Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Playground Bliss and Squid Dance
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I was gently pushing Yu-na, who was sitting on the swing, enjoying some intimate time together.
Yu-na's bright and sunny laughter.
And the chirping of sparrows huddled together on the tree branches.
Playing with Yu-na while feeling the gentle breeze made it feel like we were out on a weekend trip.
“Kyaaa! Daddy! Harder!”
“It looks high. You’re not scared?”
“Nope!”
Whenever I came to the set with Yu-na, my mind felt at ease, and it didn’t feel like I was there to work.
‘But it wasn’t always like this…’
I shook off my stray thoughts as I gazed at Yu-na’s happy smile. Right now, all I needed to do was focus on Yu-na. As long as I did my job well, no one would have any complaints.
Unknowingly, I put more strength into it and ended up pushing Yu-na’s back hard.
“Kyaa!”
I startled and caught her by the waist the moment she swung back down.
“Ah, sorry, Daddy. Was it too high and scary? This time, from the other…”
Bzzz!
My phone, tucked in my pocket, suddenly vibrated. I paused mid-sentence and pulled it out.
“Daddy?”
“Yu-na, wait just a moment. Daddy has to take this call.”
“Hehehe. Okay.”
I grinned at her, then furrowed my brow as I looked at the phone.
‘…Who is it?’
It was an unknown number not saved in my contacts. Were they calling me early since the previous shoot wrapped up?
I slid my finger across the screen and brought the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
-Oh! Is this Lee Jun-seo’s phone?
An unfamiliar mid-range voice came through, sounding urgent. They’d said my name clearly, so it wasn’t a wrong number.
“Yes, this is Lee Jun-seo. May I ask who’s calling?”
-I’m Go Seong-min. The director’s asking for this actor right now… Please come quickly.
It seemed the caller was someone from the set staff.
“Ah, yes. Got it.”
The moment I ended the call, I let out a deep sigh. Playtime would have to wait; it was time to get back to work.
Or wait…
A sudden doubt crept in.
There was no reason for set staff to call me so urgently.
If my previous shoot had ended, it should be time to prepare for the next one. They’d tell me to fix my costume and makeup.
‘Did something happen?’
No point racking my brain here.
I’d have to go see for myself.
I pocketed my phone and scooped Yu-na up in my arms.
Yu-na whipped her head around.
“Daddy, no more playing?”
“We’ll play when we get home after shooting. Got it?”
“Hehehe. Okay. It’s a promise.”
“Yeah, it’s a promise.”
We hooked pinkies to seal the promise to play later, then I hurried off.
By the time we arrived, a heavy tension hung over the classroom.
Director Han Mun-jin, his brows furrowed deeply.
And the staff, looking awkward as they watched the director’s mood.
‘Looks serious…’
I approached the director, who was on the phone with someone.
“Director, did something—”
“Understood. You can come right now. Yes. See you later.”
The director, who had just ended his call, turned his head. His dark expression fixed on me for a moment before his lips parted.
“They say Actor Cha picked up something weird and got enteritis. The morning schedule’s completely empty now. Prep until the child actor arrives.”
“Senior got enteritis?”
“Yeah. Haa…”
He roughly ruffled his shaggy hair, looking like a headache.
‘Of course he’s frustrated.’
The entire shooting schedule had been set in advance, and now Actor Cha Eun-hyuk’s sudden enteritis had pushed everything back.
I bowed my head deeply to avoid irritating him further.
“Understood, Director.”
“They said it’ll take about two hours to get here. Keep that in mind. If we capture everyday scenes with this actor and the child actor, we’re done for today’s shoot.”
“Ah, yes.”
With that, I slipped out into the hallway to avoid getting in the way.
“Daddy, what do we do now?”
Yu-na’s question reminded me that she had thought of Ha-yul as a friend.
Ha-yul was arriving soon, so this would be their second meeting, right? It was a great chance for Ha-yul and Yu-na to get close.
I gently stroked Yu-na’s hair and quietly parted my lips.
“Yu-na. Remember Ha-yul?”
“The friend we met when filming with Daddy last time?”
“Yeah, she’ll be here soon. So…”
“Then the scary lady comes too?”
Yu-na’s hand trembled faintly.
Her hesitant response revealed a hint of fear.
It seemed the rough behavior of Ha-yul’s guardian from last time had left a deep impression as the “scary lady.”
‘Her actions were quite forceful back then. It’s only natural.’
I poked Yu-na’s cheek.
“She’s not a scary lady anymore.”
“But she was scary…”
“Hehe. You’ll see when she gets here.”
Once Yu-na saw how much she’d changed, the image stuck in her head would shift.
It was nice to see her glancing nervously and fidgeting even at a little scolding.
Of course, I couldn’t say that was good parenting.
Wrong things needed to be corrected right away.
The reason it felt good was…
Because she was reflecting on her past actions and trying to fix them.
With her straightforward personality and mature demeanor around Ha-yul, there was no need to worry.
If she kept it up from now on…
I had no doubt she could maintain the bright innocence Ha-yul had shown when they met on set.
Yu-na replied in a crawling voice.
“Okaay…”
“Where should we wait?”
To change the mood, I asked Yu-na, and her eyes sparkled as her tiny hand grabbed my shirt collar.
“The playground from earlier!”
