Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 244

From its very first broadcast, God and the Goblin achieved an impressive feat, surpassing a 20% viewership rating in an instant.

The first episode depicted the original relationship between Baek Jin and Baeksulhwa.

In other words, a prologue.

It was a preparatory stage for the long saga that would unfold between the two protagonists.

["...General, you are truly diligent."]

["And yet, you say that while coming out here despite being told to rest."]

The story began on a warm afternoon.

Baeksulhwa was sitting on the wooden porch of a small thatched house, while Baek Jin was chopping firewood in front of her.

["Do you truly not know how to rest?"]

["Despite how I look, I actually lie down longer than you do, General. Hearing you say that makes me a little sad."]

The slight hint of playfulness in her voice conveyed a familiarity between them.

A peaceful scene, devoid of any foreboding signs of crisis or misfortune.

The naturally serene atmosphere added a poetic sentiment to their conversation.

However, since the teaser had already hinted that even this peace would eventually come to an end—

["It would be nice if you could take a break from time to time, General."]

["Is that a request or a wish?"]

["It is a hope. Merely a desire... a dream."]

Even in the midst of casual conversation, there was an underlying ominous feeling.

Sometimes, a peaceful life in itself can make one fear the moment it is taken away.

Around this time, various comments began appearing from viewers watching God and the Goblin.

How many death flags are they setting up?"I wish the General would rest" = He’s about to die and finally get some restWhy does this remind me of The Sunshine...? Is it just because Lee Ha-eun is wearing hanbok?

ㄴ The corpse lover is back again lol

ㄴ Where do you even live, dude?At some point, the two protagonists would inevitably face an unwanted separation.

The teaser had practically confirmed the tragic ending of the past storyline, turning the initial tranquility into a source of unease rather than boredom.

- Step.

- Step.

Baek Jin did not ignore the words he had just heard.

His footsteps carried him toward Baeksulhwa, who watched in surprise as he plopped down beside her.

["Are you really... going to rest?"]

["Did you not call it a dream? If that is your wish, then I must grant it."]

["...Haha."]

Somehow, she found herself laughing.

A formidable general of Goryeo.

A man feared and called a demon—yielding so easily to her words and sitting down to rest.

That was why she quietly set aside the medicinal herbs she had been preparing.

Since he had granted her request, her wish, her hope... she should offer something in return, no matter how insignificant.

["Then, please give me your hand."]

["Why?"]

["Your hands are worn from hardship. At least for a moment, I should let them rest."]

A small hand reached out toward him.

Baek Jin hesitated, staring at the slender fingers of the young girl, but in the end, he slowly placed his hand in hers.

And just like that—

A soft, sliding touch.

His scarred and rough hands were gently enveloped by a much smaller, much softer pair.

At the same time, a quiet voice reached his ears.

["You must have always held a sword with these hands."]

Baeksulhwa’s expression darkened slightly as she murmured, carefully caressing his hand.

Her delicate thumb slowly traced over the scars on his knuckles.

Her touch carried a faint tremor, as well as an unmistakable concern.

Baek Jin simply watched her in silence.

He was a man whom no one had ever considered a subject of worry.

Yet, the person before him, this precious presence, was worrying about him.

["Still... sometimes, just like now, you should set your sword down and rest."]

["How can you say such a thing?"]

["Because one day, these hands should be holding wildflowers instead of a sword."]

For hands that had taken countless lives, those words seemed utterly foreign.

The unfamiliar word—wildflowers—left Baek Jin momentarily speechless as he gazed at Baeksulhwa.

Just as he was about to say something—

A soft wind blew in from afar.

[".........."]

The flowers in the front yard of the thatched house swayed gently.

Baeksulhwa, too, gazed at them in silence.

As if she wished for this moment to last forever, she did not let go of Baek Jin’s hand.

She simply remained still, calm and composed—

Yet, deep in her heart, she held an earnest wish.

["If the day comes when you can set down your sword and truly rest... that alone will be enough for me."]

She looked up toward the warm sunlight, smiling gently.

She had nothing more to ask for.

A serene smile, eyes gazing upward, wrapped in the golden hues of sunset.

A scene like a painting.

So after all this, they’re just gonna brutally kill her?

ㄴ The writer has no heart.

This is giving me The Sunshine PTSD.Baeksulhwa is too pitiful ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠIt’s only the first episode, and you’re already doing this to us?By the way, she looks insanely beautiful.

ㄴ Seriously.The poignantly tender moment sent waves across online communities, their posts flooding in ever faster.

Just as in the past, Lee Ha-eun in hanbok had an undeniable pull on viewers.

As time passed, Baeksulhwa’s health gradually deteriorated.

Her coughs grew more frequent, and soon, even standing on her own became difficult.

