Crank In
"What?"
Miso looked toward Yoo-Jin's room, placing her index finger over her lips. "Shh!"
Then, she shook her head as she warned me that Yoo-Jin was angry. Miso explained that Yoo-Jin was upset that I didn't visit them yesterday although I had promised to. She had even ordered a bunch of snacks to share with me. When I told her that I couldn't visit them, Yoo-Jin grumbled that I was always too busy.
As a result, Miso was also unhappy since her mom became upset due to my actions.
But something was weird.
'Yoo-Jin definitely told me that Miso was mad because I couldn't come when she missed me.'
However, according to Miso, it was the opposite—Yoo-Jin got upset first, which caused Miso to also get upset.
Nevertheless, I thought I shouldn't pry too much into it. After all, I was too tired yesterday and might have misunderstood the situation. I decided to calm Miso down first while I thought of how to appease Yoo-Jin.
"So do you still hate me, Miso? Even after I bought you a doll?"
Miso looked into the room and then back at me, wriggling her fingers and shaking her head. "No, it's not that... I can't just go back to liking you while Mom is still angry."
Miso pursed her lips with determination as she placed the PowerTuff Girl doll she was holding down.
'She doesn't hate me but can't like me either?'
Miso saying she doesn't like me somehow made my heart ache.
I made a pitiful face with my hands clasped. "I'm sorry, Miso. Can you please forgive me? I had a really hard time. I took care of the person who hurt you and your mom, and even saved someone who was about to die."
Miso looked perplexed for a moment before entering a thoughtful contemplation. She glanced back and forth at the room with a 'what should I do?' look.
"Uhh...I'm not supposed to let this go so easily…"
But then, Miso seemed to make up her mind and whispered in my ear. "Then it's a secret that I forgave you, Uncle Yoon-Ho. Okay?"
"Yes, it's a secret."
Only then did Miso hug the PowerTuff Girl doll again.
At that moment, the closed door opened and Yoo-Jin came out of her room after finishing her makeup.
"You must be tired, oppa. Why did you come so early? You could have taken your time..."
'That's a lie.'
She was smiling with her mouth, but her eyes weren't.
I looked at Yoo-Jin and behaved just like I did with Miso, apologizing to her. I explained the circumstances of yesterday and how busy I was until late at night. Yoo-Jin's expression started to change as she listened to my story, asking questions with excitement and fascination.
"Wow, really? Mr. Seon-Woo is amazing."
Yoo-Jin was especially amazed by the story about Bang Seon-Woo. She said she'd never seen a 'genius' in her life.
'That's funny. There's a genius in the mirror she looks into.'
"Oppa, can you introduce him to me one day? I would love to meet him."
"Of course I can. You can do whatever you want."
Yoo-Jin glared and sulked. "Hmph... you're always just words. You tell me I can't eat whatever I want."
"Well, that's... not okay. You can do everything you want but eat."
"See? You changed your words again. I can't trust you anymore."
Yoo-Jin acted as if she was offended, just like Miso. I realized where Miso got her habit of pretending to be upset and being whiny—it was from Yoo-Jin.
"Fine. You can eat as much as you want until lunch today."
"Really? Promise me you won't change your mind."
"I promise."
Yoo-Jin's face finally brightened up.
Then, I remembered that she had fried chicken yesterday.
'No, I should just let it go this time.'
"Let's go home now. I heard the reporters have left."
As Yoo-Jin decided not to move to a new home, the company went ahead to install security systems in her house.
Yoo-Jin nodded and fiddled with Miso's clothes. "Miso, let's get you changed and get ready to go home now!"
"Okay, Mom!"
"And from now on, you can call me 'Mom' outside as well. Okay?"
Yoo-Jin's voice was louder than ever.
Miso replied loudly with a bright smile. "Okay, Mom!"
Holding Miso in her arms, Yoo-Jin turned to me and said, "Oppa, thank you so much. Thanks to you, Miso finally feels like my real daughter!"
"Uncle Yoon-Ho is the best!"
My heart swelled with emotions.
"There's no need to thank me. I was just doing my job. Now, let's get going. The landlord must be waiting."
Having packed everything, we headed to the underground parking lot to greet the concierges. When I handed out the bonus envelopes given by Kang Gam-Chan, everyone greeted me with bright smiles.
Indeed, all effort should be rewarded. I was feeling that reward too.
[Assistant Manager Jung Seong-Ah: As per the President's instructions, a bonus of 5 million won has been deposited. Congratulations on your promotion, Assistant Manager Jung!]
A smile crept across my face. Hoop Entertainment was indeed worth working for.
***
After several days of chaos, it was finally February 7th—the delayed crank-in day for Blue Sky.
We arrived at the filming location, Youth Street in Gyeonggi-do Namyangju. Contrary to its name, the area was filled with empty buildings due to the dead commercial district.
Thanks to this, the shooting team managed to rent two adjacent two-story buildings for the next six months. The props team had placed signs for Blue Seafood Restaurant and Sky Pork Ribs on the two buildings.
We started the ritual[1]for success in the shared parking lot in front of the two buildings. The chilly wind of February was blowing through the parking lot.
"Okay, let's place the offerings here. Actors, please come this way. Reporters, please keep a distance and take your photos. Yes, yes."
The SBC The Human Stories team, the behind-the-scenes team of Blue Sky, and reporters were all bustling around.
Then, I noticed everyone was talking about Yoo-Jin.
"Can we get some interviews with the cast?"
"Just a moment! We'll arrange interviews after the ritual. Please don't push in, just wait a little!"
"That's a promise, okay? If I don't get an interview with Miss Jung Yoo-Jin today, I'll be fired from my company."
Cha Soo-Yeon, the production manager from Blue Dragon, was busy holding off the reporters.
Soon after, the ritual started.
Jung Sam-Ryong was the first to bow to the pig's head, contributing 300 thousand won. "May our Blue Sky be successful~."
"Wow, Mr. Jung is so generous."
"Hmm. I wanted to contribute more, but this is all I can afford on my salary. Now, it's time for Mr. Kang Soo-Hoon, Ms. Kim Soll-Ip, and Ms. Cha Soo-Yeon to bow."
After they bowed, all the rest of the staff began to bow to the pig's head. Then, the actors stepped forward to bow and made their contributions.
Yoo-Jin completed her bow with Ju Yung-In, who played the role of Sky, and Park Jin-Hee, who played the role of Autumn. However, the bill Yoo-Jin took out had a different color than others.