Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 47

047. What is a Star’s Life? (2)

2021.12.17.

I think I know why almost all entertainers, like singers and actors, have agencies. “Is this all I need to submit now?” “Yes. Once we confirm your identity and process the documents, we’ll contact you in a few days to come pick them up.” I handed the documents to the clerk, who had been glancing at Kwon Seong-hyun for a while. “To confirm your identity, please take off your sunglasses… G, Kang Yeon-woo…?” The clerk’s eyes widened. That was the beginning. “Kang Yeon-woo? That Grim Reaper?” “It really was Kwon Seong-hyun. I heard that Grim Reaper and Kwon Seong-hyun are close!” “Wow. I thought it was just someone who looked alike…!” Murmurs rippled through the room. People who had been cautiously watching started to flock around as soon as they heard those words. “Please sign this for me!” “Please take a picture with me! Can you take a selfie?” Requests came flying in from everywhere. Of course, it was out of fandom, but the number of people was enormous. It felt like I wouldn’t be able to get my work done at this rate. “Oh dear. This is troublesome,” Kwon Seong-hyun whispered softly and took off his sunglasses. “Yeon-woo, you go ahead and submit your documents.” “Yes? Yes…” Kwon Seong-hyun skillfully dealt with the crowd. Meanwhile, Yeon-woo quickly paid the fees and submitted the documents. The clerk, who had inadvertently started the commotion, apologized, and Yeon-woo nodded, saying it was okay. ‘I guess it’s better to have an agency.’ I realized the necessity of an agency once again, something I had previously considered annoying.

[Yeon-woo! Our actor is going to get crushed to death! Let’s escape quickly!]

“I was just about to.” Kwon Seong-hyun, having received Yeon-woo’s signal, smiled gently and skillfully deflected the attention, pushing through the crowd. Fortunately, perhaps because of the national top actor’s gentle manners, the hands grabbing him were relatively easy to shake off. Of course, until he got into the sleek car, people’s gazes remained glued to him. “Hoo… I’m sorry. Because of me…”

This was a first. This kind of experience. ‘Does this kind of thing happen more often as influence grows?’ I had only thought about the automatic lifespan harvesting gained through influence, but I hadn’t anticipated this kind of thing at all. I had never been surrounded by so many living people, let alone dead souls. Yeon-woo let out a long, tired breath, and Kwon Seong-hyun chuckled. “Yeon-woo, you’ll get used to it soon. Most of the people who recognized you earlier did so after hearing your name. This is troublesome…”

“Yes?”

“I was going to tell you not to draw a lot of attention, but that would be a hindrance to you. What should I do…”

“…” Kwon Seong-hyun seemed to be seriously contemplating. Yeon-woo was speechless. That statement about working directly as my manager… Was he serious?

***

[It’s a relief. That I don’t have to go in person.]

“You can say that again.” It took exactly four days for the passport to be issued. Fortunately, Kwon Seong-hyun’s manager took care of picking it up.

-If you write a power of attorney, you can leave this to your brother.

-Is that okay?

-I saw the photos from that day on social media. If you go today, there will definitely be a lot of people.

-I’ll leave it to you.

-You thought well. As Kwon Seong-hyun said, the photos from that day had already appeared not only on social media but also in news articles. ‘Don’t reporters have anything better to do?’

[Kwon Seong-hyun, Kang Yeon-woo Make a Surprise Appearance at XX District Office… Netizens ‘Curious About the Reason’]

[‘Surprise Date’ Kwon Seong-hyun, Kang Yeon-woo Visit XX District Office!]

[Kwon Seong-hyun, Kang Yeon-woo ‘Why’ at XX District Office?]

They’re really curious about everything. What’s more annoying are the titles of the articles. ‘Why? Why are you asking why? Outing… Well, it’s an outing since we went out… But what’s with the date? Which reporter is this? I’ve memorized your name.’ I’ve heard that sensational article titles are a social problem, and that’s exactly right.

