The President's Panda Eyes
Pure admiration welled up in me.
This guy really does look exhausted.
Mm. I hope his health is all right.
I mean, he’s the head of state, so surely he knows how to take care of himself—but still, he looks like a panda.
I looked back and forth between the President and the director, who seemed to be silently screaming.
That side’s in a complete uproar.
Well, of course.
If he were just a normal actor, I’d have asked what the big deal was.
But this was the President.
Still, is this public-relations commercial going to be okay?
Why was everything creaking so badly?
It looked like a shadow was falling over the President’s face, just like the dark circles under his eyes.
The director was at a loss. He kept fidgeting with his hands before finally lowering his head and letting out a sigh.
Ah, that’s a shame.
Whether he knew the director of the commercial was in despair or not, Grandfather the President walked toward me.
Mm, that’s a little intimidating.
If it had just been the President himself, that would have been fine, but he was followed by a cluster of five or six people.
So this is what a head of state looks like.
How fascinating. But also: please don’t come any closer!
Still, the President’s destination was clearly me.
Is it because I’m cute?
You really can’t just walk past a child who’s this unusually adorable. Besides, I was wearing a ridiculously lovely hanbok.
Of course, if someone hates children, they wouldn’t care, but I guess he’s not that kind of person.
If someone showed me kindness, I should return it.
I slipped out of Deok-su’s arms and looked at the President. The tired-looking old man smiled when he saw me and motioned for me to come closer.
For a moment, I could feel everyone around us tense.
Whoa...
It was honestly a very heartwarming scene. But I could also understand why they were so nervous.
To be blunt, a normal kid would probably have cried.
If some old man with black circles under his eyes told you to come over, ninety-nine out of a hundred children would either cry or run away.
President Grandfather. To be honest, you look like the Grim Reaper.
But I wasn’t a normal kid.
And I was used to this kind of situation, too.
Deok-su’s hand rested lightly on my shoulder, but I walked toward the President anyway. Of course, I didn’t forget to giggle brightly as I went.
The President scooped me up into his arms.
“Hup. You’re heavier than I expected.”
I greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello! I’m Gong-ja!”
“My, my. You’re a polite little one, aren’t you?”
Once they realized I wasn’t scared of him, the aides around us let out sighs of relief.
“It looks like the child likes you, Mr. President.”
I don’t like him, though. It’s the first time I’ve ever met the President. How can I like him right from the start? Honestly, he’s not the kind of man you’d fall for at first sight.
“Most children avoid me. Even Jun-i avoided me.”
Who’s Jun-i?
“I suppose I haven’t seen him in such a long time.”
Ah.
His grandson, maybe.
I stared at the President’s face.
Yeah, I can see why he’d avoid him.
Grandson, I understand.
“So, do you know what kind of man your grandfather is?”
I did, but I shook my head anyway.
“Nooo!”
“Oh? You don’t know?”
I answered with a sunny smile.
“Nope!”
“Hahaha!”
The President and his aides laughed, and the atmosphere lightened at once.
I feel like I’m the one performing here.
Well, if it made the mood better, then sure.
I reached out and patted the skin beneath the President’s eyes.
“Grandpa, does this hurt?”
“Ah, no. It’s just because I’m tired.”
“Tired? Don’t you sleep-na-na, Grandpa?”
One of the aides answered for him.
“Oh, my. How did he know?”
Mm, so it really was lack of sleep.
Well, that is the main cause of dark circles under the eyes.
“Grandpa! Sleep-na-na is important!”
Though, from the looks of it, he was probably busy with work.
Apparently my words were adorable, because the President laughed again.
“Hahaha! Yes, yes. The child is right!”
Ah, I see.
Well, I don’t know much about politics, but...
From the mood alone, this old man did seem like a decent person.
Being kind to children doesn’t automatically make you a good person, though.
Even Hitler liked kids, after all.
The President straightened my headpiece for me. I grinned from ear to ear.
Still, if it’s this much, I guess I can put in some effort too.
I turned toward the camera. The commercial director still looked on the verge of tears.
Right. Let’s do something good, then.
For the country and the nation, I’ll spend some coins.
Tell me the cost and number of coins needed to reduce the President’s dark circles!
To determine the cost, 900 coins will be consumed.
The President: 5,400,567 coins are required to reduce Ji Yoon-gi’s dark circles.
As the price, you will take a photo with the President.
I clenched my fist.
H-hey. Subtitle guy.
Why was it so expensive?
Treating Yoon Jung-hyun’s insomnia didn’t cost this much!
This wasn’t even making the President healthier—what kind of absurd number was this supposed to be?
I let out a long breath.
Maybe because he’s such an influential person.
Even so, it’s disgustingly expensive.
Though I suppose getting a photo as the price is fine.
I gazed blankly at the President’s face. Those panda-like dark circles still cast a heavy shadow over him.
No matter how much you retouch it, there’s a limit. Even with a bunch of lights, I don’t think that’ll fix it.
At this rate, the public-relations commercial might become famous for a very different reason.
The country where the Grim Reaper comes to call you over...
My back prickled with sweat.
As a citizen, I can’t just let that happen.
I found it strange that I was this patriotic, but there it was.
Heh. The President’s usual dark circles are not my department, but they absolutely cannot show up in the commercial footage.
While the President was set down and went briefly elsewhere, I heard the director’s desperate shout.
