Chapter 6
“Jjoonbbu-jju…….”
Well now.
The nipple of the bottle was in the way, so the words wouldn’t come out properly. Instead, I patted the nun on the shoulder.
“Jjuppuja, jjuppyayya, ppuya, ppujubajjup!”
Come if you want; don’t come if you don’t.
I’m pretty sure the nun was delighted and heartbroken at the sound of my adorable babbling.
Love & Peace Coin +1
Total Coins: 369
Oh, so that had been cute after all.
I wiggled my little palms.
Don’t worry about that. Just look at my adorable face.
Why are you sad? Life is too short to waste on being gloomy. Better to enjoy the world while you can.
I smiled brightly. The nun looked at my face and smiled back, warm and gentle.
“It’s all right, Gongza. You don’t have to go anywhere. Let’s live happily with Mom, okay?”
Ah, Sister Theresa.
She really is an amazing person.
How many children had she become a mother to, after all?
At first, I thought being orphaned was just about the unluckiest thing that could happen to me.
I looked at the wrinkles gathered at the corners of her eyes.
But thinking about it, coming here to a place with kind nuns like her was a blessing.
Before long, the formula was gone. Sister Theresa held me against her and rubbed my back. A burp came out soon after.
Sister, may you be blessed. No, I’ll make sure you are blessed.
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Sister Theresa only gave me a benevolent smile.
“Yes, Gongza. Just eat well and grow well.”
I laughed aloud to answer her.
“Ppyaakaa!”
The nun, who was beaming from ear to ear, laid me back in my crib. I flailed my arms and legs for exercise, lost in thought.
First, I need to make a plan for my life.
I’d been born an orphan, but by luck, I’d ended up with a nun for a mother.
So what do I do now?
I gave a languid smile.
Eat well and sleep well, I guess?
Was that all there was to being a baby?
As I shifted around on the soft bedding, sleep began to creep up on me again.
Eat and sleep, eat and sleep…….
Being a baby was kind of boring.
Then, all at once, I grew curious about Moseongwon.
By the way, are things here okay?
It felt like they were a little short on donations.
I scratched at the baby blanket with my feet.
It’d be great if they filmed me for a YouTube channel.
Then donations would pour in. And so would Love & Peace Coins.
I really needed to make our Sister Theresa healthy again as soon as possible…….
How am I supposed to save up 1,000 coins?
Quietly, I closed my eyes. Maybe because I was in a baby’s body, sleep came rushing in almost at once.
* * *
A week flew by in the blink of an eye. And, as expected, Actress Ma never came.
Well, that’s what whimsy is, I suppose.
Still, since this was Sungjin Group, they’d probably donate anyway.
I moved my fingers and toes and smiled toward my audience.
“Bbyuwaaa!”
Cute, right?
At my little performance, the two nuns burst into bright laughter.
“Goodness, how adorable.”
“Our Gongza is cute like an angel.”
“That’s right. I bet baby angels all look like Gongza.”
Hmm, wasn’t that the highest praise possible for a nun? For them, angels must mean something especially meaningful.
Then I should answer with gratitude.
I clapped my hands and laughed.
“Kyabbyuaakkyatt!”
Thank you!
The nuns both smiled so widely their cheeks must have hurt.
“Oh, Lord. The creature You made is this adorable.”
“Our Gongza! You’re good at smiling too!”
It was while I was busy showing off that one of the nuns glanced at the clock.
“And no news from Ma Soo-jung after that?”
“No. The promotional materials did come through, though. Our Gongza’s photos were so cute.”
“I guess she really was just speaking offhand.”
The nun ran a hand over my hair.
“I’m glad Gongza can’t hear us yet.”
Sorry, but I can hear everything, Sister.
“That’s true. Maybe it worked out for the best. Gongza can meet even better parents, or he can just be happy with us.”
That’s right, Sister. Who cares? Let’s just live well together.
Still…….
If Ma Soo-jung became my mom, I’d never have to worry about money for the rest of my life.
Hey, don’t get greedy.
I hid my bitter disappointment and clapped my hands again. If I wanted to make Sister Theresa healthy, I had to keep earning coins.
“It’s already night.”
“Our Gongza, it’s bedtime again.”
