Holding the President's Hand
No, why are you doing this?
Settle down, Mr. President.
The President just kept walking as if nothing were wrong, which meant I had no choice but to follow along naturally. The diplomat didn’t really stop us either, though he did blink once in obvious surprise.
I tilted my head up and looked at the President. I tried sending a very strong message through my eyes that said please let go of me, but somehow it didn’t seem to get through.
Well, I guess there’s nothing for it.
I hoped at least the First Lady would say something, but other than a faint smile, she didn’t react at all.
No one’s saying anything.
Ah. So this is power.
Shouldn’t I let go?
I couldn’t let go in the first place, not when the one holding my hand was the President.
Hmm. If someone saw us, they’d probably think I was the President’s grandson.
There was no way around it.
Then I might as well enjoy it.
So I smiled brightly and gave the hand I was holding a little swing.
After we’d walked like that for a while, a bearded man in Arab national dress greeted us with a broad smile.
Wow. This is my first time seeing someone like that.
Come to think of it, this was somewhere in the Middle East, right? Which country had they said it was again?
I heard he was royalty.
His name was probably absurdly long.
Not that it’s any of my business.
Flashbulbs popped from every direction. The President and the king shook hands, and I handed over the bouquet I’d been holding all along.
The flashes intensified. I beamed at them. The Middle Eastern king in front of me accepted the flowers while gently patting my cheek.
The President shook hands with several people, then went with the king to the reserved seats and sat down.
Hmm. Where am I supposed to sit?
As I looked around, one of the Foreign Ministry men took my hand.
“I’ll take you to your mother.”
“Thank you!”
“Don’t mention it. Come on.”
Just as I was about to back down the steps, a woman wearing a hijab came up to me.
Huh?
Isn’t she one of the important people I saw earlier?
She would have been fine just passing by, but instead she stopped in front of me and met my eyes.
Well, you know, goodwill matters in international relations too.
Sure, one child actor saying hello probably wouldn’t change anything. Still, being polite was basic manners.
I smiled brightly and said, “Hello!”
“Hi!”
Thankfully, she answered in English.
Hmm. What should I say?
I told her, “Very beautiful!”
Sorry. I haven’t attended English kindergarten yet, so my conversations with foreigners aren’t exactly smooth.
Hmm, was that a little careless?
While I was worrying about that, I heard a cheerful laugh.
“Heh-heh! Thank you! You’re so cute!”
Thankfully, she took it well.
Thank you, important lady.
She held out her hand to me.
Was that for a handshake?
I took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. Then she laughed again and said, “I knew the Whale Family.”
Huh?
She knows the Whale Family?
Wasn’t that only famous in Korea?
My eyes went wide in surprise, and she drew her hand back with a smile. Just then, someone else approached from the side. It seemed like the important lady wanted to keep talking to me, but she looked like she was out of time.
As she turned away, she said, “Bye-bye, Gongza.”
“Bye!”
Take care, mysterious important lady from the Middle East.
But who was she?
Just as I was tilting my head in confusion, the diplomat beside me spoke up.
“Goodness. That was the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.”
Huh?
“She’s probably royal.”
Ah.
So she really was someone important.
We don’t have royalty in Korea, so I had no real sense of how high-ranking that made her.
And I don’t particularly want to know.
I shook my head. Well, if she looked pleased, then that was good enough.
The diplomat looked at me and said, “Gongza.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Huh. For what?
“The atmosphere is wonderful because of you. On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, I’d like to express our gratitude.”
Oh.
Well, I suppose seeing a cute child could put people in a good mood.
Still, what had I actually done? I’d only smiled and awkwardly said that she was beautiful.
And yet he’s thanking me anyway.
The diplomat was a good person.
“Hehe. Thank you!”
“My, aren’t you adorable.”
The diplomat let out a sigh and said, “If every child in the world were like Gongza, that would be wonderful.”
Hmm. Then we’d need a second life for that to happen. Isn’t that a bit unrealistic?
“Then our country would become a diplomatic powerhouse.”
Wow, mister. That’s a fresh perspective.
A laugh escaped me. This man really was working hard for his country.
“The drama Inyeon got a 75 percent rating here, you know. So there are a lot of people here who like Gongza.”
So it really was as popular as they said.
“If you did the Whale Family dance routine onstage later, I bet everyone here would clap.”
Th-there’s no need for that. I’ll pass.
I’d die of embarrassment.
A Whale Family dance in front of the royal family of an Arab nation and the President and First Lady of Korea? Just imagining it made me want to find a rabbit hole and crawl into it.
“Good grief, I told a child something foolish. Come on, I’ll take you there. Honestly, I’m busy enough already.”
The diplomat quickened his pace. I followed after him and shook my head.
Just imagining it makes me dizzy.
Still, it was a future that would never come. I pushed the useless worry aside with another shake of my head. No point fretting over something like that.
Mom was waiting behind the stage. I ran straight to her and flung my arms around her.
“Did Gongza do well?”
“Yep! I held hands with the President and walked with him!”
“Huh? Was that what was supposed to happen?”
I shook my head.
“Nope!”
“R-really?” Mom muttered under her breath.
“Maybe I really should emigrate. Why does everyone keep grabbing my child’s hand?”
Hahahaha.
