Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 003
Chapter Title: First Harvest (2)
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[While consuming harvested lifespan, death is postponed.]
[Remaining grace period: 49 days]
“Looks like I’m not dying anytime soon, at least.”
At least 49 days of safety.
Kang Yeonwoo let out a sigh of relief, just about to relax and flop onto the bed.
*-Ding!*
Another cheerful alert chimed.
“What’s this?”
[Additional harvested stats: None]
“……Huh? Additional harvested stats? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Something else besides the 49 days of lifespan?
Come to think of it, he’d been too busy buying pills to lure Han Suhwan to check closely, but there had been a phrase that tugged at his attention.
[***Currently, some items are not openable.]
[***Detailed information on the individual is hidden.]
This part right here.
He hadn’t paid it any mind back then, too focused on life or death…
‘What’s this? My gut’s telling me something.’
It felt right. Like a ‘hunch,’ you could say.
And Kang Yeonwoo was someone whose mother—a pinnacle shaman of all gods—had openly acknowledged his sharp instincts.
That hunch was whispering.
This was a jackpot in the making.
‘Minus lifespan and a status window, though…’
He was clearly headed down a path he’d never wanted.
The shaman fate he’d dreaded had just saved his life, hadn’t it?
‘A life to fill: 78 years ahead.’
An absurdly long stretch.
For someone who had to fill a negative lifespan, it seemed more gain than loss.
“Well, seeing ghosts was weird enough already. What’s one more thing gonna hurt?”
Status window, whatever. It was just another spooky phenomenon, like ghosts or stars.
No point dwelling on unsolvable worries.
Kang Yeonwoo stretched out long on the bed, yawning.
Nothing beat being alive—always fresh, always thrilling.
***
The next day.
A visitor arrived.
None other than Han Suhwan, who’d gifted him 49 days of lifespan.
“Kang Yeonwoo! I truly owe you. It’s all thanks to you. Truly, thank you!”
Han Suhwan rushed straight to Yeonwoo and grabbed his hand.
It was like a plump big fish from the net waddling in on its own.
But still, another man—an imposing middle-aged one at that—gripping his hand didn’t feel great.
‘Still, gotta manage my expression in times like this.’
Kang Yeonwoo was a professional.
“It’s all thanks to you. Truly, thank you!”
“Did you meet your son?”
“Yes. The moment I fell asleep, he came to me. Everything was just as you said.”
Moisture gathered in Han Suhwan’s wrinkled eyes.
“I can’t even remember the last time I talked with my boy like this…”
He spoke with distant eyes.
*Here it comes.*
This was the ‘story hook’ angle.
*Sigh. Guess I have to listen.*
Han Suhwan was known around Myeongdong as a cash-rich powerhouse.
If you named the richest in Seoul cash-wise, his name topped the list.
Han Yoon-beom couldn’t understand his father, who skirted the edges of illegality to make money, and went astray.
Even when he took a wife, the family clashed.
She wasn’t up to Han Suhwan’s standards.
Already rebellious, Han Yoon-beom used that as an excuse to leave home for good.
And yet.
“If he was going to leave, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard… I would’ve let him live as he wanted.”
Reality wasn’t a fairy tale.
Han Yoon-beom’s end was tragic.
Freed from his father’s shadow, he fell prey to his father’s rivals and was brutally murdered.
“My heart always felt heavy, blocked up. I couldn’t even properly hold his forty-ninth day rites. I was too busy hiding his wife and child…”
“But yesterday, I finally opened up with Yoon-beom. I heard his true feelings at last.”
His eyes were red, but Han Suhwan’s face shone bright.
“It’s all thanks to you. You resolved my lifelong regret. Truly, thank you.”
49 days.
That span was Han Suhwan’s remaining regret—the chain binding Han Yoon-beom.
‘Does harvestable lifespan tie into their wishes or desires?’
After Han Suhwan left.
Yeonwoo let out a deep sigh.
“So in the end, no other path?”
He’d have to walk the road he least wanted.
‘I never believed in fate. Worst-case scenario? A street performer beats shaman by a mile. Sigh.’
Only two choices on the table.
Instinct screamed pick the lesser evil over the absolute worst.
“This is insane.”
[It’s not all bad, right? You’re not dying! Should’ve just picked one from the start. Tsk tsk.]
“You pouring oil on the fire right now?”
[Between the two, you said performer over shaman.]
“Yeah, I did.”
Though it looked wrong now.
*Hoo.*
Yeonwoo exhaled long.
“Ran away from home to ditch the family trade, and now this? Real life?”
For the time being, he’d play fake shaman.
[Remaining grace period: 49 days]
Yeonwoo glared at the status window flashing insistently in his peripheral vision.
One thing to do.
Survive.
***
Recovery went smoothly.
Maybe thanks to the protection talismans plastered everywhere, or minimal damage from the truck hit, but mostly Han Suhwan’s lavish spending.
“Ah, I might just live forever at this rate.”
Sucking on a tonic made from century-old ginseng, Yeonwoo muttered.
Before that, he’d downed something like Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pills, ground from precious ingredients.
Prior, a soup from seven-foot eel.
Then snake liquor.
Before that, grilled eel on-site, which he devoured.
