Damn It, the Camera!
"Ppussy, ppuaang-iang!"
Seriously, you really know how to spoil the mood, mister.
At Ma Soo-jung’s sharp glare, the camera staff quietly set the camera down.
"S-sorry. The subject was just too good."
Hey, mister. Even so, isn’t that a little much? You’re doing this to someone who’s right in the middle of getting emotional.
Ma Soo-jung didn’t say a word. She only let the tears stream down her face.
"Ppuppu, ppyah-ppyah!"
No, no, don’t keep crying!
I reached toward her cheek. I wasn’t very good at controlling my strength, but I tried my best to stroke her as gently as I could.
Did acting wear you out, actress Ma?
"Uyyaukyah, pyaaaung……."
Ma actress, what human being in this world would understand a parent’s heart and follow it for them?
I kept rubbing Ma Soo-jung’s cheek for a long time. For this one moment, neither Ma Soo-jung nor anyone else said a thing.
Slowly, Ma Soo-jung pressed her lips to my hand.
"……Are you comforting me?"
"Ppuunyuang!"
Of course.
She kissed my hand again.
And at that very moment.
Click-
"Ppuppuyaa, aang!"
That camera staff guy again!
Ugh, if he’d waited just a little longer, that would’ve been coin territory. Why does he keep ruining it?
Ma Soo-jung glanced at the camera staff and let out a small breath.
This time even the nun narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
"I’m sorry. I know, I know, but I really had to get that shot this time."
The staff member offered another excuse.
"The light was perfect, the angle was perfect. More than anything, this subject was unbelievable. Such a pretty child, and actress Ma Soo-jung in the same frame... would you like to, um, take a look?"
The camera staff member edged closer and showed her the photo.
The nun, who had been looking at it with suspicion, let out an honest gasp when she saw it.
"My goodness!"
"Right? It’s amazing, isn’t it?"
Ma Soo-jung gathered me back into her arms and said,
"Show me too."
"Y-yes!"
The photographer hurriedly thrust the screen toward us. Thanks to that, I could see it too.
"Ppu, paaah!"
Wow. Not bad!
So natural light really was the best. All it took was a little sunlight, and Ma Soo-jung’s hair, as she kissed my hand, rippled like an aura.
It’s almost like... the Virgin Mary.
The photo was that full of Ma Soo-jung’s purity and beauty.
Maybe because the people around us were nuns, too, there was something sacred about the whole scene.
"Uh……."
Ma Soo-jung wiped at the corners of her eyes and said,
"It really came out well."
The camera staff member seemed relieved and let out a long breath.
"Right? I just knew I had to take it."
Anyone likes a photo that flatters them. Ma Soo-jung smiled a little, as if she had never cried at all.
I flapped my arms and rubbed her cheek.
"Gongza really likes you, Soo-jung."
Ma Soo-jung softly murmured my name.
"Gongza, Gongza, Gongza……."
She hugged me forward and stared at my face.
Then I’d better answer her.
I met Ma Soo-jung’s eyes and beamed.
"Pya! Ppiau!"
I’m cute, right?
Ma Soo-jung stared straight into my eyes.
"Soo-jung?"
"Huh, this is strange. Why is my heart beating so fast? This child... I’m seeing him for the first time today... but he doesn’t feel like a stranger."
Well, that’s probably because I’m handsome.
"Ppusu, ppyaya!"
Whatever works.
There was nothing wrong with making a good impression on a third-generation chaebol actress.
"……This is strange. What is this feeling? It’s almost like... I met this child once in a past life."
Wow. Our actress Ma was really going far.
As expected, the nun covered her mouth and groaned.
"Oh my!"
You’re surprised too, Sister? I was surprised as well.
Honestly, it’s kind of funny.
A past life? That’s Buddhism, isn’t it? Everyone here is a nun.
And come to think of it, Ma actress seems to like me.
Sister Theresa seemed to notice that too.
"He must feel special to you."
Wow. That was a perfect handoff, one hundred out of one hundred.
"Ppyah-ppyah!"
Applause!
Ma Soo-jung gave a slight nod.
"Yes……."
Ah, the atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.
"Ppuyaaung!"
No!
I flapped my legs and babbled as cutely as I could.
"So, so cute."
She looked at me again, smiling, and lightly stroked my body. Then she kneaded my feet for a bit before suddenly letting out a soft gasp.
"Huh?"
Her gaze fixed on the sole of my foot.
"A red spot?"
The nun looked surprised too.
"Oh? There was a spot on Gongza’s sole? I had no idea."
"T-this is impossible……."
Ma Soo-jung’s pupils shook wildly.
