CH7

An orphan who doesn't know his biological parents' faces. Others might think his life started under unfortunate circumstances, but Ian had never thought that way. 

He knew from a young age how difficult it was to meet foster parents who, although not wealthy, showered him with unconditional love. 

'So, the misfortune began that day.' 

The day he lost his family and his face was covered with scars like a brand. 

It was a lifelong trauma, but sadly, he could not clearly remember what happened then. 

His parents realized someone had broken into the house, hid him, and then a loud gunshot was followed by a major fire at home. 

That was what Ian experienced. 

'The police only said it seemed like the robber set the fire to destroy evidence.' 

Of course, the police wouldn't ramble on about the investigation details to a kid who had lost his family and was admitted to the ICU; that would be psychopathic. 

The investigation eventually faded away without catching the criminal. 

It would have been overwhelming if that was all the information he had, but Ian remembered his time living as a homeless person. 

He had shared his past story to blend in with a group of homeless people, and upon hearing it, they questioned it. 

"Set a fire? Well, that could happen, but something feels off, right?" 

"It's strange. It's not that easy to start a proper fire, and there were gunshots?" 

"Then?" 

A homeless man warming his hands on a drum fire answered the question. 

"No idea how familiar that guy was with crime, but gunshots are damn loud. If he was shooting joyfully, where would he find the leisure to start a fire? There wouldn't be enough time to steal money, right?" 

"Exactly, someone must have reported it from the surroundings. And the fire spread very quickly, right? Then he must have sprayed something. It's one of the two." 

Yes, he remembered the content of that solid answer. 

"Either he came prepared to start the fire from the beginning or he knew roughly what was inside the grandma's house." 

A homeless man flipping a lighter asked, "Is that really just a robbery?" 

Recalling past memories while half-listening to the lesson, Ian heard a loud voice. 

"Ian Price!" 

He lifted his head, wondering if his lack of focus had been noticed, and was slightly startled. 

It was the principal, whose face was flushed. 

Normally, the principal would pop into classes to joke with the teachers, but he wasn't the type to disrupt a lesson like this. 

"Principal?" 

"Ah, sorry. I was just in a hurry. Now, let's all give a round of applause, shall we?" 

Upon his words, the children clapped, and the principal approached with a bright face, presenting a printed paper. 

"Look! You made it into the newspaper!" 

"Ah." 

He had forgotten about something more important. 

The paper had copies of newspaper articles. 

-A child who offered food to hungry homeless! But, was that homeless man Ben Roberts? 

-The child's good deed is unaware of being filmed. 

-What happened in Ben Roberts' new movie Sucker Punch. 

Articles featured a child handing a corn dog to Ben, who was dressed as a homeless person. 

"Others might think it was luck, but this happened because you did a good deed without expecting anything in return! This is something to be proud of! Kids, let's all take note!" 

"Yes!"

Ian turned his head slightly at the prick of conscience and the admiring gazes of the children. 

'In the Hollywood show business, this is quite decent. At least it doesn't harm anyone, right?' 

Indeed. Anyway, the first seed he sowed after returning has finally sprouted.

***

The demand for gossip about Hollywood stars is as great as the love they receive. 

Reporters are always thirsty for new gossip, to the extent that they buy photos taken by paparazzi for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Amidst this, photos distributed by the movie production company about an incident during filming excited them.

"Oh, shush! How is it possible that so many people didn't recognize Ben Roberts?!"

"First, get an interview with the kid in the photo. Even if it means handing his parents a bundle of dollars, get their permission right away."

It's the reporters' job to chew on and taste the interesting tidbit thrown by the production company.

While reporters competed for interviews, public interest sparked by the articles spread elsewhere.

-So what is Ben eating? It looks similar to my home's toilet brush.

└Lol! It says in the article. It's a corndog!

└I'm not sure how different it is, but I want to try it! Where can I get it?!

└I wish someone would tell me too.

What stars eat and wear has always been a topic of interest, and the unfamiliar form of the corndog was enough to arouse curiosity. This made the reporters even busier.

"Don't just stand there waiting for a response, go find that store! There's already a fuss about what corndog Ben Roberts is eating!"

"What if it tastes bad? Even better! We can write an article titled 'Ben Roberts eats a crappy corndog'! Just get moving!"

As interest exceeded expectations, the production company sent new photos, and the reporters were shocked. 

A photo showed Ian and Ben Roberts laughing and talking on the invited film set.

It might look like a trivial photo, but to reporters familiar with Ben Roberts, it was almost like a ghost photo.

"The Ben Roberts laughing and talking with a kid?"

"No, it could be a doctored photo."

"It's from the production company; how could it be fake! Besides, how much would we have had to pay a paparazzi for this?"

"Guess at least $30,000?"

The price of paparazzi photos varies greatly depending on what the star is doing. 

For a famous star, a photo of them eating can be ten times more expensive than a normal photo. 

The reporters pricing this photo at $30,000 meant it was an uncommon occurrence.

Anyway, as it became known that the owner of the buzz-generating corndog shop and the child's parents were the same, reporters and customers flooded the store. 

Dylan and Chloe struggled in the bustling shop, recalling its quiet past became difficult, and another commotion was happening across the sea.

[Korean Hotdogs Make Their Way to America!]

This time, the hotdog shop expanded to America and even filmed an advertisement!

The ad model is none other than Ben Roberts!

-A casually dressed Ben Roberts receiving a corndog.

