Chapter 74. The Movie "Master Plan" (1)

The movie begins in the office of Guo Zhichun's company.

Guo Zhichun, tapping the table, opens his mouth with a disgruntled expression.

"No, boss. I haven't done anything wrong, and I've been telling you since last month that we need to improve that area."

"I really put in a lot. You won't feel let down. You can take a break and come back when things calm down. I know your skills better than anyone, Guo Team Leader. Okay?"

The boss places a document envelope in front of Guo Zhichun, who is taking responsibility for the company's mistake.

The scene transitions to a document envelope falling on the table and the sound of a trunk closing.

Bang!

The sudden sound makes the audience flinch.

"Who is it? Did you dent my door?"

"It's the trunk. The trunk."

In the parking lot of an apartment complex, a scene shows Guo Zhichun's burly arm as the car owner next to him gets out. The extra, playing the car owner, bows his head and gets back into his car, which makes the audience burst into laughter.

"What is it, honey? What's going on at this hour?"

Guo Zhichun's wife opens the door and takes the document envelope and items from him.

"No, it's just... things turned out this way. I need to lie down for a bit."

Guo Zhichun enters the house, taking off his shoes, and lies on the bed in his underwear, fanning himself with a fan while explaining the situation to his wife.

"Why should you take the blame for this? It's ridiculous."

"What can I do if they say I have to?"

"Never mind, honey. You don't need to go back to such a company. Just take a break. They said they put a lot in your severance pay, right?"

Guo Zhichun's wife slightly opens the document envelope he brought in.

"Oh, they'll transfer the severance pay to your account. This is just the resignation paperwork."

"Oh, is that so?"

After that, scenes of Guo Zhichun living a laid-back life, scratching his belly on the sofa, and playing computer games with his large frame, which doesn't match his behavior, are edited together.

The audience bursts into light laughter, and then the mood shifts with tense music as the doorbell rings at Guo Zhichun's house.

"Yes, who is it?"

- Mr. Guo Zhichun? I have a request to make.

"I am Guo Zhichun, but I'm not the kind of person who takes requests."

- Please open the door for a moment, and I'll explain the business, sir.

"Who is it, honey?"

"I don't know. They're talking about some business. Maybe a peddler?"

Jung Su-yeon, watching the movie, unconsciously clenched her fists.

'No! Don't open it.'

From clichés, she knew that opening the door at such a tense moment usually led to trouble.

Sure enough, when Guo Zhichun nonchalantly opened the door, three men in dark suits pushed their way in.

"Hello, Mr. Guo Zhichun."

As the three men enter the house, Guo Zhichun naturally becomes defensive.

"Who are you? If it's about business, let's talk outside."

Guo Zhichun tries to lead the men outside, but they forcefully push their way in.

"Mr. Guo, you've done a great job with the interior. I didn't know it was such an old apartment from the outside."

They take off their shoes and enter the house, and Guo Zhichun follows, roughly grabbing their shoulders.

"Who are you to barge into someone's house like this? Get out. Honey, call the police."

"Hey, we could be business partners. Let's talk nicely, sir."

"Ah!"

One of the men approaches Guo Zhichun's wife and takes her phone.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Just listen to a simple request, and we can all save face, Mr. Guo."

A gangster pulls out a document from his briefcase and hands it to Guo Zhichun.

Guo Zhichun, taking the document, says,

"Back off from my wife and give her back her phone. Then I'll read it."

"Lee, give it to him."

"Yes, sir."

As his wife gets her phone back and the gangsters step back, Guo Zhichun reads the request on the paper.

"This is an illegal gambling program, isn't it?"

"But sir, you've been short on words. Yes, it's illegal gambling. There are only a few people in this country who can design such a program besides you."

"…If I make this, my career will be ruined. How can I make it?"

"From what I hear, your career is already ruined. Just make it quietly. What's there to worry about, kid?"

Guo Zhichun looks at the men behind him and sees that they are determined.

If he refuses, they will do something.

"Alright. I understand. Come back tomorrow. I need time to think and decide."

"Then I'll take it as you agreeing to make it and come back tomorrow. If you have any strange thoughts…"

The gangster looks at Guo Zhichun's wife and smirks.

"You'll regret it for the rest of your life, Mr. Guo. Fists are closer than the law."

The gangsters leave, and Guo Zhichun immediately reports to the police for help.

"So, sir, you're saying they entered your house without permission. That's illegal entry."

"No, that's not the point. They threatened to harm me if I didn't make the illegal gambling program."

The police officer, seemingly in a rut, sighs and hands him a paper.

