NOVEL NEXT Chapter 150
The MC of Golden Duckling, Gong Hyeong-man, chuckled at the panelists’ reactions.
It was precisely the response he had expected.
Never had he been so glad that the guests weren’t revealed to the panel in advance like today.
Because when he saw Suah, Gong Hyeong-man was genuinely taken aback.
It was understandable; celebrity parents tend to be quite ordinary.
Unless they come from a family of entertainers, they usually don’t receive special treatment.
Of course, when a child starts making money, sometimes the parent indulges in some self-care, but that’s pretty rare.
After all, one can’t freely spend the money their child earned.
Even if they did receive some care, they often looked neat for their age, which ultimately doesn’t change the fact they’re still middle-aged.
When Gong Hyeong-man saw Suah for the first time, he asked,
“Have you ever been an idol or an actress before?”
Otherwise, her looks wouldn’t make sense.
Women who received proper care often looked significantly younger than their peers.
Even in their fifties, they could pass for thirty, but…
‘Isn’t she way too youthful?’
With Gong Hyeong-man in front of her, Suah shyly avoided eye contact, fidgeting.
With her arms crossed and fingers wiggling, her chest stood out especially.
‘Please stop that posture,’ he thought, but curiosity crept in.
Anyway, from just that appearance, she looked like a rookie in society.
Exaggerating a bit, she had looks that could easily place her in her mid to late twenties.
If she wasn’t a celebrity, he pondered how many women would think the world was unfair.
“Oh, no. I’m just an ordinary freelancer.”
“A freelancer…?”
“Just a programmer.”
A programmer.
That was quite the mismatch of a profession.
Despite thinking that, her strangely intellectual impression made him feel,
‘I can work with this.’
Though she spoke a bit less, through conversation, it was clear she wasn’t the quiet type.
When her daughter or husband came up, she chatted away.
Plus, it seemed she had a second daughter too.
‘She doesn’t look like a mother of two daughters at all.’
Well, isn’t that a good thing?
He was curious about how the panel would react when she dressed up and appeared on the filming set.
And sure enough…
“Wow, you’re really Joo Seo-yeon’s mom?”
“Did you bring your sister along?”
“Oh, you’re really teasing us.”
Reactions in variety shows are extremely crucial.
Thus, they had each prepared for Suah’s appearance based on her looks or presumed personality, and were ready to showcase their reactions.
However, as they thought about it…
‘Wow.’
‘I need to say something. Should I hold back?’
Everyone felt their reactions falter.
They needed to express the thoughts they had in mind, but it was considerably different from what they anticipated.
No, wait, is she really not her sister?
And that’s her chest, right?
Is there something inserted inside?
They could roughly guess how the audience would react when the broadcast aired.
Had it been a live show, the reactions would have probably exploded.
“Now I understand why Seo-yeon is so beautiful.”
“Right? Right?”
“But are you really her mother?”
After Suah settled in her prepared spot, the panelists finally regained their composure and smiled as they asked.
“Oh, yes. I’m thirty-nine, believe it or not…”
“Thirty-nine?”
“Wow, you’re still young!”
“Hold on, then when did you…?”
“Ah, why do you need to count that?”
Only then did the panelists finally start to synchronize and engage in conversation like on a variety show.
Suah smiled awkwardly at their banter, but she thought,
‘I want to go home.’
Suah suddenly realized how showbiz-friendly her daughter was.
Whenever a variety show was filming, Seo-yeon looked visibly excited.
The peak of that excitement was during Star Fisher, where she diligently watched fishing broadcasts at home and practiced.
Suah had even tried to talk her out of buying expensive gear.
‘She definitely took after her dad.’
Whenever she saw her husband, who lived with youthful energy, Suah always reminisced about the past.
Seo-yeon’s traits were a striking resemblance to Young-bin, so she didn’t complain much.
Regardless, Seo-yeon was genuinely passionate about variety shows.
In fact, she was more inclined to enjoy and look forward to participating.
‘Surely my daughter also has some issues with communication like me.’
