A Doll That Speaks
A doll... just spoke?
"You want to put our Ha-jin on... TV?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm determined to cast him."
Having gotten the director's blessing, PD Jo had brought me along to meet my mom.
Mom, who had just finished cleaning and was getting ready to head out, was, of course, utterly floored.
"Ha-jin is absolutely essential to the program I'm producing. He's exactly the face I've been looking for. Ma'am, I'm begging you—please give us your blessing."
He bowed his head with such grim determination that he looked like a man arriving to ask for a marriage approval, leaving Mom completely flustered.
Beside him, Teacher Jo Ha-rin let out an exasperated sigh.
"I'm sorry, Ha-jin's mom. My brother's the type who, once he gets something into his head, charges in without looking left or right."
Then she patiently walked us through exactly why he wanted me on the show.
True to her profession as a kindergarten teacher, her ability to explain things in an easy-to-understand way was genuinely outstanding.
"...And so, for that last remaining spot, he wants Ha-jin."
"But our Ha-jin's never done anything like acting before."
"Don't worry about that. We have someone else handling the acting—Ha-jin just needs to follow along naturally in front of the camera. Even that alone would teach him so much. Experiencing a real set from a young age is truly important, you know."
The way he said it, you'd think he was determined to fasten my first button properly since I was going to become an actor someday.
Never said yes to anything, and he's already talking like I'm his actor.
"Ha-jin, what do you think? Do you want to be on the show?"
Three pairs of eyes turned toward me.
No pressure or anything.
Six years old or not, I was the one being asked to appear, so my opinion couldn't just be brushed aside.
Obviously, Mom would decline if I said I didn't want to do it, and there'd be nothing PD Jo could do about it.
I looked back and forth between the three of them.
No matter how I turned it over in my head, this was the butterfly effect of saving Teacher Ha-rin.
I prevented the accident, and now her older brother—a broadcasting station PD—had appeared.
That PD had offered me a spot on a TV program.
And of all programs, it just happened to be Wagle Wagle Kindergarten, where I had confirmed my acting talent just yesterday.
Was this really a coincidence?
I'd been wondering why I got to test my acting talent on a children's program of all things, but now that the PD himself was offering me a role, I understood—that had been a live-fire rehearsal.
The being who sent me back in time had created the very opportunity for me to begin acting.
So this is... my chance, huh?
I died before I could ever properly bring the acting I'd dreamed of into full bloom.
But now, regressed to my childhood, an environment where I could act had been laid out before me.
I didn't know how far it would take me, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
I looked at PD Jo Seung-hyun again.
A future star PD, wearing an anxious expression, waiting for my answer.
"Mom, I..."
As if she'd already anticipated my answer, Mom smiled gently.
Dad, who had left on a business trip to the States the day before I regressed, came home.
He'd bought me one of those trendy toys from over there as a present, but I ignored it completely and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug.
Dad's scent, after twenty years, with that familiar warmth layered on top of it—my eyes stung despite myself. Not as much as when I'd first seen Mom again, but tears still slipped out.
"Whoa, our Ha-jin missed his daddy that much? Now that's touching."
With that, he hoisted me high into the air and flew me around like an airplane.
Mom, stirring soup in the kitchen, watched us and smiled.
This single scene alone made regressing worth it.
"Ha-jin is... going on TV?"
Dad asked, startled, after hearing the whole story.
"He hasn't actually agreed yet. He said he wanted to talk it over with you first."
"He's not some sketchy character, is he?"
"He's the older brother of Ha-jin's homeroom teacher. We got his business card—he's a legit PD at the station."
"Is it really the kind of show where they can just take a kid who's never acted and sit him down on set?"
"Once he saw Ha-jin's face, he said the acting wouldn't even matter."
Dad glanced at me and nodded.
"Well, fair. A face like that could fill you up on its own. Who cares if the acting's a little rough."
Looking thoroughly satisfied, he patted my head.
"Dad's been neglectful, huh. Can't believe I didn't realize how handsome our Ha-jin was."
Not neglectful, Dad. I've only been handsome for a week.
With a face like this, offers would've been pouring in from day one—child actor roles, kids' modeling gigs, the works.
But there'd been nothing, which meant the dazzling looks had arrived bundled together with my regression.
Memories of me looking like this all along had been layered over everyone around me, smoothing away the strangeness.
"If Ha-jin wants to do it, I'm all for it. When else would he get an experience like this?"
"Then I'll tell the PD I'm in."
"What about the trips back and forth to the station? Won't someone need to look after him during filming?"
"Obviously that'll be me."
Mom thumped her chest with all the conviction of a freshly minted manager.
KBC Annex, conference room—
Camera Director Hyun Woo-il, a close confidant of PD Jo Seung-hyun, was fiddling with the screen of a digital camera.
"Best kid I've seen yet. You could sit him right between the princesses and it'd work."