And then—mere minutes later—

- Creak—!

["...It’s you."]

- Swish—!

- Thud!

["......Ah...."]

- Collapse.

The moment the Jurchens raided the village, she crossed a river of no return.

Most viewers couldn’t tear their eyes away from Ha-eun.

Ah.ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠShe’s dead again.Every time she wears hanbok, she dies.

ㄴ Yeong-wol <<< Who even is this?

ㄴ That one disguised as a man;;

First-ever female lead to die in episode one, lol.Because she had once looked up at Baek Jin and smiled, it felt all the more tragic when she grew cold in his arms.

A fragile existence, slowly fading toward a sad ending.

Her last words, faint and heartbreaking—

["You... kept your promise...."]

At the end of her life, she clutched a frozen snow flower.

Baeksulhwa, who once called snow flowers "wildflowers" to ease Baek Jin’s guilt, did not even finish her sentence before she breathed her last.

Then came another tragic ending.

Having lost Baeksulhwa, Baek Jin abandoned everything and fought in endless battles, only to eventually collapse alone in a vast field.

Yet, instead of death, he was cursed with eternal life.

So he waited.

Waited alone through the long years—until Baeksulhwa was reincarnated.

❮Will they meet again...?❯

Even Lucid, watching from across the sea, found herself waiting.

At first, she had only watched the drama out of curiosity for Ha-eun.

But now, she was deeply immersed in the story itself.

Since she hadn’t seen the teaser beforehand, she had no idea when—or even if—Baek Jin and Baeksulhwa would reunite.

Fortunately, before long, the scene of their reunion aired.

Unfortunately—

["...Excuse me. Do I know you?"]

["I once did. I once held you in my arms. And in the end... I could never forget, so I came here."]

Baeksulhwa did not recognize Baek Jin.

And so, viewers across Korea found themselves watching the drama through Baek Jin’s eyes.

But this was merely the beginning—a prelude.

❮Someday, she will regain her memories.❯

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The moment Baeksulhwa recalls her past, the strange old man she once saw—Baek Jin—will become an entirely different existence.

For the viewers, this speculation alone was enough reason to continue watching the next episode of God and the Goblin.

["Am I seeing things...?"]

Baeksulhwa walked through a dimly lit alley, unaware that Baek Jin was silently watching her from a distance.

The moment the vast space between the two protagonists—one that could hardly be called close—finally narrowed again, was the scene the audience was waiting for.

In other words, God and the Goblin had already succeeded in hooking its viewers.

The tragic ending of the past storyline drew them in, while the incomplete reunion in the present created the drive to keep watching.

This drama is going to be a massive hit.God and the Goblin Episode 2 Preview.MP4Kang Sun-woo and Lee Ha-eun’s chemistry is unbeatable...Someone called him “the next-door uncle with a bad ending,” and I still can’t move on.

ㄴ If you think about The Sunshine, this might end in a bad ending too.

ㄴ He already died once.

ㄴ Which means he could die again.

ㄴ They killed her off so tragically, and now they’re going to kill her again? The writer is a psychopath.

ㄴ Who knows, man, lol.

The OST at the end was incredible.The response on SNS and community forums was overwhelmingly positive.

There weren’t any posts criticizing God and the Goblin in sight.

Was it because of the drama’s undeniable quality?

Or perhaps it was because UBS’s new drama, airing in the same time slot, failed to gain much attention?

Drama ‘God and the Goblin’ Surpasses 20% Viewership—An Unstoppable Start!Kang Sun-woo and Lee Ha-eun Reunite After 10 Years—Their Chemistry from ‘The Next-Door Uncle’ Returns!‘God and the Goblin’ Begins with a Bang—OTV Sets New Record!Online articles focused heavily on the drama’s impressive success.

Some even covered reactions from overseas audiences in China and Japan.

God and the Goblin possessed the hallmark traits of a Hallyu (Korean Wave) production.

As a result, OTV had already begun discussions about exporting the series internationally.

“There’s a significant amount of discussion about God and the Goblin on Japanese forums.”

“If it’s already at this level after just one episode... we should push forward more aggressively.”

“We need to strike while the iron is hot. Let’s make contact before it’s too late.”

***

God and the Goblin aired on Fridays and Saturdays.

The second episode, airing the very next day, made just as much of an impact as the first.

This time, the focus was on Baeksulhwa’s life in the modern era.

Scenes of her childhood, struggling in poverty, played out on-screen.

["Hey, Baeksulhwa."]

- Whoosh!

- Thud—!

["This is food paid for by our taxes. Why don’t you say thank you?"]

Even at school, poverty made her an easy target for bullying.

For no reason other than being poor, she was ostracized, unable to even eat her meals in peace.

