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[In the Name of the Devil]

Another person was looking for Jung Won-geun while he was on the phone with Lee Seok-jae.  

His name is Ahn Kyu-nam (Jung Se-ho).

His daughter had gone missing on her way home from an academy, and he had made a gun for himself and been on the lookout for the criminal responsible, whom he now identified as Jung Won-geun. 

Ahn Kyu-nam was usually calm, but he would explode angrily and become cruel when someone bothered him. 

He was also manipulative, adept at twisting situations to make them favorable to him, like how the mass shooting incident in Chul-won City turned out. 

Ahn Kyu-nam expected the Ministry of National Defense to cover up the case and kill all the comrades that bullied him with guns and grenades. 

Despite his cleverness, he didn't know someone was looking for him. 

The person searching for him was Cha Ki-pyo (Lee Seung-ku), a gang leader in northern Suwon. 

He lost many of his subordinates because of the guns that Ahn Kyu-nam had sold to his rival gang, significantly hurting his business.

So he wanted to capture Ahn Kyu-nam personally and beat him up in front of his remaining subordinates in revenge. 

Cha Ki-pyo would bring anybody that had gone against him or his business to the deserted factory in Yeoju city, Gyeonggi Province, alive and feed them to his dogs or drown them in a nearby reservoir. 

The three demons were entangled and trying to kill each other, turning everything into a bigger mess.

*** 

Time passed quickly, and less than half of the movie shoot remained. 

During that period, Cha Kyung-seok played an essential role in keeping the atmosphere at the scene lively, making good relationships with Jung Se-ho (Ahn Kyu-nam), Lee Seung-Ku (Cha Ki-pyo), and other staff members. 

Kyu-ha wanted to show gratitude to the crew and actors for taking good care of him.

A thought crossed his mind, and he called Ms. Han Jeong-hee. 

"Hi, yes, I'm doing well at the set. I wanted to ask you for a favor."

A few days earlier, he had heard that the agency was planning to send a catering service to the film set, but he had suggested a different idea to them. 

"Yes, the catering service suggestion is great, but I want to serve them some dishes I prepare myself. I'll text you what I would need. Yes, thank you."

He had lived as an imperial chef, so he was confident in his cooking skills.

Although he was eventually executed after being accused of poisoning the emperor. 

The ingredients and equipment that Kyu-ha had requested arrived at the filming location after a few days and a temporary cooking room was prepared for him. 

It was a rare experience, and the staff also showed much interest. 

"What's that? Are we filming a cooking scene today?"

"There's no cooking part in the film."

Kyu-ha explained to the staff that had gathered around. 

"Since we have no shoots today, I wanted to cook to thank you all for your hard work. Give me some time, and I'll serve you a decent lunch."

"Woooww, awesome! Thank you! We look forward to it!"

The crew exclaimed joyfully and went back to their stations expectantly. 

Kyu-ha began to cook with the prepared food ingredients and the tableware. 

When he was the imperial chef, guaranteeing the best taste was essential, but so was cooking quickly and accurately to meet the five daily meal times. 

Kyu-ha moved busily to prepare the meal for 60 staff quickly. 

He used his knife so fast that his hands were barely visible, yet, they moved efficiently.

His actions were recorded by the camera of the production house in charge of the ‘behind the scenes’ cuts. 

"Look how he uses the knife! It's awesome."

He finished preparing the dishes one meal at a time and set them in large trays for the buffet. 

The dishes prepared by Kyu-ha were exotic and were not popular in Korea. The delicious smell drew people's attention, and they gathered around the food. 

Cha Kyung-seok, Jung Se-ho, Lee Seung-ku, and Director Go Yo-han joined them, taking their seats. 

"Whoa…. Kyu-ha, what are these? Did you make them yourself?"

"I learned to cook as a hobby and wanted to serve the crew working hard. I hope you enjoy them."

"What… you make these dishes just as a hobby? These are things I couldn't even try during my trips abroad."

"Give it a try."

The staff lined up and scooped up as much food as they liked. Their reactions were surreal.

"Wow, it looks so delicious. It smells even better! I need to post this on my Instagram!"

There were many exotic-looking cuisines, but most were made of ingredients and sauces familiar to Koreans. Therefore, everyone enjoyed them without hindrance.

After eating satisfactorily, they thanked Kyu-ha and left their seats. 

Director Go Yo-han spoke to him as he clutched his now full belly,

"Wow, Kyu-ha. With this level of cooking talent, you don't have to be an actor. This was the best meal I ever had on a film set." 

Cha Kyung-seok, who was sitting next to him, added,

"Hey, Kyu-ha. Come over to my place tomorrow. I'll open up my Macallan 25 right away!"

