Chapter 8

Taeseong Electronics — President’s Office

In the silent office, the cold, crisp sound of papers being turned echoed intermittently.

Daeyoung, Dohyuk’s secretary, approached him while he was in the middle of handling his work.

“I received a call from Director Lee Hyun-wook. He said Miss Ruri passed the audition. Just as you suspected, she seems to have quite a talent for acting.”

“Director Lee thinks so?”

Dohyuk asked indifferently without taking his eyes off the documents.

“Yes. He sounded quite excited, saying she’s an unpolished gem. But, sir, how did you know?”

At Daeyoung’s question, filled with genuine admiration, Dohyuk simply moved the tip of his fountain pen across the paper.

“She caught my eye.”

It was a plain answer without a hint of deception.

There really wasn’t any particular reason.

Among the dozen or so children crowded together on the stage, only the child named Ruri had caught his eye and remained in his mind.

The mere fact that she had managed to attract the attention of someone who was exceptionally indifferent to almost everything was practically proof of the child’s talent.

Even though Dohyuk himself had discovered Ruri and pushed her into the audition, there was no particular emotion on his face.

It was a thoroughly businesslike attitude.

“Any problems with applying for her legal guardianship through the foundation?”

When exceptionally talented children began commercial activities, the Taeseong Foundation would sometimes provide them with a legal safety net.

Since minors could not enter into contracts without their guardians’ consent, the foundation would step forward and serve directly as their legal representative and guardian.

Of course, before that could be arranged, they first had to locate the child’s biological parents.

“Well…… It seems practically impossible to find her biological parents. Apparently, she was abandoned in front of an orphanage before she was even a year old. On top of that, she was adopted once before, but unfortunately, the adoption was terminated after she suffered abuse.”

The moment the word “abuse” left Daeyoung’s lips—

Dohyuk’s hand, which had been moving his pen, abruptly stopped.

“……Abuse?”

Dohyuk slowly raised his head from the documents.

A chilling undertone seeped from his low, subdued voice.

“Yes. There was a child abuse case that was all over the news recently. The child had been adopted for the additional points it would provide when applying for an apartment, but after the adoption, they neglected her and repeatedly subjected her to violence…… Miss Ruri was that victim.”

Dohyuk’s brow furrowed harshly.

There were truly far too many pieces of trash in this world who deserved to die.

For a child who had endured such suffering, it would be a hundred times better to receive support under the protection of the Taeseong Foundation than to be adopted into another inadequate family and suffer further wounds.

“As soon as she passes the legal representative screening, open an account in the child’s name first. And don’t hold back on the budget for anything she needs for her activities. Give her full support.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And put me through to NSK Entertainment.”

At the unexpected name of an entertainment agency, Daeyoung’s eyes widened.

“NSK? You want to connect her directly with an agency?”

“There are limits to what the foundation can manage. It would be more efficient for the child if a professional company handled her support.”

Dohyuk picked up his pen again and added calmly,

“You said she’s an unpolished gem. Then we should give her the most expensive craftsman worthy of that gem.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

Daeyoung bowed and withdrew.

Haneul Orphanage

On the day they heard the news that Ruri had passed the audition, the orphanage held a small celebration.

“Ruri, congratulations! You’ll be receiving support from the foundation, and now you’ll even be appearing on TV, huh?”

As though trying to erase the painful memories of the place where Ruri had first been adopted, the gathering with everyone at the orphanage was warm and lively.

The moment Ruri blew out the flickering candles on top of the Pink Chyu cake with a little whoosh, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“More than that, I never expected the foundation to arrange an audition for her. They’re even going to help her enter the entertainment industry.”

Someone added, and the director joined in.

“We once had a child who received support from the foundation and debuted as an actor. At the time, there was quite a commotion about how she was a promising new star and all that. Originally, the foundation mainly focused on scholarships and support for living expenses and tuition. But after that incident, they expanded their support to the arts, such as acting and dancing. That’s also when they introduced the ‘Night of Sponsorship.’”

“I see. Anyway, this is really wonderful for Ruri. Isn’t it, Ruri?”

“Yeees!”

Ruri answered while raising her hand high as she ate her cake.

Soyeon gently wiped the whipped cream from around Ruri’s mouth and smiled.

“Here. This is a congratulatory gift from your teacher.”

Soyeon placed a large box of crayons in front of Ruri.

There were no fewer than sixty-eight colors.

“Woooow! Is dis really Ruri’s?!”

Ruri’s eyes grew round as she gazed at the colorful crayons, and Soyeon gently took her tiny hand in hers.

“Of course. They’re all yours, Ruri.”

“Wow! Woooow!”

It was her first time owning crayons, and now she had so many colors!

Ruri couldn’t contain her excitement as she imagined all the pictures she would draw with her new crayons.

“But Ruri, we’re really happy that you passed the audition…… but if acting ever becomes too difficult, you can quit anytime, okay? You don’t have to push yourself at all.”

“That’s right. You don’t have to force yourself to do well.”

The orphanage director added her words of encouragement.

Having experienced such affection for the first time, Ruri suppressed the emotions welling up inside her and nodded vigorously.

“Yes! If Ruri gets tired, I’ll definitely tell you!”

Then, while hugging the gifted box of crayons tightly to her chest, she looked back and forth between her teachers and friends.

“Tank you…… Teacher! Ruri will really, really try hard.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but it was firm.

And so, the warm celebration came to an end, and night grew late.

After sweetly saying goodnight to everyone at the orphanage, Ruri returned to her room.

Even as she sat on the edge of her bed and caught her breath, the smile remained on her lips.

It felt as though the warmth they had shared in the living room was still wrapped around her body.

“Ruri’s heart is fluttering so much that she can’t sleep.”

Eventually, Ruri got out of bed and approached the roll of drawing paper hanging on the wall.

She grabbed the edge of the enormous sheet, much larger than her tiny body, and pulled it downward.

Swish.

The white drawing paper slowly unfurled into a long sheet.

Ruri tightly grasped the new crayons she had received with her little fidgeting fingers.

Then she began carefully drawing the faces of her mother and father—people she had never seen even once, people who existed only in her imagination.

Scratch, scratch.

As the crayons gradually filled the white paper, longing filled Ruri’s eyes.

Beneath the drawings, she wrote the words “Mom” and “Dad” in crooked little letters.

Then Ruri suddenly wrapped her arms around the enormous sheet of paper and hugged it tightly to herself.

“Mommy, Daddy…….”

Instead of the soft warmth of her parents’ embrace, the rough texture of the paper pressed against her cheek.

But Ruri closed her eyes gently, as though she were truly hugging her mother and father.

“Ruri will find Daddy really, really soon.”

The tip of her nose tingled slightly, but Ruri smiled brightly.

“Even if Daddy doesn’t recognize Ruri, Ruri will definitely recognize him!”

She wanted to meet him as soon as possible.

And when she finally did, she wanted to hug him just like this.