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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Angel's Debut
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019

A soft voice came from one side.

“Gongja, it’s Mommy. We’re taking pictures today.”

The photographer glanced to the side.

The housekeeper handed the baby to Ma Sujeong. Ma Sujeong held the baby and patted his back.

A cute voice rang out.

“Mama!”

“That’s right, it’s Mommy. My little angel. You’re so cute today! Did you eat well?”

Ma Sujeong naturally met his eyes.

The photographer was startled.

‘Ma Sujeong can make a face like that?’

What was this? No matter how he looked at it…

‘It’s like he’s her real son.’

Just then, his instincts moved faster than his thoughts. The photographer unknowingly pressed the button on his test camera.

Click—

Startled by the sudden shutter sound, Ma Sujeong turned to look at him. The photographer hurriedly made an excuse.

“Ah, the subject was just so good. I took another one without thinking.”

Ma Sujeong beamed and nuzzled the baby’s cheek with her nose.

“I understand. Our Gongja is just too cute. Right, Gongja?”

It was true.

The baby moved just one of his cheeks slightly. The moment the balance of his perfectly sculpted face was broken, an overwhelming cuteness washed over him, the kind that makes you want to pinch his cheeks.

“He’s really, really cute.”

The photographer took another shot. The baby flapped his hands, responding to the camera.

His face flushed with excitement.

‘I have to get this shot.’

This baby’s expressions are so alive.

On top of that, Ma Sujeong’s expression was also perfect. The photographer snapped away mindlessly before realizing his mistake. This was just a test camera.

“Oh, my apologies.”

“It’s fine. We’re all set, shall we start soon?”

“Ah, yes!”

The photographer finally looked around. Everyone had finished their preparations and was looking at him.

He gave an awkward laugh.

‘This is going to be more fun than I thought.’

The photographer gripped his camera. Perhaps it was because he’d seen such a good subject, but a wave of excitement rushed over him.

* * *

This was the moment I had been waiting for.

‘Wow, a magazine.’

Hehehe. I'm finally being introduced to the world.

‘I’ve been looking forward to this ever since Mom started talking about it a few days ago!’

Maybe that was why. I couldn’t stop smiling.

I looked around. No one explained things to a baby like me, but I could guess what was going on.

‘The concept must be .’

And in that daily life was me, the baby.

‘So that’s why they’re shooting at our house.’

Mom wore a loose-fitting T-shirt and held me with one hand.

‘The lights are bright.’

A normal baby might have cried at this point. But who was I?

‘This is Lee Hanjo, the master supporting actor.’

I’d done countless photoshoots in my previous life. My face may have been ugly, but I had style.

Well then, I should play along with the concept.

‘Let’s see, what should I do?’

Let’s think calmly.

If the concept was ‘daily life,’ then I shouldn’t keep smiling.

‘There’s a flow to photos, too.’

Just as a meal isn't good with only one side dish, no matter how delicious it is, a photoshoot with only one expression would be boring, right?

‘Then I’ll have to accommodate them.’

Mom whispered softly.

“Gongja, we’re going to take pictures now. Just bear with it for a little while, okay?”

You don’t have to bear with it for just a little while. You can take a thousand pictures.

The photographer spoke. Come to think of it, that man’s cheeks had been flushed for a while now, as if he was completely absorbed in his work.

“Okay, here we go.”

The flash went off.

I puckered my lips as if for a kiss.

Click—

I also puffed out my cheeks and held out my hands. The pictures kept coming.

Click—

How long had it been?

A few dozen minutes later, the photographer said.

“Wow, let’s stop here for this set. Wow…”

Mom patted my back and went over to the photographer.

“How is it?”

The photographer shook his head and said.

“I don’t even know what I just took.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see when you look.”

Mom carried me over to the monitor. Displayed on it were the dozens of photos they had just taken.

“Oh my.”

There were all sorts of expressions from both me and Mom.

‘Hmm, I’m quite pleased.’

By messing up my perfect features, an irresistible cuteness floated in the air.

‘So this was the answer.’

This face was too perfect.

‘To think that what it needed was to be broken.’

It was utterly absurd at first. But the me in the mirror was honest.

‘I wonder if it’ll be different once I develop my facial muscles a bit more.’

But for now, this was the best I could do. The photographer glanced at me and said.

“The baby is so cute. No, that’s not enough to describe it. I never imagined we’d get photos like these.”

Mom hugged me tightly.

“Is that so? I knew it. Aah, my angel!”

The photographer looked at the monitor and said.

“This baby’s expressions come from the way he moves his mouth. Normally, that would throw off the proportions, but maybe because he’s so perfectly sculpted… it just bursts with an incredible vitality.”

Hehe.

‘The result of practice.’

For now, it’s my mouth, but I plan on practicing with my eyes soon. Being able to freely use one’s facial muscles is a basic skill for an actor.

