Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 106

Do You Know Verbal Karma? (1)

106. Why Are You Here? (1)

2022.02.14.

Yeonwoo stared, hardly believing his eyes. ‘Woo Do-gyeom?’ Why is he here…? Oblivious to the bewilderment around him, Woo Do-gyeom stepped off the large yacht with an easy grace, scanning the area. “Everyone seems to be safe.” The staff remained speechless at his nonchalant appearance. “Investor-nim?” “Is this real?” “Are we all collectively hallucinating the afterlife?” Some of the staff members seemed to be trying to escape reality in the face of the surreal situation.

“I heard the news. I heard it was quite a mess here.” Woo Do-gyeom’s words, spoken in a cool tone, only deepened their confusion. Heard? From whom? That was the question on everyone’s mind. It was understandable. They had been trapped for days due to the sudden downpour, unable to send out even a single distress signal.

‘But he heard the news?’ How?! Only one person knew the answer. ‘It must be Dongja-ryeong [a spirit child attendant].’ Dongja-ryeong wasn’t Yeonwoo’s contracted spirit, but it was certain that he was connected to Yeonwoo in some way, as much as a spirit would be. He might look like a cute, smiling little spirit child, but even most minor ghosts couldn’t touch him.

If Yeonwoo had been seeing him since he was very young, wouldn’t that say it all? ‘Looking at the generals in my mother’s shrine, they seem to be even higher than the average general-level deity… but I doubt they’re deity-general level.’ He was mysterious in many ways. Well, thanks to him, Yeonwoo had been able to use him effectively even in their forced first meeting with Woo Do-gyeom.

Of course, Lady Kang was the one who could see Yeonwoo’s situation better than anyone else, but it was unlikely that she had intervened. If Lady Kang had stepped in, Yeonwoo would have been dragged home a long time ago.

“Excuse me, but… who did you hear it from…? Did you perhaps already make contact?” The assistant director’s question prompted a reply from Woo Do-gyeom. “Let’s just say I have a source. That’s not really important. Isn’t the important thing that I came here?” As if to say, ‘I came all the way here to save you?’ The assistant director muttered awkwardly, perhaps feeling that sentiment all too clearly. “Ah, yes… that’s true.”

“Tsk. You all look like shipwrecked people. Secretary Kim.” Woo Do-gyeom snapped his fingers. A neat but very tired-looking man in a suit, like himself, came forward carrying something. Behind him, other men in suits got off the yacht and began piling things on the beach.

“This is bottled water. This is emergency medicine. This is daily necessities, and this is food like ramen, rice, and chocolate bars. Simple cooking utensils are in the daily necessities section. And this is clothing to change into, as well as blankets and towels…”

A string of explanations followed. ‘Dongja-ryeong must have made a huge fuss.’ Yeonwoo could easily imagine it. He probably made an enormous commotion, flapping around here and there, causing a ruckus.

‘Hmm? But wait a minute.’ Right now, Dongja-ryeong was attached to Kwon Seong-hyun. But it was Woo Do-gyeom, not Kwon Seong-hyun, who had come. ‘Why did Woo Do-gyeom come instead of Kwon Seong-hyun?’ Yeonwoo’s gaze turned to Woo Do-gyeom.

“Mr. Woo Do-gyeom?” Yeonwoo asked while the people from Cheongwang were quickly distributing the relief supplies. “What is it?” “I’m just asking in case… that source you mentioned…?” As his voice trailed off, Woo Do-gyeom, who understood easily, raised one corner of his mouth. “The young master of the Kwon family was so frustrated.” The expression on Woo Do-gyeom’s face as he said that looked very unpleasant. “You should have seen that young master asking me for a favor.”

Speak of the devil. The young master of the Kwon family that Woo Do-gyeom was talking about could only be one person: Kwon Seong-hyun, the very man Dongja-ryeong was attached to.

‘I’m screwed.’ At that moment, Yeonwoo could sense it. ‘Should I just not go back…? No. That’s too much.’ He could already picture it. Kwon Seong-hyun would greet him with a smiling face and then unleash an enormous amount of nagging. Sometimes Kwon Seong-hyun was even more overprotective than Lady Kang. He had even contacted Woo Do-gyeom, whom he didn’t get along with, and ‘asked’ him to come all the way here.

‘No matter how I think about it, I think I’m screwed…’ Kwon Seong-hyun extremely hated Woo Do-gyeom. It was quite rare for a man who was gentle and saintly enough to just laugh off most things to be so sharp, and the most representative target of that rare occurrence was Woo Do-gyeom.

But he had directly contacted such a hated person? And even ‘asked’ him to the point where Woo Do-gyeom was giving off a nasty smile? ‘I’ll figure it out somehow.’ Yeonwoo stopped thinking deeply. The situation at the time was clearly not that good, as Dongja-ryeong must have been making a fuss. Human navigator, no, ghost navigator Adrian was helpful, but to be honest, it wasn’t very positive. No matter how much he made a fire and brought food, that was the limit. Adrian’s standards were geared towards survival experts, not modern people exhausted from fatigue.

“Hey? Are you thinking about something else in front of me right now?” Woo Do-gyeom’s long fingers waved in front of his eyes. “That’s not very polite to someone who rushed all the way here.”