"Ppuu……."
What?
I had no idea what was going on. So I just barely steadied my head and babbled.
"Ppyah-ppyauung!"
That was when tears welled in Ma Soo-jung’s eyes again.
"W-what? Ppyah-ppyah!"
No, why are you crying again all of a sudden?
"Soo-jung?"
"Ah, why does he have a spot in exactly the same place as Maru?"
Tears dripped down Ma Soo-jung’s face.
I stopped wriggling and stared at her, crying again.
"Ppuyaya, pipya?"
Maru? Not Mari, the one who hated being held, but Maru?
As Ma Soo-jung sniffled, Sister Theresa hurriedly handed her some tissues. Even so, the tears wouldn’t stop.
Sister Theresa spoke gently to comfort her.
"Soo-jung, Maru is happy in the Lord’s embrace now."
"Maru was this small, too……."
"Soo-jung……."
"Maru had a red spot on his sole too."
Ma Soo-jung kept sobbing.
"My poor son, Maru."
Ah, so Maru must have been actress Ma’s son.
I don’t know why, but he passed away young.
She held me close and kept crying.
What must a parent feel when they lose a child? I couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
"Ppuapyupyu……."
She must be heartbroken.
I couldn’t put it any better than that, but she must be terribly, terribly sad.
The only thing I can do is comfort her.
I moved my hand and patted her as best I could. Ma Soo-jung took my hand and said,
"Our Gongza is comforting me again?"
"Ppuah!"
"Usually babies wrinkle their faces just from looking at me, but Gongza is so kind. Comforting me like this too……."
I kept moving my hand. Ma Soo-jung counted each of my fingers one by one, then kissed them.
Ma Soo-jung’s lips were wet with tears. Damp.
"Our Maru was this pretty too……."
"Soo-jung……."
"This child really doesn’t feel like a stranger."
Ma Soo-jung kissed my cheek and said,
"I want to raise him……."
At that moment, Sister Theresa’s shoulders jerked.
Honestly, I was more shocked than the nun was.
"Ppuyuuuuu!"
I flapped my arms and legs, then thought it over again.
Well, if that’s really how it turned out, it’d be great... but this isn’t something you decide that easily.
You don’t throw the word adoption around carelessly.
I clenched and unclenched my fists with a bitter look on my face. Ma Soo-jung kissed those hands too.
That’s reckless, actress Ma.
At my age, I was just a baby who couldn’t tell right from wrong, so I could let it slide. But if I’d been a little kid like Noah, those words alone would’ve been enough to make my heart race.
And if that promise wasn’t kept, it would leave a wound just as deep.
Maybe the nun was thinking the same thing, because she looked at me with concern.
Then, as if deciding she couldn’t let this go on, she held out her hand.
"Soo-jung, you must be having a hard time. Please, give him to me."
"No. I’m not having a hard time at all. Sister. Can I take this child with me?"
Huh, again?
Even if she’s an impulsive actress, this is too reckless, isn’t it? Why does she keep doing this?
The nun swallowed hard.
"Soo-jung. Taking a child away isn’t something simple."
"I know. I don’t know the exact procedure, but I know a lawyer, so I can ask him……."
"No, Soo-jung. At the very least, you should discuss it with your family first."
Right. Even bringing home a pet without warning could turn into a disaster, and I’m a newborn baby.
Whether Ma Soo-jung understood my feelings or not, she just kept patting my bottom.
"I’m divorced. My daughter Mari went to her father. And I don’t have family. I live alone in the annex of the estate. Who would I discuss it with?"
Ma Soo-jung kissed my tiny fist again.
"I have money. I make a lot of money, and I’ve always had money. I can live off my stock dividends alone for the rest of my life without any problem. Sister, I can give Gongza the best education. The best house, the best food, the best clothes……."
The nun still tried to stop her to the very end.
"Soo-jung. Still, think about it carefully. No matter what, he’s a child. Even when taking in a pet, you need to think seriously about it, don’t you?"
That’s exactly right, Sister.
"Ppyaa, ppyah-ppyah!"
So please let go of me already, actress Ma! I still have things to do!
The nun held out her arms. Even so, Ma Soo-jung still wouldn’t let me go.
The nun let out a sigh and said,
"Soo-jung. How about we take some time? Go back to your daily life and think it over for a week. If Gongza still stays on your mind after that, then we can talk again. It won’t be too late."
Ma Soo-jung bit her lip, but she had no choice but to accept that. Only then did she finally hand me over.
The nun patted Ma Soo-jung’s shoulder.
"Thank you, Soo-jung."
"It’s nothing. I was being too hasty. But……."
