Chapter 121
“Just in time—we’ve got the perfect person for the part.”
No. If someone’s weird, don’t bring them into the house at all.
“I think this is good for a safety inspection.”
Hey. Am I a gas line? What exactly are you inspecting?
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Deok-su held out a hand. I was about to take it and walk, but instead he scooped me up and braced me against his hip.
“You still look exhausted.”
“Gongja didn’t do any intense exercise.”
“Even so, complete rest for a few days.”
It was downright excessive, but there was nothing I could do to stop him. I let out a sigh.
I went on being carried. Funny enough, maybe because he’d done this so often, I’d gotten used to it.
It’s comfortable to rest my head on his shoulder.
It was even familiar.
Isn’t this actually worse?
Deok-su, what if you spoil my habits? This is no way to raise a child.
I was lost in those thoughts when, as we reached the living room, a familiar voice drifted over to me.
I turned at once. Director Rhy-lac was sitting on the sofa.
“Director!”
“Ah, Gongja! You’ve been well?”
Deok-su set me down on the floor. I ran over and bowed my head.
“Hello!”
“Aigoo, you’re adorable again today. No, seriously—why do you get cuter the longer time goes on?”
“Um, Gongja wants to be cool!”
“Hahaha! A cute kid grows up to be a cool person.”
Director Rhy-lac was the same as ever. But there was someone unfamiliar sitting beside him. I bowed once more, then straightened.
“Hello!”
“Oh, right. Wow. Even seeing you in person, this is no joke. Your face—wow. It’s different from what you look like in theater, isn’t it?”
“Senior. Gongja looks even better on camera.”
“Mm, I thought so too, but now that I’m seeing him, maybe you just photographed him badly? You didn’t fully capture how stunning he is.”
“No! Senior! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to show off Gongja’s beauty?”
I wondered who he was, and then I heard the word senior.
And they look close, too.
I studied the director carefully. Honestly, he seemed unfamiliar.
Did I know a person like this?
I knew a fair amount about the film industry, but this was someone I didn’t recognize. The man grinned and said,
“Ah, Gongja. Hello. I’m Won Jong-sa.”
For a moment, I blinked.
So that was Director Won. I—I didn’t recognize him.
I stared quietly at the man. I could hardly believe it.
There was a reason I hadn’t recognized him.
This is the first time I’ve seen Director Won with a full head of hair.
The Won Jong-sa I knew had looked like a shiny boiled egg.
So it was true when he complained all the time about how much hair he’d lost.
He even had eyebrows now!
For a second, I felt like I might cry. I covered my mouth silently.
“G-Gongja? What’s wrong?”
“Director!”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Please eat lots of black beans!”
Please treasure this moment.
He said his hair fell out from stress after a few flopped movies!
That was a truth too painful to hear without tears!
“Bl-Black beans? I do like them, but…”
“Seaweed and other algae, too. No, eat a balanced diet and manage your stress. That’s the most important thing!”
Otherwise, you’ll turn into a boiled egg!
Won Jong-sa swallowed hard. I drew in a shaky breath, overwhelmed by grief. Who knew it could be so sad to see someone I knew looking perfectly fine?
“R-right.”
“Promise me!”
“Uh…”
“He’s right, Senior. Your health is important.”
Director Rhy-lac scratched his head. I quietly turned away. Honestly, did Director Rhy-lac have any right to be saying that?
I fixed him with a stare. Sensing what my look meant, Rhy-lac scratched his head again.
“I went to the hospital, Gongja. Got a health checkup.”
Thank goodness.
I grinned brightly.
“What did the doctor say?”
“I got scolded. Said if I hadn’t gone, I might’ve been in serious trouble.”
As expected.
So he got an early diagnosis.
Director Rhy-lac lowered his head.
“Though I was banned from all greasy food because of it.”
“Ah, you’ve been eating vegetarian lately.”
“I do eat meat. Mostly braised beef and chicken breast.”
Oh. I got it.
Was it arteriosclerosis?
Looks like his blood vessels had gotten a little clogged with grease.
Rhy-lac admitted it with surprising calm.
“Gongja, I had a stent put into a blood vessel.”
“What’s that?”
“A tube, I guess? A passage? A metal hose jammed into a blood vessel, basically. If it had gone a little worse, I might’ve dropped dead all at once.”
Thank goodness.
That is, in fact, how you died.
Director Rhy-lac let out a long sigh.
“Gongja, my wife yelled at me so hard?”
Serves you right.
“I promised never to put off a health checkup again, stamped the paper, and even did the elephant trunk and spun around three times.”
Hey now. I can understand the first part, but what’s with the rest?
“If I put it off again, I swore I’d become an elephant and be locked in a zoo.”
Well, yes. Though shouldn’t we also hear the zoo’s side of the story?
“Anyway, Gongja, thank you. You saved my life.”
“I’m glad! I’m glad you’re not in pain!”
“You’re my lifesaver!”
Rhy-lac patted my head with a broad smile.
“You’re my career’s lifesaver, too. Hah. We’re fate, Gongja.”
No, that’s a bit much.
“Feels like I’d even hand over my house deed if you asked for it.”
Don’t.
“Ah, of course, I can’t guarantee it.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You can’t guarantee that sort of thing even if your parents ask you to!”
Director Rhy-lac nodded.
“Exactly. You know your stuff. That’s the truth of life. Gongja really is smart. Who taught you?”
My previous life.
But I definitely can’t say that.
I smiled brightly.
“Mommy!”
“So Ms. Su-jeong knows things like that. Excellent early education. Yes, I thought long and hard about what I could give my lifesaver, so I brought this.”
