Chapter 17
I’m translating the chapter now and will preserve the system windows as styled HTML blocks while keeping the prose in natural English paragraphs.CHAPTER_TITLE: Chapter 17
The grandmother walked toward him slowly, leaning on her cane.
Ah, I didn’t know that.
Was there something wrong with her legs?
Was it congenital, or the result of an accident?
I hadn’t noticed when she was in the study, because she’d been sitting down.
Whatever I thought, the grandmother’s eyes were razor-sharp.
Wow. If I were a normal baby, I’d probably be crying.
But unfortunately, I wasn’t.
I beamed at her.
I swayed my shoulders and sang.
“Hippu hippu, hippupu!”
The grandmother’s gaze didn’t soften. I kept rocking back and forth.
It’s just baby babble.
So please, put your doubts away, Grandmother. And then you shall be saved.
It was a few minutes before the suspicion in her eyes finally ebbed. The grandmother let out a sigh.
“Well, a baby wouldn’t know who Hitler is.”
I do.
I laughed innocently and sang again.
“Hippua! Ppaaa.”
Only then did her expression ease. She took a few more steps forward, hooked her cane over the crib rail, then pulled over a nearby chair and sat down in front of me.
Hmm, you’re rather different from what I expected.
Maybe it was because she was sitting in the yellow pumpkin chair Ansan-daek used when she played with me. Today, she definitely didn’t look like a demon king.
I stared at the grandmother.
Now that I look closely, she resembles Mom.
That made sense, considering they were mother and daughter.
But why did she come? What’s her objective?
If she was the Sungjin Group matriarch, she was busy. She couldn’t have come for no reason.
That was when it happened. A white hand suddenly reached out and lightly poked my cheek.
“Hmm. Hmm.”
The grandmother kept fiddling with me, making odd little sounds under her breath.
“Soft.”
Well, of course. I was a baby.
I reached out to grab her finger, and the grandmother looked at me and said,
“Your fingers are tiny too.”
That, too, was extremely obvious.
But wait. Grandmother, was your purpose just to touch me?
“Maybe Soo-jung really did bring you home because you’re adorable.”
The grandmother suddenly pulled back the hand she’d extended. Then she sighed.
“Though once you grow up and lose some of that baby fat, maybe she’ll toss you aside again.”
No, this old lady!
I widened my eyes, and the grandmother frowned at me.
“Though you do seem like you’ll look similar even when you grow up.”
Wow.
“So maybe you’re Laozi?”
What the hell.
“Ppauppa!”
No!
I may be Gongza, but Laozi is too much!
The grandmother twitched one cheek and said,
“You’re offended.”
What?
Why?
Where was this perfect face going?
“You look like computer graphics. You’re so perfect your expression doesn’t look human.”
T-That should be a good thing, shouldn’t it?
“That’s why there’s something vaguely unpleasant about it.”
N-no!
I was silently horrified. The grandmother kept looking down at me as if my reaction didn’t matter at all.
“There are people who would like a face like this, I’m sure, but still. You’ll get tired of it someday.”
Y-you crazy old lady!
I couldn’t stand listening anymore.
I hurriedly looked at the mirror. The instant my eyes met the reflection, I understood exactly what the grandmother had meant.
Shit!
She was right.
I placed both hands on my cheeks and froze.
Now I get why she said that.
My expression was a little off.
How should I put this?
I needed to check.
So I tried the one thing I was best at: acting.
Let’s try thug number three.
Usually, it was the role where I threatened the heroine and then got beaten up by the male lead.
All I have to do is lower my eyes and sneer.
Back in the day, that, combined with my insect-like face, had given me a look that made anyone want to deck me.
Ah, damn it.
But the baby reflected in the mirror now was different.
When I lowered my eyes, all you could see were my eyelashes.
Maybe that was why. Far from looking sleazy, I almost looked sacred. And thanks to my perfect jawline, it wasn’t a sneer so much as a smile gone crooked.
The conclusion was simple.
I’m not used to this face.
I’d have to learn how to move my facial muscles all over again.
That’s why every expression looks weird. Damn it. Why didn’t I think of that?
I took my hands off my cheeks and let out a sigh.
Unfortunately, I knew the answer.
I was too busy admiring how handsome I am.
I tapped my thigh lightly with a tiny fist.
I’m lacking the proper attitude of an actor. Lee Hanjo, no, Ma Gongza!
Still, it was too perfect a face not to admire!
I looked back at the mirror. Maybe because I was so beautiful, my disappointment vanished and I just felt good again.
Ah, with a face like this, the drinks would keep going down even without any side dishes.
That was when the grandmother’s voice, which I’d forgotten about, came from nearby.
“What are you doing?”
Oops.
I forgot.
I babbled as if nothing had happened.
“Hi, ppu! Hippu!”
The grandmother adjusted her butterfly-shaped glasses. I grinned and lifted my arms, flapping them in a little “jaem-jaem.” It was a special service for the grandmother, who liked my hands.
