* * *

Both of them fell into thought, but no answer came. Then the manager chimed in.

“Can’t we think about that when it happens?”

“Oh, right.”

“Mi-jin, you said it well.”

Ma Soo-jung stretched out her arms this time.

“Well, it could be a momentary hype and then die down. It’s common for popular dramas to heat up like a pot and then cool down suddenly.”

President Seo immediately shook his head.

“Soo-jung, your son isn’t someone who will just end as a one-time thing.”

Ma Soo-jung blinked.

“Is our Kongja that special?”

“Yes. In my opinion, Kongja won’t fade away unless he was never exposed at all.”

“Come on. If he doesn’t appear, that’s the end of it.”

“No, do you want to bet? Soo-jung? I’ll bet 10,000 won?”

Ten thousand won.

“That’s a lot of money!”

Ma Soo-jung smiled broadly.

“I’ll bet 100.”

“100 won?”

“One hundred thousand won!”

“Gasp, that much! What if we get caught for illegal gambling!”

They laughed out loud looking at each other.

‘Hmm…’

The manager, watching them, quietly turned away.

‘Still, they’re a top star and a president of an entertainment company. Their scale is quite modest.’

The manager smiled secretly. Well, he liked this aspect too.

[Total Coins: 98,953]

I clenched my fist as I looked at the subtitle floating in the air.

“Wow!”

Indeed, public TV dramas were good.

‘Still, how can the numbers increase so quickly?’

The current subtitles were chaotic.

‘Subtitle check!’

[You moved the viewers with your cute appearance: 23456 are delighted.]

[Love and Peace Coin +1]

[Future dad touched by your babbling: 25 are delighted.]

[Love and Peace Coin +1]

There were tons of these.

‘Hide subtitles!’

The subtitles disappeared instantly. I smiled broadly.

‘Things are going smoothly.’

I thought I might soon be able to make Auntie An healthy again.

‘Oh, Auntie An.’

I rolled over on the soft floor.

‘She seems to be going through a lot of mental stress.’

The lady taking care of me now liked to chat, so she told me many things.

‘She had such a major surgery, but no one came to visit.’

Her story was pitiful. I sighed deeply.

‘So she’s disappointed and hasn’t been recovering.’

How could she regain her will to live?

‘The surgery wasn’t bad, they said. Her poor health is probably due to such reasons.’

Stress really was the root of all illnesses.

Health had so many meanings.

‘Oh, but what about the reactions?’

Mom said it was noisy outside when she briefly came in.

‘Come to think of it, grandma was also watching with a disapproving look for a long time.’

She didn’t say much.

‘That side has a long way to go too.’

I propped my chin on my hand and fell into thought.

‘The drama seems to be quite popular, but I can’t really tell.’

Maybe I would feel it more when I go out with mom later.

I took a long breath and strengthened my legs. No matter what, I shouldn’t stop exercising.

‘When things are unclear, you should do what you can.’

That was a lesson learned during my long time of obscurity.

I quietly practiced walking.

My balance was still not good.

“S-Soo-jung.”

President Seo rubbed his face dry and looked at the actor sitting across from him.

Ma Soo-jung had her head down, holding her forehead.

“I lost.”

“Well, that’s true, but that’s not the important thing, is it?”

“Yeah.”

How should I put this?

President Seo bowed his head deeply.

“Honestly, Kongja’s recognition until now was just as a cute baby, right?”

“Right. He appeared in a show, but it was just a one-time thing.”

“Yes. He was just one of many babies.”

Of course, since he worked well with HALO, he was talked about here and there.

“But, the public TV drama is no joke.”

“The ratings were quite high, and it was the ending, so that must be it.”

Yeah. That was the problem.

President Seo slowly traced back to when this situation began.

“He appeared as Joo-hyuk’s son, right?”

“Yes. That drew a lot of tears and snot.”

“That part was expected. The viewers’ reactions were similar too.”

“Never thought Director Lee Jaemin would change the ending because of Kongja.”

President Seo read Director Lee Jaemin’s interview, which he had saved on his phone, again.

[Q.You changed the ending, right?]

[A. Yes. I didn’t realize how touching the scene where Joo-hyuk says goodbye to his son would be. Oh, it was always meant to be a poignant moment. But on set, the synergy between Ma Soo-jung’s son Kongja and Han Woojin was incredible. At that moment, I knew this was it. When I told the writer, they agreed to change it willingly.]

[Q.The response to the ending has been very positive. You must be satisfied.]

[A.I am very satisfied. Hearing it was a great ending makes me so proud.]

President Seo leaned back on the sofa and touched his neck.

“My neck pain is gone, isn’t it?”

“It’s gone. I’m finally calm now too.”

“Oh, I’ve received so many calls. If they couldn’t reach you, they all came to me.”

Just then, the secretary brought some water.

President Seo took the cold water, and Ma Soo-jung took the lukewarm water, and they downed them simultaneously.

“It’s a mess. A real mess.”

It must be what it feels like to go through a war.

The day the last episode of ‘Emergency Room’ aired. From early that morning, articles poured in.

[Ma Soo-jung’s adorable son Kongja, Joo-hyuk’s baby in the Emergency Room]

[Ma Soo-jung’s adopted son, Ma Kongja.]

[Too cute for words. ‘Emergency Room’ ratings are a hot topic.]

“The headlines are insane clickbait.”

“That’s what reporters do.”

“Even if you click because of the headline, the content is all the same. You adopted him, he was on a parenting show.”

Ma Soo-jung rested her chin on her hand and muttered.

“Sometimes they even talk about his first birthday party.”

“Yeah, they say it was a luxurious celebration.”

“They’ll probably even bring up Kongja’s first birthday grab.”

President Seo laughed a little.

That first birthday grab was indeed unique.

“It’d be nice if that became a topic of conversation.”

“Well, you can’t stop people from talking.”

“Reporters are already asking for the video of the birthday party.”

“What do they plan to do with it if they get it?”

“Who knows? Maybe they want to dig into Ma Soo-jung’s network? So I just brushed it off.”

“Good job.”

The two sighed simultaneously.

Kongja was receiving too much attention.

“Why did the ending have to change like that?”

“Originally, it just ended with the main character appearing, right?”

President Seo nodded.

So Joo-hyuk leaves, and the funeral scene is shown.

The doctors mourn with solemn expressions, and the main character resolves to give his best to his patients once more.

Then the final scene begins.

* * *