Lights, Camera, Ack!
I had half-suspected as much, but it really did seem Evan had married Grace after weighing the terms of the deal.
There was no other way his so-called family could have said the things they had.
“My head’s killing me, honestly. The emotional drain is massive too… It’s not just a problem between Grace and me anymore. Whole families are being torn apart, so that makes it worse.”
Money had almost certainly changed hands as well, which meant he couldn’t simply cut ties and refuse to see them even if he wanted to.
Think of it as business partners once bound tight by marriage who had now become something worse than enemies.
“……”
Back when we first met, I never imagined I would end up pitying this man—or that our lives would tangle this deeply.
But that was that. Wanting me to draw more attention than Vanessa…
She was already a famous enough influencer that Grace, who “had a bit of money,” could pull her in through her network. How was I supposed to outshine someone like that?
Of course, quite apart from thinking Vanessa seemed like a good person, I still wanted the spotlight on myself most of all.
A year’s free rent was nice, but I had already secured an office and was about to go from one employee to two.
No matter how I looked at it, any answer felt awkward, so I simply stayed quiet.
A sidelong glance showed Evan had moved past gloom into pure desolation.
The fact that he was sharing personal stories he never would have before… and that he clearly believed that earlier “friend” remark with all his heart.
Maybe people really did grow soft when they were hurting. I could already picture him cringing in a year—or even a few months—over the way he was acting now.
That was even more pitiful. Like rubbing salt in the wound. In the end I spoke in a voice that barely crawled out of my throat.
“……I’ll do my best. And I’m grateful you gave me this opportunity.”
Evan’s eyes widened a little.
“I’ve wanted to thank you properly for a while, but the chance never came.”
At first I had only agreed because of the advance, but becoming an author of a recipe book sold in a bookstore was still a chance to level up as an influencer.
And even if I was participating under the “home baker” title, the other authors all had solid careers of their own.
Among those heavyweights I had barely scraped a seat thanks to the novelty of becoming a godfather to the kids. So yes—I really did owe Evan gratitude for choosing me.
Someone else might have paid just to be included instead of receiving an advance.
Evan gave a small smile.
“Don’t misunderstand. At the time I truly believed, as an editor, that Jun’s story was the one most likely to win people’s hearts. That’s why I approached you.”
“Still. Gratitude is gratitude.”
“Ah—and of course I also thought your baking skills were second to none.”
Well, it was baking that leaned on a craftsman’s mastery, so that checked out.
“Wanting you to shine brighter than Vanessa was also because your recipes and interview came out so well. I just hoped the photos would be flawless too. So please don’t feel pressured.”
I already felt plenty of pressure, though…
Still, the consideration was kind, so I simply nodded. Then something else occurred to me and I asked,
“Have you thought about what comes after the legal process is finished?”
He had once said he would return to headquarters once this was over.
But Evan fell silent for a moment, then answered in a voice that sounded lost.
“……I don’t know. No—I do know, actually.”
“……?”
I had been asking about his future plans, yet he seemed to be replaying conversations with his family and answered something entirely different.
“I suppose I shouldn’t drag it out. I’ll have to remarry.”
“Uh, that wasn’t what I was asking… And remarrying the second the divorce is final doesn’t sound easy either.”
“True. Just thinking about it is exhausting.”
“Hmm… What if you ignored other people’s opinions and just waited until a new love actually shows up? Marriage isn’t an obligation. There might come a time when you genuinely want it.”
It might have come off as tactless, but I brought up the greatest romantic I knew.
“One of my friends met someone he truly loved and decided to marry her without looking back.”
Otis’s face flashed through my mind—the way he had confidently declared the baby Rachel was carrying couldn’t possibly be Greg’s. And Greg, who had said he didn’t care either way.
“Even when people suspected the woman he was going to marry might be carrying someone else’s child, he pushed the wedding forward without asking a single question. That’s how much he loved her, apparently.”
Actually he had asked what he would do if it really wasn’t his—though the moment he asked, he would also have had to weather Rachel’s disappointment.
“That’s… hard to believe people like that exist. Could you do the same, Jun?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in love like that. But my friend looks truly happy.”
“To me it sounds completely insane. What if everything turns out to be a lie later? The child, the spouse’s love—everything?”
Evan shook his head. He spoke with the firmness of someone who would pack lunches and follow a friend around just to talk him out of the marriage if it were his own acquaintance.
