* * *

He crossed his arms and looked me up and down.

“Wow. My good looks are threatened here.”

PD Lee Jaemin patted Han Woojin on the shoulder.

“You’re turning forty soon; isn’t it time to step down from the position of Korea’s top handsome man?”

“Oh, I don’t want to step down. Do you know how hard it was to get here? By the way, is this Ma Soo-jung’s kid? Wow, he’s pretty.”

Han Woojin went over to Auntie An, sanitized his hands, and stood in front of me again.

“Too pretty. This isn’t a girl, right?”

No, it’s not. By the way, it’s been so busy I haven’t even greeted him.

I smiled brightly and slightly bowed my head.

“Hello!”

I hope we work well together today.

But despite my greeting, no one responded.

Huh.

‘What’s going on?’

As I tilted my head in confusion, Han Woojin covered his mouth with his hand.

“Wow, wow. This is killing me. When he does cute moves, it gets even cuter!”

Is that so.

“Wow, even a greeting. So young!”

Hey.

“The voice is really cute too. I mean, where do such kids come from! Gosh. I thought PD-nim was overreacting when he said he found a baby, but I admit it. So cute!”

The reaction was more intense than I expected.

‘Hey, they saw me talk on a variety show.’

Didn’t they cast me knowing that?

Then, President Seo chimed in.

“It’s always more touching to see in person what you saw on screen.”

Excuse me.

‘These people are the ones who shoot that screen.’

What nonsense.

But PD Lee Jaemin nodded.

“Right, President Seo. The variety show did wrong. It didn’t capture this face properly.”

“It seems that way.”

“Who would’ve thought such a cute kid would come. Wow, we’re going to nail this scene.”

Han Woojin gently brushed my cheek.

“Right? With a kid like this, wow.”

“How about aiming for 30% viewership?”

They laughed loudly, wondering if that was even possible. At that moment, the arm holding me started to tremble.

‘Oh, you’re still holding me.’

The president put me back in the stroller and muttered.

“My arm hurts.”

Oh dear.

President Seo massaged his arm and grinned.

“But our Kongja is popular. If only our new hires were this good… sigh.”

He suddenly sighed deeply.

“That can’t be, though.”

Oh dear.

“Soo-min comes to mind. The kid looks good and isn’t bad at acting, but has stage fright. Sigh.”

Soo-min? Did Top Line have such an actor? I don’t remember.

As I tilted my head in confusion, PD Lee Jaemin approached again.

“Kongja, let’s finish filming quickly and let you go.”

“Oh, PD-nim, you’re so considerate.”

“No, it’s only right. Child actors should be treated this way.”

“There are plenty of directors and PDs who don’t.”

PD Lee Jaemin shook his head.

“Those guys have issues. Let’s change clothes and shoot right away.”

Wait!

‘Aren’t you going to give instructions?’

When a child actor comes, you need to tell them how to act.

‘I know Han Woojin will hold me.’

But still, you need to tell me if I should laugh or cry so I can act.

PD Lee Jaemin looked me up and down and said,

“As long as the face is in the shot, it’s fine. Not crying is good enough.”

Damn it.

‘Looks like there are no requests.’

It seemed PD Lee Jaemin just wanted me not to cry.

‘Damn it. No way. I want to make the last scene of the emergency room a masterpiece.’

Who would have thought that the expectation for acting would be too low to be a problem?

‘No, fundamentally…’

I looked down at my hands. They were still very small.

Well, expecting acting directions from a kid who can barely say a couple of words is a bit much.

‘The problem is that I’m a baby.’

Honestly, expecting a baby to act properly is strange.

‘But that’s for ordinary babies…….’

I’m Lee Hanjoo, a top-tier supporting actor.

‘I can’t tarnish my name with a half-hearted performance!’

I felt anger rising to the top of my head.

Auntie An, who was changing my clothes, tilted her head curiously.

“Kongja, what’s wrong? Are you hot?”

Oops. I took a deep breath immediately.

“No!”

Auntie An placed her hand on my forehead.

“It feels like you have a slight fever. Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I’m not sick!”

Though, my heart does hurt a little from the lack of expectations.

“If you feel pain, you must tell your auntie, okay?”

“Yes!”

Auntie An murmured to herself as she smoothed my clothes.

“Is this kind of outfit even pretty?”

She looked much less confident than before.

She must have been criticized for her fashion sense by the boss earlier.

Oh dear.

I smiled awkwardly.

The clothes I was wearing now were a cute mint-colored hoodie with bunny ears.

Compared to that flashy silver outfit, this was much better.

‘Well, at least it’s cute.’

The material was cotton, so it was comfortable to move in.

But Auntie An, rolling up my sleeves, muttered again.

“My choice would have been better.”

No, it wouldn’t.

I was about to say something when suddenly, Auntie An pressed a fist to her chest.

‘What?’

Are you in pain again?

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

‘She seems to be in significant pain.’

I narrowed my eyes. Auntie An’s fist was trembling.

I could tell.

‘This doesn’t look like just heartburn.’

It seemed more serious than I thought.

Auntie An was gasping for breath.

It looked so painful that, without thinking, I clutched the hem of her clothes.

How long did this go on? Once her pain seemed to subside a bit, she quickly wiped off her sweat.

I asked quietly.

“Auntie, are you in pain?”

Auntie An was startled and turned around.

“Oh, Kongja. Let’s go out quickly.”

She desperately tried to change the subject. So I asked again.

“Are you in pain? Does it hurt?”

Tears briefly welled up in Auntie An’s eyes.

‘Damn it.’

It really is serious.

‘If you’re that sick, you should be hospitalized.’

Why are you still working?

* * *