CH 241

A five-ton truck could be seen barely stopping after hitting the lamppost that Woo-Jin was leaning against earlier. The lamppost was bent all the way to the ground. Woo-Jin quickly looked around and saw a man standing in a daze on the crosswalk in front of him. Perhaps, the driver of the speeding truck saw someone crossing the road and quickly stepped on the brakes. 

However, it seemed like the tires of the truck had slipped because of the rain which caused the truck to swerve into the lamppost instead. Fortunately, the driver didn’t appear to be injured, and the pedestrian was also unharmed. Apart from the lamppost and truck, there were no casualties. But nobody would know what would’ve happened if it didn’t rain, and if Woo-jin had continued to stand there. 

As soon as the chilling scene unfolded itself in Woo-Jin’s head, he shook his head.

“No. If it didn’t rain, the accident wouldn’t have happened.” Woo-Jin added that he would’ve been fine if he had continued standing there, and felt relieved. 

“The rain wasn’t the cause of the accident –– it was a brake failure.”

Woo-Jin suddenly heard a voice from the side, so he turned his head and looked to the right. On a spot that used to be empty, an old gentleman was standing as he used an umbrella as a cane. There was clearly nobody there earlier. 

“How do you know that?”

“Fate exists, but there’s no such thing as unchanging fate in this world. Anomalies created by humans and nature can sometimes change fate. Today’s variable is this rain.” said the old gentleman as he stretched out his palm, touching the rain. 

He gave a completely unrelated answer after Woo-Jin asked how he concluded that the car accident was caused by a brake failure. Woo-Jin thought he was a strange old man, and studied him carefully. He was also worried that the old man might have lost his way because he was feeling unwell.

However, his clothes looked neat and perfect. His sophisticated appearance was by no means ordinary, and he even exuded an intellectual aura. Strangely enough, regardless of how much Woo-Jin stared at the old gentleman’s face, Woo-Jin couldn’t seem to register what he looked like. 

Even though he was visible, Woo-Jin couldn’t remember his facial features. Woo-Jin couldn’t even tell if he was White or a person of color. It felt as though he wasn’t human, but at the same time, he felt familiar and friendly –– as though Woo-Jin had known him for a long time. 

Woo-Jin stared at the strange old gentleman because rather than feeling uneasy from not knowing his identity, he felt comfortable around him. 

“If you could choose what you want to be in your next life, what would you choose? For example, what would you choose between a God or a human being?”

“I think everybody would have the same answer to this question. I don’t think there’s a person who doesn’t want to become a God.”

“Do you want to become a God too?”

“Of course.”

“In that case, what is the first thing you want to do when you become a God?”

“Hmm…win the lottery?”

Woo-Jin stopped laughing even though he was the one who said that. Why would a god need that kind of money, and even if he were to win the lottery, the prize money these days was small. Woo-Jin was also easily earning the same amount.

“Would you need money if you’re a God?” The old gentleman asked, as though Woo-Jin had said something ridiculous. 

Woo-Jin blushed, and proudly declared that it was something human beings desired the most from God, and it was a wish he had once dreamed of as a child. 

“In that case, I want world peace and the salvation of mankind.”

Humans were the ones who created chaos in the world and put mankind in great danger, but they always turn to God to ask for salvation. And Woo-Jin’s requests were not much different either.

“In other words, you’re saying there isn’t a God in this world.” The old gentleman sneered and made a cynical comment about how the world hadn’t changed at all despite the wishes of humans. 

“Indeed, that seems to be the case when you look at the news. If there is a God, there wouldn’t be bad guys in the world, and the world would be a better place to live in.” 

Woo-Jin expressed his sadness after hearing the old gentleman’s words. Suddenly, a thought came to mind –– Do Gods have to take care of human beings?

Earth and nature were more important than humans to the guardians in Guardian Angel. Gods had their own will and duties, and they could also have something more precious to them too ––  and it didn’t have to be human beings. This was all from the perspective of humans, and they themselves wished to save mankind, and they prayed for a world to live in where causality and retribution were certain. 

