The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 117
Only Noblemtl
Episode 117
If the second half of the movie, up to the 60th episode, mainly contains Lee Woo-jin’s past, growth, and activities in Seoul.
From the 70th episode, the story continues with the build-up to General Choi’s viciousness, which is gradually building up in preparation for the full-scale clash between the two.
“S#71. National Intelligence Service, Foreign Security Strategy Office”
Lee Woo-jin’s violent actions revealed the true nature of the Tongcheon Church he was dealing with.
“What was nothing more than a pseudo-religious group was actually an international terrorist group? That’s a fact that’s hard to accept.”
This is in South Korea, which is classified as a terror-free zone.
Choi Chang-jun continued speaking with a heavy face.
“The influence of the ‘Tongcheongyo’ has already expanded widely throughout the world, regardless of political or financial circles. In particular, its activities in ‘war zones’ are the most notable.”
The battlefield is a place that wears down the human spirit more than any other place.
“We use brainwashing to nurture fanatics under the guise of helping those who have nowhere else to turn. We use this as a basis to secure influence on the battlefield.”
“How can converting civilians into followers lead to influence on the battlefield?”
“Of course, the people they can approach initially are innocent civilians, but ultimately, they are all families of soldiers who are directly fighting the war.”
“… … These guys are completely crazy.”
Everyone’s faces began to turn in shock as the true nature of the Tongcheon Church slowly began to be revealed.
“And war is… … one of the greatest money-making scheming forces in the world.”
“Why are we only finding out now that the source of these crazy people is South Korea?”
“First of all, it seems that the primary reason is that their main stage of activity is not our country. And, our country, which has been in a ceasefire for decades, is not very interested in other countries’ wars. We requested confidential information about the Tongcheongyo from the United States and Russia, but it was rejected.”
“That means… … .”
“By the time we knew what their intentions were, the parties waging war would have already been involved in the various vested interests created by the Tongcheon Church. This appears to be the secondary reason why their information was blocked.
So, at least on the surface, it was just a noble religious group providing civilian aid to war victims even on a battlefield where bullets were flying.
“Is Woojin Lee waging war alone against those dangerous guys?”
“At first glance, that’s what it looks like… … but it seems like the person Lee Woo-jin is chasing is just one person.”
“one?”
Soon a person’s face appeared on the screen.
“Commonly known as General Choi. He has 12 criminal records, including time served for theft, fraud, adultery, marriage fraud, and illegal possession of weapons. His current whereabouts are unknown.”
“A dog thief? Why is Woojin Lee like this?”
“While investigating Lee Woo-jin, it was confirmed that General Lee Choi lived next door to him in the past.”
“… … ?”
Choi Chang-jun continued speaking.
“And near the missing Lee Su-yeon, no… … .”
A map of South Korea will soon appear on the screen.
Above it floated the faces of countless missing people.
“As a result of investigating the disappearance cases from the beginning to the end over the past 20 years, a considerable number of traces of the ‘Tongcheon Church’ including General Choi have been confirmed. Since this is all that has been revealed, it seems likely that there are many more cases actually related to it.”
“Are the South Korean police stupid? So many people went missing and they didn’t know that the Tongcheon Church was involved?”
“To be precise, it’s not that the police are stupid, it’s that they created a situation where they had no choice but to be stupid.”
“You created a situation where you had no choice but to be an idiot?”
Choi Chang-jun nodded and displayed Lee Woo-jin’s file on the screen.
“Lee Jung-ho and Jeong Su-gyeong grew up together in an orphanage and were both orphans.”
“Lee Su-yeon ran away from home due to her father’s domestic violence.”
“Most of those who went missing here were socially isolated for a variety of reasons.”
It was about the terrible accidents that the Lee Woo-jin family suffered.
“At that time, the Lee Woo-jin family seemed to be experiencing serious financial difficulties due to Lee Jung-ho’s business failure. General Choi used this to brainwash them mentally and destroy one family. And Lee Jung-ho’s business failure… … .”
“Could it be Tongcheongyo?”
“Yes. They deliberately lead people into the abyss and then use this to approach them under the guise of offering a helping hand.”
The techniques are the same as on the battlefield.
The Tongcheon Church made it seem as if all the horrific events and disappearances they had experienced were the result of one family and one individual’s terrible misfortune.
“… … What on earth is the reason they kidnap and throw people into the abyss?”
Soon, an old book and a single line of text appear on the screen.
“’Mobilizing the armies of heaven to build a paradise on earth.’ This is a phrase that runs through the entire scriptures of Tongcheongyo. Tongcheongyo may actually be building that ‘paradise’ somewhere by mobilizing the kidnapped people.”
“Military? Construction? How can a single religious group… …?”
“They called the date when Bitcoin was first issued in 2009 the ‘Genesis Block Day’ and declared it to be a new order sent by God. Since then, they have been accumulating Bitcoins by mobilizing ‘religious influence’ and using them to trade war materials and increase their capital… … .”
“It wouldn’t be a big deal to create an army.”
Choi Chang-jun nodded and continued speaking.
“Wherever Lee Woo-jin goes, there will be their army and paradise.”
* * *
Emperor Resort, Yeongjongdo.
Completed two years ago, this is a large-scale entertainment resort with over 1,000 five-star hotel rooms, a casino, swimming pool, and performance hall.