‘That’s the only way I’ll be able to act properly!’

Mom gently stroked my cheek.

“Ma Sujeong, this child is a genius.”

“Really? When I look at Gongja, I’m just so happy that I don’t really know about the professional side of things.”

“Most other babies don’t have such a wide range of expressions. Even when their mothers try to coax them, they only manage two or three at most. But look. This child has dozens of expressions. Look at this. Every single shot is different!”

Mom looked at the monitor, then broke into a wide smile.

“It’s all the same to me. My angel is just lovely no matter what he does.”

Aah, Mother.

I smiled brightly and babbled.

“Bbaa! Mama!”

“Gongja. Mommy’s so surprised. It seems our Gongja is good at taking pictures, too. This photographer doesn’t give out compliments easily, but he called you a genius.”

Well, it’s because I practiced.

‘Though, I wasn’t an ordinary baby to begin with.’

Would she think it was a little strange?

But my worries vanished in an instant. Mom smiled like sunshine and said.

“Our Gongja must really be an angel. That’s why he’s so good at taking pictures.”

Ah. Mother.

‘You’re just going to let it slide like that?’

Is this a mother’s love? My heart grew moist with emotion. My mother was truly an amazing person.

* * *

News spread that Ma Sujeong was donating the entire payment from the magazine company. Was that why? The magazine sold out completely and had to be rushed into a second printing.

“This is crazy.”

Lee Yugyeong sneered as she scrolled down her smartphone screen.

The magazine company had released the photos online. On the screen, a cute baby was smiling brightly.

The comments were in an uproar, too.

└ Wow, he’s so cute my brain went blank.

└ I get why Ma Sujeong took him in.

└ I felt it from that Patch photo, but this kid is the real deal.

└ He's an angel. An angel. Look at him smile.

There were photos with various concepts. The one where Ma Sujeong was wearing loose, comfortable sweats got the best reaction.

└ Well, moms should wear comfy clothes.

└ Ma Sujeong looks cool like that too.

└ And then on screen, she’ll go back to looking like she lives in a world of her own.

└ Ah, but she and the baby look really close.

└ There was an article about it, too.

Lee Yugyeong irritably scrolled down the screen. Ma Sujeong’s interview was there as well.

That wasn’t Ma Sujeong’s writing style.

‘A reporter must have written it for her.’

Lee Yugyeong ground her teeth. She had thought Ma Sujeong’s image would plummet and she’d wither away after the adoption, but she never imagined she’d rise again like this.

└ Hey, she said it was fate.

└ All you haters should reflect on what you said.

└ But if a kid is this cute, I think I’d feel like it was my destiny, too.

└ lololol 22222

└ lolololol 333333

└ She seems like she’ll raise him well.

└ You can tell just by the way the baby looks at his mom. The baby looks happy, too.

└ But is the kid’s name Gongja? lolololol

└ Ah lol a bit lolololol

└ With his last name, it’s Ma Gongja lolololol

└ I mean, why that name lololol

└ But maybe because the baby’s so cute, it kind of suits him lololol

└ That kid will have to use the name Ma Gongja even when he’s a grandpa lolol

└ Hello, I'm the new employee, Ma Gongja lololol

└ lolol well as long as he’s cute, that's all that matters lolol

The comments were no joke. Every single one of them got on Lee Yugyeong’s nerves.

“They must have photoshopped the hell out of it.”

She fumed, her temper flaring. Nothing ever went her way.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a text message.

[Ms. Lee Yugyeong, you are summoned to the Seoul XX Police Station, Cyber Investigation Team 2, by February 12, 20XX, for questioning as a suspect in a defamation case under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.]

“What is this?”

She stared at the text again.

“Defamation?”

Who did I defame?

Lee Yugyeong stared at the text, baffled. She wondered if it was spam, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.

‘Should I call a lawyer?’

Lee Yugyeong took a sharp breath. The settlement money for this stupid defamation case wasn’t the problem.

‘Mother-in-law can’t find out about this.’

It was obvious how her mother-in-law, Na Hwajin, would see her if she found out.

Lee Yugyeong anxiously dialed her own mother’s number. In times like these, getting help from her family was the best option.

* * *

“Sujeong, your schedule is piling up.”

Ma Sujeong sat near the makeup trailer and sighed.

“Ughhh. Mijin. I’m dying.”

Her manager of five years, I Mijin, who had been working with her for three, gave an awkward laugh. There was nothing she could say to console her.

“You have to strike while the iron is hot.”

“No, but why did things suddenly change like this?”

“It can’t be helped.”

I Mijin held up the magazine to show her. On it, Ma Sujeong’s cute baby angel was smiling.

Ma Sujeong reached out her hands.

“Gongja, my Gongja.”

“Unni. Get a grip.”

“It’s weird. I thought things would just die down after a magazine photoshoot.”

Ma Sujeong muttered as she looked at the magazine.

