Chapter 12
Inside the taxi heading home, the radio was broadcasting traffic updates. The roads seemed quite congested. Mom briefly loosened the baby carrier and placed my hand on her bulging belly.
"Sung-guk, your sibling is playing inside Mommy's belly right now."
I could genuinely feel something poking and prodding against my hand. In the Samjeon Group, the birth of another child wasn't exactly a joyous occasion; it meant the arrival of a competitor. Just looking at my father's siblings, sibling relationships often turned out worse than those between strangers. I coldly removed my hand from Mom's belly.
[That little competitor...]
Mom gazed thoughtfully at Kim Mi-young, who was sitting beside her. Since leaving Shinseong Planning, the bob-haired woman hadn't uttered a single word. Mom cautiously observed Kim Mi-young's reactions.
"Unnie, do you have something to say to me?"
"Well, there is..."
Kim Mi-young hesitated. Just then, Mom abruptly grabbed Kim Mi-young's hand.
"Unnie, would you consider becoming Sung-guk's manager?"
I had been thinking the same thing. Despite working in the accounting department at Samjeon Planning, she had risen to the position of section chief. Moreover, she was the last high school graduate employee there. Her tenacity was more than enough to qualify her as my manager. I patted Mom's belly twice as a sign of approval.
Pat-pat.
I quickly looked at Kim Mi-young.
[Bob-hair, I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse.]
At that moment, Mom patted my belly.
"Sung-guk, please be quiet for a moment."
[Tch. Fine, I have no choice.]
I closed my mouth, crossed my arms, and glared sharply at Kim Mi-young. Kim Mi-young looked back and forth between Mom and me before slowly opening her mouth.
"Actually, I was about to say the same thing. 107-ho beat me to it."
[Kim Mi-young, what did you just say? Are you really going to do it?]
I was surprised, and so was Mom.
"You were thinking about it too, Unnie?"
A nod.
Kim Mi-young gave a brief nod.
"But... what about your job?"
"I was planning to quit. An unmarried woman in her late thirties isn't exactly welcomed in a company. I was going to use my savings to start a business, but... I briefly imagined what it would be like to manage Sung-guk."
Kim Mi-young continued calmly.
"The contract terms will definitely be better than Shinseong Planning's, and with my accounting experience, I can handle the financial aspects cleanly. I've seen how managers work and manage things at Samjeon Planning."
Kim Mi-young had already thought through everything, from the contract terms to her own selling points.
[Bob-hair, you had it all planned out.]
I vigorously tugged at Mom's dress. Someone like Kim Mi-young would be a valuable asset in helping me become a tycoon.
[Mom, tell her we'll draw up a contract!]
As if she understood my words, Mom nodded decisively.
"Unnie, I'll be honest."
"Please speak freely. It's okay if you refuse."
Kim Mi-young's voice remained composed.
"Unnie, Sung-guk is still young, and even though we're poor, we don't want to force him into being a celebrity if it's too hard on him. I looked into it since my due date is approaching, and Sung-guk might only do this job for a short time."
"That's even better. Those companies usually lock you in for at least ten years. I'll agree to terminate the contract when Sung-guk wants to stop working."
"Unnie..."
"I want to try something new too, so there's no need to thank me or feel sorry. Of course, I'll get paid for my work."
It seemed like there couldn't be better terms. I tugged at Mom's dress again.
[Hurry up and tell her we'll work together, Mom.]
"Unnie... though it's shameless, would you help me as Sung-guk's manager?"
"Of course."
Kim Mi-young replied confidently. I crossed my arms over my belly and stared intently at Kim Mi-young.
[Kim Mi-young-ssi, I'll be watching you, so you better do a good job.]
"You're babbling so enthusiastically. Please take care of me, Sung-guk."
Kim Mi-young said firmly. My parents, though they were born as orphans, grew up lonely, and didn't get a proper education, must have been blessed with good fortune in people. They met a sensible landlord and, on top of that, a prepared tycoon like me. I hugged Mom tightly. Though her bulging belly was a bit bothersome, the sibling inside was also born with good fortune. Because I, Jeon Sung-guk, would raise this family. I patted Mom's belly.
[Sibling, you're guaranteed at least a 14K gold spoon.]
"Five Men and a Baby Basket surpassed 25% viewership last week! The company is throwing a dinner party after work today, so everyone please join."
The manager of 'Just' shouted loudly. Thanks to the popularity of Five Men and a Baby Basket, 'Just,' which was just another rookie group, also experienced a surge in popularity.
"Alright, the company's buying, so everyone attend and let's get back to filming!"
With the director's words, the set fell silent again. Jaehyun, the handsome guy playing the mom role, picked me up. Just then, Michael came out of the kitchen with a banana in his mouth, and Jaehyun was shocked.
