Lee Soojin was indisputably at the top among young actresses in South Korea. Before filming “Mr. Moonlight,” she was just considered one of the leading actresses, but the drama’s massive success made her a peerless, singular top actress.
While taking a break during filming, Soojin’s manager handed her a phone.
“Soojin, look at this. Another article came out. Voted the top female entertainer in her twenties by a landslide! Lee! Soo! Jin! Our beautiful Soojin, if you win the acting award at the end of the year…”
“Enough.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
Hearing the sudden word of her manager, Soojin asked.
“Top female entertainer in her twenties? What does that even mean? You’ll be thirty in two months.”
“Ah…”
“Thanks for reminding me of my age.”
“No, I just wanted to make you feel good…”
Soojin glared at her manager with a sour expression.
“Haha! Sorry, sorry. Should I get you some water or something?”
In the biting cold of November, Soojin rubbed a hand warmer with her hands and said, “Not water. I want a warm coffee.”
The manager in his mid-thirties motioned to a young man standing nearby.
“Go get it quickly.”
The young man currently working as Soojin’s road manager, following in the manager’s footsteps, asked Soojin, “What kind of coffee should I get, sis?”
“Nothing in particular today. You choose.”
“Okay, I’ll pick something good.”
“You know I won’t drink it if I don’t like it, right?”
“Of course.”
“But if I like it, I’ll be very grateful. Drive safely.”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon!”
As the road manager ran to the car, the manager shouted, “Hey! Just buy all kinds! If Soojin doesn’t drink it, someone else will!”
Soojin frowned.
“Why are you interfering? I wanted to be grateful no matter what he brought.”
“Oops! My bad. I should have just told him to pick carefully. Haha!”
The manager laughed for a while before speaking again.
“Soojin, we only have six months left on our contract. You are still our company’s…”
“Aren’t you here to congratulate me on my last shoot? Just do that and leave. I feel unsettled.”
“…Right! I wasn’t thinking. It’s your last shoot today, so you should be in good condition.”
Soojin, who had already memorized the script, habitually flipped through it and asked the manager, “By the way, do I really have to hold a real baby for this last scene?”
“I heard so. Should I talk to them about using a doll instead? Because it’s a burden?”
“I’ve already asked several times, but they said no.”
“But you really hate babies. Their crying sounds just like the cat cries from your childhood trauma. If you want, I can ask the director one more time…”
“Sigh… Forget it. It will just make me pathetic. I’ll just do it.”
* * *
Hyunjoo got out of the taxi holding Siwoo.
“Follow me. Let’s go greet the director.”
Her sister, Heejoo, led the way.
The drama filming site, which Hyunjoo had never visited before, was full of fascinating things.
“Wow, so this is what it’s like. Siwoo, where are we? There are so many people!”
Siwoo, in the baby carrier, looked around wide-eyed at the gathered crowd.
‘What is this place? It’s not an amusement park, so why is everyone here?’
Although he often went out with his mom, this place was new to him.
“See, it feels like our Siwoo knows exactly what’s going on,” Heejoo said with a laugh.
As they went inside, they saw a middle-aged man giving various instructions to the staff. Hyunjoo instantly recognized him as the director.
“Director!”
“Huh?”
Heejoo ran over and bowed.
“You got my message, right? I’m Kim Heejoo, the assistant writer. This is my sister, and this is Siwoo, who will be appearing today.”
Hyunjoo, holding Siwoo tightly, bowed.
The director raised his hand.
“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. I was in a bind because we suddenly needed a baby for the ending scene, but you saved us.”
The director first checked Siwoo.
Siwoo looked up at the director from his mom’s arms with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Who is this guy?’
The director couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh! He was cute in the photos, but he’s even cuter in person! How can such a little one be so perfectly adorable? Wow, we need to capture this well on camera. Fantastic, fantastic. You’re hired!”
As if understanding the compliment, Siwoo smiled brightly.
“Look at that smile. Do you like this guy?”
Siwoo shook his head.
“No? Oh, you don’t? What timing.”
Siwoo laughed gleefully, teasing the director.
Just as the director was about to feel embarrassed, Siwoo’s laughter eased the situation.
The director said to Hyunjoo, “It’s a bit warmer during the day, but it’s still cold. I’ll try to wrap this up quickly, so please make sure the baby doesn’t cry or get too upset.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Over there is Lee Soojin. Go show Siwoo to her and let him get familiar.”
Hyunjoo, with her sister Heejoo, headed to where the director pointed.
“That’s Lee Soojin.”
Spotting Lee Soojin sitting on a chair, Hyunjoo stopped in her tracks.
Heejoo said, “Yes, that’s Lee Soojin. The face you wish you could live with for just one day. But remember what I told you. Lee Soojin is known to be very temperamental.”
“I know. I’m prepared. Let’s go.”
With a mix of anticipation and concern, Hyunjoo approached Lee Soojin, trying to steady her pounding heart.
Heejoo greeted her first.
“Hello. I’m Kim Heejoo, the assistant writer for this drama. We met once before…”
“……”
She clearly didn’t recognize me at all.
Feeling regretful for mentioning it, Heejoo quickly changed the subject.
“This is my younger sibling. This is Siwoo, who will play Lee Soojin’s child in the ending.”
“Yes.”
Soojin responded briefly with a wary expression.
Her gaze was fixed on the baby carrier strapped to Hyunjoo.
Hyunjoo, momentarily dazed by Soojin’s stunning beauty, felt her gaze and fumbled to speak.
“Oh, hello. I’m a fan. Um… would you like to see the baby’s face?”
“……”
Soojin was momentarily speechless at Hyunjoo’s question.
She neither agreed nor disagreed.
Interpreting Soojin’s silence as indifference, Hyunjoo and Heejoo stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
The manager stepped in to ease the awkward tension.
“Please, have a seat. The baby doesn’t cry much, right? Soojin has a bit of a trauma with baby cries… just a little.”
He emphasized “a little,” perhaps worried about spreading any strange rumors.
“Oh… yes.”
Hyunjoo nodded and sat down where the manager indicated.
“Soojin, you should get familiar with the baby. Aren’t you going to look at the baby’s face?”
The manager addressed Soojin.
After another silence, Soojin finally spoke up.
“Do I really need to?”
She wasn’t afraid of much, but she had two significant fears, akin to others’ fear of heights or water.
Baby cries.
Cat scratches.
She would rather dance with a ghost on a hot summer night than face those two.
