Chapter – 10
And exactly twelve minutes later.
“Waaaaah.”
Baek Do-yoon had plopped down onto the ground and was weeping his eyes out.
“Seriously. You talked such a big game. What kind of score is eight? Eight?!”
Standing right next to him was Haena, arms crossed, looking down at Do-yoon with a scoff.
“Wow. Haena is amazing….” “Haena did it so, so many times! It was completely awesome!”
Hey now. I successfully hit it twenty-four times, kiddo. Let’s be accurate here.
“Haena is so incredibly cool….” “Haena! Can you teach me how to kick a jegi, too?” “Me too! Me too!” “Teach me too. I want to be better at it than Do-yoon!”
Look at this. Haena watched as the children, who had been secretly terrified of her only moments ago, instantly shifted to looking at her with pure adoration.
…How cute! As expected of toddlers, a single round of Jegichagi was all it took to achieve total pacification. Haena shrugged her shoulders and nodded.
“Alright! I’ll make numbered waiting tickets, so grab one and wait your turn. I’ll teach you one by one!” “Gasp! Haena, can I help make the tickets?” “Wow, I want to make them too! Me too!” “I’m really good at cutting paper!” “I have pretty handwriting!”
…And true to their age, the way their hyper-focus instantly shifted to something else was equally adorable. At that exact moment, just as Haena successfully seized the titles of the most popular and coolest child at Heritage English Kindergarten—
“Hong Haena, you… hmph…!”
The boy who had been brutally dethroned gritted his teeth in bitter frustration, and yet—
…She’s kind of a boss…
He was secretly starting to admire her right along with the others.
By the time the kindergarten finally let out for the day.
“Um, excuse us, Haena-ya.”
A few of the little girls approached Haena, looking incredibly bashful.
“What is it?” “Can we play at your house today?”
Huh? Haena was caught off guard by the unexpected request. Even putting aside the fact that this meant working unexpected overtime…
One of the girls approaching her had a look in her eyes that seemed entirely calculated, and just as Haena was about to politely decline—
“Oh my! Our Haena made so many friends today! Then again, Teacher saw how wonderfully mature and cool our Haena was earlier!”
The Sunshine Class teacher glided over, eagerly fueling the young girls’ sudden burst of friendship.
“Our Haena kept dropping hints to Teacher that she really wanted to make lots of friends~ Am I right?! This is so wonderful, Haena! Going over to play at a friend’s house after school is the absolute fast track to becoming BFFs~”
No, Teacher. I have zero desire to be BFFs with seven-year-olds. I want to draw a sensible boundary at school, go home, stare out at the sprawling night view of the Han River, and thoroughly enjoy my solitary adult peace… but since she couldn’t actually say that out loud…
“Um. But Teacher, shouldn’t we get permission from our parents first if we want to play after kindergarten?”
She had no choice but to try a roundabout rejection.
“I already called my mommy earlier! She said going to other kids’ houses is a no-no, but if it’s Haena’s house, she’s super-duper happy about it!” “My daddy said the same thing!” “Us too! Us too! Our parents said Haena’s house and Do-yoon’s house are totally okay!”
…. I think I have a pretty solid grasp on exactly why your parents are thrilled about you visiting my house…
Though she easily detected the deeply calculating motives of the adults hidden behind the pure innocence of these children, Haena ultimately nodded her head. She simply didn’t want to shatter the kids’ sweet, innocent worldview.
Let’s just look at this as babysitting my younger cousins.
“…Well, I guess it can’t be helped. But you can’t stay for too long. My grandpa probably won’t like it. He is reeeally scary.” “Really?”
At Haena’s warning, dark clouds instantly formed over the children’s faces.
“Oh my! That’s not true at all, Haena~ If your grandfather and father have a single wish for you, it’s for you to make lots of friends, you know? They will probably be overjoyed if you bring friends home!”
I highly doubt that, Teacher. A white lie is still a lie. Maybe grandpa would care, but that cold-hearted father of mine wouldn’t bat an eye whether I have friends or if I’m roaming the streets eating random things off the ground.
“Yay! That’s awesome!” “Then can we have a sleepover at Haena’s house? Haena, you always bragged that your house is filled with tons of autographs from famous idol older sisters!” “Yeah, yeah, you did!” “I really want to see them too….” “….”
You guys actually like me for me, right? You aren’t just using me for idol autographs, right?
“Hold on!”
Right then, a resonant, clear voice cut through the toddlers’ chatter and brought them to a halt.
“I’m going too!” “…Baek Do-yoon?”
Haena couldn’t hide her utter disbelief. Baek Do-yoon, whose face had swollen into a literal boiled dumpling from crying so much earlier, was now standing tall and proud with a thoroughly pouting expression.
“Hong Haena, I can’t just let weak friends like So-yool, Hee-na, and Ra-el go with you unprotected!” “…?”
Did you completely tune out just now, kiddo? Didn’t you see that I didn’t invite them, but rather they practically begged to come over?
“Therefore, I’m going along to keep a strict eye on you. Me too!” “I don’t want you to.” “Whaaaat!?” “I said no.”