"Michael, that's Sung-guk's! Why are you eating it?"
"Don't I have a mouth too? I'm starving."
"Ugh, when are you going to grow up?"
Jaehyun scolded Michael, but Michael stuck out his tongue at me and made a face. I flailed my arms and legs, pretending to hit him. In the relationship dynamic I had set up with the five 'Just' members, my antagonistic relationship with Michael surprisingly received a lot of love. In the first night of filming, the scene where Michael tried to put hot sauce in my baby food and the scenes where he bothered me all night were edited to look like the mischievousness of a not-yet-grown-up adult. With the caption, "The immature maknae seems jealous of his new sibling," Michael suddenly became like an older brother who had all his love stolen by the youngest. It was truly the devil's editing. Various online forums compared my relationship with Michael to Tom and Jerry. Michael further emphasized his childish, kindergarten-like demeanor. People even paired us up and called us 'Yudingz' (Childish Duo). Now, if Taehyung, who played the dad role, stepped in to resolve the situation, today's episode would be wrapped up.
"Michael, stop it! Jaehyun, Sung-guk doesn't look good. Check his diaper."
"Okay, hyung."
[What, do I have to get my bottom exposed again?]
Even though it was all blurred out, Taehyung's way of resolving episodes was always primitive, like changing diapers or feeding milk. Jaehyun quickly took off my pants. My bottom felt cool.
"Sung-guk didn't pee yet."
The camera suddenly zoomed in on me.
[If that's the case, should I give them a good spray?]
I scrunched up my face with all my might and aimed my pee at the camera.
[Ready... Fire!]
"Cut!"
As soon as the director's voice was heard, the staff burst into laughter. The director's voice was also filled with excitement.
"Today's footage is going to be a hit. How did he pee at the perfect time? Our Sung-guk is a genius! This episode's ratings are going to skyrocket. We might even break 30%! Alright, let's take a 30-minute break and resume filming."
The director continued to praise me. The filming staff also showered me with compliments.
[This kind of attention and cheers... it's not much different from my previous life.]
I basked in everyone's attention. Mom quickly came over, put my pants back on, and gave me a banana. I chewed on the soft banana with my front teeth.
"Sung-guk, aren't you tired?"
[Mom, making money is always hard. When I was the vice president of Samjeon Group, I even got stress-induced alopecia.]
Mom patted my bottom and asked a nearby staff member to look after me.
"I'll go throw out the trash. Please watch Sung-guk for a moment."
"Yes, don't worry."
I wiggled around in my fresh diaper.
[This diaper is pretty good. Money really is great.]
I had suffered from rashes for a while because of ill-fitting diapers. After switching to more expensive diapers, I no longer had any rashes. Just then, Michael came closer and poked me.
"You brat, you really tried to kick me earlier, didn't you?"
[Is this guy trying to pick a fight with me?]
Michael was annoyingly smug and had a terrible personality. I turned my head away. Looking at him would only harm my character.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?"
[He's going a million different ways to be annoying.]
"Hey, what are you mumbling about? Are you deaf to my words?"
I covered my ears with both hands.
[I can't hear you. I can't hear you.]
I saw Michael's face getting irritated. Suddenly, my waist stung. Michael was pinching the skin on my waist with his finger.
[Are you daring to pinch Jeon Sung-guk? Huh?!]
I quickly assumed a fighting stance. This guy needed to be thoroughly crushed to keep him from getting cocky. I clenched my fists and glared at Michael. Michael stuck out his tongue at me.
"Oh, you're going to hit me? Go ahead, hit me. Come on."
[Ugh, this guy.]
Just then, Kim Mi-young approached.
"What's going on?"
At Kim Mi-young's question, Michael gave an awkward smile.
"Oh, it's nothing."
It's not nothing! You just pinched me! I babbled.
"Sung-guk doesn't get upset over trivial things."
That's right. Michael looked at Kim Mi-young with a stunned expression.
"What does a baby know? All they do is eat, sleep, and poop."
"That baby helped promote your unknown faces and land various commercials. So, doesn't that make you less than that baby, Michael-nim?"
Michael was speechless. I looked up at Kim Mi-young's sturdy shoulders.
"Whatever."
Michael grumbled in English before leaving. He probably thought we wouldn't understand him. If translated, it was something like, "Both the baby and the manager are annoying." I glared at Michael's retreating back.
[Michael, I'll remember this. Be careful from now on.]
Kim Mi-young held my flailing hand.
"Sung-guk, don't get angry. There are people in this world who aren't worth getting angry over. Just ignore them completely."
[Huh?]
At that moment, I looked at Kim Mi-young again. She saw right through Michael's personality. That's right, complete