The MC of Golden Ducklings, Gong Hyeong-man, smirked at the reactions of the panelists. It was exactly as he had predicted.

He was relieved that the guest hadn't been revealed to the panel beforehand, given how shocked he had been when he first saw Soo-ah himself.

Typically, the mothers of celebrities are pretty ordinary. After all, unless they come from a family of entertainers, they rarely have a reason to keep up appearances. Of course, some parents might start taking care of themselves once their children earn money, but this was relatively rare.

Even if they did take care of themselves, at best they looked clean and well-groomed for their age. Gong Hyeong-man, upon first seeing Soo-ah, had asked:

"Did you ever work as an idol or actress?"

It was hard to believe otherwise. Women who had been in the entertainment industry, whether as actors or idols, tended to look significantly younger than their peers. Even those in their 50s could sometimes pass for being in their 30s.

‘But this is something else…’

As Soo-ah stood in front of him, visibly nervous and avoiding eye contact, she clasped her hands together, causing her chest to be even more prominent. Gong Hyeong-man tried to ignore that and focused on his curiosity instead.

Her appearance made her look like a young professional, perhaps in her late twenties, if he exaggerated a bit. If she wasn’t in the entertainment industry, how many women would feel that the world was unfair?

“Oh, no. I’m just a regular freelancer.”

“A freelancer?”

“Yes, I’m a programmer.”

A programmer. That seemed like an oddly mismatched profession for her appearance, but her intellectual aura sort of made it work.

‘This is gold.’

Gong Hyeong-man felt like he had struck a nerve. While she didn’t talk much, after chatting for a while, he realized she wasn’t the quiet type either. When the topic was about her daughter or husband, she opened up quite a bit. Apparently, she had a second child as well.

‘It’s hard to believe this woman gave birth to two daughters.’

But hey, what’s wrong with looking good? He was excited to see how the panelists would react once Soo-ah stepped in front of the cameras.

And, as expected…

“Wow, is she really Ju Seoyeon’s mother?”

“Are you sure she’s not her older sister?”

“Oh, you’re teasing us too much.”

In variety shows, reactions are crucial. Each panelist had prepared for Soo-ah’s entrance, imagining her appearance and personality, running through various simulations in their heads. They had come up with what they thought were the perfect responses.

But now…

‘What do I say? Do I say it or not?’

They all stuttered. The gap between what they had anticipated and the reality before them was too large for them to deliver their planned reactions.

Is she really not an older sister? Is that chest real? Did she put something inside?

The likely public reaction once the broadcast aired was already clear. If this had been a live broadcast, the online response would have exploded.

“I wondered why Seoyeon was so pretty, but now I see where she gets it.”

“Right, right.”

“Wait, are you sure you’re her mother?”

As Soo-ah finally sat down in her designated seat, the panelists began regaining their composure, smiling as they asked her.

“Oh, yes. I’m 39, you see…”

“Thirty-nine?”

“Wow, you’re still so young.”

“Wait, how old were you when…?”

“Oh, come on, no need to do the math.”

Finally, the panelists began to gel, as they smoothly transitioned into the flow of a typical variety show. Soo-ah laughed awkwardly at their comments, though internally, she had only one thought:

‘I want to go home.’

Soo-ah realized just how suited her daughter was for the spotlight. Whenever Seoyeon had an entertainment shoot coming up, she was visibly excited, especially when she had been on Star Fisher. She had even watched numerous fishing shows and practiced hard at home, to the point where Soo-ah had to stop her from buying expensive fishing equipment.

‘She’s just like her father in that way.’

When Soo-ah thought of her forever-young husband, she couldn’t help but think of Seoyeon’s enthusiastic attitude, which mirrored his. So she didn’t criticize Seoyeon much for it.

Seoyeon was truly passionate about variety shows and seemed to genuinely enjoy participating. It was a stark contrast to her mother, who found the attention overwhelming and could already feel sweat beading on her forehead, back, and chest.

Instinctively, Soo-ah reached for a handkerchief to wipe her chest.

“W-wait, Seoyeon’s mother!”

“You’re going to cause a broadcasting accident! Broadcast!!”

“Oh.”

Realizing what she was doing, Soo-ah blushed furiously and bowed her head, feeling like she wanted to disappear.

 

Things eventually calmed down. Soo-ah, as a guest, watched videos of Seoyeon’s life along with the rest of the panel and managed to explain the situations surprisingly well.

“Does Seoyeon really like gaming?”

“Yes, she’s very fond of it. She gets angry if you say she’s bad at it.”

“Haha, how cute~.”

At last, the show seemed to be running smoothly.

It all started with a scene of Seoyeon studying diligently, followed by Soo-ah’s entrance. The only part that raised questions was when Young-bin came home early, causing both Soo-ah and Seoyeon to react in shock. Why were they so startled by his early return?

“And why do you call her the headbutting dinosaur?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but it’s a nickname my husband uses for her. Isn’t it cute?”

“Oh, it is cute indeed!”

The panelists all responded cheerfully. They had no idea where the nickname came from, but they accepted it at face value.

Then came the moment when Seoyeon started gaming. At first, it seemed like typical image-crafting.

‘She’s a celebrity, but she plays games like a regular person.’

It was the usual tactic. In the online communities, gaming was familiar and relatable, which naturally garnered empathy from viewers. Celebrities often leaned on this tactic for image-building.

But that’s when things took a turn.

As Seoyeon began playing, Young-bin, who had been watching a video on his phone, stealthily approached. And that’s when the teasing began.

“Our daughter’s so creative with her gameplay.”

“She’s so creative the other players can’t keep up.”

“Your swordplay is great. Maybe you should ditch the gun altogether.”

