Chapter. A Top Actress Who Can See Ghosts

"Sia, your skin is very hydrated today."

Ji-hyun, who is in charge of applying makeup, exclaims in admiration.

As her skin drips with moisture, she proceeds to apply makeup with a more cautious approach while touching her face.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who can maintain skin like this after staying up all night for over a week."

"If you pay an esthetician a lot of money but can't improve it as such, shouldn't you sue the skincare clinic?"

"You too!"

Ji-hyun laughed lightly.

She always insists on not going to a skincare clinic, complaining that it was too expensive.

She doesn't enjoy spending her money very much despite being one of the highest paid celebrities in Korea.

"By the way, Ji-hyun."

"Yes?"

"You said you were raised by your grandmother when you were little."

"…? Yes, that's right."

Ji-hyun tilted her head at the unexpected question from Sia. Why is she bringing up something she had brought up while drinking?

"My parents were busy, so I stayed with my grandmother until I started middle school."

"When was the last time you contacted your grandmother?"

"Umm… I think it's been about two months?"

"Two months?"

"Yes, we've been very busy with your recent shoot, and now that I think about it, I guess I haven't been in touch with her in a while."

Ji-hyun's face, as she gave her answer, was still filled with wonder.

Very seldom did Sia show interest in other people's family affairs. No matter how long she's known them, she was someone who never crossed a certain line.

It was also a bit surprising that she remembers that she was raised by her grandmother.

"Where's your phone?"

"Your phone? Your phone is over there-"

"Not mine, yours."

"Mine? Oh…"

Ji-hyun, who was quickly searching around, let out a small sigh.

"I must've left it in the car."

"Bring it."

"Huh?"

"Bring your phone."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"But you're going to start filming soon…"

"It doesn't matter."

"I don't even need it right now. It's okay. I can get it later."

"Go now."

"What? I'm still doing your makeup…"

"I'll take care of the finishing touches."

"But-"

"Go on."

Ji-hyun, slightly taken aback by Sia's resolute demeanor, proceeded to make her way towards the parking lot.

"Hyun-seok."

"Yeah?"

Sia politely beckoned her manager, who looked at her with inquisitive eyes, much like Ji-hyun's.

"I want you to find someone who will cover Ji-hyun's position for a few days."

"Are you planning on firing Ji-hyun?"

Manager Hyun-seok's eyes widened at her sudden words.

"It's temporary."

"Temporary?"

"I don't think Ji-hyun will be able to come for a few days."

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

Instead of answering, Sia casts her gaze towards Ji-hyun, who had already distanced herself.

To be more precise, she was looking at the grandmother who was following Ji-hyun around.

The grandmother, situated behind Ji-hyun, gazed at her with an apologetic expression.

She was able to identify her as her grandmother, seeing as she caressed Ji-hyun's head with a smile.

'Will a week be enough?'

Should she give her more time to compose herself?

"Please prepare a wreath, too."

"Wreath? What wreath?"

"A wreath to be sent to the funeral."

"What?"

After informing the manager, who was taken aback by the news of a funeral, Sia continued on with her preparations, skillfully finishing her makeup.

* * *

"Grandma, did you see that I sent you an expensive wreath?"

There's a saying in the entertainment industry.

"I also made a big donation."

Whether it's a celebrity or a shaman, the two fates are very similar.

Sia, who returned home after 15 days of shooting, let out a small sigh.

Upon retrieving a can of beer from the refrigerator to alleviate her fatigue and enjoy a drink alone after a prolonged period, she became aware of Ji-hyun's grandmother standing behind the refrigerator door.

"You had a good funeral and was buried in a good place."

But isn't it a bit much to call an ossuary a good place?

Anyway, why did the old woman, who had a pleasant burial and been cremated, come to visit her out of the blue?

Sia exhaled a brief sigh and raised the opened can of beer to her lips.

"If you don't mind, could please leave if you don't have anything to say? I'm tired right now."

She would normally ignore such matters, but seeing as she is the grandmother of a colleague who has worked with her for more than 4 years, she felt it was slightly bothersome to treat her harshly.

Very, very slightly.

Perhaps it was better to pretend not to know. It's difficult to deal with such things when you're tired.

Sia shook her head a few times as if trying to shake off her complicated thoughts.

[Our Ji-hyun.]

Only then did the grandmother, who had been silently watching Sia, speak up.

She kept looking at her hands and face, which were full of wrinkles, as if it's telling her that her life wasn't all that smooth.

[Please continue to look after her.]

"…"

Are all grandmothers like that?

Sia took another sip of her beer as she watched the grandmother respectfully bow her head to a woman much younger than her with a kind smile.

She suddenly remembered what she heard from her manager, Hyun-seok, a few days ago.

"Ji-hyun was the only one crying at the funeral."

He said it was quite a sight to see Ji-hyun's parents and siblings fighting over the property left behind by her grandmother.

The people who had come to the funeral had to quickly turn away as they fought over who should take the money from selling the property.

'Ah, what a waste of money.'

If she knew people like that would take it, she wouldn't have helped.

[And can you do me a small favor?]

Sia, who was grumbling to herself, raised her head again as she heard the grandmother's next words.

Lee Sia. A 25-year-old top actress who is making a name for herself in not only Korea but throughout Asia.

She began acting at the age of fourteen and has since established herself as a successful actress in whatever genre she chooses.

