The More He Loved It, the More He Gave
So that’s how happy you are. You even gave me coins—thank you very much.
“Y-you little—what do you think you’re doing!”
What else?
“Where did you learn such filthy tricks!”
From the sound of it, anyone would think she was cursing at me.
But I knew better.
Grandma, your words and your actions don’t match.
Coins are honest.
What I need right now is speed.
The small stuff had worked, so now I had to hit her with something stronger.
I beamed and kissed her cheek again.
“Byaaa~!”
The babbling was optional.
What do you think? A one-plus-one deal is devastating. It makes people buy things they never meant to buy.
The grandmother’s body trembled. Then, with surprising haste, she grabbed her cane, stood up, and walked away.
Hm. That must have shocked her quite a bit.
I lifted one hand and waved.
“Byebye!”
Goodbye, Grandma.
She wouldn’t change her mind right away.
But you’ll be back.
Aroma and a cute baby’s charm—how destructive was that?
Now that the guest is gone, maybe I should practice.
I looked into the mirror. Dizziness washed over me again, but training came first.
Let’s practice expressions!
Training was the only way to survive!
I stared into the mirror again. Inside it sat a baby statue with fierce little eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ma Soo-jung was an honest woman, which was exactly why CEO Seo was nervous.
“Soo-jung. So? What do you think?”
She looked up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
“You know I’m not mad at you, right?”
“Why would I be mad at you for anything, CEO?”
“Ah, right.”
“But my insides are a little twisted up.”
Ma Soo-jung swallowed a whole string of curses.
“It’s not bad, is it?”
“No. It’s not bad.”
In fact, it was closer to good.
“Still, I can’t help feeling like swearing.”
“Don’t swear, Soo-jung.”
“I’m not. What if Gongza picks it up? Still, it’s still a swear, CEO.”
The CEO lowered his head.
“That’s true.”
“I mean, they were saying everything under the sun—like I shopped for a kid or something.”
“Just talking about it gives me a headache.”
Ma Soo-jung leaned back against the sofa. Just thinking about it made heat rise to the top of her skull.
“I don’t care that the netizens are making a fuss. The problem is that every show on TV was bashing me! Ah, right—let’s use proper language.”
She tapped her lips with a finger. But once spoken, the words couldn’t be taken back.
The CEO nodded.
“On one program, they said I should be reported to the police.”
“That’s too far.”
“I don’t know whether it was in the script or their own opinion, but I wanted to shave the bastard’s head bare.”
“Hahahaha.”
CEO Seo laughed weakly.
“And now they’re trying to dress it up like adoption is something beautiful.”
Ma Soo-jung muttered to the ceiling, “People are such assholes.”
“Soo-jung!”
“Ah, right, proper language. No, but ‘asshole’ is at least usable, right? Dogs are cute.”
“Well, that’s fine. Just not outside.”
“Outside is fine too. As long as I don’t say it in front of Gongza.”
For a moment, the CEO tilted his head.
“Th-that so?”
“It just pisses me off. The second the paparazzi got photos, the public mood changed. Damn it! Dirty. Just dirty!”
Yes, dirty indeed. That’s how the world worked. CEO Seo stole a glance at her. It was about time he brought up the real point.
“So, you’re going to refuse?”
Ma Soo-jung smiled brightly.
“Why would I refuse?”
“Huh? You’ll do it?”
“Yep.”
“Wait, really? You’re going to pose for the magazine? Soo-jung, don’t you dare say one thing and do another.”
“I said I’d do it, didn’t I? CEO, I’m Ma Soo-jung.”
CEO Seo nodded hard.
Has our Soo-jung become an angel after bringing home a son?
It was nice—very nice, in fact—but also a little strange.
You never do things you don’t want to do.
It wasn’t that she was unwilling when it came to roles. Ma Soo-jung always did her work faithfully, but outside acting-related jobs, she tended to refuse anything she disliked without hesitation.
She always shows up for premieres and the like, but if it’s something like hosting, she turns right around.
Even aside from that, CEO Seo had assumed Ma Soo-jung would turn this down immediately.
She dotes on that adopted son of hers like crazy, after all.
He’d thought she’d want to keep him out of sight.
“What changed your mind?”
At CEO Seo’s question, Ma Soo-jung pressed her lips together tightly.
“If it’s hard to answer, then never mind.”
“It’s not that. I just thought about the paparazzi and realized something. I’m not the one eating shit, am I?”
Huh?
CEO Seo blinked. What was that supposed to mean?
“I’m not the one eating crap, so why should I be the one people call a mutt? And besides, I can’t avoid it forever.”
Honestly, Ma Soo-jung had thought about it too.
Is it really okay for Gongza’s face to become known?
But the worry was pointless.
As long as he’s my son, paparazzi are going to keep snapping pictures anyway.
Unless he never left the house at all.
But we can’t live like that.
He hadn’t committed a crime.
So they went out, and of course they were photographed. She hadn’t imagined for a second that it would improve her image, though.
It’s all because our Gongza is too pretty.
Ma Soo-jung rested her chin on her hand. The sight of her adorable son hovered vividly in her mind.
Gongza, Mom is thinking hard.
What would help your future?
So it’s the magazine.
Ma Soo-jung said calmly, “If they’re going to take pictures anyway, it’s better to make it official and do it properly.”
“That’s true.”
“The problem is money.”
Ma Soo-jung frowned.
“They aren’t paying much.”
“The amount doesn’t matter. It’s pocket change, and I’m Ma Soo-jung. There’s no way I’m short on money.”
The CEO blinked.
“W-well, that’s true.”
“I was wondering what to do with it. That was the problem.”
At first, she had thought about opening a bank account for Gongza and putting it in there.
But did she really need to?
