Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 26

026. Can You Protect Her? (2)

2021.11.26.

‘I thought even hedgehogs think their own babies are cute, but I guess not?’ Being able to know someone’s inner thoughts is a huge advantage. Of course, Yeon-woo has a status window that allows him to grasp the other person’s emotions, but there were some conditions. Namely, he had to make contact with the other person. There were also weaknesses in understanding intentions. [In the case of media other than text, the ability is diminished.] ‘That part is a bit disappointing…….’ It seems the child’s special skill was specialized in reading books. I don’t know how precise ‘intention understanding’ will be without text, but being able to grasp the other person’s thoughts in any way is a great advantage. For example, when drawing up a contract, you can tell whether the other party intends to cheat you or not without having to read the entire contract.
‘If I use it with the status window, I should be able to handle most things.’ It was a very useful ability in that it could be cross-checked.
[Are you going to draw properly for the first time in a while?]
“I have to.”
[What are you going to do about the tools?]
“That’s why I’m going to get them now.”

Yeon-woo was heading to Insadong. It would have been very troublesome if Kwon Seong-hyun hadn’t suppressed his disappointment and lent him a car and a manager.

Clang!
The old bell made a clear sound as he opened the door. A middle-aged man sitting at the counter pushed up his glasses and greeted him.
“Oh. Who is this? It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen your face.”
“Yes, well……. It’s been a while.”
“I thought you’d cut ties completely?”
I thought so too. Yeon-woo said to the middle-aged man wearing a modernized hanbok [traditional Korean clothing], “Give me some high-quality cinnabar and if you have any jujube wood struck by lightning, give me some of that too.”

In a complicated alley in Insadong, there is an old stationery shop. This is a place full of everything from the brushes they usually sell to the occult tools that ordinary people would never be interested in. It is a regular shop that his mother, Kang Yeon-hwa, frequents, and you can think of it as a luxury shop in this world that has quality as well as rare materials.
“For cinnabar, I have some that was collected from Mount Xian in China and ground after being steamed in yellow soil mixed with holy water for 100 days, and for jujube wood, I have a piece that was split from a 200-year-old tree. Should I give you that?”
“That’s why I like this place. How do you always have just the right things?”
“Tsk tsk. Really? Did something big happen?”
“It’s not a big deal, it’s a personal matter. I have something to do that requires a little attention.”
“If you say you’re paying attention, it must be a pretty big deal. Did something happen to Ms. Kang?”
“Why is my mother coming up here?”
“Why? Ms. Kang hasn’t been around for a while either.”
“My mother……?”
He went home and was immediately caught and forced to take over the family business, so he ran away from home, no, he left home, but he had no intention of cutting ties with his mother. He was just trying to keep a low profile. He wasn’t worried about his mother. Kang Yeon-hwa was more capable than Yeon-woo himself. But.
“Is there something wrong with my mother?”
“Oh my. How would I know that? Well, how could anything happen to Ms. Kang? She’s such a great person.”
“……Is that so?”
The shop owner raised his eyebrows slightly.
“You……. Did you run away from home? Are you not going home?”
“I have my reasons.”
“It’s hard when you leave home. You should be good to your only mother.”
“……Just give me what you’re going to give me quickly.”
Leaving behind the shop owner’s nagging, Yeon-woo quickly left Insadong. ‘Is there really something wrong with Ms. Kang?’ He thought as he moved in the car driven by his manager. But soon Yeon-woo shook off that thought. First of all, it was important to solve the problem in front of him.

***

“It takes a lot of work to make it after so long.” It wasn’t for nothing that he had been making a living with daily loan advertisement memos. Even while grumbling, Yeon-woo’s hands moved diligently. Swish swish! He carved the jujube wood struck by lightning and mixed the cinnabar steamed with holy water with blood to create a path. He intertwined letters and patterns to prevent the spiritual power injected into them from leaking out in vain.
[Wow. You made it properly for the first time in a while, Kang Yeon-woo. If it feels tingly to me, who’s wearing a body, how much power did you put into it? Even ordinary ghosts and thoughts won’t be able to approach it.]
“Well. I have to do at least as much as I received.”
[Not because you feel sorry for her?]
“Well, there’s that too.”
[Ugh. That’s why I like you, Yeon-woo.]
“I’m not particularly grateful.”

He hadn’t put this much effort into it in the past year. The completed amulet was shaped differently from what is generally thought of as an ‘amulet.’
[Did you deliberately make it like a necklace?]
“Yeah. That way it won’t look strange even if she wears it every day.”
[A jade bracelet made of lightning-struck wood. It’s really luxurious. If the higher-ups who want to improve their health knew that your blood was in it, they would buy it for tens of millions of won [Korean currency].]
“Why would I sell it to those guys?”
The child’s wish was for Writer Min to be safe from thoughts even when he wasn’t around. The protective amulet Yeon-woo made faithfully fulfilled that purpose. No one would think it was strange to wear a necklace 24 hours a day.
‘They’ll think it’s just a necklace that looks a little unique.’ Yeon-woo’s thought was exactly right.
“Writer Min. Do you have a moment?”
“Oh, Yeon-woo. Of course. Is there something you want to say?”