She still wanted to play more even after all that. Kids’ stamina really wasn’t normal.
I needed to conserve energy for the upcoming shoot. No time to play with Yu-na.
“What did I say? Later.”
“Hiiing…”
When I said it firmly, Yu-na pouted and buried her face in my chest.
Was there a good way to cheer her up? I looked around.
That’s when I spotted a classroom with students inside. I stopped in my tracks and peered in.
‘There sure are a lot of extras.’
Maybe because it was a high school series.
There were definitely a ton of students.
It was extremely rare to have this many extras. Unless it was a historical drama war scene…
Or a chase sequence.
“…I’m jealous.”
I muttered softly.
I envied the students laughing and chatting happily, their stories in full bloom.
In my past life, I wanted to go to school but couldn’t. The lingering regret stabbed like thorns.
‘But it’s a relief, I guess? Since Lee Jun-seo’s memories are in my head, not mine.’
Even if mostly bad ones surfaced.
There were a few good memories scattered here and there.
As I rested my hand on the window and peered inside, my eyes met those of a girl fiddling with her phone.
“E-Eh? Huh?!”
Her eyes went wide, she clapped her hand over her mouth, and shot to her feet.
“It’s actor Lee Jun-seo and Yu-na!”
“Really? Where? Where?”
“Yu-na’s really here too? She’s so cute!”
Her voice acted as the fuse, drawing the attention of all the waiting students.
Students pressing their faces to the window, striking weird poses.
And others opening the classroom door, peeking out, and shouting.
It turned noisy in an instant.
“Daddyyy…”
“Hm? Yu-na. Why are you calling me?”
“……”
Yu-na called me in a crawling voice and pointed at the window with her tiny finger.
I looked where she pointed and was at a loss for words.
‘So that’s what made her tremble.’
A student grinning in an eerie way, pressed to what looked like a mirror, appeared pretty scary.
“If it’s scary, should we go somewhere else?”
No sooner had I spoken than the students clamped their mouths shut.
The hallway finally fell quiet.
I let out a breath of relief and started to move when Yu-na, who had been trembling, suddenly burst into silly laughter.
“Hehehe. That’s really funny.”
What was she laughing at?
I turned to follow her gaze. The boy who had been making a scary face was now pulling funny expressions to make her laugh.
“Not scared anymore?”
“Nope. It’s really fun.”
The surroundings went pin-drop quiet again. Did the students hear Yu-na’s honest reply?
The kids in the classroom started clutching their chests and groaning.
“Aaah… She’s too cute.”
“…I think I’m gonna stan her.”
“You’re late. I already did. From the moment Yu-na appeared in ‘Guard the Pojangmacha!’”
“Oppa! When are you doing a live stream? I’m waiting!”
I flinched at the question from the glasses-wearing girl at the end.
Ah, I’d forgotten about that…
“Haha. Later. I’ll announce it on StarTalk if it happens.”
“Uncle!”
The boy’s call made my temper flare.
“I’m twenty-six this year! Not that much older than you guys—what uncle?!”
My words turned the place into a sea of laughter.
After that, I got close to the students in a flash. I went into the classroom and chatted with them until talk of the next shoot came up.
Doing this…
It really felt like I’d become a student.
“Teacher! I have a request!”
“That student there. What’s the request?”
A glasses-wearing boy suddenly called me “teacher.” Quick on the uptake, I played along with the improv.
“I want to see Yu-na’s squid dance with my own eyes!”
Yu-na, who had been sitting quietly in my arms, finally spoke up.
“Squid daaance?”
“Do it like when you taught Daddy what a squid is. That oppa over there wants to see. Can you do it?”
“Ah! That one? I’ll do it!”
Yu-na hopped down to the floor and clasped her hands above her head. Everyone clamped their mouths shut, not even a breath to be heard.
Wobble. Wobble.
“Squid. Squid. Squiiiid.”
Yu-na wiggled her body as if mimicking a squid’s cry.
“Hahaha! Good job!”
“Yu-na dances so well!”
The students showered Yu-na with praise, saying she did great.
‘The squid dance is definitely cute.’
Ha-yul and her guardian arrived late.
I welcomed Ha-yul after she came out of the dressing room with her makeup and costume done.
“You look pretty.”
“Really? Mom! Uncle said I’m pretty!”
“See? Mom was right. Ha-yul is the prettiest in Mom’s eyes.”
I almost said Yu-na was prettier but held back.
“Uncle, what about Yu-na?”
“Yu-na went to the bathroom for a bit. When Yu-na comes back, we’ll head to the set together. They said we go to the dorm after.”
The dormitory behind Ace High School. In the story, my role was a guy in dire straits, living in the dorm with his daughter and guiding her.
And there was a setting where Ha-yul attended the kindergarten inside the high school.
“Uncle, please take good care of me today.”
“Yeah. You gonna act just like our Yu-na this time?”
“So that you can act like I’m your real daughter.”
I let out a chuckle at Ha-yul’s spirited reply.
‘When I was working as a child actor, I was as bold as her.’
I gently stroked Ha-yul’s hair. Then I scooped her up.
“Shall we practice now? My daughter?”
“Hehehe. Yes. Daddy.”
Thud!
At that moment, I heard something drop with a thud. I turned my head toward the sound.
There stood Yu-na, mouth agape in shock, frozen in place.
“D-Daddy?”