* * *
One of the purpose of field tactical cooking is to have large-scale preparation, even for desserts.
Though not as neatly shaped, these desserts were made by spreading the mixture on a large tray and cutting it into small squares.
Lee Tae-ho picked up a piece and tasted it.
“Oh?”
It was delicious.
Despite looking like the square cakes served at buffet restaurants, it tasted better than desserts from a fine dining restaurant.
“Even though it seemed like you just threw it together, how does it taste this good….”
Another filming session had just wrapped up. Actors and crew members gathered around.
Lead actor Kim Yoo-chan asked eagerly, “Did Mr. Na Kang-In make another snack?”
Kim Byung-ho, the food truck owner, handed out the desserts on Na Kang-In’s behalf.
“He just whipped this up in no time.”
As people shared the desserts, they were amazed.
“Wow, this is really tasty.”
“How do you make this? I’m curious about the recipe.”
Kim Byung-ho answered for Na Kang-In, “I watched him, but even if you had the recipe, you couldn’t make it. It takes incredible strength to mix and shake the ingredients so quickly, and his control over the heat is just art. You need exceptional skill to even attempt it.”
THO Entertainment CEO Lee Tae-ho quietly approached Director Son Tae-min.
“Director Son, is Mr. Na Kang-In perhaps a patisserie?”
“Does he specialize in desserts? I don’t think so, he’s a chef. I was truly impressed with the lunch he made. I’m looking forward to dinner.”
Lee Tae-ho was puzzled.
“With such skills, why a food truck….”
Director Son laughed.
“You’re wondering the same thing as me.”
“Pardon?”
“Does it make sense for someone with such skills to be working on a food truck?”
“That doesn’t make sense either. So why the food truck….”
“Ah, right. Mr. Na Kang-In is only handling the food truck for today. The usual food truck operator is over there.”
Lee Tae-ho nodded, as if he had expected that.
“Ah. So he’s normally a chef at a luxury restaurant….”
“Actually, I heard he works part-time cooking at an PC Bang.”
Lee Tae-ho was bewildered.
“What? How does that make any sense? With skills like his, why?”
Director Son smacked his lips.
“Exactly. Not only is he good at cooking, but Mr. Na Kang-In’s action scenes show a perfect understanding of the camera. So why would he work part-time in a PC Bang?”
Lee Tae-ho recalled what Director Son had mentioned earlier.
“You said Mr. Na Kang-In is essential for our film, right?”
Director Son nodded.
“From tomorrow, Mr. Na Kang-in needs to finish the action scenes quickly so we can have time to shoot other scenes. In the current situation, without Mr. Na Kang-in, our movie is in trouble.”
Na Kang-in had rescued Lee Min-ji from kidnappers. Moreover, Na Kang-in’s presence was essential to save the movie.
Lee Tae-ho said while eating dessert, “I need to make a proper proposal to Mr. Na Kang-in…”
A car sped down the unpaved road and came to a sudden stop with a screech. Dust rose roughly.
People eating dessert looked at the car.
The car door flew open, and a woman got out.
Jang Mi-jung, Lee Min-ji’s mother, had rushed over with her manager upon hearing that her daughter had been rescued after a fierce struggle with kidnappers.
But as soon as she got out of the car, she saw her husband leisurely chatting and eating dessert with the director. Moreover, Lee Tae-ho was eating the dessert with great relish.
Jang Mi-jung shouted at Lee Tae-ho, “Hey! How can you eat at a time like this?”
Lee Tae-ho looked at the plate of dessert, then at the director, and then back at his half-eaten dessert. He realized how he must have looked.
“Mi-jung, I know this looks bad, but there’s a reason for everything…”
Jang Mi-jung ran toward Lee Tae-ho, arms outstretched.
“Come here! You’re dead today!”
Jang Mi-jung was an actress. Her manager, Jang Hyo-rin, barely managed to hold her back by the waist as she lunged at Lee Tae-ho.
“Unnie! Hold on!”
“Can you just hold on? Really?”
“There are too many people watching! Deal with him where there are no witnesses!”
There were many staff and cameras for filming on this Gangwon-do set.
The Cameraman showed a video to Son Tae-min and asked, “This footage our staff shot. What should we do with it?”
The video showed Na Kang-in running down a slope and rescuing Lee Min-ji. This was the same video that Manager Kim from THO Entertainment had shown the detectives earlier.
Son Tae-min asked back, “What do you mean, what should we do?”
“Are we going to use this footage in the movie?”
Son Tae-min smacked his lips while watching the video. “The action is incredible, isn’t it?”
“It’s no joke.”
“The sense of speed is captured perfectly, too.”
“We zoomed in on Na Kang-in running down the slope.”
“It looks like it was deliberately set up and shot.”
“The person who filmed this has a good eye.”
Son Tae-min tapped his thigh with his fingers and said, “I just got a great idea for an additional scene that the audience will love. Since we’re already using footage from an actual incident on set in the movie, adding this won’t get us any more problems.”
The Cameraman’s eyes sparkled. “So, are we going to use it?”
“I’d love to, but…”
Son Tae-min shook his head regretfully. “This is about CEO Lee Tae-ho and Jang Mi-jung’s daughter nearly being kidnapped. If we use this in the movie, they’ll strangle me for real.”
The Cameraman looked disappointed. “That’s a shame. It’s really well shot.”
“Make a copy of this and give it to the police. And let’s keep the original between us.”
“This isn’t the original either. It’s a compressed copy.”
***
A detective came to question Na Kang-in.
“How did you know the child was being kidnapped?”
“I analyzed the overall situation and judged that it was a possibility.”
The detective was slightly taken aback. He expected an answer like seeing something suspicious or having a gut feeling, not a comprehensive analysis.
Na Kang-in spoke truthfully. AI Zijin had analyzed it, so it wasn’t a lie.
The detective asked cautiously, “What do you do for a living?”
“I cook.”
“Oh, yes. Cook… Pardon?”
Na Kang-in pointed to the food truck behind him. “Today, from there.”
“I see. Then I have a few more questions.”
Na Kang-in wasn’t a suspect. He was a citizen who had rescued a kidnapped child. The detective’s questions were due to the dramatic nature of the incident, but he didn’t treat Na Kang-in as a suspect.
Na Kang-in explained the situation. Since there was video evidence, the detective didn’t ask much.
After finishing his questions, the detective thanked him. “Thank you for your cooperation.”
Na Kang-in had more to say.
“While you’re here, there’s something you should see.”
“Pardon?”
He took the detectives to the collapsed set.
He had intended to tell the director after the shoot, but since the detectives were here, he thought it best to do it now.
Na Kang-in showed them the set and explained, “Three steel lights fell exactly where Shin Eun-ha was standing when this collapsed.”
“Goodness. That must have been dangerous.”
“Not just one, but three. Precisely targeted. Doesn’t that seem strange?”
The detective laughed. “Ha-ha. Who would do that on purpose? How could anyone know she would be standing there?”
“It’s in the script, and there are previous shots from the same location. It would be easy to predict.”
The detective’s expression hardened slightly.
“Do you have any other evidence?”
Na Kang-in looked at the debris. AI Zijin had marked some suspicious fragments.
Na Kang-in pointed them out.
“The paint around these screws looks recently scraped. This cable’s break seems a bit artificial. And here, the support is missing where it should bear the load.”
“Uh… yes? Paint and wire… why is that a problem?”
Na Kang-in looked up.
* * *
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