[ I nearly got goosebumps;; People usually think acting without lines is easier, but that’s totally wrong; static acting is actually harder. Because you have to convey emotion and thought with only extremely restrained movement;; ]
ㄴThat Grim Reaper—he’s that rookie who showed up on Kwon Seong-hyun’s SNS back then, right?
ㄴSeems like it ㅇㅇ The acting was insane. Is he really a rookie? Not someone who’s been acting elsewhere?
ㄴMusical-theater background maybe? Judging from how stable his projection and all that is, he could be from musicals.
ㄴ~ our Yeonwoo is not from musical theater~
ㄴAnd who are you to call him “our Yeonwoo,” huh––??
[ Look at Seonghyun-nim killing it in that suit ㅠㅠ I’m so glad I lived to see Kwon Seonghyun playing a third-generation chaebol ㅠㅠ If a chaebol family like that existed, I’d seriously work like a dog and pour everything at their feet ]
ㄴYeah no, that doesn’t exist. Move along
ㄴKorea’s chaebols… a chaebol like Seonghyun-nim… as if that could exist…?
ㄴWhy so wistful?
[ Doesn’t this look like it’s headed for a love triangle? The ML and FL chemistry is totally crazy, and if you think about the Grim Reaper going to find the FL, no matter how you slice it, it’s triangle-coded. ]
ㄴI’m buying stock in Seonghyun-nim
ㄴI’m gonna stan the Grim Reaper
ㄴYou at least need to watch the next episode before you can even choose who to stan ㅠㅠㅠ How am I supposed to wait for next week? Why isn’t a week made of WedWedWedThuThuThu ㅠㅠ?
Even though the drama had only just begun, the posts popping up everywhere were already out of the ordinary. And as the episodes went on, more and more people fell hard for it and started pining.
“Yeonwoo-ssi. Did you see this? They’re calling it the DiMaGo syndrome1.”
Writer Min, in the middle of scripting the latter half, looked haggard but happy.
“If you ask me whether I’ve seen the article saying shops and streets go quiet on Wednesday and Thursday evenings because of our show… Yes. I’ve already seen it.”
“Gasp. Who did that terrible thing?!”
“Pardon?”
“It’s only fun if I get to tell you!”
The person who’d told him, saying the exact same thing as Writer Min, was none other than Director Heo.
—Heo-ho-ho! Yeonwoo-ssi, look at this. They’re calling it a syndrome, a syndrome. I’d only heard legends that such dramas existed. I never thought the legend would be about us!
The joy of having contributed to a work that thrilled and captivated so many, that feeling ran through the entire drama team.
“It had to be Director Heo. That guy’s secretly loose-lipped. Then, Yeonwoo-ssi, do you know this?”
“Know what?”
“There are people pushing you as the male lead.”
“As the male lead… the Grim Reaper?”
Right behind the “Next episode when??” crowd came the second largest stake: “coupling.”
—Anyway the male lead is Kim Taehoon
ㄴWhat a fresh new load of BS; obviously it’s the Grim Reaper;
ㄴYeah, that nameless Grim Reaper?
ㄴHe will get a name, okay???
—The male lead should be the Grim Reaper
ㄴHear, hear!
ㄴUh, no~ he’ll still be a supporting role~
Viewers supporting Kim Taehoon argued the original story line was built that way, and that Kim Taehoon, played by the Kwon Seonghyun, how could he not be the male lead?
The Grim Reaper faction claimed: “A forbidden love that would break taboos because of and for the heroine is more compelling!” Seeing how the writer was shoveling him pages, they pushed a “lead swap” theory.
“There are people pushing another angle too.”
Smaller than the two main fandoms, but steady and the most ferocious of all.