That’s true. “I’m sorry. I was just feeling a little overwhelmed by what’s to come.” “I understand. The young master of the Kwon family has a bit of a childish side. Why don’t you just move to my company? It wouldn’t be a problem to start an entertainment company just for you.” “I’ll have to politely decline that.” “Too bad. I didn’t expect you to agree so easily, but there will be plenty of opportunities anyway.” After saying that, Woo Do-gyeom added, “So, where’s my thank you?”

Yeonwoo glanced back. Even the shy director was showering the people from Cheongwang with endless thanks. In a situation where thank yous were echoing like surround sound from all directions. What? A thank you? “Thank you…?” It felt a bit off, but he still had to do what he had to do. Woo Do-gyeom’s appearance was certainly absurd, but it was quite helpful. It would have been more comfortable if someone other than Woo Do-gyeom had appeared… “It’s always my pleasure to help my benefactor.” “…But how did you get here? Did you get help from the Coast Guard…?” “I didn’t even think about that. It seemed obvious that they would be short on manpower.” “Then…?” “Apparently, the weather made it impossible to fly a private plane or helicopter. And a helicopter wouldn’t be suitable for transporting supplies. So…” “So…?” “I bought a yacht.” “…What did you say you bought?” For a moment, Yeonwoo doubted his ears. What did he say he bought? “There was only one way to get in here. The only way to come was by boat, but I couldn’t just let any boat come in.” In the past few days, there had been a tremendous amount of rain, almost like a storm. Of course, the surface of the sea couldn’t have been normal. The most that an ordinary boat could do was not capsize.

“…So you’re saying you bought that huge yacht? Just to come here?” “It’s not ‘just’. My benefactor was in danger, so isn’t that the least I could do?” “Excuse me, but do you happen to have money to burn?” “Unfortunately, I hardly ever keep cash these days. I do keep some as spare funds, but thanks to the fact that modern safes automatically adjust the humidity, there’s no chance of it rotting, sadly.” Woo Do-gyeom answered so nonchalantly. Yeonwoo pondered. ‘Is this guy crazy?’ In the end, Yeonwoo sighed. “That’s not what I’m talking about right now.” “Ah. Were you perhaps worried about my financial situation? That’s very kind of you. If you want, I can have my list of assets compiled and sent to you. Just a moment. I’ll call Secretary Kim…”

He looked like he was about to call that exhausted-looking secretary right away. “No. No! There’s no need!” A large yacht that easily costs billions to purchase. And that’s not all the money it takes. Regular maintenance requires separate maintenance personnel and other management staff. And when it’s not in use, it has to be docked. Unlike ordinary garages or parking lots, there is a limited amount of space where large yachts can be docked. Naturally, the cost for that space would be enormous. It’s truly a money-eating ghost. But he just bought it. “Well, don’t worry too much about it. Isn’t it a knight’s duty to rescue a princess in danger?” “Prin…”

A maddening word popped out, but Yeonwoo chose to just shut his mouth. The more he talked to this guy, the more strangely entangled he felt. ‘No. Wait a minute.’ Yeonwoo paused. ‘From the start, there’s no need to thank this guy, is there?’ When he thought about it, there was no need to worry about the huge amount of money Woo Do-gyeom spent. ‘Since he’s the one who pushed me this way, isn’t it natural for him to clean up the mess?’ No matter how generous Woo Do-gyeom was to himself, he was even less of a charitable person who gave to just anyone.

The film crew probably thought that this island was being rented out for free as a filming location for cheap marketing… There’s no way that a man like Woo Do-gyeom would have bought this island without knowing anything. ‘The yacht price? It’s nothing compared to the value of my blood.’ Yeonwoo’s gaze naturally sharpened. When he thought about it, there was no need to worry at all. There was no need to be grateful either. Yeonwoo’s gaze once again turned slightly behind him.

“Ugh. I feel like I’m finally alive after eating ramen.” “Seriously, I’m getting sick of raw food.” “I was thinking of retiring and going down to the countryside to enjoy the rural life, but it seems like living in the city is the best.” The staff, wrapped in thick blankets and eating steaming hot, proper food, could be seen. They were surrounded by electric heaters that drew electricity and blasted heat from all directions, rather than an unbalanced and precarious heat transfer medium like a bonfire. Even the actors, who were concerned about weight management and figure control, had joined them with haggard faces.

‘You guys… you’re being deceived…’ In short, these pitiful people were being tricked by Woo Do-gyeom. The cause of that trickery was probably Yeonwoo himself. “In this case, aren’t you a villain rather than a knight? Who drove me this way?” “Ah. You already noticed? Well, I thought you would notice right away.” “I don’t think I needed to be grateful? Can I cancel it now?” “I can’t do such a wasteful thing. I’ll gladly accept your thanks. Instead, I’ll give you my thanks this time.” “Mr. Woo Do-gyeom… aren’t you being too nasty?” Woo Do-gyeom smiled. It was a matter-of-fact reaction. “Why do you think so?” “You sent me on purpose, didn’t you?” “I’m curious why you think so.” “Because it’s clear that you’re not the type to give things away for free.”