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Chapter 5
The girl had jet-black hair, pale skin, and delicately arranged features that were strikingly beautiful.
If she grew up like this, she’d probably outshine most celebrities with her looks.
But rather than the girl’s face, Gu Sumin found her expression more captivating.
She smiled faintly, showing a glimpse of her teeth, yet there was a strange sadness to it. It was undeniably a smile, but somehow… it lacked strength.
The light sky-blue dress she wore resembled a hospital gown, and the cardigan draped over it gave her a frail, sickly impression.
Especially her eyes — they carried a tenderness far too mature for a child.
That smile… it reminded one of a sick child trying to comfort sorrowful parents.
So delicate it seemed like it would shatter in an instant — it contained that fleeting, precious kind of beauty.
It was exactly the kind of mise-en-scène that Gu Sumin, a director obsessed with fragile aesthetics, had been searching for.
“Did you direct her? How does a kid make a face like that?”
“No. I just told her to smile prettily, and that’s what she did.”
“She didn’t even know what we were filming, right? Has she acted before?”
“I told her the drama title, but I don’t think she recognized it. She said she hasn’t acted before. Isn’t it amazing?”
Gu Sumin looked at the photo again.
She looked like a grade-schooler at most, yet she’d made such an expressive face just from hearing the title? That was amazing.
So amazing that his head started spinning with excitement.
“What’s her name? Did you get her contact info?”
Recently, one of their child actors had dropped out due to health issues. The role wasn’t big, but it was symbolically important in the story — it was a tough spot.
Gu Sumin had been facing a decision:
Either find a decent child actor and rely on direction and editing to make it work,
or cast a kid who couldn’t act but had the right look and push the visuals instead.
The first option was safe and reliable. The second was risky — and a little tempting.
Sumin had been losing his mind from filming nothing but cold operating rooms for months.
But as a main PD, he couldn’t just let greed cloud his judgment.
He’d been leaning toward the safe choice —
— until he saw this photo.
“Her name’s Lee Sua, ten years old. I got her mom’s number. But… are you sure about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you’d like her, so I brought the photo even though it’s a bit of a gamble. But honestly, this is quite a risk.”
Sumin almost smacked Jo Young-gil on the back of the head but restrained himself.
“Hey, what was your first thought when you saw this photo?”
“Uh… this kid’s something special?”
“Not just something — maybe a treasure. That’s more than enough reason to take the risk!”
Sure, he couldn’t expect outstanding acting from a random kid he met on the street.
But if a simple phone camera shot could stir up so much emotion, then maybe — just maybe — she had potential.
“If it turns out she’s not the treasure I hoped for, no problem. The character ‘Min-seo’ doesn’t rely on dialogue anyway — it’s all about expression. If she can make this face just once on camera, I can direct the rest.”
Above all, he really wanted to see how she’d look under proper filming equipment. She was the kind of subject that ignited a cinematographer’s passion.
Seeing the burning fire in Sumin’s eyes, Young-gil reluctantly handed over the mother’s number.
But Sumin asked for one more thing.
“Send me the photo too — I want to plan some directing ideas.”
“…That’s going to be a problem.”
“Why?”
“I had to sign a waiver before taking it.”
“A waiver?”
Young-gil hesitated.
“They made me sign something promising not to share the photo anywhere…”
“The mom made you do that?”
“No, the lawyer who was with her.”
“……”
“So… now that I’ve shown it to you, I have to delete it.”
Apparently, they’d seemed like they were just out for a walk, yet a lawyer was there?
Did she always bring one around? Who were these people?
A hundred story ideas flashed through Sumin’s mind, but in the end, he gave up quietly.
Young-gil hurriedly deleted the photo.
Both men agreed — this would require careful contact.
* * *
“I didn’t know Rin’s mom was a lawyer. Thanks to her, that really helped.”
“Yeah, it did.”
Ever since it had just been the two of them, Sua’s mother had been extremely careful about appearing in photos or videos. Sua was fine, but if her mother’s face ever spread publicly, it could cause serious trouble.
Thankfully, Yoo Hajin had stepped in and insisted on the waiver.
