Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 007
Chapter Title: The Strange Man
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If he didn’t formally give his name, it seemed like he wouldn’t call him at all, so Yeonwoo let out a sigh.
“I’m Kang Yeonwoo.”
[So you’re Yeonwoo-nim.]
“No. You can drop the ‘nim’ and just call me Yeonwoo.”
“How dare I address an angel like that…….”
“Name. You said you’d call me by name.”
[Oh, right.]
“Just call me comfortably.”
Please. Every time he showed his face, he made the whole nation buzz—a top actor no less—calling him with honorifics like ‘nim.’ If he kept hearing “Yeonwoo-nim” from Kwon Seonghyeon even after waking up, he might get stoned by people. Why did it feel so uneasy?
[Got it. Then I’ll call you Yeonwoo-ssi.]
“Good thinking.”
[I have a question. How do I get back into my body?]
[You just grab the string and lie on top of the actor’s body! Actually, once you get close, it’ll pull you in like opposite magnets and settle you right.]
[Then will I not be able to come out again like this? That’d be a bit regrettable…….]
“The soul of the living leaving the body isn’t the right thing to do.”
[Hmm. I suppose so.]
Kwon Seonghyeon nodded again.
[If I go back into my body, will I not be able to see you or Dongja-ssi anymore?]
[Uhmm. You’ll see Yeonwoo since he’s alive, but probably not me. You said you’ve never seen ghosts before, right? So your spirit eyes aren’t open, which means you might not see me……?]
[That’s regrettable too.]
[Our actor…… You’d miss not seeing me? That won’t do! Alright. Then I’ll have to figure something out. Or if worst comes to worst, nag Yeonwoo about it…….]
No. Where on earth was there a place to see this chatty baby ghost, and why was he calling it regrettable? Yeonwoo felt a headache coming on as he listened to their conversation. The throbbing was getting worse—no good sign.
‘I need to shove him in quick and escape. I feel like I’m going crazy too.’
As if compensating for Yeonwoo’s pain, a large hospital loomed ahead before long.
“Oh, you’re here? How’d it go? Did you find our Seonghyeon?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Woo and his wife’s faces lit up, along with Han Suhwan’s, at the simple reply.
“Please be quiet. This is the important part now. Mr. Kwon Seonghyeon. Just approach your body closely.”
[So this is where I was…… I really was alive.]
Kwon Seonghyeon muttered as if the sight of himself lying on the bed felt unfamiliar.
[I really just need to get close?]
“Lie down feeling like you’re overlapping your body. Don’t forget to hold the string in one hand.”
[This is amazing. It’s like magic.]
Kwon Seonghyeon, who’d said that, suddenly turned to Yeonwoo.
[Thank you. Yeonwoo-ssi, you’re my lifesaver.]
“No, it’s not that big a deal…….”
[Thank you.]
The tips of Kwon Seonghyeon’s fingers lightly touched his flesh.
That’s when it began.
Starting from his fingertips, then his wrist, up his forearm to his upper body—Kwon Seonghyeon slowly seeped into the body he lay in, as if being absorbed. The long dangling string sparkled and gradually vanished.
The moment every part of his body was absorbed into the flesh.
-Beep beep beep!
The machines attached to Kwon Seonghyeon’s body detected the change and blared noisily.
Twitch!
The tip of his long, straight finger trembled faintly—visible to everyone.
“See, did you see? Our Seonghyeon’s finger moved, right? Right?!”
“Call the doctor quick. Let’s check him out right away!”
“I already hit the nurse call. They’ll be here soon.”
Even the composed Kwon Hee-ra flushed with excitement at the change.
Moments later.
Doctors in white coats rushed in and began checking his status.
“Check the EKG here!”
“How’re the vitals? Any records?”
“All readings are normal!”
It was a spacious VVIP room, but with over a dozen people swarming in an instant, it felt like a flea market.
But none of that chaos registered in Yeonwoo’s mind.
