Episode 20
Ma Soo-jung admitted it without a shred of protest.
I’m bad with kids.
She didn’t know why. Every baby she had ever met had burst into tears the moment they saw her.
Was Mari the worst of them?
The instant she thought of the child her ex-husband was raising, it felt as if an awl had been driven straight through her chest. Ma Soo-jung clenched her fist.
Imijin glanced at her hand and asked, “Unnie?”
“Ah. Nothing.”
Ma Soo-jung drew in a breath. Then, with a small smile, she looked at the director.
“I’ve never really gotten along with children. They usually just start crying when they see me.”
“Hmm? Isn’t our actress hot property these days because of that child of yours?”
“I’m always hot property.”
The director adjusted his hat and said, “Right. You’re always hot property, Soo-jung. Still, I never thought you’d become famous for adopting a child.”
“Neither did I. To think I’d meet an angel in this life.”
“Ha ha ha. Anyway. What are we going to do? It’s the child actor issue. You know what I’m worried about, right?”
Ma Soo-jung sighed.
“I do. In the film, I’m supposed to take the child back to his mother.”
The thing she was filming now was a zombie movie.
In the story, Ma Soo-jung played a warrior woman. She sniped zombies with a rifle and carried a baby back to its mother. It was a pretty important scene.
Never mind the character arc. The problem is that the baby keeps crying.
Resting her chin in her hand, she fell into thought. But thinking didn’t conjure up an answer.
“Ma Soo-jung. So, about that…”
Director Heo gave an awkward laugh and trailed off.
“You know what’s hot right now, don’t you?”
“Me? I just told you, I’m always hot property.”
“Ah, of course actress Ma Soo-jung is always hot. But the really hot thing is your adopted son, Ma Soo-jung.”
Ma Soo-jung narrowed her eyes.
“Our baby angel?”
“Mm, right. That angel. You know, to boost the buzz, could we give that role to your adopted son?”
Ma Soo-jung stared at the director’s face.
I did adopt Gongza, yes, but...
Still, being called her adopted son instead of her son left her oddly hurt.
Ma Soo-jung said nothing. Director Heo understood. When Ma Soo-jung went quiet, it meant she wasn’t happy about something.
“Soo-jung. The baby in the role keeps crying, so we don’t exactly have another option.”
“Yes. I know.”
“If it’s your adopted son, he won’t cry when he sees you.”
“Our angel smiles whenever he sees me.”
She pictured Gongza’s smile and a little laugh escaped her.
“Would you do it? Please?”
A sigh slipped out before she could stop it.
“Gongza hasn’t cried until now, but the set might be different.”
“Ahaha. Maybe.”
“If our Gongza looks okay, I’ll do it.”
“Really? Thank you. Wow. That’s a relief. I had no idea the baby would cry like that.”
After discussing a few more details about the shoot, the director returned to his seat. Ma Soo-jung clenched and unclenched her fist again.
Imijin asked carefully, “Unnie, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Still, your face looks a little off.”
“Maybe because I miss our Gongza too much.”
Ma Soo-jung smiled bitterly.
The image of her husband’s daughter and the adorable Gongza overlapped and vanished again.
Maybe that was why her chest felt a little sore.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Coins: 20,500
Heh. Steady progress.
Looks like the response is good?
Man, there had to be comments going up somewhere by now.
I want to see the comments.
I rubbed my cheek with my hand.
How much praise is this face getting?
I was deeply sorry not to have a smartphone.
Am I basically a celebrity now?
I couldn’t hide my grin.
Would paparazzi start following me everywhere I went now?
Kyaa, I love it.
My shoulders almost started dancing on their own.
Things are going well. But not enough.
Honestly, this face deserved to be moving around.
If YouTube were alive and kicking, this would be solved in one shot!
Why had I gone back to a time when YouTube wasn’t even popular yet?
Ugh, I need more exposure.
Wasn’t there anything good I could use?
Right then, the door swung wide open. It was a welcome face. I immediately smiled and held out my hands.
“Mama!”
“Gongza!”
I had no idea how long it had been since I’d seen her. The moment Mom picked me up, she spun me around once and kissed every inch of my face.
“Oh, my angel.”
“Mama!”
“That’s right. Gongza. Mommy’s here. Our Gongza, have you been good?”
Yes!
When I raised my hands and answered, Mom broke into a radiant smile.
“You missed Mommy, didn’t you? Sorry. The magazine we shot must have sold really well. They’ve been calling us from everywhere all of a sudden.”
When the tide comes in, you should row hard.
Mom held me tight and swayed from side to side.
“It must be because of Gongza. In actress Ma Soo-jung’s life, these days are when her image is the best.”
That was when Mom was still holding me. Ansan-daek came over with a milk bottle.
“Gongza, you’re awake? Come on, let’s eat!”
Thank you!
Mom handed me the formula bottle. My hands were getting more used to this now, and I gripped it tightly.
“Our Gongza eats so neatly.”
Mom stroked my hair and asked, “He hasn’t been sick or anything, has he?”
“If he had been, we’d have called you. Gongza’s been eating well and growing like a weed. We should start giving him baby food soon too.”
“Oh, he’s already at that stage?”
“Gongza is incredibly healthy. Babies that age can suddenly get fevers, you know. But not him. He eats well and plays well.”
Mom watched me drinking my formula and smiled brightly.
“I’m glad he’s healthy. Our Gongza.”
“Is something wrong with you, miss?”
“There is...”
Mom let out a long breath and looked at me.