Grilling eel in a hospital? Impossible, but Han Suhwan made it happen.
With his money and connections.
Yeonwoo breezed through every checkup on a free pass, got discharged, then lounged in a top-tier officetel Han Suhwan had prepared.
“Kuh. Delicious. I could hit 100 no problem.”
[Nope. You’ve only got 47 days left?]
“……You wanna get smacked?”
[Nooo… If you die, I’ll be sad! It’s been two days already?! Aren’t you worried?! So let’s go harvest lifespan quick!]
“Hey, can you stop with the dying talk?”
The status window lingering in his vision was driving him nuts already.
Like a hyena scavenging for food—no, lifespan—Yeonwoo grumbled.
All the tonics in the world wouldn’t help without more lifespan.
That anxiety gripped him when.
*Vrrr!*
One of Han Suhwan’s tributes.
A brand-new phone replacing his smashed one buzzed.
***
[Settlement?]
“Yeah. Wants to settle.”
The caller was one of the multi-car pileup culprits.
More perpetrator than victim, they didn’t want public exposure, so quiet resolution.
[Gonna go?]
“If I don’t, they might actually die—kinda relatable.”
Death.
Yeonwoo’s top concern lately.
Everything boiled down to eating—living.
No major injuries or deaths helped too.
Brazen penalty-dodging would’ve been an instant no.
‘I took the biggest hit.’
Originally, one fatality: him.
[Perfect. Let’s scout souls on the way! Fresh ones loaded with lifespan and stats!]
Talking like it’s pulling weeds from a garden.
But not wrong.
‘If I spot a soul en route.’
Ideally, one packed with lifespan and stats, like the Child Spirit said.
***
In the end, Yeonwoo did find a soul.
“Hello? Ah… probably not doing so well…”
“Ah, yes.”
Yeonwoo barely glanced at the man’s face.
No wonder—a soul tagged with lifespan hovered behind him.
An extreme +1 day.
[Harvestable Lifespan: +1 day]
1 day? For real?
Blink as he might, the number stayed 1.
‘No big fish, just this minnow…’
Self-loathing hit hard for trekking out here.
Plus, the slick-faced man gave off creepy vibes.
[*Sniff… sob…*]
Yeonwoo eyed the soul weeping bloody tears behind him.
[Classic pre-evil spirit. Looks halfway there.]
Black clouds faintly shrouded it—not fully transformed, but strong yin energy and grudge suggested deep resentment toward the man.
“Haha. Well. Truly sorry. That night, I was up all dawn with work, so I just…”
Slick excuses screamed his price.
[Total drowsy driving.]
The Child Spirit clucked its tongue.
‘That’s why the settlement push.’
Drowsy driving? No contest.
‘Wasted trip?’
For 1 day… and a drowsy driver.
Who kept grinning creepily at Yeonwoo.
Lungs full of hot air?
As Yeonwoo thought that.
“But… you’ve been staring since earlier. Yes. Spot on.”
The man blurted.
“Yes?”
“Haha. Wasn’t hiding it, but you spotted me anyway.”
“Yes?”
“Hahaha. No need to be shy. I’m embarrassed meeting a fan like this… Hahaha. Fate, maybe?”
“……?”
What the hell’s this psycho saying?
“Yes. Guess I should introduce properly now?”
‘No, you psycho.’
“Haha. Yes. I’m Jeong Cheol-woo.”
He extended a hand, smooth as flowing water.
Caught off guard, Yeonwoo shook it.
A window popped in his vision.
-Name: Jeong Cheol-woo (25/Male)
-Occupation: Unknown Actor
-Disposition: Chaotic Evil
-Specialty: Bluffing [C-]
-Favorability: Rock Bottom
-Current Physical: Healthy
-Current Mood: Irritated
***Currently, some items are not openable.
***Detailed information on the individual is hidden.
***Harvestable lifespan available from this individual (1 day)
From the moment they met, Jeong Cheol-woo beamed with fake friendliness.
Even as Yeonwoo’s face soured and stiffened at the 1-day soul and info, he shook hands amiably.
But.
‘Rock bottom favorability, mood irritated? Talk about two-faced.’
Unbelievable.
Thought a little sweet-talk and smiles would fix it?
‘Life’s the real deal, punk.’
Yeonwoo’s attitude turned icy.
“Lots of people say I look like Kwon Sung-hyun.”
[What? Like Kwon Sung-hyun?]
The Child Spirit reacted to Jeong Cheol-woo’s words.
[Where’s the resemblance on that midget?]
The TV-obsessed spirit huffed indignantly.
Who?
[There’s this top actor, Kwon Sung-hyun, super famous… Wait, Kang Yeonwoo, you really don’t know? For real?]
Nope.
Not interested either.
Seeing Yeonwoo’s blank look, the Child Spirit got worked up solo.
[Seriously? You live in Korea and don’t know Kwon Sung-hyun? Even dead me knows! Wow. Yeonwoo, get some culture. How do you not know Kwon Sung-hyun? The guy with 7 million-view movies, insane filmography! The one in your coffee ads!]
Ah.
Now it clicked.
‘Mom nagging shaman or performer drilled it out of me on purpose.’
Should’ve paid attention back then.