[What kind of terrible sin must I have committed… Her brother left so young, too… How could our Yeojin end up like this as well…?]
A woman, wiping away tears that kept spilling over, gently stroked the one lying in the bed. Following that hand with his eyes, Kim Taehun was struck by a great shock. The woman lying there looked exactly like So Yeojin’s soul.
Shaken, Kim Taehun hurried off to find the Grim Reaper. Episode 16 ends with the Grim Reaper turning to look back as Kim Taehun bursts into the office, flinging the door open.
“People are so quick on the uptake. These days viewers are like Gungye, I’m telling you—reading minds and all that.” Like Maitreya1, really… Maitreya. Saying so, Writer Min looked utterly exhausted.
Just as the uproar across various communities and social media made it seem, Yeonwoo’s character, the Grim Reaper, was headed toward death. Strictly speaking, he chooses to sacrifice himself for the female lead, So Yeojin. Not yet, but that’s how things unfold in Episodes 17 and 18, which will air next week.
“If Yeonwoo would just say the word to let him live, we could save him, clean and simple… Can’t we make it work somehow?”
“No. We cannot.”
“Why…!”
“You know what happens if we force a change in direction: we end up with neither porridge nor rice.”
“Well, that’s true…”
Writer Min wasn’t someone who didn’t know that. He knew perfectly well which route would give the story greater completeness and make the dramatic staging perfect. But public opinion was what it was, and Writer Min himself had grown attached to Yeonwoo’s portrayal of the Grim Reaper.
“Still, wouldn’t it be way too much of a waste to end it like this? We could straight-up pivot and make Yeonwoo the male lead!”
“That won’t be necessary. I don’t want to ruin this drama’s artistic integrity.”
“Ah… so cold…”
In front of Yeonwoo, he was always a big puppy, but acting alongside him made it clear: why this man was called a top actor, why people insisted Kwon Seonghyun was a one-and-only, irreplaceable actor.
“It already seemed suspicious when his list of specialties went past five…”
When he acted, Kwon Seonghyun wasn’t Kwon Seonghyun; he was Kim Taehun himself. Yeonwoo used frame composition, flawless diction, and grasp of intent, but the best course was to keep those from landing on Kwon Seonghyun at all. The man called Actor Kwon Seonghyun was different—one misstep and you’d be swept away.
“Well, thanks to that, I learned a lot.”
Yeonwoo had his special abilities, sure, but he also learned quite a bit from Kwon Seonghyun’s acting. It was no different than having a top actor right beside you giving one-on-one private lessons.
“But Yeonwoo… you’re thinking it through that far? I’m kind of moved.”
Yeonwoo only smiled brightly, without a word.
“That way, it’ll be remembered as a masterpiece for a long time to come.”
If the ending fails, the whole drama fails. No matter how solidly you steer things up to right before the ending, if it fails at the end, it’s just a dragon’s head with a snake’s tail—no, a dragon’s head that dies outright.
“This has to be a huge hit for my career to start out on firm footing.”
It was, admittedly, a reason laced with self-interest.
‘At this rate I’m really going to live a long life…’
“Well, we aren’t killing him off completely, are we? It’ll be fine.”
The Grim Reaper dies. But before the script was finished, when Writer Min had casually reached out, the ending he’d mentioned was…
“Okay. Then I’ll trust you and proceed as-is… You’re really sure, right?”
“Yes.”
“Aigoo. Other people throw tantrums to rewrite scripts, to bring back the dead so their parts are longer, pull in scenes that weren’t there so they can be on screen more. How come you don’t have even a speck of that? Aigoo. Aigoo.”
Writer Min muttered, sounding reluctant to let go.
“Oh? Heading out, Writer Min?”
“Since our Yeonwoo gave me a firm answer, I’ll wrap this up cleanly and hand in the script, so wait for it.”
Swaying a little, Writer Min headed back, clutching her notebook.
And a few days later—
“Thank you for your hard work, everyone!”
“Great work!”
“That’s a wrap! You all did great!”
“Finally, the wrap party!”
The very last shoot on set had finished.
“Yeonwoo, you’re here?”
“You came with Seonghyun.”
