* * *

Both Deok-soo and Mom were crying at the same time.

“Why is Mom crying too?”

Mom hugged me tightly.

“My angel! You’re so good.”

“Sniffle. I agree.”

No, don’t agree.

“Why are you crying when I said it’s okay?”

Should I watch my words more carefully?

“Kongja, I’m sorry for being so busy.”

It’s really okay!

‘No, let’s change the topic.’

Otherwise, she might cry again.

“Mom! We have a guest!”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Mom quickly wiped her tears.

“Kongja, a director is coming today.”

I smiled brightly and said,

“Again?”

“Yes. A few have come and gone? The directors like Kongja so much, but Mom refused. The themes of the projects weren’t great.”

Thank you, Mom.

“The projects were really off.”

It wasn’t just that they didn’t do well at the box office. The scripts were all over the place.

“They probably came because they heard that the project got funded thanks to me.”

Their true intentions were obvious.

‘Deok-soo probably told Mom about that too.’

Mom stood up and stretched. Under the bright sunlight, she still looked beautiful.

“I should get ready to welcome the guest. They’re quite important.”

Wow.

‘Must be someone impressive.’

I grabbed Mom’s clothes and asked,

“Who is it?”

“Hmm, a PD? A famous one.”

Who could it be?

“A person who makes really good dramas.”

I clenched my fists.

‘The small screen, that’s great.’

Let’s see. What’s popular at this time?

‘It’s the era of historical dramas, right?’

With historical dramas gaining popularity on the major networks, other channels were also preparing historical dramas.

‘All the projects were good.’

They were actively going overseas too.

‘It’d be great if we hit it big.’

Oh, which director is coming?

My heart was pounding. Mom smiled and said,

“Kongja, you look excited.”

Oops, she noticed.

“Are you looking forward to it?”

“Yes!”

“How cute.”

Mom smiled sweetly. I looked at her.

‘Honestly, if a kid acts like this, it’d be suspicious.’

Isn’t it?

‘I sometimes think Mom knows everything.’

I grinned.

‘I’m glad I can use the coin on Mom.’

‘I’ll be dutiful, Mother. I’ll do my best.’

‘Since it’s turned out like this, should I make it stronger?’

I’ve mainly focused on improving my physical and muscular strength, but should I also work on flexibility?

‘Well, the more good things, the better.’

I was pondering that a bit when I heard the elevator sound.

‘Are you here already?’

I turned slightly. Then, I heard a voice.

“Are you Kongja?”

Oh no.

I blinked.

“I can tell at a glance. Hello, Kongja. I’m PD Kim Jedeuk.”

Understood.

‘Wow, PD. It’s nice to meet you like this.’

It’s a bit sudden, but it’s been a while.

In my past life, every time it rained, my ankles hurt because of you.

PD Kim Jedeuk.

He hadn’t directed many works.

‘Only two of them were famous. Seosan Byeolgok, The Path of a Monarch.’

Those two were somewhat successful.

“But still.”

I squinted my eyes.

I met PD Kim Jedeuk, through a project called “Choo Kwang-deok.”

I had a tough time working on that project.

“It wasn’t just the end that was the problem.”

The drama had a lot of action scenes.

“Usually, you receive training beforehand.”

The problem was that I was a substitute.

So, I didn’t get any prior training.

Yet, I had to handle all kinds of action scenes.

‘Normally, if you haven’t received prior training, the director would exclude you.’

But PD Kim Jedeuk kept making me do it.

‘Since I was a supporting actor, I had to follow orders, and in the end, I hurt my ankle.’

If the action scenes had been well-aired, it would have been a different story.

‘But they were mostly edited out.’

Thinking about it still makes my teeth clench.

‘And not a single word of praise from this guy.’

I later learned the reason. Of course, it was from other actors.

– Ah, that guy? He kept doing it, so I just kept making him do it, but he was weak. Couldn’t use him at all.

I smiled broadly.

‘In other words, he just exploited me, right?’

Nice to meet you, you jerk.

