Chapter 78

78. The Beginning of the Legend

"Please come in. Thank you for making the trip."

"Ah, it's nothing. Thank you for inviting us. I feel a bit intrusive, though."

"Thank you for coming."

This was at Young-joon's house. His father, who had come out to the gate to greet the guests, bowed deeply. U-bong-soo, Jin-hyuk's father, who stood beside him, also gave a polite greeting.

"Thank you so much. Our child is always a burden to you, I don't know what to do."

"Ah, what are you saying? Jin-hyuk coming is an honor for us."

Young-joon's mother and Jin-hyuk's mother, Kim Sun-hwa, also exchanged warm greetings.

Before the premiere of Jin-hyuk's first leading drama, "2012 Hong Gil-dong," Young-joon's parents had invited all of Young-joon's friends and their parents.

Young-joon's father had readily made this decision after noticing the children's hopeful looks.

"Hello."

The children, following their parents, greeted with excited faces.

"Wow!"

The children exclaimed in amazement at the large screen set up in one corner of Young-joon's spacious living room.

Today, all the friends and family planned to watch the drama together using a projector and audio equipment.

On one side of the living room, a row of standing snack tables made it look like a party venue.

"Hello! Thank you for inviting us."

Before long, the parents of Do Min-woo and Kim Min-yeong also joined, making the spacious living room quite lively.

"This is a good opportunity for us to catch up and stay in touch."

In one corner, the mothers were already forming a bond.

"Hey, Mr. Young-joon. Those speakers look really good. Where did you get them?"

The fathers were engrossed in inspecting the home theater equipment.

Then,

"Hello."

Yeon Se-ryun and Min Se-yeon appeared in the living room simultaneously, brightening the atmosphere even more.

"Come on in, Se-yeon!"

"Se-rin!"

The complex greetings from friends and family continued. Especially, the parents of Do Min-woo and Kim Min-yeong, who were seeing the two for the first time, couldn't hide their surprise.

"My, they look like dolls."

"How can someone be so beautiful? Oh, such a tiny face with all the features."

"I thought my daughter was the prettiest in the world…."

Min-yeong's father, who was about to speak, turned his head to check Min-yeong's reaction.

"Dad, why did you stop talking? You thought I was the prettiest?"

"Ah, I thought you were the prettiest, and you still are. Hahaha."

The father, sweating under his daughter's gaze, watched as Min-yeong pouted and stuffed a cookie into her mouth.

Chewing for a moment,

"It's okay, Dad. I have eyes too. I'm satisfied with my face."

"Right, right, our daughter takes after her father so much…."

Min-yeong's father, who couldn't finish his sentence, widened his eyes.

"Hello."

Jin-hyuk, who had entered the living room, was the reason.

While others had already seen Jin-hyuk, Min-yeong's parents were meeting him for the first time.

"He really is handsome."

Min-yeong, munching on a cookie, said to her father.

With his mouth agape, Min-yeong's father nodded without a word.

Min-yeong's mother, who was among the other mothers, was also in a frenzy.

"My, my, what a sight. How can someone look like that? Oh, Jin-hyuk's mother must be full after seeing that face every day without eating."

"Ah, thank you for the compliment."

"It's not just a compliment. It's a fact that anyone with eyes can see. Hoho."

While Jin-hyuk was greeting everyone in the living room, something small approached from far below his line of sight.

"Brother."

"Youngha, how have you been?"

Jin-hyuk greeted Young-joon's younger brother.

"Yep."

Youngha, who had grown closer to Jin-hyuk, smiled and held Jin-hyuk's hand.

"Youngha really likes Jin-hyuk, doesn't he?"

"Ah, of course. Even kids have eyes."

"Is that so? Hahaha."

Just as the living room was buzzing with lively conversation, a loud sound echoed.

– A gift for the proud you...

An advertisement from the TV-connected speakers. The blue screen then displayed the ad.

"Wow, the projector is really good. It's clear even without turning off the lights."

"Haha, but it's better to dim the lights a bit."

Young-joon's father said to everyone in the living room.

"Alright, the drama is about to start. Please find your seats and get ready to watch. We'll dim the lights soon."

Everyone found their seats, and the main lights in the living room were turned off. The dimly lit room felt like a movie theater.

Then, Do Min-woo stood up and said,

"Alright, parents and friends. It's time for our tradition! The ratings guessing game is back!"

Do Min-woo, excited like a host, led the way, and the parents laughed happily.

"Haha! I'll go with 15%!"

"No, you should go a bit higher. 17%."

"Since it's the start, and…."

U-bong-soo, Jin-hyuk's father, hesitated to mention the strong competition, "Great Nation" by Kang Jung-won. He paused and then carefully continued.

"Starting at around 13% would be good."

Given the formidable competition, U-bong-soo thought this would be a decent start.

As everyone made their predictions one by one, it was Do Min-woo's turn last, and he said with a meaningful smile,

"Ah, everyone's predictions are much lower than I expected."

The highest prediction so far was 19% by Yeon Se-hoon, which was more of a wish than a prediction. Even Se-hoon couldn't bring himself to say 20%.

Considering the strong competition, "Great Nation." However,

"28%."

Do Min-woo said confidently.

"What? Our Jin-hyuk and Se-yeon's 'Let's Watch Together' was a huge hit, wasn't it? Everyone is in a frenzy about watching 'Hong Gil-dong.' I calculated the exact number, which is 28%. Hahaha!"

The parents laughed. They thought Min-wo was joking. 28% was an unrealistic number.

