Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 022
Chapter Title: That's Not It? (2)
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[Uh…… Ung……?] No matter how you listened to it, that wasn't the joyful squeal of delight from finding something cute. Yeonwoo quickly grabbed the hamster's plump body in his hand.
"Um……. It's a hamster that follows me around……. I felt bad leaving it alone……. So I take it with me."
It was a somewhat clumsy excuse. But Min Yerin was too tense to notice.
"Th…… C-cute…… It's cute……. Hamsters are so…… cute……."
No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem to think it was cute? Her pupils were trembling, and her beautifully curved lips from her earlier genuine smile were now stiff and quivering.
"By any chance…… are you scared of hamsters?"
"No?! No? I'm not scared at all?"
But your fingers are shaking like crazy.
"Hamsters are cute, right? Yeah? What woman hates a cute hamster?"
Min Yerin forced a smile as she spoke. Unlike her earlier sincere smile, it felt utterly contrived.
'She really is scared.'
For some reason, she seemed desperate to hide it. Pretending not to notice was a hundred times better than being seen as the weird guy who carries a hamster around.
"So. Very. Very. Cute. This. Is. So. Cuuute."
Even a computer reading a book wouldn't sound this robotic. The funny thing was, her enunciation was so clear that each syllable drilled right into his ears.
Yeonwoo decided to pretend not to notice Min Yerin, famous for her method acting, putting on this awful performance.
"Well then, I'll get going. Shooting's backed up."
"Y-yes……."
It somehow felt like she was fleeing.
'Min Yerin's shoot isn't until tonight, though?'
Swallowing the obvious excuse, Min Yerin hurriedly left the waiting room.
And what was left was…….
[Yeonwoo-ya……? Am I not cute……?]
Now a single hamster, shocked by the intense rejection from the actress who had just started to become a fan.
***
[What if Min Yerin's tastes just don't run to furry animals? Why? Some people like unusual stuff. Like spiders or something……?]
"Why are you so hung up on it?"
[I dunno……? But it's weirdly bothering me……?]
After Min Yerin freaked out and ran away.
The Child Spirit fell into anguish. It seemed hurt by the sudden terrified reaction after only ever receiving adoration until then.
'……This guy's a real weirdo too.'
Somehow, it felt like everyone around him was odd.
'Well, the most disgustingly weird human has been dealt with.'
Two days ago. Yeonwoo had finally wrapped up his planned 'Lee Deokchun Reeducation.'
'Fleas can't jump far, after all.'
Catching Lee Deokchun, who had desperately fled around the set, wasn't hard inside the premises. If he wouldn't stay inside the set, just grab him outside.
-Huh?! H-how did you……?!
"Yeah, how did I know?"
He held back from saying ghosts were everywhere. The guy was already trembling at the sight of him; passing out would be a hassle.
-A-again, you're gonna choke me…….
-Choke you again? When did I ever choke you? Don't drag innocent people into this.
-Fuck…….
Pretending complete innocence, Yeonwoo startled Lee Deokchun, who spat curses even amid his shock at Yeonwoo's ghostly appearance.
"Yeah. We're close enough to exchange curses like that. Let's not drag this out. I'm getting tired of it too."
Even dealing with human trash like this was starting to annoy him. Yeonwoo immediately drew blood from his finger and traced it in the air.
-Fuck, what the hell are you……!
The blood-drawn incantation was absorbed into his palm in an instant. Yeonwoo pressed it firmly over Lee Deokchun's eyes.
-Aaack?! Ack?! Ack……?
"There. All done."
There was no pain. Lee Deokchun, who had screamed expecting a hit, blinked his tightly shut eyes open again.
-Sigh. Why do you go around with your eyebrows stuck on like that?
To anyone else, it would just look like brushing off an eyebrow that fell near his eye.
'No point grabbing at straws here; it'd be like sprinkling ashes on finished rice.'
Yeonwoo patted the dust off Lee Deokchun's shoulders too.
"From now on, live nicely. Okay? No more messing around."
Though he probably couldn't anyway.
"What does that even mean?"
-Huh?
"……What?"
"Doesn't matter. Just go sleep it off properly. Got it?"
"Y-yes……."
Lee Deokchun gave a listless reply and peeled out in his sleek sports car like he was escaping.
'Drives a nice car. Won't be driving it long, though.'
Yeonwoo wasn't particularly envious. Lee Deokchun wouldn't even dream of driving a supercar like that anymore anyway.
And today.
"Can't reach Lee Deokchun?"
"Yes, Director. No matter how many times we call, it's powered off."
"What? What kind of lightning bolt is this? What do his manager and agency say?!"
"They're trying to contact him too, but no connection……."
"Did they check his house? Possible spots?!"
"Well……. They say it looks like he ghosted. Actually, no contact since yesterday."
"Damn it!"
Director Heo grabbed the back of his neck listening to the staff.
"His manager and agency are panicking and searching too, but……."
"How do you find a guy who deliberately ghosted?!"
Frustrated, Director Heo now thumped his chest.
"Huh……? What's with the vibe?"
Lee Deokchun's manager, arriving late after parking Kwon Seonghyeon's car, asked with a baffled look.
"What's going on……?"
"One of the actors ghosted."
