Chapter 158
After filming the Star Fisherman, Seo-yeon kept in touch with the two actors she had been filming variety shows with.
Lee Sang-soo and Song Kwang-min.
Two of South Korea’s representative actors.
Of course, it wasn’t to manage her connections, per se. She had simply developed a genuine interest in fishing.
So sometimes, she had followed them on their fishing trips along with their manager.
Look at that, the kid is really motivated.
Is she already trying to build her network?
It felt that way, but regardless, it was nice to have more fishing buddies.
Plus, this sort of thing was fairly common for them.
But recently, Seo-yeon got busier, and their contact had dwindled a bit.
“Are you thinking about acting in a movie?”
“Yeah, I think it’d be better to discuss the details in person.”
Of course, it wasn’t the kind of thing you could hash out over the phone, so Seo-yeon brought it up while they were out fishing.
And this time, Ji-yeon was also with them.
“Joo Seo-yeon, this is my first time fishing!”
“I’ll teach you!”
“……”
At Seo-yeon’s enthusiastic words, Lee Ji-yeon nodded silently.
Here, it was just easier to go along with it.
There was no point in refusing; she’d get dragged along anyway.
“Oh, Seo-yeon. Shouldn’t we mention it to Jo Seo-hee? I need to tell the director too.”
“Right, I asked her ahead of time.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Seo-yeon had no intention of making decisions on her own.
For one thing, she wasn’t sure whether Lee Sang-soo would accept. Plus, a mere actor couldn’t just make unilateral decisions.
As for Jo Seo-hee, upon hearing Seo-yeon’s words, her eyes widened.
“Wait, you’re in contact with Actor Lee Sang-soo?! Let me know too! The Gyeongseong Young Lady’s vacancy? Oh, did Ji-yeon tell you? Right, that’s a problem. It would be amazing if Actor Lee Sang-soo could step in…”
Seo-hee’s attempts to hound for contact info with Lee Sang-soo were blocked.
Anyway, it seemed that Lee Sang-soo was one of the actors Jo Seo-hee greatly respected.
So she disappeared, insisting that she’d talk to Director Baek Min about it.
“I got a call that evening, and it looks like he’s okay with it.”
“…That’s some impressive initiative.”
Lee Ji-yeon was taken aback.
Both Seo-hee and Seo-yeon certainly had a surprising level of proactivity.
They acted on their thoughts immediately.
And it seemed they were actively leveraging their youth.
Since they were young, they could get away with a bit of persistence, as it came off as cute.
Of course, in this case, it couldn’t quite be called persistence, but normally it might have taken longer.
“So when are we going fishing?”
“Probably the week after next?”
“What if I have a schedule?”
“I know you don’t.”
How would you know?
Thought Ji-yeon, only to realize that Seo-yeon was already well aware of ‘Ramiel’s’ streaming schedule.
There was no way she could be waiting around before a stream otherwise.
So by checking ‘Ramiel’s’ schedule, Ji-yeon could get a pretty good idea of her own schedule.
After all, Ramiel streamed during Ji-yeon’s free time more often than not.
‘…I knew that.’
Does she really love Vtubers too much?
Well, it’s all good, but I just wish she’d stop sending super chats.
It was hard enough giving them to Aunt Suah every time.
Ji-yeon felt that Aunt Suah had a lot of difficult moments.
She had previously misjudged certain times.
“So let’s practice before we go fishing. I’ll show you how.”
“I’ll practice on my own.”
“……Hmph.”
Seo-yeon pouted, but Ji-yeon ignored her.
If she learned from Seo-yeon, she’d end up exhausted.
*
The much-anticipated episode 2 of Golden Duckling starring Joo Seo-yeon!
In many ways, episode 1 had created quite a stir, so episode 2 had a significantly larger waiting list from the start.
Particularly, the most unfortunate attendee was Young-bin.
“I mean, why did I suggest going to the swimming pool?”