What could be the reason?
While pondering that, she knew Seo-yeon simply found meeting new people awkward.
Unlike Suah, who loathed attention, Seo-yeon genuinely loved it.
So, Suah felt overwhelmed by the sudden focus on her, feeling sweat trickle down her forehead.
Even around her chest.
As she absentmindedly reached for her handkerchief to dab at herself…
“W-wait a moment, Seo-yeon’s mom!”
“We have a broadcasting accident! Broadcasting!!!”
“Ah.”
In a moment of nervousness, forgetting the situation, Suah flared open her clothes and turned bright red, bowing her head deeply.
She truly wanted to hide, perhaps in a mouse hole.
*
Anyway, the situation was reasonably salvaged.
Suah participated as a guest and surprisingly explained things coherently while watching videos projected on the screen.
“Does Seo-yeon like gaming?”
“Yes, she really loves it. If you say she’s bad at it, she gets angry.”
“Ha-ha-ha, that’s cute~.”
Finally, it felt like the show was proceeding normally.
The early segments went rather smoothly.
At first, they showed Seo-yeon studying hard, which is where things remained stable with Suah’s appearance.
When Young-bin showed up, Suah and Seo-yeon were slightly startled, which was somewhat odd.
Why would they be surprised that he came home early?
“But why call her ‘headbutting dinosaur’?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but it’s a nickname that my husband uses to call her. Isn’t it cute?”
“Oh, I see. It is indeed cute!”
The panelists replied happily.
Knowing not the origins of that nickname, they couldn’t decipher it.
When Seo-yeon started the game, they thought it was typical image-making.
‘Though she’s a celebrity, she’s just a regular gamer.’
That seemed to be the impression.
Moreover, for those making online communities, gaming felt familiar enough.
So, it was something celebrities often utilized for image-making.
They thought that would be the vibe, but then came the twist.
As Seo-yeon began playing the game, Young-bin, who had been quietly watching videos on his phone, started to inch closer.
And it was then…
The teasing began.
“Our daughter has excellent creativity, both in gameplay and otherwise.”
“She’s so creative that the other kids can’t keep up with her.”
“Hey, how about using a sword instead? Why not just skip the guns?”
“Hey, does our daughter want to go to the army? I think that’d be a good trip.”
Anyway, every time Seo-yeon died, he would chime in.
Not that he droned on constantly.
He would only tease her whenever she met her demise.
Then he’d glance at Seo-yeon for her reaction, tilting his head.
Was he looking for a response?
That didn’t seem right either.
In response to the surroundings, she said,
“Oh, usually Seo-yeon chats along too. But today, I guess she’s quiet because of the broadcast.”
Given that it was indeed filming.
During that moment, Suah, who had been watching, cleared her throat.
Unfortunately, Young-bin didn’t realize they were filming.
‘If I had known, I would’ve told him.’
As a result, Seo-yeon couldn’t even muster up the courage to retort.
Instead, she poked Young-bin in the side with a finger!
It felt like a playful retaliation from a daughter, but Suah knew better.
If that poke was done too well, Young-bin might just collapse right there.
But Young-bin remained unfazed.
Instead, he proudly displayed what he was wearing beneath his clothes.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s a stab-proof suit…”
“A stab-proof suit?”
Gong Hyeong-man queried, looking flabbergasted.
Why was there a stab-proof suit?
“It was something my husband bought last time, and my daughter accidentally tore it. I had no idea he’d wear it like this.”
Can one really accidentally tear a stab-proof suit?
However, people just accepted Suah’s casual remark as they nodded.
‘How on earth did he find it?’
Suah was genuinely curious as she watched Young-bin flaunting the stab-proof suit.
It’s like he has a knack for finding those quirky items.
Under normal circumstances, Seo-yeon would’ve brushed it off.
Though, in truth, Seo-yeon hadn’t thought much about the stab-proof suit hanging in a frame.
She even pretended to dissuade him when Young-bin wore it, but deep down, she knew he secretly liked it.
Was it a symbol of strength?
