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chapter 12
Postpartum Care Center (2)
If you asked children under the age of six, who were already incredibly excited, to be quiet for just a moment, would they actually listen?
What if you politely asked them not to run?
As the eldest son of thirteen siblings, I can say this with certainty: unless they were geniuses with omnipotent brains, most kids wouldn’t even listen with half an ear.
“Okay!! The first friend to come over gets to see this cute baby for exactly ten seconds!”
First, I had to grab their attention.
I briefly showed the child actors Maengkkongi and continued speaking.
“You guys haven’t seen this baby before, right?”
“Wow~ It’s a baby~!”
“She’s so pretty!”
“Mister, can I touch the baby?”
I answered firmly.
“The baby is still really small, so you can’t touch her yet. Later, when the baby gives you permission, you can touch her then.”
“Aww…”
Once I’d gotten their attention, the next step was to become friendly with them by turning everything into a game. Adding a little storytelling made it even more effective.
“Have you guys ever heard of the Granny with the Wicker Basket?”
“The what? What’s that?”
“I’ve never heard of a Wicker Basket Granny!”
I lowered my voice slightly.
“When the sun goes down, it becomes night, right? Well, there’s an old woman who comes around through balcony doors every night. She’s a scary lady who comes to catch children who don’t listen. She looks really scary, too. She even has horns this big on her forehead.”
“No way~”
“You don’t believe me? I’ll let you hear the Wicker Basket Granny’s voice. Wait a second.”
I called my third-youngest sibling, Yuji.
Brrrrr— Brrrrr—
“[Hello?]”
“Wicker Basket Granny! The kids are curious about you.”
I’d done this so many times that I didn’t even need to explain the situation anymore.
“[Huh? Ahh. I am the Wicker Basket Granny~ I take away children who don’t listen~ Let’s see~~~ Oh, it’s you guys! If you don’t listen, I’ll come to the balcony tonight and take you away~]”
“Waaaaah~!”
I’d been told that the babies and child actors had limited shooting hours.
Apparently, they had to film several scenes a day, which was why everyone had gathered here today.
There were four child actors on set in total.
Han Saet-byeol, Lee Jae-min, Go Il-hoo, and Kim Ji-yul.
If I could control just these four, things would become much easier.
And for that, ten minutes was more than enough.
Click.
“See? You heard her, right?”
“Eek! That’s scary!”
“I don’t like the Wicker Basket Granny!”
“But kids, the Wicker Basket Granny gives one Praise Star to children who listen well.”
“A Praise Star?”
“Yep. If you collect five of them, a very special wish will come true. So? Do you guys want Praise Stars?”
“Yes~!!”
“Okay, then from now on, all you have to do is listen to this man. Easy, right? Now, line up in front of me. That’s right, stand in a nice long line~.”
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle—
The children hurriedly moved around and lined up in front of me.
I raised my voice and took control of the atmosphere.
“From now on, if you scream or run around dangerously, you’ll get one Wicker Basket Star! If you get five Wicker Basket Stars, then tonight, you know what happens, right? The Wicker Basket Granny will go, ‘Eek-eek-eek!!’”
“Eeeek!”
“But! If you listen carefully to what I say, you’ll get a Praise Star instead.”
“Oooh~!”
Ten minutes later.
The children were sitting in a neat row of chairs, sitting up straight and staring straight ahead.
They were playing a game to see who could sit quietly the longest.
The staff who saw them couldn’t help but marvel.
“…What happened to them?”
“Good grief, why are they so quiet?”
“No way. Earlier, even when that professional tried coaxing and comforting them, it only worked for a moment.”
Director Yoo Seong-jae approached me and whispered.
“Mr. Eldest Son—no, Hyuk-chan. How on earth did you do that?”
I grinned.
“I worked a little magic, haha.”
“Saet-byeol is supposed to go up to the second-floor set for filming right now…”
“Really? Han Saet-byeol.”
At my brief call, Saet-byeol immediately jumped to her feet.
“Yes, mister!”
“Go with the director and film your scene.”
“Yes!!”
“If you listen carefully to what the director says, I’ll give you a sparkling Praise Star.”
