Mom, Mother?
Huh? Mom? Mother?
Ppu-jju-ppu, ppu-a-ppu-ppu!
This is not okay!
I stomped my little legs in protest. But Mom just swept her hair back and smiled brightly.
"Our Gongza is pink."
No, Mom. I mean, sure, people say boys are naturally pink, but—!
"Ppu-ppu-jji, ppu-pa-a, ppu-pa-ba-bi-a!"
But usually it’s blue!
Ansan-daek looked down at me, then flinched in surprise again.
"But he is a boy."
"Ppu-ppu-pya-i-ppu!"
Exactly!
"It’s fine. Gongza is pretty."
"Well, um... he is still little."
Ansan-daek gave me an awkward smile.
"Ansan-daek, aren’t you going to greet our Gongza properly?"
"Uh, um. So, baby? No, Gongza? Well, nice to meet you?"
"Ppu!"
Yes!
Ansan-daek’s lips twitched. It was such a tiny movement that I almost missed it.
30 coins have been added.
412
'What is with this lady...'
I stared at her hard.
Ansan-daek casually lowered her gaze, then our eyes met. I smiled brightly and reached out my hands.
"Ppu-aaa!"
The corners of Ansan-daek’s mouth twitched again.
"Ppua!"
Aha!
So that was laughter.
Then she could just laugh properly, you know.
It’ll make you sick trying to hold it in when you’re looking at this adorable face, ma’am!
Is she the type who lies to herself? How fresh.
I kicked my feet a little to show my interest.
Ansan-daek said curtly, "Yeah. Baby. Your situation isn’t exactly great, but... I guess you should at least smile."
Her tone was rough, but the corners of her cheeks had risen ever so slightly. As expected, this was the sort of person whose words and actions never quite matched.
"Oh, Ansan-daek! How can you say something like that?"
"No, miss. You have to tell him from the start. That he isn’t part of this family’s direct bloodline."
"He may not be, but I am. And he has nothing to do with Sungjin Group. Gongza is my child. I’ll handle my own stock."
Mom’s voice was firm, but she didn’t sound angry.
"Ansan-daek. He may not understand much, but don’t say anything so cruel. Our Gongza will get hurt."
"He’s just a baby. What can a baby understand?"
I narrowed my eyes and shouted, "Ppu-ppu-ra, ppubyu!"
I understand!
Ansan-daek looked down at me and said, "Gongza, you still need to know your place."
Mom barked at once, "Ansan-daek!"
That was when a strange voice came from behind us.
"Why? I’m saying the truth."
Oh.
Ansan-daek hurriedly turned around and bowed her head. Thanks to that, the woman’s chin ended up right above my head.
She quickly raised an arm to cover my ears and eyes, but as always, that didn’t make it hard to hear at all.
"So you brought home a mongrel?"
Whoa. Was she for real?
'She just called a person a mongrel...'
What is this, Hitler possession?
I stared blankly at her. The woman, with her hair pulled tight into an updo, gave an irritated laugh.
"Honestly, Miss, you really are something. What kind of family are we? We’re the Sungjin Group owners. And yet you bring home some mongrel whose bloodline nobody even knows about? If you poison Ma Jeok with bad influence, will you take responsibility for that?"
Mom stepped in front of Ansan-daek and me with her body.
"Oh, sister-in-law. It’s been a while."
There was a gap between Ansan-daek’s fingers, so even from behind her I could see Mom clearly. She brushed her hair back elegantly.
"What brings you to the Annex? Haven’t you been avoiding coming here for years because you said it was filthy and disgusting?"
"Yes, it has been a few years. But people are making a fuss everywhere that you picked up some mongrel, so I couldn’t exactly stay away, could I?"
"A mongrel, you say..."
Mom folded her arms.
"Is that your introduction?"
Wow. Straight to the point.
I kicked my feet excitedly.
"Ppu-ppu, ppa-pi, ba-pa-pa!"
Mom, fighting!
"...A-ah, Miss!"
"What is it, sister-in-law? I know your family environment pretty well. As the saying goes, a dog covered in filth doesn’t even know how dirty it is while making a scene."
The woman with the tightly pinned hair started trembling all over. She was so furious I could see it even from where I was.
