Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 22

022. That’s Not It (2)

2021.11.22.

[Ugh… Ugh?] It definitely wasn’t the joyful scream of someone who found something cute. Yeonwoo quickly grabbed the hamster’s chubby body. “Um… it’s a hamster that follows me… I felt bad leaving it alone… so I’m taking it with me.” It was a clumsy excuse, but Min Yerin was too nervous to notice. “T-that’s… cute… The hamster is very… cute…” She didn’t seem to find it cute at all. Her pupils were shaking, and the corners of her mouth, which had been beautifully curved in a smile, were now stiff and trembling. “Are you… perhaps afraid of hamsters?”

“No?! No? I’m not scared!” But her fingers were trembling. “Hamsters are cute, aren’t they? Who doesn’t like cute hamsters?” Min Yerin forced a smile. Unlike her earlier genuine smile, this one felt artificial. ‘I think she’s definitely scared.’ She seemed to want to hide it for some reason. It was probably better to pretend not to notice than to be seen as a weirdo carrying a hamster around. “V.e.r.y. V.e.r.y. C.u.t.e. V.e.r.y. C.u.t.e.” Even a computer wouldn’t read a book like that. The funny thing was, her pronunciation was clear, and each word was distinctly audible. Yeonwoo decided to pretend not to notice that Min Yerin, famous for her method acting, was putting on a terrible performance. “Well, I’ll be going now. My filming schedule is packed.”

“Yes…” She seemed to be running away. ‘Min Yerin’s filming is probably at night?’ Min Yerin hurriedly left the waiting room, swallowing what seemed like an obvious excuse. And what remained was…

[Yeonwoo…? Am I not cute…?] A hamster shocked by the fierce rejection of an actress who had just started to stan him.

***

[Maybe Min Yerin just doesn’t like furry animals? Why? Some people like unique things, like spiders or something…]

“Why do you care so much?”

[I don’t know…? But for some reason, I keep worrying about it…?] After Min Yerin ran away in horror, Dongjae Ryung fell into anguish. He had been showered with cuteness until now, so he seemed hurt by the sudden horrified reaction.

‘…He really is a strange one.’ It felt like there were only strange people around him. ‘Well, I got rid of the most disgustingly strange one, though.’ Two days ago, Yeonwoo was finally able to finish his planned ‘Lee Deokchun’s Proper Education’. ‘You’re just a flea trying to jump.’ It wasn’t difficult to catch Lee Deokchun, who was desperately running away within the filming set. If he couldn’t catch him on the set, he could catch him outside.

-Huk! Oh, how did you know I was here…?!

-I know, right? How did I know? He refrained from saying that ghosts were everywhere. He didn’t want the guy to faint from shock.

-Are you, are you going to choke me again…?

-Choke you again? When did I ever choke you? Don’t go around accusing innocent people.

-Wow… He spat out curses even as he was shocked by Yeonwoo, who appeared like a ghost, feigning ignorance.

-Right. We’re close enough to exchange friendly curses. Let’s not drag this out. I’m getting tired of it. I’m tired of paying attention to trash like you. Yeonwoo immediately drew blood from his finger and drew in the air.

-What the f*ck, what are you doing now…! The glyph drawn in blood instantly absorbed into his palm. Yeonwoo pressed it firmly onto Lee Deokchun’s eyes.

-Ugh?! Ack?! Ack…?

-There. That’s it. There was no pain. Lee Deokchun, who had been screaming as if he expected to be hit, blinked his tightly closed eyes and opened them again.

-Tsk. Why do you have eyebrows on your face like that? To others, it would have looked like he was just removing an eyebrow that had fallen near his eye. ‘Doing something that could be used against me here would be like ruining a perfectly good meal.’ Yeonwoo patted Lee Deokchun’s shoulder with his hand.

-Live a good life from now on. Okay? Don’t do anything stupid. Not that you can live that way.

-What does that mean again?

-Mean?

-…Does it mean…?

-That’s none of your business. Go and get some sleep without doing anything else. Got it?

-Yes… Lee Deokchun answered weakly and drove away in his fancy sports car as if he were running away. ‘He drives a nice car, but he won’t be able to drive it for long anyway.’ He wasn’t particularly envious. After all, Lee Deokchun wouldn’t even be able to think about driving a supercar like that in the future. And today.

“You can’t get in touch with Lee Deokchun?”

“Yes, Director. No matter how many times we try to contact him, his phone is turned off.”

“What? Where did this thunderbolt come from? What are the manager and agency saying?!”

“They’re trying to contact him too, but they can’t get through…”

“Did they check his house? Any place he might be?!”

“That’s… it seems like he’s running away. Actually, they haven’t been able to reach him since yesterday.”

“Crazy!” Director Heo grabbed the back of his neck as he listened to the staff’s words.

“The manager and agency are also panicking and looking for him, but…”

“How can you find a guy who’s deliberately running away?!” Director Heo pounded his chest as if frustrated.

“Huh…? What’s with the atmosphere?” Kwon Seonghyun’s manager, who had arrived late after parking the car, asked with a puzzled expression. “What’s going on…?”

“One of the actors ran away.”

“Wow. Ran away? That’s crazy. Running away from Director Heo’s project. Does he want to get out of this industry? Who is it?”

“Lee Deokchun, the idol who was playing the Grim Reaper.”

“Ah. That rude idol? He seemed suspicious, and he really became a pigeon [Korean slang for someone who disappears or doesn’t fulfill their commitments].”

“A pigeon?”