“Lighting! Adjust it a little!”
“If we adjust it any more, you won’t even see his features.”
“Argh, this is killing me. At this point even retouching won’t save it.”
They were really putting in the work.
Wait. Hold on.
It only needs to look good on video.
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
Tell me the cost and number of coins needed to make the President’s dark circles look lighter on camera.
To determine the cost, 400 coins will be consumed.
The President: 200,567 coins are required for Ji Yoon-gi’s dark circles to appear reduced on camera.
As the price, you will be invited to the Blue House on Children’s Day.
That was much more manageable.
Though being invited on Children’s Day sounds annoying.
Why are you calling me? Don’t call me. I’m busy.
I took a deep breath.
Right. It’s not every day I get to be patriotic.
I murmured humbly.
Activate the coin skill!
Activated in 3 seconds.
I let out another long breath. I hadn’t even done much, but somehow I felt like I’d just done my country a great service.
That was when the director, who had been staring at the camera, muttered to himself.
“Huh?”
“Wait, what?”
“Did you just adjust something?”
“I did, but—huh? Is the lighting better?”
“There’s no way. Doesn’t he look a lot better?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it?”
Thank goodness.
“I don’t know what happened, but this is a miracle.”
“Guess it’s not the end of the world after all.”
The director looked as though he might cry. I listened to their conversation with deep satisfaction.
“I was seriously worried.”
“At this point, makeup alone might be enough.”
“Mm, didn’t they already do that before coming?”
“Then let’s do some retouching. Should we add another light panel?”
I smiled softly.
One less thing to worry about.
It felt very rewarding to have done a good deed.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
“Gong-ja!”
I turned around and ran straight over.
“Mama!”
“Oh my, our Gong-ja’s wearing hanbok?”
Mom lifted me right up. I looked at her with a bright smile.
So she really was going for that warrior-of-the-City-of-the-Dead concept.
Those suit pants suited her so well.
“Mama, you look cool!”
“Oh? I got a compliment from Gong-ja?”
Mom straightened my headpiece for me and said,
“It looks like Gong-ja’s clothes are even more uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay!”
“Oh, my good little boy. Hang in there just a little longer. Let’s finish filming quickly and go home, all right?”
As if that were up to us, Mom.
Mom patted my back and lifted her head. At the end of her gaze was the President.
But Mom came later than the President.
That was odd. She wasn’t the type to be late.
Mom let out a long breath and said,
“Filming was tough. It wasn’t supposed to take this long, but...”
Huh? Why?
“Something kept going wrong. The camera, the lights, even the gun. It was a complete mess across the board.”
Wait. You too?
“There are times when everything just seems cursed, and I think this might be one of them.”
I completely agreed.
“Still, I’m so happy to see you, Gong-ja. My angel. How was today?”
I smiled brightly and answered,
“Gong-ja liked everything!”
Well, yesterday’s shoot had been a little rough, though.
“Don’t lie. You said yesterday was hard.”
Ah, I’d been caught.
“It’s okay! Gong-ja likes running!”
Mom blinked and then pulled me into a tight hug.
“My angel. You must have had a hard time.”
No, I was just running.
Then, from behind us, Deok-su said,
“Gong-ja slept like a log last night because he was so tired.”
“I knew it.”
“Yes. I haven’t accompanied many shoots, but this one really does seem difficult.”
Mom murmured very softly,
“Filming can be hard, sure, but making my baby suffer like this...”
I gave an awkward laugh.
“I really need to think twice about letting Gong-ja do things like this.”
Goodness, Mother. I shook my head immediately.
“Mama! Gong-ja likes it!”
“Hm? Likes what?”
“All of it!”
I looked around and hugged her tightly.
“I want to do more shoots!”
That’s right, Mother.
I want to appear in more projects. Honestly, I even like commercials like this one.
Filming is hard, but a public-relations commercial for the nation isn’t something just anyone gets to do.
In my previous life, I never would have dreamed of doing something patriotic like this.
Though I’m not sure whether this really counts as patriotism.
Mm, let’s just say it’s close enough.
Mom trembled with laughter.
“You really are an angel. How can you be this good?”
Oh, Mother.
“Mama! Gong-ja isn’t an angel. But if Gong-ja were an angel...”
I said with a radiant smile,
“It would be because of Mama!”
Of course.
I’m just following the rule of putting my feet where I plan to lie down.
If I’m not living in abundance, how dare I even think about giving anything back?
I’m busy just trying to survive.
Mom blinked. I could see my reflection in her eyes—a very cute child smiling innocently back at her.
Slowly, Mom squeezed me tight.
“Seriously. You really are an angel.”
She patted my back and murmured,
“Gong-ja, I feel like I’m the one learning from you.”
No, what are you learning? What did I even do?
“How can I be this happy every single time? Gong-ja, I think meeting you changed my life.”
Well, of course.
Raise one child, and your life changes.
Starting with the balance in your bank account. Kids cost an obscene amount of money.
“Really, how did such an angel come to me?”
Mom steadied her breathing. I knew then that she was holding back tears.
“Mama, don’t cry.”
“Mm. I’m not crying. I need to fix my makeup.”
I grinned widely.
“Mama, I love you!”
I’ll keep being filial from now on. Whether I can ever repay your kindness is another matter, though.
Then I realized with a start that tears were finally welling in Mom’s eyes.
Ma-makeup!
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