And of all days, he happened to have to work late today.
He wouldn’t even make it home, and now he was stuck watching Golden Duckling with the office staff.
And wouldn’t you know it, episode 2 was about the swimming pool!
By sheer accident, he was about to reveal his wife’s and daughter’s swimwear to the entire nation.
Sure, it was swimwear.
There wasn’t much exposure, but still… sigh.
“Oh dear, Team Leader Joo. Smile, would you? You’d look so much better on screen if you smiled.”
“But, there are too many eyes on me…”
“These days, the team atmosphere is great. Whenever anyone sees Team Leader Joo, they light up.”
Even the director passed by and said this to Young-bin.
In the end, Young-bin couldn’t even leave on time; as soon as work wrapped up, the staff held him back.
“Oh dear, Team Leader! You have to watch with us!”
“Yeah, why didn’t you tell us you were appearing?”
“But I didn’t know either!”
“Come on, stop pretending you didn’t know.”
No, seriously, I really had no idea.
How could I have known that Suah had hidden it from me?
There was no malice behind it, so he couldn’t say much.
No matter what, as soon as he stood in front of his wife, his mind went blank.
‘What the…’
Young-bin settled down in a seat.
Looking at the employees gathered in front of the TV in the cramped waiting room, he thought this wasn’t half bad.
After all, his daughter was an actress, so this was only natural.
What was the difference from when he’d watched movies with her before?
Plus, there was one good thing about being on the show.
The supervisors who used to nag him couldn’t treat him carelessly anymore.
They were worried that mentioning it on air could affect his daughter, who was a famous actress, Seo-yeon.
Thanks to that, the employees were rife with rumors that Young-bin was entering a new project as a director.
Whether it was performance or recognition.
Young-bin’s rise was frighteningly rapid.
Most importantly.
‘I’m envious.’
‘I’m envious of my wife and daughter.’
‘If only I had a wife like that; work would be so enjoyable.’
‘How come I only have daughters? They always listen to me, too. Surely, they give me allowance, right?’
Cough!
As the employees gathered, those gazes naturally turned toward Young-bin.
In particular, those around his age couldn’t hide their envy.
Young-bin had become quite popular lately, so those gazes felt like a breath of fresh air in his life.
Yeah, if one’s face is out there, then these benefits are due.
“But, Team Leader, today is about the swimming pool; are you okay with that?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, your wife and daughter will be in swimwear.”
“Ah, it’s nothing, really. Seriously.”
Of course it wasn’t.
They simply went out to have fun and came back as usual.
Besides, Aunt Suah had been wearing a parka covering her swimwear the whole time.
While thinking that way and watching the broadcast.
As soon as the broadcast started.
“Mom, why are you covering yourself?”
Seo-yeon pulled down Suah’s parka, shocking her.
Then, upon seeing this, Seo-yeon hurriedly zipped it up again.
Of course, what was underneath was never revealed.
“I have to cover this. I’ll get cut from the show.”
Suah froze, holding the parka with both hands, shocked by her daughter’s sudden assault.
“……”
Of course, Young-bin was equally frozen.
Wait, did this really happen?
Other employees were like, “Whoa!” but slowly started glancing at Young-bin.
Now, it was difficult to guess how they might edit this.
*
– Take your seats
– I’m watching the episode in my birthday suit because it’s a swimwear episode.
– You crazy bastard, why on earth are you naked?
– You can feel like you’re at the pool with everyone.
– Do you go to pools naked???
With everyone’s anticipation for the swimming pool episode, viewers were excited.
It all kicked off with Aunt Suah showing off an incredible figure.
And since Seo-yeon was an actress, she rarely wore revealing clothes, so it was no surprise that attention turned toward her.
– Joo Young-bin, shut it!
– If only the game management was as satisfying!
– Wait, isn’t Young-bin from the dev team? The operations team is separate, right?
– Shut up.
