The Genius Actor Who Lives Twice - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4

“Damn it. I can’t let go!”

Even with his arm bent at an unnatural angle, he thrashed against my grip.
I twisted his wrist harder.
He screamed.

“I’ve got his legs locked down!”

The man pinning his legs gritted his teeth as he called out.
Four men besides me held him in place, applying the Restraint Technique.

“I called them. They said they’re almost here.”

The woman I’d rescued moments earlier spoke while holding her Smartphone.
Within moments, a siren wailed in the distance.
This should be enough.

“Keep his arm pinned down hard.”

I told the man holding his shoulder to grab his arm as well.

“Don’t let go until the police get the Handcuffs on him. Not for a second.”

The man nodded grimly and did as I instructed.
I slowly got to my feet.
Then I moved quickly.
I slipped out of the Alley, turned two corners, kept an eye out for CCTV, and headed for the Subway.
Only when I stepped into the restroom did I remove the Helmet I’d been wearing.

“They didn’t see me, right?”

* * *

“Stay still!”

The police officer snapped the Handcuffs on and hauled him into the car.

“I’m Han Seo-jin, Inspector. It must have been a dangerous situation, and I’m grateful you held him down until we arrived.”

The officer with the neatly trimmed hair bowed to the men who’d been restraining the attacker.
He scanned the broken Soju Bottle and other traces scattered across the ground.
Han Seo-jin exhaled briefly and addressed the men.

“Is anyone injured?”

The men checked each other and shook their heads.

“We’re fine.”
“It was startling, but no one’s hurt.”

Han Seo-jin nodded slightly.

“I’m relieved. Would you mind if I asked a few questions for the incident report? It won’t take long.”

One of the men opened his mouth hesitantly.

“At first, I thought he was just drunk. But then he suddenly smashed the Soju Bottle and tried to rush at people.”

He drew a breath, as if recalling what had just happened.

“That’s when someone wearing a Helmet appeared.”
“A Helmet?”
“Yes. He came out through the door and knocked that man down. Then he restrained him in an instant.”

Han Seo-jin looked again at the Soju Bottle and the marks left on the ground.
It was indeed close to where the door would have opened.

‘It doesn’t look like it was just coincidence that the attacker happened to be there when the door opened. He must have been trying to help the woman who fell.’

“We were only able to apprehend him because that person restrained him first.”
“Where is he now?”
“Ah, come to think of it… he disappeared at some point around when the police arrived.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”

He’d gone to ground around the time the police showed up.
Why, though?

“Did anyone happen to see his face?”
“No, because he was wearing the Helmet.”

Han Seo-jin exhaled sharply.

“I’ll need to check the CCTV footage.”

* * *

[We now turn to our next story. This morning, a drunk man caused a disturbance in an Alley in Seoul.]

After dinner, I watched the news with my father.

[A citizen at the scene risked his own safety to subdue the attacker and prevent serious injury. Let’s watch footage from the scene.]

CCTV footage appeared on the TV.
The man wavered with a Soju Bottle in his hand, threatening people.
In an instant, the person in the Helmet burst through the door and knocked him down.

[Police are currently working to confirm the citizen’s exact identity, while also conducting a detailed investigation with eyewitnesses.]

“There are still people like that these days.”

My father remarked.
The “person like that” sitting next to him pretended not to hear, lying flat on the sofa.
Thank goodness I’d worn that Helmet.
If I hadn’t, my face would be all over the news by now.
Exposure itself isn’t a bad thing for an actor, but not like this.
It was obvious my father would’ve only worried.
After the news ended, several videos had been uploaded to the internet.
[Drunk Man Swinging Soju Bottle… Man in Helmet Stops Him.]
[Mystery Helmet Man Caught on CCTV]

There were several videos like this.
Given how much footage there was and the police still hadn’t contacted me, they clearly hadn’t identified me yet.
All those days spent confirming CCTV locations and planning had paid off.
I’d handled the most dangerous part.
Now I could focus purely on my work as an actor.

“Gi-jun, you’re preparing well for the exam, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Father.”

For several days, I’d spent considerable time devising and executing a plan for how to deal with that bastard.
But even so, I’d squeezed in practice time to prepare for the second round of auditions.

“The first-round results haven’t been announced yet, but I think I’ll pass.”

They were selecting five times the number of available positions, so I’d make the cut.
I’d been training in acting for years, after all.

“Getting into university is wonderful, but I think gaining real-world experience right away is important too.”
“You’re right. That’s why I’m planning to take on one project before I start university.”
“Is there anything you need?”

Father was asking if there was anything he could help with, but honestly, there was nothing he could really do for me.

“I need an agency.”
“Ah, of course.”

