Chick 170
by Cristae170
The desire to become famous had always stemmed from a wish to help her father’s success.
To do that, this broadcast appearance was essential.
With such a large staff and all the location preparations, Wooju knew well just how heavy the burden would be if filming had to be canceled even once.
Just then, a phone was thrust in front of her.
It was Gru.
“What—what are you doing?”
On the screen, the caller ID read “Father.”
- Hello? Wooju?
Wooju hurriedly answered the phone.
“D-dad.”
Should she say she was sick?
- You remember we have a shoot today, right? I’ll finally get to see my precious son’s face again, haha!
Her father’s voice brimmed with pride as he called her his precious son.
“Yeah, of course… I know.”
- So why did you call? Is something wrong?
“No, just… I suddenly have a bit of a fever.”
- What? Really? Will you be alright for the shoot?
His shocked voice made Wooju shake her head in haste.
“No, I’ll do it. I can manage.”
- Ahh, I’m so weak when it comes to you. If you insist, I can’t say no. Should I ask your manager to get you some medicine?
A voice of relief, the tone slightly lifted as if glad.
As she honed her acting, Wooju had become just as skilled at reading emotions.
From the faintest nuance in voice, in breath, in choice of words, she could read what would please her father, what mattered to him, with painful clarity.
“It’s fine, I can ask my brother—”
Before she could finish, Gru snatched the phone away.
Gru boldly spoke into the receiver.
“Hello! This is Wooju’s friend, On Gru, from Chickling Class!”
“What are you doing?!”
Wooju tried to grab the phone, but Gru dodged her hands and slipped away.
As she dashed off, Gru spoke rapidly.
“Mister! This morning Wooju’s been sick and just barely hanging on! I don’t think she can shoot today!”
“S-stop it!”
Wooju chased after Gru, but with her fever, she could hardly keep up.
“My dad’s away on a business trip… Yeah. I can do that.”
Gru, continuing the call, deftly handed the phone back out.
She beamed as she did.
“I’ll do the shoot instead! Wooju, you rest!”
“What? Huff, huff… You?”
Wooju croaked, bent double, clutching her knees.
“Yup. They said to come out with Dad, so I said I would.”
“Even the mister?!”
With Gru and even Jurim together, the broadcast would be sure to spark interest.
Whenever Jurim gave even a brief interview, ratings soared.
And with the Hyun-ak guildmaster, and her daughter no less.
It fit perfectly with the new variety show’s theme—it was practically a blessing.
“So Wooju, you go to the sickroom, okay?”
Gru cupped Wooju’s flushed cheeks and gave her a wide, innocent grin.
“Look, see? Your face is so hot.”
Wooju panted, her lashes trembling.
Did it really not matter to her father if it wasn’t her? Anyone with buzz would do?
“…Then at least let me come to the set with you.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Just—let’s go together.”
Clutching Gru’s hand, Wooju went to ask their teacher for permission.
“It’s your first time filming, right? There might be something I can help you with…”
Her ears were red-hot from fever.
Wooju’s father, PD Seo Un-mo, was working on a new web variety show called “Working Baby.”
The show’s concept was kids taking on real-world “one-day jobs,” designed to capture today’s trend for observational healing shows featuring children’s charm and warmth.
Today’s shoot would determine whether this program went forward or not.
‘This has to go well, has to…’
Seo Un-mo clenched his trembling fists.
The classic one-hit-wonder, living off a variety show that struck it big ten years ago.
There was much debate over whether he could make a comeback with this show, and the pressure was driving him to the edge.
With “Working Baby” as the format, filming would be in serious trouble if Wooju’s illness had forced a delay.
But Seo Un-mo found himself staring at Gru, who gave him a bright, confident smile.
‘A blessing in disguise.’
As a father, his son being sick was heartbreaking. But, ironically, as a producer, this was very welcome.
He’d managed to book an extraordinary, sure-to-go-viral guest instead.
He was beginning to feel a rush of excitement, convinced the program might finally succeed.
“Gru, how did you talk to the guildmaster about this?”
Since the show’s concept required Jurim not to know the details in advance, Seo was nervous. Yet Jurim had easily agreed to let Gru appear.
Curious, Seo Un-mo asked, and Gru mimicked her mother’s tone faithfully.
“‘A variety show? Out of nowhere? When is it? Okay, fine.’—that’s what she said.”
The child’s performance made Seo laugh quietly.
“Really? Even Guildmaster On is soft on her own kid, just like me. I always just say yes to Wooju too. Ahaha!”
He laughed sheepishly, embarrassed.
Gru looked at the PD for a long moment, then shook her head.
“My dad always says ‘no’ and ‘forbidden.’ I don’t like it when I can’t do things, but my dad says no because she worries.”
“Ahh…”
So that’s it.
Seo Un-mo glanced over at Wooju.
Sitting on the edge of her seat, Wooju’s cheeks were bright with fever.
Her manager came over to check her temperature.
‘Saying no means you’re worried…’
Seeing his son for the first time in ten days, Wooju seemed even thinner.
Was it because of the shoot that she’d been dieting again, or had she just been constantly unwell?
“PD Seo! Are you really changing the whole plan?”
“Ah, the basic format’s the same, I’m just updating the setting and the guests. I’ll explain, everyone gather up.”
As Seo Un-mo gathered the staff, Wooju turned to look at her father’s face—now focused once again entirely on work.
Gru watched them both intently.
‘Why doesn’t he go to Wooju?’
Surely Wooju would appreciate it if her dad checked her temperature, asked how sick she was, fussed over her…
But Seo Un-mo, instead, left his ailing son alone and devoted himself to his work.
Wooju, as if used to not receiving his attention, wore a calm and resigned face.
Come to think of it.
‘When we first met…’
Wooju had said then too that her dad had no interest in her.
Until today, Gru had thought Wooju’s father just a cold person.
But meeting him now, he seemed passionate about his job…
‘No, he is cold.’
How can he be so distant from Wooju…?
Then PD Seo called Gru.
“Gru, can you come over here and listen to what I have to say?”
“Sure!”
“We’ll be filming you first today. Here’s how it works…”
After hearing the explanation, Gru let out a delighted, “Wow!”
‘This is going to be fun!’
A few days later.
‘Now it’s full-fledged variety shows…’
Jurim sat herself at the set table, legs crossed, leaning deeply into her chair.
She’d done a few light talk shows, nothing more—never any kind of hands-on variety like this.
Normally, she would have flatly refused, but this time, it was all because of her daughter.
She said she wanted to help Wooju and Wooju’s father.
Stories of the woman who took the place of Wooju’s mother she’d often heard—but the father, never. To learn he actually existed was a surprise.
Whatever the case, Jurim had not yet learned how to refuse a heartfelt plea from her child, so here she was, dragged along like an obedient pup.