Human beings were judging God using their own definition of justice and thoughts. At the same time, they were asking for a salvation which they weren’t able to achieve themselves to a God whose existence was uncertain.

“It’s strange when you think about it. Under the premise that God exists, when human beings become gods, they ultimately want to extend their lives as human beings, and seek salvation for mankind. But if the world hasn’t changed, does it mean that there aren’t any gods that were once human beings, or do these human beings change their minds once they have become gods?”

Strangely enough, Woo-Jin was having an unrestrained conversation with the gentleman he saw for the very first time today. Even though a major accident had just happened right before his eyes, it didn't feel realistic for some reason, and Woo-Jin felt as though he was looking at the world from a separate isolated space. Woo-Jin had felt as if he had become a fish in an aquarium that was looking at the world, and he also had a strange feeling that the reverse was true too. 

“Perhaps humans are doing much better than expected, to the extent that God doesn’t feel the need to intervene.” Said the old gentleman as he looked at Woo-Jin with a caring gaze.

Perhaps humans were the only ones who thought that the world was an unreasonable, unhappy and disorderly place. From God’s point of view, he could’ve felt that humans were a lot more upright and kinder than he had expected. 

It was uncertain if the prejudice that God was always fair and merciful had been created by humans, or that God had engraved it onto human beings for the sake of creating a certain image. But if God were crueler, merciless and more heartless than humans, it would make sense that the world was like this.

“So let me ask once again. If you could become a god, what would you want to do?”

“I’d do the same thing I’m doing right now.”

Regardless of how much he thought about it, Woo-Jin wondered if things would be any different. Acting, singing, painting, and writing –– Woo-Jin was currently doing everything he wanted to do. The only other thing he wanted was for a lot of people to like and relate to his work. Other than that, he didn’t have any other dreams.

“In that case, you don’t have to become a god. Even though being a god gives you access to an all-powerful cheat code, it’s only all-powerful if there’s a use for it. 

“Perhaps it’s not an all-powerful cheat code. At least to me.”

Woo-Jin didn’t want to become a god, unless god was what human beings imagined him to be. How could a god that didn’t understand the human heart communicate with them via art, and make art that people could relate to?

The things that Woo-Jin wanted to do even after becoming a god were ultimately things that even human beings could do. No, it was happiness that only human beings could enjoy. Just like how the sun had its own value, while the moon and stars had their own part to play, perhaps each entity doing their respective job would lead to the most beautiful ending. And the shining star that gathered in groups was more suited for Woo-Jin as compared to the sun that was too dazzling to look at, or the lonely moon. 

Naturally, Woo-Jin had a lot of things he wanted to do if he were to become a god. Although there were a lot of things he wanted to do, judging from Woo-Jin’s position and circumstances, he could ultimately do it all even if he remained human. The good thing about becoming a god was the immeasurable power, as well as immortality.

“Being a god is not necessarily a good thing…”

Even though he could do more things and take on fun challenges every day, it wasn’t a huge temptation for Woo-Jin, who had lived 999 lives. 

“Think about it slowly, since the time span has increased significantly.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Judging from how you look right now, it's right to say that time always gives you the answer in the end.

The old gentleman smiled and stroked Woo-Jin’s hair gently. Even though he touched the rain with his right hand earlier, it wasn’t wet at all. Even though Woo-Jin had never met him before, there was a warmth to him that felt very distant, rather than a feeling of rejection. 

“Who are you?”

He wasn’t just an old man who he happened to meet by chance. 

“You can think of me as your first fan. Here comes your manager. He seems to be very shocked by the news about the accident. Take this with you as a token of apology.”

The old gentleman held out the umbrella he was holding and gave it to Woo-Jin. After suddenly receiving the umbrella, Woo-jin looked at where the old gentleman was pointing towards with his chin. As soon as Kang Ho-Soo ran over hurriedly, Woo-Jin opened the umbrella and approached him, before sheltering him with it.

“Do you know how shocked I was to hear that the road was blocked because of an accident while I was on my way here? I heard that a truck had swerved onto the sidewalk, at the place where you said you’d wait. I was so shocked that I called you, but you didn’t pick up the phone, so I left the car behind and rushed here. My head was seriously filled with all kinds of thoughts.”

