Chapter 124: < Protect – Episode 123 – New York Grand Festival [1] >

“How?”

“How did I get in here? They just let me in.”

She was wearing big sunglasses and a huge floppy hat, but he wasn’t so slow that he didn’t recognize his own girlfriend. Ahn Soo Ho looked at Jang Seol Hyun and sighed.

“What about your movie?”

“We haven’t even started shooting yet.”

“Why not? Did something go wrong?”

“No, that’s how movies are. The smallest problems lead to postponement. It’s not something you or the company should worry about.”

“Okay, but how did you come to New York? Do planes even come here?”

After the New York terrorist attack, it was almost impossible to get a flight flying into the city. That wasn’t a problem with the airlines, but rather the administration who didn’t give permission for flights.

“I took a private jet.”

“No, that’s not what I’m… Never mind.”

There was no point in asking her about all the details. Since she took the private jet here, it wasn’t a bad idea to just let it be. The problem was that Jang Seol Hyun didn’t come alone.

“Yo!”

“That’s…”

“She said she had to come.”

“America is my home country!”

Lila also showed up in big sunglasses and a floppy hat.

“So what? Are you going to have a concert in New York or something?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“You crazy wench.”

Ahn Soo Ho accidentally spoke his mind. New York was currently in a pandemonium. It was the definition of chaos as a result of dissatisfaction of yesterday, worry for tomorrow, and madness of today. After the New York catastrophe, the city was receiving words such as “Pray for New York” and “God Bless America”, but that also slowed down.

They were previously comforting New York, but they were now talking about the harmful effects of democracy. Newspapers started to cover their front pages with “End the American Dream!” and in the frontline of it all was China.

Future forum! If air starts being taxed, the final objective is China!

Another expression for air tax is a carbon tax. The air war has already begun!

Great China! 1.4 billion Chinese can dominate the world!

America’s next war opponent will be China or North Korea!

The revolutionary Scott Davis made the image of capitalists even worse than before. The gap between the rich and the poor was a problem that existed all over the world. The biggest problem of polarization was going to be division, and the gap between the rich and the poor ultimately led to civil wars.

What rich people feared the most were poor people who could hop over the fence with a knife or a bat. Illegality and no laws might look the same, but the precondition was completely different. People who committed illegal acts could be arrested and punished, but not the outlaws. That was why the ones with money and power wanted political power that led to making a judicial system.

If there was no governmental authority, there wouldn’t be rich people either. Why? Because people were formed by jealousy and envy. Without the power to control the law, rich people were just victims of the poor. If one rich person went down, 10,000 poor people could live on.

“I want to heal people with my music.”

“Are you Minmay or something?”

When Ahn Soo Ho was young, he was watching a Japanese cartoon and almost kicked the TV. Lynn Minmay was the start of frustrating heroines. Come to think of it, Minmay was Chinese. The reason why Japan had fantasies about the continent back in the 1980s might have been thanks to Hong Kong movies.

From the 80s to early 90s, Hong Kong movies were at their prime. Once China came back, they became forgotten for some reason, but there were fantasies about Chinese actors and singers. Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t a major fan, but at one point, even he thought Wang Jo Hyun was beautiful.

“Minmay?”

“No, never mind.”

“Did you find a new girlfriend already? Seol Hyun, he must have had another woman… Agh!”

He quickly grabbed Lila and choked her by the neck. It was a skill that soldiers and police officers used. Jang Seol Hyun left the two alone and said hello to Han Chae Kyung.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Seol Hyun.”

“I’m older, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are.”

Since Han Chae Kyung and Lila were the same age, Jang Seol Hyun was two years older than her.

“I enjoyed your interview… Chae Kyung. You did a good deed.”

“Not at all. I could only do it because of Uncle’s help.”

“Do you… call him your uncle?”

“Yes.”

Jang Seol Hyun’s face softened up. Even though her movie got postponed, she still had a lot of places to go to and things to do. So the only reason why she came all the way to the States was because of Han Chae Kyung. Jang Seol Hyun wasn’t suspicious of Ahn Soo Ho. The ones she didn’t trust were the hyenas who were after her man.

Clap, clap—

The person who calmed down the chaos was someone unexpected. It was Scott Warren who came in clapping his hands.

“Scott!”

“Whoa! You got so heavy… Ugh!”

