Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 362

362. Became a Great Gardener (2)

2022.10.28.

It is said that people lose their words when they are flustered.

“……”

That was exactly Yeon-woo’s situation right now.

‘Wait a minute. Just a second. What?’

He had seen all sorts of status windows until now.

But Yeon-woo could say with certainty.

There had never been a status window as embarrassing as this moment.

He blinked in bewilderment and stared ahead.

The status window that had disappeared in front of him was reactivated and floated up again.

[‘Gabriel Alicia’ is taking root in your garden.]

Yeon-woo thought.

‘Since when did Gabriel become a plant?’

Of course, it was obvious that Gabriel would never become a plant.

There’s no such thing as a plant driving a sports car anywhere in the world!

‘I knew they were senile, but… did they all really go senile together?’

If Madam Kang knew, she would have come running with a fire poker, calling it disrespectful language.

Fortunately, this was America, not Korea.

“……”

Just in case, when he looked at Gabriel, he had a thoughtful expression.

Muttering the word ‘definite result’ several times, it seemed like he was making a deep resolution.

[A Great Gardener Who Brings Abundant Fruit to Everything] [A+]

Around the time UTT was focusing on the Limit Breaking Competition.

It was the very stat he acquired the moment the self-esteem levels of all five members, which had been hitting rock bottom, barely exceeded 20 percent.

The self-esteem level that he had raised with half sincerity and half well-intentioned white lies for encouragement.

It was never easy to raise the average of the stats, which had started from almost 0, to 20.

‘I’d rather film a drama or movie again.’

But he raised UTT well, coaxing, cajoling, and sometimes even mixing in threats.

Yes.

He raised them.

‘…Was that the problem?’

Yeon-woo focused on the part about raising them.

Even the stat description focused on the part about raising.

[-When the user’s touch reaches something, the probability of it bearing excellent fruit increases.

It applies regardless of whether it is tangible or intangible.

Someone who was impressed by your noble spirit, which draws out the hidden potential of other beings, has bestowed it upon you.

However, keep in mind that direct contact is required.]

Excellent fruit.

A spirit that draws out hidden potential.

“……”

He wondered where he would ever use such a stat….

‘I never thought this stat would suddenly activate in a place like this….’

A+ grade stat, but it didn’t seem like there would be any use for it.

Not all the stats he had obtained so far were useful.

Most were very useful and quite 쏠쏠 [ssolssol: a Korean slang term for ‘profitable’ or ‘handy’].

For example, the D-grade scolding.

Or the S-grade survival expert, which was no longer needed because there were no more incidents of being stranded, so it was practically buried.

There were plenty of such stats.

‘So I thought this would be like that too….’

I was wrong.

[1]

Yeon-woo glanced at the number floating above Gabriel’s head.

Not 10, not 100, but 1.

There was no other explanation, but Yeon-woo could tell.

Because,

‘So, I have to raise that from now on….’

It seemed like something was faintly visible next to the number.

Surely that’s not a seed, is it?

“Gabriel.”

Thump.

Yeon-woo lightly tapped Gabriel’s shoulder, who seemed dazed for some reason.

“Huh? Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Are you okay? Can you drive?”

Yeon-woo decided to see how things went first.

“I’m fine.”

“I called you because you seemed to be a little distracted.”

“Ah… I was thinking about what you said. That I can show it with results.”

In the meantime, they arrived at the studio.

Gabriel was quiet the whole time while parking in front of the large mansion-like studio, as if he was thinking about something again.

It was only after a long time after entering the studio that Gabriel finally opened his mouth.

“Yeon-woo, you’re right.”

“About what?”

“That showing it with results is the smartest shortcut.”

After saying that, Gabriel hesitated a little.

“You don’t have to tell me if it’s difficult.”

“No. I don’t think I can’t tell you now. And strangely, I feel like I have to tell you. I feel like that’s right.”

Could this be the gardening effect?

Gabriel might not know, but if he knew that he was planted in Yeon-woo’s garden in the form of a seed, he might understand.

He must have felt an instinctive sense of security towards the person who would take care of him.

And.

“I’ll say it again… I didn’t do drugs, and I’m not drunk either? And I’m not crazy.”

“I know. If you were on drugs or drunk, I wouldn’t have let you drive. And I can tell you’re not crazy just by looking at you.”

When Yeon-woo said it casually, a faint smile lingered on Gabriel’s face.

“Yeah. Maybe that’s why I can tell you this.”

Gabriel’s story that began like that was quite heavy.

[Yeon-woo, why is he so pitiful? When I think about how much that little kid suffered, tears well up in my eyes.]

A story that started quietly.

Before he knew it, a listener had quietly joined in.

It was the child spirit who was taking a nap in the studio.

“Cheese, are you crying?”

Gabriel, who was hugging a fluffy cheese-colored cat and talking about animal therapy, was surprised.

“He says he’s allergic.”

“What? That can’t be?”

“He says he is.”

He couldn’t say that he was crying because he was listening to that story, could he?

Yeon-woo made a rough excuse and urged Gabriel to continue his story.

“So, is that why you told them not to get rid of him?”

“Yeah. He had an accident because of me and even died… If I got rid of him because I was suffering… that would be the worst. Right?”

A bitter voice.

