The Baby Who Stole the World’s Heart
A soft voice came from one side.
“Gongza, Mommy’s here. Let’s take our picture today.”
The photographer glanced over without thinking.
The woman working the set handed the child to Ma Soo-jung. She took him into her arms and patted his back.
A cute little voice answered.
“Mama!”
“That’s right, Mommy’s here. Our little angel. You’re cute again today! Did you eat your lunch well?”
Ma Soo-jung met the child’s eyes with effortless tenderness.
The photographer was stunned.
Ma Soo-jung makes that kind of face?
What was this? No matter how he looked at it—
They really do look like mother and son.
Then instinct moved faster than thought. Before he realized it, the photographer pressed the test shutter.
Click—
Startled by the sudden sound, Ma Soo-jung turned around. The photographer hastily explained himself.
“Ah, the subject was just so good that I took a shot without even meaning to.”
Ma Soo-jung laughed brightly and rubbed her nose against the child’s cheek.
“I understand. Our Gongza really is adorable, isn’t he? Right, Gongza?”
And that was true.
The child moved just one cheek a little. The balance of that face, already so perfectly sculpted, shifted by a hair—and in an instant, an unbearable urge to pinch those cheeks appeared from nowhere.
“H-he’s really cute.”
The photographer took another shot. The child waved his little hands as if to cooperate with the shoot.
His face was flushed with excitement.
I have to capture this.
This baby had expressions. It was alive.
And Ma Soo-jung’s expression was wonderful too. The photographer clicked away like a man possessed, then suddenly thought, Oh, right. This was supposed to be a test camera.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. We’re ready anyway, so shall we begin?”
“Ah, yes!”
Only then did the photographer look around. Everyone had finished getting ready and was watching him.
He gave an awkward laugh.
This might turn out more interesting than I expected.
The photographer lifted the camera. Maybe it was because he had found such a good subject, but excitement surged through him.
* * *
This was the moment I’d been waiting for.
Wow. A magazine.
Heh-heh-heh. So I’m finally being introduced to the world.
I’ve been excited ever since Mom started talking about it days ago!
Maybe that was why I couldn’t suppress my grin.
I looked around. There was no one here to explain things to me, obviously, since I was a baby, but I could make a rough guess.
Is the concept something like The Daily Life of an Actor?
And in that daily life, there was me—a baby.
So that’s why they’re filming at our house.
Mom wore a roomy T-shirt and held me up with one arm.
The lighting is strong.
A regular baby might have cried at this point. But who was I?
I’m Lee Hanjo, the luxury supporting actor.
Even in my previous life, I’d done more pictorial shoots than I could count. My face hadn’t been much to look at, but I’d always had style.
So I should match the concept.
Let’s see. What should I do?
Calm down and think.
If the concept was “daily life,” then I couldn’t just smile the whole time.
Photos need rhythm too.
No matter how delicious a side dish is, if there’s only one of them, the meal gets boring. If every photo showed the exact same expression, wouldn’t that be dull too?
So I should give them what they need.
Mom whispered softly.
“Gongza, we’re going to take pictures now. Can you be a little patient?”
You don’t even need to be a little patient. You can take a thousand shots if you want.
The photographer spoke. Come to think of it, that gentleman seemed so worked up about his job that his face had been red since earlier.
“All right, we’re shooting.”
The flash burst.
I puckered my lips like I was trying to kiss someone.
Click—
I puffed out my cheeks, I held out my hands. The camera kept clicking.
Click—
How long did that go on?
Several dozen minutes later, the photographer said, “All right, that’s enough for this one. Wow...”
Mom patted me and went over to him.
“How is it?”
The photographer shook his head.
“I don’t even know what I was photographing.”
“Why?”
“You’ll see once you look.”
Mom carried me to the monitor. There, spread across the screen, were the dozens of photos he had just taken.
“Oh my.”
There were all sorts of expressions from Mom and me.
Mm, I like it quite a bit.
Once my perfect features were allowed to loosen, irresistible cuteness floated right to the surface.
So this was the answer after all.
This face was too perfect.
And the thing it needed was to be broken up a little.
At first, it had been absurdly shocking. But the face in the mirror was honest.
If I developed my facial muscles more, would it be different?
Still, this was the best I could do for now. The photographer glanced at me and said, “The child is unbelievably cute. No, that doesn’t even begin to cover it. I never imagined photos like this would come out.”
Mom hugged me tight.
“Is that so? I knew it already. Ah, my angel!”