Anyway, with viewers filled with expectations, Seo-yeon was having a tough time during this shoot.
Naturally, she was reluctant to wear revealing clothes on-screen.
Of course, she recently bought herself a pretty swimsuit.
For summer wear.
Though she hadn’t had the chance to wear it recently due to her busyness.
With Seo-yeon’s mindset of “I’m pretty!” pre-installed, she typically avoided any clothes that would ruin her appearance.
If you were born pretty, you ought to dress beautifully.
Why waste it? That was Seo-yeon’s way of thinking.
However, showing that off to the public, well…
So she thought,
“Oh dear, did you have a swimsuit like that, daughter?”
“……I just got it recently.”
She couldn’t wear a rash guard due to her personal taste, so she opted for a conservative swimsuit.
Of course, she also brought a pretty swimsuit to wear after the shoot.
Seo-yeon thought she’d wear that one over the conservative swimsuit, figuring that’d be fine.
“How about Mom?”
“Mom has the one she used to wear.”
“Oh really?”
Seo-yeon brushed that off casually.
Well, of course, she figured Suah would manage something well enough.
“Sis, sis, Su-yeon’s swimsuit is pink and flowy!”
“I’ll play with you in the pool, sis.”
“Really?”
Seeing her beloved little sister, Seo-yeon couldn’t help but smile.
Anyway, back in her teenage years, she couldn’t go to the pool.
She hated even a hint of exposure then.
Maybe that was due to some mental confusion back in those days.
“But what about Dad?”
“Dad will manage just fine.”
“Haha, true!”
It seemed Young-bin was really excited about going to the swimming pool, laughing heartily.
Then he asked,
“But, who’s that person next to you? They’ve been filming something for a while now.”
“Oh, that’s for an advertisement. They’re getting B-roll for a vlog or something. They’ll be at the pool for a bit longer, I think.”
“Oh, I see a vlog. Dad’s part of the new generation. He’s even on Instagram!”
“There’s an Instagram?”
“……Well, nothing but hate comments on my posts.”
Anyway, as a game developer, showing his face in such a public space meant facing harsh scrutiny.
Still, Young-bin, who continuously uploaded his photos, was quite impressive in a way.
At that moment, he felt his phone vibrate.
It was a message from Suah.
[Your Dad seems to still not know? It’s funny how he believes that.]
[It’s more fun that he remains oblivious. But how has he not caught on?]
[But that’s just adorable, right?]
As Suah typed the message, her cute little giggle came to Seo-yeon’s mind.
Seo-yeon laughed and wide-eyed in disbelief, closing her phone.
Arriving at the pool, the family changed into their swimwear.
“Why are you both wearing parkas??”
Suah was one thing, but hadn’t Seo-yeon already passed her teen years?
That was the thought that crossed her mind.
“Well, does it matter? Let’s go, little dinosaur!”
“Rawr!!”
Su-yeon excitedly raised her arms and dashed off after Young-bin.
Wait, aren’t you playing with your sister?
Seo-yeon felt a weird pang of disappointment and glanced at Suah.
While she, being an actress, had her reasons, shouldn’t Suah be free from that burden?
“Mom, why are you covering yourself?”
She thought, nonchalantly lowering her parka.
And then.
“I should cover this. I’ll get cut from the broadcast.”
Wait, it might get flagged.
Seo-yeon thought seriously.
Naturally, the swimsuit was a bit small.
She thought she’d just brought it along, but Suah’s chest had grown recently.
With those factors combined, things got… well.
“……Mom, are you too chubby?”
“No, not really.”
Didn’t that constitute as chubby?
That question crossed her mind, but it was true; with a larger chest, the outfit didn’t look very flattering.
But aside from that, Suah was…
“It’s dangerous.”
“Huh?”
“Quite literally dangerous.”
Fortunately, most of Seo-yeon’s words were edited out.
It was entertaining but a bit too risqué, hence the cuts.
