The Cost of Biting Back
“Sir. Hey. Isn’t that a little much?”
I mean, if I were just taking the easy route, wouldn’t it cost a lot more coins...?
Even so, what was so outrageous about me getting stronger that it had to be this harsh?
Could this be some heavenly sign telling me not to take shortcuts?
Still, this was too much.
I looked down at my hands. They were still tiny.
Damn it.
I knew the danger, but there was no way around it.
I let out a long sigh and said, “Teacher, you’re right.”
I grabbed the hem of Deok-su’s clothes.
“The prince needs to be careful.”
If you’re weak, you have to be cautious at least. Weak animals don’t make a fuss for nothing. Pomeranians were a perfect example. They had terrible tempers.
Dogs can at least bite...
Even a small dog could do serious damage if it bit you.
But I’m human. I can’t exactly bite people back.
Well, if some bad guy kidnapped me, I’d sink my teeth into whatever I could, arm or leg.
Huh? Wait.
I blinked.
Could it be?
No way.
I muttered inwardly, Tell me the coin cost and price for making my biting strength as strong as a dog’s.
200 coins will be consumed to determine the price.
For the popular child actor Ma Gongja to strengthen his biting power, 32,837 coins are required.
The price is a sore jaw for 10 hours, beginning 10 minutes from now.
Hey.
That’s cheap.
Sir, why are you doing this to me?
I rubbed my jaw. A sore jaw for ten hours was more than bearable.
But do I really do this or not?
It didn’t even cost that many coins.
But I’m not a dog...
Did it really have to be this way?
Sweat trickled down my back. I looked up at Deok-su and asked, “Teacher.”
“Yes, Prince.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to have something, anything?”
Deok-su blinked. I hurriedly added an explanation.
“A way to resist.”
“That’s right.”
I dropped my head.
Yes. Better to have something than nothing. I muttered to myself, Activate.
From today on, if I ran into a bad guy, I’d bite him.
It is a little dog-like, though.
More than a little, probably.
Still, having this at all is something.
For a moment, all my energy drained away. I sat down, covered my face, and sighed.
“Prince?”
“I’m going to stay like this for a minute.”
Is this really how I have to live?
No, I wanted something cool, like a kick...
A throw, maybe. A chokehold. There were plenty of good moves in the world.
Sir, why are you doing this to me?
Couldn’t I do something cool? No, I wouldn’t even ask for that much. Just let me keep a shred of human dignity.
I lowered my head in silence. Self-loathing washed over me.
“Prince, does something hurt?”
“My heart does.”
I lifted my head. As if on cue, pain surged into my jaw.
It felt like two stones were pressing down on both sides of my face. Not enough to make me scream, but enough to be miserable.
Was it because it hurt? Or because I felt so wronged?
I’m going to cry.
I was sniffling when Deok-su spoke.
“Don’t cry. I’ll work even harder.”
“Huh?”
“I will never leave the prince alone.”
Wait a second, sir.
“Let’s teach you how to handle weapons.”
Huh?
“Your mother already ordered a stun gun. Self-defense tools are quite good these days.”
I tilted my head.
“Teacher, I’m asking because I’m confused.”
“Yes?”
“Weren’t your dream to become a kindergarten teacher?”
Wasn’t it because no one would hire you, so you ended up staying with me?
“That’s right. Our family business is a snack shop.”
That matched what I remembered.
“I have a hobby like that.”
Deok-su scratched his head.
“Special martial arts.”
I blinked.
“I did hapkido and taekwondo.”
What the hell. Had he been trying to turn himself into a human weapon?
Come to think of it, I could feel it whenever he hugged me. His muscles are no joke.
Hmm, this sounded a little beyond hobby level.
“People always asked me why I didn’t go into that field.”
I’d like to ask that too. Why didn’t you?
“I like children. Though this probably isn’t my natural talent.”
Ah.
So his true calling is using his body, but his heart belongs in a kindergarten.
Then a memory from my past life surfaced.
Back when I was Lee Hanjo, I used to stop him too...
I’d laughed at that face and said it was ridiculous that he’d become an actor.
I took Deok-su’s hand.
“Teacher, please live doing what you want!”
I still had a lot of baggage from my past life, but I didn’t regret the acting I’d done.
“You only live once!”
Well, technically I did get to live twice!
Deok-su touched the corner of his eye. Then he bit his lip and said, “The prince is truly kind.”
Hey now. That was obvious.
“For the sake of protecting such a prince, I will do my best.”
No, I’m telling you, you don’t have to.
I clenched my fist and said, “Teacher, the prince isn’t that weak.”
I can bite now, you know.
Deok-su didn’t answer. He only stared at me.
“I mean it!”
I spent coins on this!
Deok-su let out a long sigh. Then, looking up at the ceiling, he muttered, “I have to protect him.”
No, really, it’s fine.
He kept muttering like that, then simply lifted me up, held me in his arms, and walked off. I blinked.
For some reason, I had the feeling I’d failed at everything all at once.
Did I fail to get him to agree with the biting power, and fail to persuade Deok-su too?
Was it my imagination?
My jaw hurt. I quietly gave up thinking. For some reason, all my strength had drained away.
---
Shower was a very good script. I flipped through it while doing squats.
No matter how many times I looked at it, it was still good.
This girl’s role is incredible.
The girl had leukemia and was in pain. On top of that, she struggled with feeling like a burden to the father raising her alone.
It’s a very delicate role.
