Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 97

The God-Given Top Star 097. Survival Expert (2)

097. Survival Expert (2)

2022.02.05.

‘What’s with the question mark again?’ Lately, this system guy has become quite unfriendly. What good is it to just tell me there’s a new feature available? In the end, I can only check it after completing a request. It’s the same now. ‘Why is the system so unfriendly?’ Anyway, I also confirmed that Adrian has additional stats. All that’s left is to grant Adrian’s wish and get what I need. [My wish is to get out of this damn place.] Unfortunately, Yeon-woo had no immediate plans to leave this place. ‘I should use him well as a countermeasure against thought entities until I leave the island.’ That’s how Adrian joined, known only to Yeon-woo.

***

“You’re going into the forest?”

“Yes. It’s exactly the part where Joo-young makes Yeo-won’s heart flutter.” It’s the part where the male lead, Kim Joo-young, helps the female lead, Shin Yeo-won, in a seemingly indifferent way, making her heart flutter little by little.

“This place is…… really nice……!” Director Ji said, his eyes shining.

“If we shoot here, we probably won’t have to shoot a separate mountain climbing scene. Since we came all the way here, let’s make the most of it, shall we?” The assistant director added, translating Director Ji’s enthusiasm.

“Well…… it’s not bad.” The island’s interior boasted untouched natural beauty. The further inside they went, the steeper the terrain became, culminating in a peak towering on one side of the island. A cliff face defined one side, giving the island a roughly right-angled triangular shape. Director Ji, who had scouted the location in advance with a drone, insisted that this environment be fully utilized.

“Our Director Ji is completely excited,” Yeon Do-hee muttered, suddenly finding herself mountain climbing overseas.

“Yeon-woo must be having a hard time. Joo-young has to lead Yeo-won without her knowing here. You’re not going to lose me, are you? I don’t think you ever would, but… Did you intentionally build your body? You look much better than before.”

It wasn’t that he easily gained weight compared to what he ate. But lately, with what he’d been eating, he felt a bit of a crisis. ‘Am I going to end up rolling around like this?’ Since the agency assigned him a trainer, he hadn’t been neglecting to build his body, but recently he’d been pushing himself even harder.

-What kind of constitution were you born with? I’m jealous. The trainer clicked his tongue, so it couldn’t be entirely unpleasant to look at.

“I just exercised normally.”

“Does that kind of physique come from exercising normally? I think there will be a huge reaction to Yeon-woo alone when the movie is released. I’ll just get by with it, which is great for me.”

“……Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t make mistakes like losing you. By the way…… is filming permission granted?”

“Look at you changing the subject.” Yeon Do-hee smiled innocently and nodded as if to let it go. “Director Ji said he got permission in advance. He said he made sure to get permission for the entire island’s use in case we don’t know how the filming will proceed… Just in case, he contacted the investor again yesterday.”

“Do Gyeom Woo?”

“Huh? You’re on a first-name basis?”

“Ah, it was a mistake.”

“Hmm. I understand. Everyone has their own secrets, right?” Yeon Do-hee smiled meaningfully, like someone who shared a knowing secret.

“Anyway, Director Ji is acting like that because filming permission was granted. It’s also private property… He said he urgently added a guide who is familiar with the geography yesterday. It looks like we’re going to have to go inside no matter what… That inside, it looks pretty, right?”

I wonder. ‘Pretty……’ From Yeon-woo’s perspective, the forest where thought entities roam is more of a disturbing image than a beautiful one.

‘I think those guys will be inside.’ Surely we won’t run into them, will we? ‘Well, if anything happens, there’s Adrian too.’ He thought of the soul with a lifespan of 180 days and additional acquirable stats marked with a question mark.

The forest. Somewhere deep inside. Yeon-woo’s gaze lingered for quite a while somewhere inside.

***

“Are we going the right way? It feels like we’re just filming behind-the-scenes footage of getting lost.” He was supposed to be an experienced local guide, but he was surprisingly clumsy. Finding the spot found by the drone was more difficult than expected.

“Translator, are we going the right way?” One of the staff members asked, unable to bear it any longer.

“He probably is. He keeps telling us to trust him…….” Even the translator’s words were dripping with distrust. That’s because they had been wandering around for two hours already.

“It feels like we’re going in circles…….” When someone muttered that they saw the same tree again, “He says it’s not… He says it’s a completely different place…….”

“Can we trust him……? Of course, the moving speed is different when you look at it with a drone and when you go directly, but this is too much……?”

“Should we just go by ourselves now……? Isn’t it better to fly the drone?”

“#*#%*)%!”

“……He says to trust him.”

[He’s talking nonsense.] It was Adrian who received the powerless translator’s words. Of course, no one except Yeon-woo heard those words.

[Where did they bring such a stray dog from? They’re just buying trouble.]

‘Tell me about it……’ Yeon-woo completely agreed with those words.

[These days, humans have no fear. If it were me, I wouldn’t come here. The forest is beautiful, but it’s also cruel. It swallows people and remains silent and indifferent without any change.]

Moreover, isn’t this a place where thought entities roam? ‘Should I just guide them?’ Adrian, who knows this island well, is right next to him, so it’s definitely possible. However, Yeon-woo kept his mouth shut. Because if they ask how he knows so well, he’ll have nothing to say.

‘The environment is the environment, so I can’t make excuses. Sigh……’

In conclusion, he has to keep following that quack. The other staff members also had a lot of distrust, so their expressions weren’t good.

But apart from such suspicion, the inside of the island was quite beautiful for a place where thought entities roamed. There must be a reason why people’s footsteps hadn’t reached it for a long time.

