Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 160

The Special Request (3)

160. The Special Request (3)

2022.04.09.

‘I’ve always just used hand signs or drawn spells, so, well…’

It might look like I’m doing it haphazardly, but it’s more effective than most shamans, so that says it all.

After doing all this, Yeon-woo came to a realization.

‘…Cooking is not my path.’

The path of a professional chef was definitely not for him.

Even while he was cooking, Kim Gil-dong kept nagging,

-[The basics of cooking are cleanliness!]

-[To maintain a clean environment, you must clean up messes as they happen!]

-[Be thorough in tidying up!]

Thanks to that, the kitchen was spotless even after the cooking was done.

The manager, having been contacted, arrived with the child and Lee Ji-yeon.

[Honey, Ji-yeon! I… I kept my last promise. Although… I couldn’t make it with my own hands, that person helped me a lot. I’m a very flawed dad and husband, but… I really wanted to keep my last promise, so I’m really glad, right…?]

Kim Gil-dong ran as if he was flying, stood next to Lee Ji-yeon, and spoke softly.

[Hey, mister. I can’t hear you, remember?]

[Who knows… maybe if I say it like this, it’ll reach her in a dream.]

[You should ask Yeon-woo for that.]

[Huh?! He can do that?!]

Kim Gil-dong’s gaze snapped towards Yeon-woo.

In that instant.

Lee Ji-yeon’s mouth opened.

“What is all this…?”

A small, cute, and abundant table.

What it represented was only one thing.

It was food made for the child, Mi-rim.

“Oh! Mom! It’s my favorite bunny omelet! There’s also carbonara tteokbokki [Korean rice cakes stir-fried in carbonara sauce]!”

Mi-rim’s eyes widened and she smiled before Lee Ji-yeon could.

For the first time, a bright light appeared on her face, which had been shadowed unlike a young child.

“Happy birthday, Mi-rim.”

[Happy birthday, Mi-rim.]

“It’s a birthday present for you.”

[It’s a birthday present for you.]

Kim Gil-dong’s voice overlapped with Yeon-woo’s.

“Really…? Is it my birthday present…?”

“Yes. I made it for Mi-rim.”

“Wow… this is what my dad used to make for me… but Dad was busy. So I couldn’t eat it often. But he promised me he would definitely make it for my birthday this time.”

The child hesitated a little.

“But Dad… is dead…”

“Dad asked me. To prepare Mi-rim’s birthday meal. Dad didn’t forget his promise. So Uncle made it instead… Does Mi-rim not like it? It’s not as good as Dad’s, right?”

Yeon-woo added playfully, and Mi-rim shook her head with a flushed face.

“No! It’s really cute! But… really? Did my dad ask you to?”

“Yes.”

Yeon-woo, smiling, looked around.

He could see question marks floating above the heads of the production staff.

Of course, they weren’t really floating there.

‘This was that kind of situation?’

‘It’s really her birthday…?’

‘What’s going on right now…?’

That’s how clearly their emotions were being read.

Regardless.

Yeon-woo smiled and said.

“You can’t have a birthday without a birthday song. Should we all sing together to make it feel like a party?”

An impromptu birthday song party was formed.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Following the rhythm set by Yeon-woo, a clumsy song began.

But soon, as Yeon-woo’s voice joined in, a wonderful harmony was completed.

[Happy birthday to my beloved daughter, Mi-rim…!]

Another heartfelt voice.

Unfortunately, the only ones who could hear it were Yeon-woo and the child spirit, but even so, Kim Gil-dong sang with all his might.

The gloom and depression had vanished, and Mi-rim’s face was shining brightly.

“It’s the first time. It’s the first time Mi-rim has smiled since her father passed away…”

Lee Ji-yeon, watching Mi-rim happily eating this and that after the song, said with teary eyes.

“Our Mi-rim is too young to understand someone’s death. A child who doesn’t know anything is overwhelmed by the atmosphere and can’t even smile… It’s all my fault.”

