Chapter 14

14. Hidden Hotspot

In Hyeonju's Instagram, there were no photos of Hyeonju herself, but instead, there were three things that people would surely love.

First, the cutest baby in the world.

Second, a lively and playful brown poodle.

Third, a handsome black cat that looks like a black panther, though in reality, it's a notorious troublemaker.

Hyeonju's Instagram had the potential to unite the baby, dog, and cat factions.

Even when the number of followers was low, once people found it, they never left. It was a hidden Instagram hotspot.

The hidden potential exploded due to Soojin's promotion.

– The kids are all so cute!! When I see the photos, they all look like models, and when I see the videos, they're so funny I can't stop laughing XD

– The game of tag they played last time was so cute! Please post more like that.

– Siwoo is 12 months old and already has a beautiful face XD I hope he gets more screen time in the movie!

The reactions were enthusiastic.

Hyeonju was happy, but also a bit scared.

She felt she needed to be more careful when writing posts or uploading photos.

By the end of May, Hyeonju's Instagram followers had surpassed 40,000.

It happened so quickly.

Hyeonju, who had reached the 40,000 followers that Jeongtae's mother had boasted about, found everything that was happening now to be quite amazing.

Siwoo, who secretly checked his mother's Instagram every morning, was also quite excited.

Siwoo was having a harmonious daily life at home, but honestly, if he said he wasn't bored every day, it would be a lie.

As a baby, there wasn't much to enjoy.

For Siwoo, the many comments on his photos and videos were quite an interesting source of energy.

So...

“Aaaah-!!”

Siwoo trembled and screamed.

A moment ago, Siwoo was playing with wooden blocks on the living room mat.

Hyeonju was filming Siwoo playing with the blocks.

Siwoo was gathering the blocks with his tiny hands when Nero suddenly intruded.

Papapap!

Nero's front paws scattered the blocks Siwoo had neatly arranged.

Nero, having completed his role, ran away.

Siwoo jumped up and shouted at Nero.

“Aaaah-!!”

Hyeonju couldn't help but laugh at Siwoo's adorable angry face.

“Nero did that? Nero needs to be scolded.”

“No!!”

“Can't scold him?”

“Yes!”

Siwoo, having calmed down, gathered the scattered blocks again.

Just as he was about to finish, Boksil jumped in.

Pak!

The blocks Siwoo had neatly arranged were once again destroyed.

Boksil panted and trotted around the blocks with her tongue out.

Siwoo looked at the scattered blocks and started to sniffle.

Sniffle, sniffle-

Hyeonju captured his face on the screen one last time and then hugged Siwoo.

“What's wrong, my son? Do you want to do it with Mom?”

A few days later, in the early morning.

Siwoo placed his mother's phone on the living room mat and tapped the Instagram app.

On either side of Siwoo, Boksil and Nero were sitting and looking at the phone together.

“Followers have surpassed 50,000? I can imagine Jeongtae's mother's face without even seeing it.”

Siwoo raised his palms on either side.

Boksil and Nero, as trained, raised one of their front paws and did a high-five.

Siwoo, patting their heads, found the video he had taken recently and checked the comments.

– Siwoo sniffles T_T so cute XD Boksil is dancing on the blocks XD

– I heard there was a funny cat, and Siwoo and Boksil are also so cute. The kids playing is completely adorable. I'm following.

– The face trying to hold back tears is really... oh T_T so cute...

– Is this the kid from the Mr. Moonlight ending last year? Wow, he's grown so much. He's even more beautiful.

– He's angry but can't scold Nero. XD Siwoo is so nice.

The comments continued.

Siwoo, using his high-level speed reading skill, quickly scrolled through all the comments, turned off the phone, and said to Boksil and Nero.

“Good job. People think it's funny.”

– Heh heh~

– Meow~

Boksil wagged her tail happily, and Nero rubbed his head against Siwoo's body.