“It’s a term for guys who become runaway ninjas in this industry.” [Wow. I’m glad I ditched the pigeon body. I almost got involved with that unlucky guy!] Dongjae Ryung, who was determined to switch to another body but was still a hamster, muttered.

“Oh, Seonghyun, you’re here? You came early again today.” The gloomy atmosphere caused by Lee Deokchun’s disappearance seemed to be somewhat offset by Kwon Seonghyun’s arrival. However, unfortunately for Director Heo and the staff, the atmosphere on set continued to worsen.

***

Although he was a supporting actor, the Grim Reaper was a fairly important role. “He’s not really running away, is he? He’s just going to come back in a few days, right?”

“We’ve already filmed the early scenes, so surely not…” But what they thought couldn’t happen, did. Lee Deokchun couldn’t be reached even on the seventh day. “We can only shoot around the parts without him so many times. What about the other parts where he appears? It’s the beginning, so we can’t do without him.”

“I’m going crazy. What a nuisance. I feel bad for Kwon Seonghyun and Min Yerin. Outdoor shooting is being pulled forward because of that one guy, what is going on?”

“Did you know it almost made the news?”

“Really?”

“I managed to deny it for now, but the director got chewed out by the bureau chief.”

“He’s causing widespread damage.” As a result, the filming of the later parts was brought forward. Fortunately, it was a semi-pre-produced drama. If it hadn’t been, there would have been a huge mess already.

“Are we going to have to replace him?”

“I don’t know… Ugh. I don’t even want to think about it. My head hurts.” The production presentation was already long over. Replacing the actor now would cause controversy even before it started.

“Ugh. The filming has been strangely twisted lately, nothing is going right.”

“Doesn’t the atmosphere here feel a bit strange? The dorm was a bit eerie earlier.”

“I felt that way too. The pigeon is gone, and the atmosphere is gloomy. Once things start to go wrong, they go wrong in a weird way.” Listening to the staff muttering with sighs, Yeonwoo thought, ‘I had a feeling, and he really was an irresponsible bastard.’ He lacked responsibility and willpower. He was even a coward. ‘How could he commit evil deeds if he was so easily scared? Wasn’t he afraid of the consequences?’ What Yeonwoo did was simple. ‘I didn’t think he’d run away after just having a few nightmares and seeing a few lingering thoughts.’ He had no perseverance at all. It was questionable how he had even become an idol. ‘I didn’t even do anything too severe, tsk.’ It wasn’t just about tormenting Lee Deokchun. Education. What is education? According to the dictionary, the meaning of education is this: [To teach knowledge and skills and cultivate character.] According to this, Yeonwoo was simply showing Lee Deokchun the path to a true life, along with the right character. [These days, kids are really weak. No, I didn’t even exaggerate, I just showed him the results of his actions as they were, so why is he so horrified? Our Yeonwoo has been seeing these things for over twenty years. He’s only seen them for a few days, tsk tsk…] The decades-old ghost said. The point was, nightmares. It felt like something was missing by just showing him the lingering thoughts that followed as the price of his sins. That’s why he touched Lee Deokchun’s subconscious. ‘If a person commits a sin, shouldn’t they repent and make amends?’ Lee Deokchun was a man who had lived shamelessly, betraying and taking advantage of countless people. He even tried to kill a life conceived for his own freedom without hesitation, just because he didn’t want to take responsibility and it was hindering his ability to make money. And Yeonwoo despised that kind of person the most. ‘How precious is the position of a parent!’ Some people spend difficult times full of sweat and tears to protect that position, like Yeonwoo’s mother, Kang Yeonhwa. [I don’t know if that guy will come back.]

“He can’t run away forever, can he? I made it so that there’s a limit to how much he can run away. It’s not something that can be solved by running away.” [Kang Yeonwoo. That scary kid…!] Yeonwoo chuckled. “What’s scary about me? He’s the scary one. I didn’t know he’d shake off the incantation I planted in his subconscious and run away.” [Wow. You even used a language spell?]

“I had to, so that guy would listen to me.” [Ah. I guess so. You can’t reason with that kind of person. Hmm hmm. You’re right, you have to do that much to fix his completely rotten way of thinking.]

“But seeing him run away, I think he’s quite something, isn’t he?” [He must be a tough guy to do those things.] Although there is a side effect of Lee Deokchun running away, he doesn’t feel particularly guilty or responsible. After all, he was going to do it anyway. All Yeonwoo did was bring forward his escape with shock therapy. ‘Isn’t it better to have him drop out early before filming progresses further?’ It’s better to get hit sooner rather than later. In any case, the filming set without Lee Deokchun continued to proceed in its own way. However, the atmosphere was still not good.

“Ah, why is this happening? Even the lights are acting up.” Several lights that were supposed to illuminate the outdoors brightly flickered as if something was wrong. The staff busily examined them, but they would only be fine for a moment before flickering again.

“The microphone had static earlier, and now even the lights are… It’s really one thing after another.”

“Did that bastard Lee Deokchun come and mess things up?”

“He might have cursed us. A few days ago, the editing was strangely messed up, and we almost had to reshoot.”

“That’s right. PD Kim was going crazy. I think he managed to save it. How can things go so wrong like this?”

“Are we really jinxed…?” Not only were the broadcasting equipment malfunctioning, but even the atmosphere of the filming location was eerie. It wasn’t for nothing that the staff were muttering anxiously.

“The scenery is beautiful, but… strangely, I feel a chill when I look at it.”

“I thought it was the beginning of the flu, but other staff members said the same thing.”

“It’s a bit much to say it’s because the sun is setting, right? Is it because we’re in the mountains?”