Chapter 6: First Day (4)
The power held by an S-class drama writer was beyond one’s imagination. Korean stars who had a billion Chinese fans as well as big-time producers and presidents of the broadcast stations could not hold a candle to an S-class drama writer.
It was a great opportunity that Lee Ji-Yeon, the most competent and popular S-class writer, showed an interest in a specific actor. After all, Lee Ji-Yeon was famous for casting actors she liked in a groundbreaking manner.
“Ms. Lee asked a lot about Yoo-Jin on the set. It seems Yoo-Jin definitely caught her eye.”
But Kim Dong-Soo didn’t seem to be listening to me at all.
-This is just ridiculous. How dare a mere first-year talent agent make such judgments? Don’t think, don’t judge. Just do what I tell you to do. Do you really think that every single actor Lee Ji-Yeon shows interest in is guaranteed to succeed? Just focus on Yung-In!
Kim Dong-Soo kept nagging non-stop. But him taking care of Ju Yung-In seemed a bit excessive beyond his scope as a chief.
‘Could he have already been interested in Ju Yung-In at this point in time?’
But I soon dismissed the thought.
‘No. Don’t let it bother you, Jung Yoon-Ho.’
After all, I decided to move on from my past life long ago. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and opened my mouth.
“I’ll report to Chief Gu first, and then I’ll go to Namyangju if he gives me permission.”
Kim Dong-Soo seemed perplexed by my reply.
-Hey! Why would you bring up Chief Gu right now?
There was no time to keep talking on the phone at an urgent time like this.
“Oh, Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon is looking for me right now. I’ll have to hang up now~. I’m sorry.”
-H-how dare you try to hang up on me when…
Static.
I could hear Kim Dong-Soo cursing from the other end of the line, but he couldn’t bother me anymore.
After hanging up the call, I immediately called Chief Gu Seong-Cheol from Division 2, where I belonged, and explained the current situation to him.
-Yoo-Jin caught Lee Ji-Yeon’s eyes? Wow, our youngest talent agent did a great job. I’m so proud of you! Oh, and just ignore Chief Kim’s orders. Who the heck does he think he is to order my boy around? Go ahead and act first and report what happens on the set to me later. Okay?
“Yes, Mr. Gu. I love you!”
-Wow~. I love you too, my boy.
With his chill personality, Gu Seong-Cheol generously accepted my words.
But the schedule concerning Miso’s accident still remained unchanged. The congested traffic on Kangdong Bridge mirrored my feelings.
In the end, I decided to take a different approach.
***
-Hey, don’t you know that you can get arrested for prank-calling the police station? I’ll have you know that we are tracking your location right now and…
Static.
“Huff, huff. Did the law change or something? 112 can track the location of callers now?”
I made a false report to the police that a thief had broken into Miso’s house and said that a young child was hiding under the bed, trembling in fear. I had hoped for the police officer to protect her, but the officer who answered my call immediately realized that I didn’t even live in Cheonho-dong.
I had no choice but to quickly hang up when he threatened to track my location and arrest me.
‘Then onto the second plan. This time, I’ll call the national heroes—119.’
Ring ring ring.
Static.
-Hello?
When I heard a friendly voice over the phone, I pinched my nose to disguise my voice.
“Hello. I live at XX apartment in Cheonho-dong. I think I smell gas around here. There seems to be a leak from the second floor~”
-Please don’t make prank calls like this. We can track your location. You seem to be near the south end of Kangdong Bridge right now. It looks like you’re coming down from the Guri direction…
But I couldn’t back down now.
“Ugh, this isn’t a prank call! My cousin sent me a message saying that she can smell gas! I promise to pay if you decide to charge me a fine later, so please. Please go check it out! Please!”
Despite my desperate plea, the responder on the call was indifferent to the plea..
-I will charge you a fine at your address for prank calling, so please pay your bill when you receive it. Late payments will incur additional fees, so please handle it accordingly.
Static.
The call ended.
‘I never knew South Korea was such a strict country.’
Yet I didn’t give up and dialed another number. This time, I decided to call the delivery service center.
“Hello? Is this the Wide Foot Delivery? There is a child who lives at XX in Cheonho-dong. Can you check on them and…huh? No, I’m not kidnapping anyone! I’m speaking the truth! Please don’t call the police! No, I’m not! Oh my goodness, this is unbelievable!”
They treated me like I was insane. I had no choice but to hang up once again when they threatened to report me to the police.