"But that hasn't happened yet, has it? We'll strengthen patrols in the area and investigate the people you mentioned. Please calm down and fill out this statement."

That night, the gangsters, somehow knowing, came back to his house and harassed him again. Guo Zhichun, who cherishes his family more than anything, tried to resist but was beaten due to his unimpressive fighting skills.

"Mr. Guo, you didn't understand that fists are closer than the law, did you?"

Scream!

When the gangster grabs his wife and daughter's hair, a scream erupts. Guo Zhichun, staggering from the beating, tries to charge at them again.

"Hey, you're making things difficult. Let them go."

The subordinates, following the order, release the hair, and Guo Zhichun's wife and daughter run to him.

"You'll see today that it's better to resolve things nicely. We'll be back tomorrow."

After they leave, the house becomes quiet. The preview screening hall also becomes quiet, and the audience can only hear the sound of swallowing.

After the gangsters leave, Guo Zhichun's face hardens, and he puts his wife and daughter in the car.

He quickly drives to his wife's parents' house in Busan and hides them there.

"I'll try to resolve this somehow. Stay here and don't move."

"What if you get hurt, Dad?"

"My friend Han Seong is a lawyer. He said he'll request police protection. Don't worry, just wait here."

Guo Zhichun, leaving his worried family behind, gets into the elevator.

The next scene shows him getting out of the elevator, but it's not at his wife's parents' house; it's at the courthouse.

"Hey, Han Seong, is this really how it ends? That guy wasn't one of the gangsters who came to my house."

"They're cutting off their tails. It seems they're sacrificing one of their own. At least he's getting a sentence, and it almost got a suspended sentence."

Guo Zhichun, thinking of the other gangsters glaring at him in front of the courthouse, feels dizzy.

"Han Seong, can you give me a ride in the back of your car?"

"You're not taking your own car?"

"The guys waiting at the door will follow me."

"Alright, I understand. I'm sorry I couldn't help more."

Guo Zhichun lies in the backseat of his lawyer friend's car, avoiding the watchful eyes, and leaves the courthouse.

Journalist Ju Yewool, watching the movie, has a question in her mind.

"Ryu Yeon-woo was supposed to be the lead, but... it's been almost 30 minutes, why hasn't he appeared yet?"

At that moment, a scene shows Guo Zhichun hiding in an old motel on the outskirts and placing a request through a dark channel. It's been quite a while since the movie started, and finally, Ryu Yeon-woo appears on screen.

Wow!

Just his appearance on screen causes a stir in the audience.

A close-up of Ryu Yeon-woo's face fills the screen, and it's not the somewhat gentle image of Ryu Yeon-woo seen in previous works or official events.

With tense music, Ryu Yeon-woo, as Pierre Choi, appears with one leg crossed and a sinister smile, almost frightening, which completely embodies the character and dominates the audience.

'...He's insane.'

Journalist Ju Yewool, who has seen countless movies at previews, tries to recall if there was a more impactful entrance scene in the movies she saw this year.

'No.'

While watching the movie, she also thinks about the headline for her article.

'What should I call this? A historic entrance? Visual explosion?'

And the perfect Italian pronunciation of Pierre Choi's lines.

The subtitles appear in Korean.

- I'll be back from the bathroom.

As Pierre Choi walks through the mafia, his expression is captured in slow motion, changing dynamically with each step.

From a sinister smile to a gentle one, and then to a mischievous face, Pierre Choi's expressions are ever-changing.

Pierre Choi then makes a call on his phone.

"Hey, Mr. Kim. Yeah, what's the problem? Dealing with these sniveling guys? It's like eating cold porridge. So, make sure to prepare what we agreed on."

He continues in a boiling voice.

"Or you'll see hell."

Journalist Ju Yewool, watching Ryu Yeon-woo on screen, is overwhelmed by his charisma and momentarily forgets to breathe and swallow.

'Was he always this charismatic...?'

Ryu Yeon-woo on screen is Pierre Choi himself.

"I take everything I can get. And I only take interesting requests. If the next request wasn't from Mr. Kim... it would have been nice."

Ryu Yeon-woo's screen presence, with one side of his mouth curled up, is so intense that his expression is split into two: one half is a mischievous rascal, and the other half is a devil.

Pierre Choi, with his overwhelming presence, reminds one of the face of Janus.

Ju Yewool is amazed by how Ryu Yeon-woo, using his good looks and facial features, conveys the character of Pierre Choi through his expressions, making her shiver.

'...This isn't just an entrance or visual. It's just the actor's performance.'