Without an agency, rookie actors often can’t even get their profiles looked at.
But the major agencies rarely sign newcomers.
And I didn’t have time to spend two or three years as a trainee.
It’s only the smaller agencies that can debut someone with zero experience directly as an actor.
I had information about the future, so I just needed to find a small agency now that would eventually succeed.
And as luck would have it, there was exactly one such place.

“Actually, I was planning to visit them tomorrow.”

* * *

Several days after that incident.
I searched for an agency on my Smartphone.

—Nabi Actors

Only a location pin appeared on the map.
And looking at the street view, there wasn’t even a sign on the third floor.
So this was what it looked like now—a shabby nothing—before it became a powerhouse of top-tier actors in the future.
Just a few years from now, it would evolve into Nabi Entertainment, home not only to acclaimed film actors but also exclusive stars in variety entertainment and K-pop idol groups.

“I’ll need to meet the CEO first.”

I recalled what I’d known before returning to the past.

—Check out this guy, Kim Hyun-deok from Nabi Entertainment! He’s been volunteering at the orphanage up ahead every Friday for fifteen years!

It was something a middle-aged man from the construction site where I’d done day labor had mentioned during lunch.
He was a divorced man who drifted between construction sites and watched TV, and once he found out I was an actor, he’d only spewed old-man platitudes.

—But you, punk! You come to the site every day, work your ass off, and for what? To get dumped?

I couldn’t quit the job, and nowhere else paid as well as a construction site, so I’d bitten my tongue no matter what he said.
We worked together every day, and hearing him drone on and on reached a breaking point.
Just as I was about to stand up and say something back.

—It’s been twenty years, actually.

A quiet voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, a man over 190 centimeters tall in black sunglasses was looking down at the drunk man.
From seeing him often on TV, I could recognize in an instant that the man was Kim Hyun-deok.
Not just me—the older man spouting all that curmudgeonly talk could too.

—……Ah, that Kim Hyun-deok?

The drunk man’s small eyes widened to about twice their size.
Kim Hyun-deok looked down at him and spoke with chilling precision.

—Yes. The one you were just talking about.

The drunk man’s expression froze solid in an instant.

—……W-well, I suppose I was a bit harsh in my choice of words.
—I’m glad you understand.

The drunk man’s mouth clamped shut with a hiccup.

—And visiting the orphanage isn’t on Friday—it’s Saturday. How would a working man go on a weekday?

Kim Hyun-deok patted my shoulder and left the restaurant.
When I left the restaurant later, I discovered he’d already paid for my meal as well.
The scene was so dramatic it stuck with me.
Besides, to get to the construction site where I’d been working, I had to pass the orphanage Kim Hyun-deok apparently visited every week.
Since I’d be commuting to that site for several months, I remembered the location clearly.
I’d already completed my application to volunteer at the orphanage.
Meet Kim Hyun-deok at the orphanage, imprint a good image in his mind.
That was the strategy.

“Since I’m living again anyway, might as well do some good along the way.”

I decided I would go to the orphanage regularly from now on.
I walked through the orphanage gates with confident steps.

* * *

“Waaahhhhh!!”

I’d expected volunteering at the orphanage to be tiring, but not to this degree.
While I was changing a diaper, elementary school kids swarmed around me.

“Mister, mister! Who would win if a tiger and a lion fought?”
“Tigers and lions live in different habitats, so they’d never meet.”
“But what if! What if they escaped from a zoo and fought?”
“Then the zookeepers would just tranquilize them with a dart gun?”
“Ugh, seriously! Not that kind of answer!”

Taking care of children is definitely hard work.

“So can you beat a tiger if you fought one, mister?”
“There’s no human who can beat a tiger.”

Another elementary school kid threw down his pen on an unfinished workbook and stood up.

“That’s not true! The nun said she could beat a tiger in a fight!”

Given the nun’s stamina from playing with you all day long, she probably wouldn’t lose to a tiger.

“Take my sword!”

I caught the elementary school student’s sword strike with my foot—the kind of move that belonged in a Martial Arts World epic.
Since I’d regressed, there was no reason to stop the kid from possessing the same world.
I threw myself into entertaining the children with everything I had, but even that wasn’t enough when the kindergarteners started waking from their naps.
I glanced around, then picked up a Tiger Doll and looked back at the elementary school student I’d been talking to earlier.

“You asked which is stronger—a tiger or a lion, right?”
“Yes! Who’s asking?”

Hearing that, I dragged over a desk.

“Come sit here in front of this. I’ll show you.”

I peeled off the black coat I was wearing and draped it over the desk.
Then I switched off all the fluorescent lights and aimed a single flashlight at the desk—and just like that, a stage took shape.
That person should be coming soon anyway, so we might as well get started.

“All right then—let us begin the Puppet Theater Performance!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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