Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 4

004. A One-Day Favor

2021.11.04.

“How about I sign something for you?”
“No, thank you.” A cold, curt reply. Yet, Jung Cheol-woo chuckled. “Hahaha. No need to be shy. It’s alright. I get these requests a lot, so I’m used to it. Don’t worry, just take it.”
‘Gets them a lot, my ass.’ He’s a nobody actor, there’s no way that’s true. It even says bluffing is his specialty, so he must be a natural liar. Of course, looking at the grade next to it, his lying skill doesn’t seem that impressive. “I’d love to take a photo with you, but the situation is what it is… I’m sorry I can’t take one with you this time.”
“Ah, yes…” Yeon-woo waved his hand dismissively, his face expressionless. How long does he have to put up with this? “I’m really sorry to ask this of a fan. But, since you like me so much, could you help me out a little?” Jung Cheol-woo, getting to the point, drooped his eyebrows and looked at Yeon-woo. Smiling broadly with a face that seemed to genuinely like people, he pleaded as if he was truly sorry. But.
-Current Favorability: Lowest
-Current Emotional State: Annoyance, Anger
The status window never lies. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve met a guy who grates on my nerves this much.’ There are people like that. People who make you want to give them a taste of their own medicine and shatter their fake facade. At this point, he wants to grant even a one-day wish. It was the moment he decided to accept the one-day request he thought was a pyramid scheme. “Hey, you. You look like you have something to say?”
The target was the spirit draped around Jung Cheol-woo’s neck. “…?” Jung Cheol-woo blinked in confusion. “If you can still talk, say something. Let’s hear it.”
“Excuse me… what are you talking about right now?” Jung Cheol-woo glanced behind him, then frowned at Yeon-woo. “Are you perhaps an aspiring actor? Are you asking me to watch you act?” In that moment, a deep annoyance flashed across Jung Cheol-woo’s eyes. “What a poor imagination… It’s nothing like that.”
“Then why are you talking to thin air…? Perhaps, if I may be so bold, are you experiencing hallucinations or auditory hallucinations…?”
“I’m not crazy.”
“Ahaha… I didn’t think anything so rude. It’s just that being in the entertainment industry, you see all sorts of people. Someone like you is hardly a flaw…” Ignoring Jung Cheol-woo’s words, Yeon-woo stared intently at one spot.
[I… can… help…?]
The spirit draped around Jung Cheol-woo’s neck slowly opened its black mouth. “Yeah. So, tell me.”
[Yeon-woo. Judging by his condition, he can’t even speak properly.]
“Then you translate for him.”
“Excuse me…?”
“Shh.” Yeon-woo raised his hand to stop Jung Cheol-woo’s words. He heard a dumbfounded ‘Tch, really,’ but who cares? The child spirit fluttered next to the spirit and began to persuade it.
***
[Jung Cheol-woo… hit… me… money… school… graduation…]
[Yeah, yeah. Okay, okay.]
[Bully… freedom… impossible… photo… blackmail… money…]
[What? He did that? Seriously, what kind of new breed of jerk is this?!]
Jung Cheol-woo, as heard through the spirit’s mouth, was even more of a jerk than he thought. Naturally, Yeon-woo’s attitude became even colder. “Excuse me, what’s going on right now…? How’s the agreement going…?”
“Just be quiet for a second. You, don’t you even know what’s going on?”
“What do you mean…?”
“If you don’t know, shut your mouth and wait. Agreement? What’s so important about an agreement? You have a vengeful spirit hanging behind you.”
“Huh? What? What are you talking about?”
“Vengeful spirit? You know this person, right? He’s about half a head shorter than you, skinny, and has a big scar on his chin. Don’t you know him?” He described the features of the faint spirit behind the man exactly. Jung Cheol-woo’s reaction was immediate. “H, how do you know Cheol-gyu?!”
“Ah. So his name was Cheol-gyu?”
“…!”
