The Annex
Even without looking, you could tell what kind of place he’d grown up in.
Na Hwa-jin stared out the window. In the yard, her dogs were running around with lively, effortless grace.
Those dogs are all purebred.
Na Hwa-jin had always raised only the smartest, most carefully selected bloodlines.
She clicked her tongue.
“What are they even going to do with a mongrel?”
Just imagining it made the whole house feel dirty. How filthy must that child be? The thought alone seemed to stain the air.
“We can’t let that bad influence rub off on our Shin.”
She knew better than anyone that things born low could never be rehabilitated.
Should I start looking into the adoption annulment procedures now?
Clicking her tongue again, she rose to her feet.
Honestly, what a mess. Her third daughter, still causing trouble even at her age, was utterly pathetic.
Second daughter-in-law Lee Yu-kyeong of the Sungjin Group rose from her seat after downing the coffee her mother-in-law had left behind in one gulp.
“Tastes good enough.”
Her mother-in-law’s tastes were always disgustingly finicky.
I’ll see how long you can keep looking down on me!
Grinding her teeth, she seethed.
As if you don’t secretly think the same thing yourself!
Maybe it was because she’d drunk cold coffee. Her stomach burned. Lee Yu-kyeong set down the cup and crossed her arms.
“This is all that lady’s fault, anyway!”
Her left eyelid twitched with rage. Even that set her off now.
She puckered her lips and strode across the living room.
“Let’s go take a look at that face!”
She had to see what kind of freak they’d brought home.
Fuming, Lee Yu-kyeong headed for the annex.
“Bboo-bappa, bboo-bappa?”
Was this… a home?
Excuse me. If this was a home, then what had I been living in until now? A chicken coop? And that coop had cost a ridiculous amount, too…
In my previous life, I worked my whole life just to afford that chicken coop.
How moved I had been when I’d finally realized my dream of owning a place of my own.
And this is the real thing?
It was huge.
I blinked. Mom adjusted her hold on me and said,
“Gongza, this is where we’re going to live.”
Wow, Mother.
“Bboo-bah!”
Wow.
This is still Seoul, right?
The lot alone looked enormous.
Come to think of it, I heard all the houses where the rich live in Korea are over there…
Could it be? Was this the place? The one I’d only ever heard about and never once visited?
“Bboo-byahto?”
Seongbuk-dong?
Mom shook her head then.
“No. I said that wrong.”
“Bboo-bya, yoo-bboo-bya-bi?”
So not Seongbuk-dong?
Wait, can you understand what I’m saying, Mother?
Was this the power of a mother? I looked at her in wonder, and she shook her head again.
“Gongza. I’ll say it again. This is the house we’re going to live in.”
Mom pointed toward the enormous mansion.
“But not there.”
“Bya?”
Huh?
I rolled my eyes and looked where she was pointing.
It was a huge mansion with a handsome gray exterior.
How many stories is that?
I counted the windows vertically.
One, two, three, four?
At this point, wasn’t it basically a villa wearing the skin of a house?
And we’re not living there?
Mother, then where exactly are we supposed to live?
My beautiful mother, Ma Soo-jung, smiled brightly.
“We live over here!”
She pointed to the left. There, standing a short distance away from the giant mansion, was a much smaller house.
“Bboo-bya-bboo-pi-yu?”
That one?
Mom nodded.
“Yes. Not that evil mansion. Our own paradise.”
I looked at the place we were supposed to live. It was like a cookie cut off from the giant mansion.
Well, what of it? What of it indeed.
Wasn’t this an area where property was insanely expensive?
Even if an office worker saved for ten years, they still wouldn’t have enough to buy a single room here.
Ah, my homeland—the empire of real estate.
Mom looked down at me anxiously.
No, why are you nervous?
I clapped my hands and grinned.
“Bba-bba-bba-bba! Bboobya!”
Great! Mother!
“Oh, Gongza. You like it?”
“Bboo-bboo-bappa!”
Of course!
Mom laughed and gathered me back into her arms. Then she marched forward with energetic strides.
“That mansion is hell, Gongza.”
“Bba-pu-pu-pu-bi?”
Is that so?
Well, maybe the family doesn’t get along very well.
My mom was the third daughter of the Sungjin Group.
Now that I think about it, this place really was something else.
I thought of the Sungjin Group.
Wasn’t the atmosphere around the owner’s family kind of dark?
I remembered all kinds of scandals and incidents.
And didn’t our mom die in a traffic accident to begin with?
I frowned.
If it was the Sungjin Group, then yeah, a traffic accident sounds about right.
Come to think of it, she wasn’t the only one who’d died.
“Buuuung-ng.”
This was a serious problem.
I lifted my head to look at Mom. Her beautiful cheeks were slightly flushed.
She’s really happy I’m here.
I rubbed my face against her chest.
“Bboo-ya!”
No!
I can’t just let her get into a traffic accident.
“Kyaa-bboo-ya! Bboo-ya-bboo-ya, bboo-ya-bboo-ya-bboo-bboo, sah-shyoo-bboo, ppau-ppau, ppah!”
You’re going to be filial material! You have to live all the way to 120, nice and full!
Mom took my hand and shook it.
“Is our Gongza excited? Well, the garden is pretty. It’s the only decent thing about that evil mansion.”
Whether she knew it or not, she held me securely and showed me the grounds.
“Bboo-aaa.”
It’s pretty.
But how is that supposed to matter right now?
The huge mansion and the neatly tended garden didn’t move me at all. What mattered to me now was Mom’s long, healthy life.
“Bboo-aaaah!”
I’ll stop it.
I’ll stop it no matter what.
But how?
Just then, the subtitle I’d been waiting for appeared.
Do you wish to use a Love & Peace Coin?
“Bboo-bya, pobboo-bya-bya?”