-Yeon-woo, this is your first time going abroad, right? You’ll need a lot of things, from a suitcase, so let’s go shopping together…

-I’ll ask my manager.

-Oh dear. You don’t have to learn things like that so quickly. Kwon Seong-hyun clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed. Yeon-woo recalled what Kwon Seong-hyun had said last.

-Oh, right. Yeon-woo. The director and writer said they wanted to meet once before you leave the country. They were wondering if we could film a short side story as a thank-you event for the viewers while we’re on vacation.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was now heading to the broadcasting station. Of course, with Kwon Seong-hyun’s manager.

[Humans are so troublesome. Why do you need things like passports? How nice would it be to roam around freely like me?]

The child spirit bounced around Yeon-woo, who was holding the stiff green passport. “Are you telling me to die, then?”

[You’d be shedding your physical body and gaining freedom!]

“You’re crazy.”

[I’m not?!]

“Hey, are you really going to follow me?”

[Of course! If I don’t go, who will?!]

It is known that ghosts usually cannot cross water. That’s why overseas immigration is sometimes recommended as a method for people suffering from spiritual sickness. That statement is half true. Because most ghosts can’t cross water. But conversely…

[Lesser spirits can’t move because of their lack of power, but this body is different!]

“This is going to be annoying.”

That means that ghosts who are not ordinary can cross water. For example, a child spirit like Dongja.

[What?! Why am I annoying?!]

“…” He heard the softly muttered words like a ghost and whined. Ah. He wasn’t like a ghost; he was a ghost.

[There’s no way I can miss our actor’s precious moments of rest! I’m definitely going to follow you! Definitely!]

There’s no other way to describe it but as a sasaeng fan [an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other inappropriate behavior]… No, a sasaeng ghost. “…Let’s not talk about it. By the way, why aren’t you finding a body? You’re following your favorite actor, but it seems like you don’t want to talk to your favorite actor?”

Kwon Seong-hyun couldn’t communicate with the child spirit without the medium of a physical body.

[I want to find one, too!]

“But why aren’t you finding one?”

[It’s just that… Min Ye-rin is on my mind.]

“…Why Min Ye-rin?”

[I feel a sense of spite, you know? How can she hate even hamsters and lizards?!]

“…” He’s burning with spite over something so strange. Still, maybe because I’ve seen him for so long, it makes me feel strangely sorry to see him so down. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen him care so much that he’s willing to put up with not being able to talk to his beloved Kwon Seong-hyun.’ Oh well. Yeon-woo decided to use his power once for the child spirit.

“Wait. I’ll ask for you.”

[Huh? Really? Really? Really?]

“Yeah. It’s better to ask and go with a custom fit than to waste spiritual power unnecessarily.”

[Yeon-woo. You know I love you, right? Right? I’ll definitely be your manager…]

“No. That’s okay.” Seeing the child spirit rolling around in the air, happy despite the firm rejection, I thought it was a good decision.

The van, which had been speeding along, announced that it had arrived at the broadcasting station.

***

“Our reward vacation’s final star has arrived!” Director Heo greeted Yeon-woo with open arms as he arrived. “Seong-hyun told you roughly about it, right? The concept we’re going to film is a bit of a spin-off, and we’re going to lead it with a story that viewers wanted…”

“Oh my! What are you saying to someone who just arrived! The meeting room isn’t finished being cleaned yet, so let him have something to drink first!” Smack! Writer Min appeared with a resounding slap.

“Yeon-woo, you’re here? There’s a coffee truck downstairs. Yeon-woo’s fans sent it.” “Yes? My fans?” “Yes. Seong-hyun came and told me. I owe a lot to Yeon-woo. Both in terms of the character and the viewership ratings. So, I feel like I’m repaying a little bit of the favor because I think Yeon-woo is doing well. Anyway, go quickly and take a proof shot [a photo to prove you received the gift]. You have to say hello to your fans.” “Yes. Thank you for letting me know.” Fans. It was a word I hadn’t even thought of.