“How would he handle that betrayal? He’d be left with nothing. Money, time, affection—all poured out, and nothing coming back.”
A fair point. But knowing Greg…
“It’s a little too romantic, maybe… but I think my friend would say what remained was the fact that he never doubted the person he loved, and the memory of loving without regret.”
Once the words were out, I realized how utterly reckless they sounded.
The kind of thing that would get you labeled as having thrown your life away for love.
It really was crazy. Completely.
And yet whenever I pictured Greg and Rachel looking so happy together…
“You could call him a fool. Or you could call him brave.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen it myself… Even if he could embrace it all and live with it, the day his own love cools would be hard in its own way.”
“Wouldn’t he still take responsibility for everything they’d built up to that point?”
“Even if he smiles like a saint on the outside, the moment his heart changes, hell has already begun. The other person would notice… And if new love finds someone who once moved purely on love—what then?”
Honestly, I had never considered that. Greg’s love for Rachel fading, him wanting to meet someone new…
“Feelings change. No passion lasts forever. That’s why people work so hard every day to keep their center so they won’t be shaken when it happens. If you just live however you want in the moment without considering that, how do you expect to handle it later?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Evan’s voice was utterly serious. Maybe because of his own situation.
I had only meant light comfort—don’t feel pressured about remarrying—but he seemed to be projecting everything onto himself right now.
Listening to his steady rebuttals, I pictured the worst-case scenarios he described, then thought again of the couple who looked like they couldn’t live without each other.
“……Still, isn’t it a little sad to fail at being faithful to the love you have now just because you’re imagining a worst-case that hasn’t arrived yet?”
“You’re right. In the end, maybe I simply didn’t love her that much.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“But Jun—not everyone gets movie-like love and marriage, do they?”
With that, Evan smiled bitterly.
I really shouldn’t have offered hasty advice.
The stormy discussion about love. Or debate. Or… whatever it was.
Anyway, after that conversation Evan said he seemed a bit worked up and stepped away for a while.
In the meantime shooting began, and the kids and I moved onto the set.
Fortunately the children looked in excellent spirits. Full bellies, pretty clothes, and they seemed quite pleased that Daddy looked nice too.
I was the only one slightly dazed and wound tight with nerves…
“We’ll do two kinds of shoots today. One is you actually making the recipes step by step so we can capture the process, and the other is natural moments between the author and the children.”
After we moved to the set, Mello and the coordinator were still refining our outfits when Kelly and the photography director came over to explain.
“To capture the most natural looks possible, still photography and video will run at the same time. Don’t worry too much about the cameras—just act naturally. Oh, and there’s no sound, so feel free to talk however you like.”
“Y-yes.”
I wasn’t even sure if I answered properly. My heart was already racing faster than usual from the nerves, but I tried my hardest to stay calm.
“We want to finish the shoot with the kids first, before they get tired.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
I nodded while wrapping an arm around the children seated at the island table.
“The key point of this shoot is that warm family moment that comes from naturalness. Do you cook together with the kids at home?”
As if that were even possible…
Instead of answering I gave an awkward shake of the head, thinking these people had clearly never raised children.
The director then showed me photos of poses and compositions I could reference with the kids right there on the spot.
“Something like this would be great.”
In the pictures the older child stood on a step stool helping the parent knead dough, while the baby who couldn’t stand yet was either held by a parent or sitting on the table playing with dough.
Understanding the “cooking class with kids” concept, I set Reni down on the prepared step stool.
It had a rubber surface, so there was no risk of the child slipping.
“Okay, Reni, you’re going to help Daddy with the flour dough, all right? You can do it?”
“Yes!”
The child’s clear, bright answer seemed to warm the whole set at once.
All right. I just had to do well. Just me. But the tension was so high that my field of vision somehow felt narrower.
Ah, this won’t do. Naturally… naturally…
I chanted the words inside my head. While I was focused on Reni, Luca could easily stick a foot off the table and get hurt, so I scooped the baby up with one arm.
Looking awkward on camera could be worried about later. The kids’ safety came first.
“Perfect! Lights coming up…”
It had already been bright, but the surroundings grew even brighter. I wanted to check where the cameras were, but they were so deep in shadow I couldn’t see them clearly.
“Camera two, a little more to the left… Yes, good. And… action—!”
“Ack!”
Without warning Luca grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked. My neck snapped back and the cry tore out of me.