Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 231

231. Press Conference (2)

June 19, 2022

The rapidly typed letters slowly disappeared, and the screen changed.

“Again, again!”

The screen, which briefly showed the nameplate ‘Chief Seo,’ moved diagonally and slowly revealed a man shouting.

It was an angle looking at Chief Seo from behind someone.

Although the shape wasn’t clear because the focus was on Chief Seo, one could definitely tell that someone was standing there.

“How many times is this!”

Chief Seo snorted, dumbfounded, and slammed the desk with the documents he was holding.

Each time, the shoulders caught on the screen twitched.

The first thing one noticed was the very timid set of shoulders.

And a chin tucked inward like a turtle.

“It’s good to catch pickpockets! But how many times have I told you! Don’t create another problem while solving one! If that’s the case, just stay put!”

“But I caught the culprit…”

“What’s the point of catching them! Huh?! What’s the point of catching them if you cause more trouble?! Do you even know how many complaints have been filed against you?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“If you’re going to be sorry, don’t do it in the first place! Oh my, really! I’m going crazy. Go! I don’t even want to see your face!”

The shrunk shoulders shrunk even more.

The man bowed his head deeply and headed somewhere, trudging.

Chief Seo looked at his back and clicked his tongue as if he was displeased, muttering.

“How did a guy like that even become a police officer? A detective? A deetective [intentional mispronunciation for emphasis]? If that guy becomes a detective, I’ll cut off my hand and eat it! Sigh. A guy who can’t even do one thing properly, what can he do…”

Chief Seo glared at the place where the man had left.

Subsequently, as if intersecting, the screen turned black again, and letters were quickly typed.

[4 hours before that happened.]

The brightened screen showed a large man fidgeting and answering the phone.

“What, what are you talking about?”

The man, who had shrunk his large body in a pathetic way, quickly glanced over the partition.

Then, he urgently grabbed the phone again.

-“What do you mean, what are you talking about! Can’t you get in touch with Gae-gae [slang, possibly referring to a person’s nickname or online handle] either?!”

“N-not yet, I haven’t tried…”

-“I’m going crazy. That bastard Gae-gae has gone off the grid! Kang-seok! Haven’t you heard anything?! He was your friend!”

“No… Why would Gye-in [likely a typo and should be Gae-gae] go off the grid…?”

-“I’m asking you that now!”

Flustered.

Anxious.

If you were to describe the state of the man called Kang-seok, these descriptions would probably fit.

As Kang-seok squeezed his eyes shut, a quick flashback scene played.

A scene where a rowdy-looking man patted Kang-seok’s shoulder and spoke.

And a bankbook with withdrawal details was shown.

Against a retro-colored background, a middle-aged woman was shown this time.

“The landlord is raising the rent again. Seok-i, you said you had some money saved up, right? Can you give it to your mom by the end of this month?”

The flashback ended quickly.

-“What are you going to do! What are we going to do about that conman running away with our money! You said that bastard was a good guy!”

[1 hour before that happened.]

The screen changed again.

This time, it was a view of a lonely back sitting crouched somewhere outside.

Kang-seok sighed deeply as he looked at the sky where the sun was slowly setting.

“Shouldn’t have bothered trying to become a police officer… Ugh. Why am I like this?”

Rub rub rub!

“If a police officer gets scammed, they’ll say I’m crazy, right? I can’t even report it to 112 [emergency telephone number in South Korea, similar to 911]. I’m going crazy. Should I just quit? It feels like things keep getting twisted…”

He has no eye for people, and no ability to grasp the situation.

It’s not just once or twice that he’s treated like a burden.

Kang-seok may be oblivious, but even for such Kang-seok, today was a day that was too hard to bear.

“Nothing works out…”

Next to him, shoes with a luxurious sheen approached and stopped.

“Seok-i?”

“Oh? Sun-woo?”

“Why do you look so down?”

Following Kang-seok’s gaze, the camera scanned the opponent from the tip of his shoes upwards.

A neatly handsome, friendly face was looking down at Kang-seok.

“Sun-woo…”

The scene of Kang-seok telling everything in detail was boldly skipped here.

Kang-seok was making a crying sound, and Kim Sun-woo was accepting it.

“It’s because people don’t know Kang-i’s true worth yet. Why listen to what those people say?”

One could roughly guess just by him smiling softly and comforting him.

And time passed quickly…

[Right before that happened.]

The black screen filled the screen again and disappeared.

Koo-roo-roong!

Because he was inherently slow, Kang-seok was working overtime again today and was late in leaving work.

“Oh! That scared me.”

Kang-seok was startled by the loud thunder that rang in his ears and grabbed his chest.

“There was no news of rain today… I need to run quickly.”

The raindrops that were falling lightly began to pour down like heavy rain as soon as he took a few steps.

It was useless to cover it with his hand, and he became a drowned rat.

The soggy shoes spat out water every time he walked.

That’s how Kang-seok was running down the rainy night road.

Kwa-roong!

Once again, a huge thunderclap shook the heavens and the earth.

And.

Flash!

A white and intense light struck down on Kang-seok’s head.

Kang-seok’s body froze in the posture he was walking in.

At the same time,

Screech!

The sound of brakes being applied urgently was heard.

And.

Koo-oong!

The sound of something heavy colliding was heard.

The screen shook greatly, and the surrounding scenery rotated dizzyingly.

Soon after, a scene filmed from a high angle came out.