“No matter how cute our Gongza is, that’s still a little unsettling.”
Oh, Mother.
Surely that can’t really be the case.
Still smiling, I changed the subject. “Mom, why are you backstage?”
“Oh, I’m going out soon to say hello. Come to think of it, is this Gongza’s first time backstage?”
Well, in this life, yes.
In my last life, I’d been backstage more times than I could count.
It was always like this before going on stage.
Though the Daehangno Small Theater was nothing compared to this place.
I looked around. It was certainly large and spacious, fitting for a venue where important people were holding an event.
They said this was the National Theater, right?
A clear voice drifted in from the stage. Mom smiled. “That’s Nuri’s voice.”
Ah.
Then that must be the Inyeon OST being performed right now.
Maybe because I’d never actually watched the drama I was in, I listened to the song with intense curiosity.
“Gongza. Let’s go around behind the stage. Mom will speak first and then hand the microphone to Gongza. When that happens, Gongza just says, ‘Hello, everyone.’”
Easy.
Piece of cake.
“Yep!”
I nodded.
Mom adjusted my collar and said, “Hmm. The more I think about it, the more worried I get.”
I tilted my head. “About what?”
“You seem to be taking this too casually. Actually, going up onstage can be incredibly stressful, you know.”
What? Mother, why are you worrying about something so unnecessary?
“What if you end up getting stage fright because of me?”
I thought back to the stage I’d stood on as Ma Gongza.
Two premiere screenings come to mind.
Hmm, my dear mother. At this point? Isn’t it a little late for that?
Mom let out a long sigh.
“Ah, I guess it is too late already. Still, that was in Korea.”
Hmm. Was there really that big a difference between Korea and abroad?
“I’m worried you’ll be overwhelmed in a strange place, and you know you can’t make mistakes at an event like this. There are so many people, too.”
I smiled brightly. “Gongza likes lots of people even more!”
Mother, I’ve performed plenty of plays in small theaters.
I even did one in a theater with only two audience members.
Do you know how heartbreaking that is? There were more actors onstage than there were people watching.
“R-really?”
“Yep! I wish there were even more people!”
Double the crowd wouldn’t bother me at all.
Mom blinked, then nodded slowly. “I see. Our Gongza is very brave.”
It’s less that and more that no reactions at all are worse than bad reactions.
Of course, I wasn’t saying bad comments were a good thing. Not at all.
“My angel really is strong. Come to think of it, maybe Gongza wasn’t nervous at all.”
I took Mom’s hand and gave it a little swing. “Gongza does get nervous!”
Though not really.
“Oh? You do?”
“Yep! But not right now! I’m with Mom!”
As long as I was onstage with Mom, what could possibly go wrong? And besides, there were important people here, so security was solid.
Mom blinked, then covered her mouth and laughed.
“Honestly, what does our Gongza eat that makes Mom so happy?”
What indeed.
I decided long ago that if I was going to be adorable, I might as well use it to pay my filial debts while I still could.
I rubbed my face against Mom’s hand. I was enjoying the bright sound of her laughter when, all of a sudden, I heard the vibration of a phone from one of the Foreign Ministry men.
Hmm. What’s going on?
The instant he answered, the man shouted, “What? You sent him to the hospital? Yes. But then? What do you mean they need more time?”
Hmm. Was there a problem?
The diplomat glanced at his watch and let out a weary sigh.
Mom asked, “Is someone sick?”
“Ah, yes. Well, um, it’s Ma Soo-jung.”
“Yes?”
“This is asking a lot, I know, but could you help us buy some time during the greeting onstage?”
Huh.
“Why?”
“One of the idol group members had to go to the ER with appendicitis. The performance itself can apparently go on without him, but they need time to adjust the choreography.”
“Oh no. Is the patient all right?”
“Yes. We’ve just been told he’s going into surgery now. Good heavens. Is there really no way around this?”
Mom fell into thought for a moment, then said, “Hmm. I’m not very good at talking, so I’m not exactly talented at killing time.”
“Ah, but please, just a little.”
Mom looked worried. “Hmm. I’ll do my best, but I don’t think I can drag it out for very long.”
Wow.
This is an emergency.
Well, it wasn’t unusual for a later performer to be late and for an earlier one to sing a few more songs to fill the gap.
But this was an international event.
Normally, the whole schedule would have been set in stone weeks ago.
The diplomat rushed around in a panic, telling the other teams as well.
I thought the same thing during that national promotion commercial, too.
Working for the good of the country always came with more complications than you expected.
Still, if it came to it, they could always just leave out that idol group’s performance.
Was it a group so important they couldn’t be cut?
Maybe that idol group was supposed to do something crucial at this event.
In the end, all that mattered was buying as much time as possible.
I looked up at Mom. She seemed anxious, biting her lip lightly.
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Mom nervous.
Come to think of it, I’d never actually seen Mom act as an MC before.
She’s always so quick on her feet in interviews, though.
I squeezed Mom’s hand and said, “Mom! Just think of it like a long interview!”
“Huh?”
“Relax! The host will keep asking as many questions as they can!”
Mom blinked. For a second, I realized my mistake.
Hmm. That’s not really something a kid my age would say.
Was that a little too careless?
Just as I was regretting it, Mom pulled me into a tight hug.