Chapter 49

48. Ghost?

The busking performance achieved the expected results. It didn't win the grand prize, but it did receive the Excellence in Feature Film Award and the Star Award.

As soon as Tae-ju received the award, Team Leader Woo published an article. Since it was close to the end of the year, the top of the entertainment section was dominated by articles about other actors, but Tae-ju's name occasionally appeared.

"Is it because the film festival is coming up soon? They're really pushing out a lot of articles."

Articles about the abuse of the lead actor from a hit movie in the first half of the year were pouring in. It seemed the promotional battle was intense because the film, which was released in the fall, was competing for the lead actor award.

"This person won't win this time. It's a shame."

At the time, the focus was on music, so he didn't know much about the film festival. However, he remembered that both films that were heavily promoting themselves did not win any awards. They didn't even win the grand prize or the director's award; they only won the screenplay award.

Instead, a completely unknown film won the grand prize, and an unexpected person won the lead actor award. As a result, the fairness controversy flared up again, and the following year, there was another incident of actors refusing to attend.

"Ah! Next year, I should continue with dramas. The film festival was in the same state next year."

In the first half of the year, the goblin warrior and Seon-yeol were revealed, so it seemed better to look for a drama to air in the fall.

"Even though movies are good, there's nothing I can do about it."

For several years, the film festival was embroiled in fairness controversies. Then, Tae-ju realized that the actor who had captivated him before the regression was actually at the center of the fairness controversy. He realized it was the time when other actors were boycotting the film festival.

"Really? That's strange. What movie did that person win for? I don't remember."

Now that he thought about it, it was really strange. The only thing Tae-ju remembered was the bright smile and the fancy outfit. He couldn't recall which movie or role had won the lead actor award.

He remembered the films and actors that were nominated alongside him, but it was strange that he couldn't remember anything related to that particular actor.

"Is this what they mean by a ghost crying?"

If it wasn't due to some kind of magic, it should have been memorable, but nothing came to mind. He couldn't even remember the title of the movie.

"Ah, I don't know."

While trying to check his own article, his thoughts wandered to strange places. Tae-ju found his own article again. He skimmed through the independent film festival Star Award article, which had been pushed far back, and confirmed that there were no issues.

Although it was his first year and he was still a novice, winning an award at an independent film festival was a pleasant experience, even if it didn't attract much attention.

*

The garden remained the same. While the real world was starting a cold winter, the temperature was still mild, and a warm breeze blew.

Over the past few months, Tae-ju had diligently collected DP without any other thoughts. Feeling guilty about opening the box without Hee's knowledge, he worked very hard on the garden. He grew various crops, herbs in the greenhouse, and flowers to earn DP.

As a reward, he recently caught a special-colored shooting star. It was a red shooting star, and he and Hee caught it together, shouting with joy as the cabin shook.

With a lot of DP collected, Tae-ju and Hee decided to level up the garden. There were enough trees, and many facilities had been added, such as the whirlpool cave, pyramid, and petal swimming pool. However, the garden level didn't increase because no decorations had been added.

To reach level 3, five more decorations needed to be added. From level 3 onwards, more decorations were required to level up. Level 3 required five more, level 4 required seven more, and level 5 required ten more.

"I really don't seem to have a talent for landscaping. I've read a lot of magazines, but..."

Tae-ju had no idea what decorations to add to make the garden look nice. He read magazines and looked up famous gardens on the internet, but he couldn't decide on a theme.

"The desert area was a lucky find."

Thanks to the pyramid construction right, he created a desert area. He decided to place cat statues and chariot decorations around the pyramid, which was relatively easy to choose because it matched the already set environment.

The problem was what to choose for the remaining three decorations and where to place them. The decorations Hee chose were mostly pink and white, round items that didn't match the garden.

"Hee doesn't seem to have a talent for decorating the garden either. Should I ask Zephir?"

Tae-ju looked up at the tree where Zephir was sitting and asked.

