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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Cynical Lens
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I knew you’d like it. Thank you so much for the coin.
“You, you—what are you doing!”
What do you think?
“How could you do something so vulgar!”
Just hearing her words, you'd think she was cursing me.
But I know the truth.
‘Grandma, your words and actions don't quite match, do they?’
The coin is honest.
‘What's needed in times like this is speed.’
The small stuff worked, so now it's time for a big one.
I beamed and planted another kiss on her cheek.
“Byaah~!”
The babbling was a bonus.
How about that? A buy-one-get-one-free is devastatingly effective. It makes people buy things they don't even need.
Grandmother's body trembled. She then quickly grabbed her cane, stood up, and walked away.
‘Hmm, she must have been quite shocked.’
I raised one hand and waved.
“Bye-bye!”
Farewell, Grandma.
She won't change right away.
‘But you will be back.’
Aromatherapy and a cute baby's charm—how destructive a combination!
‘Alright, now that the guest has left, shall I get some practice in?’
I looked into the mirror. The dizzying feeling returned, but I had to train now.
‘Let's practice my expressions!’
Training is the only way to survive!
I looked into the mirror again. In it was a baby statue with intensely focused eyes.
* * *
Ma Sujeong was a straightforward person. That's why President Seo was nervous.
“Sujeong. What do you think?”
She stared at the ceiling and let out a sigh.
“You’re not angry, are you?”
“What did you do wrong for me to get angry at you?”
“Ah, right.”
“But my stomach is churning a bit.”
Ma Sujeong was silently swallowing all sorts of curses.
“It’s, it’s not a bad thing, is it?”
“No, it’s not a bad thing.”
In fact, it was closer to being a good thing.
“Still, the curses are just bubbling up on their own.”
“Don't swear, Sujeong.”
“I won’t. What if Gongja learns it? But still, it’s curse-worthy, President Seo.”
The president hung his head.
“I know.”
“I mean, I've heard it all—that I went 'shopping' for a child, and all sorts of other nonsense.”
“It hurts just to talk about it.”
Ma Sujeong leaned back against the sofa. Just thinking about that time made the top of her head burn with anger.
“I don’t care if it’s just netizens making a fuss. The problem is that all sorts of shows were tearing me apart! Oops, right. Nice, polite words.”
Ma Sujeong tapped her lips with her finger. But the words were already out.
The president nodded.
“On one show, they said I should be reported to the police.”
“Ah, they crossed the line.”
“I don’t know if it was in the script or their own opinion, but I wanted to shave that bastard’s head bald.”
“Ahahaha.”
President Seo laughed weakly.
“And now they’re packaging it all up, saying adoption is a beautiful thing.”
Ma Sujeong muttered, looking at the ceiling.
“They’re such dogs.”
“Sujeong!”
“Ah, right. Nice, polite words. But wait, I can say they're like dogs, can’t I? Puppies are cute.”
“Well, it’s fine. As long as you don’t say it outside.”
“I can say it outside. I just can’t say it in front of Gongja.”
For a moment, President Seo tilted his head.
“Is, is that right?”
“It’s just so frustrating. Public opinion changes just because of some paparazzi photos? Ugh! It's so dirty!”
Yes, it was dirty. That’s just how this world worked. President Seo glanced at her cautiously. It was about time to bring it up.
“Um, so are you going to refuse?”
Ma Sujeong smiled brightly.
“Why would I refuse?”
“Huh? You’ll do it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you for real? You’ll do the magazine shoot? Sujeong, you can’t go back on your word now, okay?”
“I said I’ll do it. President Seo, I’m Ma Sujeong.”
President Seo nodded vigorously.
‘Did our Sujeong become an angel after bringing home a son?’
This was good. Very good, in fact, but a little puzzling.
‘You never do things you don't want to do.’
This wasn't about an acting role. Ma Sujeong always finished her assigned work diligently. But when it came to things outside of her acting career, she was the type to flatly refuse anything she didn't want to do.
‘She attends premieres, but she'll turn down things like being an MC in a heartbeat.’
Well, even without that, President Seo had expected Ma Sujeong to refuse this job immediately.
‘Because she adores that adopted son of hers.’
I thought she wouldn't want to expose him to the public.
“What brought on this change of heart?”
At President Seo's question, Ma Sujeong pressed her lips together.
“Ah, if it’s hard to answer, don’t worry about it.”
“It’s not that. It’s just… I thought about it after seeing the paparazzi photos. I don’t eat shit, you know.”
Huh?
President Seo blinked. What did she just say?
“I don’t eat shit, so it pisses me off when they call me a mutt. And I can’t keep avoiding this forever.”
To be honest, Ma Sujeong had been worried about it.
‘Is it really okay for Gongja's face to become known?’
But that worry was pointless.
‘As long as he's my son. The paparazzi will keep taking pictures of him anyway.’
Unless we never go outside at all.
‘But we can't live like that.’
It's not like we've committed a crime.
So she went out, and just as expected, they were photographed. Of course, she never imagined her image would improve because of it.
‘This is all because my Gongja is so beautiful.’
Ma Sujeong rested her chin on her hand. The image of her adorable son flickered in her mind.
‘Gongja, my dear. Mommy is thinking very hard.’
About what will help your future.
‘And that's why it has to be a magazine.’
Ma Sujeong said calmly.
“If we’re going to be photographed anyway, it’s better to reveal him officially and properly.”
“That’s true.”
“The problem is the money.”
Ma Sujeong furrowed her brow.
“You won’t get paid that much for it.”
“The amount isn’t the issue. It's pocket change, and I'm Ma Sujeong. It's not like I'm short on money.”
The president blinked.
“Th-that’s true.”
“How to handle that money. That was what I was worried about.”
