A Hidden Mom?
It was day four of having Han Haram at the film set.
Keeping the kid glued to my side all day had turned out to be surprisingly rewarding in a number of ways.
First, I could check with my own eyes that nothing was happening to him.
Second, there was someone who came sprinting straight into my arms the moment a break started.
And the third went something like this.
"Yeon—, Yeon-oppa, no wait, Yeonjae!"
"Haha."
Watching Han Haram tie himself in knots over what to call me.
Because he switched his form of address every time depending on whether strangers were nearby, he was the only one flustered whenever he spoke to me.
It's kind of cute, honestly.
Though it did strike me as a little odd.
"Haram, if it's that confusing, why not just stick to one?"
I told him to just call me oppa and ruffled his hair. At that, Han Haram puffed up in protest.
"No…. I like calling you Yeonjae."
"Then just call me by my name."
It wasn't like there was a mother around to scold him for it anyway.
But someone shot my suggestion down fast.
"Yeonjae, I don't think that's a great idea."
It was Seo Jio.
He smiled lazily as he looked down at Han Haram nestled in my lap.
"A seven-year-old calling a sixteen-year-old hyung by name isn't exactly common. Once Haram's grown up, it could snowball into an attitude controversy."
Does it?
The moment I tilted my head, Han Haram shouted out.
"I'm not seven!! I'm nine!"
"Oh, sorry. Didn't know."
What's the point of apologizing with a face that isn't sorry in the slightest?
Regardless of how loudly Han Haram grumbled, Seo Jio carried on with what he'd been saying.
"Like I said, you never know what Haram will end up doing later. If he keeps working in this industry, his reputation matters, so this might be a good chance to just standardize it to 'oppa.'"
"Hmm."
He had a point.
When I nodded, Han Haram looked up at me with a face full of betrayal.
"Yeonjae?"
"……Mm."
But if that's what he wants…
As I hesitated, Seo Jio shook his head slowly.
"You're way too soft."
"Don't say things to Yeonjae!"
Han Haram growled on the spot.
Trying to calm him down, I slowly stroked his hair.
He's acting like a literal dog.
Maybe because he'd been on set all day. Watching him, I found it funny how much he reminded me of Shin inside Do Yoo-young's body.
Han Haram still couldn't settle down even under my hand, and grumbled at Seo Jio.
"Why are you like this, oppa? I'm clearly not a bad person! I even took Yeonjae's side yesterday!"
"Wow. That counted as taking his side? I'm moved."
"……Yeonjae, do I really have to play with that oppa?"
Han Haram hung his head low, looking ready to cry.
And the instant he did, Seo Jio leaned over and whispered to me as if delivering a report.
"Oh. You can definitely see the actor material there. He switched into acting right away."
Even as a whisper, it was nowhere near quiet enough for Han Haram in my arms to miss.
"Ugh, seriously!"
Han Haram snapped his head up.
His face was brimming with irritation, as if the teary look from moments ago had never existed. A faint shock ran through me.
……So that really was acting.
Seo Jio had been being a pain, sure, but the guy wasn't wrong.
While I stood there speechless from the surprise, Han Haram erupted.
"You're such a weird person, oppa! Don't stay next to Yeonjae! And why are you even here instead of at your own place?!"
"Yeonjae invited me. Was I supposed to get your permission first? My bad."
"Don't make things up!"
"Haram, I did invite him."
I cut off the growling kid.
"I asked him here because I thought it'd be nice for you two to get close."
"I don't wanna get close! That oppa's personality is weird!"
"Yeah, I know that too. But you can't say it to his face like that, Haram."
It was rude, so I scolded him.
A voice of pure disbelief drifted over from the side.
"Yeonjae, I can hear everything."
I brushed it off lightly.
"Hurry up and apologize to him. He's the same age as me. There's an age gap between you two, so you can't be disrespectful to him."
Han Haram jutted his lips out.
Then, in a tiny voice barely audible, he apologized to Seo Jio.
"I'm sorry…."
"It's fine."
Seo Jio smiled, easygoing as ever.
"If it's jealousy, I totally get it. I'm the same age as Yeonjae, so calling him by name isn't a problem for me."
"……"
Han Haram started trembling all over.
Since he was glaring at a person with a ferocity that was nothing like him, I hurriedly handed the kid over to Jinbae, who was in the kitchen.
When I came back to the couch, Seo Jio was sitting there with a face of perfect calm.
"Seo Jio, what's gotten into you?"
"What?"
"I mean, what's gotten into you when you're never like this. Why are you being so mean to a kid?"
My deep conversation with Seo Jio had only been this afternoon.
Even after I'd misread things on my own and said some harsh words, he'd come back with the response that he didn't get hurt easily anyway, so I should feel free to speak my mind.
His reaction had been generous to the point of making everything I'd ever privately assumed about him look ridiculous. Wanting to apologize properly for it, I'd asked if he was free in the evening.
I thought having dinner all together would be nice.
I'd figured it would be even better if he and Han Haram got close during this chance, too. I also wanted to show Han Haram firsthand that Seo Jio was a decent guy.
But…
This is a disaster, isn't it?
I swallowed a sigh at the thoroughly unpleasant atmosphere.
"You're usually good at the lazy smile thing. You were perfectly nice when you said hi to Haram yesterday."
"Haha, I smile lazily?"
"Don't change the subject."
Just now, Seo Jio had needled the kid far more than necessary.
He's only nine, after all.
How much needling could Han Haram possibly take?
