The President with Panda Eyes
I tilted my head. The president...
Honestly, neither in my past life nor this one had I cared much about politics. Still, I did know what the president looked like.
If I remembered right, he was a tired-looking old man.
I couldn’t recall the details of his policies very well.
At the end of the day, I was just a passive citizen who barely managed to vote on election day.
Well, anyway. So I was going to be filming with that important old man.
I guess all I had to do was act polite.
If this was one of those situations where I could smooth things over by being cute, then I’d just smile a little and call it a day.
At that thought, a sigh escaped me.
Somehow I’d gotten used to acting cute before I even realized it!
How was this something a person could get used to?
I swallowed my tears on the inside.
Well, whatever. There was nothing I could do about it until I grew up.
Mom held me tight and said, “I’m worried. Will you be okay?”
From inside her arms, I said, “Gongja will do my best!”
So don’t worry, Mother. Surely they wouldn’t ask anything impossible from a child.
Mom looked down at me and let out an even deeper sigh.
“I’m really worried, Gongja.”
I said I’d be fine, though.
“You’re so cute that what if even the president wants to take you home as his son?”
W-well, I doubt that.
My mom really is overestimating me way too much.
Like a hedgehog insisting its own child’s spines are soft.
“Well, then we’d just emigrate!”
I-I suppose so?
I smiled awkwardly.
I don’t really want to leave, though.
I want to go to Hollywood after I’ve made my mark in Korean productions first.
In the distant future, Korean works will make waves in the United States too.
We can go then, Mom.
“Hmm. If we do end up going, we should at least land one good punch on the way out.”
Huh?
What do you mean, “a good punch”? Normally I’d let that slide, but...
Excuse me, Mother. Even if the other party is the president?
I blinked.
I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I’d better stop this. I have to do well!
I didn’t know what “doing well” would even look like, but still.
With that mutter, I broke into a bright smile.
The set for the national promotional commercial wasn’t all that lavish.
Except for the fact that the cast was absurdly impressive. Government events probably have their own budget battles too.
I looked around. Because of that, the whole place somehow looked pretty rough.
“Hey, the crane!”
“I told you not to pull that cable over there!”
“Are you insane?”
Shouts exploded from all directions. Mr. Deok-su quietly covered my ears, but honestly, it didn’t help much.
“This is no place for a child to be hearing.”
Well, that was true.
I held up the pinwheel in my hand and smiled.
Mr. Deok-su looked around and said, “It’s chaotic.”
Very much agreed.
You could see that the staff weren’t quite in sync.
“Hey, I said don’t press that!”
“That’s not the camera setting!”
“The lights!”
Wow. What a zoo.
Is it really okay for a national promotional commercial to be like this?
And they said this was going to be put up in Times Square.
Just then, the commercial director walked over. Wiping sweat from his face over and over, he said, “Ah, you’re here. So you’re the sellout legend!”
Oh, he must be talking about the kids’ clothing thing.
“Hello!”
“Oh, you speak well. Hello! I’m Director Lee!”
I see. Nice to meet you.
“Whew. You’re really cute. Anyway, thanks for agreeing to appear even though we’re not paying you a cent.”
Not at all. I’m just grateful to be representing the country’s image.
The director stared at my face.
“Hmm...”
I blinked, then flashed him a grin.
“The praise from the industry was real after all. They said you were the kind of face they wanted to see grow up, and they weren’t kidding...”
Were they now. Whoever they were, they had a good eye.
Keep it coming!
Compliments about my looks were always welcome.
Director Lee tilted his head this way and that, studying my face.
“This angle’s nice too. And this one. Ah, they’re all good.”
Whatever angle you chose, my face was perfect.
“No wonder you get so many calls. So, Gongja, do you know what we’re doing today?”
I gave him a sunny smile.
“I heard I’m supposed to run around with this!”
The prop pinwheel fluttered in the breeze. Director Lee nodded.
“That’s right. You just have to run from there to there. Smiling!”
I pictured the storyboard I’d seen at home.
A little kid running through a field with a pinwheel in his hand.
With this face, running into frame would make the commercial effect perfect.
There’s always a child in national promotional commercials.
I grinned.
It’s small, but it’ll still count toward my resume later. Not bad at all.
Then the shouting started again.
“I told you not to pull it there!”
“Hey, sparks are flying!”
“Just get the crane right!”
There they go again.
The director let out a long sigh and barked, “Hey! There’s a kid here too!”
“Sorry.”
“Agh, I get that you’re stressed because the schedule’s tight, but let’s just do this properly!”
The atmosphere was intense.
I quietly stepped back. More sharp voices went flying back and forth.
I don’t really have any thoughts about it, but still.
I stared at the pinwheel.
Usually on a set, something keeps happening over and over.
The director was still shouting at the top of his lungs. Since it was so noisy, Mr. Deok-su covered my ears again.
A low voice spoke carefully. “They aren’t angry at Gongja.”
Huh? Well, of course they weren’t.
Obviously they’re not doing that because of me. Why would you even say that?
I blinked, then realized something.
Right. A small child would usually think everyone’s shouting because of them.
That was probably why people said fighting in front of children was bad.
I gave a bright smile.
“I know!”
Mr. Deok-su let out a long breath.
“That’s a relief. I don’t want you exposed to an environment like this...”
I tugged on his sleeve.
“It’s okay. Gongja is strong.”
Over the noise of the people around us, I said, “What worries me more is that you’re worrying, sir.”
Please don’t mind it, Mr. Deok-su.
