Chapter 80

80. Catering Truck

"Cut! Okay! You two have such great chemistry!"

I'll have to count how many scenes were done in one take later.

Director Lee Sang-cheol, who had been directing with passion for the first time since "Hotel Red Moon," rubbed his tired throat and smiled broadly.

"Alright, everyone, let's give a round of applause!"

Clap clap clap clap-!

Today's filming ended with a staff member knocking on the front door.

The visitor was the loyal merman officer Kang Dong-hoon, who had come to the mainland to find Si-woo in the ocean.

But since Kang Dong-hoon isn't here today, that's it for now.

The staff gave enthusiastic applause to the three lead actors who had created various scenes with the small one-room apartment and the hallway in front of it as the background.

"Ji-seok, try to practice a bit more. The NGs you got today are already in the past, so don't dwell on them."

"Yes, Director! I'm sorry! I'll do my best!"

Ji-seok had also filmed a few scenes with Su-hyun, but while acting, he often used his usual tone of voice, which made it hard for him to capture Si-woo's feel, causing him to struggle a lot.

It seemed he needed some time to adapt.

Fortunately, in the early part of the drama, the protagonist spends a lot of time in Si-woo's form.

If he had been criticized by the audience from the start due to insufficient preparation, Ji-seok's mental state would have probably been in shambles.

While Si-woo, Su-hyun, and Ji-seok were taking a photo to commemorate the first day of filming, Director Lee Sang-cheol was thinking about the next shooting schedule. At that moment, the assistant director shouted to the staff on set.

"Catering truck is here-!"

"Ohh~!"

The set buzzed with excitement.

In any workplace, the first time people look forward to is when work ends, and the second is when it's time to eat.

But if it's time to eat after work?

The staff's tired faces lit up.

Originally, they were supposed to send Si-woo home after dinner and film the scenes with Ji-seok and Su-hyun, but thanks to Si-woo's performance, they managed to finish those scenes early.

Eat and it's over.

"Today's catering truck! Thanks to actor Ha Seung-seok, who is celebrating actor Yoon Si-woo's debut as the lead! He's provided it! By the way, actor Ha Seung-seok has never provided a catering truck or coffee truck before, and this is the first time he's doing it!"

"Ohh~!"

The staff buzzed with excitement at the news of actor Ha Seung-seok, the number one charismatic actor in Korea, providing his first catering truck.

"Si-woo, come over here. Let's take a picture."

Manager Tae-woo called Si-woo.

Si-woo went to the front of the catering truck, put his hands above his head like a rabbit, and made a V with his fingers.

Click! Click! Click!

The photos taken were beautiful and would be posted on SNS and entertainment news sites.

After finishing filming, Si-woo turned around to look at the catering truck sent by Seung-seok.

Next to the photo of Si-woo from the Underworld and Seung-seok from the Underworld, it read, "Eat! Act! Make a hit! From the cute junior reaper, Ha Seung-seok!"

'It's been two years since filming ended, but he still remembers and takes care of me like this. Wow, it's already been two years.'

When he used to playfully call Seung-seok a brat in the Underworld, he was only five years old.

It feels like yesterday, but it's been two years.

In this life, he was also making memories.

'Since this is the last time, I can take all the memories and emotions from this life with me. I decided to become an actor, so I need to live many lives and make lots of memories.'

When Si-woo turned around, Ji-seok and Su-hyun were standing there with their mouths open, staring at Ha Seung-seok's photo.

"Brother~ Sister~ Let's eat!"

Si-woo's voice brought Ji-seok back to his senses, and he replied with a trembling voice.

"Y-Yeah. Wow. Senior Ha Seung-seok! I'm a real fan! It's so amazing to be eating the food sent by Senior Ha Seung-seok... I'm so moved. I think my hands will keep shaking while I eat."

Su-hyun also spoke.

"Si-woo, you're so lucky. Senior Ha Seung-seok is taking such good care of you... I'm so jealous. Our Si-woo is really a star."

Director Lee Sang-cheol, who was passing behind the two actors to go eat, burst into laughter.