The car door opened, and someone walked out.

“Aish… What is this. Why are you standing on the road so unlucky…!”

The person who spat out curses carefully approached Kang-seok.

He anxiously examined Kang-seok, who was frozen without a single movement, and tapped him a couple of times with his toe.

Then, he spat out another curse, quickly got back into the car, and disappeared.

Kang-seok was the only one left alone on the dark road where heavy rain was pouring down.

[Is this… how I die…?]

The narration from the beginning replayed.

The entire screen turned black.

In the middle, a line resembling an electrocardiogram [ECG, a test that records the electrical activity of the heart] moved erratically.

The line, which had been fluctuating slightly, suddenly jumped dramatically.

At that moment, the screen turned pure white, and Kang-seok opened his eyes.

The close-up of Kang-seok’s eyes trembled slightly.

The sound of dozens of voices overlapped, filling the air.

[What… on earth is going on?]

Along with Kang-seok’s narration, scenes of countless people passing by were captured.

The noise of dozens of voices overlapping was still loud and chaotic.

Every time Kang-seok’s hand touched something,

[What is this sound? What is this sound…]

Every time he touched something,

[Why am I seeing this? What is happening to me…?!]

The sounds and images, as if the video were sped up dozens of times, flashed by.

Just as the chaotic images and voices were heightening the tension to its peak,

[Help me.]

In an instant, all the noise and images disappeared.

[Help… me.]

A small, weak voice called out to Kang-seok.

Again, the screen switched to Kang-seok holding something.

The precinct chief was yelling at Kang-seok, who was standing blankly with a small shoe in his hand.

“Why are you suddenly damaging the shoes that came in as evidence? Do you know this is grounds for a written reprimand?! Do I have to teach you again even the most basic things like this?”

Kang-seok, looking somewhat dazed, turned his head towards the furious precinct chief.

“A house with a rusty gate with peeling red paint.”

“What?”

“It seems to be a two-story house. Uh… it’s very old… and…”

The house Kang-seok described appeared on the screen.

Numerous police cars surrounded it.

And several crying children and a dirty man being taken away in a police car were visible.

“Wow, Kang-seok. I heard you figured this out? Did you get a tip or something? How did you find this?”

Kang-seok, unaware of his colleague’s playful nudge, just stared blankly at his hand.

[Could it be.]

The straight hand gradually zoomed in.

[I can… see…?]

[How… can this be?]

Gradually, Kang-seok’s hand began to touch many things.

Every time he did,

“Did he suddenly get possessed? Why is his case-solving rate suddenly skyrocketing?”

“He’s just having a late breakthrough. Seok has been working hard too.”

“Hey, hey. Why are you acting so nice now? Trying to get some crumbs, huh?”

“Was I found out?”

The gazes of his colleagues, as if looking at something wondrous, followed him.

Every time Kang-seok touched an object, the screen quickly switched back and forth.

“It seems to be in X neighborhood.”

“Near X University…”

“The description is…”

The dark expression gradually brightened, like a flashback.

“I’m so proud of my son. Huh? Always be like this. Got it?”

Against the backdrop of a nice house, his mother, Yoo Mi-ae, smiled brightly and patted Kang-seok’s butt.

And at some point.

[What is this?]

Kang-seok’s eyes, receiving a white business card, trembled uncontrollably as they did when he was first unsure of himself.

[I can’t see… anything?]

The name engraved on the business card was clearly visible.

Baek Ha-yan.

“Baek… Ha-yan? What brings you to me…”

A woman dressed in a sophisticated manner, but looking somewhat tired, stared intently at Kang-seok.

The angle, which had been capturing the profiles of the two in silence, zoomed in on Baek Ha-yan’s face.

“I know what kind of ability you use.”

“……!”

“Help me. I’ll compensate you somehow.”

And the scene changed again.

“That’s great. Congratulations.”

A handsome man with a gentle smile handed over a coffee.

Kang-seok, accepting it, scratched his cheek, saying thank you.

“T-Thank you.”

“I told you it would work out.”

A gentle smile.

“Still, it’s all happening so suddenly that I’m a bit dazed. And troubled…”

The image of Baek Ha-yan flashed by momentarily.

Kim Seon-woo smiled gently at Kang-seok.

“Troubled? Is something wrong?”

“No… it’s not that. I was asked to investigate a case personally… well, it’s a pretty serious case. A serial killing…”

“A serial killing.”

Kim Seon-woo recited the words with a gentle smile.

“I see. That must be very troubling.”

Another kind smile was offered as if to comfort him.

However, the narration that followed was not kind at all.

[This is going to be a problem, Seok-i [term of endearment].]

Kim Seon-woo, with a smooth smile, said once again.

“That’s really great. A serial killing. Does that mean Seok-i will get a promotion?”

“Uh… well, maybe I will? I haven’t really been officially assigned to it yet… but… I want to try.”

“I see.”

“It’ll be okay, right?”

“Yes. It will be fine.”

The screen gradually turned black.

The gently smiling face gradually faded.

As if that expression was disappearing.

“Really.”

[This has really become a problem.]

Only Kim Seon-woo’s voice came out on the completely changed black screen.

In a form that overlapped like a double chant.

That was the end.

[Dramatic Tempest.]

[Coming Soon.]

The subtitles announcing the end appeared, and the lights in the auditorium, which had been turned off, were brightly lit again.