The Nanny Who Wanted to Be a Kindergarten Principal
Wow. A snack shop that had been passed down through three generations?
It sounds like it has a fair amount of history and tradition behind it.
That must mean the food’s good. Ah, I suddenly want tteokbokki.
“Ah, I see. Hmm. Let me take another look at your résumé.”
“Yes, of course.”
Mom read through the résumé carefully, line by line.
“You graduated from early childhood education?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Wow.
So that’s how it is.
Kim Deok-su answered steadily.
“My dream was to become a kindergarten teacher.”
I blinked.
A kindergarten teacher. The work is hard, but getting the job itself probably isn’t impossible.
Mom seemed to have reached the same conclusion I had.
“Oh, then why didn’t you go into kindergarten teaching?”
“Ah. No one hired me.”
I understood immediately.
“I suppose my face made things difficult.”
Wow. What a tragic story.
“I see.”
“But I couldn’t give up on my dream. So I saved money.”
Wow. That’s a new one.
What did he plan to do with the money he saved up?
Kim Deok-su answered at once.
“If I couldn’t become a teacher, I wanted to become a kindergarten principal, even if only that.”
Wow.
I clenched my fist. For a second, I almost laughed out loud.
“R-really?”
Even Mom’s lips trembled faintly.
“Yes. I worked every kind of job, no matter what it was.”
He must have really wanted to work with children.
But doesn’t being a kindergarten principal require qualifications too?
Was it something anyone with money could just do?
Kim Deok-su admitted it calmly.
“I like children.”
Hmm. That wasn’t some weird meaning, right?
“I see.”
Suddenly, Kim Deok-su’s face turned red. Then he drew a shaky breath and said,
“I’ll be honest. I’m a bit of a weakling.”
What?
Excuse me. Is that the same word for weakling that I know?
“I’m frail in both body and heart. But for a child, I wouldn’t mind if this body were broken to pieces.”
Mom blinked.
“You look pretty sturdy to me.”
“No, ma’am. I’m a weakling.”
Wow.
Well, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d lie...
Maybe he really was fragile.
What an odd man.
He looked like a gangster, had the build of one too, but he was an early childhood education graduate who called himself a weakling.
Looking over his résumé again, Mom said, “Taking care of a child takes stamina. If you’re too weak, that could be a problem.”
“So I exercised hard. Thanks to that, my stamina improved somewhat, but I’m still a weakling. I catch a cold every season change.”
Oh dear.
“To fight that, I’ve been taking red ginseng every time the weather turns.”
I had no idea what to even say to that.
“I see.”
“I know Gongza. Honestly, right now, it feels like a dream.”
“You must have really wanted to see our Gongza.”
“W-well, that too, but...”
Kim Deok-su lowered his head deeply.
“This is the first time a child hasn’t cried when they saw me.”
Oh dear.
Well, normally they probably would cry.
No, if they only cried, that would be a relief. If it were some other kid, they might have run away.
Mom blinked in surprise.
“Oh my. That’s actually similar to me.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not exactly good with children either. They cry whenever they see me.”
Huh?
W-well, that was true.
She really had been surprised by that before.
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. Hmm...”
Mom smiled as she spoke.
“Our Gongza is different from most children. I want him to do what he wants to do.”
“And what would that be?”
“Acting.”
Wow, Mom!
So you knew after all.
That I wanted to act.
“I see.”
“That means, unlike most children, you might have to accompany him to the set.”
“I can do that. In fact, I’d prefer to accompany him. I want to protect Gongza from bad environments. I’ll need to make sure he eats properly too.”
Huh?
So this means he’ll be taking care of me, right?
After all, a nanny is someone who looks after a child.
“Oh, I see. And I’m often away from home because I’m busy, so I was looking for a live-in nanny. Would that be possible?”
“That would actually be better. I was planning to clear out my house anyway. My mother passed away two months ago.”
“Oh, I see.”
“The house is in Suyu-ri, so commuting would be possible, but living in would be better.”
Wait a second.
Suyu-ri means Seoul, right?
And you’re going to clear that out?
I cried out in alarm.
“Don’t do that!”
I looked at Kim Deok-su’s hidden eyes and said,
“That would be a disaster!”
Mom asked, “What? What would be, Gongza?”
“Does he mean it’d be a disaster if that man became the nanny?”
No!
I shook my head hard.
“The house! Clearing it out!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t do that!”
Seoul real estate prices were only going to go up—why would you clear out a house there?
Just leave it alone.
Blessed are those who can endure.
Deok-su said nothing. I pleaded earnestly.
“No! If you clear it out, you’ll cry later!”
Don’t you dare sob blood later when you see what the house is worth in a few years.
Kim Deok-su nodded in confusion.
“I-I’ll do that.”
Huh? Why so formal all of a sudden?
“It was a house full of family memories, so I had been hesitating too. For Gongza’s sake, I won’t sell it.”
I patted Deok-su on the shoulder. I didn’t know why he was suddenly speaking so politely, but one thing was certain.
You’ll want to bow to me in a few years.
Trying to sell a house in Seoul so carelessly. Your late mother would have popped right back out of the grave.
“Why are you speaking so formally?”
“Ah. It was an old wish of mine.”
Deok-su said, his face coloring slightly.
“I’ve always wanted to speak politely to the children I take care of.”
Wow. So this was his childcare philosophy?
His kindergarten dream really is sincere.
The more I heard, the more impressed I became.
“I see. Hmm, Deok-su. I’d like to hire you. But Gongza’s opinion matters too.”
Wow, Mother, I respect you.
But I’m only a little over two years old. Is that really all right?
