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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Cutest Celebrity on Set
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021
I shook my head vigorously.
*That’s right!*
Mom really was amazing. Such decisiveness! I was so moved!
*I can collect them! The coins!*
I clenched my fists.
*I can become a top star! I can give Mom a healthy body!*
Just you wait! Ten million viewers!
*Come to fruition! The epic of the female warrior of the red sunset!*
What was this incredible combination of benefits with a bonus on top! It couldn't get any better!
I saw my reflection in her eyes. Without realizing it, I cried out.
“Mama!”
I love my mom so much!
Then I buried my face in her embrace. Mom laughed and patted my back.
“Oh, my baby angel. I feel like I'm melting from your cuteness.”
“And that's even with me looking after him every single day. It seems he only saves his charms for you, ma'am.”
“Is that so?”
Mom hugged me tight and said.
“Does he know I'm his mother?”
“How could he not?”
“I didn't give birth to him, and I only see him occasionally. Does our Gongja really think of me as his mother?”
What are you talking about! I pulled my face away, kicking my legs as I cried out.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!”
Of course I think of you as my mom!
At my frantic flailing, Mom stared at me blankly. Then, as if another burst of laughter escaped her, she covered her mouth and her body shook.
“Ahahahaha!”
Mom held me and spun around.
“Our Gongja truly makes me so, so happy!”
The feeling is mutual, Mother.
“It makes me wonder why I ever worried about anything in the world!”
I flapped my arms and legs.
Don't worry about things like that! It'll just stress you out!
Mom looked at Ansan-daek and said.
“Doesn't it look like Gongja is telling me not to worry?”
“Well, I don't know. Isn't he just squirming?”
“Oh, my baby angel.”
Mom lifted me up and kissed my cheek. A soft touch landed on my face and then pulled away. I laughed and clapped my hands.
“Alright, Gongja. Let's shoot a movie together.”
“Goodness. I'll come along.”
“Thank you, Ansan-daek.”
“Not at all. It's my job. Oh, ma'am. Would you like to see some videos of our Gongja?”
Mom shot to her feet, still holding me.
“Are there more besides the ones you sent to my phone?”
“Of course. But while I was at it, I noticed the computer is a bit slow.”
Mom said decisively.
“Use the card.”
Ah, my decisive goddess.
Ansan-daek grinned at Mom's suggestion.
“I knew you'd say that, ma'am.”
“I won't spare any expense when it comes to capturing Gongja's moments.”
“Hmm, then I'll take care of backing them up, too.”
“Please do.”
Wow.
*The housekeeper, ready to go on her word, and my mom, telling her to just use the card.*
Both of them were so cool I couldn't help but love them. I babbled with respect.
“Byawoo!”
The two of them looked at me and laughed.
*Well, now. This is what it feels like to be loved.*
The feeling of being loved. It was an experience I'd never truly had in my past life.
***
The set of the zombie movie, . Perhaps because it was heavy on CG, the set was covered in a lot of green fabric.
*That's what makes acting even harder.*
When CG was first introduced, she'd heard that many actors found it so hard to get into character that they would cry. The actress Ma Sujeong understood that feeling completely.
*But an actor has to do it regardless.*
As more makeup was applied, the radiant actress vanished, replaced by a grimy figure.
She looked in the mirror, turning her face this way and that. The dirty-looking makeup was fine.
However, she had one other worry.
“What if our Gongja sees me and cries?”
At her words, the special effects makeup team chuckled. Actress Ma sighed and said.
“I'm serious. If our Gongja notices his mom doesn't look like her usual self and starts crying, I think I'll get sad too.”
“Ah, he's coming to the set today, right?”
“Yeah. The housekeeper is bringing him today.”
“I saw the magazine. He was so cute, wasn't he?”
Why did compliments about her child feel so good? A smile appeared on her face all on its own.
“Right? Our Gongja is an angel, isn't he?”
“How can he be so cute? I was really looking forward to today because of him.”
“Hyeonjeong. I can guarantee you, the photos don't do him justice.”
She thought of Gongja. The baby with slightly light-colored hair and dark eyes floated in her mind.
“Is he really that cute?”
“Yes.”
Just then, her manager, Lee Mijin, came in.
“Unni, your son is here.”
Soon, the housekeeper entered, holding the baby. Ma Sujeong opened her arms and went to him. Honestly, she was still a little anxious.
*What if Gongja gets scared when he sees me?*
Ma Sujeong's cute baby angel looked at her, and his eyes widened. Her heart ached as she saw the pupils tremble in his tiny face.
*Ah, just as I thought.*
He's going to cry. Our Gongja.
But Ma Sujeong's worries were needless. Gongja soon let out a cute sound and began flapping his arms and legs.
“Mama! Mama!”
Ma Sujeong beamed and took Gongja into her arms. The gentle scent of baby formula wafted from him.
“Gongja. Aren't you scared of Mommy?”
Gongja shook his head and waved his arms wildly. If anything, he looked very excited.
Ansan-daek said with a laugh.
“Far from being scared, he seems to love it.”
“Ah, Ansan-daek, thank you for coming all this way.”
“Not at all. Gongja just slept in his car seat. All I did was drive.”
Manager Lee Mijin finally approached Gongja. The tiny child was truly breathtaking.
“Wow, how can a baby be this cute?”
“Our Gongja is handsome, isn't he?”
“I thought so when I saw him before, but seeing him up close just leaves me speechless. How can a living creature be like this?”
As Lee Mijin looked him over, members of the makeup team came out one by one to see the baby.
“Wow, it's true. The magazine really didn't capture his beauty.”
“This is crazy. Why is he so cute?”
“His name is Gongja? It somehow really suits him.”
Perhaps because he was hearing all the compliments, the baby flapped his hands and feet. In response, the makeup team members covered their mouths and let out groans.
