The Kindness in a Lunchbox
Hey. That was cheating.
Why are you laughing? It had been my own brand of consolation, offered with all the sincerity I could cram into it.
Han Su-yoon could barely turn his head while his hand was still trapped in mine, and then he started laughing like a lunatic.
“Pwahahahaha! Aahahahaha! My stomach hurts!”
I blinked at him, thoroughly baffled.
What on earth is so funny?
These kids these days. You say something serious and they burst out laughing.
But Han Su-yoon wasn’t the only one acting strange. All at once, an empty lunchbox rolled across the floor.
Thud—
Huh. I followed the arm reaching down to pick it up, and something felt off.
Mr. Deok-su? Your arm’s shaking.
What was that about? Was he getting chills?
The reason became clear a moment later. Mr. Deok-su trembled violently, and then he finally cracked.
“Hmph. Huh-kh. Hheh.”
Well. This was turning into a disaster.
Mr. Deok-su’s face went bright red as he shook all over. At this rate, he looked ready to keel over.
“Teacher, just laugh already.”
The second I said it, Mr. Deok-su blew up in a clean, glorious burst.
“Kwahahahahahaha!”
Hey. You’re all being way too much.
What exactly is so funny?
The two of them were laughing so hard tears streamed down their faces. I watched them with a deadpan expression and let out a long sigh.
“Ah, this is too funny.”
“What is?”
“Hmph. How serious you are?”
Han Su-yoon laughed for what felt like ages. Mr. Deok-su was the same, so I finally let go of Han Su-yoon’s hand.
Thud.
Apparently, the kid hadn’t had much to laugh about lately. But why was Mr. Deok-su laughing too? No, never mind. I rummaged through Mr. Deok-su’s bag for tissues, then passed them out to the two people wiping tears from their faces.
“Hah. Hah.”
“Hmph. Hmph.”
They seemed to be calming down, but the moment they looked at my face, they both cracked up again.
“Aahahahaha!”
“Kh-hah. Hmph.”
Wow.
I just sat there. It took a while before those two finally got themselves under control.
How long had we been like that?
At last, Han Su-yoon wiped the corners of his eyes with a tissue and said, “Hah... Haa. You’re surprisingly...”
Surprisingly what?
“Heh. I’d heard you were kind, sure. But with a chaebol third-generation mother, I figured you’d be rude.”
I nodded. That was certainly a possibility.
“Of course, your reputation’s good. I think I just wanted you to be stuck-up.”
Maybe because he was finally full, Han Su-yoon was being incredibly honest.
“But you’re not.”
Well, that was true enough. At least, more or less.
“You’re really a good kid. Gongja, you...”
It was about time for gratitude to start spilling out. I was already waving a hand, ready to tell him it was nothing.
But Han Su-yoon did something I absolutely hadn’t expected.
Suddenly my vision was blocked, and only then did I realize he’d hugged me.
“Ugh!”
“You’re really cute.”
For a kid, he had a lot of strength. I flailed my arms helplessly.
“How can a cute kid also be kind? Is that even possible?”
What kind of prejudice was that?
“Damn it. I want a little sibling like this.”
No, why was he suddenly talking about siblings?
“But even if I had one, they probably wouldn’t be this cute. Hmm. Yeah, that seems right. I’d probably end up hating them instead.”
Listen. I wasn’t really interested.
“I think I just like Gongja.”
Wow. A kid gets won over by one lunchbox.
Well, the person who feeds you does tend to seem like a good one...
This was going a little too far. Just how little had he been getting to eat?
I muttered from within his arms, “Hyung, I’m fine.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll feed you often.”
So let go of me already. You’re suffocating me.
But he didn’t listen. If anything, he tightened his arms around me.
“Wahaha!”
And then he started laughing again. I wriggled my head free a little and said, exasperated, “Hyung, don’t go following strangers just because they offer to buy you a meal.”
“Huh?”
“The world’s rough. Don’t hand over your liver and gallbladder for a single bowl of rice.”
If someone ever toppled over, they’d bite your nose off on the way down.
I warned him with all sincerity.
“Be careful. You’re pretty to begin with.”