"Kids, it's too early to be surprised~ Si-woo's lead role has made the catering truck reservations go crazy. For the next shoot, it's Lee So-jin, then Han Tae-soo, Song Jun-young, Deokgu's father Hwang Dong-sik, Han Yoo-ri, Ryu Seung-hyun, God Entertainment's Shin Young-min, Director Lee Hong-gyun of 'The King's Path,' Directors Choi Min-cheol and Lee Han-su. It's hard to even list them all. There's a commotion everywhere. We'll be eating course meals every time."

Ji-seok and Su-hyun's mouths, which had been closed for a moment, opened wide again.

Looking down at Si-woo, who was smiling awkwardly, Ji-seok asked.

"Are you seven years old?"

"Yes."

"......What kind of life have you lived?"

"Umm~ Hard~?"

Si-woo answered with a calm smile.

"......Right. You really worked hard. At the age when I wet my pants and got spanked by my mom, you were making a filmography. You're a really scary actor."

Su-hyun nodded at Ji-seok's words.

"I'm curious about Si-woo's filmography when he's twenty. At this pace, by the time he's twenty, he'll be really......"

"By then, Si-woo will be a twenty-year veteran. We won't even dare to look him in the eye."

"By then, we'll also have...... a lot of experience, right?"

In response to Su-hyun's anxious question, Ji-seok answered more honestly than necessary.

"It could happen...... or he might disappear from the acting scene......"

"......Brother."

"Sorry. You, you'll still be around. Hahaha. Let's eat!"

Si-woo, thinking that he hopes this drama does well so that these two can continue acting for a long time, held Ji-seok and Su-hyun's hands and walked towards the catering truck.

* * *

The sweltering heat continued every day in the summer.

Bok-sil was sprawled out under the sofa, trying to fall asleep.

Bok-sil, who had been playing and having fun with baby Si-woo, would soon be nine years old in two months.

Thanks to Si-woo's care, her physical age was still lively, but it was true that she was less active than before.

When she yawned, her healthy teeth, which Si-woo had cleaned thoroughly, were briefly revealed.

Bok-sil, who had refreshed her palate, changed her position and prepared to return to dreamland.

"Abu- Abu-."

Bok-sil's eyes opened.

A monster was crawling towards her.

Just as Bok-sil was about to get up and run, Si-yoon grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

Held in the arms of the nine-month-old baby Si-yoon, Bok-sil felt a saliva bomb fall on her head and looked at the sky with a detached gaze.

Nero, who was elegantly lying on the top of the sofa and washing his face, met Bok-sil's eyes.

- ...

- ...

While they were staring at each other, Nero suddenly jumped down from the sofa and started running around the living room.

Why is he doing that?

Why did he suddenly start running?

Even after living with him for years, he was still a mystery.

"Ababa~! Pupu~!"

Si-yoon, who was rubbing his chubby cheeks against Bok-sil's back, laughed uncontrollably.

Bok-sil, who was about to call Si-woo, remembered that Si-woo was at the baseball field with his father today and looked for his mother.

- Kyeeng~ Kyeeng!

At the sound of Bok-sil's whining, Hyun-ju, who was folding laundry near the TV where the drama "Sea Child" was playing, stood up.

"Si-yoon. Bok-sil played with you last night too. Now Bok-sil wants to sleep."

"Abu- Abu-! Hueng... Hueng... Aaaah!"

"Don't cry. Do you want Mom to hold you? Mom will hold you?"

Si-yoon, sobbing, stretched out his arms towards Hyun-ju.

Hyun-ju, holding Si-yoon, stood up and walked around the living room.

He seemed to enjoy the up-and-down motion, as he didn't like being held while sitting or standing still.

He was only satisfied when she walked around while gently swaying.

Bok-sil, who had regained her freedom, tried to go back to sleep but was already awake.

Bok-sil, making a tat-tat-tat sound with her paws, moved to the corner of the living room and turned her gaze to the TV that Hyun-ju was watching.

- Kyeeng?

Although her vision was not as good as humans and she had limitations in seeing colors, she had no problem recognizing images.

Bok-sil wagged her tail happily.

On the TV-

Si-woo's older brother was appearing.

* * *

"Jinju-! Wow-!"

The mermaid child, who was named "Sea" after the human pronunciation of the mermaid name, was grinning from ear to ear while checking the price of pearls on Eun-soo's laptop.

