Chapter 8
I was in the middle of running dungeons.
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Hey]
Encia, Seo Yurim whispered to me.
What is it?
Were they asking me to go to the dungeon?
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : Why]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Did you go to the event?]
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : Yeah]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Did you see Encia?]
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : I did]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : What was she like?]
What did she mean by asking that?
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : She wasn't as pretty as I expected, though?]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : What?! You tasteless bastard!]
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : What are you talking about]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Anyway... nothing happened, right?]
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : Nothing happened? Like what?]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Uh... um. Nothing.]
I was dying of curiosity.
How on earth did I figure out that stalker case so exactly?
[BeoseotkeoneunBeoseotBeoseot : If you're free, wanna hunt?]
[Meleujujjupalgosipda : Let's go]
I was in the middle of hunting with Seo Yurim.
My phone rang.
Checking it, I saw it was Han Yuna.
"Yes. Team Lead Han."
-What are you doing?
"Playing a game."
-Oh? Are you busy?
"No. I'm done. But what is it about...?"
-Would you happen to have any interest in visiting the broadcasting station?
It was about introducing me like we had promised last time.
The broadcasting station.
Was there some problem at the broadcasting station?
"You're going to debut me on TV?"
-Nothing like that... A person I know is a PD. They're producing a new drama this time.
But he's worried about the actors right now.
He'd contacted me to ask which of the two actors he was considering should be the lead, and whether any problems might come up.
"Ah."
If that's the case, then it's a certainty.
After all, these are lead actors he'd entrusted his work to, and their past screwups—or future scandals—could become problems.
Considering the cost of producing a single drama, the PD must have a lot on his mind.
"Understood. When should I go?"
-Let's go tomorrow if possible.
"Understood."
The broadcasting station, huh.
I wondered what sort of trouble would be waiting there.
.
.
.
The next day, I arrived in front of the TVB broadcasting station.
It was a famous place, and there were quite a lot of people milling around, including those who desperately wanted to see a celebrity and foreign tourists.
While I was resting at a nearby cafe after ordering something sweet, someone approached me.
It was Han Yuna in a wrinkle-free semi-formal suit.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"I've always been the same. More importantly, Team Lead Han... what happened?"
Judging from how calmly he came out, it seemed like things had been resolved.
"That guy was fired. He'd been lurking near the room you mentioned, and he really used a master key to pick the lock and steal a guest's wallet and tablet."
In the future I had originally seen, he ran into the returning guest, and when the guest confirmed it was his tablet and asked to see it, he threw a fit.
Then they got into a fight, and he ended up killing the guest in the heat of the moment.
But the future changed thanks to me.
"I see. That's a relief."
"Yes. Truly, thanks to you."
Before he could meet the guest, Han Yuna and the hotel security caught him.
And after apologizing right away, she reported him for theft.
Of course, he was fired from the hotel, and even the section chief who had recommended him was reportedly demoted.
"So, who am I meeting today?"
"Do you happen to know a PD named Jang Woogyung?"
"I don't really watch TV..."
"Ah... well, he's sort of a star PD."
Back in the day, he made hit dramas several times over.
But lately, as if he’d been cursed, every drama he made flopped.
If he were merely bad at production, I wouldn't even have brought it up.
"Strangely, the lead and supporting actors all seem to have problems."
The first failure was when the lead actor was caught using drugs during the third episode.
The second failure was when a supporting actor was caught in a sex-trade scandal involving a minor.
The third failure was when the lead actress was exposed for abusing her power.
Talk about rotten luck.
Failing three times had made him realize there was a problem with his actor selection.
"So you're asking me to tell your fortune?"
"Yes."
"I see. Understood."
"Will you do it?"
"The fact that you came all the way here means I've already decided to do it. Still, I do screen people..."
I'd heard there were broadcasting station PDs who weren't even human.
So I wanted to check for myself.
"Ah, there he is."
From afar, a man with a gentle face and hair dusted white with age was walking toward us.
Like our director, he looked to be about fifty and seemed a little dejected.
"Hello. PD Jang."
"Oh. Yes. It's been a while, Han Yuna. And this is..."
"This is the person I told you about on the phone before."
"Ah... the fortune teller who's so good?"
There was both anxiety and suspicion in his eyes.
Honestly, I'd be suspicious too.
Even as a chaebol heir, there was no way he'd be eager to listen to a fortune teller in this day and age.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noa."
"Ah, yes. You're very young. Did you train on some mountain?"
"Haha. I'm not that kind of person."
"Then did you suddenly receive a divine calling or something?"
"No. Nothing like that either."
"...Well, maybe you don't know this, but back when I was an assistant PD on Unanswered Questions, I saw way too many scams involving shamans and fortune-tellers."
His suspicion overflowed even more.
Three failures had built a wall in him.
"Noa, I'm sorry. PD Jang isn't usually like this."
"If you've been burned three times, it's only natural to become suspicious."
He'd been burned by people he thought were trustworthy actors.
It wasn't strange that human distrust had set in.
"Hmm..."
"...What's wrong?"
"Okay."
He's not a bad person.
He had a somewhat domineering side as a PD, but he was still a normal person.
Then there was no reason not to help him.
"Would you draw this?"
"Pardon?"
I held out the tarot cards to him.
PD Jang, looking reluctant, took the tarot cards and drew a card.
The Hanged Man.
And reversed.
In tarot, it means pointless sacrifice and blind faith, but...
