CH4

The child's smile, which seemed to hide nothing, deepened, turning Ben's suspicion into certainty.

To the eye, he was just a cute-looking Asian child, but it felt like looking into an abyss.

'Why did he give this to me? Could there be something strange inside? No, more importantly, he might not even be a real child.'

Even Ben, who had survived in Hollywood among all sorts of people, couldn't fully read what was in a person's heart.

But just from the look in the eyes hidden behind the laughter, it was clear this was no ordinary child.

To the point where Ben even began to have an absurd imagination.

"…You."

A woman rushed over, cutting off Ben's question, which he almost asked, forgetting they were in the middle of shooting.

"Ian! How can you just run off like that!"

The child, called Ian, threw himself into the arms of the woman who appeared distressed.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Ha, do you know how scared I was? Why did you do this all of a sudden when you're not usually like this? Really, you're a troublemaker just like your dad."

Troublemaker? That term didn't seem to fit the child with such a gaze.

As if he had heard something he shouldn't have, Ben twitched his brows, and Ian smiled at him.

"Mister, you must be hungry, right? You have to eat all of our store's new menu!"

It was as if he was told to shut up and stuff his face with food. 

Was he being too sensitive?

With a reluctant smile, Ben chewed on the corndog again. 

Amidst all this, it was absurdly delicious.

The child, who had suddenly appeared and raised all sorts of questions, waved his hand lightly as if his business was done.

"It's not very expensive, so come by as a customer next time. Bye-bye."

Ben looked up at the store the mother and child had returned to.

Pryce's Diner

Staring blankly at the ordinary-looking diner, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Oliver?"

Following the gesture, Ben got into a car parked nearby.

As the car door closed with a thunk, Oliver, the director, burst into laughter.

"Ben! We got a great scene! A star was unrecognized by everyone and a child who willingly shares food with him. Ha, this is what real cinema is about!"

"Unrecognized."

Ben was about to tell Oliver the truth but decided against it.

Telling the truth would only lead to being asked if he had grown suspicious…

"Thinking of using it for the movie promotion?"

"Of course. There's no reason to let such an interesting event just pass by."

Right, the truth wasn't all that important in the end.

With the filming evidence, they would probably spread this fun story enthusiastically to the media.

Still holding the corndog in his hand, Ben shook his head as he recalled the earlier conversation.

'Did he say it was a new menu? He's got guts. Thinking of using a star like me for free promotion.'

Of course, not all questions were answered.

If it were simply about promotion, there would have been no need to reveal their intentions.

Well, it didn't matter.

"Just go and ask directly."

Ben stuffed the remaining corndog into his mouth.

It was delicious, after all.

***

Ian got scolded by his parents.

-Running off without saying a word, how shocked do you think we'd be! It's not safe just because it's in front of the store!

-And no matter how pitiable they look, you shouldn't approach homeless people carelessly! What if they are dangerous? If you really wanted to give something, you should have come with us!

Even though the worry was filled with love, it pierced his eardrums so much that his ears still hurt after waking up.

"Still, it was a profitable venture."

Catching a big fish on the hook, a little scolding was hardly a problem.

Ian woke up at dawn and stretched lightly.

His body, still only in the fourth grade, pleaded for more sleep, but it couldn't be helped.

'The only time I can be alone is now before my parents wake up.'

In the United States, leaving a primary school child alone at home could result in charges of child neglect.

For him, who had lived without a fixed home, this freedom was not something he could refuse even if it was uncomfortable.

'Otherwise, I might evolve into a filial son who ends up putting his parents in court.'

It wasn't intolerably uncomfortable.

When at school and playing sports, teachers and coaches naturally took on the role of guardians, and the time spent with his parents was rather pleasant.

However,

'The only time I have to practice acting alone is now.'

Yet, he was willing to wake up early for the peace of mind to practice acting.

"What should I try today?"

Ian, who found joy in acting more than anything, sat on the bed and closed his eyes tightly.

Numerous scripts flipped through his mind.

Recalling a collection of scripts easily numbering over a thousand, Ian's eyes snapped open.

"Now that I think about it, there was a child role in Sucker Punch."

The protagonist, who lives as a vagrant, bonds with a child from the slums over a day, and the child gets kidnapped by a gang trying to extort the protagonist.

As the day changes and the protagonist forgets about the child, the story ends with the child being murdered as the protagonist ignores the gang's threats.

'It's a device to emphasize the tragedy of memory loss.'

The protagonist sees the child's corpse and treats it just as a tragedy involving an unlucky kid tangled with gangs, further emphasizing the tragedy.

"…It's not a light role, but it didn't stand out as much as I thought."

It was one of two things.

Either the child actor's performance was lacking, or the chemistry with the lead actor wasn't great.

Thinking about it made him feel a bit regretful. If he had been a child from the slums, the ethnicity wouldn't matter much; he would have tried out for the audition if he had returned a bit earlier.

Ian shook his head to shake off the late regret and took a deep breath.

He slowly painted the scenery of the room in his mind.

Stale dust floated in the air of the room with closed windows, and broken glass pieces crunched underfoot.

Nearby, something was smashed with a shout, and the indifference that ignored the faint screams seeped through the old building.

