Chapter 1001: Jung Yoo-Jins 1000th (2)

Chapter 1001: Jung Yoo-Jin's 1000th (2)

The person targeting Duk-Bae had cleverly chosen not to target Duk-Bae himself, but the horse he was riding.

Horses were extremely sensitive animals, and riding accidents happened on set from time to time. Even if an actor fell from a horse and got injured, nobody would find it strange. Thanks to that, though, I was able to uncover some clues about the culprit.

The first clue was that the culprit knew horses well. He clearly understood the remarkable hearing of horses, which could detect sound frequencies humans couldn't hear and communicate even from a distance of one kilometer.

There was also another clue. There was a high chance the culprit was either a staff member or a member of the Gyeongju Riding Club.

Every horse disliked different sounds and had different levels of sensitivity. If only Baekdusan, the horse Duk-Bae had ridden, had been driven into a frenzy, then the culprit had to know exactly what Baekdusan hated. And for that to be possible, he would have to be someone who could visit the Gyeongju Riding Club regularly.

'I should probably ask Trainer Park In-Cheon.'

Park In-Cheon was always around the horses. I had a feeling that with his help, I could identify whoever was targeting Duk-Bae.

Just then, an employee from the Gyeongju Riding Club ran over and grabbed the reins of Black Wind, the horse I was riding. "I'm terribly sorry. Baekdusan is usually such a gentle horse, so I don't know what got into him all of a sudden. Um... are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. By the way, where is the trainer?"

"Oh, Mr. Park went after Baekdusan to catch him."

The trainer, who had been dressed as a soldier in the procession, had gone to retrieve the runaway horse.

I nodded. "Ah, I see. Then I guess I'll have to wait here if I want to meet him."

"Yes. He'll be coming back here."

I nodded and got off the horse together with Duk-Bae.

Tap.

"Thanks, Black Wind. You did well."

When I stroked Black Wind's neck, he let out a pleased sound.

Prrrrr.

After handing him over to the staff member responsible for him, I turned to Duk-Bae. "Duk-Bae, can you keep filming?"

Duk-Bae thumped his chest. "Yes. Thanks to you, hyung, I didn't get so much as a scratch."

After hearing that, I spoke first to AD Geum Eun-Dong who was standing there anxiously. "How about we take a short break and then continue?"

There were hundreds of extras at the filming site, along with a hundred horses. In other words, an enormous amount of money had been poured into shooting this scene.

Normally, horse rental fees were five hundred thousand won per horse per hour, but Baekdusan, being a white horse, cost 1 million won per hour. That meant the horse rental fees alone came to a staggering 50.5 million won per hour. Fortunately, Hwaranjeon had signed a long-term rental contract and only paid half that amount, but even then it still cost nearly 25 million won per hour.

The problem was that filming had been scheduled to continue until six in the morning, and nearly 100 million won had already been paid in advance. If filming stopped now, that entire 100 million won would effectively go up in smoke.

Because of that, the moment I suggested taking a short break and then resuming, Geum Eun-Dong's face immediately brightened. "Would... would that really be alright?"

"Even if it isn't, we have to do it. I know how much it costs to bring all these horses back."

According to Everyday's schedule entry, nothing bad was supposed to happen before 4:30 a.m. anyway.

So once I gave the go-ahead, Geum Eun-Dong let out a sigh of relief. "Phew... I feel bad asking everyone to continue filming after something like this, but both the horses and the people involved cost so much money that we don't really have a choice. Still, you must've been shaken up, so let's take about twenty minutes to rest first."

Duk-Bae nodded. "Okay."

"And we'll switch you to a different horse."

The horse Duk-Bae had been riding, Baekdusan, was a white horse. Since Baekdusan appeared in Hwaranjeon as Kim Beop-Min's personal steed, switching him to a different horse would be immediately noticeable on screen.

"Wouldn't it look better if he rode Baekdusan?" I asked.

Geum Eun-Dong hesitated. "That's true, but..."

"Then let's talk it over with the trainer when he gets here."

Just as Black Wind had been fitted with ear covers, I figured Baekdusan would probably be fine if he wore them too.

"Yes. Understood."

At that moment, Yoo-Jin came running over in Princess Yu-Hwa's costume. Her hair streamed behind her as she ran.

"Yoon-Ho opppaaa! Duk-Baeeeee! Are you okaaaay?!"

Yoo-Jin's voice echoed across the mountain. Her face and voice were filled with worry, so I quickly drew a heart over my head and flashed an OK sign.

