The Fairy-Tale Commercial
My mother patted my back and said,
“Ansan-daek pushed for it more strongly.”
Huh? Why?
My job is under threat, and she’s saying why?
Mom stared at me for a moment, then hugged me even tighter.
“You know Ansan-daek. She’d lost her drive, but it seems like she’s getting better thanks to Gongza.”
Huh? Why? What happened?
“She cried her eyes out, saying this tiny little kid had been waiting for her.”
I blinked.
W-well, now that I think about it, I did say something like that.
Wasn’t that just me rambling nonsense?
“When I told her Gongza couldn’t even eat or sleep because she wasn’t there, she said she’d pull herself together now.”
Damn. That was insane.
That’s a lie!
I’ve been eating and sleeping just fine, even without Ansan-daek!
“Gongza. I’m only telling you what your mother passed on, but Ansan-daek actually held onto your sleeping self and cried for two hours.”
What? H-hey!
All I could do now was laugh in empty disbelief.
I can’t let this get out.
I’d better keep it buried with me to the grave. At this point, that was the only option.
“Our Gongza really must be an angel. Ansan-daek had it terribly hard, you know. She said she’d take good care of herself and come back. I asked her too. I told her Gongza needs her.”
I had nothing to say.
Well, if the person receiving it feels better, then I guess that’s all that matters.
Was this really okay?
“Of course, I need Ansan-daek too, you know.”
“When Ansan-daek heard me say that, she cried again. I’m glad. It seems like she’s gotten her strength back because of our Gongza.”
I shook my head.
“It wasn’t because of Gongza!”
Would she get the message? I rubbed my face against Mom’s hand and said,
“It was because of Mama!”
Mom was the one who’d gone to visit her in the first place. As the actress Ma Soo-jung, she was probably even busier than I knew.
And she must have helped with the medical bills too.
I respect you, Mother. I’ll do my best to be like you. I still have a long way to go, though.
Mom stopped walking for a moment.
“Mama?”
“You’re really an angel. The angel who came to save me.”
Mom hugged me tightly.
“Gongza, I’m really glad I met you.”
Oh, Mother. Who’s saying things like that to who?
If I hadn’t met you, I’d have been an orphan.
Well, I suppose life in that orphanage wouldn’t have been terrible either.
Sister Theresa is such a wonderful person, after all.
Now that I thought about it, I wondered how the sister was doing. I hoped the donations had been generous enough.
Mom was still holding me. I reached out and grabbed the hem of her clothes. She took my hand in hers and adjusted the way she was sitting.
“Gongza.”
“Yeth!”
“Mom doesn’t really want to put you in commercials, if she can help it.”
I nodded.
Because of your image exposure.
From the looks of it, I really was hot enough to draw a crowd.
Honestly, if I were a regular actor, I’d be taking every CF offer that came my way right now.
That went for child actors too, to be honest.
It’s amazing that Mom is turning all of them down.
She was refusing money that was right in front of her and choosing to invest in an uncertain future instead. She must believe in me that much.
Mom let out a long sigh.
“But… there’s one person I can’t really refuse.”
Oh?
“Who?”
“Ms. Jung Ri-ri. She even came to Gongza’s first-birthday party.”
Ah, that rather extraordinary lady.
“I owed her a favor, so it wasn’t easy to say no.”
I patted Mom’s hand.
It’s okay, Mom.
That’s just how life is.
“Gongza. I’m sorry. It looks like you’ll have to do one commercial.”
Good grief, Mother. Why are you apologizing?
Honestly, I wanted to do one.
One would be fine, right? Honestly, three would be fine too.
No, wait. Five. No, no—ten would be nice too.
Mom lowered her head.
“I need to take the money, but I can’t actually take it. Fortunately, Ms. Jung Ri-ri said that instead of an appearance fee, she’d support the orphanage you came from with a clothing donation.”
Wow.
I clapped my hands.
