Chapter 70

"I apologize for our staff's rudeness."

I left behind the bodyguard who had dashed toward the back of the estate, parked So-hee's father's car neatly within the mansion grounds, and personally led the whole Shin family to the dining room. Part of it was that, with Yang Hye-in absent, there wasn't anyone else available to guide them.

Seeing this reminded me of an old joke about communism.

Three men are working: one digs a hole, one puts a tree in, one fills the hole. Under capitalism, if the man who puts the tree in falls ill and can't work, the remaining two are paid extra and told to handle it. The two do more work because they're paid more, and as a result, the tree gets planted.

Under communism, however, everyone ultimately receives the same pay, so that day they just repeat the meaningless work of digging a hole and filling it again.

I'm not sure whether that really spread as a joke or is a relic of the systemic rivalry of that era, but capitalism doesn't exactly run smoothly all the time either. What company pays the two remaining workers extra and makes them do more when one person is absent? You'd be lucky if they didn't run things for a few days, decide the tree-planter was unnecessary, and fire him instead.

And looking at the present situation, more money doesn't straightforwardly mean more work. People adapt to the pay they receive. If you pay someone hundreds of millions of won for idle work with no particular sense of accomplishment, later, if that idle time gets extra tasks assigned to it, the person working will think, "Uh, shouldn't I be getting paid more for this?" Because, whatever the person paying intends, the person receiving the money sees things in terms of what they've adapted to doing.

And even when the sums aren't in the hundreds of millions, the giver and the receiver always have a vast gap in perception. Even a convenience store owner paying minimum wage calls out to the part-timer, "You ought to at least do this much!" while the part-timer thinks, "Seriously? For this pay?"

Someone once said that what you see depends on where you stand.

Anyway, I hoped no such gap would arise between So-hee and me. For all our circumstances, we were friends, weren't we? Of course, when I first approached So-hee, I only went after her because of that heroine title... but by now my feelings had shifted a little.

And the best way to bridge that gap, as always, is for both sides to clearly observe courtesy toward each other. They say you can't spit on a smiling face. Even if we can't fully understand one another, if the other person simply sees that you're making an effort to understand, they'll meet you partway in their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own fashion.

"Uh, no, I'm fine....Am I?"

So-hee's father, who clearly hadn't expected me to come out, answered in a form that was neither casual speech nor formal speech.

Beside him, Little So-hee was yawning and rubbing her eyes. It looked as though father and daughter had been out having fun together. So-hee had come to see me in the morning, so she hadn't been able to join them.

Unlike So-hee, she hadn't dyed her hair, so it was black, but her face was an exact match. She'll definitely grow into a carbon copy of So-hee. Since I hadn't heard her name yet, though, she was Little So-hee in my mind for now.

"Uh... so, uh...."

So-hee's father glanced around as though looking for something, then cleared his throat with an ahem and said,

"By chance... is no other, family... here? With you?"

"Just speak comfortably. I'm friends with So-hee, after all."

When I said that, a slightly startled look crossed his face; then, looking a little sheepish, he cleared his throat again with an ahem.

"Ah, well then... so, uh..."

"I'm Ye Sa-ra."

At my belated self-introduction, So-hee's father nodded and said,

"Ah, right, Sara. You don't happen to have any family? Like, an older brother or something?"

I tilted my head at that and answered.

"Uh, no, I'm an only daughter."

If, by some one-in-a-million chance, there actually was a hidden younger sibling or half-sibling, one of those over-the-top drama-style setups unique to 'If You Wish', at least right now I didn't know about it. Probably not. However many of those over-the-top drama setups the game followed, it wouldn't go along with all of them. This was a dating sim first and foremost.

"Is, is that so?"

As if the words "only daughter" were that astonishing, So-hee's father's eyes went wide.

Was it really that surprising...?

Then again, maybe it was. Aside from myself, every person living in this mansion was a servant. And until not long ago, Choi Na-kyung had been the only visitor.

If I said I lived alone in a mansion so vast no one would find it strange to think multiple generations were renting it, it would sound wildly odd. He must have assumed I at least lived with family.

As if checking whether it was true, So-hee's father's eyes went to So-hee.

"Ah!"

So-hee exclaimed as though something had just occurred to her, then abruptly shot up from her seat.

She walked quickly over to her father and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Dad, let's talk for a second."

"Huh, sweetie?"

Though he stood because she'd taken his hand, he sounded a little flustered; So-hee hurriedly pulled him out of the room.

Given that the dining room was quite large and she still exited at high speed, So-hee had clearly been in a real hurry.

"......."

After staring open-mouthed after their retreating backs, I turned my head with a start.