"Zephir, can you help me choose garden decorations?"

"Neigh."

'Why isn't there a pet language translator in the shop?'

Although he couldn't understand the words, Tae-ju could tell from Zephir's perked ears and slightly bowed head that he wasn't upset. Tae-ju confirmed that Zephir was following and headed to the shop.

"I need to choose three decorations that fit the garden. What do you think?"

"Tae-ju, what are you doing?"

"Good timing, Hee. I'm choosing garden decorations with Zephir. Why don't you join us?"

He thought it would be better if the three of them chose together. Tae-ju, Hee, and Zephir searched for decorations in the garden tab and started choosing.

"Neigh."

"This one? A scarecrow?"

"Yes, he likes that."

The scarecrow seemed suitable to place next to the vegetable patch. Tae-ju bought the scarecrow.

"Neigh."

"Oh, this one? A swing chair?"

Zephir's taste seemed good. After the scarecrow, he chose a wooden arch with a carved baby angel and a swing chair set that would fit well anywhere in the garden. The beautiful carvings made it more of a decoration than furniture. The swing chair had a spacious seat.

"This is nice. It would be good to put a blanket and cushions here."

"Neigh."

Finally, Zephir chose a street lamp with a round clock attached to the middle of the pole. It would be convenient to place it next to the greenhouse entrance. Some wildflowers needed to be collected at night, and the street lamp would make it easier to do so.

"The garden lanterns and this street lamp will make it convenient at night. Thank you, Zephir."

"Neigh."

Tae-ju, who thanked Zephir, moved the ball of light containing the items he bought from the shop to the greenhouse side. He decided to install all three in front of the greenhouse. He placed the scarecrow between the vegetable patches, the street lamp in front of the greenhouse window, and the arch and swing chair set in an open area where the greenhouse was visible.

The barren area in front of the greenhouse now looked decent. He felt he would spend a lot of time there in the future.

"Now, let's place the statues and chariot decorations in the desert area."

"Okay. Then it will be level 3."

"Haha. Finally, level 3."

The garden level became 3. As soon as he leveled up, Tae-ju officially designated Zephir as a pet. He had been registered temporarily, which made him feel uneasy, but now he felt relieved.

"Zephir, I hope we can continue to work well together."

"Neigh."

*

Something strange happened in the garden. While Tae-ju was spending time in the greenhouse, someone had visited the cabin.

"What? Who put this here?"

A freshly made apple pie was placed in the cabin kitchen. The sweet smell filled the house, and the oven was still warm, indicating that the visitor had left not long ago. Someone had entered the cabin and cooked while Tae-ju was away.

He felt a chill. He rushed out of the cabin and called for Hee.

"Hee. There's an intruder. Someone entered the cabin."

"Tae-ju?"

Hearing Tae-ju's urgent voice, Tae-san and Zephir, who were playing in the garden, approached. As soon as Zephir heard the word "intruder," he put a protective shield around Tae-ju. After putting a shield around Tae-san, he flew to the cabin window to check inside.

"Neigh."

"There's no one."

"Someone made food in the cabin kitchen. They left a pie."

Upon hearing Tae-ju's words, the group gathered and entered the cabin. The cabin was filled with the sweet smell of food, which was unusual for Tae-ju's cabin.

"Sniff, meow."

"Uh-huh."

Tae-san sniffed the kitchen floor for a while and then said something to Hee. Hee, looking surprised, had a long conversation with Tae-san and then told Tae-ju.

"Tae-ju, it's the same smell we detected in the tree house."

"Agent S?"

"No. It's the owner of the white feather."

Although Tae-ju didn't suspect Tae-san, the white feather was found a long time ago, probably at least half a year ago. He wondered if the smell could still be remembered, but Tae-san's words were the only clue he had.

"I was really surprised."

"Hee was surprised too."

"Phew. Thanks for the shield, Zephir. Thanks, Tae-san."