“He really doesn’t want to sleep today.”
Sister, I already slept to my heart’s content. I don’t feel like sleeping right now.
“Pipi, ppuua!”
I want to play!
“Come to think of it, how old is Gongza now?”
“Well…… I’m not sure.”
I flapped my arms and legs as hard as I could. My tiny fingers popped into view and disappeared again.
Then it happened. With a sudden creak, the sliding door to the infant room opened.
W-what?
I turned my head toward the doorway. There stood a person who looked half-buried under a pile of white snow, as though she had become a snowman herself.
“Who is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
That voice—I knew it.
Ma Soo-jung?
Ma Soo-jung peeled off her red coat and threw it to the floor. Then she removed her gloves.
“Sister.”
“Y-yes?”
“Th-the disinfectant, please.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Ms. Soo-jung? How did you…….”
She rubbed her hands with disinfectant and then walked straight toward me.
Isn’t it late at night?
On top of that, her face was red, as if she’d been out in the cold for a long time. Even from a few steps away, I could feel the chill coming off her.
I stared at Ma Soo-jung. She swept her fallen hair back and then fixed me with an unblinking gaze.
She just stood there like that.
I looked into the actress’s eyes. Her beautiful eyes were filled with a tangle of complicated emotions.
I don’t really know what’s going on…….
But one thing was certain.
……She looks sad.
I held out my little hand.
“Ppuyaa!”
Cheer up!
Her eyes wavered.
“Pipyyaa, ppuya, pipyyaaa.”
Living is hard, after all.
But good things will happen if you keep going, Ms. Ma Soo-jung.
I gathered all my baby strength and smiled brightly.
“Ppuyaa!”
Fighting!
She still didn’t move at all. I tilted my head, wondering why, and then saw it.
Fat tears were dripping one after another onto Ma Soo-jung’s dress.
“Bba?”
Huh?
Ma Soo-jung came slowly toward me.
“……Gongza. I felt it. Little angel, our Gongza. You’re comforting me right now, aren’t you?”
W-well, yes, but?
“Sob…….”
Her tears poured down without end.
Sister Theresa panicked and quickly brought tissues, but Ma Soo-jung just wiped her face with the palm of her hand.
“Sister.”
“Yes, yes, Ms. Soo-jung.”
“I knew I was being too impulsive. I went there to shoot promotional material for Sungjin Group, and then I suddenly brought a baby home. That doesn’t make sense, does it?”
So you do know that.
“But ever since that day, Gongza hasn’t left my head.”
The actress went on in a trembling voice.
“Even when I try to focus on acting, even when I’m trying to eat something delicious, I keep thinking of Gongza.”
“Ppuyabppabba?”
R-really? Hello? Hey! Actress Ma! Ms. Ma!
Ma Soo-jung still wouldn’t take her eyes off me.
“I keep, keep thinking about Gongza.”
“Ms. Soo-jung.”
“Can you call that whimsy? Sister, Gongza feels like fate to me.”
Sister Theresa covered her mouth, clearly at a loss for words.
“I know, I know. What I’m saying sounds strange. But it really is like this. No matter what I do, I can’t change my mind.”
A muffled groan sounded beside me. Turning around, I saw Sister Theresa clenching her fist tightly.
“Ms. Soo-jung.”
“Yes, Sister.”
“I’m saying this because I’m worried, so please don’t take offense.”
“Of course.”
Sister Theresa looked back and forth between me and the actress.
“I heard you said there was a mark on your deceased child’s body that our Gongza also has.”
“Yes. Our Maru.”
Tears fell to the floor again. Sister Maria quickly wiped them away with a towel.
“I believe that’s just a coincidence.”
Ma Soo-jung turned toward the nun.
“It’s just a coincidence. Gongza is Gongza. He isn’t my deceased child.”
Sister Theresa let out a long breath.
“If you’re trying to take our Gongza because you think he’s a reincarnation or something, I’ll stop you by any means necessary. You can’t just take children away like that.”
Wow.
Sister, I respect you.
With the way this place was struggling, she could easily have handed me over for adoption on the spot. If there were only two people like her in the world, it would be a much brighter place.
Besides, the organization that supported this orphanage was Sungjin Group.
