Side Story: Career Experience Field Trip (2)
Side Story: Career Experience Field Trip (2)
In the end, both of us decided to participate in the job experience learning.
A-ra Noona decided to go as an idol and broadcaster, while I went with the odd combination of model and Qtuber.
But the model part was a bit of a stretch.
If doing fitting modeling or magazine shoots frequently made you a model, wouldn't most people in this world's entertainment industry be models?
"By that reasoning, Noona isn't exactly a broadcaster either, is she?"
"Noona is definitely a broadcaster. How many regular variety shows does she even have?"
On top of that, she was consistently active in various fields like films, dramas, and CFs.
If A-ra Noona wasn't called a broadcaster, who else could be?
Her popularity had only climbed even higher; it hadn't diminished or anything.
Recently, the film she starred in had even surpassed ten million viewers through word of mouth.
I needed to go watch that movie, too.
Would I have no choice but to wait for it to come out on IPTV this time, too?
***
And then, the day arrived.
We were told to wear formal uniforms if we had them, and to dress casually if not. So I dressed neatly.
In A-ra Noona's case, she simply wore a white dress.
It was an outfit her stylist frequently put her in for media appearances.
It was a monochromatic outfit, yet it looked so natural on her.
It was a mysterious piece of clothing that anyone could imitate, but whose aura could never be replicated.
"You do? My daughter seems to like white, too~"
Seeing her mother wearing white clothes, Arin threw off what she was wearing, saying she'd wear white, too.
Because Arin admired her mother so much, she often tried to copy everything from her clothes to her style.
At this rate, I was terrified she might say she wanted to become an idol later.
The Director was one thing, but TV producers and directors were all raising a huge fuss trying to find an excuse to bring Arin onto variety shows or cast her as a child actor.
As time went on, the excuses to refuse them were dwindling, which made things difficult for me as well.
Should I just tell Arin to give it a try if she wants to?
With our clothes all changed, we did a final check to make sure nothing was out of place and boarded the elevator.
When we arrived at the floor with the kindergarten and got off...
"Hiya..."
Today, the parent who would be conducting the class with us came into view.
If you lived in our apartment building, you'd have to be quite out of touch not to know who she was.
We occasionally drank coffee together at the café, but she was a fascinating person every time I saw her.
"Oh! Seong-hwan-ssi! Over here. Here!"
"Hello, Vice Chairwoman."
"Aw, there you go again."
The Vice Chairwoman of a blue-chip conglomerate.
She was an incredible person who would inherit a company so large it was no exaggeration to say it saved this country.
How much was her fortune, again?
Other than A-ra Noona's building, I knew the two of them were roughly comparable.
We'd built up close relationships here and there through things like CF shoots, so we got along very well.
Not just with me, but with A-ra Noona as well.
"A-ra-ssi, hello."
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"Of course I've been well. Arin, have you been well, too?"
"Hellooo."
"That's right, that's right. Arin is really so bright and cheerful with her greetings."
She beamed and gently stroked Arin's head.
Arin also beamed happily and accepted the gentle touch.
This person liked children so much that she approached even other people's kids with love.
Maybe that was why she donated so much to various orphanages and children's facilities.
And she was also someone who put effort into education and support for children who had grown into adults and needed to become self-reliant.
Personally, I thought of her as a businessperson truly deserving of respect.
"Oh, that's right. I made another donation this time to the orphanage run by Seong-hwan-ssi's mother."
"I heard. I can't thank you enough for all the times you've done this."
"Aw. It's all for the good of the children, so it's nothing."
At some point, she'd even started stroking other children's heads, too.
Strangely, kids seemed to swarm around her like crazy.
Should I say they were like doctor fish?
The way they crowded in to receive head pats made both the children and the person giving affection seem adorable.
"But why are you waiting outside? Instead of going inside."
"Aw. I was waiting for Seong-hwan-ssi and A-ra-ssi. I'm too embarrassed to go in alone."
"Liar."
"Liar."
"Ehehe. It's not a lie."
Was this the same person who, when I told her I liked pineapple pizza, went and spread a rumor to the reporters that I like pineapple pizza?
I couldn't hold my head up in public for a while because of that.
The customer who ordered the sirloin tangsuyuk back then was none other than this person.
Alongside A-ra Noona and the Director, she was a regular and a big eater at our shop.