I needed to look at something else besides that interpretation.
"That must be very hard on you."
"Huh? Well, who in the world doesn't have it hard?"
"Specifically, it's a family matter."
"...What?"
"Your wife has been complaining of discomfort lately, hasn't she?"
"...Wait a minute. What are you?"
The suspicion disappeared from PD Jang's eyes.
But there was still anxiety.
And wariness filled his eyes.
The look people gave me when I revealed I was an orphan at the orphanage was similar.
"I strongly recommend getting treatment soon. It's not because you've been getting off work late lately, Mr. Jang."
His past.
And his future.
I could see him drowning in despair there.
Then he failed another drama.
and, in utter despair, learning that his wife had cervical cancer.
If she'd gotten checked when they first got the call, it could have been treated at an early stage.
Regretting that, he eventually jumped from the rooftop where he lived and killed himself.
"...W-what... what kind of illness...?"
"It looks like cervical cancer."
PD Jang's expression hardened.
For now, that's all.
"If you'd like to talk more, give me a call."
I gave him my phone number.
From here on out, whether he believed me or not was his problem, so it wasn't something I needed to worry about.
I could lead a horse to water, but I couldn't make it drink.
***
Jang Woogyung was confused.
Lately, his wife had been complaining more often that she was a little tired.
"I'm the one who's more tired."
He'd grumbled that someone who stayed home and managed the house had no right to say she was tired, but...
He still loved his wife.
So he couldn't believe it.
'Jeong-yeon has cancer...?'
He's just a fortune teller.
Hadn't he seen plenty of those on Unanswered Questions too?
Frauds who just spouted nonsense without taking responsibility.
So he didn't want to believe it.
Work came first.
This drama had to succeed.
But.
He couldn't get any work done.
"...Hyun-su."
"Yes. PD."
"I'm going to head home early today."
"Huh? Suddenly?"
"Yeah. I think I need to take my wife to the hospital."
"Ah... yes. Understood."
He headed straight home.
That man.
The young man who had introduced himself as Kang Noa had spoken with such certainty.
'Right. What's a few more days of overtime?'
And if nothing was wrong with his wife, wouldn't that be even better?
Getting into the car, he called the hospital he knew.
Thanks to his connections, he was able to have her examined right away.
"Oh, honey. What's wrong? You're home so early?"
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"The hospital. You've been saying you're really tired lately, haven't you?"
"I'm just a little tired, and it's because you've been late. If we eat something tasty, I'll feel better."
Even as she said that, her expression looked bright.
She seemed delighted that her husband had come home early and was paying attention to her.
But regardless, he held his wife's hand tightly.
"Come quickly. I made an appointment."
"Ugh. Fine, fine. But do we really need to go to the hospital for something like this?"
"If it's nothing serious, let's just eat something nourishing together."
There was a hint of anxiety in Jang Woogyung's eyes as he said that.
And then.
They couldn't eat anything nourishing that day.
Because she had to undergo surgery that very day.
***
I was loafing around at home when a call came from an unknown number.
I'd just gotten a spam call earlier, so I ignored it thinking it was that again, but after it disconnected, it called back.
"Hello?"
-It's Jang... Woogyung.
"Ah, yes. Hello."
-Sir... I... may I come see you?
His voice was trembling, and from the way he spoke, it sounded like he'd been to the hospital.
"Sure."
-I'll come to wherever is convenient for you.
"Then could you come near my neighborhood?"
-Understood.
After ending the call like that,
after about thirty minutes of lazing around watching YouTube, I got a text.
He said he'd arrived at the cafe near my house.
When I went out, he was there.
"Sir. Sir. Sir...!!"
He jumped up and ran over the moment he saw me, grabbing my hand tightly.
People around us began to murmur.
"What's going on?"
"An older guy acting like that toward a young person?"
"A young rich guy?"
"Is he abusing his power?"
That's not it!
"Please calm down."
"Y-yes... thanks to you, my wife was able to be saved..."
"The surgery went well, I take it?"
"Yes. It was found early, so she could be treated."
"That's a relief."
"Truly... thank you so much."
Ah. He's crying.
I'm not fond of seeing men cry.
"Don't cry. If treatment can go well, that's a good thing, so why are you crying?"
"Hngh...!!"
He hurriedly rubbed at his face.
"For now, would you like something to eat or drink? Ah, of course, I don't mean to end my thanks with this."
He took a thick envelope from his inner pocket.
Inside were several tightly packed 50,000-won bills.
"Expressing gratitude with this little money..."
"This little money? People even kill over money."
Go say that at Kangwon Land and see what happens.
The gamblers there will come running at you with sickles.
"All right. Then shall we get to the point?"
I ordered something sweet and sat down.
While he brought over the drinks, I took out the cards.
"You said you were worried about the lead actor, right?"
"Y-yes..."
"Please draw one."
He drew a card.
This time, the World, reversed.
"Please draw another."
The Hierophant.
"Last one. Draw it."
The Fool.
Seeing how tense he was with the three cards laid out before him, I told him...
"The drama will flop."
"...What? D-did something happen to the actors...?"
"There isn't a problem with the actors..."
The problem was elsewhere.
"There's a mountain at the filming location, right?"
"Huh? Yes."
"Be careful."
I looked him straight in the eye.
"A lot of people are going to get hurt on that mountain."
"Because a wild boar is suddenly going to come out."