The photographer looked at the monitor and said, “This baby’s expressions show through the shape of his mouth. Usually that would mean the proportions aren’t great, but maybe because his features are so perfectly built, everything is exploding with life in the most astonishing way.”
Heh.
Practice pays off.
Right now it was my mouth, but soon I’d be practicing my eyes too. As an actor, learning to use every muscle in my face was basic.
That’s how you really act!
Mom gently stroked my cheek.
“Ma Soo-jung, this child is a genius.”
“Really? I just get happy whenever I look at Gongza, so I don’t know much about the professional side.”
“Most children can’t show this much variety of expression. Even when the mother tries to guide their expressions, they only manage two or three. But look at this child. There are dozens of expressions here. Look—every single shot is different!”
Mom looked at the monitor and smiled brightly.
“They’re all just the same to me. No matter what my angel looks like, he’s only ever lovely.”
Ah, Mother.
I smiled broadly and babbled, “Ppa! Mama!”
“Gongza. Mommy’s shocked. Our Gongza seems good at taking photos too. That photographer doesn’t praise people easily, but he said Gongza is a genius.”
Well, I did practice.
Besides, I was never an ordinary baby to begin with.
Would they think that was strange?
But my worries vanished at once. Mom smiled like sunlight and said, “Our Gongza must really be an angel. That’s why he photographs so well.”
Ah. Mother.
So that’s how you smooth things over?
Was this what a mother’s love felt like? My heart grew damp with emotion. Our mom really was amazing.
* * *
Word got out that Ma Soo-jung was donating all the money she received from the magazine company. Maybe because of that, the issue sold out and had to be urgently reprinted.
“That’s insane.”
Lee Yu-kyeong sneered as she scrolled her phone screen.
The magazine company had released the photos online. On the screen, a cute child was smiling brightly.
The comments were in chaos.
There were photos in several different concepts. The one getting the best reaction by far was Ma Soo-jung wearing loose, comfortable workout clothes.
Lee Yu-kyeong angrily lowered the screen. It included Ma Soo-jung’s interview as well.
“Meeting Gongza was fate. In truth, many people around me tried to stop me. But I couldn’t resist the pull I felt. I may be an inexperienced mother, but I’ll do everything I can. I really do love our Gongza.”
That wasn’t Ma Soo-jung’s own wording.
The reporter must have written it for her.
Lee Yu-kyeong ground her teeth. She’d thought the adoption would ruin Ma Soo-jung’s image and leave her floundering, but she never expected her to bounce back like this.
The comments were no joke. Every one of them seemed determined to poke at Lee Yu-kyeong’s temper.
“They probably just smeared it with Photoshop.”
She fumed, breathing hard. Nothing was going right for her these days.
Then her phone rang. It was a text message.
“What is this?”
She stared at the message again.
“Defamation?”
Who did I defame?
Lee Yu-kyeong looked at the text in disbelief. She thought maybe it was spam, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Should I contact a lawyer?
Lee Yu-kyeong drew in a sharp breath. This ridiculous defamation case wasn’t even about compensation.
What if my mother-in-law finds out?
If Na Hwa-jin learned about this, it was obvious how she would look at her.
Lee Yu-kyeong nervously dialed her mother’s number. At times like this, getting help from her own family was best.
* * *
“Soo-jung unni, your schedule’s piling up.”
Ma Soo-jung sat near the makeup van and let out a sigh.
“Ughhh. Mijin-ah. Unni is dying.”
Lee Mijin, her five-year manager and someone who had worked with Ma Soo-jung for three years now, gave an awkward laugh. There was nothing she could say to comfort her.
“You have to row while the water’s in.”
“No, why did everything suddenly change like this?”
“It can’t be helped.”
Lee Mijin held up the magazine to show her. There, Ma Soo-jung’s adorable baby angel was smiling.
Ma Soo-jung reached out a hand.
“Gongza, our Gongza.”
“Unni. Get a grip.”
“This is strange. I thought a magazine pictorial would just cool off like that.”
Ma Soo-jung muttered as she looked at the magazine.
“Since when did the world get this warm? Why did my image get better all of a sudden?”
“Unni. This is seriously no joke.”
These days, Top Line’s CEO Seo was screaming with joy. The advertising world seemed to have gone crazy all at once, because everyone wanted Ma Soo-jung.
“How does this even make sense?”
She had simply followed fate and met Gongza. But because of the patch photos and the magazine spread, the ground beneath her had suddenly shifted in a favorable direction.