"Yeah, we're fine!!"

At the same time, I signaled to Duk-Bae.

'If you want to live, do it too. If Yoo-Jin starts lecturing, we're done for. Completely done!'

Duk-Bae caught my meaning and hurriedly made a heart over his head as well. "Yes, noona. We're okay!!"

In the blink of an eye, Yoo-Jin reached us. She doubled over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. "Huff, huff, huff... you're really, really okay, right?"

"We told you we're fine."

Wobble.

Only then did Yoo-Jin seem relieved and her legs nearly gave out beneath her. I quickly caught her before she fell.

I said, "You look less okay than we do."

"Of course I'm not okay! Do you have any idea how scared I was?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know exactly how you feel. But we're fine, so relax. And let's head back to the tent so you can catch your breath. Filming's going to resume soon."

"We're filming after something like this? You should at least go to the hospital and get a full examination!"

"We're fine. Besides, there are over three hundred people here. A hundred horses too. If today's shoot gets canceled and everyone has to come back later, this huge war scene is going to get scaled down into a small action sequence because of the cost. Are you okay with that?"

"Well..."

Yoo-Jin, the female lead of Hwaranjeon, which was currently pulling a peak viewership ratings of 42%, began to hesitate. In the end, a long sigh escaped her lips.

"No. I'm not okay with that."

"Right?"

"Yeah..."

"You made the right choice. If today's shoot gets postponed, tomorrow's company dinner will get canceled too."

Tomorrow's dinner was also supposed to include a celebration for Yoo-Jin's one-thousandth day since debut. If the dinner was canceled, the celebration might be canceled as well.

"Tch. Fine. But at least get some rest before filming."

"I already got a twenty-minute break."

"Okay. Then..." At that moment, Yoo-Jin grabbed Duk-Bae's hand and pointed toward the waiting tent in the distance. "Duk-Bae, I always carry Woohwang Cheongsimwon with me. Let's start by taking one."

"Uh... noona, I'm really fine."

"What's this nonsense about being fine? Come with me!"

Dragged along by Yoo-Jin's grip, Duk-Bae was hauled toward the waiting tent.

Watching the scene, Geum Eun-Dong wore a wistful expression. "It'd be nice if they acted like that in the drama too..."

Recently, romantic scenes between Princess Yu-Hwa and Kim Beop-Min had started appearing in Hwaranjeon. However, within the story, they were natural enemies who could never be together—one was a princess determined to become queen, while the other was the eldest son of a family seeking the throne.

Because of that, things like kisses were completely out of the question, and even simple physical contact such as hugs had to be kept to an absolute minimum. The most the audience was allowed to see was the two of them gazing at each other longingly.

Even so, viewers desperately wanted them to end up together and expressed their disappointment day after day. And the viewers weren't the only ones who felt that way. The staff on set, who were the drama's biggest fans, felt exactly the same.

The moment I saw the wistful look on Geum Eun-Dong's face, another possibility regarding the person targeting Duk-Bae and Yoo-Jin crossed my mind.

'Could the person targeting Duk-Bae be a stalker obsessed with either Duk-Bae or Yoo-Jin?'

That thought had just occurred to me when the trainer riding a brown horse came back, leading Baekdusan.

Clop clop clop.

"Oh..." The trainer spotted me, handed Baekdusan's reins to a stable hand, jumped off the brown horse, and hurried over. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

I shook my head. "Ah, no. I'm fine. Duk-Bae is too. Though it looks like you came instead of Mr. Park?"

It was already past midnight, and the trainer had been dressed as a soldier earlier. Only now could I clearly see his face. He wasn't Park In-Cheon, the senior trainer from the Gyeongju Riding Club who usually oversaw the set, but a trainer in his early thirties who had joined the club recently.

"Oh, yes. Mr. Park went to another location, so I'm here by myself today."

'Almost all of the riding club's horses had been brought to this set, yet the person in charge isn't here?'

"Where did he go?" I asked.

"I'm not sure myself."

At that moment, my suspicions deepened. Park In-Cheon was the person who knew the Gyeongju Club's horses better than anyone else and understood each horse's characteristics in detail. In other words, he perfectly matched the clues.

In a lowered voice, I spoke to Trainer Jung Han-Seung. "Could we talk somewhere private for a moment?"

"Ah, sure..."