The words Lee Ji-yeon spoke were calm yet filled with sadness.

“The day before he died. We had a fight. Mi-rim’s birthday is in two weeks, and I told him to take just one day off. But he said he had a broadcast scheduled for that day. He said if he could just get one broadcast right, he could definitely succeed. It was a broadcast going abroad. But unfortunately, it overlapped… I asked if he could adjust it, but he said it was impossible….”

If the date was already fixed, it might have been impossible to adjust.

It’s difficult to change the schedules of so many people because of one person.

“I just said I would do it, and we argued a little that day. But unfortunately, the next day…”

Lee Ji-yeon’s voice trailed off.

“Regret is always too late… I’ve been talking too much.”

Kim Gil-dong approached Lee Ji-yeon, who was once again tearing up.

[Honey, Ji-yeon. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I thought that was the way for us to live better. Looking back now, I was only thinking about my own greed. I realized that… only now.]

As Lee Ji-yeon said, regret is always too late.

‘That would be the case normally.’

Yeon-woo had no intention of just watching their regrets for each other scatter without reaching each other.

*

The surprise birthday party came to a successful end.

Mi-rim, who had eaten her fill of what she liked, was very happy.

Lee Ji-yeon, seeing her daughter’s genuine smile that had been suppressed, shed tears but was also relieved.

She tilted her head at the instruction to be sure to fall asleep before 12 o’clock, but promised Yeon-woo that she would.

[I have no regrets now. Thank you so much.]

While they were briefly tidying up the filming, Kim Gil-dong came over and bowed his head deeply.

He had just come back from seeing off Lee Ji-yeon, who looked a little better, and their brightly smiling daughter for a long time.

Behind Kim Gil-dong, who was bowing his head and speaking,

-Ting!

The long-awaited status window appeared.

[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]

[Lifespan harvested: 14 days]

-Ting!

[Measuring the achievement level of the request.]

[You have perfectly fulfilled the client’s request!]

[Congratulations! Acquire additional obtainable stats as a reward.]

[Reward: Savory Touch] [A-]

Additional stats that I haven’t seen in a while.

And it’s even a high-grade stat of A- rank.

But there was something more important than that right now.

“Mister. Don’t even think about leaving yet.”

[Yes…?]

Kim Gil-dong suddenly looked bewildered.

Seeing Kim Gil-dong like that, the child spirit butted in.

[Mister, just stay still.]

[Y-yes…?]

[It looks like he’s about to do something good, so just pretend you don’t know.]

[Something good?]

[I guess he’s finally trying to grow up, or something… Just wait until night. There will be something good.]

“Yeon-woo. Lee Ji-yeon agreed to release the footage. The child’s father promised. He said he would definitely prepare his daughter’s birthday meal. And I don’t know how you two are connected, but the child’s father seems to have sent Yeon-woo, and she was really grateful. She said she should show this to her child when she grows up and misses her father, so it’s okay to release it.”

“I caused you concern by acting too arbitrarily even though I was in the middle of filming.”

Once I saw the desperate request to extend the lifespan, my feet moved on their own.

But looking back now, it was a somewhat reckless thing to do.

Even though it’s a program that leaves 90 percent to the discretion of the cast…

Of course, from the middle, the production staff wholeheartedly joined Yeon-woo’s cause.

-Then we’ll take care of the announcements while you’re cooking!

-We’ll keep the mother from getting bored with the manager, so Yeon-woo can just focus on cooking.

-Do you need any help? Our youngest has been rolling around in the kitchen for two years, even though he looks like that…

After hearing the story, everyone was eager to help in any way they could.

“No. We’ve come to think about the purpose of the program again. How should I put it? These days, entertainment has become mainstream, where you just enjoy it without any worries or thoughts and then leave… But we still believe in the positive functions of the media. ‘Together with You’ originally had the purpose of reviving aimless good deeds. It’s changed into something for image laundering now, but…”

Violent and provocative programs are sanctioned.

Why?

