Chapter – 05
“B-but, Young Master. Both of you are still so young, I can’t possibly leave you two alone and step away.”
The nanny spoke, looking extremely flustered.
“You stepped away just fine earlier. Does that mean it’s alright to leave when Do-yoon is around, but you don’t feel safe leaving when it’s just me?” “…!”
The nanny’s face turned deathly pale.
Look at this kid. He knows exactly where he stands, and he’s incredibly adept at throwing his weight around.
Haena looked at Baek Jae-hyun, her mood instantly souring. Even though he was still so young, he knew exactly how to play with people’s emotions. He was utilizing the absolute certainty that the nanny could get fired if she displeased the grandson of the Cheongyeong Group’s chairman.
“I’m sorry, Oppa.” “!” “The one who stepped away wasn’t just our nanny—your nanny did the exact same thing. And since Do-yoon was just crying over ‘absolutely nothing,’ it’s only natural that our nanny would feel anxious. Don’t back her into a corner over something like that.” “….”
Jae-hyun looked at Haena, seemingly caught off guard.
“Is there something you want to say to me? If that’s why you want her to step aside, don’t corner her like that—ask politely.” “….” “You’re older than me, Oppa, and you don’t even know that?”
At Haena’s words, Jae-hyun’s face flushed bright red.
“Young Lady…!”
Standing beside her, the nanny gripped Haena’s hand even tighter, her face filled with deep emotion.
Um, it wasn’t really for your sake, Nanny. I just happen to despise power trips… But there was no need to say that out loud. Since they would be seeing a lot of each other in the future, earning some brownie points like this wasn’t a bad idea either.
Haena flashed a bright, innocent, childlike smile.
“Nanny. It seems Jae-hyun Oppa has something to say to me. Could you step away for just a moment?” “Pardon? But… if something happens while I’m gone, the Chairman will—” “There’s a CCTV camera right up there.” “!” “Does that thing record sound too?”
Haena smiled brightly, pointing to a corner of the ceiling.
“A-ah, no. For security and privacy reasons, it doesn’t record audio. That applies to all the CCTVs installed in the house.” “I figured as much.”
There’s no way a chaebol household would record audio. Too much highly sensitive information flying around.
“You can just keep an eye on us through that CCTV, Nanny. And if it looks like Jae-hyun Oppa is playing some mean prank on me, you can just run right back in.” “B-but still….” “And above all else.”
Haena paused, turning her head toward Baek Jae-hyun.
“I know Jae-hyun Oppa would never do anything bad to me. Right, Oppa?”
Jae-hyun’s eyes widened with surprise before quickly softening into a gentle curve.
“Of course, Haena.”
Only after the nanny reluctantly left the room, her eyes filled with lingering anxiety, did Baek Jae-hyun pull up a chair and sit down next to Haena.
“Haena.” “Yeah?” “What are you?”
…?What kind of philosophical question is this?
“What do you mean?” “You weren’t originally this smart. You weren’t the type of kid who could remain this calm after making Do-yoon cry, either.”
Jae-hyun smiled brightly.
“You used to like Do-yoon.”
Is this kid seriously ten years old? There’s something strangely sinister about him…
“Oppa. Haven’t you ever heard the saying that a woman’s heart is like a reed, swaying in the wind?” “Huh?” “I suppose it makes sense. What would you know about love anyway, Oppa? You’re only ten.” “…Aren’t you seven?” “They say women have a hu~ge advantage when it comes to mental age. So taking our ages into account… my mental age is probably higher than yours.”
Jae-hyun stared at Haena, utterly dumbfounded. Haena merely shrugged her shoulders.
“I might have liked Do-yoon yesterday, but I can dislike him today. My heart belongs to me, so what’s the issue with doing whatever I want with it?” “…There isn’t one, I suppose.”
Jae-hyun formed a peculiar smile.
“But the adults won’t think that way. Because they intend to get you two engaged. Talks of an arranged marriage are already underway.” “….”
Yeah. That part is a bit of an issue.
While I could easily outsmart a seven-year-old like Baek Do-yoon, Chairman Baek and Chairman Hong wouldn’t give a damn about my opinion. No matter how much I insisted I disliked Baek Do-yoon, and even if Baek Do-yoon despised the very sight of me, it wouldn’t mean a thing to the adults.
“Well, I’ll figure that out as I go.” “I don’t know about that… I’m not sure about your Chairman, but our Chairman will stop at nothing to hold onto you.”
Huh?Why does it have to be me? There are plenty of daughters in other chaebol families.
“What do you mean by that? Why specifically me?” “Because your Hongil Group possesses many businesses that our Cheongyeong Group lacks.” “!” “He wants a complementary relationship. Rather than marrying into the same industry.”
Oh, damn it.
