The Day of the First Birthday Feast
“Of course. You do have a good eye.”
“Hmm. All right, then. Go have a lovely first-birthday feast.”
What was there for me to do? I’d just be carried around in Mom’s arms anyway.
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Bye-bye, Grandma!”
Grandma slowly disappeared from my room. The moment she was gone, I put a hand to my cheek and let out a sigh.
What a difficult woman.
But I wasn’t giving up! Someday, I’d make her call me her grandson for sure!
Still, that half-impulsive “Grandma” thing, huh.
It was more effective than I’d expected.
And in a week, the first-birthday feast would be here. A grin crept onto my face.
I’m looking forward to it.
This was basically like a glamorous debut party Mom was throwing just for me.
Then I’d better give her something in return.
I flopped onto my back in the cradle and kicked my legs up and down, exercising while ideas began to take shape in my head one by one.
If I show up in person and move people, the coins will rise.
I wanted to snag both coins and connections that day.
Ugh, why won’t time move faster?
I kept lifting and lowering my legs as I waited for the week to pass.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Honestly, I’d never seen a first-birthday feast this extravagant before.
So this is what a first-birthday feast really is. It’s not just rice-cake picking and a meal, huh.
Who would’ve thought I’d ever be doing pre-event photos for my first birthday?
Has the world changed, or what? ...But wait, I reincarnated.
So the world had already changed a long time ago. Well, that was news to me.
Mom carried me as she said, “Oh my, Gongza. Look at that. There are so many flowers.”
Yes, there are.
Uh, Mom.
When she’d said she was going to make it fancy, I hadn’t realized what that meant.
Wow. This is no joke.
I’d been to plenty of coworkers’ first-birthday feasts, but honestly, this was my first time in a hotel.
You can tell it’s high-end at a glance.
And on top of that, there was a small photo booklet placed at every seat.
That all costs money, doesn’t it.
Mom was really going all out.
What, should I think of it as rolling out my profile?
Just then, the person helping us arrived.
“Hello, Ms. Ma Soo-jung. Good to see you again. Ah, so this is Gongza?”
“Yes. Please take good care of us today.”
“Wow. Even when I saw the photos online, I thought he was ridiculously cute, but...”
The manager looked me over from head to toe and said, “I’ve seen a lot of children at first-birthday feasts, but I’ve never seen one this adorable. Goodness.”
Well, of course. It was the first time she’d seen a face genius, wasn’t it?
“How can he be this pretty?”
The manager was looking at me when she seemed to catch herself and lifted her head again.
“I’m sorry. You’re probably sick of hearing that, right? You must’ve heard it a lot already.”
Nope.
Why would being told you’re handsome ever get old?
It was always fresh, always thrilling.
Say it more.
Mom smiled and said, “Not at all. I’m a hen-mom, you know. How could I ever get tired of people saying my child is pretty?”
“Oh, really?”
I laughed and waved my hands.
“Hellooo!”
“My goodness!”
The manager’s eyes went round.
“He speaks so well?”
“Yes. I don’t think our Gongza is only cute on the outside.”
“If a child starts talking early, they say it means they’re smart.”
“He does seem smart, all right.”
Mom stroked my forehead and said, “Why does our Gongza make Mommy so happy?”
Wow, Mom.
You still haven’t seen anything yet.
I had so much more to show her.
I beamed and said, “Mama! Happy!”
Mom laughed and smoothed my forehead.
“Our Gongza is in a good mood today, huh?”
“Happy!”
“Is that so? Mommy’s happy too. A lot of people will be coming today, so will you be okay?”
Of course I’d be okay. In fact, I’d been waiting for today.
“Happy! Happy!”
Mom adjusted her hold on me and said to the manager, “He still doesn’t really know what he’s saying.”
No, I do.
“Ahahaha. Still, he’s just too cute. Gongza, please take care of us today!”
“Yes!”
“Ma’am, please change into your outfit first. Ah, you said you’d brought your own?”
“Yes. It’s just Gongza who needs dressing. Gongza, let’s put on the hanbok.”
“Yes!”
“It might be a little uncomfortable, but bear with it!”
I nodded. Mom kissed my cheek.
Soon I’d been changed into my clothes. Honestly, I was startled the moment I saw myself after dressing.
Wow...
I didn’t know much about baby clothes, but the color combination was no joke.
That’s a pretty unusual color.
The deep blue outfit looked luxurious at a glance.
“Wow, it suits him so well.”
“It really does.”
Mom smiled as she fastened the norigae ornament. “I chose it because they said the baby hanbok was naturally dyed, and it suits him even better than I expected.”
Is that so?
Anything with “natural” in it gets expensive, doesn’t it.
And if they’d added the word dyed, then it had to be doubly expensive.
I lifted my tiny arms and inspected my outfit.
“Are you curious, Gongza? Want to take a look?”
Mom carried me over to the wall mirror. For a second, I flinched a little.
Whoa. This face is ridiculous.
When a baby with a doll-like face wore a luxurious hanbok, the synergy was outrageous.
I swear there can’t be many kids this cute anywhere on Earth.
I was drunk on my own face.
It was truly a perfect face. To think I’d have to live with it forever!
“Gongza. What do you think?”
“Nice!”
“Really? Mommy likes it too. Then Manager, could you look after Gongza for a minute?”
“Of course. Please go get changed.”
I was handed over to the manager. Mom disappeared, and I stared at the manager intently.
When our eyes met, she patted my bottom and said, “Aigoo, how cute.”
My, yes, I suppose so. Honestly, I could understand her. This wasn’t the kind of face you came across every day.
I giggled and clapped my hands. Then subtitles popped up before my eyes.
Gained 20 coins.
