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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Our Connection
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20.
“Who in the world was that…”
Eun-seong, having entered the waiting room alone, muttered to himself with a frown.
Go Yeon-joo had grabbed some strange man’s wrist and beat a hasty retreat, leaving him to awkwardly return to the waiting room by himself.
No matter how he tried to compose himself and focus on the script, the image of Go Yeon-joo tearing off wouldn’t leave his mind, making him pause again and again.
“Ha, who the hell was he.”
It seemed she wasn’t meeting that guy—the one introduced as a dog trainer—for the first time.
“It’s not about whether they’ve met before. They seemed close.”
Eun-seong sank deep into the sofa and stared at the ceiling. When it came to Go Yeon-joo, she was the epitome of composure, the kind of person who would calmly walk out of a burning house.
Even if she had her emotional ups and downs, she rarely showed them. She was so poised in every situation, it was as if this wasn't her first life, as if she had reached the enlightened state of a celestial being.
That personality had been forged since her early twenties—an age when everything is typically dramatic and tumultuous—so what was Go Yeon-joo in her thirties if not a dragon, hundreds of years old, waiting for the day to ascend, shedding its old scales?
And yet, that woman, after making a face like the sky was splitting apart, had bolted with some random guy.
“Who the hell is that guy? Huh? Who is he? Who?”
Wow… the curiosity is killing me…
He bounced his leg nervously, his eyes darting around.
Then, he recalled the face of Mr. Joo, the man she’d run off with. The director said he was the head of some animal hospital, but with those broad shoulders and that tall, lean frame…
You couldn’t call him classically handsome, but he exuded such warmth that he had the kind of likable face anyone would be drawn to.
He also gave off a gentle, virtuous aura. It was the kind of innate human quality that couldn’t be faked with acting or created with makeup—a fundamental energy.
What was his name again? Joo Geon-hee. Mr. Joo Geon-hee.
Eun-seong, who had been bouncing his leg while repeating Mr. Joo’s name, suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them. A thought flashed through his mind.
“…Her husband?”
Oh my god. After muttering the words, his lips parted in a daze.
His torso straightened automatically, as if he’d stumbled upon a shocking truth. He blinked, staring into space like someone possessed, then let out a short laugh a moment later.
“No way. Does that even make sense? It’s ridiculous. How could her husband possibly be here…”
…Then again, it’s possible. Not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Heh. With a sigh of disbelief, Eun-seong leaned back against the sofa again. A deep crease formed between his brows, a precursor to a creeping sense of displeasure.
If it were true, this place would become Go Yeon-joo World. From what he’d seen, she and Director Jin Hae-yeong seemed to be on close terms, and then her son subtly joined the cast, and now her husband too?
Her son, fine, he could concede that point a hundred, a thousand times over, but her husband? Wasn’t that going too far? If he really was her husband, wasn’t his entire vicinity crawling with the Go Yeon-joo family!
Hah…
“Right. She’s hit the jackpot. Absolutely living the life. Just gather 'round, all of Go Yeon-joo's connections by blood, region, and school. Gather 'round.”
So what kind of connection am I supposed to be?
Ah. The school connection.
“This is driving me crazy. I can’t even ask anyone. I’m going to lose my mind.”
Suddenly cast in the role of Go Yeon-joo’s college alumnus, Eun-seong let out another long sigh and turned his gaze back to the script. Damn it, his mood was a complete, tangled mess.
***
Our Connection
“Eun-seong, are you busy?”
After a round of filming had ended, Hae-yeong went to find Eun-seong, who was waiting. The bustling staff had all cleared out. Eun-seong looked up with an indifferent gaze, then his brow furrowed.
Go Yeon-joo’s son had come with Hae-yeong.
“Han-byeol is here. You saw him before, right? The child signed a contract with our agency, Changrok, so I brought him.”
“Doesn’t he have his own manager?”
“No. His role isn’t busy or large enough to warrant a dedicated manager. We’ve decided to have the team leads take turns looking after him.”