“Unni, you know you’re being reevaluated right now, don’t you?”
The brisk, fearless path she’d walked for years was now drawing attention. And maybe because she’d donated to an orphanage, even all the records of her charitable work were floating around online.
“I’m asking why it’s happening now.”
“What can you do?”
Rising as an actor wasn’t a bad thing. CF deals weren’t bad either. But cosmetics, clothes, electronics, and franchise coffee chains all at once? That was a different matter.
“Actress Ma Soo-jung is at the very top right now.”
“I know that. But—ugh, I’m seriously dying here.”
She was an actress. She liked being busy. She didn’t even get tired while working. A beautiful actress with both stamina and presence always shone, and she knew it very well.
But there was a problem.
She looked at Gongza in the magazine.
“I’m so busy I don’t even have time to see our Gongza!”
Manager Lee Mijin made the sign of the cross. It was an undeniable fact, a plain and simple reality.
“Sniff, sob... Gongzaaa...”
Ma Soo-jung hugged the magazine. Seeing her look so pitiful, Lee Mijin dabbed at tears that hadn’t even fallen yet.
Then her phone rang. It was a KakaoTalk video from Ansan-daek. Ma Soo-jung played it immediately.
On the smartphone screen, a cute baby smiled brightly.
“Gongzaaaa~!”
Ma Soo-jung covered her mouth with her hand. Her little angel was waving from beyond the glass.
Then Ansan-daek’s familiar voice came through.
“Gongza, do you have something to say to Mommy?”
“Ppa?”
Gongza turned slightly. Then he lifted his head a little and met the camera lens with his eyes. To the person watching the screen, though, it felt as if he were making eye contact directly with them.
“Ahhh!”
Ma Soo-jung was an actress, so she couldn’t have missed what that meant. But instinct was faster than reason. She sucked in a breath. She couldn’t stand the sight of her baby angel working that little jaw.
“Gongzaaa! Mommy—I really didn’t know I’d get this busy!”
“Calm down, unni!”
“Take me to Gongza. Our Gongza! He’s growing day by day like this, and I can’t even see him—does that make sense?”
Lee Mijin patted her back.
“Gongza will understand.”
“Exactly. Gongza is an angel, so he’ll understand. But I can’t understand!”
Ma Soo-jung looked on the verge of tears. Lee Mijin soothed her patiently.
“It’s only temporary.”
“Right? It is, isn’t it?”
Then the phone rang again. This time it was a different video.
Once more, Ansan-daek’s voice came through.
“Gongza. Don’t you have anything to say to the young lady? Just say one thing.”
Gongza crawled across the floor, where a soft mat had been laid out, and said,
“Mama!”
The baby angel called for his mother.
Ma Soo-jung covered her mouth again. She felt like she might burst into sobs. But that still wasn’t all.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!”
The adorable voice echoed across the outdoor set.
She couldn’t take it anymore. Ma Soo-jung shot to her feet.
“Unni, where are you going!”
“Gongza called me four times. That means he wants me there.”
“No, unni!”
“Gongza! Mommy, I feel like I’m going to die from missing you!”
Ma Soo-jung hugged manager Lee Mijin while staring at Gongza on the screen.
My baby angel! He’s calling for his mother like that!
“Gongza!”
“Hang in there, unni!”
“I know. I know.”
She finally took a deep breath. Looking at the phone screen, Lee Mijin said, “But that level of cuteness is... criminal.”
“It is, right? I’m dying too.”
“I usually don’t pay much attention to this kind of thing, but Gongza seems different. He’s so cute I can’t quite explain it—maybe sacred, if that makes sense?”
Ma Soo-jung turned off the screen and sighed.
“Right. Our Gongza really is an angel. I’m being careful, too.”
“Security?”
“He’s not just cute in an ordinary way. Well, I doubt some crazy lunatic is going to break into the house in Seongbuk-dong, but still.”
It was the sort of house where the CCTV ran like mad.
Isn’t the only good thing about that place that the neighborhood is safe?
Ma Soo-jung let out a sigh. Then the director approached. He was an acquaintance.
“Soo-jung, you’ve been doing pretty well lately.”
“It just worked out that way. But what brings you here? Did something go wrong with the shoot?”
Director Hur was the kind of man who made the staff deliver uncomfortable news for him. He gave an awkward smile and said, “Well, about the baby in our shoot...”
Oh. I can tell exactly what’s troubling him.
Ma Soo-jung let out a long sigh.
“He cries every time he sees me.”
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