The broadcast then moved to scenes of her working part-time jobs, which only painted a more pitiful picture.

The screen showed her, utterly exhausted, scrubbing a grill over and over until, in the end, she collapsed from exhaustion.

Why is this so depressing?I’ve never seen Lee Ha-eun like this before.With that face, why not just become a model??Why does the nosebleed look so real?SNS and community forums were flooded with sympathy for Baeksulhwa.

Following her frail existence in the past, her struggles in the present resonated deeply with viewers.

And then, she was rushed to the emergency room.

After receiving a disapproving glare from her boss, she was ultimately told to take time off.

["...Why. Why is it always... me...?"]

["...If this is how it was going to be, then why was I even born...?"]

Holding nothing but a small bag of medicine, she walked through the streets alone.

A sight so far removed from happiness that even viewers began wondering what Baek Jin was doing at that moment.

Eventually, she slumped down onto a bench.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

["Hic... ugh... ah..."]

Overwhelmed by the void of being utterly alone in the world, she hunched over, sobbing.

Her question—why she even had to be born—was directed at the unseen gods.

She clutched at her own chest, shaking as she wept—

- Step.

["Why do you torment yourself?"]

A voice, one she was slowly getting used to, reached her ears.

Only then did she lift her head.

Her tear-filled eyes met his.

["...Mister. Do you... want me to keep living...?"]

Her voice trembled, and for a moment, the viewers held their breath.

Lucid, watching from across the sea, felt the same.

❮A genius actress... Maybe that wasn’t just an exaggeration.❯

That morning, Lucid had looked into an actress named Lee Ha-eun.

So now, as she watched, she saw Ha-eun in an entirely new light.

By the time Baeksulhwa began pouring out her sorrow to Baek Jin, Lucid was completely absorbed.

And so, Episode 2 left a deep impression on Lucid and many other viewers.

When it ended with a preview for Episode 3, the buzz around God and the Goblin only intensified.

It’s Lee Ha-eun....Wasn’t that Lee Ha-eun in God and the Goblin?I heard she’s really close with Kang Sun-woo.“...Hmm.”

Returning to Naerae Arts High School after a long time, Ha-eun was struck by an intense sense of déjà vu.

These gazes...

They were eerily similar to the ones she received at the beginning of the year when The Sunshine aired.

“I thought things would stay quiet for a bit longer....”

Ever since Veterans premiered, she had been able to attend school without much fuss.

Frankly, she was a little disappointed.

Not that it mattered much—winter break was only a few days away.

At the very least, she had the benefit of being a high school senior who had already taken the college entrance exam.

In other words, the only thing she had to do at school was rest all day.

“Lee Ha-eun. There’s a group of first-years huddled by the back door. Go check it out.”

“...Why do you assume they’re here to see me?”

“Who else would they be here for?”

“You, obviously. The great actress Min Da-yeon.”

“G-Great [N O V E L I G H T] actress? What are you saying?!”

“Look at you getting all shy.”

She didn’t have to worry about studying anymore.

So she had no problem entertaining underclassmen or other students from different classes who came to see her.

Besides, sitting idly in class without any lessons was just plain boring.

“Teacher~. Can we watch a movie~?”

“We could watch a drama too!”

“...Do whatever you want.”

The idea of watching something surfaced among her classmates.

Suggestions included The Sunshine, which had ended a few months ago, or The Moonlight That Parts the Clouds, which aired last year.

“Hey, guys? Anything else?”

“Like what?”

“There’s nothing else worth watching besides the ones Ha-eun was in.”

“I never watched The Moonlight That Parts the Clouds. Let’s watch that.”

In the end, Ha-eun’s opinion was completely ignored.

There weren’t any other dramas that had done as well as hers.

It didn’t matter what Ha-eun wanted.

The only thing that mattered was entertainment value.

["Be my husband."]

["Gladly."]

“Oh my gosh.”

“Kyaaa!!!”

“This is insane...!”

And so, The Moonlight That Parts the Clouds played.

Her classmates even skipped to the most embarrassing highlights, leaving Ha-eun with no choice but to slump over her desk in defeat.

She had no other options.

But then—

Min Da-yeon, watching Ha-eun with an amused glint in her eye, leaned in and whispered something rather explicit.

“Look at that. They’re practically devouring each other.”

“We... we didn’t do that...!”

Flustered, Ha-eun shot up, stammering out weak denials.

Even though this was all from a year ago—

“We didn’t kiss. We didn’t!”

“You think the Noeulis will care about that?”

“Hey, hey...!”

“You told me not to cheat, but it turns out you’re the one two-timing.”

“...I shouldn’t have come to school today.”

“Well, well. The sun must be rising in the west tomorrow. I just heard Lee Ha-eun say she shouldn’t have come to school.”