—Doesn’t matter either way, right? As long as it tastes good
ㄴRight. I like the idea of Kwon Seonghyun and the Reaper fighting over the heroine like swans under the surface—calm on top, paddling like mad underneath ㅎㅎㅎ
ㄴGood + good = very good ♥
“That’s what you call chemistry. Didn’t I pull those characters out to perfection? With Seonghyun-ssi and Yeonwoo-ssi acting in lockstep, I’ve been writing like I’m possessed lately. I feel like I’m dead on my feet, but I’ve got energy to spare. It’s just so, so fun.”
Yeonwoo glanced at Writer Min’s neck.
It’s hanging well.
The protective talisman he had made of byeokjo wood at her son’s request was hanging there, doing its job.
“I’ll write an even more killer script, so just wait. Okay?”
Even with her wan face, Writer Min staggered off on her way. In any case, as she said, the drama was proceeding smoothly.
No… so he thought.
—Ding!
[Congratulations! You have secured a large quantity of lifespan.]
[Would you like to harvest this lifespan?]
[Yes/No]
That was before the out-of-nowhere notification appeared.
“…?”
A sudden notification.
What the…? Yeonwoo stared quietly at the window hovering before his eyes.
Why is lifespan popping up here all of a sudden?
It was unfamiliar to the point of strangeness. He had never once seen this kind of alert. It was odd that a “congratulations” was attached to a lifespan-secured notice, and it was the first time he’d seen the modifier “large quantity.” It was even kindly asking whether to harvest it.
What a shitty system… The very pinnacle of unhelpful.
Is this good? Or bad? Would it kill you to tell me?
Thinking it would only hand him good things brought to mind that very first penalty. Who knew if he’d tap “Yes” without thinking and get screwed?
And then…
—Ding!
It didn’t end there.
There’s more?!
Before he could finish the thought, another window popped up.
[Available functions have been updated.]
[You can now execute batch automatic harvesting of lifespan.]
[Would you like to execute the batch automatic harvesting function?]
[Yes/No]
“…?”
And what is this supposed to be? Batch automatic harvesting of lifespan?
Just from the name alone, why does it feel… off?
A prickling ran down his spine. His instincts tingled.
“Large quantity of lifespan,” and now “automatic harvesting”?
Not even single-shot, but with the modifier “batch.”
Looking at it more closely, “large quantity” could easily be a poisoned apple. Think of that bit-part actor whose name he could barely remember now. The guy had definitely thrown up lifespan, used the system to fulfill the request, and harvested.
And the result was a bust. So even if I ignore the first alert, the second one…
Automatic harvesting. Doesn’t that just scream that he wouldn’t have to step in personally?!
“Hoo…”
Yeonwoo did not rashly press the flashing “Yes” button. He only…thought.
“It’s all or nothing.”
The meaning of the word automatic was obvious. Think it through just a little.
“Either I get free lifespan with no price, or they’ll use ‘automatic’ as a pretext to demand something else…”
Luckily, there was no one around. Dongjaryeong, too, had drifted off somewhere after stopping by Kwon Seonghyun and going all woozy.
Otherwise, he’d absolutely have been caught standing there like a crazy person, staring into the air and freaking out alone. There was only so far he could go pretending he was on a call.
As it was, people on set were already starting to sense something “special” about Yeonwoo. If they caught him like this…
It’d be pouring oil on a fire.
The only saving grace was that, since this industry attracted all manner of peculiar humans, there was no open ostracism. Still…
—Yeonwoo-ssi, my jeonse lease is up next month, do you have time? If it’s okay, could we go by a realtor together…
—Things aren’t going well lately. I went to a fortune-teller and they said I’ve got some kind of sal2 on me. But it felt like a scam, so I can’t3 really believe it… What do you think when you look at me, Yeonwoo-ssi? Do I have some problem?
—Ah, Yeonwoo-ssi. So, um. Do you happen to know how to name a baby? My nephew was just born…
It bugged him that things were developing in a slightly weird direction. It was, in a way, kind of touching that they weren’t on guard…
But maybe it’d be better if they were on guard…
At the sudden memory, Yeonwoo scrubbed a tired face with his hand. People asking the kind of questions you’d hear at a shamans’ den… Of course, given his specialty, it wasn’t an entirely wrong choice.
