Chapter 51
It was an absurd thing to say.
For an old man like Owen, fortune tellers and prophets were just people who sat in alleyways and lured passersby in to make a bit of pocket change.
But a streamer?
Finding the word so out of place, Owen's daughter Swan burst into giggles.
"Wait, do fortune tellers do stuff like streaming too?"
"Dad! People say that kind of thing means you're old these days."
"Oh my. That's bad. So?"
"They say he can see a thousand miles from where he sits... or something like that."
"Huh. Really?"
Fortune teller.
Someone who reads fortunes to glimpse the future and help people avoid disaster.
Joanna had said she met him when she went to Korea and avoided danger thanks to him.
Listening to his daughter's explanation, it honestly did sound fascinating.
So he picked up his phone.
After signing up on a Korean portal site, he headed to the man's streaming channel.
But.
"...It's in Korean, so I can't really understand it."
"I can read it. Want me to translate?"
"Ooooh!! My dear daughter. When on earth did you learn Korean?"
"Who's there these days who doesn't know Korean?"
Hallyu wasn't even a novelty anymore.
As Swan went on and on about Korea's appeal among young people, Owen raised both hands in surrender.
"Fine. Fine, I get it. Um... but..."
"The live stream's starting!"
Not a rerun he had been watching earlier, but a live broadcast starting right now.
He couldn't miss this.
He immediately fiddled with his phone, and after a moment the screen changed to show a young man.
'So he's a fortune teller? He's awfully young.'
"At first it's just small talk... Ah, here we go. He says his cat likes the new food his brother recommended. And he's thinking of buying a new cat wheel and asking which one would be good."
"Huh. He sees cats' futures too? I'd like to ask about our Jackie as well. That guy's incredibly picky too."
Owen grumbled as he looked at the cat sprawled beside the sofa, yawning lazily.
I went through so much trouble finding the right food and toys for that brat.
"Oh, he says to use a product from a company called Hera. And the next person says their daughter's favorite doll disappeared after they left it on a bench for a moment while they played, and they keep crying, asking if he can tell them where it is. Um... oh. Behind the apartment garden? Go and...? Wow! It was really there? Looks like a cat took it!"
He kept translating after that as well, and after hearing everything, Owen's expression gradually began to stiffen.
'Good heavens...'
He was getting everything exactly right.
The thought that maybe it was staged crossed his mind, but judging from the reactions, it didn't seem that way.
"Hey, Swan."
"Yeah?"
"Could I apply here too?"
"You can apply freely enough, but whether he picks you is up to him."
"Still. I want to try it. Coins? Do I just have to use a lot of these?"
"Payment might be a bit difficult..."
Since it was an overseas payment, even registering the card took time.
But Owen managed it splendidly, and with his daughter's help, he asked Kang Noah the questions he was curious about.
[Sweet Swan has donated 1000 gold!]
[Do you know who killed Torebison?]
"Dad... is it okay to drag work into this like this?"
Torebison.
He was the boss of a gang that had recently settled in this area.
He was a gang member from New Mexico, and an absolute piece of trash.
That bastard had been found dead two days ago.
And in a gruesome state, with both arms cut off.
Naturally, the police tried to find the killer, but they couldn't.
There was no evidence.
-Torebison's subordinate Spielberg killed him. Go to 1041 Avenue Southeast, move the carpet in the warehouse, and you can get into the basement. That's where he cut off both of his arms.
But an answer came back.
Spielberg.
He had followed Torebison for a long time, a subordinate who was literally his right-hand man.
Why would he suddenly kill Torebison?
-Because Torebison tried to rape Spielberg's younger sister. He failed, but Spielberg held a grudge.
"Huh."
So that's what happened?
Owen marveled at the man on the screen.
In any case, he had received useful information.
He immediately told the detectives staking out Torebison's territory to investigate the place Kang Noah had mentioned.
And shortly after that.
A message came in just as the broadcast was drawing to a close.
There really were traces left there.
Considering the owner of that house was Spielberg's second girlfriend, there was certainly enough reason to investigate Spielberg.
[Sweet Swan has donated 10000 gold!]
[Thanks. For this incident too, and for the Hwiboseu Middle School incident.]
-Hwiboseu Middle School?
-Isn't it in the U.S.?
-I looked it up, and it's in the Atlanta area...
-Huh? Hey. Wait a second. What is this?
A link appeared in the chat.
Everyone clicked it.
It was an American YouTube video.
There was a post titled, "A Terror Attack Thwarted Thanks to an Excellent Korean Tipster."
-Gasp... No way, bro.
-This is you too?
-At this point you've gone beyond the national stage and straight to world-class.
The chat room exploded into a frenzy.
Watching that, Kang Noah said as calmly as ever,
"Yeah. That was me too."
The chat exploded.
***
Hah. So it came out after all.
But it's not like I live my life trying to hide it, so I don't really mind.
The chat was scrolling rapidly, and donation messages were exploding across the screen.
"Calm down. It's not that big a deal."
-Now that you mention it, yeah.
-Isn't it just the kind of thing you do every day, bro?
-You lunatics;;; It's still an incredible thing;;
-That's our bro for you.
I kept chatting while reading the messages that popped up in the chat.