"Right? The composition just snapped into place the moment I saw him. Knew you'd love it."
"What's the CP say?"
"Said it's my call. The CP's the one who ordered the shake-up in the first place—what's he going to complain about?"
"The current child actor is a problem too, you know."
AD Lee Beom-joon grumbled from the side.
"What are we going to do about Tiger Teacher? He's in three different segments."
"Why would he suddenly step down? I can barely manage picking a child actor as it is."
"Not suddenly. We already agreed to replace him at the next retooling—we just didn't expect the retooling to come this fast."
They had to replace the comedian who'd been playing Tiger Teacher for four years.
With the entertainment division's old boys' network, it wouldn't be hard to place someone—but PD Jo's attention was fixed entirely on the child actor question.
"In that case, why don't you look for someone. You'll be doing plenty of this once you make PD yourself."
"Me?"
He regretted opening his mouth the moment the words left it, but it was too late.
Judging by the PD's expression, he genuinely intended to drag someone in from somewhere.
"Might as well get someone fresh. It's my first time on a children's program too—let's treat it like a rookie debut and do it right."
PD Jo grabbed his beloved junior by the shoulders and flashed a big grin.
From the AD's perspective, though, it looked like the faint smile of the Grim Reaper.
Two weeks later, KBC Annex—
While I stood armed with a professionally measured smile, Mom wore the expression of a job applicant walking into an executive interview.
"So this is... the broadcasting station..."
"Don't be nervous. You just need to stay next to me, Mom."
"How are you so grown-up, Ha-jin? Aren't you scared?"
"What's to be scared of? They're the ones who asked me to come."
I put in years at broadcasting stations in my past life. You think this intimidates me?
The moment we identified ourselves at the entrance and walked in, every eye in the vicinity snapped to me.
Whoa, what is with that kid's face...
Must be a child actor. No ordinary kid looks like that.
Please don't lose your looks growing up... please don't lose your looks growing up...
Nobody even knew who I was, and my face alone was turning heads.
This goodwill I'd never once felt in my past life was unfamiliar, yet it made my heart pound.
I felt like I wanted to bow to the ground before whoever had gifted me this.
Someone came jogging up from across the hall, out of breath.
"You're Ha-jin, right? Seeing you in person, I mean... wow. That face is unreal."
"Hello. I'm Byun Ha-jin."
The moment I landed my preemptive strike with the invincible belly-button bow, his expression melted into a dad smile.
"Heh heh. A greeting that adorable, with that face? There isn't a soul alive who wouldn't melt."
A chill ran down my spine, but I didn't drop my hospitality-industry smile.
The working-adult skills I'd honed in my past life weren't there for nothing.
"And the lady behind you...?"
"My mom. Is it okay if she's with me during filming?"
"Of course, absolutely. Hello, ma'am. I'm Lee Beom-joon, the AD on the program Ha-jin will be appearing on."
"Oh—hello. I'm... Song Mi-young."
Mom was still frozen stiff.
"Let's head over right away. The studio's this way."
We followed AD Lee Beom-joon into the depths of the annex.
Inside the studio, the staff bustled about with pre-shoot preparations.
"Lower the reflector. The kids up front are going to be blinded."
"Check the A4 lights. They keep coming out too dark."
"Go check that again. It looks off on camera."
"Dolls over here! No, no, the lion goes in the back!"
This was my first taste of a real set since regressing.
At the nostalgic sight, my body reacted before my mind could, and I couldn't contain the trembling.
It felt like the set itself was insisting: this is where you belong.
"Chaotic, right? There's a lot we have to check before rehearsal starts. Say hi to the PD later—head over to the child actors' waiting room over there for now. Your mom can wait there with you."
With that, he sprinted off toward the cameras.
I took my soul-departed mother by the hand and led her into the waiting room.
The moment the door opened, the room went quiet, and every gaze fixed on me.
The first emotion carried on those gazes was curiosity about the newcomer.
"I hear that's the boy joining this time."
"What kind of face is that..."
"First Yu-jin and So-ra, now him. Are they just casting off looks alone?"
"Never seen him before. Which agency's he with?"
Most of them were mothers, but a few people who looked like agency managers were mixed in.
The curiosity faded almost instantly, giving way to wariness.
Is he a parachute hire? What good is a pretty face? Kid's expressions are bland. Why is his mom dressed so frumpy?—the murmured appraisals of Mom and me were overwhelmingly negative, and the atmosphere was anything but friendly.
Mom, already cowed, now looked ready to sink straight through the floor.
These are moms who've been around the entertainment block. Their presence hits different. And I can't exactly step in myself... what do I do?
Deciding it was better to wait quietly, I looked for an empty seat.
"Hey. You."
Hm?
The murmur around me died in an instant.
Are they calling me?
"Yeah, you. I'm talking to you."
I turned around, following the direction of the voice.
"Over here."
A doll... is talking to me.