The Baby Who Chose a Mask
She's watching me smoothly.
I flapped my arms.
"Sparkly! Like a star!"
"Oh my!"
Jung Ri-ri lightly tapped Mom's arm.
"Maybe it's because she's your kid. The child is kind of fun. Sweetie, yes. I do sparkle a little."
She really did look delighted. Her makeup was heavy, but the way her cheeks lifted gave her away.
Then I should go once more.
I held out my hand.
"Pretty!"
"Oh my, my, my, my, my!"
Jung Ri-ri laughed so hard it looked as if her mouth might split open.
"This kid knows how to read a person."
"Haha. Gongza is a little special."
"Everything about this baby is pretty. The face, the words, all of it. Honey, is the baby's name Gongza?"
"Yes. Gongza. He's my angel."
"I'm not the kind of person who remembers just any name, but I think I'll remember Gongza. No, wait a second!"
Jung Ri-ri suddenly took a few steps back and looked me over from head to toe.
"Hmm... is this why people design children's clothes?"
"Ms. Jung?"
"Honey, I never really had any interest in designing kids' clothes. But looking at a baby, I think I get it now. Ah, this assistant! My tablet!"
The assistant at her side hurriedly handed over a tablet PC.
Dragging an assistant along to a first-birthday party, huh.
The poor assistant really did look pitiful.
I watched her sketch while swinging my legs. Jung Ri-ri kept muttering to herself.
"I have to remember this cuteness. Ah, I think I know."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yeah. Honey, I'm going to sit down and work for a bit now."
"Yes. Please enjoy yourself."
Mom carried me away toward another spot.
"How strange. Ms. Jung isn't usually the type to get hit by inspiration so easily."
Haha. Is that so?
Well, maybe I was a little intense, but good is good.
This face was enough to call down inspiration all by itself.
Mom held me and murmured, "But Gongza... you..."
Me? What about me?
I tilted my head with a smile. Mom stared at me for a moment, then patted my shoulder.
"Maybe it's just my imagination, but I get the feeling our Gongza is going to be really popular."
Well, of course. With this face, how could I not be?
"If there were a society circuit, you'd have swept through it."
Oh. Was she saying I was too outgoing?
I had been acting pretty cutesy because of the coins.
Was that too much?
What if Mom gets turned off by me?
I looked up anxiously, and Mom tapped my cheek.
"Well, what can you do? Our Gongza must be a little different!"
Wow, Mom.
So you're just going to let that slide too?
Again, I could feel her love.
I smiled and confessed honestly, "Mama! Love you!"
"Mom loves Gongza too. All right, more guests are here. Let's go!"
"Yes!"
The person Mom carried me over to was a familiar face.
"Oh my, Director Heo, you came?"
"I heard the food would be good, so I came. I brought a lot of people with me—hope that's okay? I'll pay plenty before I leave!"
Mom smiled and shook her head.
"You don't have to pay anything."
"Wow. That's our actress Ma Soo-jung for you. Come on, introduce us. This is Lee Jin-hwan."
"Hello. I'm Ma Soo-jung."
"I'm Lee Jin-hwan. I won an award at a short-film festival and I'm preparing my first film."
Mom blinked.
"Oh, I know you. You won the directing award at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, right?"
"Ah, you know me? Yes. I won a few others too."
"A few? You won more than ten and you're still being modest?"
Lee Jin-hwan!
It's that Lee Jin-hwan, and he isn't even officially debuted yet!
I kicked my legs in excitement.
Lee Jin-hwan would go on to become a huge director.
His debut film honestly underperformed, but from his second film on, he hit the peak of commercial success.
I even got to work with him once.
Of course, only as a supporting actor.
"So this is your first film? What kind of project are you preparing?"
"I'm preparing a story about a child. I still haven't found an investor, though."
Oh, no.
I froze in place.
Right. The lead in Lee Jin-hwan's first film was a child.
It was called Boyhood.
People said it was hopelessly awful.
I had even heard at a drinking party that the reason was the investors' unreasonable demands for edits.
Well, the actor couldn't act very well either.
I heard that the child actor's family had invested in the film, so in the end maybe it really was an acting problem.
I saw it in a theater too. He really wasn't very good.
Lee Jin-hwan met my eyes. I smiled brightly and greeted him.
"Hi!"
"What? He already talks?"
"Our Gongza talks fast. Well, not only because he's not really a stone, either."
"Ah, I've heard about that. Then he's not actually one year old right now?"
"I don't know either. Still, I do think he talks pretty fast."
Lee Jin-hwan stroked his chin and studied me.
"Even if he were two, he's big for his age."
"Really?"
"And he talks well."
A feeling came over me.
Director Lee Jin-hwan was thinking about me, wasn't he?
In that case, the right thing to do is show him.
Hold on. What was the line in Boyhood again?
I could only remember one sentence.
I smiled brightly and said, "The wind is nice!"
For a moment, Lee Jin-hwan's eyes trembled.
Heh. That was the key line.
The boy protagonist says that line and grows. And then, in the final scene, he says it one last time before closing his eyes.
It was the story of one boy's coming-of-age.
Director Lee Jin-hwan covered his mouth. Mom asked, "Director?"
"Ah, sorry. It's just a coincidence, but it feels like fate. Is this even possible?"