The reason was simple.
-Ding!
[Hidden mission success!]
[You have perfectly completed the hidden mission ‘Lift the Penalty!’]
[The wrong path has been corrected to the right one!]
[You have successfully completed the hidden mission, lifting the first penalty.]
-Ding!
[With the first penalty lifted, some of your reduced lifespan has been restored.]
[Remaining grace period: 47 days]
A sudden notification had popped up.
The very one that held the key to solving the issue that had gripped Yeonwoo’s heart until now.
***
‘Penalty lifted?’
Yeonwoo’s face went blank, as if he’d been punched.
Penalty lifted.
Something he’d longed for endlessly.
And moreover……
‘What’s this hidden mission? Wrong path corrected?’
Unintelligible notifications had chimed one after another, teasing him with their dings.
‘Why is the penalty lifting here of all places?’
His lifespan, which had been 23 days, had recovered to 47 days.
A gain of 24 days.
‘The last thing I did was just put Kwon Seonghyeon back……?’
And it said he’d successfully completed the hidden mission.
Right at the moment Kwon Seonghyeon’s soul reunited with his body.
Plus the wrong path correction complete notification.
“…….”
Yeonwoo’s gaze turned to Kwon Seonghyeon.
It was obvious even without anyone telling him.
This system wanted Kwon Seonghyeon.
He didn’t know in what way, but.
‘……Feels off somehow?’
He needed to confirm why helping Kwon Seonghyeon led to the penalty lift.
His head was already starting to throb.
Yeonwoo began calming himself.
‘Well, it’ll be fine. Just don’t remember what happened with the soul. Forget it all.’
But unfortunately, Yeonwoo’s wish didn’t come true.
“Seonghyeon! Are you conscious?!”
He heard Chairman Woo shouting, forgetting all decorum.
“Mmm…….”
A cracked but still pleasant timbre lowly filled the room.
At that moment, everyone in the room froze.
They were all busy watching Kwon Seonghyeon’s eyelids, which began twitching slightly.
“Mm…… Where is this……?”
“It’s the hospital. Are you okay, Seonghyeon? How do you feel?”
“My head feels a bit foggy.”
Kwon Seonghyeon, struggling to open his eyes, fluttered his long lashes and blinked a few times. His dazed pupils floated around here and there for a moment.
As he slowly scanned the room, Kwon Seonghyeon’s gaze stopped on Yeonwoo.
Despite his pallid complexion, his smoothly maintained red lips parted slowly.
He spoke slowly toward Yeonwoo.
“Angel-nim……?”
That was the moment Yeonwoo’s small, humble wish shattered completely.
***
Kwon Seonghyeon.
One of Korea’s premier top actors.
Over ten years since his debut, starting as a child actor with rock-solid acting chops.
He’d already starred in more than seven films that grossed ten million viewers each.
He didn’t have many “representative works” because he delivered career-best performances in every movie.
Acting skills no one could criticize.
And a sculpted appearance like God’s own handiwork.
The phrase “has it all” was probably made for Kwon Seonghyeon.
Even his personality was known to be upright.
Far removed from dirty scandals or power-trip controversies.
No noteworthy gossip in over ten years? That said it all.
However.
-Ding!
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Harvested lifespan: 2 days]
-Ding!
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Harvested lifespan: 1 day]
-Ding!
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Harvested lifespan: 3 days]
-Ding!
-Ding!
-Ding!
“…….”
Yeonwoo thought.
Kwon Seonghyeon wasn’t normal.
***
-Yeonwoo-ssi. If it’s okay with you, could you help our Seonghyeon?
It started with Kwon Hee-ra’s request.
-You might have heard from Seonghyeon, but our Seonghyeon has always been a bit different from others since he was young.
Kwon Hee-ra calmly recounted stories of young Kwon Seonghyeon.
-He wasn’t an ordinary kid. Not talking about talent or looks. The child back then…… He was a bit like you now, Yeonwoo-ssi.
