Chapter 3

Before Kang Eun-tae personally scouted Ha Eun, the advertisement draft was already completed.

The overall concept of this CF, along with the image intended to be conveyed to consumers, had been communicated to the advertiser, Handong Pharmaceutical.

However, the matter concerning the advertisement model remained undecided even as the filming date approached.

Han Min-a, the advertising team leader from Handong Pharmaceutical who acted as a bridge between Kang Eun-tae and the company, felt as though her blood was slowly draining away day by day.

This was also the reason she called Kang Eun-tae, the CF director and her junior from college, to a cafe.

“This is something, tomorrow the sun will rise in the west. Seeing you called me out personally.”

“I was curious if you were still alive. Why do you ignore my calls but answer Min-soo’s?”

Perhaps it was because memories of her desperate attempts to contact Kang Eun-tae, who had gone silent with her, resurfaced.

Once again, a sigh escaped from Han Min-a.

The topic of the long silence regarding the child nutrition supplement advertisement model was brought up shortly after.

“Eun-tae, when are you going to pick a model—”

“I’ve chosen one.”

“…Huh? You picked someone?”

“Yes.”

His gaze was unwavering.

Even though Kang Eun-tae could be quite cheeky, she had known since their university days that he was not someone who enjoyed lying.

With the intention of grilling her junior, Han Min-a’s expression turned slightly awkward as she asked who the chosen model was.

After rummaging through his bag, Kang Eun-tae pulled out a wrinkled newspaper and pointed to it instead of responding verbally.

“**[ A child pitcher throwing better than the starting pitcher ]**

– Lee Ha-eun’s perfect stance as she pitched at the game against OG on the 19th in Suwon is making waves. A male fan who visited the stadium with his girlfriend jokingly remarked that it was the first time he’d seen a ball enter the strike zone of the Sehwa Eagles—”

Coincidentally, the part where Kang Eun-tae’s finger was pointing was a photo of Ha Eun featured prominently in the center of the newspaper.

With one knee raised, Ha Eun was gazing directly at the catcher, and for some reason, she exuded a sort of charisma.

Her refined looks, quite rare for children, certainly contributed to that impression.

However, whether it was her exceptional pitching form or her momentarily eye-catching appearance—

“Don’t tell me the model you picked is….”

“It’s written here in big letters. It’s Lee Ha-eun.”

“So, you really intend to shoot an advertisement with this girl?”

“Why not? I’ve already secured her consent.”

Getting selected as the main character of the CF was a different story.

For now, she decided to hear out what Kang Eun-tae was thinking.

She hoped he hadn’t just chosen her as the advertisement model based on a moment of impact without any thought.

“The girl is really calm. But, already knows how to set the mood.”

“Set the mood?”

“Ha Eun’s gaze on the screen, oh boy. She’s staring at Min Kwang-chul like she wants to eat him alive.”

What followed was Kang Eun-tae’s account of his firsthand observation of Ha Eun’s aura.

He elaborated with his expectations and forecasts regarding a future that had not yet been established, thus rationalizing his choice.

“Ads featuring child actors all look the same. They’re always laughing and smiling, there’s no seriousness to them.”

“It’s because there’s demand that they all shoot like that.”

“That demand will quickly dwindle. I think it’s better to differentiate from other advertisements instead.”

That was a valid point.

If it had been a nonsensical advertising plan, the draft would have been discarded as soon as it was received.

The upper management must have given the green light because they believed Kang Eun-tae’s concept had potential to attract consumers.

However, the fact that Kang Eun-tae was what people often call a perfectionist kept making Han Min-a uneasy.

He was adored by the advertisers, but it was difficult for him to create a good impression with the shooting staff or cast members.

There was a possibility that any turmoil caused by pushing Ha Eun, who had just become a model a few days ago, could lead to various issues.

If things went wrong, it could easily lead to misunderstandings that he would just suck Ha Eun dry of her spirit.

“If any rumors come out, it’ll be tough for you too, Eun-tae. You need to be a bit more flexible, got it?”