Han Su-yoon went still. His arms loosened, and I was finally free.
I lifted my head and looked at him. His pupils trembled, and then his whole body turned away in a flash.
“Huh?”
What now?
“Wahahahahaha! Aahahahaha!”
Han Su-yoon exploded into laughter all over again. How many times was that now? This time I genuinely had no idea what the hell was going on.
“Hyung?”
Han Su-yoon was crying again, tears streaming down his face.
Has the kid got wind in his lungs or something...
I sighed and started looking for tissues again. Luckily, Mr. Deok-su handed them over this time.
Han Su-yoon laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. For a moment I thought he might laugh himself unconscious, but a few minutes later he finally managed to settle down.
What on earth is so funny?
I really couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Little by little, the other cast members started arriving. Most of them were strangers to me.
Except for one, of course.
I watched Han Woo-jin greeting the other actors. His face looked much more relaxed than before, as if the pet-loss syndrome had finally eased a little.
The moment Han Woo-jin spotted me, he winked.
And how exactly am I supposed to interpret that?
I smiled, dipped my head, and looked back up. Han Woo-jin immediately strode over in three quick steps.
“Gongja! Come here, let me see. Have you grown a lot?”
Han Woo-jin scooped me up from the chair. I shook my head.
“I haven’t grown much.”
“No, you have. Just a little. You may not notice it, Gongja, but I can tell. Probably nobody else even noticed.”
No, why would you know that?
Then Mr. Deok-su, standing behind him, said, “He’s grown about two centimeters.”
Is... is that so?
“I do notice things like that.”
Uh... huh.
Mr. Deok-su usually isn’t the type to jump into things like this...
Why are you glaring at Han Woo-jin?
Did your mother tip you off or something?
With his arms folded, Mr. Deok-su looked like a massive fortress wall. Han Woo-jin blinked, then broke into a broad grin.
“I thought you weren’t here for a second.”
No, seriously, why was Han Woo-jin acting like this again? Why was he picking a fight?
I hurriedly asked, “So, how have you been?”
“Huh? Me? Hmm, I’ve been good. I’m sleeping well these days too. It feels like everything gets better whenever I see Gongja.”
Well, I had spent a coin, after all.
“I’m glad you seem healthy!”
“Yeah? Heh heh heh.”
Han Woo-jin gave that odd laugh of his and patted my back.
“Aw, you sweet thing. This time it’s a daughter, not a son, right?”
Ah.
“Yes, that’s how it ended up.”
“No, what kind of answer is that? Wahahahaha. Hmm, a daughter.”
Han Woo-jin stared straight into my face. Then he nodded.
“Possible.”
What is?
“Completely possible. Gongja as a daughter. Heh heh heh. Nice.”
What was so nice about that?
My brow furrowed on its own. A sigh slipped out before I could stop it.
“Gongja has a lot on his mind.”
“You think the girl’s role will be hard?”
“Well, that too.”
I turned and looked at Han Su-yoon.
“Su-yoon hyung is probably going to have a hard time acting too. How do you even look at Gongja as a girl?”
Han Su-yoon immediately shook his head.
“No. It’s fine.”
Huh?
“Really?”
“Yeah. Gongja is the cutest kid I’ve ever met.”
Han Su-yoon smiled and shrugged.
“Besides, it’s acting.”
Oh. This kid.
Kind of cool.
So that was why he’d been a child-acting genius.
A grin tugged at my mouth. I shot him a thumbs-up.
“Hyung, you’re awesome!”
No matter how young you were, you still had to learn what you could. Real geniuses really were different.
Come to think of it, maybe I’d been worrying for nothing.
I’d focused too much on the whole “girl” thing. I could just think of it as a different kind of role.
“Uh, um...”
Han Su-yoon scratched his cheek lightly.
“It’s a little embarrassing, getting praised by Gongja.”
No, why?
“Feels like I’m showing off my wrinkles in front of a silkworm.”
“Um, why?”
“It feels like I’m flaunting my acting skills in front of a genius who comes once in a hundred years.”
Huh?
“Hyung, what does that mean?”
“Huh? You don’t know?”
I nodded.