“Since when did the world become so warm? Why on earth has my image improved?”

“Unni. This is no joke.”

Lately, President Seo of ‘Top Line’ had been screaming with joy. It was as if the advertising world had suddenly gone crazy, and they all wanted Ma Sujeong.

“How does this even make sense?”

All she did was meet Gongja, following her destiny. But because of the Patch photo and the magazine, public opinion had suddenly taken a drastic turn for the better.

“Unni. You know you’re being re-evaluated these days, right?”

Her past straightforward actions were now getting attention. And perhaps because she had donated to the orphanage, even her donation history, which no one had cared about before, was now circulating on the internet.

“I know. But why now?”

“There’s nothing you can do about it.”

It wasn’t a bad thing for an actor’s stock to rise. The same went for commercials. But when it was suddenly cosmetics, clothes, electronics, and franchise coffee shops, it was a different story.

“Actress Ma Sujeong is at the absolute top right now.”

“I know. But. Ugh, I’m really going to die.”

She was an actress. She liked being busy. She never got tired while working. The actress who combined beauty and stamina always shone, and she knew that very well.

But there was a problem.

She looked at Gongja in the magazine.

“I’m so busy I don’t have time to see my Gongja!”

Her manager, I Mijin, made the sign of the cross. It was an undeniable fact and a harsh reality.

“*Sob sob*. Gongjaaa.”

Ma Sujeong hugged the magazine. She looked so pitiful that I Mijin wiped away tears that weren’t there.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a CocoaTalk video from Ansan-daek. Ma Sujeong immediately played it.

Through the smartphone screen, a cute baby smiled brightly.

“Gongjaaaaa~!”

Ma Sujeong covered her mouth with her hands. Her baby angel was waving from beyond the screen.

Then, Ansan-daek’s familiar voice was heard.

“Gongja, do you have something to say to Mommy?”

“Bbaa?”

Gongja turned slightly. Then he lifted his head a little to meet the camera’s lens. But for the person watching the screen, it felt as if he were making direct eye contact.

“Aah!”

As an actress herself, Ma Sujeong couldn't have been unaware of this technique. But her instincts were faster than her reason. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t stand the sight of her baby angel moving his chin.

“Gongjaaaaa! Mommy, Mommy really didn’t know I’d get this busy!”

“Calm down, Unni!”

“Take me to Gongja. My Gongja! He’s growing so fast every day, does it make sense that I, his mother, can’t see him?”

I Mijin patted Ma Sujeong’s back.

“Gongja will understand.”

“Right. Gongja’s an angel, so he’ll understand. But I don’t understand!”

Ma Sujeong looked like she was about to burst into tears. I Mijin calmly comforted her.

“It’s only temporary.”

“Right? It will be, right?”

Just then, her phone buzzed again. This time, it was a different video.

Ansan-daek’s voice was heard again.

“Gongja. Don’t you have anything to say to the young lady? Say just one word.”

Gongja crawled on the floor, which was covered with a soft mat, and said.

“Mama!”

The baby angel called for his mother.

Ma Sujeong clamped her hand over her mouth again. She felt like she was about to start sobbing. But that wasn’t all.

“Mama! Mama! Mama!”

The cute voice echoed across the outdoor filming location.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Ma Sujeong shot up from her seat.

“Unni, where are you going!”

“Gongja called me four times. That means I have to go.”

“You can’t! Unni.”

“Gongja! Mommy, Mommy misses you so much I could die!”

Ma Sujeong watched Gongja on the screen and hugged her manager, I Mijin.

My baby angel! Like that! Calling for his mommy!

“Gongja!”

“Get a hold of yourself, Unni!”

“I know. I know.”

She managed to take a deep breath. I Mijin looked at Ma Sujeong’s smartphone screen and said.

“But this level of cuteness is… it’s practically a scam.”

“Right? It’s killing you, isn’t it?”

“I don’t usually watch this kind of stuff… but Gongja seems different. He’s so cute that, how should I put it, he seems almost sacred?”

Ma Sujeong turned off her smartphone screen and let out a sigh.

“That’s right. Our Gongja really is an angel. I’m already being careful.”

“With security?”

“He’s not just ordinarily cute. Well, I don’t think there are any psychos who would break into the Seongbuk-dong house.”

The house had CCTV cameras running like crazy.

‘Isn’t the good security the only good thing about that place?’

Ma Sujeong sighed. Just then, the director approached her. It was someone she knew.

“Sujeong, you’ve been doing well lately, huh?”

“It just kind of happened. But what brings you here? Is there a problem with the shoot?”

Director Heo was the type to make his staff deliver difficult news. He gave an awkward laugh and said.

“Um, about the baby in our shoot…”

Oh, dear. I can see what he’s worried about.

Ma Sujeong let out a deep sigh.

“He keeps crying when he sees me, doesn’t he.”