Kang Ho-Soo looked at Woo-Jin’s unharmed body while alternating his gaze to the site of the accident nearby, feeling enervated. The accident site and the place Woo-Jin stood at earlier was only five meters away. Just imagining what would’ve happened if Woo-Jin stood a little closer or if the truck had slipped a little farther was terrifying.

“So you left the car on the road and came running here?”

Woo-Jin was most surprised to hear that Kang Ho-Soo had abandoned his car. 

“It’s fine because we’re stuck here anyway.”

Kang Ho-Soo parked his car as close to the sidewalk as possible in the second lane. But when he was running over to Woo-Jin, he noticed that the street was congested with cars, and they couldn’t inch forward at all because the truck had slipped and swerved sideways, blocking the whole street

“By the way, did you bring an umbrella with you?” Kang Ho-Soo tilted his head as he looked at the umbrella Woo-Jin was holding. He wondered when Woo-Jin had been holding such a huge umbrella.

“No, the person over there gave…”

Woo-Jin pointed to the back and looked for the old gentleman who was just there moments ago, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s raining though, where did he go? Hyung, did you see the person over there leaving?”

“Was there someone there? I didn’t see anyone else because I was focused on you. Anyway, it’s time for us to head back to the car.”

It used to be an empty street, but at some point, it started becoming busy and was now filled with people. It was uncertain whether they were people who had gotten out of their cars to check out the accident site because of the road conditions, or if they were people who were passing by to begin with.

It was very strange how there were suddenly so many people on the previously empty street. There were hardly any cars passing by earlier on, so Woo-Jin wondered where all these cars came from after the accident. It seemed very strange to him that the quiet and empty street that seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world suddenly became full of people.

“But…huh?”

Woo-Jin tried to recall the old gentleman from before, but he couldn’t remember his face or what he was wearing. He couldn’t even remember whether or not he had heard his voice –– he only remembered that they were together, as well as the content of their conversation.

As Woo-Jin stood there in a trance, preoccupied with a strange and indescribable feeling, Kang Ho-Soo took the umbrella from him and nudged him from the back. More and more people around them started recognizing Woo-Jin; some pointed at him with their fingers, while others cocked their heads to the side as they weren’t certain if it was really him.

Kang Ho-Soo saw how Woo-Jin seemed to be in a trance still because of shock, so he quickly brought him to the car.

The rain stopped only after the road conditions improved –– after the tow truck and police arrived. Woo-Jin had finally started to come to his senses. He asked Kang Ho-Soo a question.

“Hyung, if you could become a god, what would you like to do?”

“I’ll buy all of DS’ stocks and take over the company.”

“Why would a god need to take over an entertainment company?”

“So what if you’re a god? Do gods not have things they want to do? Be it gods or humans, one is the happiest when they’re doing something that they want to do. Gods have the right to be happy too.”

Likewise, Kang Ho-Soo wanted world peace and justice from God. But it would have been a different story if he were the one to become a god.

“By the way, why are you bringing this up suddenly?”

“It’s just that the weather is so nice today. Something strange happened to me just moments ago, and I don’t know if it’s déjà vu, or if it was a dream.” Woo-Jin ruminated over what happened with the old gentleman earlier.

It was a strange experience that couldn’t be explained with reason or logic. At that moment, it seemed as though God was temporarily by his side, before leaving. But even when God left, life was still as dazzlingly beautiful as before. 

“I must have received quite a number of scripts during this period of time.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Because Woo-Jin said he wanted to write out of the blue, there was currently a huge pile of scripts in front of him that there wasn’t even room for dust to settle.

“I’ll have to read them once I get back from Cannes.” 

Woo-Jin meant that he would resume his original activities from now on. He was almost done with his novel save for a few edits. It was now time for him to slowly prepare for his next production. 

It was a process that might seem arduous and too much to handle to others. But to Woo-Jin, all of it was happiness; he couldn't bring himself to give up even if he were to become a god.