So it’s coins after all?
Then how am I supposed to collect them?
“Bboopuu! Bboo-bya-i-bya-bya.”
Of course. I need an audience.
In the end, the problem had circled right back to where it started.
There need to be plenty of people here…
While I was lost in thought, Mom had already gone deeper into the annex. A clean white entryway came into view.
It’s bigger than I thought.
Mom patted me gently and said,
“Gongza. This is our home.”
“Bboo-aaa-yu!”
Great!
Ma Soo-jung is happy that you came home with her.
Total coins: 332
So my mom really did get happy over the smallest things.
Then I should show her something even cuter.
I flapped my arms and beamed at her.
“Bba-woo-woo!”
“My, my! Gongza’s happy too.”
Mom patted my back and went inside. The second the sensor lights came on, a middle-aged woman rushed over.
“Miss, you’re here.”
“Yes. Gongza came with me too.”
“You really brought him.”
What was that? “Really brought him”? Did she think I wouldn’t be brought?
“What is it, Ansan-daek? I told you I was bringing him.”
“Aigoo. Still, raising a child isn’t easy. Oh dear… so this is the baby?”
The woman didn’t seem especially welcoming.
Well, if you think about Mom’s position, that makes sense.
If I were told a beautiful actress was bringing home a child, I’d probably try to stop her too.
Still.
I’ve already been entered into the family registry!
Then Sungjin Group is a chaebol, which means I’m a silver spoon, right?
But I wasn’t blood-related, so…
No, then I’m not a silver spoon.
What do you even call that?
Gold-plated spoon?
Just as I tilted my head, the woman called Ansan-daek looked down at me.
A new audience member.
Even if she wasn’t exactly friendly, I needed to gather new coins.
I put my whole heart and soul into a dazzling smile.
“Bba-bba, bboop-bboop-bboop!”
Let’s get along!
I even stretched out my arms to look cute. The woman didn’t move at all for a moment.
“Ah… oh?”
“Ansan-daek, isn’t our Gongza pretty?”
“T-that’s a human, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
I kept wiggling my arms for Ansan-daek’s sake.
Now would be a good time to really give her a babble attack.
Let the coins rise!
“Bboo-ya!”
Ansan-daek took a step back. Then she blinked rapidly, completely thrown.
“M-my goodness… what child is that handsome?”
“Right? Our Gongza is pretty, isn’t he?”
“No, really! It’s like he was carved from jade.”
Was that a compliment about being jewel-like?
I am kind of cute, I guess.
Not that I’d seen it with my own eyes.
I haven’t had the chance to look in a mirror.
I’d like to see one, though.
That way I could figure out my best angle. No matter how handsome you are, there’s always a best angle.
Ansan-daek took two steps back and then flinched.
“M-Miss? Did you bring him home because he’s pretty?”
“Ansan-daek, really now. Who brings home a child just because he’s pretty?”
“No, but he really is too cute.”
What a reaction.
This is going pretty well for a first meeting.
Then I should do even better.
I made another adorable babble.
“Bboobbooya!”
“Oh, he’s adorable!”
Mom took my hand and said,
“Yes. Gongza’s happy to see Ansan-daek too, right? Ansan-daek, say hello. This is our Gongza.”
“Uh, uh—no, what’s the point of saying hello? Can a baby even understand us?”
“Still, our Gongza is greeting you.”
That was very true. I answered with a little wave.
“Bboo-ah!”
Hello!
Ansan-daek stepped back a few more paces. This time, it felt like she was too far away.
But my mother was formidable. As far as Ansan-daek retreated, she strode even closer.
“Ansan-daek, say hello.”
“Ah, yes. H-hello, little one.”
“Bbooba-bboo-bboo!”
Hello!
Ansan-daek covered her mouth with her hand. Then she inhaled and exhaled deeply.
“…O great Amitabha.”
So she must be Buddhist. I’m an atheist.
“You said you were bringing a child home… so this is him.”
“How is he?”
“For now, he’s adorable. He’s cute.”
Ansan-daek glanced at me and then looked away.
“So pretty it makes you wonder how a baby like this exists.”
“Heh. Gongza, Ansan-daek says you’re cute.”
“Good heavens! He smiled. Look at that smile. Oh, heavens and earth.”
Huh? A moment ago she was Buddhist; now it was heaven and earth?
“Ansan-daek, do you want to hold him?”
“Ah, yes.”
Mom passed me over to Ansan-daek. She looked like she’d done plenty of childcare before, because she held me with easy confidence.
I kicked my legs.
“Bboo-aaa!”
“Oh my.”
Ansan-daek swallowed.
“He really is adorable.”
“Right?”
“I-I think he might be the cutest baby in the country.”
Ansan-daek carefully took my hand. I grabbed hers and shook it lightly.
“Bboo-aaaah!”
Please take good care of me!
Ansan-daek let out another groan.
“Oh, Bodhisattva…”
Back to Buddhism again, then.
Ansan-daek is delighted by your cute behavior.
Total coins: 382
She must have been truly moved. The number of coins I got was no joke.
“T-the room is ready. Your baby room.”
“Thank you.”
“No, no. You did all the work, Miss. I only cleaned it. But, oh dear…”
Ansan-daek stared at me again, practically boring holes into my face.
“I-is the child’s name Gongza? That one?”
“Yes. Doesn’t it suit him?”
“Hmm. With the family name Ma, he’d be Ma Gongza. Usually that would sound strange, but…”
She patted my bottom.
“He’s so cute it suits him just fine.”
“Hehe. Right?”
“But Gongza means it’s a boy, doesn’t it? Wait, is it actually a girl?”
“Nope. He’s definitely a boy.”
Ansan-daek looked me over wildly and said,
“Oh my, Miss! You picked everything in the baby room pink.”
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