A few people brought up the middle school incident, but only briefly.
No, I don't actually know anything about it either.
I just passed along a little information through someone I know who knows our boss, Hong.
-So now people in the U.S. are going to start making requests of you too, right?
"This isn't my first request from the U.S., so it's not that strange."
There's Joanna, after all.
-Huh? Who else was there?
"It's a matter of personal privacy, so I'd rather not say. Anyway, I don't turn down overseas requests just because they're overseas, so tell them not to worry too much."
But make the request in Korean.
I don't know foreign languages.
The chat sprang back to life once more.
Now then, that's enough small talk.
"Elvis, the one who took the fifty-thousand-won bill from your wallet was, as you suspected, your older sister."
Let's get back to what I was doing.
.
.
.
After ending the stream, I went out for a cup of coffee.
When I went to the coffee shop I always visited, the manager greeted me with a smile.
"A latte, right?"
"Yep."
I took the latte he had carefully made for me and sat down in a corner.
It was while I was idly sipping the coffee and killing time.
The cafe door opened.
"Ah? Sir?"
It was Lee Bin and his son Lee Seongjin.
"Hello."
"Haha. I'm always doing fine. Go ahead and greet him. He's a remarkable man."
"Um... hello. I'm Lee Seongjin."
"Haha. Yes. Nice to meet you. Did you come for coffee?"
"Yes. My father said the coffee here is really delicious. He said he'd treat me to coffee as a reward for doing a good job on the film."
"Aha. And the coffee really is good here."
I could see the manager, who was secretly eavesdropping while pretending not to listen, looking very pleased.
"I don't really know much about coffee flavor."
"Then order something sweet. Something sweet. The frappuccino here is good too."
"Aha. Then I'll have..."
And so the father and son ordered an espresso and a matcha Frappuccino, then naturally began talking about recent events.
This time, Seongjin had finished filming successfully.
"I gave it my all."
"I see."
"Um... Teacher Kang. Will our movie... do well?"
"Hmm. Let's see."
When I held out the card, Seongjin carefully flipped it over.
"It'll probably get around six million, give or take."
"Six million...!!"
It had definitely surpassed its break-even point.
From the perspective of the investment company, Saseong, it wouldn't be a bad result either.
"That's a relief..."
"And your acting, Mr. Lee Seongjin, will draw attention there."
"That's such a relief...!! So, um... about that, sir."
"You're asking me to pick the next movie you'll appear in?"
"Yes....!!"
His eyes shone.
Meeting Seongjin's hopeful gaze, I let out a sigh.
I honestly didn't know what to say about this.
"There should be offers from two places right now."
"...Yes!! Director Kim Chogang and Director Hae Gumin..."
"Don't do either one."
"Pardon?"
Kim Chogang and Hae Gumin.
They were both directors with names and skill of their own.
Even so, it would be better not to appear in their next films.
"Why is that..."
"There'll be problems with the investors in Director Kim Chogang's film, and Director Hae Gumin will come down with pneumonia."
Then a new director will come in, but his skill will be lacking, and in the end the film itself will be shelved.
It would just be a waste of time.
"Of course, if you take it, you won't be short on pay... but I don't think that's the important part."
"I see... then what should I do?"
"You'll probably get a call sometime tomorrow."
"What...?!"
"A drama. It's a supporting role, but it will suit you well."
At the word "drama," Seongjin tilted his head.
But that didn't last long either.
"Understood."
The future flashed before my eyes.
Through this drama, he would begin to make a real name for himself in the world.
"It'll go well, right?"
"It will."
I sipped my latte.
Confidence filled Seongjin's expression.
When a phone call came and he got up and left, Lee Bin bowed politely to me.
"Thank you, sir."
"I just told you what I saw. And as for the drama... even Actor Lee Seongjin will probably take it right away after seeing it. It's that appealing."
"Haha... still, it feels more reassuring, doesn't it?"
"Well, if you say so."
If he's trying to express his thanks, what am I supposed to say?
I should just take it as it is.
That was when we were drinking coffee together.
My phone rang.
"Hello?"
-Hello!! Sir!
It was Ppeuhong.
The million-subscriber YouTuber I'd met before.
He'd been doing even better lately and was now a 1.3-million-subscriber YouTuber.
"Oh my. Hello."
-I've been enjoying your broadcasts! Wow~ You even handled the U.S. incident... At this rate, I feel like you're becoming a world-class streamer.
"Haha. You're too kind. But what is it? A collab stream?"
-Oh!? You'll appear again? Or should I appear on your stream?
It sounded like a polite remark, but he seemed ready to schedule something on the spot.
-No, it's not that. We're planning to invite Aces onto the broadcast this time.
"Oh... I see."
Aces, the flop idol group I'd met at the resort last time.
They were talking about filming that broadcast.
-If it's okay with you, would you like to come too, sir?
"Me? Why would I...?"
-Ah, not the filming. Afterward we're going to a hotel buffet for the company dinner. I really wanted to treat you there at least once.
A hotel buffet, huh.
I wasn't particularly tempted...
-We're planning to go to the Saseong Hotel buffet!
The Saseong Hotel buffet.
The one Han Yuna runs.
Hmm. Then maybe I should go, since I could see Han Yuna's face while I'm at it?