He didn’t know yet, thanks for telling me. The status window has one drawback: it only activates when you make contact with the other person. The same condition applied to both the dead and the living. “Do you know that Cheol-gyu is attached to you?” Instantly, Jung Cheol-woo’s expression twisted. But soon, he seemed to regain his senses and revealed his original despicable face. “Aha. Now that you mention it, something seemed strange from the start. Who sent you? Did you pick up some weird rumors and come here to fish for something? Woo Cheol-gyu? I don’t know where you heard about him, but he’s just a guy I hung out with a few times when we were young and immature. I haven’t seen him since.” This is a lie.
[No… no…]
[Yeah, yeah. That bastard is lying, right? I know. Don’t worry.]
What do you mean you haven’t seen him? ‘Do you think a vengeful spirit becomes a vengeful spirit for no reason?’ It is a natural law and principle for the deceased to ascend to the afterlife. A vengeful spirit is one of those who defy that law. Of course, there must be a valid reason for it. “I didn’t want to say this, but you’re being used right now. There are so many people who have wanted to screw me over for a long time. Since I haven’t caused any scandals and have been behaving myself, they want to stir things up. Don’t be used and make each other’s faces red…” Yeon-woo ignored the stream of nonsense. Instead, he asked the child spirit. “Are you done talking to him?”
“What’s supposedly there? Is this guy really crazy?”
[Yeah. I roughly understand. All I have to do is tell you what he wants, right?]
And a moment later. “Ugh! Ugh!” Jung Cheol-woo, dangling from Yeon-woo’s grasp, twisted in the air.

“Is this really all you want? A collar grab?”
[That’s all he wants. Sigh. He’s so innocent… How did he even try to become a vengeful spirit with that personality?]
“Don’t you want to hit him a few times? Or break a limb or something? Nothing like that?”
“You son of a bitch…! Keuk! Keheok!”
“You’re being too loud, so shut up.”
“Ugh!” Jung Cheol-woo, his neck tightly gripped, stuck out his tongue and coughed. “I’m gonna d, die, Keuk…!” Perhaps because he was an entertainer, he even had makeup on, and the tears flowing from his eyes were black. The yellow liquid of the foundation dripped down his cheeks and chin.
[Satisfied… Done… Stop…]
[Ugh! Ugh! How can you be satisfied with just this! You should at least beat him until you feel better!]
[That hurts…]
[Yeon-woo! He says you can let him go now!]
The meddlesome child spirit shouted as if he was frustrated. At the same time,
-Ting!
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Lifespan harvested: 1 day]
The quest success notification popped up. Originally, he could just let Jung Cheol-woo go and return. But Yeon-woo had no intention of ending it like this. Thud!
“Ugh!” As soon as Yeon-woo let go, Jung Cheol-woo fell to the floor in an unsightly manner. His face covered in all sorts of liquids, Jung Cheol-woo gasped and grabbed his neck. “You, you…! You son of a bitch! Do you think you’ll get away with this?! Do you know whose neck you just grabbed?! I’m going to crush you. I’m going to kill you! I’ll find the place that hired you and pay you all back…!”
“You can’t. If it comes out that you killed someone, you’ll be buried alive. How are you going to kill me then?”
“What nonsense are you spouting…?”
“You know better than anyone that it’s not nonsense, right? Don’t tell me you don’t remember? Woo Cheol-gyu, the friend whose leg you broke and now limps because of the aftereffects.” Yeon-woo looked him straight in the eye. And spoke clearly, one word at a time. “You killed him.”
***
The aftermath was simple. It was easy to write a talisman [a mystical charm or inscription] to temporarily open Jung Cheol-woo’s spiritual eyes. “Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Cheol-gyu…” Jung Cheol-woo, who had been ranting about whether it was a hidden camera, turned pale as a corpse. “You’re the one who put Cheol-gyu on the railing, right?”
“Y, yes…”
“You already knew that Cheol-gyu couldn’t use his legs properly either.”
“Th, that’s right…”
“So it was intentional, right?”
“…Yes.”
With the ghost shedding tears of blood in front of him, Jung Cheol-woo confessed haltingly, unable to muster the courage to lie. “Okay. Recording complete.” That alone seemed to satisfy Woo Cheol-gyu, and he disappeared with a rustle.
