Chapter 77: Captain America
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: Captain America
Yoon Se-rang and Writer Jung Yoon-ah visited my cozy new home in Hannam-dong.
It wasn’t an official after-party; they were just stopping by to hang out.
“Yu-jin! You’re not a Baby Elf anymore! You’re a total Goddess Elf! A Goddess! A Goddess! A Goddess!”
“Writer Jung… please…”
Jung Yoon-ah didn’t come to hang out; she came to tease me.
“Congratulations, Yu-jin. I’ve heard people call me a goddess plenty of times, but I’ve never been called an elf. You’ve managed to claim both titles.”
“Se-rang, please, have mercy…”
So Yoon Se-rang didn’t come to hang out either; she came to tease me too.
My mental state was shredded at the front door by a double-team Goddess Elf slash. Feeling dizzy, I led them inside.
Even now, they wouldn’t stop.
Should I just hide in my room?
I gritted my teeth and waited for their onslaught to end. Finally, realizing it wasn’t going to stop, I had my brother bring out the Birkin bag.
“Whoa, is this the Goddess Elf’s Birkin bag? It’s so dazzling I can barely keep my eyes open. Your Excellency, the Goddess Elf’s Birkin Bag, this humble girl offers her greetings.”
Jung Yoon-ah jumped up and performed a full deep bow to the bag.
“Writer, you’re being even more intense than usual today…”
“I haven’t been able to praise your beauty properly lately, so it’s been building up. My mouth was practically itching!”
“…”
“If I’d known you were going to the LoL World Championship looking that breathtaking, I would’ve tagged along. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d tag along.”
“Honestly, Ji-hye, you should have told me if there was such a fun event happening.”
“Our Jang Ji-hye is incredibly tight-lipped when it comes to security. She doesn’t even tell PD Jang Hyun-soo a thing.”
“She really does take after the PD in that regard.”
Jang Ji-hye, who was bringing out refreshments, narrowed her eyes at that.
“Writer Jung, if you keep saying I look like my dad, I might just write you into my debut production.”
“Oh, how terrifying.”
“I’ll cast you as Yu-jin’s maid and work you to the bone.”
“Wait, isn’t that a reward?”
I’m going crazy.
Yoon Se-rang chuckled beside her.
“Yu-jin, life certainly won’t be boring for you. You’ve got a Goblin Guardian busy singing your praises and a cute human friend always by your side.”
“Goblin Guardian? What’s that?”
“Your brother. He said he’s the Goblin Guardian protecting the Golden Dragon’s lair.”
“Hey, Lee Yu-seok! Get out here right now!”
“Yu-seok went out. You’re the one who told him to go buy every single Xbox title.”
“Ah, right. I did, didn’t I?”
Writer Jung’s eyes sparkled.
“Are you planning to start playing console games? Are you bored of LoL now?”
“No, I just bought a large bookshelf, and it looked a bit lonely being empty. I wanted to fill it up.”
“Yu-jin, you have no right to call Writer Jung crazy. To me, that’s even crazier.”
“Jang Ji-hye, there are more gamers in this world obsessed with the act of collecting games than the games themselves.”
Still, the Birkin bag trick worked. Both Jung Yoon-ah and Yoon Se-rang were distracted enough to stop their praise-attack.
“But this really is beautiful. If you used this as a prop in a chaebol drama, the viewers would lose their minds.”
“Se-rang, would you like to borrow it sometime?”
“Wait, are you serious? You’re not teasing me?”
“You might tease me, but I would never tease you.”
She was someone who might have a deep connection to Eonnyeoni; I couldn’t tease her. I already felt bad enough for kicking the bucket in my past life and leaving Eonnyeoni all alone.
“When did I ever tease you? Anyway, if you’ll lend it to me, thanks. I’ll use it carefully so it doesn’t get a single scratch. I guess this is my reward for working so hard to compliment your face.”
“That wasn’t a compliment, it was mockery.”
“I was being perfectly sincere.”
Jung Yoon-ah made a fuss as she turned the Birkin bag this way and that.
“So this is the Goddess Elf’s holy relic box that held the Divine Insignia. I wonder what the premium on this would be? If this ever went to auction, it would easily start at tens of billions of won.”
