Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 12

012. Filming the Drama Begins! (1)

November 12, 2021

“If a newbie is taking photos this well, I might as well quit photography…” muttered Park, the photographer. Of course, I couldn’t exactly say, ‘It’s all thanks to the stat boost I got from you.’ ‘If a professional photographer says that, it must be true.’ It wasn’t just a feeling that this would be a hit. “Really, won’t you work with me on photography?” “Photographer Park, it would be difficult if you stole Yeonwoo from me.” “No, no. Sung-hyun. It’s not like that… Ah, really. What a shame.” “Clingy guys aren’t attractive.” “…Okay. Goodbye. We’ll meet again, right? Got it? I’ll let you go today…”

Photographer Park, looking somewhat dejected, wistfully bid farewell to Yeonwoo and Kwon Sung-hyun. “You seemed to like the work. How was it?” “It wasn’t bad. It was also fascinating, and there were interesting aspects.” “That’s a relief.” Kwon Sung-hyun, who got into the car and started the engine, smiled. “Starting with that much is enough for the first time.” “The first time?” “You’re going to keep doing this, aren’t you? That’s how it seemed to me.” Kwon Sung-hyun spoke as if he knew I wouldn’t quit. He was right. The entertainment world, which I encountered for the first time through Kwon Sung-hyun, was too good to give up, bound by past memories. “Yes. I think I’ll keep doing it,” Yeonwoo replied. ‘I can’t miss the gold mine I just discovered.’ The scales had completely tipped.

***

Several days after discovering the gold mine. I’ve had a taste, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to start full-scale mining yet. That’s because Yeonwoo had no reason to go to the broadcasting station. But then… “A drama?” The opportunity came sooner than expected. “Yes. We got a few scripts a few days ago, reviewed them, and decided to go with one if possible. Sung-hyun’s photoshoot is out, so it’s time to get back in the game properly. We’re reviewing a few right now, but I think we’ll probably go with Min Su-ji’s. Sung-hyun really likes it.” The manager, who came to pick up Yeonwoo, explained smoothly. Dongja-ryeong was in an uproar. [Oh my god! Min Su-ji! Our actor is going to be in Min Su-ji’s work! Ask what it’s about! Huh? Ask!]

“Is she famous?” [Are you kidding me? Ah. You don’t watch TV. There was a huge drama that got 25 percent viewership on public broadcast at the end of last year. It was called ‘The Goddess Given by God,’ and it was about a female lead who runs a fortune-telling shop!]

“Never heard of it?” [Live a little, get some culture! Huh? Yeonhwa and I watched it and laughed so much! They seemed to have researched it pretty well, but they kept messing up in weird places. If you worshiped a god like that, they would have left already. I understand it’s for the drama.] Is this what it feels like? Like doctors watching a medical drama…? Or lawyers watching a legal drama…? [Anyway, Min Su-ji is a guaranteed hit when it comes to viewership, and the content is great, and it has a knack for attracting people, so if our actor is in it, it’ll be a huge hit!]

“Is that good?” [No need to ask twice! I’m already looking forward to it. Min Su-ji and our actor. Their chemistry will be perfect. Min Su-ji is really good at creating unique characters, so most of the people who appear in her dramas become famous. Our actor is already a top star, but it would be nice if he became even more famous!]

Anyone would think he was Kwon Sung-hyun’s manager. The manager himself was saying, “That hamster… is it alive? It keeps squeaking so much…” He glanced at Yeonwoo in the rearview mirror, sweating profusely. The manager originally knew Yeonwoo as a skilled shaman. He had already seen and heard things, and he had been strictly instructed by Kwon Sung-hyun. Yeonwoo’s monologues could be explained away with self-hypnosis: ‘He’s just practicing his lines. He’s definitely not talking to ghosts. He’s practicing his lines.’ But he couldn’t get used to the fact that Yeonwoo had been bringing animals with him lately! ‘Last time it was a pigeon…? Why a hamster today…? What is that hamster doing, going so naturally onto his shoulder and squeaking like that…?!’ Monologues could be explained away as line practice, but the strange communication with animals was a very unfamiliar experience for the manager. Yeonwoo’s answer to such a manager was shocking. “Maybe… you could say it’s alive? It’s not inside, but the body is alive, so…”

“…?!” Is it alive, or not?! But the manager couldn’t bring himself to ask again. He was weighed down by the feeling that if he asked again, he would get an even scarier answer. Only the speed of the car increased.

***

“Sung-hyun is waiting for you…” For some reason, the manager had a very tired and exhausted face, and he left a word like a will and staggered into the guest room. As the manager said, Kwon Sung-hyun was waiting for Yeonwoo inside. “You’re here? Did anything happen on the way? The manager looks strange…” “I don’t know? Nothing happened. Dongja, do you remember anything?” [No? There were no accidents, and we had a very comfortable ride?]

“…Maybe he’s just feeling a little weak these days. But Dongja, you’ve turned into a hamster this time?” [I thought the pigeon was too noticeable, so I changed it. How is it? Cute, right?]

A plump hamster, half the size of a palm, spins around on his shoulder. “Yes. It’s really cute. It looks perfect for carrying around in your pocket?” [That’s right. That’s exactly what I was aiming for! Actually, Yeonwoo’s head has a good view, but the ride wasn’t very comfortable, so I got motion sickness. Having a body makes things difficult.]

“I see. It must have been very uncomfortable.” [Actor, do you want to die too? Then your body will be lighter and better.]