She looked at them and muttered,
“Well, he is a baby.”
Ah, looks like she bought it. Thank you.
“He is kind of cute, but why on earth did Soo-jung bring him home? Does she not even care about the shares she promised Mari? What is she thinking, bringing in some mongrel and making Sungjin Group look bad?”
Wow.
Cold.
I looked at the grandmother again. The eyes and mouth were similar to Mom’s.
But she’s so different.
Mom, Ma Soo-jung, was famously fiery in the film industry. But the grandmother in front of me was incredibly cold.
It’s only natural she doesn’t like me. But “mongrel” is a bit much.
Cold.
She really is like ice.
An ice-cold grandmother and a firebrand mother. They didn’t seem like the kind of personalities that would ever fit together.
Maybe the emotional rift between mother and daughter is deeper than I thought.
It feels like it’s been sitting in salt for decades.
Whether she sensed my thoughts or not, the grandmother clicked her tongue at me.
“What is she thinking, bringing in a black-haired beast.”
Unfortunately for you, my hair is brown, Grandmother.
“You won’t help Soo-jung at all. I should probably get rid of this thing.”
Hmm.
Well, it’s only natural that she dislikes me.
What she said was absolutely right.
I’m just a minus for Mom.
As much as she loved her daughter, she probably wanted me out of the way.
Still, I don’t want to fall out of favor with this woman.
She was the Sungjin Group matriarch, and my mother’s mother.
The problem is that I’m at a disadvantage.
She wasn’t going to like me easily.
Most people would give up here.
But I have coins.
The problem is how to use them.
The grandmother said to me,
“Don’t think you can stay in this house just because of your face.”
She kept grumbling, apparently finding me thoroughly displeasing.
“When the time comes, I’ll have you sent out, even if I have to handle it myself.”
Ah, she’s vicious.
“Should I just do it now? I ought to get rid of you before I get attached.”
Dear lord.
“Hmm. Too late for that. News of the adoption’s already going around. If I throw him out right away, it’ll be noisy inside and out.”
The situation was bleak. I took a quiet breath. But because I was a baby, my wheezing inhale sounded rather loud.
Calm down, Lee Hanjo. No, Ma Gongza.
Let’s think this through.
This woman disliked me. But I had to become close to her.
How should I do it?
First of all, she’s this sort of person, and she does like my face quite a bit.
My babyish charm had some effect, at least.
People like this don’t fall for something all at once.
If I hit her with a deep, strong blow, I’d be the one to crumble instead.
It’s more effective to let it simmer slowly.
Then, well.
First, she needs to see my face a lot.
I stared at the grandmother.
I placed a hand against my cheek and thought.
Maybe if she got attached, she’d like me a little more.
How do I see this woman often?
Then I noticed the cane hanging over the crib.
As expected, where there was a will, there was a way.
This is it!
A grin spread across my face before I could stop it. I shouted at once,
“Ppua! Ppya!”
Use coins!
How would you like to use a Love & Peace Coin?
Make it so that every time this grandmother comes near me, I give off the scent of lemongrass!
At once, the subtitle shifted.
To make lemongrass scent appear whenever Sungjin Group matriarch Na Hwa-jin comes near, 200 coins are required. Proceed?
It cost quite a few coins, but there was no helping it.
Let’s think of it as an investment in the future.
I shouted immediately.
“Ppupa!”
Proceed!
Executed.
For every action, there is a price.
In exchange for using the coins, you will be unable to taste anything for 7 days.
Wow, the price is brutal.
Still, a week will pass before I know it.
I looked at the grandmother and smiled sweetly.
Do you know, Grandmother?
Lemongrass scent is good for muscle aches.
Whenever I’d been injured while filming, the physical therapy clinic always smelled like this.
Well, even if the effect is tiny, that’s fine.
What mattered was that this grandmother would be visiting me often.
“How am I supposed to deal with this... huh?”
The effect seemed immediate. The grandmother’s eyes blinked.
“Why does it smell so good?”
Exactly. I wonder why.
I planted my feet and pushed myself upright, then reached out toward her.
“Ppaa!”
The grandmother drew in a breath, trying to find the source of the scent.
Thanks to that, her face came closer.
“Is it coming from this kid?”
That’s right.
The grandmother sniffed every part of me, top to bottom.
Hmm, you’re a little dog-like, aren’t you.
After sniffing for quite a while, she stopped at the top of my head.
“It seems strongest here.”
Do you think so?
Her face happened to be close enough for me to reach. I lightly touched my lips to her cheek and pulled away.
“Pppbo! Pppbo!”
That means a kiss.
How is that, Grandmother?
The grandmother’s pupils trembled violently.
No, you should be pleased, not stunned!
Why were you so shocked?
Does she hate physical affection?
Even a kiss from such an adorable child?
That was when it happened.
A grandmother who received a cute kiss is delighted.
Love & Peace Coin increased by 200.
Total coins: 15,457
Ah. My apologies, Grandmother.