After all filming had ended. The wrap party was being held at a barbecue place in Yeouido. As Yeonwoo and Kwon Seonghyun stepped inside, the staff’s gazes poured over them.
“There were a ton of reporters out front. Did you get in okay?”
“I thought I’d come to a film festival instead of a barbecue joint…”
“With the red carpet rolled out and the press swarming, yeah, it could give a film festival a run for its money.”
Just as the welcoming staff said, the area in front of the restaurant was chaos itself.
“Well… it was fine,” Yeonwoo answered with a shrug.
“Really? Doesn’t sound like them…”
The assistant writer muttered that these days the public had beaten them up so much it had eased a bit, but reporters were hyenas by nature.
“It’s true. They even kept their distance and just took photos. We came in very comfortably, thanks to that.”
Kwon Seonghyun replied.
—Yeonwoo. You see them outside, right? The moment we get out, nine times out of ten the reporters will come at us. There are a lot of eyes on us, so they won’t go too far, but there will be ones who toe the line. Stay right next to me, okay? Got it?
—Sure, well…
Before they got out of the van, Kwon Seonghyun had cautioned him like that.
But once they stepped out, Kwon Seonghyun witnessed a miracle of Moses.
“Come to think of it, Yeonwoo, how did you do it? The reporters couldn’t get close at all.”
“Well… I just looked at them, that’s all.”
Not entirely a lie. He did look.
‘I did put the slightest touch of spiritual power into it.’
Naturally, ordinary people couldn’t withstand even that much. Someone like Kwon Seonghyun seemed to brush it off without a care, but the reporters were a different story.
“In any case, glad you made it. Now we just need Min Yerin and we’ll have everyone!”
No sooner were the words out than Min Yerin opened the door, looking worn out.
“Sorry I’m late. There were so many people outside…”
“Hm? Yerin, did the reporters get you?”
“Yeah. There were too many.”
“Huh? Yeonwoo and Seonghyun said they came in just fine… What gives?”
“…?”
No one knew the reason.
[No one but you would use spiritual power for something like this…]
Except for the child spirit who wasted his spiritual power turning into animals.
Inside the barbecue place was a happy atmosphere. Filming was completely finished, and the ratings were steadily climbing. People were in high spirits, debating whether the final episode would hit an all-time high.
“I think it’s going to flop…”
One person was digging a hole. Writer Min.
“Why, Writer? It’s fun, I’m telling you. And we didn’t kill him completely, so it’ll be fine!”
“Right, Min, don’t worry about that kind of thing. I think this drama will definitely be your representative work.”
The director, consoling Writer Min, spotted two people—Yeonwoo among them.
“Oh! Our drama’s leads have arrived! Welcome! Come, sit over here!”
The staff sprang up to guide Yeonwoo and the other two. As he was about to sit,
“Sit next to me.”
“Please sit by me.”
Two voices spoke at the same time.
“…?”
Kwon Seonghyun and Min Yerin were smiling. And yet, strangely, a chill seemed to creep in.
‘Was it that low-grade stray spirit clinging by the entrance when we came in?’
But that didn’t make sense; it was too far away, and it was just a nearly powerless stray.
“Oh, the three of you sat all in a row, nice and cozy! Perfect view of our leads!”
By sheer happenstance, Yeonwoo achieved to his right, Kwon Seonghyun and to his left, Min Yerin.
Once the last three had taken their seats, Director Heo let out a hearty laugh and sprang to his feet.
“All right, everyone, you worked hard filming and acting! Forget all your worries, and for today, let’s eat well and drink to our hearts’ content!”
“To the success of our drama!”
“Cheers!”
Thus began the boisterous wrap party.
News of the drama team’s wrap party spread fast. The situation was being called a “syndrome,” so an enormous amount of attention was inevitable. In particular, the photos of Yeonwoo and Kwon Seonghyun side by side drew massive attention, heating up every entertainment program as well as the internet.
—Did you see the photos? This is the first time I’ve seen wrap party pics hit Ne*ver’s real-time search rankings! That’s Seonghyun-nim’s class!
—My god. Is this press photography or a pictorial?