“Hey, Seoyeon, have you thought about joining the military? It might be a good experience for you.”

With each in-game death, Young-bin made a sarcastic comment. He didn’t constantly chatter, just delivered a jab each time she died. And with each remark, he glanced at Seoyeon, tilting his head in curiosity.

Was he gauging her reaction? No, that didn’t seem to be it.

Seeing how things were going, the others started to get curious.

“Oh, usually Seoyeon talks back and banters with her dad, but I guess she’s quiet today because we’re filming.”

Since it was a broadcast, Soo-ah coughed awkwardly, realizing that Young-bin didn’t know they were being filmed.

‘If I had known, I would have told him.’

Seoyeon, unable to respond verbally due to the cameras, jabbed her father in the side with her finger. It looked like a cute, playful response, but Soo-ah knew better.

If she had really jabbed him hard, Young-bin would have been on the floor. But surprisingly, Young-bin was fine.

Instead, he opened his jacket to proudly show off what he was wearing underneath.

“?? What is that?”

“Oh, it’s a bulletproof vest…”

“A bulletproof vest?”

Gong Hyeong-man, wearing a puzzled expression, asked. Why would he be wearing a bulletproof vest?

“My husband bought it a while back. Seoyeon accidentally tore it in half, but I didn’t know he’d be wearing it like this.”

Can you accidentally tear a bulletproof vest? Despite the oddness of the situation, Soo-ah’s calm explanation made the others nod in acceptance.

‘How did he even find that?’

Soo-ah looked at Young-bin, who was proudly showing off his vest, genuinely curious. He had an uncanny ability to find things like this.

Normally, Seoyeon would have let it slide. After all, she didn’t care much about the vest hanging on the wall. Even though she pretended to stop him from putting it up, she had secretly liked it. Maybe it was a symbol of strength or something.

Soo-ah didn’t fully understand, but since the vest was back, the result was obvious.

“Dad.”

“Hm?”

“Do you know what a gyro drop is?”

With a chilling tone, Seoyeon’s words made Young-bin tense up. The next thing he knew, the chair he was sitting on was lifted into the air, and he was being tossed around like a rag doll. His pitiful screams echoed through the room.

“…”

How was she doing that? Was there a wire attached somewhere?

The others, thinking back to when Seoyeon had caught a huge fish on Star Fisher, finally understood.

“Oh, right. Seoyeon is pretty strong, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s quite healthy.”

Soo-ah laughed, clearly pleased with the compliment about her daughter. It was a lovely smile, but…

‘Is this really just a matter of her being “healthy”?’

The panelists didn’t fully understand, but what could they do? They just clapped and laughed.

“Wow, that chair is really sturdy.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Right? Right?”

All they could do was watch the scene unfold, marveling at the durability of the chair that Seoyeon was swinging around so effortlessly.

 

In any case, the filming for Golden Ducklings wrapped up successfully. After riding the “gyro drop” to his heart’s content, Young-bin said something as soon as he got off the chair.

“Hey, I just thought of something. Should we go to a swimming pool?”

“?”

Having seemingly enjoyed the impromptu ride, he was now craving more thrills.

So, they went to a swimming pool, and with the footage from that, they had wrapped up enough content for Golden Ducklings.

“Ju Seoyeon, weren’t you trying to improve your image?”

Lee Ji-yeon was scolding Seoyeon. But Seoyeon felt wronged.

Aside from that one incident, she had worked hard to manage her image. She hadn’t even used her strength at the swimming pool!

“That’s only because Dad kept… And I didn’t do anything at the swimming pool or anywhere else.”

“Well, yeah, your dad can be… Anyway, you didn’t watch the broadcast, did you?”

The “broadcast” Ji-yeon was referring to, of course, was Seoyeon’s VTuber stream. She doubted Seoyeon would have watched VTubers while filming for Golden Ducklings.

From what Ji-yeon had heard, all Seoyeon had done was study, play games, and go to the pool. However, knowing that Golden Ducklings was an observational variety show, Ji-yeon assumed that they had filmed for a long time and edited the footage later.

“…”

“Why are you avoiding eye contact?”

That was the expression Seoyeon made when she knew she had done something wrong. She had the look of a guilty puppy.

‘She did watch it!’

Ji-yeon closed her eyes in exasperation. It was partly her fault as well. Knowing that Seoyeon was filming for Golden Ducklings, Ji-yeon should have suggested taking a break from streaming. But Ji-yeon had stuck to her regular streaming schedule.

After all, she hadn’t expected Seoyeon to actually tune in during the shoot!

“I had a lot to think about.”

“Sure you did.”

“It’s true!”

Seoyeon pouted, her defiant attitude only making Ji-yeon more incredulous.

‘Well, watching VTubers is better than showcasing her strength.’

It wasn’t like watching VTubers made her seem like a fashion-obsessed nerd or anything. And since this was a variety show, they wouldn’t air her watching her own VTuber stream on TV anyway.

‘They’ll probably edit it appropriately.’

Ji-yeon decided not to worry too much about it.

“When does the show air?”

“In a week.”

“Not long now.”

Seoyeon nodded. Despite the incident with the chair, she believed the footage would be edited down appropriately. Even if they showed it, they had plenty of footage from the swimming pool that could balance it out.

“And by the way, I have an audition two days before the broadcast.”

Seoyeon nodded. She knew about it.

It involved Jo Seohui, and they had been working on something together. It seemed like Seohui felt more comfortable practicing with Ji-yeon.

“Would you help me with the final rehearsal?”

Hearing this, Seoyeon, who had been nodding along, suddenly froze. After all, this wasn’t just any audition—it was for Gyeongseong Lady.