Wow. A harvest right from the start? Not bad.
All right, this is the day.
The day I’d let myself be carried by the torrent of coins pouring down.
Mom came out soon after changing clothes.
Wow. My mom!
I’d expected a hanbok, but instead she wore a rather simple white-toned suit. Yet on her, it looked like she was walking onto an awards stage.
“Mama!”
“Yes, Gongza.”
Mom took me back from the manager just then, and a family walked in.
“Mr. CEO! Ms. Lia!”
“It’s been a while, Ms. Soo-jung.”
Oh, the Top Line CEO?
I heard he was a real powerhouse in the industry.
I’d heard he was exceptionally good at his job.
I’ve heard the stories, but this is my first time seeing him in person too.
I looked CEO Seo up and down. He did seem like a pleasant person.
“Ms. Lia, thank you for coming.”
“Not at all. It’s nice to get out and feel the breeze. So, these are your kids, huh?”
Two little girls bowed their heads and shouted in unison, “Hello!”
Their voices were a little loud.
They seem pretty spirited.
Their mother immediately scolded them.
“Girls. Keep your voices down, okay?”
“Sorry.”
“Sorry.”
“Well, it wasn’t that loud. There’s nobody else here yet. Hi. Have fun today, okay? Eat lots of good food!”
“Okay!”
They said that, but they still couldn’t take their eyes off me. I grinned brightly and said, “Helloo!”
“Wow, he talks too.”
“He’s still so little!”
Mom covered her mouth and laughed. “Our Gongza learned to talk early.”
“He’s adorable.”
“He looks like a doll.”
The younger-looking one grabbed my hand. When she squeezed and shook it, she broke into a smile.
“He’s tiny!”
So are you, kid.
“He’s cute! Mom, let’s take Gongza home with us!”
Whoa there.
The older sister stopped her at once.
“Hey, how can we take a baby home? That’s kidnapping!”
“But how are we supposed to just walk past something this cute?”
“Fair point.”
Excuse me?
“Mom! Let’s take that baby home! He’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”
She even made a surprisingly logical argument.
The children’s mother shouted immediately, “Not a chance!”
Mom laughed and said, “Girls. Gongza is my son, so that’s impossible.”
“We’ll take good care of him! We’ll give him our room!”
“I’ll give him all the chocolate I like!”
They were kind kids in their own way. Mom crossed her arms and said, “Mm, I brought him home first, so that’s a no.”
“Ah!”
“Aah!”
The two girls dropped their heads at the same time.
“Oh, so he can’t come.”
“Why not?”
Mom laughed so hard she held her stomach. The CEO lowered his head and said, “Ah, I’m embarrassed.”
“Why? He’s cute.”
“Ms. Ma. Be honest. He does take after me, doesn’t he?”
Mom wiped away tears from laughing and said, “He does take after the CEO.”
“Guh! He should’ve taken after the madam.”
The wife standing beside him muttered, “So you do know that much.”
At that, Mom burst out again. While she was bent over, stifling laughter against the pillar beside her, the CEO scratched his head.
Once she’d caught her breath, Mom said, “Anyway, thank you again for all the things you prepared.”
“What? I only did it because I had a reason. But is our family seating here? This isn’t the immediate family section, is it?”
Mom shrugged. “My immediate family wouldn’t exactly be coming to Gongza’s first birthday feast, would they?”
“Ah...”
“Since it’s come to this, CEO, just be my relative for the day.”
“Fine. Okay. I’ll be your relative. Hey there, unbelievably cute baby. From today on, I’m your uncle.”
I laughed aloud and held out my hand.
“Unka?”
“Yeah. Uncle. Damn, this kid’s voice is adorable too. Hold on, is it just me, or do photos do his face a disservice?”
“Right?”
“He’s even cuter when he moves around. Huh. Now that I look at it, they didn’t even manage to capture him properly in the preview video. Wow.”
So that was it. As expected from the Top Line CEO, he knew how to judge people.
“Unko! Unko!”
I held out my hand. The CEO took it and murmured quietly, “Unko!”
“That’s right. Hah, this kid doesn’t even get shy around people, does he?”
Gained 100 coins.
Whoa.
That’s a lot of coins.
The Top Line CEO was genuinely impressed.
“Ms. Ma. Honestly, I thought you were exaggerating when you talked about him, but seeing him in person, I get exactly what you meant.”
“Right?”
That was when unfamiliar guests arrived.
Mom walked over slowly while holding me.
“Oh my, you came. Mr. Jung.”
Huh? Mr. Jung?
Could it be Designer Jeong Ri-ri?
I turned my head. Soon my eyes met a woman in black lace and a red coat.
Whoa, it really is Jeong Ri-ri.
One of Korea’s leading fashion designers. Jeong Ri-ri.
She was an exceptionally gifted designer who would later earn worldwide acclaim for nailing both Eastern-inspired design and practicality in one stroke.
“You invited me, so how could I not come?”
“You must be busy.”
“You said it was a comfortable gathering, so I came. Oh my, you look lovely today.”
Mom immediately spun in place.
“I dressed simply. How do I look?”
“As expected of you. Your face is so glamorous that simple suits you. Oh my, oh my! Is that the baby?”
Heh. At last, the moment I’d been waiting for.
I lifted my head and looked at Jeong Ri-ri.
Wow. A normal baby would’ve started crying.
Setting aside the intense black-and-red combination, every single item was studded with jewels.
Wow, even the eyeglass frames are sparkling.
It was my first time seeing her in person, and honestly, I was a little stunned.
But I’m not ordinary, am I.
I smiled brightly and said, “Sparkly, sparkly!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Jeong Ri-ri’s expression changed completely.