Chapter 29: An Albatross in a Chicken Coop (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: An Albatross in a Chicken Coop (2)
Thinking my uncle was just bluffing, I gave him a polite smile and turned him down.
"Oh, come on. How are you going to get me on a video call with Yoon Se-rang, Uncle?"
"I’ll make it happen. If I do, will you believe your uncle is a big shot?"
"I already know you're a successful camera director. I know it, Yu-seok knows it, the whole family knows—"
"Hey, hey, I’m not bluffing, I’m serious! Hang on, let me just text her first to see if she’s free to talk..."
"No, it’s fine. If I want to video call Yoon Se-rang, I’ll just do it myself."
"No, no, Yu-jin. I’m really not kidding. Your uncle is on 'having drinks together and exchanging holiday gifts' terms with her!"
"Right, right. And I was invited to her house with a classmate, and the three of us had dinner together."
"No, seriously! I'm not bluffing! Please believe me, just once!"
My younger brother, who had stumbled back to his feet, was desperately trying to stifle his laughter.
Uncle seemed to think I was just matching his "bluff" with a bluff of my own. Of course, the difference was that his words were a total bluff, while mine were the plain, simple truth.
"Anyway, I’m fine without a camera test. I’m not doing it."
"Don't be like that. Just once. I just want to see how you look through the lens. Please?"
"Uncle, my sister is going to make her name known to the world one day as a Nobel Prize winner in Physics—Ack!"
Since he was talking nonsense again, I smacked him across the back to send him back to the floor.
"I’m not even going to be a celebrity, so why bother with a test? It’s meaningless. Utterly meaningless."
"Urgh... letting a face like that go to waste without debuting is a sin against the global film industry..."
If Uncle were truly a top-tier camera director, he wouldn't still be driving a ten-year-old, beat-up domestic SUV.
I remembered Dad looking at Uncle’s car in the parking lot earlier with a look of pity.
「Guk-shin must be struggling. He’s still driving that piece of junk.」
And then there was the advice Jang Ji-hye had given me before.
「Never get involved with bottom-tier directors or PDs. They’re a headache for life. They’ll completely ruin your career.」
「But what’s a 'bottom-tier'?」
「Deep-sea level. The absolute! Bottom! Of the barrel!」
「Ah, so you mean a Grandmaster.」
「Grandmaster? What’s that?」
「It’s a tier in a game I play... basically... anyway... and... see? You get it now?」
「My god, they’re not even human.」
「Exactly.」
Uncle Guk-shin was probably in a similar position—a Grandmaster of the Rift who only worked on tiny, insignificant sets. Getting involved would only make my life difficult, and besides, I wasn't planning on acting anymore after this project was over.
"Fine. Uncle will give you some pocket money."
"I’d rather just not take the money and skip the test."
"If you like the amount, take the test. If you don't like it, just keep the money anyway. How about that?"
"And if I like the amount, I just do the test and that’s it? You won't ask for anything else?"
"Of course. Give me your account number."
I wondered how much he was actually going to give me.
A moment later, a notification popped up on my banking app, and my resolve wavered.
[Deposit: Lee Guk-shin 3,000,000 KRW]
"U-Uncle?"
"Shh."
My 'Honorable Uncle' put his index finger to his lips and glanced around.
"Keep this between us."
"T-This is way too much."
"You're a high schooler. Use this to buy the latest iPhone. I heard it’s a must-have for kids these days."
"Thank you."
"Then I’ll go grab the camera, okay?"
"Uncle, you have to keep your word. Just the test and nothing else."
"I told you. I just want to see how you look on camera. And don't worry about leaks. Would your uncle really sell out his own niece's face?"
Uncle went down to the mansion's parking lot and returned a moment later with a camera.
A familiar scent wafted from the sleek black body.
‘Wait? Isn't that the same camera PD Jang uses? Hold on, the price...?’
I thought I heard it cost several hundred million won. He carries something that expensive in the trunk of that old clunker?
"Yu-jin, stand over here."
"Okay."
"Whoa! Is Unni being a model?"
"Uncle must really be a famous director! That camera looks super expensive!"
Not just the little cousins, but even the adults crowded around to watch. The heat rushed to my face from the sheer embarrassment. Before I knew it, even Grandfather had come out, watching with his hands behind his back. I felt like I was going to die of shame.
"Please finish this quickly."
"Just look wherever you feel comfortable and say whatever comes to mind."
"I believe Grandmasters should have their keyboards and mice permanently confiscated so they can't play games. Sometimes, you see specimens among the Challengers who are indistinguishable from Grandmasters..."
