Chapter 24 – Dating Your Mom?

Today is a very important day for me.
It’s because it’s a date day, so to speak, that the two of you have decided to meet with your mother.

A date with my mother was an important event that comes only a few times a year.
Mom is busy with her schedule, so it’s hard to find time for her, and because of the nature of her job, it’s hard to meet her outside.

Moreover, I feel that her mother’s attitude has changed a little since ‘that incident’ a while ago.
It’s not different from the outside, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling of avoiding me for some reason.

What kind of change of heart occurred in the mother?
A secret that should not be known to the world.
That realistic disability may be burdening her mother.
I don’t know her mother’s heart, but it wasn’t very good news for me.

In that sense, today’s date was important.
It’s an important chance to close the distance with my mother, who has recently been estranged.

I am also burdened by the forbidden relationship with my mother.
Our family would be completely ruined if my older sister, younger brother, or anyone outside knew about it.
My family is harmed because I am the cause.
It was the thing I feared most in the world.

But now it was too late to straighten the twisted path.
Having already tasted the pieces of the forbidden fruit, I became completely addicted.
Enough to think that no matter what happens, I will win the fruit.

At such an age, it was only natural that he would be spirited from his outward appearance while preparing for today.
I prepared to go out with the feeling of a soldier going to war.
Never in my life have I cared so much about my appearance. Probably won’t be there in the future.

With so much energy, we headed to a high-end Korean beef restaurant in the neighborhood.
It’s subtle as a date spot between men and women, but should I say it’s okay as a dinner spot between mothers and fathers…
In fact, I’m the only one who puts my spirits on a date, and the mother must be aware that she buys meat for her son for dinner.
A long way to go…

The restaurant arrived with such anticipation and anxiety.
I had to face an unexpected situation.

“Come on, son. Mr. Sua. Our son is the successor. Are you handsome?”

I mean, how did this happen?
At the place of the date with my mother, there was a strange interrupter.

“Hello. I am Hwang Soo-ah. Wow, sir, I only heard that he was handsome, but I didn’t expect him to be this good.”

There was such a beauty that you would be afraid to meet her eyes.
To hear that a person like this was handsome was nothing but sarcastic.

“Ah… Hello. It’s Jinseonhu.”

I could barely speak without being speechless.
It was her first time meeting her, but her mother was by her side, so she didn’t feel that uncomfortable.

“Seonhu, this is Hwang Soo-ah. Do you know who it is?”
“Ah, yes, the one who appeared as Anna in ‘Anna’s Diary’…”

Is there anyone who doesn’t recognize her?
She is the heroine of a drama with a maximum rating of 40%.

Suah Hwang is one of the most popular actresses in Korea.
In particular, the drama ‘Anna’s Diary’, in which she appeared as the main character the year before her, was a legend in the daily drama world with an average viewership rating of 30% and an instant viewership rating of over 40%.
Of course, all I know about that drama is that her mother also appeared in it.

Hwang Soo-ah, the heroine, and her mother, the CEO of a large franchise bakery, interfere with everything.
These two won the Best Actress and Supporting Actress awards at the year-end awards ceremony side by side.
How could I not know an actor who has such a deep relationship with my mother?

However, when I heard the words ‘Anna’s Diary’ coming out of my mouth, Hwang Soo-ah’s expression was not so good.
It was a subtle difference that I could barely tell because I was at an age where I always looked out for others.

“I am honored to have recognized you. This time, I got to work with Lim Im-hye again. I look forward to.”

Everyone is an actress, but actress Hwang Soo-ah felt different from when she saw her on TV.

According to her profile, she should have been around 160cm tall, but she seemed shorter than that.
Her face is small and her hands are small.
Were you twenty-six?
When I first grabbed the outstretched hand, it felt so weak that I was worried that it might break if I held it hard.

In addition, Hwang Su-ara was surprisingly humble compared to her name value.
When I held her hand, she bowed her head and greeted her.
Rather, I didn’t know what to do with my overly polite attitude.