Because viewers who see them are influenced by such stimuli, become accustomed to violence and stimulation, and become psychologically lenient.

Then what about the opposite?

Wouldn’t the opposite role also be able to exert a positive influence on people?

“We’re really going to edit this episode with care. I also promised Lee Ji-yeon. That we won’t consume it in a overly sentimental way. I think the message will be clearly conveyed even if we just calmly present the facts.”

The writers added that it was all thanks to Yeon-woo.

“It would be difficult to put so much effort into someone you don’t even know. Ji-yeon and we have had a good experience thanks to Yeon-woo. I don’t know how grateful we are that you appeared on the show.”

Just a few days ago, they had been looking at him with cold eyes, calling him ‘that demanding cast member,’ but now it was completely different.

Rather, it was to the point where you wondered why they didn’t have white halos above their heads.

News quietly spread among the production staff that a few more people had joined in addition to the few writers who had already joined the fan club.

Perhaps the few remaining people would soon join as well.

“But Yeon-woo. I’m curious…”

The filming concluded with Yeon Do-hee’s victory.

Yeon Do-hee’s side also put in a lot of effort, and the atmosphere was great.

There was a happening where Yeon Do-hee teared up after hearing the story, but the closing was very smooth.

-We’ve caused you a lot of trouble because the filming went on for so long, so how about we have a meal together…

Lee Gyu-han, who took out his card, asked, and a place was arranged under the leadership of Yeon Do-hee.

A writer who had been fixing his gaze on the meat that Yeon-woo was grilling in front of him opened his mouth.

“By any chance, do you know Ji-yeon from before?”

“No. It’s our first time meeting.”

“By any chance, do you know her husband…?”

“Not at all.”

“Ah. I see… But how did you know?”

“Are you talking about the child’s birthday?”

“Yes.”

When you think about it, it’s quite a mysterious thing.

Because many things coincidentally fit together, not just one or two.

When I didn’t know anything,

‘Why is he like that?’

I would have thought.

But now that I know everything, I’m naturally curious.

“Really, how did you know? If you didn’t know each other, there’s no way it could have been so perfect…”

“But when you look at it, it doesn’t seem like they know each other at all.”

Another writer next to him joined in.

“That’s right. Kids show when they’re lying. If they knew each other, we would have noticed by now.”

“But she’s a regular person. There aren’t any pictures of her online… And her husband isn’t a very famous chef, is he…?”

“I searched just in case, but there wasn’t even a profile. There was only a line in an article?”

The eyes that had been whispering gathered towards Yeon-woo.

They were all filled with curiosity.

Yeon-woo, with a smile on his face, said.

“Actually, I can see ghosts.”

The truth that flowed out with a soft voice.

The staff froze at the unexpected answer.

It felt as if a cold wind had suddenly blown in, even though the meat grill was sizzling right in front of them.

‘How will they react?’

There was no special reason for throwing out the truth.

To be honest.

“Ah… I almost believed you!”

I knew they wouldn’t believe me?

“Wow, that’s amazing. I just got goosebumps. Do you want to see?”

One person even rolled up their sleeves to show the goosebumps that had popped up.

The cold, stiff air was instantly released.

“Come to think of it, Yeon-woo played the role of a grim reaper in a drama before filming the movie, right?”

The drama that was one of the leading contributors to drawing Yeon-woo into the path of entertainment.

It was also a monumental first drama that made me feel the power of the multiple lifespan automatic harvesting function for the first time.

“I really enjoyed that drama back then. Whenever the grim reaper came out, it felt like a ‘Legend of the Hometown’ [Korean horror anthology series] story, so I was surprised to find out that he was a rookie.”

“Wow. That was Yeon-woo?”

“But I thought it was a complete reversal after seeing him film the romance this time… That talent hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“Wow. So that’s why that just now felt so real….”

Yeon-woo only smiled instead of answering.

[Oh dear. Why don’t they believe it even when I tell the truth as the truth…!]

The child spirit floating above his head only lamented.