After getting out of Ahn Soo Ho’s grip, Lila ran into Scott’s arms. He was the one who made Lila into the star she was today. Scott joked around, got hit by Lila, pretended it hurt, and then let her back down.

“You seem healthy.”

“Did you break up with that bitch?”

Scott laughed at her unexpected words. Lila often called his fourth wife a bitch. Before the divorce, she often got mad. It appears that even Lila had instincts that allowed her to read the nature of other women.

“We’re at the ending stages.”

“If you don’t have enough money, ask Soo HO to lend you some.”

“I already talked to him actually.”

“Really?”

As soon as Lila glanced over, Ahn Soo Ho stuck up his middle finger.

“Why are you back?”

“Because I heard Lila came back.”

Scott was just about to leave New York after meeting up with Ahn Soo Ho when he heard that Lila was coming back to America. There were many stars that he raised, but Lila was special.

“Is that all?”

“We have to hold a concert in New York.”

Ahn Soo Ho looked back at Lila with a dumbfounded face. The star and management were on the same page. But in contrast to Lila who wanted to do it for pure intentions, Scott was doing it for darker reasons.

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I know. That’s why I need you to protect her.”

“No.”

Scott smacked his lips because of the quick rejection he got. He had already seen this coming and made negotiations with the authorities.

“It’ll be dangerous even with security though… Will anyone want to participate?”

“Don’t look down on our citizens, my friend. We might end up getting defeated, but that won’t make us back down.”

Scott believed that American didn’t know how to surrender before putting up a fight.

“Even if people point at us and curse, we’ll get back up, Soo Ho. In the end, we’ll win like we always have.”

“That’s some impressive confidence you got there.”

“We’re America, after all.”

It was possible for the American Dream to end, but it was impossible to kill the Americans’ pride. It was possible to cut down a reputation, but the reputation that had already been built throughout history were immortal. Ahn Soo Ho didn’t try to talk him out of it. He wasn’t the type to listen anyway, and he was a true American who thought America was great.

Scott had a good sense as a producer.

He knew what Americans liked. Despite being gathered in the last minute, technical staff, broadcasting teams, dancers, and many others gathered in New York in no time. Ahn Soo Ho was sincerely in awe. Was this why America was America? He thought they would still be scared, but they confidently stepped up in front of all the guns.

‘Pray for New York!’

‘God Bless America!’

As if those two slogans weren’t enough, Scott added a third one.

‘We are the world!’

Depending on the situation, a strong person’s weak side was capable of winning sympathy points. America’s weapons weren’t weapons and money alone. The influence of America’s Hollywood controlled countless stars and the public was easily swayed by what the celebrities said and did. In contrast to journalists who criticized America, the star power that Scott mobilized quickly rose up.

Prayer for peace in the world!

The stars have gathered! New York Love & Peace!

Stars holding candles have all gathered in New York!

Humanism won over terror! Here’s the lineup! This is Lila’s comeback!

The media that enjoyed disputes the most was the American media. Their patience while getting attacked by their external environment only lasted a few days. The counterattacks of the American media weren’t against politics, but it rather started with Hollywood. The messages or encouragement started up again once producer Scott Warren announced his plans to hold a grand concert.

The performance wasn’t only opening in New York.

The performance somehow expanded to cover all of America, and for the Americans who couldn’t be in New York, performances were also being held in Houston Texas, Seattle Washington, Denver Colorado, Miami Florida, Chicago Illinois, Los Angeles California, and Washington D.C.

Scott who was in charge of it all excluded support from sponsors. In addition, the musicians and dancers who were performing weren’t going to get paid, and he was only going to pay for setting up the stages. The participants accepted that. Money wasn’t important. Following the Watergate Scandal and the political scandal, the American president resigned. That left a painful scar in not just New York but all of America.

And the American government lifted the martial law.

The performance plans somewhat went against the policy, and that was kind of like a victory for the citizens. People gathered on the streets. The stage wasn’t perfect. Even the waiting room and the broadcasting environment was poor. Everything was a mess, but everyone was cheering instead of complaining.

Scott gave all of the security guards Captain America masks. It was like a performance that said Captain America was protecting the performance. As a result, some of the citizens also dressed up as heroes and attended the performance.

“Everybody, scream!”

“Wow!”

The festival started as soon as the sun came up.

The festival advanced to something that even spread to London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and even Rome where the terrorist attack took place. Whether they were famous or not, magicians participated by singing and dancing, and even actors and comedians performed.

All Scott Warren did was prepare the base.