This resort project, built on a 461,661㎡ site, is called the ‘Korean Las Vegas’ with an investment of 2 trillion won from an American investment company.
‘Eureka’, a 150m long digital entertainment street.
A large-scale media show boasting 22K picture quality is held on the ceiling, and in the huge central hall ‘Tundra’, a chandelier made of 256 LEDs steals everyone’s attention.
This ultra-luxurious resort, where the bad weather filming crew was stationed, was the site of the final battle between Lee Woo-jin and General Choi.
The filming crew that entered Eureka Street were all busy looking around and exclaiming in admiration.
“Wow… … It’s nice that we don’t have to film day and night here. How on earth did the director get a place like this? If it’s the headquarters of a cult, it probably doesn’t affect the resort’s image either.”
“That’s right, one of the owners of this resort chain is said to be a fan of actor Kim Hyun-soo.”
The filming crew, who had come to scout the scene with the production director to conduct a preliminary inspection, continued speaking.
“The most entertaining drama I’ve watched recently is Nineties Dive Brothers.”
“Well, the viewer ratings were over 30%. It would be even harder to find someone who hasn’t seen it, right?”
The camera crew nodded and continued speaking.
“Although it didn’t work out, I heard that the Rising Dive members did ask if they could perform at the hotel’s concert hall.”
“… … At that level, you’re not just a fan, you’re a total fanatic?”
“That’s right. Isn’t that why we were able to hire such a ridiculous place as a filming location?”
In fact, the reason most of the filming locations with bad weather were scheduled overseas was to select ultra-luxurious hotels in Southeast Asia as filming locations.
The only places in Korea that boast similar visuals are the May Hillson Hotel in Jeju Island, the Vienna Entry in Seoul, and the Emperor Resort in Yeongjong Island, but the place that Lee Cheong-beom liked was the Emperor Resort.
During that time, Emperor Resort had not responded to numerous requests for location scouting, so we had lost hope, but thanks to Hyun-soo’s presence, we received unexpected luck.
“Now, everyone, you know that the walls here are all made of LED displays, right? Be careful not to damage the facilities, and let’s make this a proper ending!”
“Okay, I understand!”
In such bad weather, all the staff cheered each other on before the last filming.
Kim Hee-woon and Lee Cheong-beom continued discussing the next shoot while looking around the interior of the site.
“Kim Hyun-soo, is it because of that friend? That’s why you called me.”
Lee Cheong-beom nodded at Kim Hee-woon’s words.
“… … You can tell just by looking at him. He’s definitely a friend with something out of the ordinary.”
Kim Hee-woon, listening to director Lee Cheong-beom’s words, had a slightly disappointed expression on his face.
“Well… … I guess the director called me back after 15 years. I sang a song saying that I wanted to appear in his movie again.”
Contrary to popular belief, Kim Hee-woon has actually not appeared in Lee Cheong-beom’s films until now.
To be exact, it’s not that he didn’t appear, but that he ‘could not’ appear.
“I’m telling you this now, but I’ve really been very disappointed, Director.”
The reason Kim Hee-woon was able to reach his current position as an actor specializing in villain roles was because of his debut work, My Uncle.
The first person to discover him, who was moving around the theater world with an ordinary physique and an ordinary mask, and cast him in the movie “My Uncle Next Door” was Lee Cheong-beom.
In a word, Lee Cheong-beom was like a benefactor to Kim Hee-woon.
“Your acting… … ruins the balance between the protagonist and the villain.”
In the past, the balance between Won Ji-sang and Kim Hee-woon’s presence in “My Secret Romance” was not only due to Won Ji-sang’s ability to interpret the script.
The acting was acting, but if it weren’t for the aura emanating from Won Ji-sang’s ‘appearance’, I would have probably been consumed by Kim Hee-woon’s presence.
“So are you saying that my friend Kim Hyun-soo can handle me?”
Kim Hee-woon put all his effort into his performance as General Choi, as if trying to let out some of the frustration from all that time.
Even though Kim Hyun-soo is an actor with acting skills that are considered one of the best among young actors, he is not yet skilled enough to compete with Kim Hee-woon.
It was something they had felt from their first meeting, and it was clearly revealed in the framed screen.
Kim Hee-woon continued speaking to Lee Cheong-beom with a slightly mischievous expression.
“How about we lighten up a bit now? I can use that level of skill now.”
It was at that moment that Lee Cheong-beom burst into laughter after hearing Kim Hee-woon’s words.
“You are making a big mistake right now.”
“… … ?”
Lee Cheong-beom continued speaking while looking at Hyun-soo, who was working out with the action team members in the corner.
Lee Cheong-beom’s face, looking at Hyun-soo, had an expression that was somehow reminiscent.
“This movie is an action movie.”
“Right… … right?”
“Don’t you know what I mean? The scene we’re about to film is the scene where all the action scenes that Woojin Lee has been building up until now will explode.”
Kim Hee-woon still had a puzzled look on his face, as if he couldn’t figure out what Lee Cheong-beom meant.
“Perhaps, there is no need to put effort into acting.”
“yes?”
“Actor Kim’s acting is… … no, ‘action’ is definitely there.”
“… … ?”
“I’m going to overwhelm your ‘acting’.”
Bad weather was brewing ahead of the filming of the final chapter.
Continued in the next episode ▶