Chapter – 03
No, seriously….
Whose tune am I even supposed to dance to here? If my spirit looked crushed, it was only because Grandfather’s glare was absolutely terrifying!
“My spirit isn’t crushed….”
“Then why are your shoulders slumping like that?”
“Th-that’s because….”
It’s because my subconscious, corporate-slave survival mode triggered the moment I faced a Chairman.
To be fair, she had never worked for a corporation large enough to actually have a Chairman before, but pretending to be utterly docile in front of a superior had become her default setting in life. Without realizing it, she had activated the ultimate defensive skill: fading into the background to erase her own existence.
Step one: Slouch your shoulders and bow your head to make your physical frame as small as possible! Step two: Through this, weaken your presence so you look entirely invisible! Step three: By vanishing from everyone’s memory, you successfully vanish from the memory of the boss who wants to dump extra work on you!
That was none other than Hae-na’s ultimate method of corporate survival.
“Is that teacher being too strict with you? Hey, Manager Kim. Call the kindergarten.”
“Yes, Chairman. I will patch them through immediately.”
At Chairman Hong’s single command, Manager Kim pulled out his phone, looking poised to launch a formal corporate execution on whoever answered.
Hae-na’s head spun. What on earth was this, and on her very first day of transmigration? Was this the legendary, over-the-top dramatic nature of a chaebol family?
“W-wait a second!”
“?”
Hae-na raised her hand high, cutting Chairman Hong off in his tracks. If she let this slide, an innocent kindergarten teacher was going to take the fall!
No! Teachers are just ordinary Korean office workers too! Spare the working class!
“It’s not because my spirit is crushed…!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s because Grandfather is scary!”
She had squeezed her eyes shut and just threw the words out. Honestly, Chairman Hong’s face was so intimidating that she had shut her eyes instinctively.
However, when an eerie silence filled the room, Hae-na carefully peeked open one eye. Seeing the two grown men staring at her in sheer, unadulterated disbelief made her want to shut her eyes right back up.
“……”
“………….”
A heavy silence stretched as both Chairman Hong and Manager Kim lost their words simultaneously.
“Ahem.”
“Ch-Chairman. It seems Lady Hae-na is still far too young to handle your immense, natural charisma….”
“Quiet! I have ears, I heard her!”
“Understood, sir.”
“Hmph, I suppose that makes sense. Here I thought she had actually grown up a bit, but….”
Chairman Hong turned his head away sharply, his face turning a deep, dark shade of crimson.
Hae-na scratched her head awkwardly. Driven by the sheer pressure to sound like an actual child, she had spoken without thinking. But then again, acting childish was probably the safest way to avoid raising suspicions, right?
Still, what do seven-year-olds even talk about these days? Dolls? I’ve never raised a kid, how am I supposed to know?
Ultimately, Hae-na decided to pivot to the safest, most universal topic on the planet.
“The-the food is really yummy…. Can I have some more?”
“!”
No, wait a minute.
Why are both of you trembling as if I just delivered some grand, world-altering speech? Was saying the food tastes good equivalent to a death sentence or something?
“Hae-na… isn’t throwing a tantrum over her food…?”
“M-My Lady is feeding herself so well…! I knew something was extraordinary the moment she ate that spinach earlier without making a single fuss…!”
“Call the chef. Demand to know what he did to the food. Did he lace it with something strange to make it taste this way?”
Please, stop.
Hae-na broke out into a cold sweat at her eccentric chaebol grandfather’s massive overreaction.
“I-it’s really not that big of a deal….”
“What are you saying, My Lady? Since ancient times, the ultimate act of filial piety from a child is simply eating well, sleeping on time, and growing up healthy without falling sick,” Manager Kim countered, his expression deadpan and entirely serious for the first time. “It has been a grueling seven years where My Lady has never consumed more than two spoonfuls of rice per meal….”
She never ate more than two spoonfuls of rice?
For Kim Hae-na, who had never in her entire life eaten less than a full bowl of rice per sitting, this piece of lore was deeply shocking. Yet, it finally made sense.
‘I guess from a family’s perspective, having a young child refuse to eat would be terrifying…. Two spoonfuls a day is a literal health hazard.’
If that was the case, their profound emotional reaction wasn’t entirely crazy. To a family, nothing causes more sleepless nights than a growing child refusing to eat.
‘My own mom used to tell me how grateful she was that I never threw tantrums over food or bedtime when I was little….’
A parent’s heart was universal. Even a cold, calculated chaebol grandfather was no exception to the rule.
Man, raising a kid is exhausting. Hae-na decided to just accept her bizarre new family.
Manager Kim and the gentle-faced maid, who had subtly stepped closer, were now literally dabbing away tears with their handkerchiefs.
“To think you are finally eating this well…! Our struggles of cycling through thirty-one different chefs…! They have finally borne fruit…!”
…No matter how I look at it, that just makes this place sound like a toxic, black-label employer.
You really shouldn’t be firing workers that frequently and casually, old man….
“Thank you… My Lady…! Words cannot express how joyful we are to see you eat…!”
Kim Hae-na, a 32-year-old office worker, was currently receiving a standing ovation just for swallowing her breakfast.
This 7-year-old life was going to take some serious getting used to.
After a breakfast that felt less like a meal and more like attending a mandatory corporate dinner with the company board, Hae-na dragged her exhausted body back to her room and collapsed face-first onto the mattress.