“B-but….” “Even if you dump Baek Do-yoon, Haena, the Chairman will try to offer me up to you instead. Because that’s just the kind of person he is.” “…!” “Sons are rare in our family line, so the only young boys are me and Baek Do-yoon… That’s the only reason I was even allowed into this household in the first place.”
Ah.
Haena was slightly taken aback by how casually Jae-hyun brought up such a dark topic. It was true. Though Baek Jae-hyun was the son of President Baek Hyun-woo, to be precise… he was an illegitimate child. Born from an affair, not to the legal wife. It seemed the only reason someone like Jae-hyun could be registered into the Cheongyeong Group’s family registry was because males were so scarce in their lineage.
The Madam of the house must have been absolutely furious.…From the kid’s perspective, it is a bit pitiful.
But wait. Even if I dump Baek Do-yoon, they’ll offer up Baek Jae-hyun?
“But I wouldn’t want you either, Oppa. I dislike both of you.” “….” “….”
Sorry, Jae-hyun.That’s one rejection added before you even got to confess.
“I had… absolutely no intention of marrying you either, Haena.” “I know. I just wanted to make it extra clear.”
Haena smiled brightly.
Make sure you lock that thought away and keep it forever.
“…But why?” “Why what?” “Can I ask why you dislike me?”
Wow, he actually looks hurt.
Did the villainous, scheming second male lead still have a shred of innocence left in him at ten years old? Or was this an act too?
“Because you’re sinister and you drive wedges between people behind their backs. Don’t they teach you in elementary school that doing things like that is bad? Stealing your younger brother’s fiancée. What kind of cliché morning-soap-opera plot is this?” “No, I told you I have zero intention of stealing her… But wait, morning soap opera?” “Yep. Don’t people watch morning dramas at your house, Oppa?” “…I think the Madam watches them, but I don’t.”
He calls her ‘the Madam’ instead of mother. That’s a bit heartbreaking.
“Then you should watch one sometime. There are tons of bad men just like you on there. Go learn a thing or two from them.” “Learn… what?” “The handsome bad guys on TV show at least a minimum amount of sincerity when making a proposal like this!” “Sincerity?” “Yes! If you want to propose an engagement, you should at least bring jewels! You didn’t even bring jewels, Oppa, so you’re disqualified.” “…No… I keep telling you, I had absolutely zero intention of proposing an engagement….”
This is reality, kid!
If you want to propose a strategic engagement, you have to bring at least a ten-carat diamond from T*ffany’s to match, so the other party can at least pretend to be tempted!
“Then, if someone did want to propose an engagement to you… would just jewels be enough?” “Huh? I thought you said you had no intention of getting engaged to me?” “…Just answer me. Would you accept if they just brought jewels?” “Uh-huh?”
Well, not exactly.That would be a losing deal for me.
“No?” “What? You literally just said—” “Grandpa said marriage is one of the grandest events in human life. How could an immature, adorable child like me make such a massive life decision?” “…You didn’t seem immature at all until just a second ago.”
At least he didn’t deny the adorable part. Well, Hong Haena is undeniably adorable.
“Oppa, have you ever read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms comic?”
Do kids these days read the Three Kingdoms? I used to read the comic version a lot when I was young.
“I’ve read it.”
Good thing he’s read it. I guess being from a chaebol family means they have plenty of books piled up at home.
“Didn’t you see what Liu Bei did to seduce Zhuge Liang in there?” “…Se-seduce?” “Haven’t you heard of the phrase ‘visiting the thatched cottage three times’? Even when trying to recruit a strategist, a person visits three times to plead their case. Did you really think I’d fall head over heels just because someone strolled in and ran his mouth once to secure a fiancée—someone far more precious and important than a strategist?”
Baek Jae-hyun stared at Haena with a completely blank expression, but the more he did, the more triumphantly Haena smirked.
“In case you forgot, I am the sole heir to the Hongil Group. My grandpa said this: if you’re going to do business at a loss, don’t do business at all.”
…I read a line like that somewhere, so it’s probably accurate.
“If you want to suggest an engagement, write up a proper proposal and bring it to me. If it’s good enough to make my dad and my grandpa nod in agreement, then I’ll think about it!”
Of course, that would be impossible. Baek Jae-hyun, who was an illegitimate son with almost zero chance of becoming the successor, and Baek Do-yoon, the son of the legal wife and the official heir, held completely different standing within the Cheongyeong Group.
“That’s easy.” “Huh?”
It… shouldn’t be easy?
“Because what adults want is always the same. You just have to hand them more money and more power.”
Since when was that easy? Suddenly, I’m feeling a massive sense of relative deprivation.
“But Haena.”
For the first time, Baek Jae-hyun asked with a genuinely serious expression.
“I know that’s what adults want. But you’re a child, Haena.” “…Aren’t you a child too, Oppa?” “Then, what is it that you want, Haena?”
