“Ah, she looked this way. Yerin!”
Writer Min waved, but Min Yerin turned her head as though she had not heard and walked off in another direction.
“She said Min Yerin brought it?”
“Yeah. Yerin has a lot of pride and can be fussy, but apparently she decided she likes you.”
“Pardon?”
“Look at the drinks. All of us got plain coffee, but only yours is exactly what you like. She must have bought it on purpose.”
“How could she know that?”
“She said she asked Seonghyun’s manager.”
So the culprit was Seonghyun’s manager?
“In any case, Yerin only looks cold on the outside, so do not misunderstand her, all right? Keep that in mind.”
It was quite unexpected.
“Yeonwoo, who gave you that?”
Seonghyun appeared where the writer had been. Seeing what Yeonwoo was drinking, he halted, a guarded look in his eyes.
Coincidentally, he too was holding a mint-choco drink with the same brand logo. Who knew where either of them had found such coffee out in this rural mountain?
“Miss Min Yerin gave it to me.”
“She did…? How did she know your taste?”
“She said your manager told her.”
“My manager, I see…”
There was a small pause, and somehow…
He is smiling, but he looks irritated.
Actors truly have expressive faces.
Yeonwoo had no idea why Seonghyun’s mood had turned sour so abruptly.
“I will have a word with my manager. Please drink this too.”
“Sorry?”
How am I supposed to drink two?
Left holding both cups, Yeonwoo hesitated, then shrugged.
Well, the more the merrier.
After a string of mishaps, the shoot finally resumed.
The scene of Min Yerin diving into the pond was moved from deep night to dawn.
“Even if she says she is fine, watching it is different… Yerin is surprisingly stubborn.”
They could not push someone who had nearly drowned back into the water before dawn, so they compromised just before sunrise.
Before filming, Min Yerin suddenly asked Yeonwoo, “Which drink did you have?”
“Sorry?”
“I saw Mr. Seonghyun give you one.”
“…?”
“Which one did you drink?”
She looked ready to keep asking until he answered.
“I drank both.”
“Really? Did they taste good?”
“Yes. Thank you for them. How did you know my preference?”
He thanked her sincerely; in that mountain, he had enjoyed two of his favorite franchise drinks.
Yerin turned her head with a prim nod.
“The receiver has to enjoy it. If you liked it, that is enough.”
With what looked like satisfaction she stepped lightly toward the pond.
What was that?
Had she come all the way just to ask that?
Before he could puzzle it out another unexpected visitor arrived.
[Um… excuse me… could we talk?]
A face poked out, one he recognized at once: the little child spirit who always hid behind Writer Min’s skirt.
The child had called the writer “Mom” and tried to beat away the dark thoughts clinging to her.
“You have something to tell me?”
Since Yeonwoo had twice removed the writer’s burdens, the child had looked at him with sparkling admiration, though still shy.
For that child to ask for a talk was surprising.
[Yes… is that all right?]
“What is it?”
Everyone’s attention was on the shoot.
“Scene thirty-seven, ready!”
Since all eyes were on Yerin’s take, Yeonwoo could speak freely.
[Um… well…]
The child twisted chubby fingers.
He reminds me of Dongjaryeong.
“Is it hard to say?”
Encouraged by his gentle tone, the child spoke up.
[Could you… protect my mom?]
“Mom? You mean Writer Min Suji?”
[Yes…]
“Is something wrong with her?”
At that the child’s eyes welled with tears.
[Bad things keep tormenting her. They show up in her dreams… She cries because it hurts.]
Sniffle. The child finally burst into tears.
Yeonwoo, helpless against crying kids, panicked.
[Yeonwoo! What are you doing?!]
“Here, play with this a while.”
Kids like cute things, and hamsters are cute.
Ignoring the spirit’s protests, he plucked Dongjaryeong from his pocket and held him out.
[Hamster…]
[I am not a hamster! I am the great Dongjaryeong!]
[Ham-ster!]
[No!]
[Ham-ster!]
The child’s face brightened, while the hamster’s scrunched up, though with that face, he only looked cuter.
Good, crisis averted.
Of the things that Yeonwoo is weak to, the worst is anything involving children and their parents, like his own past with his mother.
“So you want me to remove the dark thoughts?”
[Those black sticky things are called dark thoughts? Even if I get rid of them they come back… lately I can’t do it any more.]
Tears threatened again.
“Hold this while we talk.”
He condensed some energy so the child could feel the hamster’s softness.
[So squishy!]
[Release me! A dead spirit has rights too!]
Dongjaryeong’s wail went unheard.
Usefulness at last, ghost. You cannot die twice.
If the child once cleared those thoughts, he must have had strong spiritual power, which meant…
That might be why he died so young.
Yeonwoo knew the type well; without his own mother, he would not have survived either.
“Dark thoughts do not vanish forever. They keep growing back.”
[Then mom will always hurt?]
[You are strong and cool, can’t you save her?]
“It needs her will too.”
[I’ll tell her!]
“But she has to believe.”
[She will! She already knows, because of me.]
Makes sense. A parent notices when their child has unusual powers.
“Fine, I’ll help. But you must explain it to her.”
[Yes! Thank you, big brother!]
A new chime sounded.
An offer has been made.
Additional skill available: Intent Insight [B+]
Do you accept? Yes / No
“…?”
Completely unanticipated.
Stunned.
So I can be offered skills as well?
This system is unfathomable. No manual, and sometimes it triggers by itself.
No point overthinking, it hurts my head.
He abandoned the puzzle.
[You really will help?]
“A promise is a promise.”
[Soft-hearted as ever… That is why you got hurt saving that kid, remember.]
The hamster sighed.
[So how will you protect her? You cannot stay glued to the writer.]
“Of course not.”
[Then?]
“Talismans. With them, I do not need to be there.”
[That takes a lot of power.]
“I was paid.”
The child’s payment was astonishing.
Intent Insight [B+]
You can grasp the writer’s true intent with exceptional clarity, especially for written text, sensing purpose, tone and emotion. The effect is weaker for non-text media.
A broken skill.
No wonder the child offered it so proudly, praised as a genius by his mother.
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