Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Congratulations! Kim Bada's Birth
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I have no memory of how Soo-hee's car made it to the hospital, or how I ended up in this corridor outside the delivery room.
Sitting on the cold chair, my ass keeps fidgeting.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
My legs are shaking like crazy, and my upper and lower teeth are putting on their own wild concert, clattering away.
This has to be post-nut clarity.
That state where, after I've poured everything out, my brain runs cold and clear like a computer.
But right now, my head feels empty and blank inside, stuffed full of every shitty random thought imaginable.
That damn breakfast...
I should've dragged Chaewon to the hospital no matter what, even if she was stubbornly clinging to "I can't give up my breakfast!"...
Screw work or whatever—I should've just holed up at home all day...
...Or maybe when I'd roughly made 10 billion, I should've just settled down with Chaewon and become a stay-at-home dad...
Fuck, you idiot.
Why the hell did you knock her up?
And why the fuck hasn't this kid popped out yet?
Maybe I should've pushed for a C-section from the start?
A torrent of regrets and anxieties races through my head, capable of high-speed calculations, hitting me in 0.1-second bursts.
Time that I could've used to plot swallowing up the entire Taesung Group whole, and instead, I'm just endlessly reproducing useless self-loathing.
That's when someone gently tapped my shoulder.
"Um... President Kim Cheolsu, you can go in now."
Paju's donation angel.
Chairwoman of the single mothers' support foundation.
The hospital director himself showed up, sniffing out the money I'd thrown around.
He was peeking at my expression, mumbling something more, but I couldn't hear shit.
All that echoed in my ears was fuck, fuck, fuck.
I staggered to my feet and headed for the delivery room door.
And right before opening it, the last thought my post-nut clarity spat out was utterly moronic.
Fuck...
Should I have fisted her hardcore to stretch things out before getting her pregnant?
[Aaahhh!!]
Chaewon's scream hit, and the world went black.
Piiiing—
..........
.........
......
.....
....
...
..
.
.
.
.
.
Stroke, stroke—
A pleasant sensation of something gently petting my head.
Hmm~ Hmmm~
The world's most soothing hum tickling my ears softly.
A faint warmth against my skin made me flutter my eyes open groggily.
My vision was blurry.
In the unfocused world, one familiar silhouette came into view.
Blink... blink...
Feeling like I was dreaming, I blinked, and the hazy world finally sharpened into focus.
It was Chaewon's face, exhausted but brimming with all the happiness in the world.
Her warm smile gazed softly down at my dazed self.
"You awake...?"
Hearing her voice, I genuinely thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
"...Am I dead?"
Chaewon burst out laughing at my stupid question.
That laugh finally lifted the boulder crushing my chest.
"Gonna make me a widow?"
"Ah..."
Only then did the reality sink in: I'm alive, and this is a hospital room.
I reflexively sat up and checked her condition.
Sweat-soaked face, bloodless lips.
But there she was, right in front of me.
The heart of my sanctuary was still beating.
"...You okay?"
To my question, Chaewon smiled even brighter, as if to reassure me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My body's built for easy births, remember."
Only after hearing that could I finally move on to the next phase.
Ah... the baby...
Boy or girl? If it's a boy, he'll be a little shithead just like me.
I could already picture the lifetime curriculum for beating him straight.
A girl...?
Fuck.
A daughter? Just thinking about it darkened my vision.
The word "son-in-law" flashed through my brain, and I suddenly wanted to grind every male in the world into dust.
Maybe she saw right through my turmoil.
Chaewon gently stroked my forehead with her palm and whispered softly.
"It's a girl."
"........."
In that instant, all the noise in the world vanished.
My mind burned white.
All my calculations, plans, arrogance, and hubris scattered like dust with those words.
Chaewon's playful voice broke the silence.
"Aw, Kim Cheolsu is crying."
"...Shut up."
My voice came out hoarse against my will.
Not wanting her to see my eyes heating up, I turned my head reflexively.
"Already cursing now that you don't have to do prenatal care anymore?"
"Just... got some sand in my eye."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Chaewon stopped teasing and just kept stroking my head.
After a long silence, I finally managed to squeeze out words.
"...Where's the baby?"
Instead of answering, Chaewon gazed intently at one spot.
Her eyes held a deep, tender love I'd never seen before.
I swallowed dryly and carefully followed her gaze.
Right beside her bed.
A small, white baby bassinet sat there.
Inside it, a tiny lifeform slept soundly, oblivious to the world.
Smaller and more fragile than I'd imagined.
"...Aren't the hospital staff nuts? Why isn't the newborn in the nursery?"
Newborns are supposed to be in incubators or the neonatal ward with pros watching them.
Leaving a baby just dangling by the mom's bed?
I thought about calling the director and smashing his head in right then.
Chaewon gently grabbed my arm as I started to bolt up.
"The director made a special effort for us, so don't get mad."
"Ah..."
Spec. Ial. Ef. Fort.