Suah wasn’t entirely sure, but anyway, he took it out just for image reasons, and the outcome was predictable.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know what a gyro drop is?”
With Seo-yeon’s chilling remark, Young-bin’s chair suddenly lifted.
It shook up and down, and side to side.
Young-bin’s cry sounded pitiful.
“…”
How does she do that?
Is there a wire attached to it?
She found herself recalling how Seo-yeon had reeled in that giant fish on Star Fisher.
“Oh, Seo-yeon did have quite a bit of strength, huh?”
“Yes, she’s pretty strong.”
Wondering if it was the praise his daughter received that made Young-bin proud, Suah chuckled.
That first smile of hers was genuinely sweet, but…
‘Will we just leave it at her being ‘healthy’?’
Other panelists couldn’t grasp what had just transpired, but what could they do?
All they could do was applaud.
“Wow, that chair is sturdy.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same.”
“Right? Right?”
They could do nothing but chat idly while watching the situation unfold.
Thinking that the chair Seo-yeon was wielding was indeed sturdy.
*
Anyway, the filming of Golden Duckling wrapped up successfully.
By the way, Young-bin, who had just enjoyed the gyro drop, exclaimed,
“Hey, it just popped into my head. Should we go to the swimming pool?”
“?”
It was right after he stepped down from the chair.
He seemed eager for more fun after the ride.
Thus, they visited the swimming pool, and thanks to that, after successfully pulling off the Golden Duckling shoot, Seo-yeon found herself being chastised by Lee Ji-yeon.
“Joo Seo-yeon, didn’t you say you were going to improve your image?”
But Seo-yeon felt wronged.
Aside from that part, she genuinely tried hard to manage her image.
She hadn’t put in effort elsewhere!
“That’s all your dad’s fault… Plus, I wasn’t doing any of that at the pool or other places.”
“True, but still, did you see the broadcast?”
The broadcast Ji-yeon referred to was naturally the Vtuber stream.
She wondered if Seo-yeon might have watched Golden Duckling while filming.
Currently, if one went by mere appearances, it seemed like all they had done was play games and visit the swimming pool.
However, Ji-yeon knew Golden Duckling was an observational variety show.
So, they were likely to continue filming.
That meant they’d be filming for extended hours before editing and posting it later.
“…”
“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”
This was the typical expression Seo-yeon wore when she had done something wrong.
Eyes turned to one side, resembling a guilty puppy.
‘She watched it, didn’t she!!’
Ji-yeon closed her eyes tight.
Of course, she had some fault too.
Knowing Seo-yeon would be filming Golden Duckling, she should’ve taken a break.
But Ji-yeon had been diligent with the broadcast time.
She certainly didn’t think Seo-yeon would be watching during filming!
“I’ve had my share of worries too.”
“I can imagine.”
“It’s true.”
Seo-yeon mumbled with a sulky face.
Her brazen attitude left Ji-yeon speechless.
‘Well, I guess that’s better than appearing overly polished.’
Watching Vtubers might just turn out to be more than a passing interest.
Since it’s entertainment, it’s doubtful she’d necessarily need to broadcast her content on TV.
‘Editing should fit in perfectly.’
Ji-yeon thought thoughtfully.
“When will it air?”
“In about a week.”
“That’s not long from now.”
Seo-yeon nodded earnestly.
Sure, there may be some rough segments, but wouldn’t there be sufficient editing to alleviate it?
Even if it came out just as is, thanks to Young-bin, there were clips from the pool.
Nothing particularly scandalous, but surely the scene with the chair would be considerably softened.
“And I have an audition two days before it airs.”
At Ji-yeon’s statement, Seo-yeon nodded.
Of course, she was aware.
They’d been working on something with Jo Seo-hee for a while now.
Seo-hee seemed to be more comfortable practicing without her around.
“Can you help me with the final practice?”
At Ji-yeon’s request, Seo-yeon came to a halt with her nodding.
That’s because Ji-yeon’s audition was for Gyeongseong Young Lady.