Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 115

115. There’s Just Something About It (2)

2022.02.23.

It’s strangely fascinating. ‘Well, I like it.’ But thinking about it, there’s no need to be so amazed. I’ve gotten used to Kwon Seong-hyeon’s scale of things. If I think of it as repaying a favor, it’s not that strange. “But I didn’t mean to put any pressure on Yeon-woo, so just take it with a grain of salt. Actually, I don’t really want to leave the company right now. It’s just that my head is too complicated, and… it’s not about ridiculous methods like exposure, but Yeon-woo’s company came up with such a clear-cut solution that I’m just getting so heated up inside…” Yeon Do-hee said. “But really, how can they say such things so easily? Are they not even actors? I’m so upset… Our company used to be good. But someone bad came in, and I don’t know what’s going on. It used to be really good… I know why people move agencies. I kept renewing because it was good, but now they treat me like a fish they’ve already caught, and even worse… Sigh… I’m sorry for complaining so much.”
“It’s okay.”
“They need to experience it themselves to know how frustrating and humiliating it is. They need to put themselves in my shoes to realize, ‘Ah, I’ve been doing this wrong.’ Then maybe they’ll come to their senses…” Yeon Do-hee’s voice was full of strength as she said that. That meant she was serious. And that immediately led to a notification. -Ding! [Acquirable lifespan: +7 days] “Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah. It’s nothing.” It wasn’t nothing. I was surprised by the sudden notification for a moment. There was an additional notification popping up in front of me. [Additional acquirable stat: Ventriloquism [B]] Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up with interest. Ventriloquism, huh? There’s just something about it.

*

“Earlier.”
“?”
“What did you talk about with Yeon Do-hee?” In the car on the way back, Kwon Seong-hyeon tilted his head and asked. “It wasn’t anything much.”
“It seemed like you were talking a lot, though?” I thought he went ahead, but I don’t know when he had time to look back. “Of course. If I’m not looking at Yeon-woo, who else would I be looking at?” There were many. The section chief from Yeon Do-hee’s company, who was fawning over Kwon Seong-hyeon, trying to say something to him. And Yeon Do-hee’s manager next to him, who was fumbling with his wallet, trying to hand over a business card. And that’s not all. The agency officials who followed the other supporting actors were also quite eager to talk to Kwon Seong-hyeon. ‘They must have thought it was an opportunity.’ Kwon Seong-hyeon is known for his gentle personality, but he’s also known for being strict in his personal life outside of work. Especially since he hardly ever goes out unless he has work, so it’s hard to even meet him. Connections with famous actors are helpful in some way. Big companies and small companies alike were trying to have a conversation with him. What?
“You were like a pied piper.”
Thanks to that, I was able to step back and talk to Yeon Do-hee. “Were you worried?”
“No?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in those people.”
“I’m not worried!”
“Yes. I understand.”
“…Do you really?”
“So. What did you talk about with Yeon Do-hee?”
“It really wasn’t anything much. Just that her agency is a bit bad…”
“Ah… It wasn’t a bad place, but the person I saw today was a bit strange.” Kwon Seong-hyeon agreed, even though it didn’t seem like they had a proper conversation. “How did you know that?”
“I can see the colors spreading around that person. Just like Yeon-woo is surrounded by a brilliant golden color.” Kwon Seong-hyeon leaned in and whispered intimately. “That person had a color that looked like it was going to smell rotten. There’s no way such a person could be a good person, right?” He shrugged as he said that. ‘Come to think of it, Kwon Seong-hyeon also had spiritual powers, right?’ I suddenly remembered a fact I had forgotten. “Anyway, Yeon-woo. You must have used a lot of energy there… Don’t you need to recharge?” Kwon Seong-hyeon smiled and raised his hand. The reason why Kwon Seong-hyeon could be a human battery was because of his overflowing spiritual power. “I’m okay now. I got a lot out of it there.” Not only did I gain overflowing spiritual power, but I also gained additional stats. Woo Do-gyeom is annoying, but whatever. “Then, Yeon-woo. What are you going to do if another unexpected situation like this filming happens?” Kwon Seong-hyeon asked, muttering that it was a pity. “Well. I’ll have to see what the situation is and join in…?” The reason why the end was vaguely raised is this. Originally, I would have thought this way. ‘Unexpected situations are annoying, so let’s pass.’ However. If there’s someone like Adrian involved in that unexpected situation. Or if there’s something like the thought entity that gave me the S-rank stat involved, then things are a little different. ‘It’s always better to have more stats.’ The fruits of labor after suffering were too sweet to say no unconditionally. But Kwon Seong-hyeon’s thoughts were a little different when he heard that. It seemed like there was a crack in his brightly smiling handsome face. “No. Yeon-woo. You can’t answer like that there.”
“…?”
“Shouldn’t you say ‘I have no intention of doing that’?”
“Yes? Why?”
“That’s because, Yeon-woo…” Why does it seem like strength is going into Kwon Seong-hyeon’s cracked face? In the end. Yeon-woo had to listen to nagging disguised as worry all the way back to the accommodation.

