Chapter 151: Golden Duckling (3)
Chapter 151: Golden Duckling (3)
Gong Hyung-man, the MC of Golden Duckling, smirked at the reactions of the panelists.
It was exactly the response he had anticipated.
He had never been more grateful for the policy of keeping the guests a secret from the panels until the very last moment. Even Gong Hyung-man himself had been startled when he first saw Sua.
It made sense; usually, the mothers of celebrities are quite ordinary. Unless they come from a family of entertainers, they don't typically receive professional beauty treatments or management.
Of course, some start taking care of themselves once their children start earning money and things become more comfortable, but they are in the minority. After all, most parents feel they can't just spend the money their children worked so hard to earn.
Even if they do get treatments, they usually just look well-kept for their age; they are still fundamentally middle-aged men and women.
When Gong Hyung-man first met Sua, he had asked her this:
"Have you ever worked as an idol or an actress in the past?"
Her appearance was simply incomprehensible otherwise. Actresses or former idols who maintain themselves strictly often look remarkably young for their age. Even in their fifties, they can pass for their thirties.
'But isn't this a bit too much of a youthful face?'
Standing before Gong Hyung-man, she had flinched, unable to meet his eyes properly. She stood with her arms pulled together, fidgeting with her fingers, which only served to emphasize her chest pressed between her arms.
While Gong Hyung-man found himself wishing she would stop posing like that for his own sake, he couldn't suppress his curiosity.
In any case, she looked like someone just starting her career. It wasn't an exaggeration to say she looked like she was in her mid-to-late twenties. If she wasn't a celebrity, how many women would think the world was unfair?
"O-oh, no. I'm just a regular freelancer."
"A freelancer? Doing what...?"
"I'm just... a programmer."
A programmer.
It was a profession that didn't seem to suit her at all. Yet, looking at her strangely intellectual aura, he felt it.
'This is going to work.'
His gut was telling him so.
She was a bit quiet, but after talking to her for a while, he realized she wasn't the taciturn type. She opened up quite well whenever the topic turned to her daughter or her husband. Apparently, she had a second child as well.
'I can't believe she's a mother who has given birth to two daughters.'
Well, the better she looked, the better for the show. He looked forward to seeing how the panels would react when she stood on set, fully dressed up.
And just as he expected...
"Wow, are you really Actress Ju Seo-yeon's mother?"
"You didn't accidentally scout her older sister, did you?"
"Ah, you're teasing us too much."
Reactions are vital in variety shows. The panelists had each prepared their own responses for when Sua appeared. They had run all sorts of simulations, imagining her appearance or assuming her personality.
They tried to roll out the appropriate reactions they had planned, but...
'Whoa.'
'Should I say it? Or should I not?'
He could feel everyone's reactions faltering. They were supposed to execute what they had prepared in their heads, but the reality was so far removed from their expectations that they couldn't.
No, seriously, isn't she her sister?
And that's her chest, right? She didn't put something in there, did she?
He could already predict the public's reaction when the episode aired. He was almost curious to see how explosive the response would have been if this were a live broadcast.
"I wondered why Seo-yeon was so beautiful, and now I see there was a reason."
"Right? Exactly."
"But you really are her mother, right?"
The panelists, having finally regained their composure after Sua took her seat, asked with a laugh.
"Ah, yes, yes. I... I might look like this, but I'm actually thirty-nine..."
"Thirty-nine?"
"Wow, you're still so young."
"Wait, then at what age did you..."
"Oh my, why are you bothering to count that?"
Only then did the panelists begin to find their rhythm, leading the conversation like a proper variety show. Sua smiled at their words with an awkward expression, but inside, she was thinking:
'I want to go home.'
Sua realized once again just how much her daughter was born for television. Whenever a variety show shoot was scheduled, Seo-yeon's excitement was visible.
That excitement had reached its peak during Star Fisherman. She had spent her time at home binge-watching fishing shows and practicing. Sua had to step in to stop her from buying incredibly expensive equipment.
'She's the spitting image of her father in that regard.'
Whenever she saw her husband, who lived a life that was more than just young—it was practically boyish—Sua felt like she was back in those early days. Since Seo-yeon's behavior was exactly like Young-bin's, Sua didn't usually scold her for it.