[Aigo. That innocent guy! He’s already satisfied with just a collar grab and a confession! Aigo!]
“Is it, is it over?” Jung Cheol-woo breathed a sigh of relief as the ghost shedding tears of blood disappeared before his eyes. But.
Crack!
“Aaaagh!” With the sound of bones breaking, Jung Cheol-woo’s wrist, which had been stepped on, twisted strangely. “Cheol-gyu is kind, so it seems like that’s enough for him, but I’m not.” He wasn’t a hero of justice, but shouldn’t an ordinary person who met a piece of human garbage be allowed to relieve some of their displeasure? “Don’t go around running your mouth. Remember what I said. If you stir things up, it’ll be a pain for both of us. Got it? If you don’t want your no-name actor career to end, forget about today and live quietly. Huh?”
“I, I understand, I understand…!” Yeon-woo unhesitatingly abandoned the unsightly Jung Cheol-woo and returned to his officetel [a combined office and residential space]. He had harvested his lifespan, so he had no desire to see that sight any longer. “I’m tired. My mental strength is low.” In game terms, his HP [hit points, a measure of health] was fine, but his MP [mana points, a measure of magical energy] was lacking. Who knew that the guy he met while trying to catch a big fish would be such a piece of human garbage?
[No, you did well! Our Yeon-woo did great. You can always earn more lifespan. Right?]
“You’re talking so casually because it’s not your lifespan…?”
[Ah, no! It’s said that good deeds always come back to you! You comforted a pitiful vengeful spirit, so you’ll definitely be blessed!]
“Ah, yeah. I hope so.” He didn’t really expect anything. He only stepped in today because Woo Cheol-gyu’s appearance reminded him of that person from his childhood. He wasn’t particularly hoping for a reward or anything. But.
-Ting!
[You have selected an incorrect path.]
[A penalty will be incurred.]
[Lifespan will be reduced due to the penalty.]
[Remaining grace period: 23 days]
However, he didn’t expect to be screwed over instead of blessed.
***
“…?” What the hell is this? A penalty? A penalty? “Incorrect path? Is this some kind of navigation system? What path?!” He examined the notification window that popped up in his bewilderment, but the proudly shining words didn’t change. 23 days. Originally, there should have been 47 days left. But thanks to suddenly receiving a penalty, it was drastically reduced to 23 days. Just as a craftsman puts his heart and soul into creating a work, Yeon-woo had also painstakingly, no, preciously collected his lifespan day by day, and half of it had been blown away. “Hoo… Let’s calm down. Let’s think calmly, Kang Yeon-woo.” Half of his lifespan had been cut off, but he couldn’t just get angry. “Path. Path, huh…” The system clearly said ‘incorrect path.’ That meant it deviated from the direction the system was aiming for. ‘I thought I just had to eat lifespan, but it’s not that simple.’ This penalty didn’t occur with Han Soo-han’s request, so what’s left is… “Jung Cheol-woo, you son of a bitch…” Jung Cheol-woo, that piece of human garbage who reminded him of old memories and pissed him off twice as much. He knew he was unlucky as soon as he saw him, but he didn’t expect to be screwed over like this. ‘Does this mean I shouldn’t just pick up anything?’ If that’s the case, his actions are restricted. ‘Or I have no choice but to move in the direction the system wants…’ He still doesn’t quite understand. In any case, what’s certain is that half of his lifespan was blown away because of that damn penalty. “I’m going crazy.” How am I going to fill this up? He’s afraid of picking up something wrong and going into the negatives again. Just then.
Drrrrr!
The phone vibrated violently. “Huh? It’s that old man?” When he touched the screen, a dignified voice flowed out.
-Yeon-woo, have you been well? Ah, you probably haven’t been well. I’m sorry. That house is too small, isn’t it? Right now, a penthouse in a certain apartment complex has come out and is being remodeled, so please wait a little longer.
“No. No. That’s alright.” Yeon-woo cut him off at the words that were too generous. “But what’s the matter?”
-Perhaps… do you have time? If it’s alright, could you meet someone?