Chapter 2

2. Squish! Pappa!

Lee Soojin was a top actress among the young actresses in South Korea, in name and in reality.

Before starring in Mr. Moonlight, she was merely one of the top actresses, but after the drama became a huge hit, she became a unique and unparalleled leading actress with no one to compare to.

While Soojin was taking a break during filming, her manager handed her a phone.

"Soojin, look at this. Another article came out. You're the overwhelming number one in the survey of the best female entertainers in their twenties! Soo-jin! You look beautiful today. Once you win the acting award at the end of the year..."

"Enough."

Soojin replied curtly.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"Best female entertainer in her twenties? What does that mean? I'll be thirty in two months."

"Oh..."

"Thanks for reminding me of my age."

"No, no~ I was just trying to make you feel good..."

Soojin glared at her manager with wide eyes.

"Haha! Sorry, sorry. Soojin, do you want me to get you some water?"

In the bitter cold of November, Soojin fiddled with a hand warmer and said, "Not water, a Starbucks coffee. I want something warm to drink."

The chief manager, a man in his mid-thirties, nodded at the young man standing next to him.

"Go and buy it quickly."

The young man, a friend who was currently working as Soojin's road manager, asked, "Sister, what kind of coffee should I get?"

"Nothing appeals to me today, so you choose."

"Okay, I'll do my best to pick one."

"If you pick something I don't like, I won't drink it, got it?"

"Got it, of course."

"But if you pick something I like, I'll drink it with a lot of gratitude. Drive carefully."

"Got it! I'll be right back!"

The chief manager shouted to the road manager, who was running to the car, "Hey! Just buy one of each kind! If Soojin doesn't drink it, you can give it to someone else!"

Soojin frowned.

"Why do you have to interfere? I was going to be extra grateful no matter what he brought back."

"Oops! I made a mistake. I should have told him to pick carefully. Hahaha!"

The chief manager laughed for a while before subtly speaking up.

"Soojin, we only have six months left on our contract, and you are still our company's..."

"Didn't you come to congratulate me on the last shoot? Just congratulate me and leave. I'm feeling uneasy."

"...Right! I was being short-sighted. Since it's the last shoot today, you need to do your best and be in good condition."

Soojin, who had been flipping through her well-rehearsed script out of habit, asked the chief manager, "But this is the last scene. Do I really have to hold a real baby?"

"I heard that's the case. Should I go and talk to the director? Can we use a doll instead? It's too much of a burden?"

"I've already asked a few times, and they said no."

"But you really hate babies. You said the sound of a baby crying is the same as the sound of a cat crying, which is a trauma from when you were young. If you want, I can ask the director one more time..."

"Ha... Forget it. It's annoying. Just do it."

* * *

Hyun-ju got out of the taxi with Si-woo in her arms.

"Follow me. Let's go greet the director."

Her sister, Hee-ju, led the way.

The drama set, which she had never been to before, was full of wonders.

"Wow, this is the atmosphere. Si-woo, where are we? There are so many people?"

Si-woo, in the baby carrier, looked at the crowd with wide eyes.

'What is this place? It's not an amusement park, so why are they all gathered here?'

Although she often went out with her mother, this was a new place for her.

"Hehe... It looks like Si-woo is really observing everything."

Hee-ju laughed and said.

As they went inside, they saw a middle-aged man giving instructions to the staff.

Hyun-ju immediately recognized him as the director.

"Director!"

"Hmm?"

Hee-ju ran up and bowed.

"Did you receive the call? I'm assistant writer Kim Hee-ju. This is my sister, and this is Si-woo, who will be appearing in the ending today."

Hyun-ju, holding Si-woo tightly, bowed deeply.

The director raised his hand.

"Oh, right. Nice to meet you. I was in a bind because a child was suddenly added to the ending, but thanks to you, we're saved."

The director first checked Si-woo.

Si-woo looked up at the director from his mother's arms, wondering, "Who is this uncle?"

The director couldn't help but exclaim.

"Oh~! You looked cute in the photos, but you're even cuter in person? How can such a small kid be so beautifully made? Yes? Hey, I need to capture you well on camera. Good, good. You're a perfect fit!"

Si-woo smiled, understanding the praise.

"Ka! Look at that smile. Do you like this uncle?"

Doodle-doodle.

"Huh? No, no? Look at his timing."

Si-woo, who had teased the director, laughed.

The director, who had been slightly embarrassed, relaxed again at Si-woo's laughter.

The director said to Hyun-ju.

"It's a bit warmer now because it's daytime, but it's still cold. I'll try to finish quickly, so please make sure the baby doesn't cry or get upset."

"Understood."

"Go over there, and you'll find Lee Soojin. Go and show Si-woo to her so he can get used to her."

Hyun-ju and her sister Hee-ju headed to where the director had directed them.

"It's... Lee Soojin."

Hyun-ju stopped walking when she saw Lee Soojin sitting in a chair.

Hee-ju said, "Yes, it's Lee Soojin. The face you wanted to see for just one day. But I clearly told you that Lee Soojin has a temper."

"I know. I'm prepared. Let's go."