Ma Soo-jung held my hand and said,
"I still don’t want to let go."
"Soo-jung."
"Still, I think I understand what you’re trying to say, Sister. I’ll go home and think about it again."
"Please discuss it with your family too."
Ma Soo-jung shook her head.
"There’s no one to discuss it with. I told you, I’m divorced. I also live apart from my parents. No one can tell me what to choose. Well, it’ll be noisy at first, but still."
She looked at me one more time.
"I’ll come back. Gongza."
"Ppuppu, ppyah-ppyah?"
You really will come back?
She couldn’t take her eyes off me for a long time before finally turning around and leaving. Cradled in Sister Theresa’s arms, I let out a sigh.
"Ppuya……."
Hah.
I’d heard all about how fiery she was, but she’s really something else, actress Ma.
Still, deciding she wanted to raise a child less than twenty minutes after first meeting him was another matter entirely.
But this... it’s just a passing whim, right?
I swung my legs.
She probably just got shaken up because of old wounds in her heart. There’s no way she’d really adopt me.
Sister Theresa set me down in the cradle. Then she carefully rubbed my cheek with her finger.
"Lord... this worries me."
Yes. I understand that completely.
"Could it be the whim of a chaebol granddaughter?"
The nun sighed and prayed softly.
"Lord, if this is merely Ma Soo-jung’s whim, please let her shake it off quickly."
I whispered Amen in my heart.
"Ppuya!"
Maybe because the storm had passed. My eyes began to close little by little.
Babies are supposed to sleep a lot.
As I mumbled and shut my eyes, sleep rushed over me as if it had been waiting.
Ah, but Ma Soo-jung. The coin didn’t go up.
What the hell, why not? Give me coins. I said give me coins!
I felt a soft cloth drape over my body. Before I had even time to be disappointed, I slipped into sleep.
* * *
Through the haze of sleep, I heard voices.
"What should we do about this?"
"I see."
"It’s just……."
A gentle hand patted my chest.
"We’re only worried about our Gongza."
I opened my eyes. I didn’t like the bright light pouring over them.
Without meaning to, I frowned, and a cry spilled out of my mouth.
"Iiiing!"
"Ah, it looks like our Gongza is awake. Gongza, did you sleep well?"
Familiar arms wrapped around me. I rubbed my face against the gray nun’s habit.
"Our Gongza can still be grumpy after waking up. Is that all you’ve got?"
I rubbed my forehead and answered,
"Ppyah!"
That’s enough already!
The nun laughed and said,
"Sister Maria, please prepare some formula."
"Yes. Sister Theresa."
Ah, so this was Sister Theresa. I smiled brightly.
"Ppuyaya, ppuua!"
Thank you... for your hard work today as well.
When the nun heard the cute babbling, she was delighted.
Love & Peace Coin increases by 1.
Total coins: 368
"Ppyah? Ppyabya!"
Oh, it went up.
Thank you for the coin, Sister.
Sister Theresa patted my back and said,
"Gongza, how was today?"
Was she talking about Ma Soo-jung?
I answered eagerly.
"Ppyah, piiyu, ppuua!"
Yes, it was a bit of a shock, but it was fine.
"I’d be happy if our Gongza turned out so pretty that he got parents quickly, but……."
She whispered worriedly,
"Still, this is a little... much."
That was painfully true. I moved my legs in agreement.
"Ppayabyuyu!"
Exactly!
"Even pets aren’t decided on that impulsively, and this is such a pretty child……."
Sister Theresa let out a deep sigh.
"Could she think of a child the same way she thinks of a necklace or a ring?"
No way.
No matter what, would actress Ma really be that thoughtless? No, she wouldn’t.
I waved my arms with all my might.
"Ppyaya, ppu! Uappyaya!"
My guess was that she didn’t seem like a bad person.
She was impulsive, sure, but she washed her hands before touching me.
Someone who didn’t care about a child wouldn’t think that far ahead.
If that was all an act, then there’s nothing we can do about it...
Hmm, actress Ma didn’t seem that cunning to me.
"I do hope our Gongza finds good parents……."
Sister Theresa slipped the bottle nipple into my mouth. I sucked down the formula with vigor. Maybe because I was hungry, it went down so smoothly.
The nun watched me for a moment, then whispered a prayer.
"Lord, may this beautiful child meet a good fate."
She kept praying without a break.
Well, Ma Soo-jung aside, one thing was certain.
This person is... truly good. Really, very, very good!
Be blessed, Sister. Truly.
Sister Theresa whispered softly,
"Gongza, do you think Ma Soo-jung will really come looking for you in a week?"
---