"Could you leave now, sister-in-law? I need to show our Gongza his room."
"...J-just you wait."
"Oh my, sister-in-law! You know that thing you just said, about waiting and seeing?"
Mom turned around and flashed the prettiest smile I had ever seen.
"How many times do you think you’ve said that by now... a hundred?"
Wow. My mom is seriously strong.
Mom turned back to me with her head held high and smiled. This was what people meant by proud beauty.
I waved my hands and shouted, "Ppu-ppu, ppya-pya, ppu-pya-ya!"
My mom! So cool!
Just as Mom was about to take me from Ansan-daek, the woman suddenly shouted, "It’s because you never pay attention to what’s going on around you and do whatever you want that Maru died!"
In that instant, I saw it.
The faint tremble at the corners of Mom’s eyes. Like the whiskers of a sleeping tiger being plucked out by the handful...
Maru... that was the kid with the mark on the sole of his foot, right?
He’d died so young?
Is that something you say to parents who lost a child?
Are conglomerate families all like this?
Mom slowly turned around in silence. The sister-in-law, still oblivious to the danger, doubled down.
"It’s because you’re so selfish that Mari knows it too and won’t come to her mother. Right?"
Mom folded her arms calmly, then spoke.
"Sister-in-law, I have a bad habit."
Mom took one step toward her.
"When I hear dogshit talk, my fist goes first, not my words. You know that, right? Kickboxing is my hobby."
"W-what are you going to do? Hit me?"
"If you’re curious, go on and keep talking. If you’re saying things that deserve a beating, then I should beat you."
My mom was incredible.
"Ppu-ppa! Ppu-pa-yu-ppa-ba!"
Absolutely amazing!
"I-if you hit me, do you think Mother will just let it go?"
"Mother? Madam Na Hwa-jin? Of course she’ll let it go."
Mom rolled up her sleeves.
"I’m loaded with money. I’ve got more than enough for damages. I’m the third daughter of Sungjin Group, Ma Soo-jung."
"I-I’m the second daughter-in-law of the Sungjin family!"
"I know. But that’s all you are, isn’t it?"
I couldn’t even be impressed anymore.
Amazing. This is the woman who became my mom.
I looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "Ppu-ppu-pa, pa-pa-aa."
Thank you, God.
"If you ever put Maru’s name in your mouth in front of me again, I’ll really beat you so badly you’ll be coughing up dust like dirt on a rainy day. Got it?"
"Y-you crazy..."
"For the record, even if I do give you a proper beating, Madam Na Hwa-jin won’t even blink. That’s just the kind of person she is. So get out of my sight, Lee Yu-kyeong. Now."
Lee Yu-kyeong. I had to remember that name clearly.
Lee Yu-kyeong backed away in a fluster, then practically got chased out. Mom bit her lip and clenched her fist tightly.
Even that alone was enough to make the grief of losing a child painfully clear.
Silence fell. The one who broke it was Ansan-daek, still holding me.
"M-Miss, a-are you okay?"
"I’m fine. She comes by sometimes just to stir things up."
Mom gave a sad smile as though nothing was wrong.
No. That is absolutely not fine.
The moment I saw that expression, I made up my mind.
From now on, Mom’s sorrow is my sorrow.
"Ppu-ppu, ppia-yu, ppya, ppu-a-yu!"
Mom, I’ll get revenge for you!
When Mom heard my resolve, her expression softened.
"Our Gongza is worried about Mom?"
"Ppu-ya-ppu-u!"
Of course!
And on top of that, I’ll take revenge too.
But can I really use Love & Peace Coins for something like this?
I shouted at once.
Ppu-ppu ppa-ppu ppu-ya-u ppu!
How would you like to use the Love & Peace Coins?
What would be best?
'Well, she said bad things, so maybe I should rip out her tongue... no, that’s too much. Right, let’s give her sores on her tongue!'
That was really being generous.
You know how first offenses get leniency, right? But if she does it again, there’ll be no mercy.
"Ppu-pya-pyu, ppu-pya, ppu-pye, ppu-yu!"
Give Lee Yu-kyeong three tongue sores!
It will cost 2 coins to cause three cold sores to appear on Lee Yu-kyeong’s tongue for 90 days. Proceed?