“Hmm. Then I won’t be able to see Yeonwoo anymore, right? I don’t like that.” [No. Actor, you can stay like me…]

I should cut it off here. Why are you trying to get a living person to die? “Are you crazy? If Kwon Sung-hyun leaves his body, you won’t be able to see your favorite actor anymore, you know?” [Ah…! That’s right…!]

Dongja-ryeong’s eyes widened as if he had realized something. The problem was that he was a hamster, so it wasn’t very impactful. Instead, he was very cute. Even Yeonwoo, who knew what was inside, was momentarily captivated by his cuteness. “I think there were nuts at home. Wait a minute, Dongja. I’ll go get them quickly.” [Oh my, what a kind actor!]

Kwon Sung-hyun rushed to the kitchen as if possessed. It was only when Kwon Sung-hyun brought a handful of shelled walnuts and Dongja-ryeong began to munch on them diligently that the two were finally released from their stupor.

“Wait a minute, Yeonwoo. Let me take some pictures.” Of course, they weren’t completely free. Click, click! Click, click, click, click! Kwon Sung-hyun even took a burst of shots. “I heard you’re doing a drama?” “Ah. Yes. It’s a drama that will be scheduled for the next quarter, and I liked the synopsis. The writer completed the script for the beginning and sent it to me, and it looked pretty good, so I’m thinking of proceeding with it. Would you like to take a look?” Kwon Sung-hyun handed over a bundle of papers that were on the table. ‘The title is… Dear My Ghost?’ Yeonwoo’s hand began to scan the synopsis with a ‘tentative title’ sticker on it. ‘A man who can see spirits and a female lead whose soul is swapped with another woman…?’. As you can guess from the title, the male lead is someone who can see spirits. The female lead died in an accident but couldn’t go to the afterlife and instead entered a woman’s body, and because of that, she loses her memory. She doesn’t know who she is, but she instinctively knows that she came to the wrong place and tries to regain her place, and the process is quite quirky. ‘She goes to meet a shaman and gets rejected, so she tries to do it herself by going into a waterfall…?’ Waterfall training is not for this. ‘That’s something you do when you need to purify your body and mind…?’ The female lead’s quirky antics didn’t end there. ‘…Isn’t this really crazy?’ Jumping off a building. Getting hit by a car. Rolling down the stairs. And so on. She thinks that if she receives a similar shock to when she had the accident, she will be able to get out of the other person’s body. ‘What crime did the people who witness this commit? And what about the victim who hit her?!’

Inevitably. The first victim of the female lead’s antics is the male lead who sees spirits. ‘A man who was like cold ice slowly falls in love with a quirky woman and opens his heart…’. The male lead’s ability to see spirits was the key point of this drama. The female lead, who has taken over another person’s body, tries to reject the male lead for this reason, but the male lead instead persuades the female lead for that reason. [What I see is not just an easily changing outer shell. I’m seeing your soul. The woman I want is not a cold and aloof shell, but you yourself, who are fearful, quirky, and yet pure.] ‘Dramas are definitely dramas.’ The illegal invading soul that has entered another person’s body cannot see the face clearly because of the disconnect with the body. It might be different if you pulled it out with a talisman [a type of amulet], but there’s no way the male lead has that ability… ‘It’ll look like a magic eye, how can you fall in love?’ Every time you move, the joints will dance because of the disconnect, and you won’t even be able to make eye contact? If the body and soul are different, the harmony is broken and you become like a madman. ‘It’s not for nothing that the old people used to say that crazy people were possessed by ghosts.’ But I soon understood. If you follow all these historical facts, it will become a real documentary, not a drama. Anyway, their difficult love journey didn’t end there. A grim reaper appears to catch the female lead who has messed up the register of the dead. After that, it leads to a tense tug-of-war between the grim reaper and the male lead. “There’s a twist at the end, too. It’s not exactly confirmed yet, though.” Unfortunately, the scenario was cut off at the climax, as Kwon Sung-hyun said. “What do you think, Yeonwoo?” “It’s not bad. I’m an amateur who doesn’t know anything about dramas, so I don’t know if it will be a hit…” [I think it’ll be fun, Actor!]

Dongja-ryeong, who was stuffing walnuts into his mouth until his cheeks were bursting, raised his hand and shouted. The shout was replaced by a cute, crackling sound. “But this reminds me of that time…?” There is an image that kept coming to mind as I looked at the synopsis and the beginning of the script. The very setting of the female lead’s soul entering another person’s body and wandering around. “Ah, you noticed? I thought of that right away when I received it and thought, ‘Ah!'”

It was something that Kwon Sung-hyun had experienced directly a month ago. Of course, Kwon Sung-hyun had never entered another person’s body. “Could it be because of that…?” “That’s one of the reasons, but not entirely. Actually, when I received this synopsis, I had a feeling. I had a feeling that this would be a success.” Kwon Sung-hyun’s sense, which is famous in the entertainment industry. The deeply sunken eyes of Kwon Sung-hyun, who said those words, shone. The man, who was like an infinitely innocent dog, instantly transformed into a top star. “That’s why I need Yeonwoo’s help. It’s something I’ve experienced, but the memory is a bit hazy… I think the play would be more realistic if Yeonwoo, who knows this side well, was there.” He soon returned to being a pure puppy, but for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the existence of a ‘top star.’ [Yeonwoo, you have to do this. You have to do this! This is a destiny you must do!] Crackle!