She wants to confidently say that she has a pretty face and is good at acting, but…

'I can't say that I didn't benefit from them at all.'

The information they give me is very useful.

Lee Sia. Despite being a top actress representing South Korea, she had her peculiarities.

'Yes, I…'

Can see ghosts.

* * *

"Ji-hyun."

「Yes?」

She made a video call to Ji-hyun.

Sia clicked her tongue upon seeing Ji-hyun, who had noticeably lost weight in the past few days following her grandmother's passing.

"Have I told you before that I'm interested in things like astrology and fortune-telling?"

「Yes, you were the first to guess that my grandmother passed away. I was taken aback when you kept telling me to get my phone, but this happened…」

"I just thought something might be wrong since your luck wasn't favorable that day."

It was a lie, of course. She didn't know anything about fortune-telling.

She was only pretending to be interested in such things so others would easily accept the words she's told through ghosts.

"Sia, didn't you say you went to church?"

Manager Hyun-seok, who had been standing next to her, interrupted their conversation.

"Yes, I'm still going."

No, she isn't.

"I'm a baptized woman."

She used to go to church every day to get rid of her demonic eye. She was even baptized.

'The day I was baptized…'

She stopped going after the ghosts had stood around her and congratulated her.

After that, she went to a cathedral and a temple, but nothing much happened there either.

"What does fortune-telling have to do with going to church?"

"But that's not-"

"That's enough."

Sia promptly interrupted Hyung-seok, as if to dissuade him from probing further, before redirecting her attention to her phone.

"Are you still at your grandmother's house?"

Unlike the rest of the family members, who left as soon as the funeral procession finished — Hyun-seok, who was next to her, snorted, "Well, she'll have to quickly sell her share of the house and land as soon as possible." — Ji-hyun was left alone in the empty house to sort out her grandmother's belongings.

He said he could have someone else clean it up, but she couldn't do it.

She didn't want others to go through and throw away her grandmother's precious things.

She felt heartbroken when she remembered how Ji-hyun had cried, asking for a few more days.

「I'm sorry. I have to return to work soon…」

"That's right. Hurry up. Don't keep letting other people touch my face."

「Yes!」

Ji-hyun's voice seemed to have brightened when she was told to come sooner rather than to take her time and rest well.

"Is there a persimmon tree to the east of your grandmother's house?"

Sia got straight to the point of the call after a few moments.

「…!」

Through the speaker, she could hear Ji-hyun gasp, "Huh!"

「There is!」

Of course there is.

「I don't know if it's to the east, but…」

It's to the east.

「Anyway, it's there. How did you know?」

"Your fortune today says you'll gain great wealth from the persimmon tree in the east."

「W-Wealth?」

"You'll have to dig under the persimmon tree to get it."

「The ground… What?」

"Yes."

「Oh… Yeah…」

Her response was lukewarm.

'It sounds absurd. I would've react that way, too.'

It would've been odd to believe these words and follow them at face value.

But the thing about humans is that when they hear something like this, it would be hard to completely ignore it. They may say, "No way," but start thinking, "Maybe…?".

What's the big deal about digging a hole when you'll end up getting a big fortune?

In addition, it would be harder to ignore Sia's words as she had predicted her grandmother's passing.

"Good luck, then."

「Yes.」

When she finished speaking, Sia hung up the phone.

'That should do it, right?'

This is what Ji-hyun's grandmother asked for last night.

[Tell her to dig under the persimmon tree.]

Ji-hyun took care of her younger siblings working all kinds of part-time jobs from a young age instead of their parents, who spent all the money they didn't have, telling their children they didn't know about business.

Is that why Ji-hyun looked pitiful in her grandmother's eyes?

'Sounds like a lot of money.'

The grandmother said she had saved all the money she made from farming and stored it underneath the persimmon tree.

Early on, she set aside her granddaughter's portion and piled it up in a large jar.

After she died, the greedy children would bicker back and forth about the inheritance.

She probably guessed that Ji-hyun would not get anything in the end.

'She even wrote a letter in advance.'

As if she knew she would die suddenly from a heart attack, the grandmother said she had written a letter addressed to Ji-hyun a long time ago and placed it inside the jar.

All the money inside the jar belongs to you, so don't feel burdened and spend it comfortably for yourself.

'That money won't be taken away.'

You're not that naive.

'Well, it's not like I need to worry about that.'

She relayed all the things the grandmother wanted her to say, so she had done her part.

"Wow, do you know how to read fortunes like that? What about me? How's my fortune today?"

The manager, Hyun-seok, who was standing next to her the entire time she was talking to Ji-hyun, looked at her with high expectations.

"…"

Sia stared at Hyun-seok silently, then slowly opened her mouth.

"I don't know what your fortune reads, but I do know Hye-eun's fortune today."

"Hye-eun?"

Hyun-seok looked perplexed as soon as he heard his wife's name.

"She, too, has luck with wealth today."

"Really?"

Hyun-seok's expression visibly lights up upon learning that his wife is fortunate with wealth, regardless of whether he truly believes it or not. "Should I tell her to buy a lottery ticket?" She refrains from commenting further, quietly swallowing her words.

'He has the misfortune to lose his fortune today.'

She also spoke with Hye-eun, who she is well acquainted with, on the phone a while ago.

Sia casts a pitiful glance at Hyun-seok, recalling Hye-eun's laughter after discovering her husband's secret stash of emergency funds.