Even at my worried remark, Seo Jio just shrugged.
"Watching the way he acts, that kid isn't letting go of you easily. The way he guards against me is proof. With a kid like that, treating him the way you'd treat anyone else would just come off more suspicious. This is better, honestly."
"I don't think a nine-year-old thinks that deeply."
"You're giving him way too much of a special pass. He's a sly little thing too. Weirdly, everyone around you turns out like that."
I wanted to argue otherwise, but I couldn't.
I'd just watched Han Haram act with my own two eyes.
When I fell silent, Seo Jio broke into a refreshed grin.
"Ah, it feels good to say everything I want for once."
"You feel good because you teased a kid?"
"What's the harm? It was the only perk of eating lunch with Noh Bihyuk back in our school days. I've missed it a little since he debuted."
"……"
I searched for a comeback and failed.
He really is a strange one.
I'd known Seo Jio was odd for a long time. The problem was me.
I'm in real trouble too.
The old me wouldn't have given him the time of day. The trouble was that after one brief conversation today, his behavior didn't look nearly as annoying anymore.
I really do need to officially change my name to Lee the Reed.
I was in the middle of thinking exactly that when—
"Yeonjae, Jinbae-oppa cut this up for me."
Han Haram came shuffling over holding a plate. The way he walked toward me looking only at me, as if Seo Jio didn't even exist, was a sight to behold.
"Thank you for bringing it. Where's Jinbae?"
"He said he has to call the company, so we should eat first."
Got it.
Just in case, I set Jinbae's portion aside, then picked up an apple slice and fed it to Han Haram.
As if his tantrum had never happened, the kid beamed and ate it up.
"Heehee. You eat some too, Yeonjae."
"Okay."
"Yeonjae, what about me?"
The moment Seo Jio opened his mouth, the kid's smile vanished.
And so I had to soothe Han Haram all over again as he stared at Seo Jio with icy eyes.
Dinner was truly, hopelessly chaotic.
"Seo Jio. It's almost ten—shouldn't you head to your place?"
At my question, Seo Jio smiled faintly.
"I'll go in a bit. I want to stay with you until the kid falls asleep."
"……"
And the "kid" in question, Han Haram, glared daggers at him.
I swallowed a sigh at the wordless, full-strength staring contest.
I'm exhausted.
I didn't think even Noh Bihyuk and Seo Jio's fights had worn me out this much.
With those two, I could just leave them to it no matter what was said, but Han Haram's ever-shifting expressions kept nagging at me. Dragged into playing mediator in every single spat on top of that, I was even more drained.
I need to put the kid to bed fast.
Get Han Haram down first, then send Seo Jio packing after him.
"Yeonjae, Yeonjae. There's something I've been wondering about."
But against all my hopes, Han Haram's eyes were sparkling up at me.
"Aren't you sleepy?"
"Huh? Not really."
I swallowed a yawn before answering.
"What are you wondering about?"
"The scene you filmed today."
What I'd shot today was the scene where Do Yoo-young — no, Shin inside Do Yoo-young's body — talks with his homeroom teacher.
After Ji Hae-soo's brief crash course on vaguely mumbling an answer no matter what the teacher said, Shin shuffled into the staff room trembling like a leaf.
He'd done his best to manage a blank expression, but Shin's version of blank was nothing compared to Do Yoo-young's usual one. The teacher must have sensed the difference too, because he gave Shin a puzzled look — though thankfully, without comment, he moved straight to the point.
Shin had been called to the staff room over the parent-teacher conference.
I told you to decide by today. So what did you decide?
Sorry?
Why that face? Act surprised, why don't you.
Oh. Right. Um….
I don't care what your circumstances are — do you really think it's right for me to be talking about you with the village headwoman instead of your mother? If you're going to dig in like that again today, just get out.
Through the teacher's words, Shin finally learns how desperately Do Yoo-young has fought to keep his mother away from the school all this time. Saying there was no more putting it off, the teacher shoos Shin out with an order to bring his mother before the end-of-term assembly, no matter what.
The second Shin steps out of the staff room, Ji Hae-soo pounces, asking what happened, and Shin mumbles with a dazed expression, "I think we're in big trouble, Hae-soo…."
That was what we'd filmed today.
Han Haram asked.
"Why does Yoo-young hate his mom coming to school so much?"
"Huh?"
"Shin said it too. That Yoo-young misses his mom. Then shouldn't it make him happy when she comes to school?"
Han Haram mumbled that he'd actually been curious since this morning but held it in so he wouldn't disturb the filming. I told him he'd done the right thing and stroked his hair.
"Because the mom Yoo-young misses isn't a mom who's forced to come to school for a parent conference."
"What does that mean?"
Han Haram's face said he understood nothing at all.
Just as I paused to figure out how to explain it, the guy who'd been silent this whole time cut in.
"Do Yoo-young's mom abandoned him a long time ago."
It was Seo Jio.
"Do Yoo-young misses his mom — not the mom who threw him away."
At his matter-of-fact explanation, Han Haram only looked more puzzled.
"But it's the same person, isn't it? Is there another mom? A secret mom?"
Hm, that's not quite it either.
This really is hard content for a nine-year-old to wrap his head around.
I was about to add something with a helpless look on my face.
But Seo Jio was faster.
"A secret mom would've been better, honestly. The problem is that there isn't one. Do Yoo-young is going to live his whole life miserable like that."
"……"
It was a voice so dry it bordered on desolate.