“That’s what they call you, isn’t it? A genius actor who only comes along once in a hundred years.”
Oh.
“They say that?”
“Yeah. Haven’t you heard? It’s all over the internet.”
So, so that was it.
“Gongja can’t go on the internet!”
“Huh? Why not? Ah, because you’re still little?”
“Mama won’t let me.”
Han Su-yoon blinked for a moment, then nodded.
“Fair enough. That probably isn’t great. The internet’s full of weird people, after all. It’s not exactly good for your education.”
The instant he said that, I burst out laughing.
“Hey, why are you laughing?”
“Hyung, it sounds weird when you say education!”
Han Su-yoon scratched at his chin.
“Is it? I suppose I am too young to be saying things like that.”
Wow, this kid. Now that he was being serious, he was seriously being serious.
“Hyung, you’re cute.”
“Uh, huh? I’m cute?”
I nodded.
“Yep!”
“Not cool?”
He is at exactly the age where he’d rather be called cool than cute.
Mature or not, he was still a kid. This guy was kind of adorable.
That was when Han Woo-jin, watching us, said, “Hmm, what a heartwarming scene. Is this what innocence does? I feel like my heart is getting cleaned.”
Han Woo-jin adjusted me in his arms and said, “Kids, should your big brother buy you some ice cream?”
No, that man was still calling himself big brother.
“Ah, um, thank you, but...”
Then a sharp voice rang out from behind us.
“Su-yoon isn’t allowed to eat things like ice cream!”
Han Woo-jin turned slightly. I narrowed my eyes. A woman was pushing her way in like a tank.
I thought I knew who it was.
Han Su-yoon’s mother, maybe...
I glanced at Han Su-yoon. The child’s expression disappeared little by little. But I saw it clearly.
His hand was trembling slightly.
For God’s sake.
Han Su-yoon’s mother smiled thinly and said, “We have to manage our Su-yoon carefully. He needs to stay slim so he photographs well.”
Damn it. Manage him? What kind of nonsense was that?
He’s already skinny as a stick.
Han Woo-jin smiled smoothly.
“I see. So you’re keeping Su-yoon on a schedule even at such a young age. That’s impressive.”
“Of course. If he eats even a little, his face looks puffy on camera.”
As if that were true.
“Don’t even think about feeding Su-yoon anything like that.”
The woman handed Han Su-yoon a few jelly pouches.
“It’s dinnertime. I’ll come get you when it’s over.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t pick up and eat anything weird. You remember, don’t you?”
Han Su-yoon smiled brightly.
“Yes. I know.”
“Good. I’m leaving.”
The woman looked around, then her gaze landed on me. At once, she glared.
Yeah, she hates me.
Why, though?
I can think of too many reasons to count.
Come to think of it, the media had once compared me and Han Su-yoon constantly.
Though after Inyeon came out on top, that was the end of it.
After that, our filmographies didn’t overlap again.
Well, less because of that and more because The Basement was such a huge success.
Once it surpassed ten million viewers, to be honest, the two of us were basically in different leagues.
But that role was originally Han Su-yoon’s, wasn’t it?
Ah, crap.
The guilt is on me too.
I hadn’t really thought much about it before, but seeing Han Su-yoon now made it sting a little.
I really need to treat him well.
The woman kept glaring at me for a long moment before finally leaving. Han Su-yoon immediately grabbed my hand and said, “Sorry. My mom’s a little sensitive.”
“It’s okay.”
“Hmm. Still, she won’t come back now. She’ll probably only show up late tonight.”
Huh?
“Doesn’t the script reading end in the evening?”
“Hmm, yes, but she’s so busy.”
What the hell, Han Su-yoon.
You’re starving him and leaving him to fend for himself on top of it.
I asked right away, “Don’t you have a manager, hyung?”
“Ah, my mom’s my manager.”
Damn it. This was more serious than I thought.
So he hadn’t sued once he grew up for nothing.
A sigh escaped me before I realized it. Without thinking, I asked, “Hyung, are you okay?”
Han Su-yoon didn’t answer. He only gave a small smile.
“Well, I’m my parents’ creation, after all.”