*

[Ah, our actor might be worried! Because Yeon-woo, you seem bright, but you’re a bit loose somewhere!]
“You have a lot to say for a little kid.”
[Little kid? This body has lived longer than you!]
“Let’s get the words right. You didn’t live, you died, right?”
[Ah, Kang Yeon-woo! You’ve become more picky since I last saw you!]
“You’re the picky one.”
Barely two weeks of overseas location filming. However, the moment Yeon-woo stepped into the accommodation, he thought. It’s only been about two weeks, but it feels like several months have passed. As he was swept up in such emotions, the moment he opened the door to the accommodation. [Yeon-woo!] Flap flap! A small fur ball rushed in with rough flapping sounds. Instinctively, I waved my hand and pushed it away. Squeak!
[You’re so heartless!] A familiar voice stretched out and called my name. And. [How could you do that?! We’re seeing each other for the first time in two weeks?! But how can you push me away so heartlessly?!] Squeak! Squeak! A plump sparrow, I don’t know if it’s because its fur is thick or if it’s fat, was flapping around Yeon-woo’s head like crazy. ‘What is this…’ I’m not in my right mind. Anyway, this is the result of the intense reunion. To the Dongja spirit [a spirit of a young boy] who was chirping and making noise, -I’ve already heard a lot of nagging, so at least you be quiet?
Then, [How can that be nagging?! That’s…] The Dongja spirit defended Kwon Seong-hyeon tremendously. I forgot. The Dongja spirit was a fervent fan of Kwon Seong-hyeon. “How much did you exaggerate to Kwon Seong-hyeon? He really catches people with a smiling face and a gentle voice… I was completely suffocated.”
[What!]
“I’m really grateful that you quickly conveyed the message. But I’m really curious about how you told it?”
[I just told it as I felt it? And after watching the video, I realized that what I felt was right! Oh, the storm was really…]
“You watched the video?”
[Of course. Our actor showed it to me!]
“…” A ghost watching videos. It’s the end of the world… “Didn’t you instigate him from the side?”
[Wh…what…? Ah, no. How could that be?]
“You would have felt them, right? The spirits. Judging by how much Kwon Seong-hyeon nagged, it seems like you told him about that.”
[…Chirp?]
The Dongja spirit made a sudden sparrow imitation. Of course, it didn’t work at all. “That’s not something that ordinary people need to know? Why did you tell him that?”
[Aaaah… I was surprised too! I didn’t know there would be something like that there, how would I know? But I was so surprised that something like that was lurking around that I just…]
“You’re the culprit, aren’t you?” Thanks to that, I heard the nagging not only for the first time but also for the second time. [Um um. That’s not nagging. Yeon-woo, you sometimes trust yourself too much.]
“I know, so stop it.”
[Well. It’s natural to have confidence because you have power… Yeon-woo. There are times in the world when you can’t do anything even with such great power.] The Dongja spirit, who had already made a nest on Yeon-woo’s head, said. [They’re not just anything, they’re beings who were once gods. Why did you stick with such dangerous things? You’re great, but you’re not as perfectly skilled as Yeonhwa. It was almost dangerous.]
“What…” That’s true. In fact, when I was fighting the spirits, I had to take a precarious adventure because I didn’t have enough spiritual power. If even a little bit of the plan had gone wrong, it was probably Yeon-woo who would have been in danger. [Being careful is not a bad thing. Do you know why the ends of most shamans have been bad?]
“…The end is bad?”
[It’s only a part, but it’s true that there have been many such people… But do you know why?] Yeon-woo frowned. I think I’m getting caught up in something. [It’s because they have too much confidence in their power. They use all kinds of *japgwi* (low-level ghosts), *japsin* (low-level gods), and even general gods, not to mention spirits, so they have nothing to fear in the world. Because they have that much power, they believe that nothing can harm them and that they can solve any problem.]
“…So?”
[So what. I think you would have already understood everything?] Peck peck. The sparrow pecked at the crown of my head. As if to wake me up. Or. As if to remind me of a forgotten fact. “You’re saying not to be eaten by power by overconfidence? Just like the shamans who used spirits are eventually eaten by those spirits, you’re saying not to be overconfident.” Yeon-woo was also familiar with the story. Since the background I live in is what it is, there’s no way I wouldn’t hear stories. -Did they find the body?
-I don’t know. He was possessed by a ghost and disappeared in the mountains, how can they find him?
-Why did he hold such a big *gut* ritual [a Korean shamanistic ritual]? His spiritual power is running out, what kind of guts does he have…
-I was so surprised that I jumped out while drumming. You know the flute player Kim?
-I know him.
-That guy vomited blood in front of Kim and collapsed, and he’s getting treatment now. Where is it… the psychiatric ward…?
-Park Bosal vomited blood and disappeared?
-That’s right. The *gut* ritual was obviously ruined and it was a mess. Maybe Park Bosal… they won’t find the body?
-The god who was supposed to help ate him instead. It’s lucky if they find even a finger. I once overheard a conversation between my mother and an old friend who came to my mother’s shrine. The two of them were talking so calmly about someone who had been eaten and killed by a ghost they were using. The memory of that scene being clearly etched in my eyes is vivid.
[You know everything. Why are you asking again.]
“So that’s why Kwon Seong-hyeon nagged so much?”
[It’s not nagging!] Flap flap! The plump sparrow flapped its wings in anger. My head didn’t hurt at all from being hit by the feathers. [You mustn’t forget that there are people who care about you.]
“Okay.” Yeon-woo chuckled and gently tickled the fluffy chest of the sparrow sitting on his head with his finger. Yeah. It might not be a bad thing for someone to worry about you. ‘But it doesn’t seem like it ends with just that.’ No matter how much the Dongja spirit wants to look like a child, the reality is that it’s an old ghost that’s been around for decades. There’s no way he would bring up these words just to defend Kwon Seong-hyeon for no reason. “Is something wrong?”
[Not now. Not now.] The condition ‘not now’ is annoying, but Yeon-woo knew. When the Dongja spirit comes out like this, he won’t answer no matter how much you ask. I had no intention of clinging to such a Dongja spirit. Rather than that. “Dongja.”
[Why?]
“I need you to do some work.”
[What? What work? Why me?!]
“You’ve committed a sin, so you better listen obediently?” There was something else I had to do. Right now. “It’s nothing much. Just go into a dream and take care of some jerk.”