‘Why is everyone so law-abiding? A child’s life is at stake!’
Having barely escaped the traffic congestion at Kangdong Bridge, I parked my car nearby and took out an electric scooter from the trunk. However, my helmet seemed to be missing.
‘Ah, whatever, It can’t be helped. Even if I get a fine, I’m coming for you, Miso!’
***
I finally arrived at Miso’s house.
“Huff! Huff!”
I felt like my chest was about to explode because I switched from riding the electric scooter to running about 500 meters from Miso’s house when it started snowing.
I jumped over a low wall and ran straight up to the second floor. Thanks to the front door being open, I was able to immediately go inside and call for Miso.
“M-Miso!”
“Huh? Uncle Yoon-Ho!”
Miso opened her eyes wide and greeted me. She had a cute appearance that resembled Yoo-Jin, pretty enough to be a child actress. When I walked further inside the house, I could see her fiddling around with a Christmas tree in the middle of the living room with her hair neatly brushed and braided into two.
Although it was a small tree about 30cm tall bought from a convenience store, she had made the effort to decorate it with cotton balls and glowing stickers.
“Miso, you were supposed to be at the kindergarten. What are you doing here?”
I approached Miso in the kindest manner possible to hide my anxiety. After all, things would get more problematic if she got scared and cried while I was trying to take her out.
“Well, mommy…no, I mean auntie. I wanted to surprise auntie with a party! Auntie loves Christmas so much! I was planning to go back to the kindergarten and wait after finishing decorating this tree.”
Miso made an innocent smile.
‘At least she wasn’t hurt.’
“Okay. How about we go see your auntie now?”
“But I have to finish this tree.”
“Why don’t we take the tree with us and finish decorating it outside? I’ll buy you lots of glowing stickers to stick on the tree and we can decorate it in the car. How does that sound?”
At that moment, I began to sense the faint smell of gas.
I was running out of time.
After a moment of contemplation, Miso stretched out her thumb and index finger.
“Okay. Then buy me two glowing stickers! I want the big ones!”
“Of course. Anything for you, Miso. I’ll even buy you three big ones. Let’s call your auntie and the principal as soon as we go out. How’s that?”
“Okay!”
Then, Miso took my hand as we stepped outside.
The stench of rotten onions grew stronger and stronger. It seemed like the smell of gas from the first floor was carried upstairs by the wind. I had a bad hunch that walking with Miso would take too long.
I bent down to pick her up and held her in my arms.
“Miso, do you want Uncle Yoon-Ho to give you a piggyback ride?”
“Yes!”
Miso nodded cheerfully and stretched her arms around my neck.
After holding Miso tightly in my arms, I tried to put on a big smile so she wouldn’t be scared.
“Vroom vroom~.”
“Yes. Vroom vroom~.”
I replied to Miso and cautiously headed down to the first floor. When we arrived at the first floor, the smell of gas became much stronger.
“Uncle. It smells weird in here!”
“I’m sorry, Miso. Uncle Yoon-Ho just farted. Do you mind covering your nose?”
“Ewww, that’s gross!”
Miso covered her nose with both hands.
‘That’s right. Stay just like that.’
I also covered my nose and headed towards the main door. The rusty metal door made me hesitate before opening it as I feared that a spark from it might cause an explosion. However, we couldn’t stay here any longer.
I clenched my teeth and held onto Miso tightly in my arms.
Then, I slowly opened the door.
Squeak.
The squeaking sound coming from the door seemed as loud as thunder.
I desperately prayed for no explosion or at least for Miso’s safety even if the explosion occurred. The moment the door was fully opened, I got ready to throw myself outside.
Then, I saw a firefighter fully dressed in protective gear and wearing a mask staring at me with heavy breaths.
“Are you the one who called for help?”
“Gasp!”
I felt like my heart was about to drop.
“Aren’t you the one who reported the gas leak?”
“Yes! Yes! It was me. I will pay a fine if I have to, but there are still people inside and…”
“Yes. We came to check, just in case, and it turns out the gas level is very high. Please evacuate to that area immediately.”
When I turned my head, I could see that an evacuation line had already been set up on one side of the road and evacuation procedures were underway.
‘South Korean firefighters are the best!’
Although they sounded cold and indifferent over the phone, they actually responded quite promptly.
‘I feel like I'm gonna cry.’
Whistle. Whistle.
The loud sound of a whistle echoed throughout the alleyways.
“Everyone, please move away. Sir, over there, please step back. It’s dangerous.”