Regardless, Seo-yeon was sincere about variety shows. She looked forward to appearing on them and genuinely enjoyed the experience.
'My daughter surely has some... communication issues, just like me.'
She wondered why that was. Even as the thought occurred, she knew that Seo-yeon was just awkward at meeting people. Unlike Sua, Seo-yeon was a child who absolutely loved receiving attention, so that was probably why.
But Sua was different. The focused attention was so overwhelming that she could feel sweat trickling down her forehead and back.
And between her breasts.
Without thinking, Sua reached for a handkerchief to wipe the area...
"W-w-wait a second, Seo-yeon's mother!"
"That's a broadcast accident! A broadcast accident!!!"
"Ah."
In her nervous state, Sua had forgotten the situation and started to pull at her collar. Her face turned beet red, and she hung her head low.
She truly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
*
Eventually, the situation was settled.
As a guest, Sua watched the footage being played on the screen and explained the situations with surprising clarity.
"Does Seo-yeon like games?"
"Yes, she likes them very much. She gets angry if people say she's bad at them."
"Hehehe, that's cute~."
It finally felt like the show was proceeding normally. The beginning was smooth. First, it showed Seo-yeon studying hard.
Then came the part where Sua appeared. The only slightly confusing part was how flustered Sua and Seo-yeon looked when Young-bin showed up. Why would they be so startled just because the husband came home early?
"But why 'Head-butting Dinosaur'?"
"Oh, I'm not entirely sure myself. It's a nickname my husband has for our daughter. Isn't it cute?"
"Ah, I see. It definitely is cute!"
The panelists responded warmly. Since they didn't know the origin of "Head-butting Dinosaur," it was just a mysterious, endearing nickname to them.
When Seo-yeon started playing games with stiff, awkward movements, they assumed it was the usual image-making.
'I'm a celebrity, but I play games just like a normal person.'
That kind of image. More than anything, games are familiar to those who frequent internet communities. Since it's easy to gain sympathy through them, celebrities often used them for image-making.
They thought it was going to be something like that.
But it started from there.
As soon as Young-bin saw Seo-yeon playing, he, who had been watching videos on his phone, slunk over to her. That was the beginning of his hellish pestering.
"Our daughter has such great creativity. Both in her life and her gameplay."
"The problem is she's so creative that her friends can't keep up."
"Hey, but your knife skills are amazing. Why don't you just stop using guns altogether?"
"Daughter, do you want to join the army? I think it might be good for you to serve a bit."
He chimed in like that every single time Seo-yeon died. It wasn't that he was babbling non-stop. He just threw in a needle every time she died.
Then he would sneak a glance at Seo-yeon's reaction and tilt his head. Was he checking her mood? It didn't quite seem like it.
In response to the reactions around her, Sua said:
"Ah, normally Seo-yeon would talk back. I think she's being quiet today because of the cameras."
It was a broadcast, after all. Sua, who had watched the situation unfold from the side at the time, cleared her throat. Unfortunately, Young-bin hadn't known they were filming.
'If I'd known it would be like this, I would have told him.'
Because of that, Seo-yeon, who couldn't bring herself to argue back verbally, poked Young-bin in the waist with her finger!
It looked like a daughter's cute retaliation, but Sua knew better. If he got poked properly there, Young-bin would collapse on the spot.
But Young-bin was fine. Instead, he pulled his shirt open from both sides, boasting about what he was wearing underneath.
"?? What is that?"
"Ah, it's a stab-proof vest..."
"A stab-proof vest?"
Gong Hyung-man asked with a bewildered face. Why on earth was a stab-proof vest appearing there?
"My husband bought it a while ago. Our daughter accidentally tore it, but I didn't know he'd wear it like that."
Can you accidentally tear a stab-proof vest?
However, at Sua's nonchalant explanation, everyone just nodded and moved on.
'How did he find where I hid it?'
Sua was genuinely curious as she watched Young-bin giggling while showing off the vest. He was like a ghost when it came to finding things like that.
