Chapter 27…
Momo (3):
I answered in his place.
“Here, this is Yonghwa-doryeong.”
“Oh, this person?”
“Ah! So this is Yonghwa-doryeong! I’ve heard about you from CEO Park of Wooju Entertainment!”
See? He’s kind of famous.
Even that CEO knows him.
But that’s not what’s important.
“You can even do things like that?”
She smiled naturally.
At her feet, Momo lunged toward her legs, teeth bared but not quite closing.
There was my answer.
Soon, as if frustrated, Momo ran to me, ears drooping, bouncing up and down.
Almost like he was asking, ‘Can’t I possess you again?’
Nope. Not happening.
If you, burning with vengeance, were to enter my body now, the news headlines would be: “Actor assaults coordinator like a dog.”
…Chills.
“Since he’s so gifted… Anyway, hyung, you should rest for now. That’s for the best.”
“Right. Hyung, let’s take the kids and head back.”
“But still—”
“It’s fine here with Manager Park. Besides, Suhan and Yonghwa-doryeong are here too, so don’t worry.”
“I can’t help but worry.”
“Oppa, should I help prepare to receive the guests?”
“Mm… no.”
For a moment, she froze, creaking to a halt.
And in that brief instant, I caught her glaring at me.
Annoyed by me? Really?
“Aw, let me help. You must be overwhelmed right now.”
“No, it’s fine. We can just order food. Everyone coming here like this already makes me feel sorry.”
“No, I—”
“I’m just tired. They’ll be leaving soon. Right, hyung?”
“Oh? Yeah. Anyway, if it’s too much, adjust the schedule through Manager Park.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Then we’ll step out. He must have a lot on his mind.”
As CEO Lee led the others, they finally left.
The once noisy house fell quiet again.
I looked toward the door they’d gone through.
Or rather, I looked at Momo, growling at the door they’d left by.
That’s when Daeseong’s question came.
“Who was it?”
“Sorry?”
“I saw your face earlier.”
Daeseong-hyung was staring at me with a stiff expression.
Sharp guy, this hyung.
“I didn’t realize before, but I smelled something.”
“Smelled?”
“Maybe because dogs have such developed noses? The moment she came in, a particular smell hit me.”
It must’ve been one of the memories Momo left behind.
“There was someone Momo always hated. Or maybe they hated each other?”
“Eh, no way.”
At my words, Manager Park spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“Hold on. Are you sure?”
“You two know exactly who I mean, right?”
“Momo did dislike Sunjeong, but that’s probably because Sunjeong was always scared of animals.”
Well, dogs aren’t likely to like someone who doesn’t like them.
But this felt different.
“Haaa.”
My sigh drew everyone’s eyes to me.
Ugh… this kind of attention is exhausting.
“Momo.”
At my call, Momo bounded over, tail wagging.
“Don’t do that again.”
Not sure if he understood.
Was the wagging and butt-shaking a “yes,” or just excitement? Couldn’t tell.
Still, this needed confirming.
We’d already started.
“Come here.”
Momo leaped at me, and I became a dog again.
The moment Momo entered me, my perspective dropped—
I was on four legs instead of two.
But unlike earlier, I didn’t lunge at Daeseong-hyung.
Instead… I felt things I hadn’t noticed before.
Hatred? Disgust? Intruder?
Emotions flooded me, jumbled, overwhelming, but I endured.
The smell.
That same smell.
The woman walking around the house.
Her.
She moved about like she belonged here, tidying, washing dishes, humming a tune.
Like a newlywed bride taking care of her home.
She tidied the sofa, then bent down to embrace—sniff, sniff.
Momo barked warily.
She grabbed Momo’s snout roughly.
And that once-happy face cracked into something demonic.
That’s how Momo saw her.
The little body squirmed, whining, desperate to break free.
So suffocating.
Then one day, it happened.
Daeseong-hyung was gone that day.
She lay sprawled on his bed, looking blissful.
Momo barked again.
A warning: Don’t trespass.
She reached for him.
Breath stopped.
The cord around the neck…
And the world went dark.
“Ghhk!”
[Wake up!]
“He’s okay!”
“Water! Bring water!”
My vision shifted back.
People rushed at me, frantic.
Damn it. So annoying.
The feelings just now—Momo’s death.
It wasn’t fear that burned me up.
It was rage at being powerless to help.
I drank the water Manager Park handed me and sat down, staring off.
Momo sat the same way, bottom on the floor, staring at me.
Those once-playful eyes looked sad.
“Come here.”
Momo approached carefully and licked my hand.
I felt it.
“Are you… thanking me?”
I hugged Momo, stroking him gently.
Then I spoke.
“That woman, Yoo Sunjeong.”
“Yeah.”
“She must’ve been here often. Tidying, cleaning…”
“Right. Not many people come in and out of this house.”
Daeseong-hyung answered with a heavy look.
“Momo must’ve hated that.”
“Ah…”
Manager Park sighed.
I continued, voicing the emotions I’d just felt.
Her behavior, like a newlywed enjoying her home.
The others’ faces shifted as they listened.