The girl was mischievous, so she kept laughing and joking about being sick, brushing it off with humor. But beneath that, she trembled with fear.
So she gets comforted by the boy.
The boy, raised by a nurse mother, was remarkably mature. He’d come to the hospital in the first place to bring his mother a late-night snack.
He’s the kind of kid who makes you wonder how anyone could be this perfect.
Kids like that usually excel at everything.
School, sports, all of it.
I gave a bitter smile. I’d been good at those things too, once upon a time.
Well, the looks were the problem.
I shook my head. But being perfect didn’t mean the boy had no worries of his own.
The boy and girl’s shy first love is sweet, sure...
As I turned the pages, I tilted my head.
This girl’s role is going to be really hard.
Just by looking at it, the girl’s part demanded more acting skill than the boy’s.
Well, there are plenty of talented child actors in Korea.
Maybe they were holding auditions after all.
I’ll have to get the chemistry right. Hmm, this is the first time I’ve acted opposite a child actor...
Who was going to play the other roles?
I stopped squatting and stood up straight.
Come to think of it, was there any child actor getting attention around this time?
There had been exactly one in the original timeline.
Han Su-yoon.
The child actor they called a genius.
Because of Mountain Song, people said he lost to me.
I let out a long breath.
We just lost him in the ratings. Isn’t it a bit much to say he lost?
Of course, only the winner could say that kind of thing.
I smiled brightly.
Still, I did win.
Besides, I was already on my second life. In terms of experience, it was only natural that the other kid would fall behind.
I don’t know for sure, but I bet my environment was better too.
I looked around. The room with the round child-sized desk was a study my mother had made for me.
Not just anyone gets to enjoy something like this.
Let’s be filial. By any means necessary.
I was lost in thought when I heard footsteps and the door opened.
Huh.
I stood up with a big smile. “Uncle!”
Why was the CEO here?
I always think this, but Mom’s agency boss looks incredibly free.
Still, he did seem trustworthy. He lifted me up and said, “Oof. How’s my treasure? Been well?”
Hey now, why am I your treasure?
“Yes! Have you been well too, Uncle?”
“I’ve been great, Gongja. Let me see your face.”
The CEO studied my face from every angle.
“Good. No scar.”
Ah, he must mean the plastic bottle incident.
“I didn’t even bleed from that!”
“Of course you shouldn’t bleed! Our Gongja’s face is a national treasure!”
Hmm. Did that come with a subsidy or something?
I grinned and said, “Nice to see you! I missed you!”
“Oh, really? As expected, our Gongja. You know I’ve been feeding you and putting you to bed.”
Hey now.
It’s true you fed me and put me to bed, but only when I had schedules.
Wasn’t that more of a manager’s job than a nanny’s?
Maybe in a broad sense they’re similar...
In any case, the CEO held me and looked around.
“Wow. There’s even a desk, and so many picture books.”
“Mom made this for Gongja!”
“Well, that’s Soo-jung for you. Gongja really is impressive. Kids this age usually won’t sit still like this.”
R-really?
Doesn’t it depend on the child?
Still, I supposed that was generally the age when kids were running wild.
I-I don’t know.
I’d never raised a kid.
The CEO set me down in the chair and grinned.
“Well, whatever. You’re our Gongja.”
Fortunately, he seemed willing to let it slide. Grateful for that, I got up and pulled out the chair across from mine.
“Please sit down!”
“Oh, how polite.”
What can I say.
“Lady first is a gentleman’s basic attitude. But I’m not a lady?”
“You’re old.”
“It’s not, ‘Oh, I see,’ it’s, ‘Gongja! I’m in my prime! I’m a young man! Don’t call me old!’”
I tilted my head.
“Are you a young man?”
“Yes! I’m full of vitality!”
“Yes!”
The CEO sat down and lowered his head.
“I’m still young...”
“Age is just a number, they say.”
“Exactly. Right. Just a number. Good answer, Gongja.”
He lifted his head again.
“You know something? The difference between a young man and a middle-aged man is the spirit of challenge.”
Is that so?
I don’t think I should say no.
I nodded like a deputy manager pretending to listen to his boss’s lecture.
“I’m a young man. I’m always taking on challenges.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t just breeze past that so cheerfully! Anyway, Gongja. Did you hear? About the Gomja fans.”
Huh, my fans?
Did something happen?
I shook my head hard.
“No!”
“Th-the Gomja fans protested because of the plastic bottle incident. They seemed to be having a rough time, so Soo-jung treated them to a hotel buffet...”
Ah, that happened.
“Maybe because she treated them too well, it caused quite a stir.”
Oh, so it blew up in a good way.
“What did they say?”
“They said, ‘Is this for real?’ They also said they ate so well they could barely believe it. Of course, there were some people saying bad things, but they were a minority.”
Of course they were a minority.
“After that, there was a lot of praise for Gongja’s stage play too.”
Ah, they’d been cheering me on.
“I’m so, so grateful.”
“Huh?”
“The prince didn’t do anything, but people like me anyway!”
Even back when I was Lee Hanjo, they’d supported me, but they hadn’t all gathered together like this!
“I’ll work even harder!”
CEO Seo blinked. Then he scratched his head and said, “I suppose it should be called the son of that mother... Everyone has high expectations for what Gongja does.”
Hmm, then I’d better do well in this movie.
“I support you too, Gongja. It’s a difficult role, but you took it on anyway.”
Huh? What did he mean?
“You’re playing the girl in Shower, aren’t you?”