“Still… I was able to not forget because that person was still there. That I’m such an ominous person. I’m wary and wary, so I don’t go to the worst anymore… but I forgot for a while because I didn’t see him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was worried that something like that might happen to you again because of me.”

“……”

Gabriel added in a self-deprecating tone.

“Thank you for calling me a friend. But it was my greed. I’ve been maintaining a good distance with Trevi, but strangely, I had trouble controlling the distance with you, Yeon-woo, so I was about to feel even more sorry.”

That’s just because his naturally sensitive instincts have found a place where they can live and breathe.

If he’s by Yeon-woo’s side, it’s clear that even ordinary 잡귀 [japgwi: miscellaneous or low-level ghosts] won’t be able to approach.

“So, is that why you brought the Natural Born Black Series OST position? Because you felt sorry for me?”

“Uh… But I didn’t know it would be such a big deal.”

He almost drove the person he called a friend to be a bullet shield with his own hands.

Even though the rumors about Dream Walker hadn’t ended yet.

And on top of that, he’s touching the identity of the Black Series?

It’s definitely not something that will end easily.

“No. You brought it well. Thanks to you, I can solve two problems at once.”

“You don’t have to say empty words, you know?”

“Do I look like someone who would say empty words?”

That couldn’t be.

When Yeon-woo said that, Gabriel soon understood.

Yeon-woo sighed and 정리했다 [jeongrihaetda: organized his thoughts/summarized].

“First of all, get rid of that ridiculous thought.”

“What?”

“The thought that the people around you will always be unhappy.”

“Th, that’s the truth?! Did you even listen to what I just said?”

Sorrow flickers in his blue eyes.

“No. First of all, this is what I think.”

“……What is it?”

“You were just unlucky.”

Luck.

Gabriel might not know what to think, but that was Yeon-woo’s judgment.

[That’s right. He was too unlucky. Well. That’s why that 순댕한 [sundaenghan: innocent/naive] kid is blaming himself for everything, saying that misfortune follows him. The truth is that a person’s life is not determined by the misfortune that someone brings.]

The ghost who had lived for a long time and had 신통력 [sintongnyeok: supernatural power] also agreed with Yeon-woo’s judgment.

[The situation was too bad. He was too unlucky and 박복 [bakbok: ill-fated/unfortunate], and the environment was bad. Sigh.]

Like the child spirit said, Gabriel was unlucky and the environment was not good.

‘Why do they blame the child for his mother dying while giving birth in the first place?’

Listening to the story, it was quite a sight.

Gabriel’s family was said to have lived in the countryside for generations.

For reference, it is difficult to compare the American countryside with the Korean countryside.

Is it because the land is so vast?

There are definitely places that aren’t like that, but if it’s 어지간하면 [eo jiganhamyeon: if it’s reasonably/generally speaking], you can just think of it as almost an uninhabited island.

What should I say?

Should I say it’s beyond imagination?

[I heard that if you get lost in a cornfield in the countryside here, you’ll be found as a skeleton later. Why? Of course, it’s because it’s too wide and you don’t know how to get out, so you starve to death!]

This was the child spirit’s supplementary explanation, chattering next to him while Gabriel was talking.

[Here, they don’t spread fertilizer like we do while walking around. They spread it by flying around in 경비행기 [gyeongbihaenggi: light aircraft]!]

I don’t know how this native Korean ghost knew that.

Anyway, the important thing is this.

In that countryside, Gabriel’s mother gave birth to Gabriel.

‘Why didn’t she go to the hospital…?’

There could be several reasons.

It could be because the hospital is far away.

Or it could be because hospital costs are expensive.

Anyway, Gabriel’s mother gave birth to Gabriel in a place surrounded by fields on all sides.

And soon after, she quickly passed away because something went wrong.

‘That’s an unfortunate accident that happened because the situation and environment didn’t match. An accident where the result would have been completely different if even a hospital was nearby.’

That’s what Yeon-woo thought.

But the thoughts of people who have lived far away from civilization for a long time were different.

-That child is an ominous child. He killed his mother and was born!

It’s a ridiculous story.

But sometimes, superstition in a closed society overwhelms the truth.

Gabriel’s misfortune was not the end of it.

-That child is cursed! He’s no different from a demon who will devour not only his mother but also his whole family!

Even his father, who was the only one in the family who cared for Gabriel, had an accident.

He was robbed on the way back from the city.

Gabriel’s father, who was shot, passed away on a 국도 [gukdo: national highway] where there were no passersby.

-I miss you.

The concept of death did not 크게 와닿지 [keuge wadahji: greatly resonate/sink in] to Gabriel as a child.

Only the fact that he couldn’t see them was all that mattered.

‘Maybe that’s why.’

There are several reasons why 영안이 트이다 [yeongani teuida: the spiritual eye opens/develops].

It can be opened 후천적으로 [hucheonjeogeuro: acquired/learned] through training.

Or it can be 타고날 [tagonal: be born with] like Yeon-woo.

Or, if someone with a 타고난 [tagonan: innate/inborn] temperament strongly desires the deceased, 영안 [yeongan: spiritual eye] can be opened because of that.

Just like in Gabriel’s case.

But there was a decisive reason.

-How can you abuse a child like this? Are you crazy?!

A sinister being who devoured his parents.

It was a very distant relative on his mother’s side who rescued Gabriel, who was being severely punished for being born as a demon in human form.