Huh? That’s surprisingly cheap.
It even costs less to take revenge? At this rate, shouldn’t I rename the coin system Revenge & Killing?
Well, anyway. If it’s cheap, that’s good. I shouted immediately, "Pippa!"
Proceed!
Everything has a price.
As a side effect, three tongue sores will appear on your tongue for 3 minutes.
TOTAL COINS: 410
Wow, the price isn’t much either.
'Curing that nun’s health cost me ten steps and one fall for an entire year!'
What on earth is this exchange rate?
Before long, my tongue started tingling. But three minutes was nothing.
I looked at Mom and shouted, "Ppu-ya, ppu-pa! Ppiyuyuyu-pya!"
Mom, I took revenge for you!
So please, don’t be sad.
Mom gathered me into her arms. Then she let out a long sigh.
"Ansan-daek, today is the day our Gongza became my son."
"Miss."
"I’ll say it again. Gongza is my son. He has nothing to do with Sungjin Group."
Mom patted my bottom.
"Come on, let’s show him his room. It’s the room our Gongza will be living in from now on."
Carefully, Mom carried me down the hallway. Snuggled in her arms, I quietly took in the house.
Wow...
The first-floor living room was huge. And what surprised me most was something else entirely.
There’s an elevator in the house?
Ansan-daek pressed a button, and the wide elevator doors opened.
"Ppu-a, ppu-bi-jji?"
Is this really a house?
Isn’t this a villa? No matter how I look at it, this feels like a multi-family home.
The interior of the elevator was also extremely luxurious. Soon, the numbers stopped at 3, and the doors opened.
Ah, this is where I’m meant to be.
As expected of a famous actress’s house, every corner of it was elegant and neat.
Mom stopped in the hallway and flung the door open wide.
"Gongza! This is your room!"
The lady who had followed us switched on the light. The soft pink wallpaper sparkled, making the room look wonderfully cozy.
'I was worried there’d be lace everywhere...'
Thankfully, there wasn’t. And just as thankfully, it wasn’t hot pink either; it was a modern shade of pink with a touch of muted gray mixed in.
"What do you think, Gongza? Mom worked really hard on it."
I looked around, taking everything in. Honestly, I was a little surprised.
"Ppu-pya-pya!"
It’s spacious!
Wooden furniture lined the room. There were plenty of expensive toys too, but what caught my eye first was the big bed.
Why is there a bed?
There was definitely a cradle for me as well.
"Oh, this!"
Mom set me down on the bed.
Is there even a bed this low?
It wasn’t a regular bed. It had a cushioned frame around it, and the mattress barely bounced at all.
Is this a bed meant to be used with a child?
Then Mom said, "Let’s sleep together. Gongza!"
"Ppu-pa-poyo?"
Really?
'Normally... don’t people sleep separately?'
Mom stroked my hair and said, "Gongza, Mom is actually pretty busy. So when I’m home, I want to be with you, even if it’s only then."
Ah, right.
Come to think of it, the Ma Soo-jung of her previous life was an actress who worked like a cow.
That’s why her filmography had been so varied.
She’d done action too, and sci-fi, right?
Especially unforgettable was her role as a tough female soldier in one zombie movie.
Well, if she’s busy working, that can’t be helped.
I waved my hand to show I was fine.
"Ppu-pya-pii-yu-uu!"
It’s okay!
Mom smiled back at me.
1 coin has been added.
411
Mom cupped my cheeks in both hands and said, "Grow up big and strong here, okay? Our Gongza!"
"Ppu! Pama!"
Yes! Mom!
Mom hugged me. A warm heat rushed all around me at once.
Really, she became my mom.
I blinked.
I don’t really know what’s in Mom’s heart, but...
I made up my mind once again.
I’ll be a good son. Mom.
Filial piety had been something I never quite managed in my previous life. Even so, there was one thing I knew for certain I could do.
First, should I try to gather 30,000 coins?
A full thirty thousand. Just how was I supposed to collect that many coins?
No, before that, I need to figure out the rules or patterns for how coins are earned.
They hadn’t gone up at all while I was using Mom as my target. But at the very end, when she made up her mind and accepted me, I got as many as 1,000 coins.
What kind of rule is hidden in there?
---