“The director wants Gongza.”
I turned around while sucking on my milk.
“Bwaa?”
Me?
Mom nodded.
“Yeah. Director Heo keeps asking for our Gongza. There’s a baby in the movie, and they need one on set.”
As I drank the milk, I tilted my head.
Director Heo?
It was such an uncommon surname that I knew exactly who she meant.
Is she talking about Heo Bong-pal?
Of course, Bong-pal had been his birth name, and later he’d changed it to Heo Gi-hyeok.
But once a Bong-pal, always a Bong-pal.
Wait. If this is the movie Heo Bong-pal made with my mom around this time...
I remembered the film.
Wasn’t that the movie that kicked off Korea’s zombie-genre craze?
The title was City of the Dead.
I blinked. I also knew what role Mom had in it.
She was the warrior woman.
In the film, Mom was a female soldier, a fierce survivor trying to stay alive among zombies and people who had turned into monsters.
She protected the children and the elderly.
She was the one who taught the kids how to use guns and looked after the survivors. In that abandoned place, she was the only person who truly helped the protagonist.
But did that movie actually have a real baby in it?
I was a fan of that film, so I still remembered every scene.
The best scene was when Mom went to rescue the children while firing her gun.
I pictured the movie. Come to think of it, compared to Mom’s role in the story, her character’s arc was a little thin.
Mom brushed my cheek with a fingertip.
“Our Gongza eats so well, too.”
She passed the empty bottle to Ansan-daek and rubbed my back. A burp came up almost immediately.
“That’s it. Good boy.”
I fluttered my hands and said, “Mama!”
“Yes. Gongza. I’m your mama.”
Mom pulled me close and hugged me tight. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it: she was letting out a long, heavy sigh.
“Mama?”
“Maybe because our Gongza is just too cute.”
Ansan-daek asked, “Why is Director Heo suddenly looking for Gongza?”
“He keeps asking us to appear together.”
“Oh, my. He yells at you one minute and then asks for this the next?”
“Exactly. I can brush off almost anything else, but asking for our Gongza is a little hard.”
I reached out and patted Mom’s cheek. She kissed my tiny hand again.
“Then just say no, right?”
“That’s not so easy either. It’s because this is related to me.”
“Why?”
“There’s a scene where I act with a baby, and the baby keeps crying.”
Mom smiled bitterly.
“You know how much children dislike me.”
“Oh, come on. Gongza doesn’t.”
“You’re the first and last baby who hasn’t cried when looking at me.”
Mom stroked my hair.
“Is it an important scene?”
“Yeah. It completes the character’s arc in the film.”
Oh. So it was an important scene.
“But even so, it’s a bit much to take Gongza with us.”
What are you saying?
This is exactly where I need to be!
City of the Dead was a mega-hit that blew past ten million viewers with ease. No, honestly, the number of domestic viewers wasn’t even the point.
It was huge overseas too!
And most of all, I was a fan. In my last life, I’d even bought the premium DVD set.
If I can just appear in it!
I flailed in earnest. Mom stared at me and said, “Ansan-daek. Don’t you think Gongza looks excited?”
“He does, doesn’t he? How strange. He’s usually such a composed child.”
“Gongza. What should we do about the movie?”
“Bbu-paah bbu-pu!”
Of course I should do it!
But my meaning didn’t reach Mom.
“The set probably isn’t a great place for a child.”
“Well, yes, that’s true.”
“What if our Gongza gets sick there?”
I shook my head desperately.
This absolutely has to happen!
I had no choice. This was the only way when I couldn’t express my will properly. I shouted at once, “Bwaa bwa-bbu!”
Coin Activation.
“Turn Mom’s heart toward the filming side!”
To allow actor Ma Soo-jung’s son, Ma Gongza, to appear in the film, 200 coins are required. Proceed?
“Bbu-pa!”
Executed.
There is always a price for everything.
As the price of using coins, your eyes will itch for five minutes.
Coins remaining: 20,300
A strange penalty, but at least it was honest.
I blinked. Suddenly, my eyes itched like crazy.
Wow, this is insane.
It itched, but I definitely shouldn’t scratch.
I clenched my fists and kept blinking.
Mom looked down at me, too.
“That’s odd.”
“Why, miss?”
“Our Gongza’s eyes are sparkling.”
Mom lifted me into her arms. I met her eyes.
“It’s strange. Our Gongza, you did really well during the magazine shoot too, didn’t you?”
“I think he’s got flair. During the photo shoot, he was like a fish in water.”
“You felt that too, Ansan-daek?”
“Of course! And he definitely likes cameras.”
Mom’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yes. Whenever I pointed my smartphone at him to take pictures to send to you, he got so excited.”
“Come to think of it, our Gongza really does know how to meet the camera lens with his eyes.”
I beamed.
Exactly.
I blinked desperately through the itch.
Let me go out there! I want to perform!
Mom held my gaze in silence.
“Gongza. I know this is a pretty important matter.”
Yes. Please continue!
“When it comes to things like this, Mom follows her instincts. And my instincts are telling me our Gongza can appear in the film.”
Wow. Our Mom was amazing.
I kept blinking hard. After staring down at me for a long time, Mom finally said, “All right!”
“Miss?”
“Let’s go, Gongza.”
Ah, my bold, fearless mother.
“No, miss! But Gongza is still just a baby…”
“He’s been blinking nonstop since earlier. It was like he desperately wanted to be in it with me. When he looks at me with eyes that bright, how am I supposed to say no?”