"I should spread a rumor that the Vice Chairwoman eats two kilograms of pork at a time~"
"Seong-hwan-ah. Everyone already knows that."
Really...?
***
As the class began, we went inside.
The atmosphere was brighter than I expected, which put me at ease.
The first to start was the Vice Chairwoman.
I was a little taken aback when she began explaining corporate management and various philosophies to the children.
The children were still only six years old, so they just tilted their heads and giggled, but for some reason, the parents who had come to observe began listening more seriously.
And before I knew it, the kindergarten's head Seonsaengnim and Seonsaengnims from other classes had also come in and started listening.
Indeed, this kind of talk from the Vice Chairwoman would be hard to hear unless you went to something like a private, VVIP lecture.
I had once looked into attending such a lecture because I personally wanted to hear it, but I gave up because the admission fee alone was in the ten-million-won range.
Personally, if Jeong-hwan's Mother gave lectures, I would go listen every single day.
But Jeong-hwan's Mother said she was too busy to have time for that... a shame.
Anyway, the job experience session that had the children tilting their heads was over.
Since being a chaebol's heir was something that required deep understanding, if the children remembered what they'd just heard for about fifteen years and made good use of it later, it would become part of their flesh and blood.
Next was A-ra Noona.
I wondered what A-ra Noona would talk about, but she called the children up one by one and had them sing a song.
Eight or nine out of ten sang a song by Queens, the group A-ra Noona had belonged to, or a song from her single album.
Even though five years had already passed since she retired from being an idol, her media power was truly on another level.
And aside from that, they sang drama OSTs or nursery rhymes.
She diligently praised each and every child, giving each one praise they could take pride in.
No matter how much the entertainment world was one where blood and sweat mixed and flowed, she believed that dreams and hope were important for children who were still only six years old.
It might be different for elementary or middle schoolers, but she seemed to think that harsh reality wasn't necessary for children who were still only six years old.
That was because A-ra Noona herself was a monster created through outstanding talent and immense effort.
Seeing the two of them diligently fulfill their role as one-day Seonsaengnims, I started to feel a little anxious.
I wondered what I could do.
Still, in my case, I went last, so I finished well without much embarrassment.
I showed them the knives, cooking tools, and camera I'd brought, and gave explanations here and there.
Unsurprisingly, the children were thrilled.
The Seonsaengnims were amazed, saying it was the first time they'd seen the children participate in a class with their eyes sparkling so brightly.
Well, it made sense—being a Qtuber was something children naturally admired.
And I just so happened to be at the very top of those Qtubers.
Next was the model part.
I didn't consider myself a proper model, but I explained it by taking photos with a Polaroid camera and showing them to the kids on the spot, with A-ra Noona managing everything.
It was fortunate that the photos came out well enough to hang in a shopping mall immediately; otherwise, I would have suffered a humiliation of epic proportions.
Compared to the two of them, my explanation was utterly plain, but the children still clapped loudly, saying it was great anyway.
Especially Arin, who clapped so loudly that the kid next to her might have hurt his ears.
It seemed not only the children but also the parents were satisfied.
I was embarrassed because the people standing in the back were businesspeople, politicians, big hospital directors—all sorts of distinguished people....
Was I the only one who thought that way?
As soon as the class ended, I received countless handshake requests from the parents standing behind.
"Seong-hwan-ssi. If it's alright with you, how about being the CF model for our company..."
"Our company, too! Would you consider working as our exclusive model?"
Unexpectedly, they must have been quite pleased, as a huge commotion erupted over signing me as an exclusive model.
Of course, the Vice Chairwoman of a mega-conglomerate was included in that, too.
It seemed like this was getting out of hand.
So, since it was difficult to answer right then, I asked them to contact the agency and managed to slip away.
"Personally, Seong-hwan-ah, I think you did the best job describing your occupation."
"What about in terms of being beneficial?"
"...Wouldn't it be hard to beat the Vice Chairwoman on that?"
Well, that was true.
The scale of the business she ran was on a different level from ours.
What A-ra was running was an offline card shop and a 6-axis simulation game center.
What I was running was an omakase fried food restaurant.
There was bound to be an inevitable difference in scale compared to the Vice Chairwoman of a company that owned dozens of affiliates.
Hmm...