PD Kim Jedeuk tried to touch my face. But I stepped back immediately.

“Oh my. You’re shy.”

If there was a dog barking at a bad person, I’d bark like a dog.

“That’s strange? I heard you weren’t shy.”

“Did you hear wrong?”

“No. I’m sure I heard that.”

At that moment, I heard my mother’s voice.

“Oh my, Director, you’re here?”

As soon as my mother came out, I ran to her and hid behind her.

“Oh my.”

“Soo-jung, it’s been a while. Your son seems shy.”

“Hmm? Really?”

My mother looked down at me. I shook my head desperately with pleading eyes.

“It’s not this guy.”

My mother blinked briefly, then winked at me.

“What?”

My mother smiled brightly.

“Is that so, Director? I’ve heard about the work.”

“Ah, right? It’s a big project for the first half of the year. We want your son to play the role of the son of a disillusioned scholar.”

Oh, damn.

‘The director is bad, and the work is crap too.’

I knew what the project was right away.

“Seosan Byeolgok.”

Well, the work wasn’t bad.

‘At the beginning, that is.’

The protagonist wanders around looking for his brother, who was captured as a slave.

He becomes a righteous thief in the process, but the problem started in the middle.

‘The brother gets burned to death.’

The problem was that the scene was too vivid.

‘The viewers were traumatized.’

The protagonist goes half-mad because of his dead brother.

‘If only he had taken revenge…’

Seosan Byeolgok went down a path it shouldn’t have.

‘They gave even the villains a backstory!’

Still, this was acceptable.

But then they added, “He wasn’t actually a bad guy after all!”

‘If the protagonist had just focused on revenge…’

If that had been the case, the work wouldn’t have been criticized for ten years.

‘The protagonist didn’t take revenge and ended up forgiving his enemy.’

After that ending aired, the viewers’ message board exploded.

‘It was a moderately successful historical drama, but it was criticized endlessly.’

I heard that even after ten years, people were still angry.

‘And they want me to play the brother who gets burned?’

My brow furrowed involuntarily.

‘I didn’t realize back then, but during filming, this guy wouldn’t consider the child actor.’

The drama even had scenes where children were crying as they were engulfed in flames.

‘Come to think of it, there was also a scene where the child’s charred body was shown.’

That scene was later cut from the VOD due to complaints that it was too much.

I stared intently at PD Kim Jedeuk.

‘No.’

I didn’t want to be in this guy’s project.

‘I’d rather do an indie film for free than be in his historical drama.’

No matter how famous it might make me.

‘Well, honestly, there’s nothing good about it.’

It wasn’t a good work, and the role wasn’t great either. Moreover, the PD was this guy.

‘There’s no reason to do it.’

Besides, there were many places looking for me.

“Oh, I see.”

“It’s a very important role for the protagonist. It’ll go well with Kongja.”

Burning to death?

“It’s a tragic narrative. Ma Soo-jung, if Kongja does this, he’ll get a ton of CF offers!”

My mother frowned slightly.

“Oh my.”

I knew it. Mom was a bit angry now.

“It’s all about making a living. Child actors are also working for money. Soo-jung, you’ve caught two birds with one stone because of him, right? Image, money!”

Oh boy.

‘As expected, this guy is trash.’

My mother smiled subtly.

“I see, Director. Oh my.”

At that moment, the maid brought tea and fruit. My mother immediately waved her hand to send it back.

“Take it back.”

“Pardon?”

“We eat with people.”

My mother stood up.

“I don’t think our Kongja can do it, PD.”

“What is this!”

“Please leave.”

My mother stood up.

“While I’m asking nicely.”

“Ma Soo-jung! Hey, you think you can act like this because you’re doing well?”

My mother flipped her hair back.

“Yes. Why? Damn, ridiculous. Not even worth a punch.”

“What?”

“I’m holding back from knocking your teeth out. Get out! Of my house!”

“What the! Hey! I’m PD Kim Jedeuk!”

“So what! You can’t even direct properly!”

* * *