[Wow. I’m really surprised several times today. Yeon-woo. You already have fans! This hyung [older brother or male friend] is happy…]

“You’re calling yourself hyung.”

[Ah, why. I’ve been around longer than you, so I am your hyung, right?]

“Yeah. No.” I knew that the more people who knew him, the more the number of people who liked him increased, and the power of influence grew. ‘This is amazing.’ But it was the first time that it had taken on the form of fans and appeared directly. “Yeon-woo! I’ll enjoy the drink!” “Seeing coffee truck support coming in already, isn’t Yeon-woo going to become a top star completely?” “Maybe a huge rookie is being born from our drama. Yeon-woo. Can I ask for your autograph later?” The staff members I encountered while going to the back parking lot where the coffee truck was located threw out a word each with bright faces. I greeted them back and ran into a face I hadn’t seen in almost a week. “It’s been a while.” A greeting given with a face that didn’t look happy at all. However, instead of ignoring it and passing by, she even approached me. “I heard that there isn’t an official fan page yet, but fans have already gathered in the community and put in support. It seems that many people are interested in Kang Yeon-woo.” “Is that so? I didn’t know, but thank you for letting me know.” “No. I didn’t ask on purpose. Don’t misunderstand.” “I don’t. Misunderstand.”

“…” Yeon-woo knew very well how unpleasant it was to be unnecessarily misunderstood. So, I said I wouldn’t do such a thing, but for some reason, Min Ye-rin’s eyes seemed to be filled with resentment. “…I heard you’re going to join Kwon Seong-hyun’s agency?” “Yes?” “Kwon Seong-hyun said so.” “Yes… Well…” I hadn’t said I would join yet. ‘For now… it would be advantageous for me to be on Kwon Seong-hyun’s side.’ Thanks to the automatic lifespan harvesting function, the utility of the living lifespan vending machine has decreased, but Kwon Seong-hyun’s value is not all that. ‘One way or another, there’s a lot to learn from Kwon Seong-hyun.’ Even though I received a lot of lifespan, I had never received any additional abilities from Kwon Seong-hyun. How amazing would it be to receive just one of those many talents. “I heard you didn’t have much interest, but it seems like your mind has changed in the meantime.” “Well… that’s how it is.” “…Don’t you really have any thoughts about our agency?” “Yes. Well.” “Why are all your answers so ambiguous?” “…?” She had a very unfair look in her eyes. “You remember that you owe me one, right?” Min Ye-rin, who fainted because the child spirit disguised as a lizard suddenly popped out and was all over the real-time search rankings. It wasn’t Yeon-woo’s fault, but the pet’s fault was the same as the owner’s fault. The child spirit wasn’t a pet, but anyway, Yeon-woo had a very slight responsibility as well. “Then stop by our agency once before you sign the contract.” “Yes?” “I’m not telling you to sign a contract. But you can still give us a chance, right?” “Well… if it’s just that much.” I was curious about how great the demands of the top actress in the industry would be, but this was so modest that it was almost humble. It wouldn’t be difficult to look around the agency once. ‘There must be a lot of celebrities at the agency.’ I was more interested in the rice cakes than the Buddhist chanting [more interested in the benefits than the actual activity]. But that was something Min Ye-rin couldn’t know. Yeon-woo nodded lightly. Only then did Min Ye-rin’s cold expression soften slightly.

[Yeon-woo, body! Body! You have to ask about the body!]

That’s right. “Do you have a moment?” “…Me?” “Yes. There’s something I want to ask you.” For some reason, she seemed flustered this time. Her cheeks seemed to be slightly flushed… As if she had made a huge decision, she took a breath and looked at Yeon-woo, finally opening her mouth as if she had made up her mind. “W, what is it?” Min Ye-rin seemed to stutter slightly, but Yeon-woo didn’t care and asked the most important question. “Do you happen to have a favorite animal?” “Pardon?” “Any animal you particularly want…”

“Yeon-woo.”

“Yes?”

“Yes?” Only an bewildered atmosphere flowed between the two after the sudden answer. ‘I think I heard something strange?’