...There was Little So-hee, who just moments ago had been rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Maybe she had fully woken up in that time; her eyes, barely clearing the top of the dining table, shone brightly and alertly.

The problem was that those bright, alert eyes were aimed directly at me.

"......."

Ah. I've, uh, never talked to kids before.

I felt a bead of cold sweat trail down my back.

*

So-hee dragged her dad to an unoccupied spot inside the mansion.

"...You know what you said earlier."

Even then, she kept her voice low. Not that anyone was watching, but she still wanted to be careful. Revealing it to the people around Sara was unavoidable, but if others found out, it might travel back to Sara's ears.

It was embarrassing, sure, but So-hee had her own firm convictions about romance. She didn't want to make someone hear a confession secondhand through another person's mouth. Someday, even if she confessed, she wanted to do it clearly, with her own voice, when they were alone. Naturally, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was much safer if it didn't reach anyone else's ears.

She had of course impressed this on Yang Hye-in and the others at the café earlier, too. Yu Ha-neul and Lee Su-a would keep the secret even if So-hee hadn't told them face-to-face, but Yang Hye-in was a different case. She'd told her openly because it seemed more convenient under the circumstances, but if she didn't separately tell her it was a secret, Yang Hye-in might blab it to Sara.

"Uh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sweetie, speaking of that... the person you like, by any chance, is that..."

"That's right."

So-hee nodded with a resolute expression.

"The person I like. It's her. The one who was sitting across from us in the dining room just a moment ago."

"Huh...."

So-hee's father let out a sigh.

Not that he particularly opposed same-sex relationships. He might be a little disappointed not to see blood-related grandchildren, but he didn't think he had to see them so badly that he'd stand in the way of his daughter's happiness.

More than that, it was that things were so wildly different from what he'd imagined that his head couldn't keep up with the situation.

The girl sitting opposite him earlier had, in many ways, been very much a "young lady." Not the vulgar street slang kind, but a young lady from a wealthy family. Meek, seemingly cultured, courteous... at any rate, her image completely didn't match what he'd heard earlier about "getting the deed done."

Ah, well, he'd seen time and again a person's image contradict their true nature, so it could be a little different, but—

It made him feel sorry toward his own daughter to think this, but... honestly, based on first impressions alone, the vibe wasn't so much that she might jump his daughter first, but the other way around.

"But, that girl... because of, well, this and that situation. I want to stay by her and help."

"......."

So-hee's father listened quietly with his arms crossed.

"It just so happens there's an open position here, she said. I want to stay here with her and work..."

"Ah, right...."

Hearing that, he felt the strength drain out of him.

So, the entire reason he'd rushed all the way here had been a misunderstanding. It wasn't "getting the deed done," but "wanting to work." Something like a part-time job, she must have meant.

She wanted to stay by her side, even a few hours after school, to help. That's how much she liked that girl.

Still, honestly, this was all very sudden.

Of course, talk about marriage and so on was far off. When it came to first loves, it didn't much matter who it was with. As a father he certainly objected to his daughter doing that kind of thing overnight with the person she'd fallen for, but if the other party was a reasonable person, the story was different.

The problem was that the other party was beyond anything he'd normally imagined.

Let's set the romance issue aside for a moment. For now, more than that—

"...But what kind of open position is it, anyway?"

"Ah, that."

At his question, So-hee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beamed.

"Her personal maid."

"......What?"

*

After their conversation, So-hee and her father returned to the dining room. So-hee looked somewhat relieved, while her father's expression was a bit troubled.

And the two of them came to an abrupt halt as they were about to enter.

"Your cheeks are sooo squishy~"

"Ee-hee, y-yeh, they arrre...?"

So-hee's little sister was happily squishing Sara's cheeks.

Worse, she was sitting on Sara's lap, facing her directly.

Of course, with one party so young, it might come across as a kid's playful mischief.

But Sara, with the child perched on her lap, was sweating buckets at the forehead and looking utterly helpless, as if she had no idea what to do. Her expression practically said this was her first time dealing with a young child and she had no clue how to act.

And that was almost certainly the truth.

"S-So-ri!"

So-hee yelped in alarm, calling her little sister's name. The named sister, still kneading Sara's face, only turned her head to look at her older sister.

"Ah, sis! Look! Sara's cheeks are really, really squishy!"

The cheek squished in that tiny hand did, admittedly, look squishy. Enough to make you want to poke it with a fingertip.

But that wasn't the problem right now.

So-hee rushed over and swiftly snatched So-ri up by the waist. So-ri's little body dangled in the air. Apparently finding it fun, So-ri let out peals of giggling laughter.

And so, that day, Shin So-hee's little sister Shin So-ri became the very first child to squish the face of the richest teenager on the planet.

So-hee had done far more than that herself.