Chapter 12: Child Model Audition

A microphone stood right in front of him, and from Yi Eun’s angle, it looked like a little black ball positioned right at his nose. While listening to the singing on stage, Yi Eun’s attention was completely captured by the microphone. She covered her mouth and giggled secretly, when suddenly an aunt nearby called her name.

“Huh?” Yi Eun turned her head in confusion, her big eyes blinking adorably, which made the woman’s smile deepen.

Lee Jin politely accepted the woman’s business card. Having been in Korea for less than a year, she had already received several cards. She had heard that Koreans weren’t just fashionable, but also placed great emphasis on appearance clearly, the rumors were true.

Unlike her cautious reaction at the amusement park, this time she wasn’t on guard after all, a classmate’s parent was far less likely to be a kidnapper than a random stranger.

“I’m Jiyong’s mom,” the woman said, dressed stylishly, her hair in glamorous waves and lips painted a bold red. Her outfit was nothing short of exquisite.

Every gesture she made carried a light scent of perfume. “Jiyong talks about you all the time at home. Just as I thought, you’re very cute.”

When it came to children, Park Bo-seon tried to tone down her usual commanding presence. As E-Land’s newly promoted Director of Promotions, her most important job was to break into the Chinese market.

She’d recently been stressing over the lack of a good child model for their kidswear division, who would’ve thought she’d find one just by relaxing at her son’s kindergarten? And this adorable little girl turned out to be the very “boss of the kindergarten” her son constantly talked about: Yi Eun.

Yi Eun scratched her head, completely unashamed. “Thank you, Auntie. Yi Eun knows she’s very cute.”

She pulled out two pieces of her mom’s homemade nougat candy from the little cross body bag she wore. One she gave to the starry-eyed Jiyong, and the other she held out to his mom. “Big Devil Auntie, have some candy. Please don’t scold Jiyong anymore, okay?”

Park Bo-seon’s smile froze. Lee Jin went stiff too. Even the Kwon family trio snapping pictures while half-paying attention, were stunned.

“So that’s what Jiyong says about me at kindergarten, huh?” Park Bo-seon said with a stiff, forced smile. Yi Eun instantly sensed the danger and went quiet.

Even though Auntie was smiling… why did Yi  Eun feel so scared? Is this why Jiyong calls her the Big Devil? she wondered.

Two seconds later, everyone awkwardly cleared their throats. It didn’t seem polite to laugh right now…

Though the sight of Jiyong nibbling on candy while crying was genuinely funny.

After hurriedly blurting out, “Auntie will come play with Yi Eun tomorrow,” Park Bo-seon bent down, grabbed her chubby son, and left her previous elegance nowhere to be found.

Yi Eun tugged at the pom-poms on her red tiger hat, eyes teary, and waved at the helplessly reaching Jiyong, who looked like he was silently begging for help.

“Yi Eun might be strong… but Auntie is really scary!”

The two kids unintentionally acted out a dramatic “farewell scene,” and all the nearby parents burst into laughter.

Only Lee Jin lowered her head and looked carefully at the business card in her hand, then tucked it away carefully into her purse.

The next day, the home phone rang sure enough, Park Bo-seon had called, just as promised.

As Lee Jin held Yi Eun’s hand and got into the car, she still felt a little dazed. After all, the woman had said that a single photo shoot from her daughter could possibly earn more than her monthly income.

At that moment, she truly realized there are just too many ways to make money in this era.

Park Bo-seon, who worked at a major corporation, understood this truth even more deeply. Ever since the Miracle on the Han River, Korea’s economy had developed at a rapid pace, transforming their lives dramatically. Now, as the higher-ups in her company began to recognize the speed of China’s economic growth, they immediately decided to be the first to tap into this promising market.

“Yi Eun’s mom, let’s just go and give it a try. Whether it works out will still depend on the director’s decision.” After saying that, Park Bo-seon carefully placed her mobile phone into the car’s storage compartment. The Samsung phone, released just a couple of years ago, was barely the size of a palm but cost more than her entire car.

She glanced into the rearview mirror at Yi Eun, who was sitting obediently in her child seat, and smiled. As long as this child remained as composed in front of all those cameras as she was yesterday and combined with the many sleepless nights Park had spent perfecting the promotional plan, she was certain she would secure her position as promotional director.

At the E-Land children’s clothing division’s audition venue, the waiting room was packed with over twenty kids, grouped into threes. A staff member, looking impatient and annoyed, held a clipboard and checked names with a frown. Once he finished the list, he peeked through the curtain to look outside nobody there.

He picked up the attendance sheet and turned to leave. Who wanted to deal with this many noisy kids anyway? It was driving him crazy. Besides, what could possibly happen in here? He pulled a cigarette pack and lighter from his pocket, lit one, and walked toward the break room. Watching kids? Forget it, might as well have a cup of tea. The actual auditions wouldn’t start for another 20 minutes anyway.