“I’m not selling it. It’s the Divine Insignia’s storage box. I’m going to sleep hugging it every night.”
I’m the Hermès Ambassador; how could I sell this? I’m going to leave instructions in my will to have it placed in the ossuary with me when I die.
I wonder how long my lifespan is, though?
I briefly entertained the idle thought of whether the God had granted me longevity as well, before being snapped back to reality by Jang Ji-hye poking me.
“There she goes again, lost in her own world. The Writer was calling you.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“It’s fine. It just proves how well you can immerse yourself. That’s why your acting is so good.”
“But what did you ask?”
“I was wondering if you were preparing well for your evening dress for the year-end awards ceremony.”
“Ah…”
The moment my survival instincts tried to trigger a rejection, Jang Ji-hye whispered to me.
“Peter-Peter, you can do it, right?”
“I have zero confidence when it comes to evening dresses.”
“Have some confidence. It’s no different from the LoL World Championship, is it?”
“Pants and skirts are fundamentally different, though.”
“You’re just acting the part of the actress Lee Yu-jin, attending an awards ceremony in an evening dress to accept the Rookie of the Year Award. It’s not hard at all.”
“It looks damn hard. Mission Impossible.”
The rest of the visit went as usual. The three women had fun among themselves, I messed around on my phone, gave half-hearted answers whenever they spoke to me, and so on.
“Lee Yu-jin, exactly how good are you if you’re rank one in Solo Queue?”
“Every time I meet a God in the Rift, I get showered with praise. Pro scout offers are just a daily occurrence.”
“Then why didn’t you debut as a pro? You love it so much, I figured you would have.”
“Defeating a God as the opposing team is blasphemy, and if I join the same team as a God, I can’t play Mid. So, I didn’t debut.”
“Didn’t you say before that you kept your distance because you were afraid of burning up if you got too close to the sun?”
“Ah, right. That was the most important reason. Thanks for reminding me, I’d forgotten.”
Jung Yoon-ah and Yoon Se-rang stayed and hung out until late at night before leaving.
“You could have stayed the night.”
“How could we stay in a house with only minors? That wouldn’t be right.”
“Honestly, staying this late was already an imposition, but we were having so much fun we lost track of time.”
After seeing them off, I admired the Han River view through the massive veranda window in the living room before collapsing onto my mattress.
*
The next morning.
I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and jumped when I saw the mirror.
Oh, right. That’s me.
It was that periodic occurrence where I’d wake up, look in the mirror, and scare myself.
After brushing my teeth and showering, I walked out with my hair still dripping wet.
Jang Ji-hye gasped and ran over.
“Oh my god! Are you crazy? Yu-seok is here, you can’t just walk out with nothing on top!”
“It’s fine. Jang Ji-hye, dry my hair for me.”
“Lee Yu-seok! Don’t come out!”
“Understood, sister!”
My brother’s voice boomed from his room.
I lay down comfortably and left my wet hair to Jang Ji-hye’s touch.
“Yu-jin, the silver hair is really starting to show.”
“I noticed that in the mirror.”
“I’ll apply the black coating agent.”
“Okay.”
While I sat in front of the computer watching LoL videos, Jang Ji-hye meticulously applied the black hair coating.
“Ta-da! The Black-haired Elf Sword Master is complete!”
“That doesn’t even faze me anymore.”
“The transformation from Silver-haired Baby Elf Priest to Black-haired Goddess Elf Saintess is finished!”
“Aaaagh!”
I writhed at the cheesiness, while Jang Ji-hye giggled as if she were truly enjoying herself. Ugh, so annoying.
“Oh, right. The Curator contacted me earlier. She said she’s coming here now.”
“The Curator?”
“Yeah, she said she has something important to discuss.”
A short while later, Curator Han Ji-woo called and asked me to come down to the parking lot.
Thinking she was here to give me more good news, I rushed down like I was going to pick up a delivery.
“Lee Yu-jin, get into the Cullinan for now. We’ll talk on the way.”
“Pardon?”
“You trust me, right?”
“Of course!”
“Then just come with me without asking questions. It’ll be better for you that way.”
“Understood!”
We sat side-by-side in the back of the Cullinan.