“Alright, stop whining. When have I ever skipped snacks?”

Boksil and Nero ran to the kitchen.

Siwoo followed and, looking at the snacks stacked in the kitchen cabinet, asked Nero.

“What do you want to eat? There's canned food and chicken breast.”

– Meow!

“Churu? There are only a few left, so if you eat them, Mom will find out.”

Nero's amber eyes darted around.

– Meow meow meow~

“Hey! What's wrong with you? It's noisy. It's the middle of the night.”

– Meow meow meow!

“No.”

– Meow meow meow...

Nero made strange sounds as if he were speaking and suddenly hugged Siwoo's leg, pressing against it.

Siwoo, with a cold and emotionless look, refused.

“No matter how much you beg, it's not going to happen. There are only two left. Mom remembers.”

– Meow!

“Put your claws away. I'm dying.”

– Meow... meow...

Churu is like cat drugs, they say, and it's true.

Siwoo, who had subdued a cat that had lost its mind and was about to riot, spoke firmly, like a trainer he had seen on MyTube.

“Decide. Canned food or chicken breast?”

– Meow...

The deflated Nero chose the canned food.

Siwoo asked again.

“Shrimp, crab, salmon, chicken.”

– Meow...

“Alright, chicken. Snacks are always better with chicken. What about you, Boksil?”

– Woof!

Boksil neatly chose a milk stick.

“Thank you, Boksil. You chose something easy to clean up.”

Unlike Nero, who sometimes rebelled and lost control, Boksil was always well-behaved.

Feeling sorry for Boksil, who was slightly losing in the pecking order with Nero, Siwoo patted her head and gave her a few milk sticks.

“Enjoy.”

Siwoo, watching Boksil and Nero eat their snacks, came up with an idea for the next shoot.

‘Next time, the kids could steal my baby snacks, and I could watch them and then crawl to the food bowl. Then Mom would be surprised and try to stop me, and that's where it ends.’

Just listing the situation would make the video a bit boring.

There needed to be a point that would excite the followers.

This was something he had learned from overhearing Director Han's words on the set.

‘Hmm, the cuteness appeal point... I'll hold the food in my hand, look at Mom with an innocent face, and smile. Just on the verge of eating. Good. End. Followers, 100,000, go!’

Siwoo was deeply immersed in the SNS game, something he had never experienced in his previous life.

* * *

The month changed, and Siwoo turned 13 months old.

The filming that was too scary for me was now only about a month away.

For Han Tae-su and Lee Soojin, it was the last airport shoot, which was scheduled for ten days later.

Jeongtae, who had not been able to relax and made mistakes repeatedly in the second shoot after the first one, ended up crying, saying, “I want to go home... Mom... Let's go home...”

A five-year-old child could not overcome the fear of NGs.

Due to Jeongtae's mother's attitude, acting skills, and other factors, Jeongtae's screen time was drastically reduced, as if hit by a bomb.

Therefore, it had been quite a while since Siwoo and Jeongtae had filmed together.

Siwoo was quite curious about how the perfume lady, who had been boasting about her son being an Instagram star, would react to seeing his mother, who now had twice as many followers.

His mother's Instagram followers were currently 88,000.

At the baby's first birthday party, there were only 1,700, but in a month and a half, something incredible had happened.

The ten days passed quickly.

Siwoo prepared to go out with his mother.

“Our son! It's the last one today, so let's do well!”

“Mom, mom, mom. Quack, quack, quack. Roar~”

“Alright. I'll give it to you outside. I brought the quacks.”

After passing through a narrow alley and reaching the main road, Hyeonju sat on a bench at the bus stop and waited for the pickup car.

A moment later, a yellow car stopped in front of Hyeonju.

“Mrs. Siwoo! Please get in!”

“Yes, thank you.”

Hyeonju got into the staff car and arrived at the airport, where she immediately went to find Director Han.