It wouldn’t be good to get on the wrong side of the third daughter of Sungjin Group.
And yet she said what needed to be said.
If I ever have to write down the name of someone I respect, I’m writing “Sister Theresa” without hesitation.
Ma Soo-jung said nothing. Sister Theresa looked back at her calmly.
She probably had a rough idea of what would happen.
She’s going to get angry.
She’d have every right to.
But what Ma Soo-jung said next was rather unexpected.
“I know.”
“Ppu?”
Huh?
“It’s just that the dot is in the same place.”
“Ms., Ms. Soo-jung?”
“How could I not know? Of course I know!”
Ms. Ma Soo-jung cried out in a wail.
“Our Maru wasn’t a baby this pretty!”
Wow. So it was because of the face? I hadn’t thought of that.
Still, that’s a pretty decisive reason to fall headfirst like this.
There probably aren’t many babies this handsome in the whole world.
Well, I’ve never actually looked closely at my own face.
The nuns never showed me a mirror. But I could more or less tell from their reactions.
As absurd as it was, apparently she thought it was reason enough. Sister Maria took the towel and wiped Ma Soo-jung’s face.
“Huaaang. I keep thinking about Gongza.”
“Ms. Soo-jung. Calm down.”
“I can’t calm down. This is really the first time. How can I think about him even when I’m eating or sleeping?”
Ma Soo-jung sniffled and looked at me.
I still don’t know how this is going to turn out…….
But I should smile for her anyway.
I grinned and added the adorable babble I’d been practicing lately.
“Ppuyaa!”
Thank you. Look at my cuteness, if nothing else.
Ma Soo-jung whispered, almost inaudibly, “C-cute…….”
Heh. I am pretty cute, Actress Ma.
Still, is she really trying to take me home and raise me?
Her tears didn’t seem likely to dry anytime soon. Sister Theresa brought out some warm tea and asked, “Have you asked your family yet?”
“I live separately in the annex, remember?”
“Still, you do live with Chairman Han and his wife.”
“My parents abandoned me a long time ago.”
Wow.
What an interesting family history.
Ma Soo-jung sipped the tea Sister Theresa had brought and said, “Still, I did talk to them, as a child should.”
“And?”
“They naturally opposed it.”
Sister Theresa’s expression darkened at once.
“But that doesn’t matter.”
“Ms. Soo-jung.”
“I’m the one who’ll raise him. If I’m busy with work, I’ll hire help.”
“Will that be all right for you?”
Ma Soo-jung looked utterly confident.
“Of course it will. I said I live in the annex, didn’t I? Honestly, I hardly ever see my family anyway.”
The actress finished her tea and looked at me.
“I’m going to be happy with our Gongza there.”
“Ms. Soo-jung. A child won’t only bring happiness. Gongza may look this lovely, but you never know what kind of trouble he might cause.”
“I know. He might be a handful, like Mari. I’ve raised a child before, too. But I knew it the moment I saw him.”
Ma Soo-jung carefully extended her hand.
If I grab it here, it’ll be moving, right?
I took her finger in my tiny hand. The actress smiled brightly.
“That I’m going to love this child more than anyone else in the world.”
Sister Theresa stared at the scene in silence for a moment. Then she let out a long breath.
“Then I’ll raise him well.”
“Ms. Soo-jung.”
“I’ll love this child for the rest of my life.”
Wow.
This is absolutely not acting.
I remembered what I knew from before my regression.
There had been a lot of rumors about Ma Soo-jung.
First of all, she was a stunning beauty, and the famous third daughter of Sungjin Group.
There were plenty of strange rumors too, but people who had actually dealt with her always said the same thing.
Fiery, and never any aftermath.
Straightforward.
Because of my years as a supporting actor in countless productions, I’d seen all kinds of people.
So even from rumor alone, I could usually tell what kind of person someone was.
Anyone described that way can’t be a bad person.
At worst, she’d be the kind of person who’s honest to a fault.
I held on to the actress’s finger and gave it a little shake. Feeling the tiny jolt, Ma Soo-jung smiled widely again.
Then a tender voice reached me.
“Gongza.”
I looked up. One of South Korea’s most beautiful actresses was whispering to me.
“May I be your mother?”