I tried to sit on the left, but Han Ji-woo insisted on taking that side.
“How could I dare covet the seat of the actress Lee Yu-jin?”
“But sitting in the seat of honor makes me uncomfortable…”
“Is this my car? It’s yours, Yu-jin.”
“You’re the one who gave it to me. You’re even paying for the maintenance…”
“Regardless, once given, it’s no longer mine.”
Han Ji-woo didn’t tell me where we were going, offering a cryptic explanation instead.
“Originally, I was going to set this up at the gallery, but I decided that you would prefer visiting in person.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m sure your judgment is correct, Curator.”
“I heard from Ji-hye that you love military stuff as much as you love LoL.”
“Ah, that’s true. I hate the actual military, but I love military stories and weapons. Especially American ones.”
I wondered if we were going to the Ministry of National Defense, but we soon left Seoul.
Oh, are we going to Gyeryongdae? It’s been a while since I’ve seen some modern weaponry.
Maybe I’d get to see a multiple rocket launcher up close. If I was lucky, maybe I could even ride in a K-2 or a K-9?
“Take a nap. They say beauties are sleepyheads.”
“…Understood. Then, for a moment…”
“Do the thing. You know, the thing.”
“…I’m going to sleep. Just for a bit.”
I endured the cringe and did it for her. She looked so happy it made me feel embarrassed.
*
I woke up to a hand shaking my shoulder and saw an unfamiliar landscape.
“Huh? Curator? Is this… Osan Air Base?”
“You recognized it instantly? You really are a military geek, Yu-jin.”
“My god! It wasn’t Gyeryongdae, it was Osan Base?”
Whoa, whoa. This is insane. This is so cool.
The Cullinan passed through the entrance without even being inspected.
As expected, a VIP like Han Ji-woo didn’t even have to stop when entering a US Air Force base.
“It’s not because of me; it’s because you’re in the car.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you know? This entire air base is a Lee Yu-jin fandom base.”
“I-is that so?”
“But we’re not here because we have business with the Air Force.”
“What?”
I tilted my head in confusion, but Han Ji-woo only smiled and said nothing more.
Just how grand was this surprise gift?
“Wait, Curator, something is strange.”
“What is it?”
“That transport plane over there. It’s a Clipper, but it has Navy markings. The only time a Navy transport lands here is when it’s lost its mother…”
“Mother?”
“The aircraft carrier.”
“Something that big can land on an aircraft carrier? American technology is amazing.”
“Of course it can’t land there. It’s an Air Force joke.”
I began explaining enthusiastically how inferior the US Navy’s air power was compared to the US Air Force.
“Once the F-22 takes off, it’s over. The only ones in the world who can crush a US carrier strike group are the US Air Force.”
“Aha. But I think you should stop talking about that now.”
I wondered why Han Ji-woo said that.
But the moment I stepped into the reception room and saw a white man with three brilliant stars on his shoulder, I realized why.
“Commander Chad of the US Naval Air Forces? W-why are you here?”
After hearing Han Ji-woo’s translation, Commander Chad let out a hearty laugh and offered his hand.
He began introducing himself through Han Ji-woo’s translation.
“I am Steve Feinman, a film producer from Hollywood. Please, call me Steve.”
“I am Lee Yu-jin.”
Since I’d been studying, I could understand simple English. The problem was when difficult words came up.
I really need to dig into English vocabulary.
The reason the film producer and Commander Chad were waiting for me together was truly shocking.
“You want to cast me as a Navy pilot?”
“Yes, that’s right. We want to cast you as the lead in our movie.”
A pilot in a blockbuster movie supported by the Navy! I wanted to do it so badly! I was going crazy!
But countries with guns are scary. Ugh, I couldn’t exactly tell them the truth.
“I’m still young… I can’t sleep well if I’m away from my parents…”
I was about to decline with tears in my eyes when Commander Chad gave a short laugh and spoke.
It was simple English that even I could easily understand.
“That’s not a problem. Aircraft carriers move—we’ll come to the waters off Jeju.”
Aircraft carriers move.
How could such an obvious statement sound so incredibly cool?
I was moved…
Steve chimed in from the side.
“American carriers are great swimmers—they can do it all year long.”