Kwon Seonghyeon wasn’t just lucky.
To be precise, he was resilient to “misfortune.”
Places he shouldn’t go, dangers lurking somewhere, dreams of people getting hurt.
Not to the extent of seeing the dead, but far from ordinary.
-After he grew up and entered the industry, those kinds of things lessened……
But this incident brought back her buried past.
-Yeonwoo-ssi. You said Seonghyeon has powers, right? I’m so worried. About what that power might do to him. So if it’s okay……
Could you please look after our Seonghyeon?
He knew it himself, but Yeonwoo was weak to women old enough to be his mother.
Especially mothers worrying for their child.
So he’d accepted almost reflexively.
‘I needed to keep an eye on Kwon Seonghyeon anyway.’
The first penalty lifted.
Right after reuniting him with his body, the lift notification popped up like it was waiting.
Saving Kwon Seonghyeon had been the “right direction.”
‘If there’s a first, there’s a second.’
He needed to check the second penalty lift conditions.
So keeping tabs on Kwon Seonghyeon, the key to the first lift, was natural.
But.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
Before he could even find the conditions, something utterly bizarre happened.
-Yeonwoo-ssi, could you give me your number?
-Pardon?
-Your number. Can’t you tell me?
-Why do you need my number?
When he answered hesitantly, Kwon Seonghyeon smiled softly.
-To get to know my lifesaver, Yeonwoo-ssi, better, of course?
-…….
Not cheesy “angel-nim” lines, but why did it still give him chills?
When Yeonwoo didn’t answer easily, something terrifying happened.
-Ding!
A cheerful chime.
And.
[Harvestable lifespan: +2 days]
-……?
Wait, weren’t requests only for desperate, grudge-filled wishes?
Was giving out a phone number such a desperate, life-altering desire?
-…….
Still, free lifespan.
Two days. Forty-eight hours.
Time to do a lot.
-My number is……
Yeonwoo quietly decided to accept it.
And.
Similar things kept happening even now.
“Yeonwoo-ssi. What fruit do you want? Strawberry? Orange? Apple?”
Kwon Seonghyeon asked with a bright smile.
“I’m good.”
“Really? They say vitamins are important for your health.”
“I’m fine, so you stop that too. You can’t even peel them properly anyway.”
“You get better with practice, right? I feel bad that you can’t go out because of me…… You’re not getting sunlight, so I thought vitamins at least…….”
At the same time, a cheerful chime rang out.
-Ding!
[Harvestable lifespan: +2 days]
A notification appeared above Kwon Seonghyeon’s head.
Again.
‘I’m going insane.’
The way to get that lifespan was simple.
“You really won’t have any? I specially asked for the tasty ones…… They said they picked the sweetest…….”
Just grant Kwon Seonghyeon’s absurd “requests,” like he was dying to feed Yeonwoo something.
‘Well, works for me…….’
Who’d refuse free lifespan handouts?
Plus, the wishes were trivially minor.
‘Never thought I’d feel like raising a giant dog at my age. From a top Korean actor, no less…….’
Those clear eyes watching for cues reminded him of the yellow mutt from his childhood countryside days.
No. Kwon Seonghyeon suited a purebred golden retriever more than a mutt.
Anyway, the point was.
‘You never really know people until you meet them.’
No one would believe it.
Especially that Kwon Seonghyeon was like this—they’d never buy it.
Who’d think a top Korean actor was such a dog of a person?
And this wasn’t an insult.
‘But he’s not a total pushover either.’
Surprisingly or not, Kwon Seonghyeon was quick on the uptake.
He wouldn’t know about the lifespan popping over his head, but he keenly sensed Yeonwoo couldn’t refuse his requests and exploited it to the fullest.
Unaware of the system, yet using it better than anyone.
Of course, Yeonwoo had no idea how Kwon Seonghyeon made wishes worth lifespans.
Was it just his imagination that the system seemed especially kind to this guy?