Chapter 81

81. Yoon Soo-soo

Suddenly, Soo's senior raised her voice towards the adult who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you? What do you have to do with Soo, Soo? Why are you butting in? Won't you move?"

"What do you mean, what do I have to do with her?"

The adult, Soo, tilted her head to the side, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"We live together…."

Smack!

Soo's bag hit the adult.

The adult, who had been hit unexpectedly, turned to look at Soo with an angry face.

"Why did you hit me!"

Soo shouted at the senior.

"Together! We live in the same building! In the next apartment… that's our relationship! A neighbor! Don't misunderstand!"

The senior looked at Soo and the adult with a suspicious gaze, and the adult said,

"Why are you lying? We live together."

"…!"

"Why?"

"You… do you… happen to be a carp?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why can't you read the room-!"

Thinking about the rumors that would spread in school tomorrow thanks to this loose-lipped senior, Soo shouted.

As expected, the senior pointed at Soo with a really unpleasant look on her face.

"Wow~ hahaha! Wow… oh… Shin Soo… you pretended to be so innocent. You were living with a guy? Amazing. Amazing… Ouch… Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! My pain… Let go! No, don't let go!?"

The adult was holding the senior's hand that was pointing at Soo tightly.

Due to the adult's grip, the senior struggled to pull her hand away but couldn't.

"Do Soo and I cause you any trouble by living together?"

"No, no… let go of this first… Ouch…."

"Also, pointing at people is really bad, don't do it. For Soo…."

The adult whispered in the senior's ear so that Soo couldn't hear.

"I'll hit you in the back… his hands are really… sticky."

Seeing the adult's strangely glowing eyes, the senior was terrified.

"No, I won't…."

"Will you chase Soo around again?"

"No…."

It was like a cat pressing down on a mouse's tail.

A moment later-

The senior, shocked by the adult's strength and presence, fled, leaving only Soo and the adult in the alley.

"Is that enough? I waste a lot of energy outside of water, so I'll go back to power-saving mode~"

Avoiding the CCTV, the adult went to a dark place and returned to power-saving mode.

Seeing the young adult emerge from the shadow of the alley wall, Soo let out a long sigh.

Unaware of Soo's feelings, the adult, who seemed to be in a good mood, approached with a bouncy step and a bright smile.

"Since I helped you today~ can you order some fish cutlets when we get home~?"

"…You're talking about fish cutlets."

"Huh? Are you not in a good mood? Why?"

"Enough! I don't care! I won't go to school from tomorrow!"

"Really?"

"I won't! I won't! I absolutely won't!"

"That's great. Then we'll be together all day from now on?"

"…I should have kept my mouth shut."

"Oh, right! The fisherman uncle came by earlier!"

"Soo and the fisherman… mermaids really have easy-to-remember names. So… wait, did he really bring pearls?"

"…."

"Soo? Soo~ Why did you suddenly…."

Excited to talk about the pearls, the adult stopped chasing Soo and stood in the middle of the alley.

The adult's face was zoomed in.

The adult's face, which had been smiling brightly, gradually hardened and then became chillingly cold.

The adult's mouth opened.

"Am I a rotten fish?"

With those words, several shadows appeared on the alley wall, emerging from the darkness.

The nearby streetlights flickered and went out one by one.

The drama ended with the young adult's eyes shining under the moonlight.

* * *

The viewers, who had been drawn into the TV screen by the seven-year-old's ever-changing expressions, were furious when they saw the subtitle saying they would meet again next Friday.

– What! Give us the next episode!

– If you're going to make us wait a week, at least give us a preview ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– A mermaid? A mermaid? These days, mermaids wear suits…

– Power-saving mode ㅋㅋㅋㅋ When Si-woo gets small, can he not grow back to his original size right away?

– Yeah, it takes some time. After a power mode, he needs to go into a bathtub to recharge ㅎㅎㅎ

– What a fish cutlet-like drama… At the very least, if they met enemies, they should have exchanged a few lines and shown us the taste of tartar before ending…

– Power-saving mode is super cute, and power mode is super handsome. Soo is attractive even to women, and while the power mode acting is a bit awkward… I believe it will improve, Jiseok ㅠㅠ

– The birth of a romance led by a seven-year-old. It seems people who said they wouldn't watch it at first are secretly watching it ㅋㅋㅋㅋ The ratings keep rising~

Ten-year-old Sua was disappointed when the drama ended.

"Mom, is it over? Will there be more tomorrow?"

"Next week."

"Ah… I want to see Soo more!"

Sitting on the sofa with her daughter, 9-dan Choi Min-a asked with a smile.

"Is Soo that cute?"

"Yes. You~ are so cute. I want a pretty younger sister like Soo."

"Sua, you have an older sister."

"Not an older sister, a younger sister~ Mom, is Soo a celebrity since he's on TV?"

"Yes, he is."

"Then does Soo have fan meet-and-greets?"

"Fan meet-and-greets?"

"Like how my sister went to a Hot Six fan meet-and-greet, can I go to a Soo fan meet-and-greet?"

9-dan Choi Min-a stroked her second daughter's cheek and said,

"Soo is too young for that. Sua, it's late, so let's take a bath and go to bed."

"Hmm… Okay."

Watching her daughter walk to the bathroom with a slightly disappointed look, 9-dan Choi Min-a picked up her phone and searched out of curiosity.