Wondering how they could afford the expensive ad fees? I'll tell you.

It's actually a lie.

└Damn, got me excited. Is it nice bringing fake photos and making a fuss?

└Never said the photo was fake, did I? Here's the link.

└…Wait, why is this real?

The sight of Ben Roberts, familiar to Koreans through Hollywood movies, eating a potato hotdog spread quickly on the internet.

The situation was funny, but it also had enough elements to stir national pride.

-Did you know? The kid in that photo is a Korean adopted overseas. The same kid is selling those.

└They're selling it under the name of Korean-style corndog. It's incredibly popular locally now!

└Owner! Please roll up a corndog for me!

-Crazy. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about reporters asking "Do you know Korean corndog?" instead of "Do you know kimchi?"

└Damn it, why should we feel ashamed?

└I came for a pilgrimage in advance. Please, sew the mouths of our country's reporters shut.

Of course, Ian didn't know that this incident had caused such a stir in Korea. 

He had absolutely no room to care about that. 

Not only the reporters who approached persistently under the guise of journalism but there were even stories disguised as articles as if to prove they weren't the capital of yellow journalism. 

The level of discourse had reached the point where there were even claims that he was Ben Roberts' hidden son, despite the clear racial difference.

Eventually, after giving a few decent interviews, the production company arranged for him to have bodyguards and a hotel stay for a while. 

Suddenly living in a hotel, Ian received a visitor.

"Why are you here?"

"That hurts. After all, thanks to me, your parents' store is doing well, isn't it?"

Ben sat down opposite him, smiling slyly. 

He wasn't wrong. 

The influx of customers was so great that they were preparing to operate 24 hours like other diners.

"Thank you. Happy now?"

"Could you put a little more heart into it? Some people are going around saying you're my hidden son. How about acting a bit more friendly?"

Thinking about how Ben had time to read such tabloids even during filming, Ian grinned.

"Yes, Dad."

"…OMG. Did you see? The goosebumps on my arm. Please never say that again."

"Given what you've done. If you've finished small talk, say what you came to say."

Ben wore an uncharacteristically soft smile.

"After this shooting, do you want to come to a party with me?"

"A party?"

"Yeah, a lot of my friends are curious about you after seeing the articles. You'll get tired of parties once you become an actor, but wouldn't it be good to experience it in advance? What do you say?"

Ian looked at Ben, who added words supposedly for his sake, with narrowed eyes. 

It would definitely be helpful. If it was a party Ben was attending, many Hollywood insiders would be there, and it would certainly be good to make an impression.

But..

"That's a lie, right?"

"Who said it was a lie?"

"No one would want to see a mere kid just because of some articles. Unless they consider it just an amusing incident."

Though it was a cynical assessment, Ian smirked at Ben, who remained silent, hitting the nail on the head.

"Um, it seems related to a woman, right?"

"…Is this that 'mystery of the East' thing?"

The mystery of the East, what's that?

It wasn't hard to deduce the reason, knowing who Ben was completely smitten with.

"Anyway, you're saying you want to go to the party with me? If nothing happens, I'll go with you."

"You really agreed?! Don't change your mind later, okay?"

Ben thought it surprisingly easy to get permission, but he didn't dwell on it too much. 

Having achieved what he wanted, he stood up with a light heart.

"Then I'll let you know when the schedule is set. Don't worry about clothes and such; I'll take care of it."

"Got it. Then let's meet with a smile then."

"Rest well."

After Ben left, Ian slumped down on the sofa.

"A party."

It was an event he had almost no connection with, given his face that seemed more suited for a Halloween party.

Touching his intact face, Ian let out a sigh mixed with tension.

"Let's make sure nothing happens."

That was the most important thing for now.

"Phew, it's been a while since I've had some leisure time."

A cool breeze flowed in through the open window.

On the open, quiet road, away from the bustling downtown LA, a car carrying three family members moved towards the countryside.

"It's a relief that we didn't have to close the shop."

"Yeah, you're right."

Pryce's Diner, which had almost turned into a corndog specialty shop, switched to 24-hour operations and hired several employees. 

Since making corndogs didn't require tremendous skill, the staff quickly got used to the work, and it was fine to leave the shop unattended for a while.

As they neared their destination, streets buried deep in memory started to appear one by one.

Houses are built sporadically and people spend time in tranquility.

It was a village with so few people that the fire station was far away.

Parking the car at a house on the outskirts of the village, Dylan rang the doorbell.

With the click of the lock, an elderly woman with white hair tied back appeared.

"Mom, we're here."

"Ah, good you're here. Chloe, was the journey here tough?"

"What could be tough about it?"

Ian greeted the elderly woman who had welcomed the couple.

"Hello."

"..."

There was no response.

The warm atmosphere seemed to vanish as if it were a mirage, replaced by a chill.

Without any particular reaction to Ian, the elderly woman went inside first, saying, "Come on in."

Ian felt the embarrassed and apologetic glances from his parents but simply looked at the grandmother's back.

"Ah, so this is how it is."

He had been quite afraid of his grandmother when he was younger. 

She had never treated him with affection.

Of course, it wasn't without reason, though it was unjust.

However, having experienced disdain and cold looks over the years, Ian felt a piece of emotion he hadn't recognized before.

'I would've regretted it if I hadn't come, fearing what might happen next.'

Thinking it was truly fortunate, Ian stepped into the house.

Into the house where the incident would unfold.