All he did was lead people who were tired of all the terror, scandals, and depressing news. What did this mean? The young people who rejected boredom won over terror with their energy. That was because people instinctively looked for fun. Entertainment wasn’t rationality but rather instinct and in a world ruled by fear, it was even more effective.

The climax of the festival began once the sun went down.

The no-name stars performed during the day and once the sun started to set, the superstars started to come out. It all began with rappers who were dominating the American hip-hop scene. On a day like this, there weren’t any dissing battles. The messages in their raps were simple. ‘If you want to shoot your gun, go ahead. If you want to throw bombs, go ahead. But we’re just going to dance and sing.’

The camera zoomed in on the VIP seats which were filled with actors and other famous people. Broadcasters, supermodels, athletes, and famous people of many other industries. It was finally time for the princess of pop, Lila to perform, but they held a break right before her performance. If this was a normal concert, they would have entertained the audience with a newbie singer, but this time, the person who got up on stage was none other than Scott Warren.

“Wow!”

He was a producer who was just as popular as the stars. He was a producer who pretty much had his own brand. The pioneer that all Americans loved. The producer’s appearance made everyone go wild with applause. Scott picked up the mic but continued to enjoy that scene.

“Thank you, America! Thank you!”

“Haha!”

As soon as the clapping quieted down, Scott made a silly face to parody someone else, and the audience immediately recognized it.

“Hello, New York, Rome, and all the other cities as well as their citizens!”

There was a short tribute.

“As you all probably know, I’ve divorced my fourth wife.”

Scott whispered the word “bitch” but that went through the mic and everyone ended up hearing it.

“Oops!”

“Haha!”

“Please pretend you didn’t hear that. My lawyer can’t find out about this.”

The audience burst into laughter.

“A few days ago, someone with a similar name said ‘fucking America’ right here.”

The New York performance was purposely arranged to take place in Central Park.

“I agree with that actually. Because I hate the divorce laws here. And I’m not just saying that because I got ripped off.”

“Haha!”

Scott started off with humor, but his face quickly turned serious.

“Fucking America is right! Our country has a lot of problems. However, I can’t agree with one thing. America isn’t great? That’s not true. It is. Why, you ask? Because anyone can say “fucking America”. Okay, everyone together! Fucking America!”

“Fucking America!”

“Fucking America!”

Scott Warren understood Scott Davis while also not agreeing with some of the things he said.

“It’s understandable to hate politicians. Despite our politics being a vicious cycle, it’s still the best thing for America. And there’s one solution for these problems. We just have to monitor our politicians better. It’s true. Money can’t solve all our problems. However, it can solve many.”

America’s foundation—which was democracy—was attacked. His opinion as someone who wasn’t in finance or economics was less credible but more powerful than if it was said by a Nobel prize winner.

“I like money!”

Scott pointed the mic at the audience.

“I like money!”

His yelling rang through New York.

“But what did I do? I went bankrupt after putting on this performance.”

“Haha!”

Scott took out his pockets and made a silly face.

“But don’t worry. I’m no ordinary person. I might have divorced four times, but I haven’t died just yet. So I went to an investor and asked for 700 million dollars. But do you know what he said in response?”

Scott paused for a moment before he continued.

“He laughed at me and asked what I would do with such little money. He laughed down at Scott Warren. So I asked him how much he could give me. Do you know what he said?”

This time, he didn’t pause.

“That’s… a confidential secret!”

“Boo!”

“As a hint… it’s a number that none of you could imagine. Are you really curious?”

“Yes!”

“Then let me invite the investor to the stage right now!”

“Oh!”

The camera and lighting pointed at the VIP seats. Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t frowning because of the strong light. He was taken aback by this unexpected situation. If Jang Seol Hyun hadn’t pushed him, he would have just left the performance. As soon as he went up, Scott smiled at him.

“He looks familiar, right? He’s the guy who was in a scandal with Lila!”

“Wow!”

Everyone cheered at the introduction.

“What are your thoughts?”

In response to Scott’s question, he took the mic.

“Fucking America!”

What started with “fucking America” led to what people call nigger English from Harlem. After that, the black rappers stormed out and started dancing.

“Do you feel better now?”

“I feel like I’ve been born again.”

He felt like this was déjà vu. Once he got the cue that the preparations were complete, Scott yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Lilaaaaaaa!”

< Protect – Episode 123 – New York Grand Festival [1] > The end.

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