*
Lee Guk-shin’s breath hitched as he looked at the visuals through the viewfinder.
‘This is insane. Absolutely insane.’
No matter what angle he aimed from, it was art. Even among professional actors, he had never seen a subject like this. He captured Lee Yu-jin’s face while constantly moving and adjusting the color tones and light levels.
No matter where he looked, not a single shadow fell upon her mysterious beauty. He couldn't believe such a daughter had come from his own brother.
‘Did the babies really get swapped with some biracial family at the hospital?’
Lee Guk-shin turned on the real-time partial CG application feature. It was an auxiliary function that allowed for immediate rough editing right after filming—a feature worthy of such an expensive camera.
First, he applied transformation tracking to her hair.
‘She said it was originally silver, right? Then I’ll apply code #C0C0C0...’
As he applied the values, her hair began to change in a slow gradient, starting from the roots to the tips. The moment her straight black hair transformed into a beautiful, reflective silver, Lee Guk-shin let out an involuntary gasp.
‘I mean, seriously... Hyung and Sister-in-law really did give birth to an elf.’
He finally understood why she dyed her hair black and drew her eyebrows dark every day. During her sensitive school years, it must have been to dampen the attention of mischievous classmates even a little bit.
Even when she wore a bored, indifferent expression, it was pure art. It was the kind of fantastic visual that any director would kill to cast as their lead.
Just one more minute, just a little longer, just a few more seconds...
Peering through the viewfinder with a lingering heart, he finally ended the recording with a feeling as if his heart were being torn. He popped out the memory card and handed it to Yu-jin.
"Test over. You keep the memory card."
"Huh?"
"I told you not to worry about leaks, didn't I? Go home and watch it yourself later. Preferably on a big screen."
"Thank you. But you didn't have to go this far; you could have just deleted it."
"I like to keep things clean. Especially since we're family."
"You're the best, Uncle."
Lee Yu-jin took the memory card with a bow and hurried away. The young cousins followed after her like a flock of chicks.
‘Calling her a swan would be an understatement. An Albatross? She’d have to be at least that.’
Lee Guk-shin muttered to himself without realizing it.
"A kid like that is the one who should be an actress."
*
While the adults were drinking and hanging out, I looked after the little cousins. Having already collected my "pay," I did my duty diligently and with a satisfied heart.
‘Today’s daily rate is insane.’
Ten million won from Grandfather, three million from Uncle Guk-shin, and about 1.5 million from the rest of the adults combined. I always kept the exact amount I received a secret from the other cousins who were closer to my age.
The middle school cousins started drifting over as well.
"Yu-jin Nu-na, long time no see."
"Yeah. Are you in ninth grade now?"
"Yeah."
"I just started eighth grade."
"Ah, the peak of eighth-grade syndrome. Be careful. If you feel like posting something on SNS, think about it thirty times and then remember to give up."
It was noisy because it was a large family, but things were relatively peaceful since I was covering the kids. The adults knew that, which was why they gave me extra pocket money.
"Nu-na! Nu-na! Why won't you hug us?"
"Boys are supposed to grow up tough."
The way to quiet down high-energy kids was simple. For the girls, I set up a rotation for hugs, and for the boys, a few head pats did the trick.
Before I knew it, evening had arrived.
Most people were staying the night, but Uncle Guk-shin had left a while ago. Our family was heading home too, as Mom and Dad weren't fond of me sleeping anywhere other than home.
"Nu-na, don't go!"
"Unni, sleep with me. Please? Pretty please?"
After barely shaking off the wailing cousins, our family set off.
"Phew, that was chaotic."
"Still, thanks to our daughter, the big family gathering was actually quite calm."
"Exactly. If it weren't for Yu-jin, how would we have handled all those kids running around and getting into trouble?"
"Nu-na, how much did you rake in today?"
"About 1.5 million?"
I only told him the amount excluding what Grandfather and Uncle Guk-shin gave me. You have to strictly follow the "this is a secret" rule if you want to get more next time.
"Yu-jin. Give it."
Mom held out her palm with such a bright smile that I momentarily froze, my brain stalling.
"Mom? Why the sudden... are you asking me to help with the Carnival lease?"
"What are you talking about!"
Mom’s face turned red as she protested.
"I’m not asking for your pocket money! I mean the memory card Uncle Guk-shin gave you! The one he filmed earlier!"
"Ah... why?"
"You're just going to shove it away somewhere anyway, right? So Mom wants to see it."
