The manager tried to persuade Soojin.
“Come on, don’t be like that. Since we’re here, why don’t you play peekaboo with the baby for a bit? What if the baby starts crying during filming because he’s not familiar with you?”
Play with the baby?
Soojin frowned and pulled back, clearly not liking the idea.
“No, thanks. I don’t really want to. If the baby cries… we’ll just use a doll if we have to.”
“Soojin!”
The manager glanced at Hyunjoo and Heejoo.
Soojin’s reaction was like someone afraid of dogs shrinking away instinctively, but it came across differently to Hyunjoo and Heejoo.
It felt as though they had seen something they shouldn’t have.
Moreover, Soojin’s words about Siwoo, who had come eagerly to help, treating him as if he were dispensable, deeply hurt them.
Just as Heejoo was about to say something, Hyunjoo spoke first.
“I’ll… take the baby and go, so feel free to use a doll.”
Hyunjoo stood up, her face red with anger.
“Let’s go home, Siwoo. It was pointless to come in this cold.”
The flustered manager blocked Hyunjoo’s path.
“Please, don’t be upset. Soojin just meant that there’s no need to put the baby through this in the cold. We could’ve used a doll anyway. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Yes, I don’t want my baby to suffer either. So, use a doll.”
In reality, using a doll was just Soojin’s wishful thinking and wasn’t feasible.
The director and writer were adamant about including a scene where the tragic widow and the innocent baby make eye contact at the end.
Soojin was supposed to cry heartbreakingly in that scene.
“Please, sit down again… What’s the baby’s name? Can I see his face? May I?”
Without waiting for a reply, the manager approached and looked at Siwoo’s face.
He planned to shower the baby with praise to cheer up the mother.
After all, no mother could remain upset when her child was being praised.
“Hello~! Our baby~! So cute… Oh my, amazing. So adorable!”
If the earlier compliments were scripted, the latter ones came from the heart.
The manager, forgetting the current situation, became engrossed in admiring the baby.
“Honestly, this is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Wow, my nephew is 20 months old and didn’t look this cute when he was little. Hey, what did you eat to become this cute?”
“Milk! Silly!”
Milk? Silly?
No… it must be a misunderstanding.
As the manager tilted his head in confusion, a giggle came from behind.
It was Soojin.
“He said ‘milk, silly.’”
“Hahaha! Did you hear that too? I was surprised. The baby can’t talk yet, right?”
Hyunjoo, still somewhat upset but a bit calmer, responded.
“He can’t say much besides ‘mama.’ Sometimes he tries to mimic ‘dad’ and ‘mom.’”
“How old is he?”
“Six months.”
“Still too young to talk. Soojin, come look at the baby’s face. He’s really cute. He’s not crying and is well-behaved too.”
Soojin didn’t budge.
“You’ll be filming with him later, right? Are you really going to film without seeing his face? Come on, take a look. He’s adorable!”
As he gently nudged her shoulder, Soojin reluctantly stood up, grumbling.
“No matter how cute a baby is, they all look the same.”
Though she was reluctant, she knew she needed to familiarize herself with the baby for the shoot.
She had put everything into this drama, working tirelessly without proper sleep for months.
She couldn’t afford to let the final shoot drag on because of a crying baby.
“Fine… let’s see the face. Today, I’m your mom.”
Siwoo’s sparkling eyes met Soojin’s, and he echoed her word.
“Mama?”
“……”
At that moment, Soojin was speechless.
She took back her words about all babies looking the same.
Her heart skipped a beat.
This level of cuteness was otherworldly.
***
Soojin’s road manager returned to the set, carrying several cups of coffee to share with the staff.
He parked the car, grabbed the coffee with both hands, and hurried to Soojin’s spot.
The car still held many more cups.
How many trips would it take to carry them all…?
Thud! Thud!
The coffees in his hands dropped to the ground.
Lee Soojin was playing with a baby.
The road manager was so shocked that he just blinked in disbelief.
“Grab my hand! Here’s my finger!”
Siwoo clasped Soojin’s pinky with his soft little hand. Soojin, unconcerned with the manager’s shock, burst into the happiest laugh and fell backward.
“Should I try being a mom? Today, I’m the mom. Mom! Ma!”
“Ma?”
“Cute! He just called me mom!”
No. Anyone would say he just said “ma.”
Soojin’s team couldn’t tell if they were going crazy or if Soojin was.
They had never seen such a sight in the years they’d worked together.
It felt like a different soul had entered her body.
She never laughed like this off-camera.
Hyunjoo sat awkwardly, unsure how to react to Soojin’s sudden change.
Siwoo, now out of his baby carrier, was playing and laughing with his new mom, Soojin, on Hyunjoo’s lap.
‘Maybe I should have just acted like I hated her.’
Playing with mom and dad at home was already exhausting enough, but coming out here too…?
‘No. I’m a professional. I already lived for 100 times, acted a baby life for 100 times.’
Siwoo made up his mind. If grown-ups can wear mascot suits and entertain kids at amusement parks, why can’t he, a six-month-old baby, entertain adults a little?
Yes. There are days like this.
Today was just another workday.
