Chapter 84: The Red Sword

"Huff, huff."

Having dodged the bullets that kept flying nearby and finally reached the enemy camp's factory, 'Marine Victory' took a deep breath. It seemed he had managed to shake off his pursuers since the bullets had stopped flying a while ago.

'I'll take them out one by one. If I know their positions, I can finish them off with wall shots perfectly.'

Whistle─.

At that moment, a whistle sounded from the left. 'Marine Victory' quickly aimed in that direction, but he couldn't see anyone hiding and whistling.

Whistle─.

This time, a whistle came from the right. He quickly aimed again, but still couldn't see the enemy.

Whistle─.

Whistle─.

Whistle─.

Suddenly, whistles started coming from all directions, making him start to feel scared.

'Damn, what are these guys doing!'

'Marine Victory' ran with all his might toward the factory behind him.

"Huff, huff."

He caught his breath inside the factory.

At that moment, a shadow loomed over him.

Yeonwoo, who had been sitting on the steel frame in the middle of the factory, leaped down and landed softly behind 'Marine Victory,' quickly pointing a pistol at his helmet.

"Don't move. Hands up."

The rule for not killing but subduing an opponent at close range in a survival game.

Freeze.

In the community of survival game enthusiasts, it is considered the most humiliating defeat.

"Ugh."

'Marine Victory' took his hands off the gun and raised them.

In the control room, the staff turned on the announcement system and watched the CCTV footage inside the factory.

- The last member of the Red Team has surrendered. The Blue Team wins with a 5-0 survival count.

***

"Phew."

Junsu, who was grilling meat on the barbecue, suddenly laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Well, I just remembered how that guy ran away like his butt was on fire when he heard the whistles."

Hearing this, Seongsik, who had been washing parsley, started to cry.

"Ah, I didn't even manage to take out one person!"

"…What? Did you not?"

Thinking about it, except for Yeonwoo, Jinyu and Junsu had each taken out an opponent in the first and second rounds, and Jinyu had done so in the second round.

'So, in the last round, I took out all five. Seongsik didn't get to taste the action.'

At that moment, Jinyu smiled and said,

"Let's do it again sometime. It was fun."

Yeonwoo, seeing this, showed an interested expression.

'Jinyu finding something fun other than acting is quite unusual.'

Fortunately, it seemed he was enjoying his time with his friends more than he had expected.

Yeonwoo, who had been curious about something for a long time, asked Jinyu,

"Jinyu, you seemed to get along with your friends easily today, but why are you called a 'stone wall' on the set?"

"Huh? Jinyu is a stone wall? I didn't feel that at all."

Seongsik, responding to Yeonwoo's question, and the other friends nodded.

Jinyu then smiled and answered,

"Well, I guess after seeing and hearing a lot of dirty things in the entertainment industry, I tend to put up a wall with people I meet for work on the set."

Everyone nodded, listening to Jinyu's answer.

Since the entertainment industry is known to be dirty even to the general public, his reason made sense.

"Come on, let's eat the meat quickly. 'Beyond the River' will start soon."

Joo-hyung, noticing the slightly heavy atmosphere, tried to lighten it.

"Speaking of which, it's a big deal. We'll be sitting right next to the main characters."

"Right."

Junsu, agreeing with Seongsik.

Then, Jinyu looked at Yeonwoo and asked,

"What part of the show starts today?"

"Hmm, it's episode 11, so it should be the scenes shot in the special set. And the last part is the special cameo."

"…Ah!"

Jinyu smiled, thinking about how the audience and his friends would react to what Yeonwoo said.

After finishing the barbecue and cleaning up, it was almost time for the broadcast to start.

"It's about to start."

"Oh, then we need to prepare before watching."

Hearing Junsu, the friends gathered in front of the TV, and Seongsik took out his smartphone and started clicking something.

"Watching the live broadcast while checking the reactions in the open chat is the best way to enjoy it."

"Hmm? I think Sohyun is watching it too."

"Really? She must know a thing or two."

Seongsik quickly scanned the chat messages appearing in the open chat.

- Finally, it's starting!

- Ah, they'll save Hong Eun-yeon today, right? I can't take any more of the sweet potato scenes.

- Last week, they were kidnapped and I thought they would die.

- Ah, riding a horse is so cool. My heart is melting.

Seongsik, reading the chat messages, was amazed to see the main characters sitting next to him.

"Hey, Seo Hee and Lee Ji-baek, are you going to save Hong Eun-yeon today?"

"Shh."

"Live broadcast."

Yeonwoo and Jinyu, looking at Seongsik simultaneously, put their fingers to their lips and pointed to the TV.

***

"Finally, I can post it today. Hehehe."

A masterpiece perfectly color-corrected and created.

Photographer Ethan Kim, who specializes in on-set stills, had been eager to post this photo since he took it last week.

"Ugh, the subject is perfect, and the smile and natural atmosphere of this moment are also perfect."

Ethan Kim, admiring his work on the monitor, kept praising it.