"I’d rather just erase it from existence."
"Let me see it just once before that."
"Yeah, I want to see it too. I want to see how Guk-shin captured our daughter."
"Nu-na, I want to see too."
The three of them pleaded in unison, but it was no use.
"I’ll check it first and then decide. I will not be taking any counter-arguments."
When I drew a firm line, the family backed off with disappointed looks. Once I refused this clearly, they wouldn't pester me further.
Back home, I took a shower first and then played the video from the memory card on my computer. I had already locked the door.
And then, as my image appeared on the monitor...
‘Aaaargh! Why is the embarrassment always mine to bear? Why! Why!’
Uncle Guk-shin had turned me into some kind of crazy airhead overflowing with "innocent beauty." When did I ever make those expressions, gestures, or looks?
‘That is definitely not me. Uncle must have done some weird editing. Come to think of it, he said that camera was a model capable of real-time basic CG editing.’
I was certain of it when I saw my hair slowly returning to its original silver at the end.
‘Uncle really went all out with the editing. That’s why such a bizarre result came out.’
I moved the file to an encrypted sector and completely wiped the memory card with a seven-pass overwrite.
‘I can never show this to anyone.’
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Yu-jin, it’s Mom."
"Come in."
Mom walked in carefully and stared intently at my face. Her gaze was so intense I felt like my skin might burn.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Just... I was thinking I must have saved the country in my past life."
"Suddenly?"
"To have given birth to such a beautiful elf. Even though I'm just a human."
"Aaaargh! Mom, please! Are you really going to dump all the embarrassment on me like this?"
"Yu-jin, are you embarrassed by the facts? Are you afraid of the truth?"
Seriously, I felt goosebumps all over my body from the shame, making me want to run out of the house barefoot right this second. Of all the words to choose, why "elf"?
Mom was definitely enjoying the sight of me being overwhelmed by shame. There was no other reason she would choose such cringeworthy words.
"Yu-jin, about the video Uncle took today..."
"He did such a terrible job that I absolutely cannot show it to you. I looked completely weird."
"Really? Hearing you say that makes me think you must have come out looking very pretty and feminine. Can't you show me?"
"No, I really, really looked strange. I can never show you."
It was partly because I was embarrassed and ashamed. But also, I had planned for Mom to see my original silver hair for the first time during the broadcast when Yeon Si-ho meets her end. If I showed her this, the impact of that surprise would be diminished.
So, it was a definite no.
"That’s a shame. But if you change your mind later, show me anytime."
"Yes, if I change my mind."
Mom had a routine. On days we returned from a family gathering at Grandfather’s house, she would praise my appearance even more than usual. It was as if she were determined to drown me in a sea of shame.
After having my mental state shredded for a long time by Mom’s barrage of doting praise, I was finally able to fall asleep.
*
I was dragged into another pipe dream.
I was standing on the deck of an empty Panokseon, wearing the sergeant’s uniform from my previous life. Looking at my long, flowing hair and my hands, it wasn't my previous appearance, but my current female self.
‘A Panokseon, a Korean military field jacket, and the appearance of the female Lee Yu-jin. All three generations are mixed together with absolutely no consistency.’
—O nameless warrior, are you satisfied with what has been fulfilled?
I flared up at the whisper of the divine entity.
"Of course not! I clearly wished to 'live happily for the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman in the world'! But what’s the point if I become that woman!"
—The heart of a person cannot be held forever.
"What?"
—What if that woman were to be disappointed in you, dissatisfied with you, and leave you? Could you hold onto her? Do you have the power to do so?
"..."
—To be happy for a lifetime, you must never part until death. In a mortal society overflowing with temptation and danger, that is very difficult to guarantee.
"So you trapped me inside this woman’s body?"
—You shall live happily for a lifetime with the woman you desired, and even death shall not ruin your wish. This was the only way to perfectly grant your desire...
*
"..."
When I opened my eyes, it was already morning.
No matter how I thought about it, it was definitely a pipe dream. I must be stressed lately without realizing it.
My brother pounded loudly on the door.
"Nu-na! Get up! We have to go to that dermatology clinic Yoon Se-rang Nu-na recommended!"
"I’m up. Stop knocking."
Anyway, a dermatology clinic that takes appointments on a Sunday. They said it was a VIP privacy-guaranteed service; it sounded pretty interesting.
I got up, rubbing my eyes, when the video of Uncle’s camera test from yesterday suddenly crossed my mind.
"..."
Even thinking about it again with a clear morning head, it was definitely a horrific record that no one should ever see.