Well, I hadn’t done it expecting a reward.
If it’s expensive, I’ll have to refuse it. Huh?
What Rhy-lac had brought was a fairly large box. When he opened it, a burst of fruity fragrance spilled out.
“Blueberries.”
Blueberries? Why blueberries?
“They’re grown by someone I know. This guy’s loaded with land, but he farms it for the tax break.”
That was an utterly unnecessary piece of information.
“Apparently blueberries are edible even if you plant them just about anywhere.”
I see.
I looked at the suspicious blueberries. There were plenty of them, but not enough to send to Moseongwon.
Mmm. We should eat good things. It feels wrong if there’s some ulterior motive attached.
Just buy something nice and give it to them. I’ll work hard and earn the money, Sister.
“Anyway, enjoy them. Though of course that’s not all. Gongja, I’m not the type to just patch things over with something like this.”
No, really, patch it over with that. I wasn’t expecting anything at all.
“I brought something prepared just for our Gongja.”
Director Rhy-lac dragged over the buoyant, full-haired Won Jong-sa.
“Ta-da! It’s Senior!”
Ah. I see.
“He’s an incredibly capable senior. True, all his films up to now have barely scraped past the break-even point. So this time he’s sharpening his blade.”
“Hey, what do you mean, sharpening a blade in front of a kid?”
“Ah, right. Mm, I mean he’s sharpening his body and mind with worry.”
“I’m not sharpening anything! Just say I’m pondering deeply.”
“What if our Gongja doesn’t understand such difficult words?”
I understand them.
I let out a long breath. At a glance, I could tell.
These directors are close.
They called each other senior and junior, but they felt closer than friends.
I had no idea. Director Rhy-lac and Director Won were this tight.
If they were this close, I should’ve heard rumors. Why hadn’t I?
Ah, right. It’s because Director Rhy-lac died of a heart attack before the rumors could spread.
For some reason, my chest felt a little sore.
Director Won probably played a part in making his hair fall out, too.
He must have been terribly upset when he passed.
Upset enough to lose even his eyebrows.
Thinking of my previous life made me feel like crying. I bit my lip hard.
“Hey, Yi-rak. Did you come here to help me, or to feed me?”
“Obviously to help you. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even get in here, Senior. Do you know how many directors want to see Gongja? We’d need ticket numbers.”
My grief cooled in an instant.
Am I a bank counter? Do I need to take a number?
Well, it doesn’t look like Mom lets just anyone in, either.
I looked at Won Jong-sa again.
It’s been a while, Director Won.
Have you been well?
He was a director I used to work with a lot.
He usually cast me as gangsters or thugs. Sometimes the roles were tiny, and sometimes they were real gems.
But Director Won, you’re here to cast me, right?
I smiled brightly.
Good. I can repay a debt from my previous life while I’m at it.
He was also someone I could trust when it came to skill.
Just then, Deok-su suddenly came over wearing an apron.
“Coffee and fruit, and Gongja is the snack.”
Deok-su set sliced fruit and pancakes on the table.
Wow…
The fruit looked delicious enough, but the pancakes were extraordinary. They looked like the kind of perfect pancakes you’d only see in a promotional flyer.
H-How do you even make something like that?
“Wow, thank you!”
“There’s more. Tell me if you want anything else.”
“Yes!”
I took a bite. The scent of butter softened and spread in my mouth.
“It’s delicious!”
Deok-su’s cheeks moved ever so slightly.
He secretly likes praise, doesn’t he?
As I kept eating, I suddenly felt eyes on me.
I looked up. The directors were all staring at my pancakes.
Uh-oh.
I quietly broke off a piece and held it out to Director Rhy-lac.
“Have some.”
“Hah! You’re so sweet. Gongja, I really do want to eat it, but if I do, I’ll have to go to the zoo. My wife says if I eat sugar, she’ll lock me in a cage.”
Ah. So that’s what he meant.
Looks like his diet’s under strict control.
“My blood sugar isn’t great lately.”
Oh dear. Then there’s nothing to be done. I turned the fork toward Director Won instead.
“Please have some!”
“Khh. My heart wants it, but I’m the same.”
How unfortunate.
Director Won took a gulp of coffee and lowered his head.
It feels wrong to eat alone.
I asked quietly,
“Not even a tiny bite?”
Both directors turned to look at me.
“Kkh.”
“Hng.”
How unfortunate.
Then I’d better eat fast.
I busied myself devouring the pancakes. And then, right before the directors, two perfect pancakes were placed in front of them.
“Uh, th-thank you, but we can’t.”
“I made them entirely with sugar substitutes. You should be able to eat them.”
Wow, Deok-su.
H-He can even do this?
Deok-su might be more amazing than I thought.
“T-thank you. Ah, this is delicious.”
“M-my goodness. Gongja, that bodyguard of yours is incredible.”
He’s not a bodyguard, though.
“I’m a nanny.”
“Huh?”
“Huh? No, Yi-rak, didn’t you know?”
“Ah, I feel like I did?”
“What did you do while you were filming?”
The two of them kept bickering. Honestly, it felt like watching a comedy show. Just as I was enjoying the spectacle, Director Rhy-lac said,
“Gongja. Senior Won really is good.”
I see. I know that already.
Then Rhy-lac said it bluntly:
“He wants to make a movie with you.”
Ah, so that’s why he came.
“Gongja. I need you! This film, I really wanted to make it, but it can’t be done without you!”
Won Jong-sa thrust a screenplay at me. I blinked. The title was unfamiliar.
Shower?
Director Won, you made a film like this? When?