Eun-seong glanced at the boy. He watched the child scan his surroundings, seemingly intimidated by the unfamiliar atmosphere, then let out a short sigh and spoke.
*Ah, my wretched fate, having to take even Go Yeon-joo’s son under my wing.*
“Hey.”
When Eun-seong gave a curt greeting, Han-byeol turned his head to look at him. He hesitated, not greeting back as readily as usual, so Hae-yeong squeezed his hand.
“Han-byeol, it’s okay. You should say hello.”
“You saw me before, remember?”
Figuring the boy was just shy, Eun-seong spoke again. He looked sharp and bright-eyed. A strange feeling crept up from his toes as he wondered how a kid could be so handsome.
The thought that this child might be the joint creation of Go Yeon-joo and Mr. Joo made his back flush with heat for no reason.
“Hello.”
“Yeah. Let’s do a good job. Practice a lot.”
“Are you the person who works with my mom?”
“That’s right. She works with me.”
As Eun-seong replied, Han-byeol tilted his head. At the same time, Eun-seong tilted his head too.
“Problem?”
“No?”
“Then sit.”
“Okay.”
As Han-byeol sank into the sofa, Hae-yeong raised her eyebrows. She glanced at her watch as if she had somewhere to be, and Eun-seong, sensing her urgency, waved a hand at her.
“Director Jin, you can go take care of your business.”
“What? Oh, it’s fine. I can just make a call.”
“Go on. I won’t eat him.”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you.”
Hae-yeong smiled brightly and looked at Han-byeol.
“Han-byeol, Auntie has a lot of work to do. Can you stay here with Uncle Im Eun-seong?”
“Yeah. I won’t get eaten while you’re gone, so go do what you need to do. I know you’re busy.”
Heh… Hearing Han-byeol parrot his words so readily, Eun-seong let out a disbelieving scoff. Hae-yeong gave another mechanical smile and left, and a chilly silence descended on the room.
Eun-seong, who had been rustling the pages of his script, glanced sideways at Han-byeol. He watched the boy sitting languidly, just blinking, before tossing another script to him.
The script landed on the boy’s lap with a soft thud.
“Don’t just sit there, work. Read one more letter while you have the time.”
“I wasn’t just sitting here. I was thinking.”
*What are you thinking?* He was about to ask but swallowed the question. He had to be careful; Go Yeon-joo had given him strict orders not to ask any questions.
Just as he was despairing over how to deal with Go Yeon-joo’s baby from now on, he heard a voice.
It was an out-of-the-blue boast about his mother.
“My mom, you know, is a cool person.”
“Right. All moms in the world are cool.”
“I know that. But my mom is a little more *specially* cool, you know?”
“Sure. You might not know it, but my mom is pretty damn cool too.”
Suddenly, a mom-bragging battle had begun. When Eun-seong offered a strange rebuttal, Han-byeol turned his whole body to face him.
His voice, tinged with indignation, rose slightly.
“When I go to school wearing clothes my mom bought me, my teacher and friends all praise me for being so well-dressed, you know? They say my mom has great taste.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know your mom is a pro at dressing her son.”
Seeing his lukewarm and dismissive response, Han-byeol narrowed his eyes. His gaze seemed to say, *Why aren’t you reacting properly to my mom-bragging?* as he raised his voice a little more.
Wasn’t giving an enthusiastic response to someone bragging about their mom an unwritten rule for all ages and genders?
“My mom is my pride and joy.”
“My mom is my pride and joy too. And on top of that, I myself am my mom’s greatest success and pride. That’s the difference in our levels, I’d say.”
When the grown adult bragged about being on a different level, Han-byeol’s face twisted in irritation.
“Hwan-jeong-shin-seong.”
“What? What-seong?”
“Hwan. Jeong. Shin. Seong! It means to see to your parents’ bedding at night and greet them in the morning! That’s the first step of filial piety! Don’t you know that?”