"Whoa. Macallan 25?! Let me join you!"

"Me, too… I'll be upset if you didn't ask me too!"

Jung Se-ho and Lee Seung-ku responded without hesitation as if they had been waiting. 

"How about we all gather at my place tomorrow? Director, you'll come too, right? It's an off-day anyways." 

"Nah, I'd love to, but I'm caught up with too many editing projects for now. Why don't you actors spend quality time together? I'll pass."

It was abrupt, but there was a little party where all the actors gathered. 

*** 

Although Cha Kyung-seok was now renowned and famous and was even said to be the next national actor, he also had difficult days early in his career. 

After three years of being a nobody, he was cast as a supporting actor in a commercial film with a high production budget. However, contrary to his lofty expectations, it performed miserably at the box office. 

Whether it was a jinx or not, all his subsequent films failed to attract large audiences, and he eventually earned the nickname "Mr. Box Office Failure." 

But he kept trying and building up his career. Eventually, he won all the awards of the year after playing the role of a man who expresses his love to a blind woman who had lost hope in life in a melodrama called 'Dim Light and Sweet Salt.' 

After his breakthrough, Cha Kyung-seok extended his reach to include comics, action, and thrillers, further solidifying his filmography. 

Cha Kyung-seok lived alone in a large home in one of the most luxurious areas in Seoul since his wife and two daughters were in England for school. 

It had been a while since he had guests over, and Cha Kyung-seok happily got ready to host them. 

"That guy is quite the character."

Cha Kyung-seok thought to himself, referring to the actor he'd recently set his eyes on. 

His first impression of him wasn't remarkable, as he seemed rather plain. 

But when the camera rolled, he seemed to become a different person, showing such breathtaking acting that overwhelmed Kyung-seok himself. He was happy that he was getting to know such a rookie. 

When speaking with Kyu-ha, Kyung-seok felt like he was conversing with a peer or even a senior possessing a  lifetime of experience. 

This feeling subconsciously made him spill his deep thoughts to Kyu-ha. 

"Moreover, he's good at cooking…I always learn new things about him."

The lunch Kyu-ha recently prepared was not an easy task. 

Preparing meals for 60 people on his own, from cutting the ingredients to serving, was no easy feat. 

And the meal was delicious. It was so tasty that it impressed Kyung-seok, even with his picky palate. 

Ding-dong!

Just in time, Kyu-ha, Lee Seung-ku, and Jung Se-ho arrived together at Cha Kyung-seok's place. 

Lee Seung-ku, who always had a good sense of humor, entered the house with delightful energy.

"Oh my god! Thank you for inviting us. Is this place a palace or what?!"

"Ah, it's good for nothing. It's so big that it looks empty. Come on in, take a seat! I've prepared amazing food and drinks for you!"

Cha Kyung-seok served the meals he had prepared. The table was filled with thin beef brisket steamed with bean sprouts, raw oysters with lemon juice, and grilled bonnet bellflower.

"Wow, did you prepare all this by yourself? This is great!"

"Ah, it's nothing. Haha. Let me pour you my precious Macallan 25. You guys are fortunate."

Cha Kyung-seok fixed everyone's drink and shouted a toast.

"Thank you for coming today! Cheers to the success of 'In the Name of the Devil'!"

"Cheers! Let's make it a hit!"

Gulp, gulp

"Ohhh! The after scent!"

The Macallan's unique vanilla scent and silk-like delicate aftertaste lingered in the mouth, even after the drink had been swallowed.

They talked a lot about movies while eating delicious food and drinks, and the vibe was upbeat. 

They began to talk about things that they wouldn't usually disclose. 

"To be honest, I had some problems with my previous film. A rival actor fought with me for a part, and his agency tried to get him the role over me by circulating false and defamatory stories about me... It gives me shivers just thinking about it."

"Whoa, I didn't know that agency would do such a thing! They're terrible!"

Cha Kyung-seok asked Kyu-ha questions after listening to Lee Seung-ku's complaints. 

"Kyu-ha, how did you start acting?"

The question was sudden, and Kyu-ha considered it for a second before answering.

"As soon as I graduated middle school, I got a job at a slaughterhouse and learned how to cut meat, but I knew I could pass the high school graduation certificate test, so I took the exam. A friend of the CEO was a film director, and I had a chance to film a scene for him as a small favor to my boss. That led me all the way here."

Lee Seung-ku reacted with admiration as he listened to Kyu-ha. 

"Wow, you started working at such a young age? That's sick. How did you persuade your parents? I once told my dad I wanted to quit high school, and he beat me up so hard."

"Oh, I don't have any, so I decided for myself. I had to earn money at the time."

Startle.