As I headed toward an area away from the staff, Jung Han-Seung followed with his head lowered. He clearly believed today's accident was his responsibility. Whenever a horse-related accident happened, the staff usually blamed whichever trainer had been dispatched to the set. That meant if Duk-Bae had actually been injured, Park In-Cheon would have escaped responsibility entirely, while the newcomer, Jung Han-Seung, would have been left carrying all the blame.

'At this point, it's almost certain...'

Still, certainty mattered.

The moment we were far enough away from the staff, I carefully asked, "I won't hold you responsible, so just answer my questions."

Jung Han-Seung's eyes widened as large as a horse's. "A-anything you want to ask! I'll tell you everything I know."

"Is Baekdusan, the horse Duk-Bae was riding, sensitive around the ears like Black Wind, the horse I rode?"

"I'm not sure. I only joined recently, so I don't know that much."

"Is that so?" Then Jung Han-Seung suddenly remembered something. "Oh, but I did hear there's a sound he absolutely hates. There's something that's strictly forbidden at the Gyeongju Riding Club."

"Huh? What is it?"

"I heard that when Baekdusan was still a racehorse, he was beaten quite severely by a jockey using a racing whip. Ever since then, he panics whenever he hears the sound of a racing whip. That's why the president doesn't even allow racing whips anywhere near the club. Baekdusan recognizes the sound instantly and falls into a panic."

Now I finally understood why Baekdusan had suddenly bolted. The horse had fled because it heard a sound it was terrified of. At the same time, I became convinced that the culprit targeting Duk-Bae was none other than Park In-Cheon.

"Thank you for telling me."

I didn't know why Park In-Cheon was targeting Duk-Bae, but if he was the prime suspect, finding him had to come first. After all, Everyday's schedule entry still showed that Duk-Bae was destined to be injured.

At that moment, I called Oh Gi-Sung, the president of the Gyeongju Riding Club. After several rings, he answered.

-Hello, Mr. Jung. I'm sorry I couldn't attend today. I was in Jeju Island looking at some horses and am on my way back. Is the filming going smoothly?

"No. There was a bit of a problem."

I explained the accident that had occurred a short while ago. However, since I had no physical evidence, I left out my suspicions regarding Park In-Cheon.

-Even with an experienced trainer like Park there, Baekdusan ran wild?

"Trainer Park isn't on set. The horses are being managed by the new trainer, Trainer Jung, along with the staff."

-What kind of nonsense is that? They sent a hundred horses here, and the senior trainer isn't even present?

Apparently, he didn't know where Park In-Cheon was either. According to him, Park In-Cheon should have been on set.

"Then do you know where Park In-Cheon might have gone?"

-He wouldn't be at the lodging... I'll send you the addresses of a few places he frequents around this time.

Saying he would continue looking into it himself, Oh Gi-Sung promised to send a text before ending the call. A message arrived shortly afterward.

[Jangmi Tavern, Dulduli Chicken, Hwanggeum Baeksuk Restaurant...]

I checked the addresses of the ten restaurants listed in the text. Among them, four were scattered around the area near the set.

'Wait a second... Could he have cracked the whip at one of these places?'

The establishments Park In-Cheon frequented were about a twenty-minute walk away. However, they were only about eight hundred meters from the set in a straight line, well within a horse's hearing range. A horse's hearing was so sensitive that it could pick up sounds from over a kilometer away. If someone had cracked a whip at one of those places, Baekdusan could easily have heard it.

'Could he still be nearby...?'

The riding scenes were scheduled to continue until six in the morning. And according to Everyday, Duk-Bae was supposed to end up in the hospital at 4:30 a.m. If that was the case, there was still a chance the culprit was nearby, waiting to try the same thing again.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I immediately ran over to PD Oh Bok-Hee. If the culprit was still in the area, Oh Bok-Hee had a way to find him right away.

***

The parking lot of Hwanggeum Baeksuk Restaurant, about eight hundred meters from the mountainside filming location.

The restaurant had closed at ten o'clock, and only the faint glow of its sign illuminated the darkness. During the day, tourists came here. At night, it mainly served staff from the filming set. That was why it closed early.

And parked in the middle of the lot, with the engine off, was Park In-Cheon's vehicle.

"Damn it. It failed."

Lowering his binoculars, Park In-Cheon clicked his tongue in disappointment. He had provoked Baekdusan using a racing whip he had prepared in advance, but Jung Yoon-Ho had stepped in and saved Duk-Bae. Still, renting this many horses cost a fortune. There was no way filming would stop before dawn.

"They'll start shooting again. I'll just wait."

He wanted a cigarette, but even a small ember could be spotted from kilometers away at night, so he held back.