“Oh my gosh. Look at his tiny feet!”
“His hands are tiny too. So cute!”
Ma Sujeong lifted Gongja's small, chubby hand to show them.
“Ta-da!”
“Ah! So adorable.”
“My angel's hands are super soft, too.”
The baby looked at the makeup team members, then babbled and laughed.
“Bboobba!”
For a moment, the dressing room was enveloped in silence.
The first person to break the silence was Manager Lee Mijin.
“Oh, oh my?”
Once one person started, comments soon poured out from all over.
“He's... he's a real angel.”
“He said 'bboobba.' So cute!”
“Baby, my name is Ran. Ah, seriously, so cute. I wanna smash the set!”
A props staff member said, his face pale.
“D-Don't smash that! Smash something else! How about the director's jacket?”
“Ooh, I second that.”
“Me too.”
“I really hate looking at that thing.”
Just then, a low voice was heard.
“What's wrong with it?”
The director said, stretching out his jacket.
“Is it really that bad?”
Everyone in the dressing room nodded. The director, with a wounded expression, hugged himself.
“Ah, why! It's comfortable!”
“Honestly, it's an assault on the eyes.”
“The hideous design, and the director's body that can't even pull it off...”
“If it were plain, I'd let it slide. But what's with that skull graphic!”
The director turned around to show them the design on the back.
“I used to be into death metal...”
“Ack! Baby, don't look at this!”
“That's right. Pretty baby, it'll rot your eyes. Ew! Icky!”
The director hung his head and muttered.
“But it's my favorite jacket...”
“Sometimes I want to perform an exorcism on it. That jacket.”
“Shoo. Begone. Shoo.”
The design team members waved their hands at the director. The director, with hurt eyes, stealthily approached.
“Ah, don't come any closer.”
“No, I have to see the baby. He's the 'so hot' celebrity these days, isn't he?”
Ma Sujeong patted the baby's shoulder and turned slightly away.
“Hmm. Five hundred won per look at our Gongja.”
“Ack! That's too expensive! Can't you do three hundred won?”
“One thousand won!”
“Ack! Five hundred won, please!”
Everyone covered their mouths and laughed at the director's blatant dad joke. Ma Sujeong also laughed for a while before discreetly turning back.
He'd been on set for days and was exhausted. The director approached the child. His eyes were blurry and his shoulders were heavy. But right now, in this moment, he didn't feel tired.
“Huh?”
The director blinked.
I mean, he was a baby.
A wiggling, crying, milk-drinking baby. But the words that came out after seeing him were ones of awe.
“Wow, that face is just cheating.”
The baby looked at him. For a moment, Director Heo swallowed. Then, he muttered to himself without realizing it.
“Is it... is it even possible to look like this?”
Ma Sujeong held the baby's hand and said.
“Our Gongja is pretty cute, isn't he?”
“Actress Ma. This isn't just 'pretty cute.' This is insane. How does he look like this?”
“I hear that a lot.”
“Wow, I came here after seeing the magazine, but that was nothing. I'm genuinely shocked.”
The baby stared blankly at Director Heo, then held out his other arm.
Tiny, cute fingers appeared before his eyes.
“Bbaa!”
The director quietly clutched his chest. Then he needlessly stomped his foot once or twice.
“Director, what's wrong?”
“I felt like something was about to collapse, so I moved my body a bit. Ah, for a moment, it felt like something fundamental was about to change. It's scary. So scary. But are all babies this cute?”
The props staff member said.
“No. No way.”
“This kid is special.”
“R-Right? Come to think of it, the other kids who've been on set weren't this... extreme. You all think the same, right? Ah, I'm normal!”
The director stomped his feet a few more times. Seeing this, Ma Sujeong held out her palm.
“Five hundred won.”
“Actress Ma. Are we really doing this?”
The people around them laughed. Ma Sujeong knew. Director Heo was deliberately overreacting to lighten the tired atmosphere.
*He's a good director. Well, our Gongja is cute, but still.*
Her angel babbled again. Ma Sujeong held Gongja and was about to kiss him, but stopped. She was currently dressed as someone who had just rolled around in a zombie apocalypse.
“Are you going to film our Gongja a lot?”
“I was just going to do one close-up, but I can't. This is a level of cuteness that makes me want to unnecessarily put him in the movie a lot.”
“No way!”
“I'll discuss it with the editor. But, wow. Ms. Ma Sujeong.”
The director playfully bowed his head and then raised it.
“Thank you. For lending me your adopted son.”
Ma Sujeong smiled brightly.
“Director.”
“Yes?”
“Gongja and I may have met at an orphanage.”
The baby reached out, trying to grab his mother's finger.
And, as always, he called for Ma Sujeong.
“Mama!”
Ah, so cute.
Ma Sujeong gave the baby her finger. She felt the warmth of his tight grip.
“I could die for this child.”
“Uh...”
“It's true. Oh. You don't believe me.”
The baby cutely flapped his hands and feet. The director laughed awkwardly. Her words had a sharp edge.
“And the word 'lend' is for objects, isn't it?”
“Ah, sorry. Actress Ma.”
“Yes. I know you didn't mean anything by it.”
The director scratched his head.
Even he, who wasn't very perceptive, could understand what she meant by now.
*She must not have liked me calling him her 'adopted son.' Or the 'lend me' part...*
Well, fortunately, Ma Sujeong was an actress who, even if she got angry, didn't hold a grudge once it was resolved. The director let out a long breath and said.
“I'll be in your care later.”
“Yes, Director. I'll be in your care as well. Gongja, say hello.”
“Bbooa!”
The director waved to the baby and left the dressing room tent. A staff member who followed him out said to the director.
“Director! How could you call him her adopted son?”