“Really? I’ll listen really well. Please make sure to give me a Praise Star.”
“…Good grief. Saet-byeol…”
Director Yoo Seong-jae could only marvel.
And so did every staff member on set.
Even the parents of the child actors.
“Honey. What’s gotten into our Saet-byeol?”
“She isn’t screaming or throwing a tantrum… I didn’t even know she could do that.”
The child actors were taken care of.
This time, I walked over to the area where the babies had gathered at one side of the set.
“Waaah~ Waaah~ Waaah~ Waaah~!”
Babies around Maengkkongi’s age were crying.
Their parents were holding and rocking them in their arms, sweating profusely as they struggled to calm them down.
I looked around at the lights installed around the set and spoke to the lighting director.
“Director, we’re going to start setting up the set now. First, could you lower the brightness of the lights? They’re too bright, so I think they’re stressing the babies out.”
The lighting director, who had been dazed by the babies crying all around him, quickly nodded.
“Yes, sir. I’ll adjust them right away.”
“Good.”
Then I asked the babies’ parents,
“Mothers, it’s been quite a while since the babies’ feeding time, hasn’t it?”
“Oh~ You’re right. It has.”
At a glance, all of these parents seemed to be first-time parents.
I smiled and said,
“Filming is important, but the babies’ condition is more important, isn’t it? Let’s change all their diapers first, then we’ll start feeding them.”
“…Yes.”
The set had finally been organized.
The child actors were playing a game where they had to sit still and wait, while the babies who had finished feeding had stopped crying and were now making little fussy noises, apparently satisfied.
I checked on each baby one by one and fixed anything that was making them uncomfortable. As I did, even their fussing gradually subsided.
“All done.”
Only now did I finally have a chance to look at the actors.
The actresses were wearing work uniforms with the words Premium Postpartum Care Center written over the left chest.
One of the actresses, a familiar face, approached me and spoke.
“Excuse me, sir, but what exactly do you do?”
She was a face I often saw on television.
Lee Young-im, a middle-aged actress often called a “luxury supporting actress.”
I answered her.
“Haha, it’s a little complicated to explain. I’m working with actress Ahn Hee-soo.”
“Oh~ So you work with Hee-soo. You aren’t an actor, are you?”
“I am learning to act.”
“Haha? Is that a joke? But that baby is re~~ally cute. How can she be so pretty?”
“She’s Hee-soo’s niece, Maengkkongi, haha.”
It was fascinating.
I was standing face-to-face with actors I’d only ever seen on television.
But apparently, they found me just as fascinating.
Actress Lee Young-im let out a deep sigh and continued.
“Phew. We were all completely exhausted today. The babies wouldn’t stop crying, and the kids were running around like fish that had finally found water, refusing to listen to anything. But then you came and got everything under control. I feel like I can finally breathe.”
“I’m glad to hear that, haha.”
“You’re really amazing. I have children in middle school myself, but with all these babies crying at once, I had no idea where to even start. You’re really incredible.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
This was something I dealt with every single day at home.
My elementary-school-aged siblings running around, while the youngest ones cried their hearts out.
I’d become so accustomed to it that I’d reached the point where I could actually enjoy the chaos.
For someone like me, organizing a filming set like this was about as difficult as cooking a packet of ramen.
Just then, Ahn Hee-soo’s voice came from behind me.
“As expected! Our teacher!”
I turned around and saw Ahn Hee-soo walking toward me, clapping enthusiastically.
Manager Yang smiled brightly and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Mr. Hyuk-chan. You’ve done it again. You’re amazing.”
Actress Yeom Jeong-an looked around the set in astonishment.
“Oh my goodness! Why are they all sitting so quietly? And none of the babies are crying?”
“Unni, what did I tell you? Our teacher is the best! A guy who’s the eldest son of thirteen siblings doesn’t find little kids like these difficult at all, right? Haha!”
“At this point, I have to admit it. Wow, but you really are amazing. My goodness.”
Suddenly, Ahn Hee-soo began looking around for Director Yoo Seong-jae.
“Where did the director go? Is he trying to enjoy all these benefits for free?”