She made a suggestion or rather a plea to leave some room for compromise.

In response, Kang Eun-tae nodded a couple of times.

“Do you really think I would be harsh on a child?”

“Have you forgotten about kneeling to Seua Song’s mother?”

Han Min-a couldn’t help but glare at Kang Eun-tae, who was awkwardly avoiding her gaze.

It was inevitable for her to give him a hard stare given that he had completely forgotten a matter that had been only a few months ago.

“Still, this time feels a bit different. I probably won’t have to scold Ha Eun.”

“Aren’t you being too optimistic? She probably hasn’t even taken any acting classes.”

“Well, if she just keeps that unique aura of hers. This advertisement doesn’t even require much acting.”

To be frank, she wondered what exactly was this aura that was being so emphasized.

However, three days later, on the day of the advertisement meeting—

“Ah, Ha Eun’s mother. Over here, here.”

Amid the quiet approach of a girl holding onto the hand of a petite woman, she slowly bowed and then raised her gaze to meet Han Min-a’s eyes.

“Hello.”

As she greeted with a soft voice, Han Min-a began to understand what Kang Eun-tae had meant by aura.

…It’s as if I randomly met a girl like this at a baseball field.

‘What a lucky kid.’

There had been moments of frustration at the fact that the CF director hadn’t confirmed the model for the scheduled advertisement while lounging around at the baseball field, but now it all felt irrelevant.

If this was fate, then so be it.

“…Why are you looking at me like that? It’s kind of scary.”

“Stop lying and just admit you’re nervous. Who are you scared of?”

***

“Ha Eun and her mother can sit in the black chairs over there.”

Following Kang Eun-tae’s guidance, the conference room they entered was larger than expected.

Several people were already seated around the long table, and among them, a burly man sitting in the corner stood out the most.

Given his muscular arms, he likely belonged to the filming crew.

“There’s water and orange juice available. What would you like to drink?”

Once seated at the pre-prepared spot, I heard a soft female voice, and after a moment of thought, I requested orange juice.

As soon as a 500mL bottle of fresh fruit juice was placed in front of me, the meeting began.

“Alright, now let’s explain the advertisement in more detail.”

Kang Eun-tae’s voice resonated throughout the conference room.

Soon after, the advertising storyboard projected onto the screen.

In an instant, everyone’s attention was drawn to one side.

“This advertisement will proceed with the concept of ‘Healthy Children, Healthy Future.’”

What followed was an elaboration on the discussions from the cafe a few days prior, supplemented with further details.

Example images drawn in a sketch format appeared on the screen, giving an intuitive idea of the scenes planned for filming.

However, one of the new pieces of information that came in soon after made me doubt my ears.

“When Kim Min-jun passes the baton to Ha Eun, she will jog along the track. Ah, we will be applying some CG to the baton, so don’t shake it too quickly.”

The realization that the accompanying cast member was not an actor or idol, but rather a national track representative, raised a giant question mark in my head.

No, they had never mentioned that the ad would involve a national representative.

“Actually, that aspect wasn’t confirmed until just recently. Originally, we were planning to cast someone else, but after seeing your pitching video, Kim Min-jun found it interesting and expressed his willingness to participate.”

In other words, one of the reasons a national athlete became part of this advertisement was because of me.

Thinking about it, there were few people who might embody a healthier image than a national representative, so it wasn’t all that strange for them to appear in a nutrition supplement advertisement.

The catch was that it was not just any nutrition supplement advertisement, but one aimed at children.

This meant that my presence could not be overshadowed by the national representative’s charisma.

‘…Why is the difficulty level like this.’

I felt an urgent need to devise some sort of countermeasure.

It wouldn’t be easy for a flash-in-the-pan child to overshadow the presence of a national representative.

Regardless, I thought I wouldn’t be able to come up with any plans unless I personally experienced that aura.

So I cautiously asked when I would get to meet Kim Min-jun.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be able to meet him unless it’s on the day of the shoot. But just in case, we’ll get in touch.”

Came the irresponsible reply.

It was then that I felt the precariousness of my advertising contract.

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