Normally, Seo-yeon would have let it slide. In fact, Seo-yeon hadn't thought much of the stab-proof vest that had been framed on the wall. When Young-bin tried to hang it up, Seo-yeon had pretended to stop him, but Sua knew she secretly liked it. Was it like a trophy of the strong?
Sua didn't really understand, but since he had brought out something she had put away for the sake of their image...
The result after that was obvious.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know what a Gyro Drop is?"
At Seo-yeon's chilling words, the moment Young-bin looked flustered, the chair he was sitting on was hoisted into the air.
Up and down, left and right. Young-bin's screams sounded pitiful.
"..."
How was she doing that? Were there wires attached?
Even as those thoughts crossed their minds, they remembered Seo-yeon catching a giant sea bass on Star Fisherman.
"Ah, Seo-yeon is quite strong, isn't she?"
"Yes, she's a very healthy child."
Sua chuckled, seemingly happy that her daughter was being praised. That first smile she showed was truly lovely, but...
'Are we just going to move past this by calling it "healthy"?'
The other panelists couldn't understand it, but what could they do? They might as well just clap.
"Man, that chair is sturdy."
"Wow, I was thinking the exact same thing."
"Right? Right?"
They could only watch the situation while making small talk, thinking that the chair Seo-yeon was swinging around like that was remarkably durable.
*
In any case, the filming of Golden Duckling ended successfully.
For the record, Young-bin, who had enjoyed his ride on the "Gyro Drop," said this as soon as he was lowered from the chair:
"Hey, it just occurred to me. Should we go to a water park or something?"
"?"
He must have found it quite fun, as he seemed to have developed a craving for attractions.
Anyway, they went to the water park as well. Thanks to that, Seo-yeon, who had managed to get plenty of clean footage for Golden Duckling, was now...
"Ju Seo-yeon. Didn't you say you were going to improve your image?"
...being scolded by Lee Ji-yeon.
But Seo-yeon felt it was unfair. Except for that one part, she had worked really hard to manage her image. She hadn't used her strength even once besides that!
"That's because Dad kept... And I didn't do anything like that at the water park or anywhere else."
"Your dad is certainly something. And you... you didn't happen to watch that broadcast, did you?"
The broadcast Ji-yeon was referring to was, of course, the VTuber broadcast. She was worried that Seo-yeon might have watched a VTuber stream during Golden Duckling.
From what she had heard so far, all they did was play games and go to a water park. But Ji-yeon knew that Golden Duckling was an observation variety show. That meant they were filming constantly. They would film for long hours and then edit it later.
"..."
"Why are you avoiding my eyes?"
It was the specific expression Seo-yeon made whenever she had done something wrong. Her eyes shifted to the side, looking like a puppy that knew it was in trouble.
'She watched it!!'
Ji-yeon squeezed her eyes shut. Of course, it was partly her own fault. She knew Seo-yeon was filming Golden Duckling, so she should have taken a break from streaming.
But Ji-yeon had diligently kept her streaming schedule. She never imagined Seo-yeon would watch it while filming!
"I put a lot of thought into it too."
"I'm sure you did."
"I'm serious."
Seo-yeon spoke with a pout. Ji-yeon was dumbfounded by her sheer audacity.
'Well, I guess that's better than the "strong girl" image.'
If she's seen watching VTubers, she might not stop at just being a "fashion otaku." It's a variety show, so they probably won't broadcast her actual stream on TV anyway.
'They'll edit it appropriately.'
Ji-yeon thought optimistically.
"When is the air date?"
"A week from now."
"That's not long, is it?"
Seo-yeon nodded. Although the scene where she used her strength was there, it would be edited to some extent. Even if it was shown as is, there was the footage from the water park thanks to Young-bin. Nothing particularly special happened there, but it should help soften the impact of the chair incident.
"And I have an audition two days before it airs."
Seo-yeon nodded at Ji-yeon's words. Of course, she knew. She knew Ji-yeon had been working on something with Jo Seo-hee. Apparently, Ji-yeon felt more comfortable practicing with Jo Seo-hee than with her.
"Can you help me with one last practice session?"
At Ji-yeon's request, Seo-yeon, who had been nodding, suddenly froze.
Because Ji-yeon's audition this time was for Gyeongseong Lady.