The child, who had been crouching asleep in the dirty room, woke up with a burning pain.

"Argh! Ow, it hurts. Please, don't hit me."

Ian, clutching at the empty air with his hands, shivered as if he had actually been hit.

As if his father was really there, throwing punches amidst all sorts of abuse, Ian curled up his body.

"Ugh, ugh. Please, dad."

Ian, who had been moaning, twitched his fingers as if the pieces of a bottle on the floor were real.

He looked desperately at it as if it were a lifeline to end this pain, then relaxed his body.

A child without the courage to kill or the readiness to die simply conforms to reality.

After briefly performing the act, Ian perked up his ears.

He heard his parents waking up to prepare for the store, and Ian quickly turned off the room light and lay down on the bed.

He wouldn't hear the end of it if he was caught awake so early in the morning.

Thinking to sleep just a bit more before school, Ian drifted off, only to be awakened by a sharp voice.

"What are you talking about?! Who's doing what?!"

"…Mom?"

Ian, who got up at the sound of the argument and went out of the room, saw his parents facing off against two men.

They were strangers, but not unfamiliar.

"We received a report of child abuse, so we need to check. Please step aside."

"Ah, there he is."

Watching the police approach with stern expressions, Ian internally exclaimed.

'…Uh-oh.'

He had forgotten that the soundproofing was poor.

***

"Did the neighbors take some kind of drug? What on earth did they hear!"

Chloe stomped her feet as if she was angry.

Being investigated by the police due to a misunderstanding? 

She thought it was possible. But to suspect us of abusing Ian.

She couldn't understand how such a terrible misunderstanding could happen.

Dylan looked just as displeased.

"Where on our son would there be a place to hit? How could they say I hit him? Ridiculous."

If the neighbor was in front of him, Dylan looked like he would slap them with the corndog he was holding.

Ian, who was sitting at the counter table and watching, spoke up with a bright voice.

"They apologized for the misunderstanding. Don't be too upset."

"There are other things to misunderstand. Now we won't be able to sleep properly for a while."

Seeing his parents unable to easily calm down from their anger, Ian felt a cold sweat down his back.

It was a real relief. It would have been a big problem if there had been any bruises from playing sports.

As Ian lay sprawled on the table, someone sat next to him.

Glancing over, a man lifted the brim of his hat slightly and smiled playfully.

"We meet again, kid."

It was the face he had been waiting for.

Whether he was impatient or just quick, he appeared much earlier than expected. Asking if he's also quick at night might get him scolded.

Ian smirked.

"Want a free corndog today as well?"

"As if I'd come into the store and expect to eat for free. Oliver, order whatever you like."

Oliver Neville is a decent director even in his memory.

Though the movie he later produced as a producer flopped miserably, his directing skills were sufficient.

"Should I order about fifty? The staff were really curious seeing you eat it."

Hearing about an order of fifty, Dylan's face became complicated.

It was good to sell a lot, but the thought of having to fry them himself was not entirely pleasant.

Chloe nudged Dylan in the ribs as if to tell him to manage his expression and asked,

"Is he the same person we met yesterday? Can we know what's going on?"

Seeing him pull out a card to pay, it didn't seem like a fake order, and ordering fifty corndogs while mentioning the staff didn't make him look like an ordinary person.

To Dylan's question, Ben took off his hat and casually introduced himself.

"My name is Ben Roberts. I'm not really homeless, I'm an actor."

"Ah, ah?!"

Chloe, who had been staring at the face revealed by the removal of the hat, was startled.

She had only seen a neatly presented face, so she hadn't recognized him at first, but upon closer inspection, she could identify him.

"We're not suspicious people, so could we possibly borrow some time in the store? We will pay generously."

At Oliver's words, Chloe hung a "Closed" sign on the door.

"I came here to talk about the touching good deed your son did yesterday. It's definitely not a bad story."

While Chloe and Dylan's attention was drawn to Oliver, Ben tapped Ian lightly.

"Shall we have a chat separately for a moment?"

"Sure."

Moving to a corner of the store, Ben crossed his long legs and asked,

"Aren't you surprised even after knowing who I am?"

"Wow, are you that famous, sir? I had no idea."

Ian asked, clapping his hands together mockingly, prompting Ben to twist his lips.

He had felt it during their first meeting, but this kid really was audaciously cheeky.

"Don't pretend. You didn't even try to hide that you recognized me. Right?"

"Well, yes."

"Why? You could have just acted like an innocent kid."

This was what Ben was curious about. So curious that he rushed over after finishing today's shooting.

"There's no particular reason. But you're famously not fond of kids, aren't you? Even if the kid is as pure as can be."

"Ha, that's true."

"Then there's no need to pretend to be pure."

What a cheeky little thing.

Ben hadn't expected to hear such words directly from a child, and he let out a laugh.

"And what else?"

Ian, who took a moment before responding, leaned in and said quietly,

"I just didn't want to deceive you. There's no need to act all tired around each other when we're both actors."

"…What?"

Ben, momentarily stunned, soon burst into laughter.

Seeing the child's indifferent expression as if wondering why he was laughing made him laugh even more.

Audacious, yes, but he had never met such an interesting kid before.