About twenty minutes passed. Just as Park In-Cheon expected, Baekdusan was led back into position.

"That's more like it!"

Gripping the whip tightly in his right hand, Park In-Cheon prepared to strike the saddle even harder than before. This time, Jung Yoon-Ho was nowhere in sight.

Just then, the sound of an insect buzzed near his ear.

Buzz.

"A mosquito...?"

The noise irritated him, but turning on a light might expose his location, so he endured it. At that moment, through the binoculars, he saw Choi Duk-Bae climbing onto Baekdusan's back.

"Perfect."

Even with the set lights on, the distance made both Duk-Bae and Baekdusan appear hazy.

"This time I'll do it properly, Baekdusan. I'm counting on you."

Park In-Cheon tightened his grip on the racing whip. A moment later, Duk-Bae began moving forward slowly on horseback. At the same time, Park In-Cheon swung the whip with all his strength.

Whoooosh!

Slap!

The whip tore through the air and slammed into the saddle resting on the passenger seat. Yet unlike before, Baekdusan continued walking calmly as if nothing had happened.

"Huh? Why isn't anything happening?"

Even when he swung the whip like a madman several more times, nothing changed.

That was when a Ventley sped into the parking lot of Hwanggeum Baeksuk Restaurant and blocked the entrance.

Vroooom.

Click.

The car doors opened, and Jung Yoon-Ho stepped out along with Action Director Ahn Seok-Chil and two members of the stunt team.

"Damn it..."

Park In-Cheon immediately tossed the whip onto the passenger-side floor, threw open the car door, and ran. However, he didn't make it far.

Jung Yoon-Ho grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

Snatch.

"Let's have a little talk, Mr. Trainer."

When Park In-Cheon turned around, he found a cold killing intent in Jung Yoon-Ho's eyes.

***

The moment I grabbed Park In-Cheon's collar, I nearly punched him. But first, I needed to know why he had targeted Duk-Bae.

"Why were you trying to hurt Duk-Bae?" I asked.

"W-why would I hurt Duk-Bae?"

"I know you tried to cause a riding accident by using the sound of a racing whip, the one Baekdusan hates most. The whip is sitting right there on the passenger seat, so you can stop making excuses."

"Don't frame an innocent man! The whip... I was only bringing it for someone else!"

"Hey, Mr. Park. How do you think we knew you were here?"

"How the hell would I know?!"

I pointed upward with my index finger.

Buzz.

Three filming drones equipped with cameras floated overhead. That was what I had asked Oh Bok-Hee for.

"We recorded everything. You cracking that whip at the saddle in the passenger seat is all on video."

Park In-Cheon's face turned deathly pale as he collapsed onto the ground.

I paid no attention and pressed him again. "Mr. Park. I'm asking why you did this."

Staring blankly ahead, Park In-Cheon answered, "The president of the Gyeongju Riding Club pays me like crap. I did it out of resentment. If Duk-Bae, the most popular actor right now, got into an accident, the riding club would've been ruined..."

He wasn't wrong. If Duk-Bae had fallen and been injured, the Gyeongju Riding Club would have been finished. The broadcasting stations would never hire them again, and once word spread, ordinary members would stop coming too.

Still, considering how carefully the whole thing had been planned, I wasn't convinced. I immediately checked Everyday.

'Just as I thought.'

The schedule entry hadn't disappeared.

[Everyday V13]

[Date: May 27, 2021]

-04:30 a.m.: [NEW. Choi Duk-Bae] Emergency transport to Pohang Hospital.

Whenever the cause of an event disappeared, the corresponding entry vanished from Everyday as well. In other words, if Park In-Cheon had acted alone, this schedule entry would have disappeared. However, it hadn't. That meant the real cause still remained.

I immediately spoke to Park In-Cheon, who sat there with his shoulders slumped. My voice was ice cold.

"Listen, Mr. Park In-Cheon. I already know someone put you up to this. Why don't you start talking? Enough with the lies."

At that moment, Park In-Cheon, who had looked completely dazed, suddenly frowned. "Damn it. Everyone keeps talking about Jung Yoon-Ho, and I guess they weren't exaggerating. Hey, how did you figure it out?"

'How did I figure it out? Because Everyday told me.'

In any case, my suspicion had been correct. Now it was time to find the real mastermind behind the attack on Duk-Bae. Both Park In-Cheon and the person who had ordered him to do this were going to pay dearly for targeting Duk-Bae.

'You're all dead!'