Hyun-ju, with a mix of excitement and anxiety, approached Lee Soojin.

Hee-ju greeted her first.

"Hello, I'm assistant writer Kim Hee-ju for this drama. We met once before..."

"..."

It was clear that Soojin didn't remember.

Hee-ju, regretting bringing up the last meeting, quickly changed the subject.

"This is my sister, and this is Si-woo, who will be playing the role of Lee Soojin's child in the ending."

"Okay."

Soojin answered briefly, her face guarded.

Her gaze was fixed on the baby carrier Hyun-ju was wearing.

Hyun-ju, momentarily mesmerized by Soojin's stunning beauty, felt her gaze and, a bit flustered, said, "Hello, I'm a fan. Um... do you want to see the baby's face?"

"..."

Soojin was momentarily speechless, unable to say yes or no.

Hyun-ju and Hee-ju, unsure of the situation, stood frozen without sitting down.

The chief manager stepped in to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Please sit down. The baby doesn't cry much, right? Soojin has a slight trauma with baby cries... just a slight one."

He emphasized "slight" to prevent any rumors from spreading.

"Ah... Yes."

Hyun-ju nodded and sat down in the seat the manager offered.

"Soojin, you should get to know the baby. You're not going to look at the baby's face?"

The manager said to Soojin.

Soojin, silent for a moment, finally spoke.

"Um, do I really have to?"

Despite being fearless in most situations, there were two things that troubled her, like acrophobia or aquaphobia for others.

The sound of a baby crying.

The sound of a cat crying.

She would rather dance with a ghost in the middle of summer than face these two, which were her true nemeses.

The chief manager tried to persuade Soojin.

"Come on, don't be like that. Since you're here, why don't you play peek-a-boo with the baby for a bit? If the baby starts crying during the shoot because it's unfamiliar with you, what will you do?"

Play with a baby?

Soojin, frowning and pulling back, said, "Forget it. I don't really want to. If the baby cries... if it doesn't work out, we'll just use a doll."

"Soojin, Soojin."

The chief manager glanced at Hyun-ju and Hee-ju.

Soojin's body language, similar to someone instinctively flinching from a dog they fear, was perceived differently by Hee-ju and Hyun-ju.

It felt like they had seen something they shouldn't have.

Moreover, Soojin's dismissive attitude towards Si-woo, who had come to help, made Hee-ju and Hyun-ju feel very upset.

Hee-ju was about to say something, but Hyun-ju spoke first.

"I'll... take the baby and leave. Use the doll if you want."

Hyun-ju, her face red, stood up.

"Let's go home. Si-woo, it's cold here, and we came for nothing."

The flustered chief manager blocked Hyun-ju's path.

"Come on, baby's mom! Don't be angry. Soojin just meant that it's cold, and there's no need to make the baby suffer. Using a doll would have been fine. Don't misunderstand."

"Yes, I don't want my baby to suffer. So, use the doll."

In reality, using a doll was impossible, despite being Soojin's hope.

The director and writer wanted to include a scene in the ending where a heartbroken woman, who has lost her husband, makes eye contact with her innocent, oblivious baby.

Soojin would need to cry convincingly in that scene.

"Sit down for a moment... What's the baby's name? Can I see the baby's face? Is it okay to look?"

The chief manager, without waiting for an answer, approached and checked Si-woo's face.

He intended to praise the baby to lift the mother's mood.

No mother would stay upset when their baby is praised.

"Hello~! Our baby~! So cute... Wow. Amazing. You're really... so cute?"

While the first "cute" was a prepared line, the second "cute" came from the heart.

The chief manager, forgetting the current situation, was captivated by the baby.

"Really, this is the cutest baby I've ever seen. Wow, my nephew is 20 months old, and he wasn't this cute when he was little. Hey, what do you eat to be so cute?"

"Squish! Pappa!"

Formula. Dummy?

No... it must be a mistake.

As the chief manager tilted his head, a chuckle came from behind.

It was Soojin.

"Formula. Dummy. That's what he said."

"Haha! Did you hear that too? I was just startled. The baby can't talk yet, right?"

Hyun-ju, still upset but slightly calmed, replied, "He can only say 'mama.' He sometimes imitates 'daddy' and 'mommy.'"

"How old is he?"

"Six months."

"He's too young to talk. Soojin, come and at least look at the baby's face. It's really cute. No kidding. And he's so well-behaved, not crying at all."

Soojin didn't budge.

"You have to film together later. Are you really going to start filming without even looking at the baby's face? Come on, look. It's cute, I promise."

Pushing her shoulder gently, the chief manager finally got Soojin to stand up.

She grumbled, "Just because the baby is cute. All babies look the same, anyway."

Although she didn't want to, she knew she should get used to the baby's face, as the drama she had worked on for months, sacrificing sleep and effort, was about to end.

She didn't want the last shoot to be prolonged because of a crying baby.

"Ha... Fine. Let's see the face. I'm your mom today."

Si-woo, with sparkling eyes, repeated Soojin's words.

"Oma?"

"..."

The moment their eyes met, Soojin was speechless.

Forget about all babies looking the same.

Her heart dropped.

This was not just cute.

Oh.