That pocket change? And the most important thing is our Gongza’s image.
Ma Soo-jung let out a sigh.
The most important thing was this.
“I don’t want people thinking I’m making money off my son.”
“Ah, I see.”
“If that happens, it’ll be a mess. People will say I brought him home for publicity, and they’ll go absolutely wild.”
CEO Seo nodded.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Donate it.”
“Huh?”
“Under Gongza’s name, I’m going to sponsor the place he came from.”
Wow.
CEO Seo slowly stood up and applauded.
Clap clap clap—
“That’s the best, Ma Soo-jung! As a mother with a child, I guess you have to lift your head and look far ahead. With this, no one can complain about our Gongza.”
Ma Soo-jung stretched her arms straight out.
“Getting hated is basically part of my daily life, so I’m fine. But I can’t stand hearing people badmouth our Gongza.”
She clenched her fist.
“He just became my son, so why are they spouting nonsense? I should break their legs.”
CEO Seo hurried to stop her.
“Soo-jung, that’s cruel.”
“Oh, is it?”
“It should be the fingers, not the legs. They used their fingers on the keyboard.”
“Ah! Right!”
The two of them laughed at each other, then both lowered their heads.
“I really wish that had happened.”
“So do I.”
Ma Soo-jung took a deep breath. The die had already been cast.
“I picked the best place.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep your spirits up.”
“What reason would I have to be down? If I’m doing it, I might as well do it well.”
“Still, I think you’ve changed a lot.”
Ma Soo-jung smiled brightly.
“How so?”
“You used to just clench your fist and charge ahead. But this is a good kind of change.”
She gave a small laugh.
“If it’s for our Gongza, then I have to change. Though, honestly, it’s a bit complicated. This is the sort of trick some landlords love using.”
“Huh?”
“Somehow this is how it’s turning out. Anyway, I’m off to work.”
“R-right! Good work today too, Soo-jung!”
Ma Soo-jung stood from her seat. Watching her back, CEO Seo tilted his head.
Who’s the landlord?
More importantly, were you living on a lease? I thought you were staying at your parents’ house.
“Well, Seongbok-dong is expensive.”
CEO Seo muttered to himself and headed back to his seat.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
CEO Seo was the kind of man who knew how to row when the water came in. Actress Ma Soo-jung chose the magazine that wrote good articles rather than the one offering the most money.
But the magazine that wrote good articles was usually the one that paid well too.
Looks like I’ve ended up with the most famous one: D.
With her filming makeup finished, Ma Soo-jung looked toward Gongza. The little angel was sitting cutely by the wide living room window.
“Ms. Ma Soo-jung, I’ll be relying on you today.”
Smiling, she shook hands with the photographer, who was fairly famous himself.
“Likewise.”
“So that’s the angel.”
“Yes. That’s Gongza.”
“Gongza?”
The photographer muttered the name under his breath.
“That sounds like a name for a kid who’ll be filial.”
Then his eyes narrowed. “But the surname is ‘Ma,’ so….”
“Ma Gongza.”
He sneered inwardly.
What an odd name.
Well, if it’s a celebrity, it’s obvious.
They were always like this.
No matter how young the kid is, it’s probably just a pet they picked up.
So they’d given him a ridiculous name.
Sure, the patch photos make them talk about love and all that, but there’s no way that’s real.
He didn’t trust Ma Soo-jung, or rather, any celebrity.
The second they get a little famous, they start throwing their weight around like crazy….
But then…
The child’s face.
He knew it well from the patch photos.
Honestly, it startled him a little.
“Huh?”
Was that really a human face?
Before he knew it, the photographer had taken a step closer to the baby. Then, using the test film camera he carried for personal use, he snapped a shot first and thought later.
Click.
The child turned his head. Their eyes met through the camera lens, and the photographer couldn’t think of anything at all. He could only keep pressing the shutter on instinct.
Click, click.
The baby’s eyes widened. He seemed startled by the sound.
“Photographer-nim?”
“Ah, this is….”
The child turned his head toward the natural light. Without thinking, the photographer took another shot.
“He’s quite something. He’s beautiful.”
Ma Soo-jung smiled brightly. It was a compliment she was already used to as a mother.
“Right? He’s an angel, isn’t he?”
“Yes. For his features to fall into place like that… He looks like a sculpture.”
That was still pure admiration. But he could tell the limit immediately.
Hmm.
The photographer understood the problem right away.
The kid’s face is too perfect. It feels unnatural.
Some people liked faces like that. He wasn’t the type to photograph them, though.
Photos need life in them. If I wanted to shoot a sculpture, I’d go to a museum.
The photographer smiled bitterly.
Besides, he was a baby. Animals and children were mysterious creatures you couldn’t do whatever you wanted with.
He might start screaming his head off.
Then his ears would ring, and snot would be running everywhere. If that happened, Ma Soo-jung would obviously get annoyed too.
This is why I hate shooting babies.
Honestly, he disliked the purpose of this shoot itself. However you looked at it, this was a photo made to cash in on a celebrity’s adopted child.
I don’t want to work.
The photographer looked at the child again. Even so, he was disgustingly beautiful.
She brought him home because of his face, so I guess that makes sense. Hmm, then should I just emphasize the sculptural quality? Damn it. The concept!
The photographer let out a sigh.
The concept was The Actress Mom’s Everyday Life, wasn’t it?
Ma Soo-jung had insisted on that and nothing else, so he had no choice.
She picked him up like she was shopping and now she’s making a fuss about it.
Anyone watching would think she truly cared about the child.
When really she just brought him home because he was popular.
The photographer lifted his camera.
Still, celebrities always get their way. Damn it.
Even if he had no enthusiasm, he still had to do the job.
That was when it happened.