“Wow…… if you shoot in a place like this, you’ll definitely get a masterpiece.”

“It seems like we should shoot a documentary rather than a movie. The title is ‘Nature’s Gift, the Gift of Nature.’ Something like that.”

What was somewhat comforting even in the midst of wandering was that the surrounding scenery was quite beautiful.

“Let’s get vicarious satisfaction on our YouTube channel. Everyone was saying that in the comments on the video we uploaded yesterday. They were asking where this is.”

“Ha. The investor has to like it.”

“If they know we’re wandering around with this equipment, won’t they like it more?”

“Can I hit that guide in the back of the head? Just because his body is light, he’s going everywhere.”

“Let’s take a lot of footage to upload to YouTube. It seems like we can get quite a bit of footage just by shooting here, right?”

“We’ll have enough footage for several weeks just by shooting what we’ve already wandered around.”

“Stop it. If we upload us wandering around, all the subscribers will leave.”

One of the staff members who was muttering like that suddenly slipped to the side. An unfamiliar, splendid flower was proudly showing off its beauty.

“Uh oh. What’s that? I haven’t seen that before?”

“Oh. It’s a very fancy and pretty flower. There’s something like this in the forest?” Several staff members who saw the flower emitting splendor in a place full of green approached with cameras.

“Wait, call Director Ji. We need to get some information from the guide.”

After a while, the guide approached with a leisurely gait. He looked at the flower and waved his hand dismissively.

“He says it was once considered sacred in this place. He says we’re lucky to see it now.” The translator translated the guide’s words.

“Oh. Good material. Was it considered sacred because it’s so fancy and pretty?” Just as one of the approaching staff members was about to touch the fully opened petals with his finger.

“That’s a poisonous plant.” A neat voice coldly cut through the air.

***

[Sacred? Sacred my ass.] Even before the translator could answer, there was someone who clicked his tongue first. It was Adrian, muttering with a look of absurdity.

“Isn’t it?” From the moment the local guide started wandering around with a confident attitude, Yeon-woo stepped back slightly. In the meantime, he also carried the luggage of the youngest staff member who was struggling to keep up because they were wandering around.

“It’s, it’s okay. Really…….”

“I’m okay too. I think you should go to the front because you seem to be falling behind too much.”

“Um…… thank you.” He refused, saying that he couldn’t entrust luggage to an actor, but Yeon-woo moved directly instead of speaking and snatched the luggage. Unlike the small staff member who was struggling with difficulty, it was light for Yeon-woo.

[Hmm. After all, nature’s courtship begins with the male showing his abilities.]

“……What nonsense are you talking about? I sent someone on purpose to talk to you.” Do I have to be treated like a crazy person when I have to film?

[Ah, is that so? If the angel says so, then that’s how it is…….] That’s what he said, but somehow he didn’t seem to believe it.

“By the way. What’s that sound?”

[What sound are you talking about?]

“You were just talking about the flower.”

[Ah, that.] Adrian chuckled and replied. [I just thought it was funny to give the name of sacred to a poisonous plant.]

“Then isn’t it very dangerous?”

[Of course. If you touch it, it swells up immediately, and if you smell it, depending on the degree, you can even have difficulty breathing. To call something like that sacred. Well. Death is also sacred. Hmm. It might be nice to have a new colleague.]

No. Not at all. ‘Are we going to have the movie canceled before it’s even released?’ If there’s a death accident during filming, it’s at least a suspension of filming, and at most, the filming will be canceled. Since a big accident happened, it would be difficult to continue filming right away, and the waiting period would be long, and the investors might drop out one by one, and it could end up being a mess.

“That’s a poisonous plant.” The staff member who was about to touch the petals quickly pulled his finger back.

“A poisonous plant?! Damn it. That could have been a disaster.”

“A poisonous plant?!” The translator, who heard it right next to the staff member, was horrified. The local guide, who saw their strange behavior, said something, and after hearing the translator’s words, he wore a mocking smile on his face.

“Um……. That flower is not a poisonous plant. He says Yeon-woo is mistaken about something?”

[He’s talking like he’s not.] This time, it was Adrian who scoffed. [Why trust the words of a stray dog who thinks he’s so great?]

Whose words are correct? Yeon-woo’s 고민 [Korean: worry, concern] didn’t last long. Survival expert Adrian. His job title that shone in the status window came to mind.

‘Adrian’s words are more correct than that guide’s.’ The guide’s credibility is already hitting rock bottom after wandering around for three hours. Moreover.

“He says the overlapping petal shape is exactly the flower that was considered sacred. He says the toothed leaf shape is also typical…….” Even the guide who was conveying the message had a clear look of ‘Should I believe this or not?’.

[It’s funny. Who are you trying to impress in front of me?] This time, Adrian wore a sneer. [There are spots inside the flower bud and black lines on the back of the leaves, what nonsense is he talking about?]

There really were such spots in the place Adrian pointed out with 열 [Korean: zeal, passion]. “Here.”

“What’s here?”

“Can’t you see the spots?”

“What’s wrong with the spots?”

“There will be black lines along the veins on the back of the leaves.”

“Hey. I’m the expert here, not you.” The translator was restless at the increasingly fierce atmosphere. Of course, it was only the local guide who was getting fierce.

“Do you know how many islands like this I’ve traveled around? You’re pretending to know when you came from somewhere I don’t even know!”

Even the local coordinator and local staff were surprised by these words. The expressions of the staff who heard the words were also fierce. That’s how rude the local guide’s words were. It was the moment when the atmosphere was about to turn sharply cold.

“Then try touching it.” Yeon-woo’s voice rang out indifferently, as if to suppress the atmosphere.

“What?”

“Try touching it.”