“Oh, no, I just… It is an honor to meet you.”

Okay. In fact, it was an honor for an ordinary person like me to be able to meet and talk like this.
The only title I have is that my mother is actress Im Im-hye.
There was no reason for her to hear that she was asking well for a famous actor like Hwang Soo-ah.

“Mom, what happened? Why is Hwang Soo-ah here?”

I whispered to her mother, unable to hide her embarrassment.
A manager or coordinator will understand.
But the person here was an A-grade actress.
It’s not like you can meet in person like this.

“Isn’t it mothering to want to introduce a wonderful daughter-in-law?”
“Mom!”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her mother’s words as she passed them off with a leisurely smile.
The content could be rude to the other actor, or it could be felt as sexual harassment or abuse by a senior actor.

But, did actress Hwang Soo-ah not hear it, or did she just pretend not to know when she heard it? She just smiled softly.

However, should I call it the charisma of human beings themselves? Because of Hwang Su-ah’s unique force, even her smiley face felt terrifying for some reason.

A beauty that looks like it was put together by a computer. That’s it, she was an actress named Hwang Soo-ah.
It’s nice to see it on TV, but putting it in front of my eyes like this made me feel burdened.
To say that you are frighteningly pretty is what you would say to a person like this.

To take such a person and become a daughter-in-law… What the hell is your mom thinking?
I don’t even know how I came to this place…

“Whoops. Don’t think too hard Even if she’s an actress, she’s just an ordinary girl when she takes off one layer. Know?”
“Under…”

My mother whispered in my ear as if for advice.
That’s what I know better than anyone else. The more special people on TV, the less special they actually are.
But does that story apply to this person in front of me? He’s like a person from another planet.

“And since Sua buys meat today, eat a lot.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Eat a lot.”

Naturally, I thought that my mother was living there, but when I heard that, I started to feel 3 times more uncomfortable in this place.
Isn’t this situation where the senior actress introduces her son to her younger actress and makes her spend her money?
Could it be that I am at the scene of power abuse in the entertainment industry that I have only heard about. If an article such as ‘famous actress Lim Im-hye, controversy over power abuse against junior actresses’ appears…

“Mom… It’s okay if I don’t eat meat.”
“After Jin Seon. What are you imagining?”
“Imagination of a mother beating a junior actress?”

At my honest answer, my mother laughed and slapped me on the back.

“He! You don’t have to worry about anything strange. This is because instead of doing a favor for Sua, I’m giving her a treat. Instead, the seonhu should also help.”
“Ask? Is there anything I can do?”

I tilted my head at the sudden story. Is there anything I can do to help such a great person?

“I heard that Seon-hoo and teacher Lim Im-hye were reading the script together.”

I couldn’t help but be embarrassed by the words of actor Hwang Soo-ah, who switched to a serious atmosphere.

“Yes? Oh, but it does… Mom?”

Occasionally, I help practice acting as a mother at home, but not to the extent of talking about it anywhere.
I’m just really, really amateur.

But bringing up that story now means that I am asking Hwang Soo-ah to help me read the script.
It’s an unbelievable story. My mother is my family, so even so, I knew best that my skills were never matched with other actors.

“Seonhu. Do you remember when mom first came back to the drama? When her mother first took on the role of a villain.”
“Huh. Don’t remember that Are you talking about ‘The Witch’s Temptation’?”

Old memories come to mind.
I was a middle school student at the time, and I was in a state of improvement to the point where I could barely imitate a normal person, and my mother was challenging to return to the screen at that time.

“At that time, Mom, I was in a very bad slump. To the point where I wonder if I can continue working as an actor. The pressure of not being able to fail now made me crazy.”

It was the first time I had heard of it.
The fact that my mother appeared on TV was just amazing, but I don’t think her mother’s acting evaluation itself was very good.
The drama itself also failed, and her mother may have been more on the edge of her cliff than she thought.

