shame.

"They won't use my song, but they'll use Revick's beat. That's depressing. Do I need to get shot a few times too?"

"Ooh. Greedy, aren't you? You already appeared onstage as a feature last time. Honestly, I was trying to hint that I wanted a special appearance here too, but he never asked. Would've been cool if I came out going, 'Yeah~ Revick in the house~!' with fireworks and everything."

Billy had never really felt superior just because he was a famous singer.

Still, after Do Jun-hyeok repeatedly pushed and pulled like this, even Billy's pride was starting to sting a little.

It wasn't that he disliked him.

He just felt strangely unsettled and couldn't quite explain what kind of feeling it was.

"Hey, Revick. You want to perform on a Korean stage too?"

"Of course."

If he kept caring about appearances like this, all the opportunities would disappear.

"I have a good idea..."

The video had been recorded on December 24.

Christmas Eve.

There was still some time left.

But the moment I finished watching it, I called the free opt-out number almost immediately.

Whether there was one week left or one month, the information in that video was something I had no choice but to prepare for thoroughly.

The video had been recorded in front of the entrance to some supermarket.

The store name might be enough to figure out the location.

Judging by the date, there were huge crowds of people there buying things for Christmas Eve parties.

How devout of them all.

The main character of the video was a terrifying German Shepherd.

The Shepherd was being held on a leash by someone when it suddenly started barking.

Hk! Hk!

Its vocal cords hadn't been removed.

It simply couldn't bark properly because of the muzzle around its mouth.

Then the Shepherd suddenly dropped to the ground and tore the protective gear off its muzzle with its front paws.

After that, it bared its teeth at its owner and threatened the hand holding the leash.

The owner instinctively let go.

The Shepherd didn't miss the opening.

It sprinted straight into the supermarket.

"No! Denver! Come back! You can't go inside the store!"

The voice probably belonged to the owner.

And Denver was likely the Shepherd's name.

Denver ignored the command and wove between the customers.

Then it clamped its jaws onto the thigh of a toddler who looked like they'd only recently learned to walk.

"Aaaah!"

The customers screamed.

A man who appeared to be the child's father grabbed both the Shepherd and the child, trying to pull them apart.

But the harder he tried, the more badly the child was hurt.

Eventually, the man began kicking the Shepherd.

But the dog absolutely refused to let go.

Instead, it began biting different areas one after another.

The child's clothes slowly started turning red.

Then the video ended.

It was horrifying.

The child's crying had continued until the very end, so they weren't dead yet.

But there was no doubt they had been badly injured.

And they might still have died afterward.

I needed to find out whose dog it was.

Whose child it was.

And why the dog had specifically attacked that child.

I had a feeling there was probably a complicated story behind it, like last year's Shongshong incident.

This wasn't the kind of situation where I could leisurely save the tastiest side dish for later.

So I called immediately.

"Hello, this is the Seoul Animal Protection Association, People Who Protect Dogs. How may we help you?"

A kind-sounding woman answered the free opt-out number.

An animal protection association?

Not a child protection organization?

"Ah, yes. Um... if a dog bites someone and injures them, could I still receive help somehow?"

"Of course. Does your child keep biting you? Only you, only strangers, or both? Temperament varies tremendously depending on the breed and individual dog, but most cases happen because biting behavior was improperly reinforced. We can absolutely provide training support."

Come to think of it, the Shepherd in the video hadn't looked aggressive at first.

If it were naturally vicious, its owner wouldn't have casually brought it even as far as the supermarket entrance.

And it would've been unlikely to keep wearing a muzzle it was physically capable of removing.

Something inside that store had triggered the dog.

Of course, the owner was still at fault for not training it properly.

For proper counseling, they told me I needed to visit the association with the dog.

But I didn't know the dog.

I didn't have it with me either.

Just in case, I made a reservation first.

Then I sent a group message to people I knew, asking whether anyone knew someone who raised a German Shepherd.

If I received responses, I could meet them one by one and check whether their dog matched the one in the video.

While waiting for replies, the contact information for the Shin brothers arrived from Choi Gyu-sik.

Choi Gyu-sik had received the same group message.

He said that, as far as he knew, the Shin brothers also raised a German Shepherd and suggested I check with them.

I didn't want to get my hopes up.

German Shepherds weren't exactly a rare breed.

Still...

Deep down, I hoped it was theirs.

I immediately called the Shin brothers, got their address, and headed out.

I needed to finish checking this one quickly so I could investigate other dogs too if necessary.

When I arrived at the Shin brothers' studio, a long-haired man greeted me warmly.

"I've heard a lot about you. I can't believe you came to visit us personally. Nice to meet you. I'm Shin Yo-han!"

Shin Yo-han.

He was the music director.

Apparently, he was known as the kind of person who practically guaranteed a music award whenever a film he worked on was submitted to a festival.

Since 〈The Stranger〉 was also going to win a music award, his success rate might as well have been close to one hundred percent.

But the important one was production designer Shin Woo-ram...

"Nice to meet you. I'm Do Jun-hyeok. I heard Director Shin Woo-ram was here too. Is he not around?"

I glanced deeper into the studio as I asked.

Shin Yo-han answered.

"No, he's inside."

Then he called Shin Woo-ram's name loudly.

Something came charging out from the back.

It wasn't Shin Woo-ram.

It was the exact enormous German Shepherd I'd seen in the video.