Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 247

247. So, What’s Your Answer? (2)

July 5, 2022

“Psychometry, you say?”

Kang-seok lowered his head like a sinner, seeing Kim Seon-woo’s widened eyes.

“You’re upset, right? I would be too….”

Kang-seok looked down at his hands.

“Wait. Just a minute, Seok-i. Calm down for a second. Psychometry? Am I hearing you right?”

“It sounds like a lie, right? I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I’m lying….”

“No, it’s not that. So, are you talking about the psychometry I know…? Reading the minds of people or objects?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“That’s… possible?”

“It’s possible. You don’t believe it, do you?”

*I understand even if you don’t believe it.*

Kang-seok spoke in that tone.

“Since when?”

“I suddenly developed this ability after the accident back then.”

“The accident? You mean the car accident?”

“We were struck by lightning together then… I’m guessing that’s why this unique ability manifested.”

“You can really read anything?”

“Yes.”

“Then, my thoughts too…?”

Kang-seok didn’t see Kim Seon-woo’s eyes flash coldly for a moment.

“You’re upset, right? That’s why I was scared. I was afraid Seon-woo would find out about this… and be upset and hate it.”

Kim Seon-woo was practically Kang-seok’s only friend.

Regardless of what Kim Seon-woo might think, Kang-seok had gained a lot of comfort and courage from Kim Seon-woo.

*Maybe the heavens gave me this ability because I didn’t give up after listening to Seon-woo.*

But it was ironic that he was about to lose a friend because of that ability.

You gain one, you lose one.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world.

Even while thinking that, Kang-seok was afraid that Kim Seon-woo would really see him as a monster.

That’s why he had been avoiding Kim Seon-woo on purpose.

To postpone the moment he would lose his only friend as much as possible.

“Seok-i.”

“Yes….”

Kang-seok, who had lowered his head like a sinner, replied.

“So, what’s the result now?”

Kang-seok suddenly raised his head.

He felt a firm hand grabbing his forearm.

Kang-seok’s face was swept with all sorts of emotions.

Joy. Relief, reassurance.

His gloomy face brightened as if he had received an unexpected gift.

It was in stark contrast to Kim Seon-woo’s demeanor, who was watching Kang-seok as if observing him, but Kang-seok didn’t notice.

“Seon-woo…!”

“Yes. Seok-i. So, what’s your answer?”

It was a slightly forceful question, but Kang-seok didn’t feel anything strange.

He thought that anyone would naturally be curious if their inner thoughts were being read.

One was relieved, and the other was sharply observing.

The chilling atmosphere of one side clearly divided their moods.

“Did you perhaps read something? Is that why… you can’t answer?”

A slow gaze turned to Kang-seok and then moved to his other hand.

It was a cautious, secretive, sharp, and ferocious look, as if a predator was estimating whether it could swallow its prey in one gulp.

But.

“Huh?”

Kang-seok’s eyes widened.

“Uh, uh?”

Kang-seok suddenly got up from his seat and frantically grabbed Kim Seon-woo’s hand.

He didn’t even see Kim Seon-woo’s eyes narrowing as he grabbed and released Kim Seon-woo’s hand in a complete frenzy.

“Seok-i?”

“Wait. Just a minute. Just give me a moment….”

“What did you read that’s making you like this?”

At Kim Seon-woo’s question, Kang-seok slowly blinked.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Nothing… I can’t read anything.”

*

Kim Seon-woo’s atmosphere changed from that moment on.

The atmosphere softened as if he had never been on edge.

However, his eyes, which seemed to be scrutinizing Kang-seok, remained the same.

“What? You can’t read anything? Didn’t you say you had psychometry?”

“That’s, that’s right….”

“But…?”

“Ugh, why is this happening? Why is this happening?”

Kang-seok jumped up and began touching Kim Seon-woo here and there.

It was a bold act that he would never have done normally.

Without realizing it, he was mindlessly touching the handsome face and body that he wouldn’t even dare to think about touching normally, looking almost as if he had lost his mind.

Kim Seon-woo stayed still as Kang-seok touched him.

Moving this way and that way as he was moved.

Like a well-behaved doll.

“Something’s wrong? Something’s wrong?!”

Couples who had come to the secluded playground were backing away.

Parents who had come with their children were quietly turning back.

Middle-aged men who had found a secluded place to smoke were quickly fleeing the scene after seeing two strange men doing strange things.

And so on.

Quite a few people were horrified and avoiding the scene, unaware that Kang-seok was busy touching Kim Seon-woo with a bewildered face.

The absurd situation was roughly sorted out when Kim Seon-woo removed Kang-seok’s hand with a friendly face.

“Seok-i. It’s okay… I don’t need Seok-i to be special.”

“A-ah, it’s not that….”

“It’s okay. You’re a special friend to me even without that.”

“Ah. Thank you for that. But the psychometry is real… right?”

Kang-seok saying it was real.

Kim Seon-woo misunderstanding that he didn’t need to be special.

This absurd back-and-forth was highly praised even during filming.

“I think this scene will get a good reaction when it airs.”

“When you put the two of them together, their chemistry is just so good….”

“This part is perfect for lightening the mood, and they’re bringing it to life so well.”

Kim Seon-woo, sitting calmly while his face and head were being squished and messed up by Kang-seok’s large hands.

Considering the tense atmosphere just before, it was like a comedy scene.

“You have to loosen things up like this once in a while to make the tension even better. If the atmosphere is strong all the way through, people won’t be able to immerse themselves and will just feel like they’re being scolded, so you have to release it here. It turns out it was a needless worry.”

But that atmosphere soon reversed.

The atmosphere, which had been pleasantly loosened with absurd laughter, was reversed by Kim Seon-woo’s subtle change in expression.