“He probably went downstairs from the second floor. He has another scene to shoot right now.”
“The second floor? Wait right here.”
Ahn Hee-soo stuck out her tongue playfully and rolled up her sleeves.
“Teacher, give me Maengkkongi.”
“Why?”
“Oof. I’m going to use our Maengkkongi as a hostage and threaten him, haha. Just wait a second. I’ll make sure you make your debut today.”
Ahn Hee-soo hurried off at a fast pace.
I quickly followed after her.
“Hee-soo. Seriously, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I don’t know anything and I have zero experience. What do you mean, make my debut? I’ll just count this as getting to look around the set.”
“Count this? No way. Teacher. Do you really think I’m doing this for no reason?”
“?”
Ahn Hee-soo grinned.
“You have talent, Teacher. It doesn’t have to be some huge role. Even just saying a single line in front of a camera would be an incredible experience for you. I’ll make sure you get that opportunity.”
“…Good grief.”
I could have tried harder to stop her, but in the end, I simply let Ahn Hee-soo go down to the second floor.
It didn’t seem like Director Yoo Seong-jae would easily give in just because she threw a tantrum, anyway.
“What?? You want me to participate in the filming?”
My eyes widened as I asked again in disbelief.
Director Yoo Seong-jae nodded.
“Yes. The writer who wrote the script approved it, too. Normally, she absolutely hates having anything added to her script. But when I brought up the idea of a male postpartum caregiver, she said it sounded fun and told me to go ahead.”
“…Oh, boy.”
“She even sent me a few lines of dialogue.”
“A-a few lines?”
So I was really going to participate in the filming.
And the role I’d been given was that of a male postpartum caregiver.
I’d never even stood in front of a camera before, and now I had several lines to deliver.
My mind went completely blank.
I even felt like I was hearing a ringing sound in my ears.
As I stood there in a daze, Director Yoo Seong-jae gave instructions to a male staff member.
“Hey, Myeong-cheol.”
“Yes, Director!”
“Take this actor to the makeup team. He’s playing a male postpartum caregiver, so tell them to do his makeup accordingly.”
“Yes, sir. Understood. Should we prepare his costume, too?”
“Yeah~ Tell the costume team to give him a male-sized work uniform. We have some spares, right?”
“Yes, we have spare costumes.”
The staff member named Myeong-cheol approached me and gestured for me to follow him.
“Let’s go. Follow me.”
I hesitated before finally confessing to Director Yoo Seong-jae.
“Um, Director. The truth is, I’m not affiliated with HB Entertainment. I’m just working as a contract babysitter at Hee-soo’s house. I couldn’t explain earlier because everything happened so suddenly. That was my mistake. I’m sorry.”
“A babysitter?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m not a rookie actor.”
Director Yoo Seong-jae burst into hearty laughter.
“Hee-soo is pretty famous around here for her rumors. They say she’s… quite an unusual person. So I’d already guessed you probably weren’t a rookie actor. But a babysitter? Haha. A male babysitter, at that! Then this is even better.”
“…Better? What do you mean?”
“Wouldn’t you be perfect for the role of a male postpartum caregiver? And besides, it’s just fun. The drama we’re producing has comedic elements, so I don’t think there’ll be any problem at all. The writer approved it, too. Most importantly, I’m the director, and I’m saying it’s fine. Who’s going to complain?”
“But I’m not an actor.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to do it?”
Director Yoo Seong-jae stared straight at me.
Did I not want to do it?
No. Of course I wanted to.
“I’ll do it! I’ll work hard. I’ll do my best.”
Director Yoo Seong-jae smiled and clapped his hands.
“Excellent! Mr. Hyuk-chan, just do what you were doing earlier. Take care of the babies, and when filming starts, just calmly deliver your few lines. Hmm. From my perspective, I’m really glad we get to work with you.”
“Pardon?”
Director Yoo Seong-jae clasped his hands together and bowed his head slightly.
“We’d be in serious trouble without you, Mr. Hyuk-chan. The entire shoot would probably come to a halt. So whether you’re acting or doing anything else, please stay here on our set. I’m asking you.”
Still completely bewildered, I went downstairs to get my makeup done.
