The Celebrity
"Ooh, these view counts are insane."
The ad clips, each trimmed to a brisk fifteen or thirty seconds, were pulling absurd numbers. Maybe it was because you could take them in with a light, passing glance, but every video cut for the campaign was doing well—and the highest of all was, of course, the one of those two plump little guys clutching handcuffs in a perp walk that wasn't quite a perp walk.
Once the client felt the effect of the ads in raw views, they called me. It was Ma Sitak on the line, the same man who'd been there when we drew up the contract.
For a second I wondered if Ma Sitak was already getting ahead of himself. What he said next told me otherwise.
Ma Sitak burst out laughing, plainly over the moon.
This wasn't empty excitement. They were well and truly satisfied, and they meant to pay me back for it—and once I was sure of that, my curiosity about the gift stirred.
I didn't think it was a bad offer. They were a company that mainly sold feed and the like for pets, but they also carried all sorts of supplies animals needed, so it was hardly a poor deal for me. Pet products in particular cost more than you'd think, so purely in terms of money, it was more than all right.
With the promise of money as his last word, Ma Sitak hung up. I waited a moment, and my phone chimed again.
"Oh!"
At the fifty million won that had landed in a flash, the corner of my mouth curled. I was getting half again what I'd originally been promised. There was no way I wasn't pleased.
"Noona!"
I ran straight to Noona to brag that extra money had come in.
"Heh heh. Well? Jealous?"
"Did you come over just to show off?"
At my boasting, Noona shot me a sour look.
"Your husband's made money! If there's anything you want, just say the word! I'll buy you all of it! Hahaha!"
Noona shook her head at that. She looked at me as if I were beyond saving, and still a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Buy me clothes, then."
"All you want!"
We drew each other into a light embrace and burst out laughing.
After the ads went out, I went on with a life no different from usual. Requests for advertising did pour in without pause, perhaps thanks to the videos I'd made, and that much was new—but set it aside, and everything was the same.
Mornings, I'd get out of bed, trade a little affection with Noona, then lead the animals in to work at the cafe. Filming now and then, teaching the animals this or that bit of charm—that was my everyday. Oh, and if anything had changed lately, it was only that the cicadas screaming their heads off from dawn had pushed my waking hour a little earlier.
"Can't we do something about that droning?"
"It is loud……. But it is summer."
"Ugh! I hate summer!"
Sprawled in the chair tucked into the corner of the cafe counter, I thrashed my arms and legs. Hot enough to be miserable without the air conditioner, and needled the whole time by the cicadas—summer was a season I absolutely loathed.
"Aigoo. If you've got nothing to do, go play with the animals."
"It's hot outside."
"And you're just going to stay like this?"
Noona's look said to get out there and romp with them already, so I slowly got up. If I kept planted at the counter, a lecture from a Noona who'd run out of patience was guaranteed.
I went over to Natae, flopped on the floor near a vent pouring out cool air.
"Natae. I never thought I'd end up envying you."
Watching him stretched out like a man born lucky, I felt a strange pang of jealousy. Lolling around was the whole of his day, and still people adored him and even kept him fed. Before I knew it, I envied him.
"…………………Heh."
"You laughing at me?"
I gave Natae—who'd smiled just faintly, as if to mock me—a rough scratch, then looked over at the others.
They paid the warming weather no mind at all, amusing themselves among their own or wedged in among the customers. Maru was still tearing across the lawn like a maniac, and the cats strutted through the cafe with their noses in the air. The rabbits and Jjamong were buried in the crowd, pouring on the charm and cadging treats, while the geese—whether they simply hated the sunlight or not—huddled together in the shade, honking away.
"You're awfully carefree yourself."
Hanmu had his neck stretched long from the very center of the lawn, basking in the sun. Seeing him so unhurried even in this heat made me drowsy too. I held a cabbage leaf and eased it little by little into his mouth while I soaked in the warm light.
Right then, the inside of the cafe began to grow noisy.
One of the staff came sprinting over from the suddenly clamorous cafe and called for me.
"B-Boss!"
"What?"
"I think you'd better come inside."
Wondering if something had happened, I went in with them.
"Kyaaa! It's Younghee!"
Inside, crowds of people were bouncing in place or holding up their phones with thoroughly stunned faces, snapping photos and videos without pause. And at the center of that uproar, I spotted someone I could fairly say I'd seen quite often. No—someone I could fairly say I'd watched quite often.
"Wow……. We've even got a celebrity in our cafe."
Someone who showed up on TV all the time—not quite a megastar, but famous enough—had appeared at our cafe. It was Younghee, renowned as a beauty.
I headed straight for her. I could feel the person I took for her manager watching me with a wary eye, but I ignored it and walked up.
"Hello."
"Yes, hel— Oh! You're Mr. Suhwan! I'm a fan!"
"You recognize me?"
"Of course! I subscribe too, you know? Hehe, could I get just one autograph?"
"Then may I ask for one as well?"
"Let's trade!"
At my request, Younghee broke into a sunny smile, pulled out a sheet of paper on the spot, and dashed off her signature. Unlike the autograph I produced as if doodling, hers was so fluid it really drove home that she was a celebrity.
With her signature in hand, I scrawled one the way she had. Judged on finish, mine was plainly lacking, but Younghee clutched it to her chest as if it were wonderful all the same.
"So, Ms. Younghee, what brings you here?"
"I've got a shoot in Busan. I'd always wanted to visit at least once, and since filming brought me all the way here, I stopped by. Seoul to Busan isn't a distance you just go back and forth, is it?"
"That's true."
Younghee let out a little laugh at that, then started glancing around. It was the same reaction everyone who came to our cafe showed. Not that nobody came to see me, but most people came for the animals. The place was fairly spacious, so you had to find the ones you wanted yourself. It wasn't a zoo, where they stayed put in a set area. The only animal always in the same spot was Hanmu.
"Mr. Suhwan. Do you happen to know where Namcat is?"
"Namcat? You must like him."
"I do. A cat who can even beat an eagle owl—isn't that amazing?"
Even as she answered, Younghee kept scanning the room for him. And after a short look around, she spotted Namcat grooming in a corner, even though I still hadn't told her where he was.
"Eek! Found him!"
The moment she saw him, Younghee ran straight over. Namcat looked startled for an instant at the sudden approach, but maybe because he caught sight of the Churu in her hand, he didn't resist.
"Hyaaah……. So soft……!"
Younghee pulled Namcat into her arms and rubbed her face all over him. Namcat, of course, was busy licking the Churu she held out and in no state to react to any of it.
A beauty hugging a cat and nuzzling him like mad was quite a treat for the eyes. That pleasure, however, was not going to last.
"Having fun? Hm? You like that?"
"……N-no way."
I had no idea when she'd come over, but Noona was standing at my side, and she gave my ribs a light poke. I had no choice but to tear my eyes off Younghee.
They went right back. Not for any other reason—she'd called me.
"Mr. Suhwan! Would it be all right if I posted a photo of Namcat on my Outsta?"
"Sure. Do whatever's comfortable for you."
I nodded readily. A famous celebrity promoting the cafe was as good as advertising, and I had no reason to refuse.
Younghee cradled Namcat for a selfie, filmed him eating the Churu, and uploaded both—and the response came at once. People who'd seen her Outsta began finding their way to mine. The reactions ran all over, from questions about whether Younghee had really come to the cafe to people declaring they were on their way right now.