That’s exactly what I ran away from because I hated it. Am I supposed to come here and do it again?
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
“Do I hit it, or not?”
The button before his eyes sparkled, as if taunting him: Think you can press me?
Yeonwoo’s finger moved slowly.
Yeah. I’ve got the lifespan vending machine that is Kwon Seonghyun anyway, and there’s no shortage of stray thought-clusters around here.
If he weren’t here, he probably couldn’t have decided so blithely. But this was the entertainment world, a realm harsher than a survival-of-the-fittest jungle. Even where there were no stray thoughts, they sprang up. Sit still and all manner of minor spirits gathered, drawn by every kind of desire.
In short, there was an abundance of blind lifespan in the vicinity. All Yeonwoo had to do was harvest it like gleaning fallen ears of grain.
It’ll be a pain to gather up what flies off again, but I’ve got countermeasures, so it should be fine.
His thoughts settled. His finger, which had paused in midair, moved again.
And when he pressed the glittering “Yes” button—
“…!”
Yeonwoo saw it.
Yes. This was what you called a jackpot.
Kang Yeonwoo. Age 23.
A man whose “hunch” had never once been wrong.
Insane.
Yeonwoo’s first reaction to the jackpot was surprisingly ordinary. You know those moments, when people face something too far outside expectation and can’t quite grasp reality.
That was him.
“Wow… Even I think this is kind of a scam.”
At long last he managed to speak.
His gaze climbed and dropped through the air in a busy dance.
No wonder: with a blare of chimes, status windows were filling the air.
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Lifespan harvested: 2 days]
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Lifespan harvested: 11 days]
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Lifespan harvested: 8 days]
[Successfully …]
[Harvested …]
The numbers were dizzying, climbing with ddring after ddring: from single digits at the low end, to over two digits—and one, just one, that hit three digits.
And then, just when the endless cascade of alerts finally showed its end—
—Ding!
Yeonwoo was struck speechless once more.
[Batch automatic harvesting of lifespan is complete.]
[Lifespan harvested automatically: 265 days]
265 days. A number exactly one hundred short of a year.
He had just received a haul of lifespan approaching a full year.
“What on earth is this…?”
The result was so staggering it made him suspicious. His instincts were shouting that it was a jackpot, but Yeonwoo knew: there was no such thing as a freebie in this world.
“They’re not going to give it and take it back… are they? No, that’s possible too. Maybe they’re setting the stage to make me crash even harder, like last time.”
A jackpot was nice, but this jackpot was so mega it was hard to trust it.
“For now… I’ll wait and see.”
Would this jackpot stay a jackpot till the end? Or was it a bust wearing a jackpot’s mask?
Time would tell. Yeonwoo decided to wait.
And over the next few days:
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Lifespan harvested: 4 days]
[You have successfully …]
There was nothing like that first lifespan bomb again. But still, sporadically, in dribs and drabs, it kept coming in.
At last, Yeonwoo could reach a conclusion.
This was a jackpot.
A very big one.
- “DiMaGo syndrome” is the in-story nickname for the craze that erupts around the drama Dear My Ghost ↩︎
- “Sal” (살) is a term in Korean fortune-telling/shamanism meaning a harmful or inauspicious influence (akin to “bad luck” or “ill star/sha energy”). Practitioners say certain sal can bring mishaps, illness, or obstacles and may prescribe rituals, talismans, timing/avoidance to counter it. ↩︎
- Jeonse (전세) is a Korean housing lease where the tenant pays a large lump-sum deposit (often 50–80% of the home’s value) instead of monthly rent. The landlord uses/earns interest on the deposit during the lease, then returns the full amount at the end if all goes well. ↩︎
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