His hand twitched so sharply it was impossible to miss. When I turned slightly, I saw a tear sliding down his cheek.
Don’t cry!
He’d been so composed outside, too.
“Gongja is very kind.”
Mr. Deok-su slipped his chick-pattern handkerchief inside his sunglasses.
“To comfort me in such an uneducational situation...”
The yellow handkerchief was already getting soaked.
Stop crying. Everyone’s looking.
I patted Mr. Deok-su on the arm.
The set is a mess, and now Mr. Deok-su is crying too.
I looked up at the sky. A refreshing breeze was blowing pleasantly.
Hmm. A nice kind of chaos.
A little later, one of the staff members called out from the middle of the turmoil, “Child actor, please get ready.”
If they told me to do it, then I’d do it.
I ran over at once. Of course, the shouting still didn’t stop.
“Hey, the crane keeps shaking!”
“I said hold it properly!”
I wondered if this was really going to be okay.
When things are chaotic, the best thing to do is just focus on what I have to do.
I gauged the distance. Fortunately, even in all that confusion, the staff had marked out the path I was supposed to run.
“Rolling!”
I got into position right away.
“Ready! Action!”
I ran off with a bright, carefree smile, spinning the pinwheel in my hand and grinning as innocently as a dove welcoming peace.
If you can still act well in the middle of a disaster, that’s what makes you a pro.
The director shouted, “Cut! NG!”
Huh?
I tilted my head.
I did fine, didn’t I?
I immediately saw the reason. A staff member was spraying bug repellent around the camera.
Ah. Bugs.
That was the problem with outdoor shoots.
I turned around and walked back. The staff member followed me and asked, “Can you run again?”
I smiled brightly.
“Yep!”
“Whew. All right. Let’s go again.”
Once the bugs had been dealt with, the director shouted again, “Rolling! Ready, action!”
I ran the same way as before. Honestly, the acting itself wasn’t hard.
Good thing I practiced running.
As expected, stamina was basic equipment for an actor. Even if he was a child actor.
I’d just finished running to the marked spot when the director yelled, “Cut! NG!”
Again?
I tilted my head. This time, the reason for the NG was obvious too. The director immediately shouted, “Hey, the crane’s shaking!”
Oh no.
Maybe because of the wind. The crane was creaking like crazy.
How is the crane shaking like that?
That was a safety issue too.
“The wind is strong!”
Ah.
I looked up, my hair tousled by the gusts. The blue sky and clouds were picture-book pretty, but the wind was definitely fierce.
Ten years from now, scenes like this will probably be handled by drones...
But for now, it was still a crane.
The director shouted, “Wait until the wind dies down!”
Well, then I should go back to my starting position.
I turned around and walked back again. A staff member nearby said, “A-are you tired?”
“I’m okay.”
“You did well. It’s just the situation that’s bad.”
I beamed.
“I know!”
When I made a cheerful face, the staff member smiled back.
“You’re a lot more composed than I expected.”
Eh, I mean, this was only the second take.
This sort of thing is common on set, you know.
Of course, kids wouldn’t know that.
“I heard you were famous, but you’re really mature.”
I stood there, waiting for the wind to die down.
Still, this is a national PR commercial, and there sure are a lot of unexpected problems.
That made my spine feel oddly chilly.
Surely it wasn’t some sign that the country’s future was going to be battered by wind and bugs.
Well, going through hard conditions can also lead to better results.
The wind slowly eased off. The staff fixed my hair and costume again.
I waited quietly.
“Rolling! Ready! Action!”
This time, too, I ran perfectly like a dove welcoming peace.
Whatever the situation, I have to do my best.
Still, this time it should be okay, right?
But my prediction was immediately wrong. The director shouted, “Cut! NG!”
Again? Why?
The director let out a heavy sigh. Then he yelled at the staff.
“Why aren’t you doing it properly?”
A prop team member snatched my pinwheel away. Only then did I understand.
One of the pinwheel blades has broken off.
Oh dear.
I smiled awkwardly.
It seems like doing a national promotion is harder than I thought.
The director finished scolding the staff and then came up to me a little more quietly.
“Are you tired? Well, the situation is what it is. I’m sorry.”
I stared at him.
He’s a good person.
He was even apologizing to a child actor.
Honestly, if he’d gotten annoyed at me here, the whole set would’ve felt exhausting.
But instead, he was reassuring me.
In that case, I should meet him halfway.
I smiled brightly.
“It’s okay!”
And it really was okay.
“R-right. Wow, you’re so pretty it’s just ridiculous.”
Wait, why was he suddenly talking in dialect?
“Your little son here’s got a good personality too, hey.”
Hmm. Which region was that dialect from?
It sounds mixed together...
The director gave my shoulder a light pat.
“It must be tough, but thanks for not showing it. Hey.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Good luck with your work!”
“Uh... yeah. Since you’re so pretty, I guess your heart’s just as lovely, too.”
The director looked exhausted. I took a breath and steadied myself.
The prop team brought out a new pinwheel. And the next take finally succeeded.
Honestly, I thought that was the end of this ordeal.
I watched the director’s face go pale.
This is what a true deadlock looks like.
Who would’ve thought something like this would happen while filming a national promotional commercial?
“Uh, uh, uh...”
Good grief.
I quietly turned my head. There was the cause of all this.
So the president himself was the problem after all.
I looked at the head of state walking toward us. To be honest, my first thought was, He looks exactly like he does on TV.
The problem is his face.
The president had dark circles under his eyes that hung down like a panda’s.