Clap, clap, clap—
“Gongza?”
“Mama! That’s so cool!”
Once again, I respect you, Mother.
You’re really the best.
I wasn’t sure, but a brand by designer Jung Ri-ri probably wasn’t exactly cheap, was it?
And she’s donating that to the orphanage.
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“Mama’s the best!”
To think she’d make a deal like that. It must have been such a hassle, so much trouble!
She did all that for me, didn’t she?
I’ll be filial, Mother.
Mom blinked, as if she hadn’t expected me to say that.
How long had we stood there like that? In the end, Mom covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“Mama?”
“Ah, really. What am I supposed to do with you?”
She lifted me up and kissed my cheek.
“You’re just too, too cute.”
No, I mean, what had I even done? Hadn’t I just been spouting nonsense?
“Kyaa~”
I laughed like a child and kicked my legs in the air.
“Gongza. Mom loves you so, so much.”
Oh, Mother.
When I grow up, if I ever rebel, just hit me over the head.
If I ever actually became that kind of son, I wouldn’t even count as human.
“Ah, but this isn’t the time. Our Gongza needs to eat.”
Mom hugged me tightly and started walking again. It was a little hard to breathe, but it was so warm that I could only smile.
* * *
The day of the CF shoot arrived in a flash.
It seemed like they’d set things up pretty quickly.
True to her status as a top star, Mom was busy with her filming schedule again today.
I was wondering who would take me today, but then…
I looked at a familiar face.
“Gongza! It’s your uncle. You’re cute as ever today.”
Ah, yes. Nice to see you again.
No, wait. It’s this guy again?
“Mr. Seo, I’m asking seriously. Are you free?”
Even if I’m one of your agency’s actors’ kids, is it really okay to just show up and haul me around like this when I’m not even signed there?
I gave an awkward smile. Mr. Seo scooped me up and spun me around once.
“Oh, my! Our Gongza! Do you know this? After the drama ended, the whole world was covered in your name?”
Huh. That much?
Well, I’d noticed a little because of the hospital stuff, but…
Maybe because I didn’t have a smartphone and couldn’t watch TV, it still didn’t feel real to me.
And it’s not like I go out often either.
With a baby’s body, there were limits to how much information I could gather.
“Do you know how many articles there were? I’m hoarse from answering the phone. It was excellent business, I tell you.”
Haha.
No, wait, why is Mr. Seo hoarse?
Am I even under his agency yet?
I wasn’t even a formally contracted actor, so what business was he talking about?
“Everybody who needed a child was asking for Gongza. This little money bag! You’re so cute I could die.”
Mr. Seo kissed my cheek. I resisted with all my might. I did not want those lips touching me.
No, more importantly—
I’m not your little money bag.
Mr. Seo, what on earth are you doing?
Whether he understood me or not, he finally set me down with great difficulty.
“Because of our Gongza, we were able to slot Su-min into the shoot.”
Ah.
So I was getting a few crumbs falling my way, huh.
My work would only be possible if Mom allowed it, so it didn’t seem like they’d forced the issue.
Did he talk his way into squeezing someone named Su-min in?
I narrowed my eyes.
Right. That’s why they call this Top Line.
He wasn’t called a sales king for nothing.
Mom wasn’t signed here for no reason.
The more I saw him, the more his ability came through.
“Gongza. Do you know where we’re going today?”
I smiled and said,
“Yeth!”
“You know? Did Su-jeong tell you? Gongza, today we’re going to film a CF. The concept is Märchen.”
So that’s what it was.
I’m too young, so there’s no end to the information I miss out on.
Honestly, I wanted at least a preview of the CF storyboard.
I tilted my head at Mr. Seo.
Besides that—
“What’s a Märchen?”
There was no way a child would know about that.
Why not just say fairy tale?
Why use a foreign word?
“Ah, it means a fairy tale. Our Gongza is going to be a bunny in a fairy tale.”