Neither the intruder nor the visitor was known to Hee, the manager. This was also the case with Dandan, who had hidden in the garden for several days but couldn't be detected by the garden management system.

'The no-visitors setting isn't very effective.'

Tae-ju liked the deer that occasionally visited. The large deer would greet him with elegant movements, drink the juice Tae-ju made, and sometimes eat the fruits or grains he offered on a large plate.

He decided to keep the no-visitors setting as a last resort and observe for a few more days.

"What should we do with this pie?"

"Tae-ju, it smells good."

"Well, I'm not sure if we should eat it."

While he was thinking about how to handle the pie, Hee, unable to resist the smell, sneaked up and ate a corner of the pie.

"Mmm, it's delicious!"

"Ah! Hee!"

Ignoring Tae-ju's surprised voice, Hee started eating the pie seriously. He grabbed the end of the pie with both hands, tore off a large piece, and took a bite.

Tae-ju wanted to take the pie piece from Hee's hand but didn't because he was afraid Hee might get hurt. The piece was as big as a thumb to Tae-ju, but it was a large piece for Hee. He might get hurt if he tried to take it forcefully.

"Neigh."

"Swallow. I'm fine, it doesn't hurt. It's delicious."

Zephir seemed to be asking if Hee was okay. After chewing and swallowing the large bite, Hee answered that he was fine.

"Whatever."

Tae-ju brought a knife and plate. He served portions for Hee and Zephir on small plates and ate the pie with tea.

Honestly, the sweet smell was too tempting. From the moment he entered the cabin, the smell was so good that his mouth watered.

"Wow, it's really delicious."

'Whether it's a ghost or an intruder, they're really good at cooking.'

Tae-ju and Hee ate the pie until their bellies were full. Eating warm food after a long time made them feel good. They decided to leave a card for the unknown visitor.

The card thanked the visitor for the delicious food and invited them to reveal their identity if they wanted to. At the end, he shamelessly asked if they could cook for them again, specifically requesting a chocolate cake.

Zephir had been in the garden for a long time, but he had only recently been officially designated as a pet, so Tae-ju planned to have a celebration party. Since Zephir didn't eat much except chocolate, he requested a chocolate cake. The next day, a chocolate cake was placed in the kitchen, along with meat and fish pies for Tae-san and Dandan.

Tae-ju and the garden family moved the food to a large table in front of the cabin and had a welcome party for Zephir.

After the party, Tae-ju noticed that Zephir was moving to branches closer to him. He knew Zephir was more open, staying in places he could see by turning his head, but recently, he seemed to be even closer.

Although Zephir used to stay on high branches, he now often stayed on a table a little away or on the roof of the well, places where he was close to Tae-ju's eye level.

Tae-ju pretended not to notice. He acted as if he didn't know to make it easier for Zephir to come closer, but he was happy that the distance was gradually closing.

Occasionally, food was left in the cabin. Tae-ju and Hee were no longer surprised. Especially Hee, who was not surprised at all, wrote down the food he wanted to eat on a card and placed it on top of the cabin oven. Tae-ju tried to stop Hee a few times, but after seeing that the food Hee wanted was always prepared, he let it be.

In return, he sent a thank-you gift to the chicken-like entity that left the food. It was something like an apron or a handkerchief. The gift was placed on the table and disappeared when he returned from the real world.

Tae-ju and Hee had become accustomed to this relationship. Tae-san no longer guarded the cabin when the smell of the feather owner was detected. Although someone might criticize them for being too trusting, it was unreasonable to continue being wary of someone who had never caused any harm.

The garden family agreed not to visit the tree house until the feather owner left. They decided not to disturb the feather owner, who might be living there. Although they sometimes wanted to visit the tree house, they all kept their promise and didn't break it.

Peaceful times passed in the garden. They lived considerately and excitedly until one day, a sharp, tearing bird's cry was heard from the vegetable patch.