At first, she thought about opening a bank account for Gongja and depositing it there.
But was that really necessary?
‘For that paltry sum? And besides, the most important thing is Gongja's image.’
Ma Sujeong sighed.
This was the most important thing.
“I can't let an image of me making money off my son take hold.”
“Ah, I see.”
“If that happened, there would be an uproar. They’d be clamoring that I adopted him for my image.”
President Seo nodded.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to donate it.”
“Huh?”
“In Gongja’s name, I’m going to sponsor the place he came from.”
Wow.
President Seo quietly stood up and applauded.
Clap, clap, clap—
“You’re the best, Ma Sujeong!”
“A mother has to crane her neck and look far into the future, I guess. With this, no one will be able to say anything bad about my Gongja.”
Ma Sujeong stretched her arms out wide.
“As for me, I’m used to being criticized, so I’m fine. But I can’t stand to hear anyone insult my Gongja.”
She clenched her fists.
“He just became my son, that’s all, so why are they spouting such bullshit! I should just break their legs.”
President Seo immediately stopped her.
“Sujeong, that’s brutal.”
“Ah, is it?”
“Not their legs, you should break their fingers. Since they’re the ones typing on the keyboard.”
“Aha! You’re right!”
The two of them looked at each other and laughed, then hung their heads.
“If only we could.”
“Tell me about it.”
Ma Sujeong took a deep breath. The die was already cast.
“I picked the best place for the shoot.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep your spirits up.”
“What’s there to be down about? Since we’re doing it, we might as well do it right.”
“Still, you seem to have changed a lot.”
Ma Sujeong smiled brightly and said.
“How so?”
“It’s just… you used to just clench your fists and charge in. But you’ve changed for the better.”
She chuckled a little.
“I have to change for my Gongja’s sake. But it is bittersweet. This is the kind of method the 'landlord' used to use all the time.”
“Huh?”
“It just ended up this way. Well, I’m off to work.”
“R-right! Sujeong, work hard today!”
Ma Sujeong stood up from her seat. President Seo watched her leave, tilting his head.
‘Who's the landlord?’
More importantly, were you renting? I thought you lived with your family.
“Then again, Seongbok-dong is expensive.”
President Seo muttered to himself as he returned to his seat.
* * *
President Seo was the type to strike while the iron was hot. The actress Ma Sujeong chose a company known for its quality articles rather than the one offering the most money.
But as it turned out, the magazine that wrote good articles also paid the most.
‘Somehow, we ended up with D, the most famous magazine.’
Having finished her makeup for the shoot, Ma Sujeong looked at Gongja. The little angel was sitting cutely by the large living room window.
“Ms. Ma Sujeong, I look forward to working with you today.”
Ma Sujeong smiled and shook his hand. The photographer who had come today was quite famous.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
“So that child is the angel.”
“Yes. That’s Gongja.”
“Gongja?”
The photographer muttered.
“It’s a name that sounds like he’ll be a very dutiful son. But since his last name is ‘Ma’…”
“He's Ma Gongja.”
The photographer sneered inwardly.
What a strange name.
‘Well, what do you expect from a celebrity?’
They were always like this.
‘Even if it's a child, it's probably just like getting a new pet to her.’
That's why she'd give him such a ridiculous name.
‘Sure, the paparazzi photos make it look like love and all that, but there's no way.’
He didn't trust Ma Sujeong—or rather, any celebrity.
‘The kind of people who abuse their power the second they get a little famous…’
But…
The child's face.
He was familiar with it from the paparazzi photos.
Honestly, he was a little surprised.
“Huh?”
Was this really a human face?
The photographer unknowingly took a step closer to the baby. Then, he took out the test film camera he always carried with him and took a picture.
Click—
The child turned. The photographer, whose eyes met the baby's through the camera lens, couldn't think. He just instinctively pressed the shutter.
Click— Click—
The child's eyes widened. He seemed startled by the sound.
“Mr. Photographer?”
“Ah, this is…”
The child turned his head into the natural light. The photographer, without realizing it, took another shot.
“Quite something. He's beautiful.”
Ma Sujeong smiled brightly. As a mother, she was already used to hearing those words.
“He is, isn’t he? An angel?”
“Yes. For his features to be so well-defined already. He looks like a sculpture.”
So far, it was pure praise. But he also immediately recognized the limitation.
‘Strange.’
The photographer immediately realized what the problem was.
‘The kid's face is so perfect it's unnatural.’
There were people who liked faces like this. But he wasn't the type of photographer who took those kinds of pictures.
‘Photographs need to have life in them. If I wanted to shoot sculptures, I'd go to a museum.’
The photographer smiled bitterly.
Besides, he was a baby. And it was a known fact that animals and children were unpredictable creatures you couldn't control.
‘He might just scream his head off.’
The noise would be deafening, the snot would be running. If that happened, Ma Sujeong would obviously get annoyed.
‘This is why I hate shooting babies.’
In truth, he hated the very purpose of this job. No matter how you looked at it, this was a photoshoot of a celebrity parading her adopted kid around to cash in.
‘I don't want to do this.’
The photographer looked at the child again. Still, he was breathtakingly beautiful.
‘She must have picked him for his looks, so is it any wonder? Hmm, should I just emphasize the sculptural aspects then? Ah, damn it. The concept!’
The photographer sighed.
‘The concept was .’
Ma Sujeong had insisted on it, so he had no choice.
‘Making such a fuss when she basically went shopping for a kid.’
Anyone watching would think she actually cared about the child.
‘When she only adopted him for popularity.’
The photographer raised his camera.
‘Still, the celebrity is the boss. Damn it.’
He had to do the job, even if he didn't feel like it.
It was then.