“The gas concentration is high, so don’t go beyond this point. Hey! You in the student uniform! I told you not to come closer!”
Eight fire trucks had rushed to the residential area of Cheonho-dong. The narrow alleyways felt as crowded as a night market.
As I followed the evacuation route, I heard the sound of someone taking photos.
Flash! Flash!
“Please look over here! Are you the one who reported the gas leak?”
Upon turning my head, I recognized the familiar face of the person taking the photos.
‘Wait. Isn’t this Reporter Jang Moon-Ki?’
In my past life, Jang Moon-Ki was the editor-in-chief of Weekly Stars where Reporter Gu Min-Ji used to work. Reporter Jang Moon-Ki would become the infamous editor-in-chief of Weekly Stars around five years later, notorious for distorted and fabricated articles.
It looked like he had rushed over from a nearby girl group filming, and I was quite bothered to see him.
“Over here, please. Yes~ this is perfect.”
Flash! Flash!
‘Why is he taking the photos so eagerly when he’s only going to put it on a gossip column?’
Miso squinted and looked uncomfortable with the repeated camera flashes.
“Ouch~Uncle Yoon-Ho, my eyes hurt.”
When I heard Miso’s complaint, I blurted out out of annoyance.
“Excuse me, sir. Can you stop with the flash? What do you think you’re doing, flashing lights directly into a child’s face?”
“Oops, I’m sorry. Then how about we skip the photos and do a quick interview instead? I’ll give you a free gift card in return.”
Jang Moon-Ki smiled and pulled out a paper envelope. Whether I accepted the gift card or not, the article was bound to be published anyway. I was concerned about being photographed as I had secretly left the filming set previously, but it couldn’t be helped—there was no point arguing with an entertainment reporter who didn’t respect the right to one’s privacy.
‘I might as well just ask him for more gift cards so I can buy a bunch of stickers for Miso.’
“Isn’t the standard for an interview two gift cards?”
Jang Moon-Ki gave an awkward smile.
“Hahaha. Our company’s budget has been a bit tight lately, so…”
“Ah, then forget about the interview.”
“H-hey, come on! Be patient. I’m not done speaking. Even though our company’s budget has been a bit tight lately, I’ll still give you two gift cards. Here they are!”
He handed over two gift cards and acted as if he was doing me a huge favor. They weren’t even 100,000 won gift cards, but only 50,000 won.
“Alright, I’ll give you five minutes for the interview because I have a place to go. Please make sure to censor my face.”
“Don’t you worry, I promise! I’m a man of my words,” Jang Moon-Ki said as he tapped his chest.
‘Hah, my ass.’
Reporter Jang Moon-Ki’s nickname was ‘Chameleon’ as he often changed his stance and went back on his words. Knowing that he was someone who published false articles without a hint of remorse, I decided to answer his interview questions as cautiously as possible.
***
“Let’s end the interview here.”
“Wow, have you done interviews before? Your answers are perfect. Are you by any chance from the same industry as I am?”
Jang Moon-Ki looked at me curiously after the interview ended.
“No, I’m not.”
“Then are you from the broadcasting field or something similar?”
Without giving any more time to Jang Moon-Ki, who tried to continue the interview, I carried Miso on my back.
“Miso, hold on tight. Okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Yoon-Ho!”
I held a Christmas tree and an electric scooter in my arms and ran towards the van through the snow-covered streets of Cheonho-dong.
Feeling Miso’s warm breath on my neck, I suddenly became emotional, and tears filled my eyes.
“Huh? Uncle, are you crying? Why are you crying?”
“N-no, I’m not crying, Miso. It’s just that some snow got into my eyes. It’s just the melted snow, not tears.”
“Oh, I see.”
Miso reached out her right hand and wiped the tears off my cheeks.
Dab, dab.
“Hehe, all done.”
Seeing the tears disappear from my eyes, Miso smiled proudly. I smiled back at Miso’s innocent face.
I went against fate to save Miso, but I wasn’t the least afraid of the consequences of my actions. Even if my actions ended up changing Miso and Yoo-Jin’s destinies, I felt confident that things would be different this time, unlike the past. After all, I had a planner with the details of future events.
“Alright~. Let’s get going, princess. Vroom, vroom~!”
“Hahaha! Uncle Yoon-Ho~. Vroom, vroom! Hahaha!”
Miso’s bright laughter gave warmth and comfort to my overwhelmed heart.
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