If this is what the chaebol life is like, I don’t want it….
This is completely different from the luxury lifestyle I envisioned!
It literally feels like I’m catering to a toxic boss twenty-four hours a day!
‘This is the absolute worst…!’
The work-life balance in this household was completely non-existent. Even though she was technically at “home,” she couldn’t relax because she constantly felt like she was on the clock serving an executive.
Someone, please let me submit my resignation.
For some reason, despite successfully transmigrating into unimaginable wealth, she wasn’t happy at all. It was only then that Hae-na finally lifted her head to properly examine her surroundings.
‘Whoa, but seriously… a kid’s bedroom looking like a literal palace is insane.’
The room was filled to the brim with luxury furniture pieces she had only ever seen from a distance back when she worked at a high-end department store. She used to wonder what kind of absurdly wealthy people actually bought those items, and it turned out, it required this level of status.
‘I did hear that the true VVIPs aren’t the ones buying designer bags, but the ones purchasing luxury furniture and custom decor.’
That wasn’t all. The sheer square footage of the room was massive; you could genuinely host a full soccer match inside it.
Hae-na slid off the bed and cautiously approached a door situated in the corner of the room, cracking it open.
‘What’s this door? A private bathroom? Do chaebols have personal bathrooms attached to every single room?’
It was a perfectly logical suspicion. However, the door did not lead to a bathroom.
When she pushed it open, she found an entirely separate room. A room bursting at the seams with toys, books, and educational play-sets!
‘…Given the context… this is definitely still my room, isn’t it…?’
Separating the bedroom from the playroom. It was a total culture shock.
‘No, brace yourself, Kim Hae-na. This is nothing. If you’re a chaebol, having two rooms to yourself is basically baseline. Yeah.’
It’s completely normal. Don’t look surprised. Don’t let your spirit be crushed!
Hae-na squared her shoulders confidently and surveyed the playroom. But then, she noticed something odd. There was yet another door inside this room.
‘That’s definitely not the door I just came through. What is it?’
Without thinking much, Hae-na pulled the door open. This time, she was met with a massive walk-in closet draped with endless rows of young girl’s clothing.
“?”
No, seriously.
Why does a kid this age need a dedicated walk-in closet? At seven years old, don’t children grow so fast that their height changes between yesterday and today? At this rate, aren’t all these clothes destined to be worn exactly once before being thrown out?
Hae-na turned slightly pale at this obscene display of chaebol extravagance. Her face grew even paler when she mindlessly picked up a random dress and noticed the price tag was still attached.
‘…Why on earth does a single one-piece dress cost 4.8 million won ($3,700 USD)?!’
For a toddler’s dress?! One that will be completely unwearable in a year?!
Wow. What a waste of money. What a waste of the environment.
‘My previous monthly salary was 1.87 million won after taxes…. A kid’s dress costs more than double my entire month of hard labor.’
It was mind-boggling. Sweating profusely, Hae-na meticulously smoothed out the fabric and placed the dress back exactly as she found it, feeling a sudden, irrational wave of anxiety that she’d be forced to pay for it if she accidentally wrinkled it.
“Lady Hae-na?”
The beautiful maid from earlier walked into the room. Judging by her demeanor, she seemed to be Hae-na’s dedicated personal nanny.
“So you were playing in the walk-in closet. I was looking all over for you.”
“Ah, yes….”
“As it happens, the new season’s catalog is arriving later today, so let’s look through it together and pick some things out. You’ve grown quite a bit, so it is about time we ordered a new wardrobe.”
Are you serious? There are this many clothes here and you’re buying more? Planet Earth, I am so sorry. Hae-na promptly gave up on thinking any further.
“Since you finished your breakfast beautifully, the Chairman has decreed that today’s dessert may be whatever Lady Hae-na desires.”
The nanny offered a warm smile as she scooped Hae-na up into her arms. Carrying her back to the main bedroom, she gently placed Hae-na down onto the sofa.
“Of course, that is assuming you brush your teeth properly afterward.”
“Ah, yes.”
Dessert? Well, how extravagant could a kid’s dessert really be? Hae-na nodded nonchalantly. She had a sweet tooth herself, but she figured a child’s dessert menu wouldn’t venture far beyond standard chocolates or ice cream.
…Or so she thought, until the door opened.
“…?”
A literal convoy of carts piled high with mountains of gourmet desserts began to roll endlessly into her room.
“…??”
Are they hosting a corporate buffet in here today? Is this the legendary luxury dessert buffet I’ve only ever read about?
“Wh-what is all this…?”
“Hehe, My Lady. We placed a special order from the Seoul Royal Palace Hotel, your absolute favorite.”
Mom, Dad. I did say I wanted to experience an extravagant flex of wealth, but… I didn’t mean this much. How am I supposed to eat all of this by myself?
Just as Hae-na was about to shake her head, feeling an overwhelming wave of guilt for single-handedly driving environmental decay—
“Please wait just a little longer, and you can enjoy them together with your friends when they arrive.”
The nanny’s words instantly cleared up Hae-na’s misunderstanding.
“My… friends?”
“Yes, My Lady. The children of the Cheong-yeong Group will be arriving in an hour. The Chairman suggested you all share these desserts and enjoy a nice chat.”
Wait.
If it’s the Cheong-yeong Group… isn’t that the male lead’s family conglomerate?