“No… I’m not a pathological liar, it’s not a lie… it’s real, you know? I don’t lie about things like this… ?”

“It’s okay. Seok-i. I like you even if you’re like that, so don’t worry.”

“It’s not that kind of worry… Ugh, why can’t I read Seon-woo? I can’t read any of Seon-woo’s belongings either! This has never happened before?”

Kim Seon-woo’s eyes persistently watching Kang-seok’s reaction.

He spoke softly, but his face was still cold.

Like a large snake contemplating whether to swallow this or not.

He could have pushed Kang-seok away, but Kim Seon-woo didn’t.

Rather, he endured Kang-seok’s clumsy touch as if testing him.

While gauging how much he could find out.

But as he watched Kang-seok continue to make a tearful face and repeatedly grab and release him here and there, Kim Seon-woo finally smiled softly again.

“It’s okay. Seok-i. I’ll believe you.”

“But….”

He easily removed the large hand.

It was a scene that revealed that Kim Seon-woo was not as weak as he appeared.

Kim Seon-woo, who easily removed the hand that was pulling him so hard that his collar was being dragged, paused for a moment.

But that was only for a moment.

“It’s okay. Seok-i.”

As if that hesitation was a delusion, Kim Seon-woo gently patted Kang-seok’s shoulder.

“It’s okay as long as Seok-i doesn’t hate me. That’s all that matters. I’m relieved.”

Here, viewers gradually realize.

Why is Kim Seon-woo relieved there?

It was funny that Kang-seok was flustered and messing with Kim Seon-woo because his ability didn’t work.

But after removing that laughter, there was a sense of doubt.

*Why is Kim Seon-woo relieved?*

Why is that a good thing to be relieved about?

A question like that.

It’s a very small question, but that’s enough.

Because these small clues will give strength to the reversal that will happen later.

“No, it’s real… it’s not a lie….”

Regardless of the fact that the seeds of doubt were hidden in the viewers’ minds.

The situation of the characters in the story became comical.

“It’s really… really real, you know?”

He had gathered his courage and revealed a secret that he had hidden with a solemn atmosphere.

But, making the pose he took seem insignificant, the secret he had revealed became a bluff.

The serious atmosphere suddenly turned into a comedy.

Of course, the person involved was still serious and embarrassed, but to the viewers, who were third parties, the situation itself was too funny and sad.

“Yes. I’ll believe what Seok-i says.”

*I* don’t believe it, but I’ll believe you since you say so.

Kang-seok’s face, which was full of such nuances, became ambiguous, neither crying nor laughing.

He was relieved that Kim Seon-woo didn’t hate him, but he had ended up lying, so it was understandable.

Eventually, Kang-seok, who had made a firm decision, resolutely got up from his seat.

“Just a moment. Seon-woo! Please wait a moment!”

Leaving behind the words to wait a moment, Kang-seok hurriedly ran to one place.

Kang-seok rummaged through the playground here and there like a madman.

He ran around frantically, as if searching for something.

After doing that for a while.

Finally, as if he had found something, he called Kim Seon-woo with a solemn expression.

“Seon-woo. This is our first time coming to this playground, right? Right?”

“Right?”

“There will be exactly seven hundred and fifty won dropped here.”

“Yes…?”

“Last week, a child was running errands and then playing here, and he dropped the change he had in his pocket. It’s exactly seven hundred and fifty won.”

“Ah…?”

“It would be hard to believe if I picked a place like the monkey bars, jungle gym, swing, or slide, where it’s easy to drop money, so I chose this place. Seven hundred and fifty won.”

With eyes full of tragic beauty and a determined attitude, Kang-seok began to dig in the ground.

Even when Kim Seon-woo called him, Kang-seok did not stop, saying to wait a little longer.

And finally.

“Here. It’s exactly seven hundred and fifty won, right?!”

“It’s exactly right, but….”

“There’s no manipulation or lies. It’s real.”

He was a friend who had believed in and supported him since he was nothing.

Perhaps touched by the fact that he didn’t want to be branded as a liar to such a friend, Kim Seon-woo lowered his body and met Kang-seok’s gaze in front of Kang-seok, who was holding the coin with his dirt-covered hands.

“I told you I’d believe you even if you didn’t prove it like that.”

“Really? You’re not thinking it’s a complete lie, are you?”

“Did I not have that much credibility? That’s shocking….”

Only after hearing Kim Seon-woo’s muttering was Kang-seok finally able to feel relieved.

The awkward atmosphere caused by the secret he couldn’t bring himself to reveal was finally completely resolved.

On the way back, the two had a conversation they had been putting off.

“That’s good. Seok-i, you’ve been wanting to get promoted, right? If you keep building up your achievements like that, you’ll have a chance, right?”

“That’s true. But, um… this isn’t entirely my ability, is it? So, I’m a little….”

“No. Why else would they say luck is also a skill? The probability of being struck by lightning and hit by a car is lower than winning the lottery a thousand times. You can think of it as a product of that incredible coincidence. Or a gift from God?”

“R-really? I feel a little more comfortable thinking that way. To be honest, it was hard sometimes because I could see things I didn’t want to see and hear things I didn’t want to hear. But strangely, I feel comfortable when I’m with Seon-woo because I can’t see or hear anything.”

Even at times like this, Kim Seon-woo is helpful.

Kang-seok scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression, saying that he always seemed to be getting help from him.

“Oh, right. Speaking of a gift from God, I just remembered something. I’ve recently started investigating a case personally. Isn’t it amazing? Just a few weeks ago, Kang-seok was just a useless bum.”

“What kind of case is it?”

“Um… I’ll tell you a little bit since it’s you, Seon-woo.”

It was then that Kim Seon-woo’s expression, who had been urging Kang-seok to speak with gentle eyes, hardened.

“It’s a serial murder case.”