“Momo was trying to protect this territory. And she hated that.”
Silence. A few sighs.
Emotions swirled and passed with time.
There is no such thing as a perfect crime.
The house had security cameras, but all the old recordings had been wiped.
Of course they had—Yoo Sunjeong was a staff member with access.
But once the police were directed toward her, the evidence poured out.
Outside CCTV tracked her movements.
She had erased the house cameras, but the external footage was stored by the service company.
Caught red-handed.
Carrying a large bag into the woods.
Then returning with it flattened.
Circumstantial evidence.
And when police searched her home, they found Daeseong’s photos plastered everywhere, and his belongings, neatly tagged.
Things like water bottles, cups, even bed linens she’d taken.
Classic sasaeng fan behavior.
Borderline stalking.
The police even recovered some of the erased internal camera footage.
Including a decisive scene.
After that, the case wrapped quietly.
The company wanted no scandal.
But she couldn’t escape criminal charges.
Stalking. Animal cruelty.
Unauthorized entry. Illegal trespassing.
The list piled on, and the case closed.
Meanwhile, the drama aired.
“This is it!”
It started at 7% ratings, jumped to 9% by episode 2, and hit double digits from episode 3.
Unprecedented numbers in an era when OTT platforms were dominating.
“Drink this!”
“Thanks!”
Ah… this warmth.
I don’t even need to beg anymore—people just give me food and drinks.
Now I’m sipping a sweet, hot latte, courtesy of the director himself.
“The director can’t stop grinning because of you.”
“Eheheh!”
Daeseong-hyung sat beside me, grinning as I laughed proudly.
Because yeah—it was thanks to me.
The undercover beggar stunt.
That’s why people tuned in live.
The buzz turned into ratings.
Sure, it aired on OTT too, but the TV ratings still soared.
“At this rate, you’ll be a star.”
“I am. Hehehe.”
Thanks to Momo, hyung and I had grown closer than ever.
Now I really had a senior actor as my hyung.
Ah! Only Daeseong-hyung and Manager Park knew about my ghost-seeing ability.
I’d asked them to keep it secret—how else would I explain it?
Should I let Momo possess me again so I can lick the CEO’s face?
But Momo was gone now.
On the day the case closed, Momo had left in Daeseong-hyung’s arms, returning to the sky.
Sure, crawling out of hyung’s embrace afterward was embarrassing as hell.
But strangely, in that instant, he saw Momo’s figure overlap with mine.
So it was a little less embarrassing.
Still, never again will I end up in another man’s arms.
And Momo left me a gift before departing.
An amazing sense of smell.
And something else.
‘Did you see him? I missed this week’s episode!’
‘How can he play that role with such a face? What a waste!’
My hearing had sharpened too.
Hah. Popularity.
The female staff’s gazes grew warmer by the day.
‘Does he have a girlfriend?’
‘Why? You want to make a move?’
Come on! I don’t turn away women!
‘Maybe I will…’
Yeah. This is living.
Thanks to my new status, filming had become much more fun.
“Director, have you seen this?”
“Of course. Hahaha.”
On YouTube, a new trend emerged: Spot the Hidden Beggar.
Clips and shorts where viewers tried to find me.
Writer Choi Miseon chuckled at the craze.
“He really doesn’t get caught, huh?”
“Exactly.”
They had a strategy—placing me in roles that seemed like the “answer.”
First, the beggar role was spotted immediately.
That was expected, since the first leaks had branded me as a “professional beggar actor.”
Then they caught me as the handsome young man visiting a gisaeng house.
That too, thanks to my neat appearance in the scene.
But the rest? Much harder.
Sometimes they even misidentified other extras instead of me.
The production used me widely for marketing.
Of course, they gave me extra pay on top of my base fee.
Since I was effectively playing multiple roles, while saving them the cost of extra background actors, it was a win-win.
No, more than that—huge profit.
And it wasn’t implausible either.
My character was written as an information-gathering master of disguise.
“Isn’t it fascinating?”
“Yeah. He has presence when needed, but can also blend into the background flawlessly.”
“Exactly.”
That’s what amazed Director Kim Hyuncheol.
Extras are supposed to be background.
If they stand out too much, it ruins the scene.
Some try to grab attention, but usually one harsh scolding is enough to fix that.
But Suhan was a genius-level extra.
And when he donned a mask role, his presence grew stronger.
Sure, the script shifted to highlight it too, but still—it showed he knew how to shine when needed.
“How can someone do that without training?”
At Writer Choi’s question, Director Kim gave a wry smile.
“Apparently… it was for survival.”
“Survival?”
“Well, a beggar only shows presence when begging. Any other time, if they stand out, they get reported.”
“Ah…”
These days, people often forgot—
Suhan had once been a real beggar.
“But doesn’t that bother him?”
“Who? Ah, Juhwan? Why would it? Thanks to Suhan, he’s got more lines again. And the two match perfectly—it looks great on screen.”
“Then that’s good.”
Thanks to Suhan, Oh Juhwan’s dwindling lines had bounced back.
Ironically, the cause was Suhan himself.