He planned to upload it to the official SNS account as soon as Jinsu appeared as a cameo in the last part of the drama.

Ethan Kim turned his head and looked at Seo Hee and Lee Ji-baek on the TV.

"…There are too many of them."

Seo Hee, whose official uniform was stained with blood from a shoulder wound, was in the midst of a fierce battle.

Clang─.

"Ugh."

Seo Hee cut down a bandit in front of him and stood back-to-back with Lee Ji-baek.

They were surrounded by black-clothed masked men, just outside the cave where Hong Eun-yeon was believed to be held.

"How many can we take?"

Lee Ji-baek asked Seo Hee, who was behind him. After a moment's thought, Seo Hee replied,

"I don't know, it depends on you. If you cover my back, I can take out seven of them."

"Seven? You're boasting, but if you go, take out at least five. I'll protect your back even if my neck is on the line."

Lee Ji-baek, speaking with determination, made Seo Hee chuckle.

"Ha, I haven't even received my first salary yet. I wanted to buy my mother a silk gown with my first paycheck."

Seeing his friend Seo Hee making jokes even in a life-threatening situation, Lee Ji-baek also chuckled.

"What kind of silk gown for a man?"

At that moment, the black-clothed masked men started to attack.

"Take this!"

Clang─.

Seo Hee parried the fast-approaching sword and quickly spun to cut down the enemy. Without even hearing the dying scream of the fallen enemy, he immediately parried another sword and cut down another masked man who was rushing from the side.

Seo Hee, only dealing with the front and sides, ignored the back, as did Lee Ji-baek.

Their swordplay complemented each other, creating a perfect synergy like gears meshing together, resulting in a fluid action scene.

However, it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.

When Seo Hee had cut down five enemies, as Lee Ji-baek had said, a masked man who had been waiting for an opportunity rushed in and cut Seo Hee's side.

"Ugh."

Clang─.

Seo Hee, feeling no pain, parried the sword coming from the front.

As they grew more exhausted and were cornered, a man in black, similar to the masked men, appeared, wielding a red sword with a red tassel.

"Who are you?"

The masked men, surprised by the sudden appearance of a new enemy.

The man with the red sword, tilting his masked face to the side, looked at the bandits and said,

"That's not something a dirty person should say. Shouldn't I be the one asking? Who are you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he swung his red sword, cutting down the bandits with incredible skill.

"Lee Ji-baek. A way out has opened. Let's give it our all."

Seizing the opportunity, Seo Hee and Lee Ji-baek joined the man with the red sword and started to take down the masked bandits.

This time, the action scene continued with the three of them, creating a complex but beautiful swordplay.

Sun Jinsu, Jinyu, and Yeonwoo, who had experience in action films, complemented each other, creating a stunning scene.

The bandits, helpless against them, were cut down one by one.

Soon, only the three of them were left standing.

Seo Hee bowed to the man with the red sword.

"I owe my life to the bodyguard of the Chief Censor."

"Hmm, how did you know who I am?"

"I saw you practicing with a red-tasseled sword in the palace."

"In the palace? You were a Goryeo official? I didn't recognize you with all the blood on your uniform."

Seo Hee's uniform was stained with blood from the fierce battle.

At that moment, Lee Ji-baek, also stained with blood, stepped forward and bowed.

"Please help us clear out the cave. These bandits have kidnapped a woman and set fire to a house."

Hearing this, the Song Dynasty envoy's bodyguard removed his mask.

"I can't ignore that."

As the mask was removed, Jinsu's face appeared on the screen, marking the end of episode 11.

***

The friends were surprised by Jinsu's unexpected appearance.

"Ah! What? Jinsu?"

"Wow, what is this? Suddenly here?"

"He appeared as a special cameo."

Seongsik, hearing Yeonwoo, exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow, amazing. I have to watch the live broadcast tomorrow. This is awesome."

He quickly turned on his smartphone and checked the reactions in the chat.

- Amazing. Is this a three-shot? It must be Yeonwoo's connections.

- Wow. I'm dying.

- Sir, take a deep breath first.

"Amazing. The reactions in the open chat are crazy. The comments are intense."

"Really?"

Yeonwoo and Jinyu, showing interest in Seongsik's words.

Next to them, Joo-hyung was checking the reactions on the portal site.

- Crazy. Is Jinsu going to save Joo-ju in this?

- This isn't 'Summer's Closet.' This is Goryeo.

- Man, what's so special about this? I need to change my underwear first.

"The portal site reactions are also good. The ratings will be great."

"Sure, that's good."

***

Director Hwang was nervously tapping his foot.

"By now, it should be time…"

He kept looking at the door, waiting for the employee working overtime to come in.

As they say, if you call a tiger, it will come. The door opened, and a drama department employee entered.

"What's up? What time is it? Did you get the ratings?"

"They haven't appeared on the web yet, but I checked by phone. It's 25.7%!"

"Yes! Yes!"

Meanwhile, as the special cameo became a hot topic, the still cut photo taken by Ethan Kim was uploaded to the sea of information, where many people were eager to follow the story.