Writer Min’s face didn’t look very good when he saw her at the filming site the next day. Her eyes were reddish and her complexion was tired. But even so, the reason Yeon-woo called Writer Min out was because of Writer Min’s son, who was anxiously calling him.
[Hyung!]
Writer Min’s son, who was waiting for Yeon-woo as the day to leave for the underworld was approaching, ran to him as soon as Yeon-woo finally came to the filming site.
“Did you talk well?”
[Yes.]
“……So that’s why the writer is like that.”
Writer Min, who was following behind, asked, “Huh? Yeon-woo, did you say something?”
“No.”
He turned the conversation appropriately and arrived at a place where people’s eyes couldn’t reach.
“Why did you come to such a secluded place to say something? Are you going to confess to me? I’d like that, but I think Yerin would be angry.”
“Yes?”
“Seong-hyun might get angry too? Oh my. It’s hard to be a popular person.”
She seemed to be making a joke, but it felt awkward somewhere. She felt as if she was about to pour out everything inside her with just a touch. She also seemed to be holding something back. Yeon-woo didn’t say anything and held out what he was holding. The writer, who had taken it without thinking, exclaimed.
“Oh my. What is this? Is it a necklace? The color is really beautiful. It looks like coral. But the pattern is a little unique……. What is this, Yeon-woo?”
“It’s an amulet. An amulet to protect Writer Min.”
“Amulet…….”
Tears fell from Writer Min’s eyes, as if balsam flowers were bursting, as she blankly recited the word Yeon-woo had said.

“Oh, why am I suddenly like this?” Writer Min seemed flustered and tried to awkwardly cover it up by wiping her cheeks. But it was not enough to stop the tears that kept bursting out.
“That……. It wasn’t a dream, was it?”
“…….”
“Yesterday, my child, who had gone on a picnic far away, appeared in my dream. He told me that he had enjoyed being with me so far, but it seemed like it would be difficult in the future. So he asked a strong hyung [older brother or male friend] to take care of his mother. At first, I just thought it was a dream. A dream I had because I missed my child so much. But…….” Writer Min fiddled with the amulet in her hand.
“I see now. Yeon-woo is that ‘strong hyung,’ right? This is……. What my child asked for.”
“That’s right.”
The tears that had been falling in drops began to fall in torrents.
“Then was that child really by my side? All this time?”
Instead of answering, Yeon-woo looked elsewhere.
[Mom. Don’t cry. Huh? Don’t cry…….]
The child, who was holding onto Writer Min’s waist, was sobbing.
“When Yeon-woo massaged me before, it felt so good. But actually……. That wasn’t the first time I felt that way. There were times when I was so tired and exhausted, but sometimes that would disappear completely. I just thought my body was tired and recovered…….”
That wasn’t it. Writer Min, who was saying that while smiling, looked sad even though she was smiling.
“I’m leaving soon. You have to show me a smiling face, not a crying one.”
“That’s right. I have to. I didn’t know you’d still be by my side……. I showed you such an ugly sight.” Writer Min wiped her wet eyes.
[Mom. No. I was happy to be with Mom. Really.]
The child clinging to her waist chattered. Even though he knew his mother wouldn’t hear him, the reason he didn’t stop talking was……. ‘It must be because he has no choice.’ Sometimes you want to do what your heart tells you to do for no reason. And now was the time for Yeon-woo.
“Gaon-ah…….”
Writer Min’s voice was faintly heard. Yeon-woo turned his body, brushing past the faint sound that seemed to be cut off.

***

[You deliberately put more power into the protective amulet, didn’t you?]
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
[You know you shouldn’t show the dead to the living recklessly. Except for guys like Duk Mosigi, who are non-burnable trash.]
“I can’t hear anything.”
[Oh, come on. You’re really weak in those areas! I’m just saying it because I’m worried about you! You shouldn’t do that. Okay? I don’t know about resolving karma, but you shouldn’t accumulate it!]
“Yes. Yes.”
[I know you’re not listening?!]

Zzzzzzz! The ferocious hamster twitched its whiskers as if it were angry. As the child spirit expected, Yeon-woo wasn’t listening to him at all. Because.
-Ting!
[You have perfectly fulfilled the request of the deceased!]
[Congratulations! You will acquire additional stats as a reward!]
[Reward: Intention Detection] [B+]

It was because he heard the notification that the request made by the young soul was over. ‘It’s the first time I’ve had a request with only additional stats.’ It’s definitely not because I’m weak in ‘that situation’ like the child spirit says that I helped the child. Well, with these additional stats, wouldn’t it be okay to give a little service?

When he returned to the filming site, there was someone waiting for him.
“You weren’t at the filming site yesterday, were you?”
“Yes?”
“I didn’t see you all day.” Min Ye-rin said, gnawing at her plump lips as if she was dissatisfied with something.
“I had some personal business, so I went to Seoul for a while.”
“……You went to Seoul?”
“Is there a problem?”
“…….”
What is it? Why is she looking at me with resentful eyes? Yeon-woo was a little embarrassed. ‘No, what did I do?’ The answer was soon revealed.
“Then you didn’t see me acting, did you?”
“So……?”
When he gave such an obvious answer, an even more resentful look returned.
“Please tell me next time you go.” Then she turned her body away with a snort and left the spot.
“……?”
What is it? Why is she telling me to tell her? ‘Was there something to bring from Seoul? But when did I get so close to her that she’s acting like this?’ I can’t figure it out at all. As Yeon-woo headed to the van, not knowing what was going on, the final boss, who was more difficult to deal with than Min Ye-rin, appeared.
“I heard you went out with Writer Min…….” This guy, Kwon Seong-hyun, was approaching with a smile.

***

“My manager told me you brought a necklace?” When Yeon-woo glanced at him, Kwon Seong-hyun’s manager quickly looked away. He awkwardly took out his phone and pretended to make a call, making a fuss, so it was obvious. “Are you interested in Writer Min?”
“Yes? What a terrible thing to say.” It seems that the actor has a good imagination, and he spits out terrible things without any hesitation. “That’s not it, I have personal reasons. That’s not a necklace…….”
[That’s an amulet, actor!]