I didn’t know anything, but I remembered that her mother’s atmosphere was different from usual, as she prepared for her next work right after finishing one work.
And it was probably around that time that I started practicing the script with my mom.

“At that time, thanks to the help of the seonhu, her mother was able to come this far. Thank you, Seonhu.”

Then, my mother squeezed the back of my hand tightly.
Her mother’s affection passed through her grasped hands.

“Oh no, I don’t really…”

I was just ashamed of her mother’s sincere confession.
I don’t think I did such a great job.
However, it was a happy fact that I became my mother’s motivation in any form.

Warmth radiated from her mother’s hand.
If I had been holding on like this all along…

“And our Sua is in a similar situation to her mother at the time. Right, Mr. Sua?”

Actor Hwang Soo-ah nodded her head with a bitter expression.

“Because all the dramas I filmed since ‘Anna’s Diary’ have failed. This is practically your last chance.”

If you think about it, Hwang Soo-ah has been too quiet lately compared to her name value.
Two years after ‘Anna’s Diary’.
But she wasn’t playing either.
Even though she was constantly appearing on TV, the fact that she was so quiet meant that she was not as successful and was quietly buried.

“There is no way she will fail in that she comes out with me. Whoops.”

Compared to actress Hwang Soo-ah, with her uptight face, her mother was full of leeway.
Her mom is the golden ticket to broadcasting. As long as it appears, box office success is guaranteed, so it is only natural that it is full of confidence.
Conversely, actress Hwang Soo-ah’s confidence was weaker than the candle right before it went out.

“… She honestly chose her work with that thought in mind. She won’t fail if she’s with Im Im-hye. But that’s not enough. This time, I have to prove the value of actress Hwang Soo-ah.”
“Ah, yes…”

That’s right…
But why are you talking to me like that?
I’m a normal person with nothing to do with it.

“So, just like how the seonhu helped her mother back then, I want her to help Sua too.”
“No, Mom, wait. Isn’t that a bit odd? Even if she said she did it because she is a mother, there’s no way she would be the same as actor Hwang Soo-ah, right?”
“No. Mom can tell. That our seonhu will be equally helpful to Sua.”

No way. Where did her mother’s groundless beliefs come from?

I even understood that actress Hwang Soo-ah was in a slump, and that actress Hwang Soo-ah asked her mother for help to overcome her slump.
But I don’t know the meaning of my mother introducing me to actor Hwang Soo-ah there.
For my mom, since I am her family, maybe being me was helpful emotionally.

However, I didn’t even think that I would be of any help to actor Hwang Soo-ah, who is a stranger.

“I’ll ask you too, Mr. Seonhu.”
“Ugh.”

Actress Hwang Soo-ah bowed her head again.
She doesn’t know about me All I know is the information I heard from her mother.
Because of her mother’s exaggerated stories about me, actress Hwang Soo-ah may have had unreasonable expectations.

“Hey, actress Hwang Soo-ah, I understand your feelings. But wouldn’t it be better to consult with an acting expert rather than me? I’m really at the amateur level…”

I expressed my intention to decline with difficulty.
Seeing my puzzled face, actor Hwang Soo-ah smiled as if he understood.

“You must be embarrassed to hear this all of a sudden. I know, that makes no sense.”
“Then…”
“If it was like usual, I would never ask for something like this. However, I also did everything I could, and now I told Teacher Lim Im-hye with the feeling that I wanted to hold on to a straw. Since I asked the teacher, I have no choice but to trust the teacher and do as he tells me, right?”

I wish you well. Mr. After
Actress Hwang Soo-ah smiled and held my hand. She seems useless even if she refuses.

We support top actresses to overcome their slump. The responsibility was too great for me.

“Are there more experts than mothers in this field in Korea? Don’t worry. Since our ancestors are teachers of tweezers, they will definitely solve it well.”
“Under…”

I’m not here for this.
I just wanted to restore my relationship with my mother…

While I was in a daze, the table was set and the meat was being grilled on the fire.