Haena casually scratched her ear and issued a swift, merciless rejection.
I am doing everything in my power to dissolve the marriage talks floating around between our families. There is absolutely no need to spend extra time with you and give the adults any wrong ideas. Until the engagement is thoroughly obliterated, I am strictly maintaining social distancing.
In truth, that was the exact reason Haena had utterly destroyed Do-yoon in the game earlier. By bruising his pride, she harbored a faint sliver of hope that Do-yoon would grow to completely detest her and take it upon himself to call off the engagement.
“Why do you hate the idea so much!” “Just because.” “What do you mean ‘just because’! Why do you hate it! Why! Whyyyyy!” “Ugh, so noisy.”
Haena firmly clamped her hands over her ears, completely tuning Do-yoon out.
“H-Haena-ya…!” “?”
Suddenly, the little girl named So-yool urgently grabbed Haena’s wrist.
“C-C-Can’t Do-yoon come along with us too…?”
Oh-ho. Well, look at this.
A sly smirk played on Haena’s lips as she leaned in and whispered directly into So-yool’s ear.
“Whyyy~? Do you like Do-yoon~?” “!”
So-yool’s face flushed a deep crimson as she gave a tiny, cautious nod.
“Ho-oh.”
So this is a toddler’s sweet puppy love. Well, that changes everything.
“Alright! Then Do-yoon can come along too!”
I’ll play matchmaker for you two and make my smooth exit. After all, isn’t the cleanest way to break an engagement having the other party fall for someone else?
“Hello!” “Hello~!”
And that was how Haena found herself bringing a bundle of bright, oblivious toddlers into her home, letting out a heavy sigh in the process.
By the way, is it really okay that I didn’t get Grandpa’s permission first? Haena checked the clock on the wall and shrugged. Well, it’s only two o’clock. Grandpa won’t be home from work for ages. Even if he was the Chairman, he had to set a good corporate example, so he’d surely clock out at 6 PM sharp, right? …Please.
“Oh my goodness!”
Nanny Eui-ryeong gasped in sheer shock when she saw the entourage Haena had brought home. And with good reason—up until now, Haena had never once brought a single friend over to the house. Before today, she hadn’t even come close to making a friend. It was considered a wildly successful day at the office if she simply managed not to hit the other kids in her class.
Yet, practically overnight, she had brought home three friends at once. To Eui-ryeong, it was a profoundly moving milestone.
‘What a magnificent, commendable child!’
Blinking back tears of joy, Eui-ryeong rolled out the red carpet for the little guests.
“Young Master Do-yoon, you’ve visited us again!” “…Yes.”
Do-yoon gave a shy nod, clearly remembering how he had bawled his eyes out in front of her during his last visit. Completely oblivious to his embarrassment, Eui-ryeong simply found him adorable and beamed.
‘She must have grown incredibly close with our Young Lady Haena!’
What a relief it was. Eui-ryeong happily ushered the kids down the hall and safely into Haena’s massive bedroom.
“My lovely young ladies, and Young Master. Please hand me your coats and bags. I’ll make sure they’re kept safe for you.” “Okay!” “I’ll bring up some snacks for you all in a jiffy, so please make yourselves at home!”
Ah. Hold on. Haena hurriedly caught Eui-ryeong by the sleeve and gave it a sharp tug. Eui-ryeong gracefully bent down, bringing her ear close to Haena’s mouth.
“Nanny. You cannot bring up a mountain of cake like you did last time! I need to send them home quickly so I can get to my homework!”
I am absolutely not working overtime today. My sacred personal rest time must be fiercely protected.
“Haha. Yes, Young Lady. I understand.”
You aren’t listening to a single word I’m saying, are you, Nanny…? My genuine intentions have been ruthlessly trampled upon once again…
After Eui-ryeong cheerfully made her exit, the children completely lost themselves in exploring Haena’s palatial bedroom.
“Haena’s house is so insanely nice!” “Haena has literally every doll in existence…. All my absolute favorite dolls are right here….” “Haena! How did you buy this one?! My mommy and daddy said it was completely sold out and they couldn’t get it anywhere….”
Watching them, Haena felt a strange sensation—it felt exactly like dealing with greedy younger cousins who raid your room during a family holiday and threaten to bankrupted you.
“If there’s something you guys really want, you can have it.” “!!!” “But strictly one per person. No negotiations.” “Negotiations? What’s that?” “Strictly…?” “Haena keeps using weird words today. My daddy told me using bad words is no good.”
It’s not a bad word. It’s just adult corporate jargon…
“I mean you can only take one each. No extras.” “What?! Are you really giving them to us? For real?” “Yeah. Go ahead and take them.”
Since these toys held absolutely zero sentimental or financial value to her anyway, Haena let a wicked smirk slip onto her face as she added:
“But, it comes with a condition.” “W-What is it?”
As the little girls tensed up, nervously fidgeting with their small fingers, Haena let out a triumphant laugh and gestured for them to huddle close. Once the girls gathered around her in a tight circle, Haena leaned in and whispered her grand, masterful strategy.
“!”
