Good Things Happen on Christmas (1)
"So, you have no idea how to play the role of a shaman, huh?"
Lee Ji-Yeon's new drama, In the Name of God, was a comedic piece where a passionate detective, a rookie female prosecutor, and a beautiful shaman team up to catch a murderer.
The role that Lee Ji-Yeon expected Yoo-Jin to play was that of a young shaman. It was a role that was as significant as the male and female leads.
"Playing the role of a shaman does seem interesting. But when I tried to practice my acting, I just couldn't capture the essence of the role. Should I incorporate a knife dance into my portrayal of a shaman? Like this? Whoosh~ whoosh~!"
Holding chopsticks in both hands, Yoo-Jin mimicked the shaman's knife dance and laughed. Though she was uncertain about playing the role of a shaman, she expressed confidence in playing the role of the second daughter in Blue Sky better than anyone else, especially since she used to work part-time at a BBQ restaurant for six months.
"You made a good choice. Recognizing what you can do is the first step in managing your filmography."
'So what if she can't play the role of a shaman now? She can always do it later.'
As actors progress in their careers and gain more experience, their capacity to take on a wider variety of roles naturally expands. Additionally, it was entirely possible to expedite the development of one's ability to play a wide range of roles through learning.
If needed, I could help Yoo-Jin by visiting a professional shaman and watching them carry out rituals or even interviewing them.
I recalled the award acceptance speech of an actor I had heard in my past life—she said that acting was essentially just pretending, be it pretending to be dead, tired, or to be a good person. In romantic films, actors had to pretend to love, and in horror films, they had to pretend to be a murderer.
'Hollywood actors often pretend to be elves and it's common for them to pretend to be aliens, right?'
Playing a shaman might not be common, but it was still within the realm of human characters. Or, as was the case now, Yoo-Jin could choose roles she was confident in and grow by being more selective. Helping actors to receive awards was easy as counting to three for me since I could foresee the future.
"Anyway, it feels like a dream to have both writers want me."
When Yoo-Jin smiled broadly, Miso also smiled joyfully.
"Yes! Me too! I'm happy as well!"
Seeing Miso's innocent expression, it felt like it was time to tell her what I had previously discussed with Yoo-Jin.
'Should we tell Miso now?'
'Yes.'
Yoo-Jin immediately understood my intention even with the slightest lip movement
'Alright. Let me take a deep breath first.'
"Miso."
"Yes? What is it, Uncle Yoon-Ho?"
Miso snuggled into Yoo-Jin's arms and tilted her head in wonder.
"Miso. Isn't it hard for you to address your mom as your auntie?'
Miso stopped laughing. Then she glanced back and forth between Yoo-Jin and me.
Yoo-Jin stroked Miso's hair and opened her mouth.
"It's okay, Miso. Yoon-Ho oppa already knows I'm your mom."
Miso hesitated for a moment and then replied.
"Actually…I know that Uncle Yoon-Ho knows everything…"
At that moment, Yoo-Jin and I froze in shock.
***
"You mischievous girl~! Grr! You're in big trouble now, Miso~," Yoo-Jin said as she tickled Miso under her armpits.
"Hehehe. Mom, it tickles! It tickles~."
Miso confessed that she had pretended to be asleep and unintentionally overheard the conversation between Yoo-Jin and me on the first day I returned when she was awoken by Yoo-Jin's sobbing.
"But why didn't you say anything, Miso?"
"Because I promised."
"Promised what?"
"You told me to call you auntie when there are other people around, remember?"
"So that's why you kept it a secret?"
"Yes!"
"I'm sorry, Miso."
Tears began to well up in Yoo-Jin's eyes and Miso hugged Yoo-Jin tightly with her small arms.
"Don't cry, Mom. I'm okay."
Miso wiped Yoo-Jin's tears with her sleeve, but tears welled up in Miso's eyes as well.
"I'll stop crying if you stop crying, Miso."
"Okay, Mom."
Seeing Yoo-Jin and Miso wipe each other's tears away made me emotional.
"Yoo-Jin, I'll help to resolve this issue soon, so don't worry about it."
Handling a celebrity's family issues carelessly could result in a major scandal. On the other hand, it could be a huge benefit to their image if handled well.
So now, this issue was something I had to take care of.
"I understand. I trust you, oppa."
After addressing the issue regarding Miso, I quickly brought up the topic of advertisement.
"By the way, Burger Queen had contacted the company."
"Huh? Why? I even deleted the contact number of the branch manager in Cheonho-dong," Yoo-Jin tilted her head and asked while holding Miso in her arms.
"No, that's not it."
When I informed her that we had received an offer of 30 million won for a Burger Queen advertisement yesterday, Yoo-Jin looked utterly surprised.
"30 million won? They're offering that much money to me?"
"Yes. But I declined their offer for now."
Yoo-Jin made a puzzled expression.
However, the reason I was transparent about the matter was because I believed that she would understand my intentions and not misinterpret them.
"Don't worry. We didn't completely give up on the advertisement opportunity. I'm thinking of pushing it to at least 50 million won."
"Whoa. 50 million won?"
"Ah, and don't snack on the cake in the meantime."
Yoo-Jin, who was sneaking another piece of cake into her mouth, stopped.
"You caught me…haha."
Having been caught eyeing food like a starving predator, Yoo-Jin smiled awkwardly.
***
The publicity department at Burger Queen was so busy that all employees had to come in to work on Christmas.
"...What? They said they needed time to think over our offer?"
Ahn Ji-Yoon, the chief of the publicity department, made a dumbfounded expression.
"Was that all they said?"
"Well, it seems both Lotterina and Magnum Burger are trying to snag Miss Yoo-Jin as their model. They seemed to have each made a move."
Lotterina and Magnum Burger, who were ranked 1st and 2nd in the fast-food industry, were strong competitors of Burger Queen.
Ahn Ji-Yoon's eyebrows twitched in frustration.
"Damn it. Those bastards just can't stand to see others do well, can they!? Why are they butting in all the time? And Miss Yoo-Jin is already associated with the keyword Burger Queen, so why are they even trying!?"
After bursting into a rage, Ahn Ji-Yoon paused and bit her lip as if she had remembered something.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense though. Isn't it odd that the industry's top chains are moving so quickly when they aren't in a rush? They have nothing to lose, right?"
Kim Yung-Jin, the team lead who was sweating while dealing with his temperamental boss, agreed.
"You do have a point, ma'am. Could it perhaps be that Hoop Entertainment is testing the waters with us because they aren't satisfied with our offer?"