If PD Jo hadn’t agreed, Sua’s mom might have refused the photo shoot entirely. And who could blame her?
The main PD might get annoyed about that, Sua thought.
Maybe Jo Young-gil had been polite because a lawyer was there,
but main PDs tended to be proud people.
If he found out a child’s photo shoot required a legal waiver, he might just drop the whole thing.
He wouldn’t risk any “complications” delaying production.
That’s why Sua had tried to put some acting into that picture — enough to make him curious to meet her in person.
“Sua,” her mom asked gently once they were home. “Do you… want to try acting?”
Sua answered in a tone that was neither too light nor too serious.
“Yeah. Listening to that man talk about it sounded kind of fun.”
“Really? You’ll have to meet a lot of people, and it’ll be harder than you think… You might even have to deal with scarier people than that man.”
Her mom sounded worried. Sua was smaller and weaker than most kids her age — and there were other reasons, too.
She couldn’t exactly tell her mom, “Don’t worry, I’ll be taller than you in ten years.”
Thinking of her mom chatting with Yoo Hajin earlier, Sua asked,
“Mom, you became friends with Rin’s mom because you wanted to take lots of pictures, right?”
“What?”
“You kept looking at her camera.”
Her mom flinched, looking embarrassed.
Sua remembered — before she returned to the past, her mother had once said she regretted not taking more photos when she was younger.
That she wished she’d taken them for fun, not just as work.
Now, looking back, Sua realized — her mother had been sad she never had the time to take even a few photos of her.
Though it wasn’t her fault at all.
“If I end up on TV a lot, you’ll get to see me while you work! Isn’t that nice?”
Sua said brightly on purpose. Her mom chuckled softly.
“I can’t watch TV at work. But still… it’d be nice to see you wherever I go.”
She smiled, but her worry didn’t completely fade. It was the same look she always wore when watching Sua work —
a face full of quiet shame for not being able to fully provide for her child.
One day, I’ll tell her she doesn’t have to feel that way.
Then— 🎶♬—
“It’s that man from earlier,” Sua said.
Her mom tensed up and answered the phone after seeing the name on the screen. Sua pressed close beside her, listening.
“Hello, this is Sua’s mother.”
— Hello! This is PD Jo Young-gil. Is now a good time to talk?
“Ah, yes. That’s fine.”
His tone was so overly polite that her mother seemed startled. Hearing that, his voice grew even more courteous.
— We’d like to invite you to the KBC headquarters tomorrow at 10 a.m. for a quick camera test.
“A camera test? So soon?”
— It’s just a simple test, nothing to worry about! The main PD would like to see how your daughter looks on camera.
Her mother went silent, seemingly dazed by the realization that this might actually lead to seeing her daughter on TV.
Before the PD could panic over the silence, Sua jumped in.
“Mister! Will we be signing a contract tomorrow too?”
— Oh, Sua! I’m not sure — that’s up to the main PD.
“I see. Then can I bring my lawyer auntie? It’s good to sign contracts right away, right?”
— Uh… well, I mean… sure, I guess…
Jo trailed off awkwardly, unable to object.
As she suspected — they probably were planning to hand over a contract right away.
“Then we’ll see you tomorrow, mister! Bye!”
Sua grabbed the phone from her mom and hung up.
Her mother blinked and scolded her once she recovered.
“You shouldn’t just hang up like that! And what if Rin’s mom isn’t available tomorrow? You can’t promise things on your own like that.”
“Sorry.”
After a few more words of scolding, her mother sighed and said she’d call Yoo Hajin to check.
Sua watched her go, thinking:
Honestly, I don’t even need a lawyer.
She’d only mentioned one to scare them a little — a warning not to try anything shady with the contract.
There were plenty of scummy people in the broadcast industry; a little intimidation was only fair.
Even if they handed her a contract tomorrow, she’d be fine.
How many contracts did I see before I came back in time…?
In her past life, she’d learned business the hard way.
She’d studied enough law to spot hidden traps and never once suffered a loss on paper.
Now, she wondered with a small smile —
What kind of contract will the great PD Go Jin-gi try to give me?