Since Soo is a child, a fan meet-and-greet is impossible, but given his popularity, there might be a chance to meet him at a fan meeting or some event.

Like how she met Pink Pororo at the Starlight Library concert last year.

"Soo's name… was Yoon Si-woo?"

When she searched for "Yoon Si-woo fan meeting," several search results appeared.

After browsing a few articles, she couldn't find the information she wanted, but she confirmed that many fans were requesting a fan meeting through the comments.

"There's nothing. I wanted to cheer Sua up a bit."

Just as she was about to turn off her phone, a post from a new entertainment company caught her eye.

9-dan Choi Min-a read the post carefully, thinking she might tell her daughter later.

1. When is your birthday? – May 4th.

2. What was your debut work? – Mr. Moonlight.

5. Family? – Parents and a younger brother born last year. And a dog and a cat~♡

13. What's your favorite food? – Cheese pork cutlet♡♡♡ I love all foods with cheese!

15. What's your favorite movie? – Pink Pororo: The Movie

27. What's your favorite work among the ones you've done so far? – All of them~

35. What's the name of your closest friend in kindergarten? – Yoo Ji-ho!

36. Do you have a nickname in kindergarten? – Short for Si-woo, Soo-soo~♡

39. What do you usually play? – Jumping park with friends~ Lately, I'm practicing a two-wheeled bicycle!

41. What else are you good at besides acting? – Go!

42. Is it true you're a Go prodigy? – I won the Seoul kindergarten Go championship!

50. Greeting to fans! – Thank you for your love! I'll work hard, so please watch [Sea Child] a lot! When I enter elementary school and grow a bit more, I definitely want to have a fan meeting someday!

"It feels like half of it was written by the company… but they probably wouldn't just let a child speak freely. Still, the Seoul kindergarten Go championship? Was there such a… championship?"

Wait.

Soo-soo?

A name she had heard many times before…

Yoon Si-woo… Soo-soo… Yoon Soo-soo?

Could it be-?

9-dan Choi Min-a recalled Yoon Soo-soo, a 30-dan player who had suddenly appeared in the HanDolGo community two years ago and was now sweeping through the top players in Korea, China, and Japan, and chuckled.

It was an absurd thought.

Yoon Si-woo was only seven years old, and Yoon Soo-soo's Go was far from that of a child.

It was cold and experienced.

A broad perspective and restrained judgment that a child couldn't mimic with talent alone.

Yoon Soo-soo had that.

But if Yoon Soo-soo's true identity was a seven-year-old child?

"…It means the learning speed is at the level of artificial intelligence."

She had heard about a genius boy in Incheon who entered university at the age of nine, and it was probably at that level…

"…."

Such… an existence… exists?

9-dan Choi Min-a called her close junior, a professional Go player who had been dedicated to children's Go education for several years.

"Have you heard of the Seoul kindergarten Go championship?"

"Can you find out the name of the child who won it?"

"Choi Taek? Respond 1987?"

"Is the name of the academy where this Choi Taek is… Genius Go Academy?"

"…."

The answer from her junior made 9-dan Choi Min-a shiver.

'Oh my God, Yoon Soo-soo is really seven years old!'

But it wasn't certain yet.

It could all be a coincidence.

'If it's true, why is such a genius not known in the Go world yet? Is the academy keeping it a secret because they're worried about excessive attention due to his celebrity status?'

Excessive attention to young geniuses was definitely a big burden and didn't lead to positive results.

'I need to find out.'

* * *

The filming proceeded according to a planned schedule without any script changes or impromptu scenes, and the latter part was to be made flexibly based on viewer feedback.

Writer No Jin-hee, who had studied trendy dramas after watching them under the name of God and had worked hard to align the settings, situations, and dialogues with the tastes of the younger generation, had already handed over the final script and was preparing for any possible revisions.

From the middle of the yet-to-be-aired drama, Jiseok's acting had improved significantly.

Based on the efforts of numerous staff and actors, [Sea Child] was overcoming its low pre-release expectations and gradually moving towards a blockbuster result, like gears meshing together.

As a lead actor, Si-woo was working hard on the set every week and was now enjoying a rare break from his ordinary life.

Tap.

As Si-woo gently placed a Go stone, the elementary school boy sitting opposite him scratched his head and spoke.

"I lost. Why did I lose?"

The elementary school boy asked Si-woo for guidance.

Another boy passing by the Go board said jokingly,

"Because you're stupid."

"…Hey! Do you want to die?"

"Ha ha ha!"

The boy who was running away was caught by the teacher and started to receive a scolding, while the boy sitting in front of Si-woo watched with a smug look and then said to Si-woo,

"Review the game. Review."

Si-woo picked up the stones from the Go board and pointed out the mistakes one by one.

"Here, you didn't stand firm and retreated out of fear~ Here, you misunderstood the life and death of the group~ Here, you moved your hand to another place~ and so on…"

As the endless criticisms continued, the elementary school boy eventually just stared at Si-woo, who was wearing a kindergarten uniform.

"O-oh. Then what should I have done?"

While Si-woo was giving guidance to his older brother, the classroom door opened, and Coach Choi Taek entered.

Coach Choi Taek said,

"Kids, do you know we have a match with another Go academy today? We need to start preparing. This time, a famous professional teacher will also be here, so try to learn a lot."