ㄴThose reporters are notorious for brutal candids, but Seonghyun-nim doesn’t have a single bad angle lol
ㄴAs is, you could just run these in a fashion magazine and it’d be a finished spread.
—Seonghyun-nim came with our Yeonwoo, huh? Come to think of it, he quietly takes good care of our Yeonwoo.
ㄴQuietly?
ㄴㄴBlatantly, yes.
ㄴHaven’t you heard? Seonghyun-nim is Yeonwoo’s No. 1 fan… He’s a successful fanboy, stanning right at his side.
ㄴI’m losing it lol Kwon Seonghyun doing fanboying lolol
ㄴDo you not see that proud expression? If you ask me, he probably even coordinated Yeonwoo’s outfit this time lol I recognize those clothes—Seonghyun once said that was one of his cherished pieces. It’s designer-made; he bragged about the beautiful handfeel and color.
ㄴAnd now our Yeonwoo is wearing it…? Seonghyun-nim… At this point, we’ve got to admit it. He’s really a successful fanboy fangirling over Yeonwoo lol
—He fell for Yeonwoo and now Seonghyun-nim is in the fandom. How is this real life?
ㄴYou all should probably stop saying “our,” you know;;; If Seonghyun-nim sees this, you’ll be in trouble;
Even though it wasn’t a photoshoot, there wasn’t a single unflattering picture. Photos that were said to cleanse the eyes just by looking. People even called them pictures for mental healing. All sorts of ornate descriptions were piled on.
—Did you see this?
Amidst it all, someone dropped a link to an article.
—lol why is the area around them so empty?
ㄴAccording to the article, the reporters couldn’t bring themselves to approach…
ㄴDo you see Yeonwoo’s gaze? In the photos it just looks chic, but if you read the article… I’m speechless. (article link)
—Oh my god lol Are they actually writing that the reporters got spooked?
ㄴYeah yeah—they said it felt like the Grim Reaper descended on the spot.
ㄴThose reporters have seen every crazy thing under the sun, and they got scared? How intense was it?
ㄴGood thing our Yeonwoo didn’t show up in black. If he had, they’d have been measuring caskets as a group.
ㄴNo, seriously, you all need to stop saying “our” lol
[[Photo] “The Grim Reaper has descended!” From the ‘Dear My Ghost’ wrap party scene at Dimago]
—Actors Kwon Seonghyun and Kang Yeonwoo attended the MBS drama ‘Dear My Ghost’ wrap party held at a restaurant in Yeouido on the afternoon of X-day. (photo) (photo) (photo)
Actors Kwon Seonghyun and Kang Yeonwoo are known to be very close, and they made a joint appearance at the wrap party as well. Kang Yeonwoo, who played the Grim Reaper in the drama, even at the wrap party displayed his signature intense charisma, which led to a minor incident that momentarily left reporters at a loss.
—As a Level-1 translator of Reporter-speak: “left them at a loss” = “scared them stiff,” more or less.
ㄴIf you look at the direct-shot photos uploaded that day, the reporters’ bodies are all hunkered in. Poor things…
ㄴEarning a living off other people’s business isn’t easy lol
—But usually if something like this happens, there’d be a retaliatory hit piece or two. Seeing how there’s nothing like that, it really must be that our Yeonwoo did nothing at all and the reporters just scared themselves.
ㄴRight. Normally you’d at least get “arrogant,” “cocky,” “acting superior,” but it’s squeaky clean.
ㄴI told you I saw it. The reporters were properly spooked lol
—Ah, but seeing articles like this, it really feels like the drama’s going to end. Honestly, I was hoping for an extension…
ㄴMe too, but they’re cutting it cleanly at 20 episodes, no mercy ㅠㅠ
After the wrap party that had set every outlet abuzz, the day finally came for the drama’s final episode to air.
- Maitreya (Korean: 미륵, Mireuk) is the future Buddha in Buddhist tradition—the one prophesied to appear in the distant future to renew the Dharma and bring an era of compassion and peace. In Korean everyday speech, “미륵이 따로 없어” is an idiom meaning “you’re practically a saint” / “what a saint,” praising someone’s patience, generosity, or forbearance. ↩︎
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