Chapter 24
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Date with Mom?
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Today was an incredibly important day for me.
It was the day I'd arranged to meet up alone with Mom—what you might call a date.
Dates with Mom were a rare event, happening only a few times a year.
Her packed schedule made it hard enough to carve out time, and her job meant it was tough to meet up in public.
On top of that, ever since "that incident" a little while back, I had the feeling Mom's attitude toward me had shifted slightly.
She seemed the same on the surface, but I couldn't shake the sense that she was avoiding me.
What kind of change had come over her heart?
Our secret that could never be revealed to the world.
That harsh reality might be weighing on her as a burden.
I couldn't read her mind, but it wasn't good news for me.
In that sense, today's date was crucial.
It was a prime chance to close the distance that's grown between us lately.
The burden of our forbidden relationship weighed on me too.
If my sisters or anyone else found out, our family would shatter completely.
The idea of our family suffering because of me...
That was the thing I feared most in the world.
But it was far too late to straighten out this twisted path now.
Having tasted a piece of that forbidden fruit, I was utterly addicted.
To the point where I was determined to pluck it no matter what.
So it was only natural that I put extra effort into my appearance as I prepared for today.
I got ready for the outing with the mindset of a soldier heading into battle.
I'd never put this much care into my looks before in my life. Probably never would again.
With that fired-up determination, I headed to a high-end Hanwoo beef restaurant in the neighborhood.
It was a subtle spot for a man-woman date, but decent enough for a mother-son dinner...
In truth, I was the only one hyping it up as a date. Mom probably just saw it as treating her son to some meat in the evening.
A long road ahead...
Arriving at the restaurant with those hopes and anxieties, I faced an unexpected situation.
"Come on in, son. Soo-ah. This is my son, Sun-hu. Handsome, right?"
What the hell was going on here?
An unexpected interloper had crashed my date with Mom.
"Hello. I'm Hwang Soo-ah. Wow, Teacher, I've heard he's handsome, but I had no idea it was this much."
There stood a beauty so stunning it was intimidating to even make eye contact.
Hearing "handsome" from someone like her just sounded like sarcasm.
"Ah... Hello. I'm Jin Sun-hu."
I barely managed to get the words out without stumbling.
She was a stranger, but with Mom right there, it wasn't that awkward.
"Sun-hu, this is Hwang Soo-ah. You know who she is, right?"
"Ah, yeah. The Anna from Anna's Diary..."
Who wouldn't recognize her?
She was the lead in a drama that hit 40% ratings.
Hwang Soo-ah was one of the top actresses in Korea right now.
Especially the drama Anna's Diary from a couple years back, where she starred as the lead—it was a legend in the daily drama world, averaging 30% and peaking at 40%.
Of course, I only knew about it because Mom had appeared in it too.
Mom played the CEO of a massive franchise bakery chain who constantly sabotaged the heroine Hwang Soo-ah, who was desperately trying to grow the little bakery she'd inherited from her late parents.
The two of them swept Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the year-end awards ceremony.
How could I not know an actress with such deep ties to Mom?
But when I mentioned Anna's Diary, Hwang Soo-ah's expression soured a bit.
It was a subtle shift, but someone like me, always reading the room, could just barely pick up on it.
"I'm honored you recognized me. I'll be working with Teacher Im Shin-hye again this time. Nice to meet you."
Like most actors, Hwang Soo-ah felt different in person from TV.
Her profile said 160cm, but she looked even shorter.
Her face was small, her hands were small.
She was twenty-six, right?
When I shook her outstretched hand, it felt so delicate I worried I'd snap it if I gripped too hard.
And despite her star power, she was surprisingly humble.
As our hands met, she kept bowing her head in greeting.
Her excessive politeness left me flustered.
"Ah, no, I'm just... It's an honor to meet you."
Yeah. Truth be told, just meeting and chatting with her was an honor for an ordinary guy like me.
My only claim to fame was having Im Shin-hye as a mom.
There was no reason for a star like Hwang Soo-ah to say "nice to meet you" to me.
"Mom, what's going on? Why is Hwang Soo-ah here?"
I whispered to Mom, unable to hide my confusion.
A manager or stylist, I could understand.
But this was an A-list actress.
Not someone you just casually meet up with like this.
"Doesn't a mom want to introduce a great daughter-in-law prospect to her son?"
"Mom!"
I could only panic at Mom's casual deflection, delivered with a relaxed smile.
That kind of talk could come off as rude to a fellow actor—or even harassment or power-tripping from a senior.
But Hwang Soo-ah just gave a faint smile, either ignoring it or pretending not to hear.
Maybe it was her innate charisma, but even her smile felt intimidating somehow.
A beauty who looked computer-generated. That was actress Hwang Soo-ah.
She looked great on TV, but up close and personal, she was overwhelming.
"Scary pretty" was a phrase made for someone like her.
Bringing someone like this and calling her daughter-in-law material... What was Mom thinking?
She had no idea why I'd come here today...
"Heh heh. No need to overthink it. Actors are just ordinary girls once you peel back the layers, you know?"
"Ha..."
Mom whispered in my ear like it was advice.
Yeah, I knew that better than anyone. The more "special" people seemed on TV, the less special they really were.