Next to the laptop, the best quality pearls brought from the mermaid kingdom by the fisherman, who was like her right arm, were rolling around.

"Wow~! We can even move to a bigger house! Oh, right. Uncle said not to sell them carelessly and only use them when really needed... but at least we can eat as much as we want, right?"

Wearing a toddler-sized tracksuit that resembled the bluish color of a mackerel, Sea wandered around the one-room apartment and looked out the window.

The sky was dark.

"I need to tell them this news, but why isn't he here? I wish I had a phone too......"

Sea dragged a table over, placed it under the window, and stepped up on it.

The small child Sea peeked out above the window.

The dark alley was deserted and quiet.

"......I'm worried."

Quiet-

A broken streetlight flickered eerily.

Sea, alternating her gaze between the alley and the wall clock, jumped down from the table.

"I don't smell any mermaids, but I have a bad feeling today. Mermaids' instincts are quite accurate."

Sea, looking like a prince, neatly adjusted the mackerel-colored tracksuit and put on her shoes, then quickly left the one-room apartment.

Eun-soo was walking down the alley with an anxious face.

'I knew... I knew that a day like this would come. But I didn't think it would be today.'

The faster Eun-soo walked, the faster the footsteps following her became, and the slower she walked, the slower they became.

Eun-soo stopped under a brightly lit streetlight.

'What should I do? Should I get angry? Or should I try to calm him down and send him away?'

Eun-soo, who had been conflicted, remembered that calming him down hadn't worked so far and turned around to show she wasn't to be messed with, then got angry.

"Senior! Why are you following me! I... I don't want to see you!"

A well-built man appeared from the darkness.

The man, with a face that could be a typical stalker in any drama, smiled slyly and said,

"Hey, Eun-soo. I've been nice to you, right? Just go on one date with me. Just one date, and if you still don't like it, I'll stop following you."

"But I told you I don't want to go on a date with you!"

"I've been gentle, but you didn't understand, so I'll be even gentler. I'll take you home every day. Let's go out from now on. I'll wait for you at the store when you finish your part-time job."

The man took a step closer.

Eun-soo, stepping back, held her bag in front of her, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary.

"Why, are you going to hit me with that? Go ahead~ hit me~ hit me. Bang!"

As the man raised his hand, Eun-soo screamed and fell backward.

"Ah!"

"Hey, Shin Eun-soo. Honestly, there's nothing to look at except your face. Just pretend to go on one date with me. I live well. I'll take you in a luxury car."

At that moment, a small seven-year-old child's face appeared halfway from behind a streetlight.

In the eerie atmosphere, a clear child's voice echoed.

"I live well too~ I can even take you in a turtle~"

The man and Eun-soo looked at Sea simultaneously.

"What, who is this kid? Where's your mom?"

Eun-soo, who had been trembling with fear, now looked relieved and hid behind Sea.

The man looked puzzled.

"Shin Eun-soo, what are you doing? You're hiding behind a kindergartener?"

Eun-soo, feeling more confident, deliberately lifted her chin and said boldly,

"Senior, this kid... this kid isn't just a kindergartener. He's really good at fighting! He's super strong!"

"Brother? What brother?"

Eun-soo whispered to Sea.

"Quick, go get your brother. Ask him to talk to this... person and tell him not to follow me."

Sea frowned slightly, looking annoyed.

"Do I really have to? Can't I just......"

Eun-soo whispered to Sea.

"It's strange for a kindergartener to beat a college student. Quickly switch to power mode."

"Power mode~?"

"Transform into an adult."

"Then... am I in power-saving mode......"

Sea sighed and quickly walked back into the alley.

Just before disappearing, Sea turned to Eun-soo and said,

"I'm going to turn off power-saving mode~"

Sea turned the corner and disappeared.

A few seconds of tense silence passed between Eun-soo and the senior.

Then, a tall, extremely handsome man in a mackerel-colored tracksuit, standing at about 180 cm, emerged from the corner where the child had disappeared.

"What, what, what is this?"

The man, who had appeared, looked at the empty corner as if acting and said,

"Wait a moment. Little brother. I'll handle it."

The man, now in power mode, walked confidently to Eun-soo's side and smiled.

Oh