Mom smiled brightly.
“You’ll be spending more time with him than I will, after all.”
Ah, that’s true.
“Gongza. What do you think? You’ll be with Deok-su now. Is that okay?”
I stared at Deok-su.
Hmm. As a person, he doesn’t seem bad.
Though he does look like someone who belongs to an organization of some kind.
But there was one thing...
I tilted my head and said,
“It’s still not right!”
“Huh? What isn’t?”
“Brother, your face!”
You still haven’t taken off the sunglasses.
Mom nodded.
“Oh, I see. Deok-su, please take off your sunglasses.”
“Ah, well...”
Kim Deok-su said cautiously,
“If I take these off, you might be surprised.”
“It’s fine. I’ve already been surprised enough for today.”
Was that meant to comfort him or insult him? Kim Deok-su carefully brought a hand up to his glasses.
Ah, his hand is shaking.
It’s not like they were Medusa’s eyes or anything. No need to be that nervous.
Soon the glasses came off. I blinked.
Wow.
No wonder he kept them hidden.
His eyes were incredibly sharp.
And yet his gaze is clear.
Still, maybe because of the shape of his eyes...
He looks even more like a gang enforcer than before.
Kim Deok-su watched me anxiously.
Well, a normal child probably would have cried.
I wasn’t normal, though.
I smiled brightly.
“Brother, it’s okay. Don’t hide them. I’m not scared!”
Kim Deok-su didn’t move an inch. He only blinked.
Three seconds passed like that. Then, suddenly, his sharp eyes grew wet.
Oh, huh?
Kim Deok-su wiped his tears with his hand.
“T-this is the first time.”
Oh dear.
“That a child didn’t cry, and said it was okay!”
Tears poured down his face. I pulled a baby towel from Kim Deok-su’s suit pocket and handed it to him.
He rubbed his eyes with the baby towel.
Looks like he’s had a hard life.
Probably.
“Oh my.”
“I-I’m sorry. I just got so happy. You really are an angelic child.”
“That part’s true!”
Mom said with a bright laugh, “Our Gongza is an angel. Sometimes I even go looking to see if he has wings.”
Oh, Mother.
That’s a bit too much exaggeration.
Kim Deok-su nodded.
“I see. I’ll check sometimes too.”
Don’t. They’re not there.
“Ah. Honestly, I was planning to keep interviewing for a few more minutes.”
Mom folded her arms.
“But this won’t do. It has to be Deok-su.”
Deok-su blinked, and every time he did, tears scattered down.
“My intuition is telling me. That you’re a good person, Deok-su.”
“T-thank you.”
“Besides, there’s no way the boss would introduce someone strange. He’s always had a bizarre knack for finding people.”
Is that so?
Come to think of it, they said he’d hired such good people that he was practically free of work.
Gathering trustworthy people around you was a pretty rare skill too.
Mom smiled and said, “Please take good care of our Gongza, Deok-su.”
Wow, as expected of my mother.
She’s bold.
Deok-su bowed his head.
“Thank you. I’ll take very good care of your precious child.”
“Then when can you start?”
“I can begin immediately. I had originally planned to clear out my house, but...”
Deok-su looked at me intently, then shook his head.
“I’ll just look for a jeonse instead.”
I nodded.
Good decision.
You may wonder now, but you’ll thank me greatly later.
“All right. Then we’ll pay your salary as agreed.”
“Thank you.”
Mom stood up.
“Then let’s end the interview here.”
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Oh, you want to leave this quickly?”
“Actually, I’d like to stay a little longer.”
Deok-su swallowed hard and said,
“Because Gongza is so cute.”
Wow.
He really does love children.
Mom covered her mouth and laughed.
“Still, start tomorrow. Since you’ll be living in, you should bring a few things with you. Ah, carrying everything yourself will be hard. Should I send a driver?”
“No. I’ll come by my own car.”
“Oh, I see. Gongza, now let’s see him off and go eat your baby food!”
Ah, come to think of it, I hadn’t even eaten breakfast.
Mom picked me up in her arms. Smiling, I rubbed my cheek against her hand.
After saying goodbye, Deok-su left at once. Mom headed to the kitchen, saying, “He’s an interesting man.”
Is he?
“Doesn’t he seem like a good person?”
“Yup!”
“Still, Gongza. If anything feels off, you need to tell Mommy right away, okay?”
I nodded. At that moment, the lady who had been watching me spoke up.
“I’ll keep an eye on him!”
Huh?
The lady brushed her bangs back and said,
“The young mistress may have judged him kindly, but I’m going to watch him closely!”
Hmm, suspicious, are you?
Still, it’s always good to tap the bridge stone before crossing.
I understood perfectly well that he couldn’t be trusted blindly.
“Hmm, please do. He doesn’t seem like that sort, but still.”
“Leave it to me!”
The lady folded her arms and let out a breath. Mom looked at me and said,
“It seems a lot of people worry about our Gongza.”
That’s true.
Though there’s no need for it.
Mom gently stroked my cheek.
“Of course, I’m the one who worries about Gongza the most.”
Well, yes. You work like an ox and would be devastated if I got a smartphone and ended up not making three movies, wouldn’t you?
I’ll absolutely stay far away from smartphones.
But then how am I supposed to read internet reactions?
I want to, though.
In my second life, I had finally become popular, and yet somehow I couldn’t really enjoy it.
Well, popularity isn’t going to run away or anything.
Though it could fall.
I let out a long breath.
I want to work.
Doesn’t anyone have a project for me? I don’t want to keep aging with nothing to do. I don’t want to let my acting skills rot away any further.
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