But did that apply to the woman right in front of me? She seemed like she was from another planet.
"And Soo-ah's treating us to the meat today, so eat up."
"Huh, really?"
"Yes. Dig in."
I'd assumed Mom was paying, so this made the whole situation three times more awkward.
Wasn't this a senior actress introducing her son to a junior while making the junior foot the bill?
Was I in the middle of one of those celebrity power-trip scandals you hear about? If a headline like "Top Actress Im Shin-hye in Power Abuse Controversy with Junior Actress" popped up...
"Mom... I can skip the meat."
"Jin Sun-hu. What are you imagining right now?"
"You power-tripping on a junior actress?"
Mom burst out laughing and smacked my back at my honest answer.
"This kid! No need for weird worries. This is just me returning a favor she asked. In exchange, you help her out too, Sun-hu."
"A favor? Something I can do?"
I tilted my head at the sudden topic. What could I possibly help with for someone like her?
"Sun-hu, you're doing script readings with Teacher Im Shin-hye, right?"
I panicked again at Hwang Soo-ah's words, delivered in a suddenly serious tone.
"Pardon? Oh, yeah, I do that sometimes... Mom?"
I helped Mom practice her lines at home occasionally, but it wasn't anything to brag about.
I was really, really just amateur level.
Was she bringing that up now to ask me to help with her script reading?
Ridiculous. Mom was family, so maybe, but I knew damn well I didn't have the skill to run lines with a pro actress.
"Sun-hu, remember when Mom was making her drama comeback? When I first took on a villain role."
"Yeah, of course. You're talking about The Witch's Temptation, right?"
An old memory surfaced.
I was a middle schooler back then, just starting to fake being normal, and Mom was challenging herself to return to the screen.
"I was in a major slump. Wondering if I could keep acting at all. The pressure of 'no more failures' had me losing my mind."
This was news to me.
I'd been thrilled just to see Mom on TV, but her acting reviews weren't great, apparently.
The drama flopped too, so maybe she was more backed into a corner than I'd realized.
I didn't know any of that, but I did remember the vibe after she wrapped that project and dove straight into the next one—it was different from usual.
And that's around when we started practicing scripts together.
"Thanks to your help back then, I made it this far. Thank you, Sun-hu."
Mom gripped the back of my hand tightly as she said it.
Her affection flowed through the clasped hands.
"Ah, no, I didn't do much..."
Her earnest confession just embarrassed me.
I didn't think I'd done anything that great.
But knowing I'd motivated her in some way made me happy.
Warmth spread from her hand holding mine.
If she kept holding on like this...
"And Soo-ah's in a similar spot right now. Right, Soo-ah?"
Hwang Soo-ah nodded with a bitter expression.
"Everything since Anna's Diary has flopped. This is pretty much my last shot."
Come to think of it, she'd been too quiet lately for her level of fame.
Two years since Anna's Diary.
She hadn't been idle—she'd been steadily appearing on shows—but the silence meant they'd all bombed quietly.
"No way it'll fail with me in it, though. Heh heh."
Mom brimmed with leisure compared to the anxious Hwang Soo-ah.
Mom was the golden ticket of broadcasting. Just her appearance guaranteed success, so her confidence made sense.
Hwang Soo-ah's, on the other hand, was weaker than a flickering candle.
"...Honestly, that's part of why I picked this project. No way to fail with Teacher Im Shin-hye. But that's not enough. I have to prove actress Hwang Soo-ah's worth this time."
"Ah, yeah..."
I see...
But why tell me all this?
I'm just some random nobody.
"So, just like you helped Mom back then, help Soo-ah too."
"No, Mom, hold on. Isn't that weird? It worked with you because you're family, but no way it'd work the same for Hwang Soo-ah."
"No. Mom knows. You'll be just as helpful to Soo-ah."
No way. Where did Mom get this baseless faith in me?
I got that Hwang Soo-ah was slumping and had asked Mom for help to overcome it.
But why introduce me to her?
Maybe as family, I provided emotional support to Mom.
But I couldn't see how I'd help a total stranger like Hwang Soo-ah.
"Please, Sun-hu."
"Ugh."
Hwang Soo-ah bowed her head again.
She didn't know me. Just whatever Mom had told her.
Mom's exaggerated stories might have filled her with false hopes.
"Look, I get where you're coming from, Hwang Soo-ah. But wouldn't it be better to talk to an acting expert? I'm really just amateur level..."
I politely tried to decline.
She smiled understandingly at my awkward face.
"This must be sudden and confusing. I know it sounds crazy."
"Then..."
"Normally, I'd never ask something like this. But I've tried everything. Now I'm grasping at straws, so I asked Teacher Im Shin-hye. Whatever she says, I trust her and follow."
Please. Sun-hu.
Hwang Soo-ah smiled brightly and took my hand. Seemed refusal was pointless.
Supporting a top actress through her slump? Way too much responsibility for me.
"Is there anyone in Korea more expert than Mom in this? Don't worry. Our Sun-hu's got a golden touch. He'll fix it right up."
"Ha..."
This wasn't why I'd come out.
I just wanted to mend things with Mom...
While I spaced out in a daze, the table was suddenly set, and meat sizzled on the grill.