"No way. Ghosted? He's nuts. Ghosting from Director Heo's project? Wants out of the industry?? Who is it?"
"Lee Deokchun, the idol playing the Grim Reaper."
"Oh. That idol with no manners? Had a bad vibe, and he really flew the coop."
"Flew the coop?"
"Pigeon. That's what we call guys who ninja out of the biz."
[Whoa. Good thing we ditched the pigeon body. Almost got tangled with that jerk.]
The Child Spirit, who had been itching to switch bodies but was still stuck as a hamster, muttered.
"Oh, Seonghyeon-ssi? You're early again today."
The chaotic atmosphere from Lee Deokchun's ghosting eased somewhat with Kwon Seonghyeon's arrival.
But unfortunately for Director Heo and the staff, the set's mood kept souring.
***
Even as a supporting role, the Grim Reaper was fairly important.
"He won't really ghost, right? He'll come back in a few days?"
"We already shot his early scenes, so hopefully not……."
But 'hopefully' has a way of biting you. A week later, still no word from Lee Deokchun.
"We can only reshoot his absent parts a couple times. What about the scenes he's in? Early footage needs him."
"Driving me insane. What kind of nuisance is this? Poor Seonghyeon and Yerin. Outdoor shoots pulled forward because of him. What a mess."
"Heard we almost got a news article?"
"For real?"
"We denied it for now, but Director got chewed out by the boss big time."
"Widespread nuisance level: god tier."
Because of it, later shoots were pulled forward. The silver lining: it was half pre-produced drama. Otherwise, all hell would've broken loose already.
"Gonna recast?"
"Who knows……. Ugh. Don't wanna think about it. Head hurts."
The press conference was long over. Changing actors now meant scandals before filming even ramped up.
"Sigh. Lately everything's going wrong. Nothing's smooth."
"Vibe here's off too, right? The dorm felt creepy earlier."
"I thought so too. Pigeon's gone, mood's gloomy. Once things snag, they snag weirdly."
Yeonwoo pondered as he overheard the staff sighing and muttering.
'Was kinda hoping, but yeah, total irresponsible punk.'
Not just irresponsible—zero willpower. And a massive coward to boot.
'How'd a guy who scares that easy live doing all that evil? No fear of consequences?'
What Yeonwoo did was simple.
'Just showed him some nightmares and obsessive thoughts. Didn't expect him to tuck tail and run in days.'
Zero grit. How he even managed as an idol was a mystery.
'Wasn't even that harsh, tsk.'
Tormenting Lee Deokchun wasn't the only goal.
Education. What is education? Per the dictionary:
[Imparting knowledge and skills while cultivating character.]
By that, Yeonwoo had simply shown Lee Deokchun the true path of life. With proper character too.
[These kids nowadays are so weak. I didn't even exaggerate—just showed him the direct results of his own deeds, and he freaks? We've seen this stuff for over twenty years. He saw it for mere days, tsk tsk…….]
Said the decades-old ghost.
The key: nightmares.
Simply making him see the obsessive thoughts trailing his sins felt insufficient. That's why Yeonwoo touched his subconscious.
'If someone's sinned, shouldn't they repent and make amends?'
Lee Deokchun had shamelessly backstabbed countless people, striking from behind.
He'd even tried to kill the life conceived for his own freedom. Just because he didn't want responsibility or the hit to his money-making.
And Yeonwoo despised that type most.
'What a noble position parenthood is!'
Some sweat blood to protect it. Like Yeonwoo's mother, Lady Kang Yeonhwa.
[Wonder if that guy's coming back.]
"Doubt he can ghost forever? I set it up so running has limits. Can't solve it by fleeing."
[Kang Yeonwoo, you scary kid……!]
Yeonwoo chuckled.
"Scary? Nah, he's the scary one. Didn't expect him to shake off the implanted incantation and bolt."
[Whoa. You used incantation spells too?]
"Had to, so the jerk would listen for once."
"Ah. Yeah. Guys like that don't get it with words. Mm. Gotta go that far to fix a rotten mindset."
"But ghosting shows he's some piece of work, right?"
[Only a tough bastard would do that crap, yeah.]
Lee Deokchun ghosting had side effects, but no guilt or responsibility weighed on Yeonwoo. He was that kind of guy anyway. Yeonwoo just sped up his flight with shock therapy.
'Better he dropped early before filming advanced, no?'
Better a quick beating, as they say. Anyway, the set without Lee Deokchun pressed on.
But the mood stayed rotten.
"Ah, what's wrong with this? Lights acting up too."
Lights meant to illuminate the outdoor set flickered nonstop like they were busted. Staff fussed over them, fine for a moment, then back to blinking.
"Mics had noise earlier, now lights……. Everything's going haywire."
"Did that Lee Deokchun punk curse us on his way out?"
"Maybe. Editing glitched bad a few days ago, almost had to reshoot."
"Yeah. Kim PD was losing it. Saved it somehow. How does everything snag like this?"
"Like a curse attached……."
Not just broadcast gear. The whole location felt eerie.
Staff weren't muttering anxiously for nothing.
"Scenery's pretty…… but staring gives me chills."
"Thought I had a cold coming on. But others feel it too."
"Not just sunset? Mountain vibes?"