Without any adults around, the waiting room got even noisier. The two kids sitting next to Yi Eun were five and nine years old, and both looked like experienced child models.

Yi Eun sat on a small stool, her short legs swinging slightly because they couldn’t touch the floor. She glanced to her left, then to her right, and began counting softly, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5.”

After reaching five, she turned to look the other way and repeated the same count.

The boy beside her wore a proud expression, arms crossed, clearly waiting for the audition director. When he heard her repeating “1, 2, 3, 4, 5” over and over again, he frowned impatiently. “Hey, why do you keep going back to one after five?”

Yi Eun looked at him sincerely and answered, “Because I only know how to count to five.”

“…” So honest! The quiet girl sitting nearby blinked in surprise, she was pretty sure she’d seen this little girl before.

The boy was momentarily stunned, but his arrogance kicked back in. After all, these kids were his competition and he’d just heard that this girl was Chinese. He couldn’t resist throwing out a nasty remark. “Are you stupid? After five is six! And why aren’t you speaking formally? Figures. Chinese people really are dumb.”

No wonder my mom hates China so much bunch of idiots! The boy grew more smug, thinking how rude it was that she didn’t even know to use honorifics.

Among the children present, the youngest was Yi Eun, while the oldest was around ten. A few of the older kids couldn’t help frowning when they heard his words.

“I’m Yi Eun,” she said, eyes wide and full of innocence, which made the other children feel even more upset on her behalf. Such a small, sweet child!

Yi Eun stopped swinging her legs and looked up with a burning curiosity in her eyes. “Then what comes after six?”

“Seven!” the boy snapped.

“And after seven?”

“Eight!”

“And after eight?”

…

“…” What’s wrong with her?

By the time Yi Eun seriously asked, “What comes after ten?” the boy suddenly realized that the other kids around them were laughing quietly and he became even more furious, his embarrassment boiling over.

“Idiot,” he muttered.

Yi Eun shook her head seriously, frowning and sighing. “I know already. Why do you keep repeating it? I told you, I’m Yi Eun.”

Then her eyes lit up in sudden realization. “Ah, so your name is ‘Idiot’!”

The quiet little girl nearby suddenly covered her mouth and giggled. But when the boy shot her a fierce glare, she quickly lowered her eyes and stopped laughing.

“Hey! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” The boy stormed over to Yi Eun and raised his foot to kick the small stool she was sitting on. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to give your seat to your seniors?”

Yi Eun furrowed her brows tightly. His sharp shoe tip scraped across her ankle, she could feel the pain even through her thick white socks. Looking down, she saw a black scuff mark on her clean sock. She felt a wave of anger and the urge to cry.

He was the one who kept saying ‘idiot’! She didn’t even know what it meant, and now he was bullying her? Too much!

Without hesitation, Yi Eun jumped off the stool. Just as the boy looked satisfied, thinking he’d won, she raised her foot and kicked him right in the shin.

With a loud smack, the sound of her foot landing echoed through the room along with Yi Eun’s spirited shout: “Ha! Shaolin Iron Leg!”

The boy stared in shock at the little black leather shoe that had just slammed into his leg. A wave of pain shot up through him, twisting his face. “Y-You kicked me?!”

Yi Eun clenched her little fists in front of her and raised her foot again, her expression stern and her stance perfectly posed. She actually looked pretty cool.

Everyone was stunned.

“Chinese… kung fu!”

“Whoa! Bruce Lee!!!”

“I knew it! All Chinese people know kung fu! I have a Chinese friend who can do backflips!”

Yi Eun’s ears twitched. “I’m not Bruce Lee. I’m Lee Yi Eun!”

Who’s Bruce Lee anyway? Could he be better than her, Lee Yi Eun? No way!

Yi Eun lowered her leg and fists, rubbing her little ankle with a pitiful expression. “He kicked me first!”

“Hey, you little c8, you” The boy’s face twisted in fury, and he was about to lunge at her.

But at that exact moment, the curtain to the waiting room was pulled open. Park Bo-seon happened to be walking by and looked in, her face puzzled. “Why are you all being so noisy?”

“Waaaah, Auntie! He kicked me!” Yi Eun’s tears streamed down like pearls as she limped dramatically over to Park Bo-seon, pointing at the black mark on her ankle. “It hurts so bad, Auntie! He said all Chinese people are stupid!”

Still crying, she hugged Park Bo-seon’s leg tightly and looked up, asking, “Auntie, what does ‘stupid’ mean?”

The other kids all pressed their lips together this little girl… does she really not understand, or is she just pretending!? And she was acting all fierce just a moment ago, how did she manage to start crying the instant an adult showed up!?

This was an audition aimed at the Chinese market, after all.

Park Bo-seon gently patted Yi Eun’s head while looking over the group of children with various expressions. Finally, she turned to the girl standing next to the guilty-looking boy just a year older than Yi Eun and asked, “Se-gyeong, did he say those things?”