Yeah, I'm this area's VVIP.
They should've hooked us up with 24/7 director hotline care, nursery be damned.
The truth that money buys anything. Hits home hard.
Paju's donation angel feels extra rewarding today...
I stood there for a while, blankly staring at the greatest trophy of my life—and the most incomprehensible being.
My brain was spitting errors from simulations on this situation that money and power couldn't fix.
Then, Chaewon's quiet voice broke my silence.
"You just gonna stare?"
Her tone carried a smile that pierced my clumsy fears.
I clenched and unclenched my fists.
Handle that tiny, fragile thing with these hands?
"...What if I touch it and something breaks?"
Chaewon laughed like my genuine worry was ridiculous.
"What, you think our baby's a rice straw doll?"
Buoyed by her words, I cautiously approached the bassinet.
Up close, my daughter was...
Tiny.
One flick of a finger and her bones might crumble.
But... pretty.
She takes after Chaewon, huh?
No, this is dangerous.
This pretty, and bugs—er, boys—will swarm her for sure.
The moment she was born, I felt a mission to start disinfecting future "sons-in-law," those potential little shits.
First step: the name.
"...How about Kim Soo-soo? Super plain, so no guys even glance her way."
At my brilliant idea, the angelic smile vanished from Chaewon's face.
Her one-word reply chilled me more than any prosecutor's indictment.
"Wanna die?"
I cleared my throat and quickly pitched the next candidate.
"...Bada? Like sky and sea. Later... if we have a son, name him Land or something. What do you think?"
Kim Land... fuck, sounds like a straight shuttle service name, but boys need raising tough anyway.
The key is "Bada."
Kim Bada.
Great ring, vast and deep meaning.
Perfect.
But to my perfect suggestion, Chaewon said nothing.
She just looked down at the baby, silent.
As the quiet stretched, I got antsy.
"...Hey, you don't like 'Bada'? Want something else?"
When I asked carefully, Chaewon slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes were moist.
"No, it's... too perfect..."
She whispered through tears.
I quietly sat on the bed's edge again and gently stroked her slender shoulder.
Her head leaned against me with a pleasant weight.
The vicious fear that had eaten me in the delivery room corridor was gone, replaced by the world's coziest peace enveloping us.
Only the soft breathing from the bassinet proved this wasn't a dream.
A moment later, Chaewon broke the peace first.
"But really not gonna hold her?"
Leaning on my shoulder, she asked without looking up.
Her voice seemed to say "I know your fears," making me cough awkwardly.
Honestly, I was scared.
Needed a damn manual on handling that thing.
I'm good with people,
but this wasn't a person... it was cotton candy that'd melt at a touch.
"Need some practice first? Or maybe wait till she's bigger?"
At my lame rationalization, Chaewon pulled her head back and stared straight at me.
Her eyes read "You serious right now?"
"Keep talking stupid?"
"........."
Her sharp jab shut me up.
Had to admit all my logic and calcs were just "stupid" here.
Hoo... hoo...
I took deep breaths in place.
Released all tension, relaxed.
Summoned post-nut clarity's high-speed processing to perfectly control every muscle fiber and nerve.
Heightened fingertip sensitivity to the max, entering hypersensory mode that detects even 0.1g changes.
Like a bomb squad expert disarming a timer, I crept toward the bassinet.
The tiny bundle in swaddling.
After a 0.01-second sim, I calculated optimal angle and pressure.
And finally,
gently.
My hand touched the swaddle.
Held my breath, lifted my "child" precisely one second, then set it down at light speed.
Whew...
Mission success.
Thank god my fragile "cotton candy" didn't melt or shatter.
"Haa..."
Relief washed over me, tension gone.
I wiped cold sweat pouring down my forehead with my sleeve.
Then, a chill gaze from behind.
Turning, Chaewon looked at me like the world's most pathetic creature.
I forced myself to ignore it.
She doesn't know.
That one second.
The weight of my bloodline through my palm.
That overwhelming emotion that burned out all my reason circuits.
I had to express this unstoppable feeling my way.
Still buzzing from it, I pulled out my phone and called Secretary Choi.
Before one ring, the mechanical voice answered.
[Yes, President.] Gazing at the bassinet like a king proclaiming his kingdom's birth, I issued commands.
"200% bonus for all employees, scout a banner company and order the priciest, flashiest, hugest one. Plaster it everywhere in Paju."
I caught my breath, then the key order.
"Slogan: 'Congratulations' Kim Bada's Birth. Withdraw 10 billion from my personal account and dump it into every infant welfare group. Donor name: Kim Bada. Age: 0. Specify the age."
From birth, my daughter must be the giver, the one at the top.
A 0-year-old donor.
Fuck, that's badass.
I hung up, and silence returned.
I looked at Chaewon triumphantly.
Surely moved by my grand decision.
But she just slowly shook her head, wordless.
Her expression was pure enlightenment, like "I've vowed to spend my life with this lunatic."