Especially, Min-woo's parents, who knew his poor math skills, laughed the loudest.

Our son calculating something? It can't be right.

But the friends didn't laugh.

What if...

If this impossible number turned out to be correct again, it would be the moment when Do Min-woo's future as a ratings expert 'Do Muneo' would be decided.

"Hey, the drama is starting!"

With Young-joon's words, Min-woo quickly took his seat.

Dun dun dun dun—

A solemn OST played, fitting for a historical drama, and the main character, Jin-hyuk, with a piercing gaze, appeared on screen.

"Wow!"

As the living room erupted in cheers, a brief action scene featuring Se-yeon flashed by.

"Yay, Se-yeon, you're so cool."

Se-rin hugged Se-yeon tightly.

Dun!

At the end of the OST,

A white snowfield spread across the screen.

***

Whoosh—

White wind. Footsteps crunching on the snow.

"Haa... Haa…"

The breathing of someone walking on a snowy plateau.

Soon, the camera captured the person from a distance, and the snowy landscape, like a traditional Eastern painting, unfolded on the screen.

Against the majestic snow-capped mountains, the protagonist Hong Gil-dong (played by Woo Jin-hyuk) walked alone on the snow-covered plateau.

His eyes, deeply frozen, lacked focus, and his face, as stiff as a corpse, drew a deep darkness on the white snowfield, like ink on rice paper.

Using his sword as a cane, his walk through the snow-covered plateau was like a death pilgrimage, his breath a solemn requiem.

As the wind blew, scattering the snow,

The pilgrim's thoughts scattered like snowflakes in his mind.

……

'Did it have to be this way? Did my mother have to die?'

The murderer of his mother sat before Hong Gil-dong, in a straight posture.

His father's concubine, Chorran.

Tears, hot enough to burn, streamed down Hong Gil-dong's eyes as he looked at Chorran.

His mother, Chunseom, was a servant to his father, Hong Sang-jik, who was a high-ranking official.

Though he was born as a bastard and couldn't call his father 'father' or his brother 'brother,'

His father was kind, and his brother, with a noble character, embraced Hong Gil-dong's pain.

Apart from his status as a bastard, which prevented him from entering public service, Hong Gil-dong's life was not lacking in anything.

But his mother Chunseom's death shattered everything.

Chorran, his mother's murderer, stared at Hong Gil-dong with an unwavering gaze.

'I wanted to be your mother. That's all.'

Chorran, who had no children, had been as warm and affectionate to Hong Gil-dong as a real mother.

'Is that what you're saying now?'

Hong Gil-dong didn't know that beneath the deep affection Chorran showed him, there was a mad obsession.

Chorran sent assassins to kill his mother Chunseom.

'Kill her'

'……'

'If I can't be your mother, dying by your hands wouldn't be so bad.'

Hong Gil-dong's hands trembled. Chorran, whom he had loved, was also a person he had thought of as a mother, though they shared no blood.

'Can't you apologize? Admit to my poor mother that you did wrong, that you committed a sin worthy of death, and beg for forgiveness!'

Tears streamed endlessly from Hong Gil-dong's eyes.

She smirked.

'Why should I? I killed her for you. I killed her because I wanted you. Is it a sin to love someone so much that you kill?'

'You, you, demon…'

Hong Gil-dong, with trembling hands, pointed his sword at Chorran's neck.

'Apologize. Apologize to my mother. If not, I will cut off your head.'

'Hahaha!'

Chorran burst into a mad laugh.

'I loved you, so I killed your mother. If you love your mother and kill me, you will become a demon too. If we become demons together, that would be fine. I have no regrets, so kill me quickly.'

'Y, y, y… Aaaaah!'

On the night Chorran fell to Hong Gil-dong's sword,

Hong Gil-dong lost two mothers, and the remaining family lost Hong Gil-dong.

……

The snowstorm halted the death pilgrim Hong Gil-dong's steps. Even after the snowstorm passed, he remained still.

Black dots scattered on the snowfield blocked his path.

"You've come this far. You can't go any further. Turn back."

The pilgrim's unfocused eyes turned fierce at the stranger's words.

"Haa…"

His breath, like a soul being expelled, and the mist that dissipated.

Swish—

The death pilgrim drew his sword.

"Are you determined to go on, Hong Gil-dong?"

The group of assassins hired by Chorran to kill Hong Gil-dong's mother.

The leader, with a stern expression, looked at Hong Gil-dong.

Hong Gil-dong gritted his teeth.

"You scum who killed my mother have long tongues."

As soon as his words, colder than the blade, fell,

Thud!

"Kyaah!"

Red splattered on the white snow.

Like using a teleportation technique, Hong Gil-dong sliced the first enemy with a lightning-fast movement.

"Damn! Attack!"

"Yaaaah!"

Following the leader's signal, at least twenty enemies charged at Hong Gil-dong.

Hong Gil-dong's sharp gaze, chasing the enemies, flashed on the screen.

Whoosh!

With the snowflakes scattered by his movements, Jin-hyuk's body began to glide like the wind between the enemies' swords.

Clang!

Clank!

The clashing of swords echoed across the snowfield.

A majestic requiem, set against the vast snowfield, as Hong Gil-dong faced twenty enemies.

The opening of "2012 Hong Gil-dong,"

And a legendary action scene that would be remembered in the history of Korean dramas,

The "Snow Mountain Sword Fight of Hong Gil-dong,"

Fired the bloody signal flare.