“Here you are? Siwoo! Hello! Did you miss Uncle Director? Hahaha!”

Director Han greeted Siwoo warmly.

Throughout the filming, Siwoo had never cried and always showed a bright and beautiful face.

After the selection, it turned out that the director's desire was only excessive, and the difficulty caused by Jeongtae, who cried because he didn't want to act, was not a one-time thing. Whenever that happened, Siwoo was a shining light.

Replacing Jeongtae's scenes with Siwoo never disappointed and always produced good footage.

A baby was easier to control than a five-year-old.

“Today is the last day of filming? I wish I could see more of Siwoo acting. Let's work together again with Uncle Director in the future. Got it?”

“Wah... brrr!”

“Aww, so cute. You've gotten even more beautiful after your first birthday. Watching you makes me want to have another child.”

Director Han laughed heartily.

After finishing the greeting, the assistant director standing next to him briefly explained today's shoot to Hyeonju.

“Today, as you know, is the ending. As you heard before, Siwoo will be...”

There was nothing special to do.

Siwoo just needed to suck on a pacifier cutely within the baby harness.

Hyeonju had brought three pacifiers from home, just in case.

The preparation was perfect.

She took a snack out of her bag, gave it to Siwoo, and went to greet Han Tae-su, who was visible in the distance.

“Oh, our little son!”

Like Director Han, Tae-su, who had become a fan of Siwoo during the filming, waved his hand warmly.

“Ah, bye?”

“Yeah, yeah. Dad. Thank you for being a good boy during the filming. Let's do our best today. How is Siwoo's condition? Has he eaten?”

Hyeonju answered.

“He's good. He ate well.”

“Right. I heard that Soojin ordered a bed for Siwoo's first birthday.”

“Oh... Yes. She said it would arrive in August... I'm not sure if it's okay to accept it.”

“August? Wow, you must be really popular.”

Soojin had ordered a beautiful cottage bed made by a famous craftsman.

Soojin had shown a photo of the bed on the set, and Hyeonju was amazed by its beauty, the delivery time of over three months, the price when she searched for it later, and the large size...

In any case, it was a bed that was amazing in many ways.

Since Siwoo was born, Hyeonju had bought the smallest and cheapest baby bed, and she was already wondering when to switch to a children's bed.

But Soojin had given her a dream-like gift.

Soojin's kindness made Hyeonju feel so grateful that she almost cried.

“Hearing that Soojin ordered a bed, I feel... my gift is so insignificant.”

Tae-su's words made Hyeonju wave her hand.

“No, no. I really appreciate it.”

“Senior said that just a few toys as a gift is not enough and that Soojin is being stingy...”

Siwoo, lying in the makeshift stroller prepared by the staff, could imagine the bickering between the two.

‘Hmm, well. Actually, Soojin's mother has already sent the toys she bought...’

Moreover, toys were not Siwoo's favorite gift.

Siwoo wanted clothes.

He had watched his mother's back as she bought new clothes every time his body grew, causing her to bend over.

‘Or a bottle sterilizer or a baby clothes washer... these are essential and perfect gifts. Soojin's mother's bed gift was a real heart-stopping gesture.’

Tae-su said.

“So, since the filming is almost over, I bought a set of natural observation books for babies as a farewell gift. There are a lot of pictures of animals, plants, insects, and the Arctic or jungle. Haha!”

“Oh, you didn't have to... What can I do? I'm so grateful.”

Hyeonju, who had only envied the reviews of book sets on the mothers' cafe, couldn't hide her gratitude.

Meanwhile, Siwoo...

‘No... I am really grateful, but... I'm a baby who watches National Geographic...’

Siwoo, slightly disappointed by Tae-su's book gift, was considering whether it could be used as a prop for Instagram photos when a strong perfume scent and a high-pitched voice came from behind.

“Oh, Siwoo's mom must be happy~ Your gift luck has exploded~”

It was Jeongtae's mother.

Oh...