He was really shocked.
I understand.
Still, what do you think of me? I was genuinely confident I could play that role.
It would be the early child-actor stage, sure, but if I did it, I'd shoot it beautifully.
I smiled and winked with one eye, then opened it again. Director Lee Jin-hwan hurriedly rummaged through his pockets and finally said to Director Heo, "Do you have a business card?"
"I do. Why?"
"Please lend me one."
Director Heo handed it over without a fuss. The young director hastily wrote his number on it and gave it to Mom.
"Please call me at this number later. I want to put this child in a film, no matter what."
"Oh? But Gongza is still so young."
"Still, I think it has to be this child. Nothing has been decided yet, so I can't say too much, but please answer if I call this number later."
Mom thought it over, then nodded.
"All right."
"Thank you. I really mean it."
Maybe he was so excited that his leg kept bouncing. Mom tilted her head, then carried me past him.
Wow. One film secured.
If things went well, I might actually end up in it.
I'd have limitations because I was so young, but that didn't matter.
In Chungmuro, making a strong impression with your face was incredibly important.
Mom moved on to the next guest. I smiled and greeted them, too. The more I thought about it, the more this first-birthday party seemed full of harvests.
"This is Gongza, who's celebrating his first birthday today. Please welcome him with a big round of applause!"
The host's delivery was wonderfully standard. I looked at the camera meant for the DVD and smiled brightly.
Even if it is just a first-birthday party.
Maybe because there was a camera and an audience, I was a little excited.
"Oh my. What an adorable baby. I've never seen such a cute baby before."
Thanks for the compliment, naturally.
I stared straight at the host. The woman running the first-birthday party wore a cute mask.
An animated character mask?
She was probably using it to hold the baby's attention.
That must be hard. She has to be stuffy in there.
I let out a squeal and clapped. The host in the mask laughed and said, "The baby laughs so well. Oh, how lovely."
I could hear people laughing. This time I looked at the guests and smiled brightly.
Thank you for coming.
On your way out, please leave a coin behind, one step at a time.
The host said, "All right, now for the highlight of the first-birthday party. It's time for the doljabi picking ceremony!"
People applauded. Soon, a small tray was brought out. On the luxurious wrapping cloth sat the usual assortment of objects.
Thread, a judge's gavel, a stethoscope, a pen...
Honestly, shouldn't the items be a little more distinctive?
Why isn't there an actor's prop?
Mom patted my shoulder and asked, "What will our Gongza pick?"
There's nothing for me to pick here, Mom.
But I can't just not choose something.
I thought about what was closest to an actor. Then I noticed the host's mask standing out in particular.
At once, a grin spread across my face.
Right. That's the answer.
I first grabbed both sides of the wrapping cloth with both hands.
"Oh? Oh my, baby!"
The host tried to make me let go, but I shook my head.
"All of it!"
"Huh?"
I wriggled my hands around, moved the objects to the center, tied up the cloth, and pulled the whole bundle toward me.
For a moment, silence fell. I smiled and said, "All! All!"
The host was so flustered she couldn't speak. Then Mom burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"M-Ma'am?"
"Please give him the cloth and all. Looks like Gongza wants everything."
Laughter exploded here and there. I could feel people laughing at me. I waved at the camera.
Mom adjusted her hold on me and said, "But Gongza, if you had to choose just one thing, what would it be?"
I had been waiting for that question.
I pointed at the host.
"That one!"
The host asked back in confusion, "Huh? Me?"
"Gongza, you can't pick the lady."
No, not the person!
I desperately pointed at the mask.
"That one, that one!"
Luckily, Mom understood right away.
"The mask!"
"Yes! That one!"
The host quickly took off the mask and placed it in my hands. I held it up to my eyes and said, "This is the best!"
"Really?"
The host laughed and kept the ceremony moving.
"Looks like he likes this animated character."
No, that's not it.
I shook my head, then pressed the mask against my face and pulled it away again.
Mom murmured softly, "Persona."
I smiled brightly.
See? That's my mom.
She knew at once.
It's the term for an actor.
If you get into the details, it has several meanings, but its origin is the masks of Greek theater.
This is my path.
An actor.
I don't need thread or a stethoscope or any of that.
After all, isn't this something you try on once you put on a mask?
Exactly this.
Mom stroked my cheek.
"Wow, our Gongza."
I kissed Mom's hand.
"I think I brought home a truly amazing angel."
What can I say, Mom.
We're only just getting started.
Mom murmured, "My angel wipes away all my worries in an instant. So that really wasn't just intuition after all."
What did she mean by that?
I glanced back at her, and Mom smiled. When I tilted my head, she gently brushed my cheek.
The host resumed the first-birthday ceremony. I kicked my legs once, then turned my attention back to the party. And so my first birthday continued.
"Ansan-daek should've come too."
"I like taking time off. Thanks to you, I got a good rest today. How was Gongza's first-birthday party?"
"I'll show you when the DVD comes out. It was fun. More people showed up than I expected, too."
Ma Soo-jung stroked Gongza's sleeping cheek once. The softness of it made her smile without meaning to.
On the way home, her angel had fallen asleep.
"But what's that?"
Ansan-daek opened the case lid. Inside was a single, elegant first-birthday ring.
"Who gave it to you?"