Huh?
What kind of concept is that?
Am I supposed to wear rabbit ears and put on a little talent show?
“And today, Entertainment Walk is coming too.”
H-huh?
A showbiz news program?
They’re coming too?
Isn’t that the kind of thing that usually shows up to promote a movie release?
Of course, they did occasionally visit CF sets for stars.
But that was for top stars only.
Wow.
I blinked.
Did I really make it?
To that extent?
I looked down at my own hands. They were big, but still a long way from fully grown.
Somehow, it still doesn’t feel real.
The coin count had gone up a bit, sure. But I hadn’t expected to be this popular.
Well, still, having Entertainment Walk come is a good thing.
It would help raise my profile, after all.
Maybe that was why Mr. Seo looked positively ecstatic.
“Oh, and you’re dressed nicely today too.”
I gave an awkward smile.
Well, that’s because Mom picked the outfit before she left, not Ansan-daek.
Mr. Seo lifted me up again.
“All right, shall we go make a fun CF, Uncle and Gongza?”
I smiled and answered,
“Yeth!”
“Even your voice is cute. Ah, hand over the bag, please.”
“Ah, yes!”
The person taking care of me handed over the bag they’d prepared in advance.
“Have a good trip, Gongza.”
I kicked my legs and replied,
“Yeth! Nunyuh!”
“Huh? Nunyuh?”
Mr. Seo tilted his head. Then the person looking after me lowered her head all at once.
Oh, no.
But Mr. Seo was quick on the uptake.
“Ah, I see. You must look so young that Gongza calls you older sister.”
“Oh. Yes. Well, he keeps calling me older sister even if I tell him to call me auntie.”
No, wait! When had I ever done that? I hadn’t said that!
“Hahaha. I guess you’re just blessed with a youthful face. Then I’ll take Gongza with me.”
“Yes. Please take good care of our Gongza.”
I was sent off with warm farewells and could only smile awkwardly.
Well, I suppose as long as everyone’s happy, that’s what matters.
If one word could brighten someone’s day, then that was enough.
For now, I should focus on work.
How long had it been since I’d done a CF?
And a clothing CF, no less!
In my past life, I mostly did food commercials.
Especially ramen commercials. I did a lot of those.
There had been a scene in a variety show I’d appeared on by chance where I cooked hangover ramen, and that had blown up, leading to the opportunity by luck.
I’d wanted to do a clothing commercial at least once.
There’d been no chance of that in my past life because I was too ugly, but now things were different.
A clothing CF already!
Laughter bubbled out of me. I clapped my hands like a little kid.
Clap, clap, clap—
“Oh, Gongza. Why are you clapping?”
I answered honestly.
“Cuz I’m happeh!”
“Huh? What are you happy about?”
“Working!”
“H, huh?”
“What’s the use of staying home? Working is better!”
Mr. Seo blinked.
“G-Gongza?”
“I hate just getting older in my room!”
“No, wait! Gongza. Hah, listen to this kid talk? You’re totally grown-up. At best, you’re only two years old.”
Ah, right.
Mr. Seo kept blinking, looking dumbfounded. I grinned and made an excuse.
“I forgot!”
Well, age is just a number, right, sir?
“O-oh, sure.”
Mr. Seo muttered under his breath.
“He really is something else.”
Did you just realize that now?
I was settled into the car seat and smiled to myself. Honestly, I was excited.
A schedule I could really get behind.
If only every day could be like this.
But Mom would never let that happen.
Setting image aside, it would be strange for a kid to be working anyway.
A child should be playing, of course.
It was only because I wasn’t normal that this was happening.
Ah, I wish I’d grow up already.
I kicked my legs. I wanted to grow fast and appear in great works with proper roles.
There must be something good to film out there right now.
It was frustrating not to be able to take part because I was too young.
That was when Mr. Seo said,
“Gongza. You know Patch is after you, right?”