Of course, the viewers who couldn’t see those cut parts reacted with:
– Seo-yeon, show us what you saw!
– Hey, I need to know what you saw!
– Why the heck did we even go to the pool?!
– When the parka opened, something leaked out… heh heh.
– Seo-yeon’s mother is probably stacking that retirement fund beautifully.
– Su-yeon is seriously the cutest being in this world….
Most of the responses were like that.
Even with the parka, it was still bound to show through.
It wasn’t a regular outfit but a thin swimwear parka, after all.
– Just how much is it?
– The parka’s moving
– Joo Seo-yeon really has a great figure. Is she really a high school student???
Even though her body wasn’t fully revealed, mere glimpses of her figure spurred such comments.
Of course, there were unregulated communities making such remarks.
Meanwhile, well-managed fan cafes for Joo Seo-yeon had comments like:
– How does she fight with a gorilla with that body?
– Seo-yeon’s surprisingly delicate!
– Honestly, I thought she’d be a total muscle head, but wow.
└ ????
Anyway, thus began the swimming pool filming.
Honestly, as Young-bin had said, there was nothing special about it.
At least not in front of Young-bin’s eyes.
“Mom, your swimsuit top came off.”
“Wait, oh no!!”
“Sis, throw me into the water!”
“Hold on for a second.”
– Man, jumping just like a pebble on water.
– Wait, Su-yeon looks really sturdy….
Far from Young-bin’s solo activities, this side was complete chaos.
There were accidents that should have made it onto the broadcast, but thankfully, nothing too revealing happened.
“Alright, on the count of three, both of you jump in with Dad!”
“Okay!!”
“……Can I too?”
Young-bin blinked, as if it were obvious.
With the cameras rolling, Seo-yeon had no choice but to nod.
Although Seo-yeon had never learned how to swim, she wasn’t about to let that hold her back.
But as usual, when heading to such pools, swimming wasn’t really the main event.
It was just about having a good time and enjoying the atmosphere.
“One, two, three!”
With Young-bin’s shout, SPLASH!
In an instant, water erupted as Seo-yeon dove in with a huge splash.
– What?
– That sound seems a bit off.
– Instead of a gentle “plop,” it sounded like something heavy dropping in.
– The massiveness!!
– Yeah, rumor has it that Joo Seo-yeon weighs quite a bit, all muscle.
– Humans are supposed to be made of muscle.
Anyway, the community brushed it off casually, but…
“Ah, this pool is deeper than I thought.”
Because she jumped in with a float, Su-yeon poked her head up, having sunk a bit.
Young-bin caught her and looked around.
And Seo-yeon was strangely missing.
“Wow, Su-yeon. Did your sister sink because she’s heavy?”
“Really?!”
As Su-yeon looked around, covering her mouth with both hands, she had a shocked expression.
“Dad, Dad! I think my sister can’t come up because she’s too heavy.”
“Right?! Even if she looks like that, her weight is…”
Just as he was about to say that, Young-bin suddenly vanished.
Someone had grabbed his ankle and pulled him down.
“Huh?”
Su-yeon was flustered by her dad’s abrupt disappearance.
Where did he go?
“……Su-yeon.”
“Ahhh!”
Seo-yeon held Su-yeon up by her float.
She might have sunk a little because she couldn’t swim, but she was fine.
She just bumped her head a bit on the bottom.
She made sure to check before popping back up.
…Sure, it was a bit heavy, but she managed to float.
‘You really shouldn’t just dive into a pool recklessly.’
Regardless, Seo-yeon was dragging her sister around on the surface like a jet ski.
By the way, Young-bin had been tossed somewhere.
Outside of that, it was just an ordinary filming session.
Really.
However, despite that,
– So how much does Joo Seo-yeon weigh anyway?
– Did Young-bin just die?
– Serves him right, that punk.
Numerous controversies erupted in the community.
Most of the issues revolved around slander against Seo-yeon.