Han-byeol, having miraculously recalled a phrase from a children’s book on four-character idioms, shouted shrilly.
*…Was admitting I didn’t know supposed to be this humiliating?*
Eun-seong swallowed hard.
“A child who considers filial piety the most important thing is their parents’ pride. So since I’m with my mom every night and greet her every morning, I’m the biggest pride and joy.”
“Seriously. Just you wait till you’re older. The best filial piety is the kind you pay for with money.”
“That’s not true! Living together and saying ‘I love you’ a lot is the best kind of filial piety!”
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange, repetitive exchange—not quite a conversation, not quite a fight—unfolded on the topic of filial piety.
Han-byeol, with a look that said he’d met a strange adult, thought of the man from the animal hospital. Then, he suddenly stiffened his neck and his eyes widened.
“By the way, why are you using informal language with me?”
“W-What did you say?”
A startled Eun-seong stared at Han-byeol. The boy was looking at him as if to say, *Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?* Eun-seong exhaled slowly through his nose.
“If you don’t like it, you can do it too. We can both use informal language.”
At the end of his sentence, Eun-seong lifted his chin as if to gloat.
“What, does it bother you that I’m not using formal language?”
“That’s not it, but… people deserve to be respected.”
“Heh.”
*Ha. Look at the temper on this kid. Who on earth does he take after?*
“Even if I’m young, I’m a precious individual. Someone taught me that people should naturally be respected.”
“Ah, yes, yes. I see. How very wise of you. To have grasped the principles of the universe at such a young age, you are truly a sage rarely seen in this modern world.”
“Using big words doesn’t mean you’re a good speaker, you know.”
“You used a four-character idiom earlier. You think I understood it?”
“If you’re an adult, you should act like one and talk to a child on their level.”
*Ugh… my blood pressure…*
*That wicked Go Yeon-joo. So this was the reason she brought this chestnut-sized brat to me!*
“You want to be friends with me, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t!”
“No? It looks to me like your nostrils are flaring because you’re trying so hard to get close to me. Want an autograph? I’ll give you a few so you can go brag to your friends at school.”
“No, thanks! I have zero desire to brag about that!”
“Aw, you’re lying. That’s why your nostrils keep flaring.”
“No! That’s not it! It’s not true!”
As Eun-seong teased him with a mocking tone, Han-byeol’s expression turned angry. Hearing the boy’s heavy breathing, Eun-seong snorted even louder.
*Hmph. I won’t go easy on you. You little chestnut-sized filial son.*
“Whoa, is a typhoon blowing in from somewhere? The wind is so strong.”
“If you have nothing better to do, then just work. Stop playing around.”
“What? I was looking at my script when you started talking to me. Who was it that broke the ice by bragging about their mom?”
“Exactly. I’m regretting talking to you right now, so please, just get back to work.”
As Han-byeol whipped his head away and opened his script, Eun-seong, sensing a great victory, raised the corners of his mouth in a twitching grin.
Just as he was about to regain his peace of mind and delve into the script, Han-byeol rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a piece of chocolate, and started munching on it.
Not missing a beat, Eun-seong chimed in.
“How cheap, eating by yourself when there are two of us here.”
“…”
*Oh? Now he’s not even responding.*
“I may be old, but I’m a precious individual too. You said everyone deserves respect. How about showing some?”
As Eun-seong spoke in a lecturing tone, Han-byeol, still chewing his chocolate, shot him a sideways glance.
“Only humans can be respected.”
“W-What? Are you saying I’m not even human right now?”
“Don’t talk to me while I’m looking at my script. Why do you keep trying to talk to me? Do you want to take a picture with me?”
*Hah… Go Yeon-joo… I’m really not going to let you get away with this…*
Eun-seong glared down at the boy, his eyes flashing, before the dizzying sensation made him squeeze his eyes shut.
For a while, a fiery, competitive script-memorizing session began.
Their mental ages were a perfect match, making them suitable sparring partners.
