I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
A few hours later, Dad brought me into the room where Alpha and Beta were.
Knowing this building was mine, I hadn't been able to wipe the smile off my face.
'So this is what the world looks like to a chaebol heir with a rich dad...'
All the worries I'd carried until now vanished in an instant.
'The world looks so clear, so bright. And so does my life.'
"Keh-ha-ha-ha."
I was standing with my hands clasped behind my back, looking out the window, when Dad called my name, sounding worried.
"Si-yoon, are you okay?"
"Huh? I'm great~"
I knelt beside Dad and helped him brush Alpha and Beta.
"Si-yoon, do you like money that much?"
"No?"
Maybe he saw the lie on my face, because Dad kept talking.
"Did I... not raise you well enough? Why are you like this?"
Dad, who had been brushing Alpha, was worrying in dead earnest. I just blurted something out without thinking.
"You told Grandma you only had enough money to raise me."
"...Huh?"
"Didn't you?"
As if he'd just remembered that, Dad's voice trembled.
"Th... that was a lie... you'd only just started stringing words together back then..."
I got the feeling I'd set something in motion that shouldn't have started.
Come to think of it, the first time I ever said the word "Dad" was when I heard that.
I shrugged and said casually,
"I remember being in Mom's belly, too, you know."
"....."
Dad thought it over for a moment, then said, as if he'd seen something like this before,
"Ah... so you remember up until you were four..."
"Yeah, yeah. Back then I got bored, so I played with that long string."
Dad briefly pictured what I was describing, then stared at me, horrified.
Then he pulled out his phone, quickly ran a search, and discovered that I was perfectly normal.
I figured I'd better be careful for a while, and stroked Beta's chest as she nuzzled against me.
As time passed, by the time I turned five, I was getting taller by the day, and now I came up to Dad's hip.
After I appeared in Dad's music video, an offer came in asking me to model children's clothing.
I was curious what kind of clothes they had, and I thought I'd like to try it at least once.
"It might be hard, you know."
"It's fine."
Once we arrived at the set, Dad stood off in the distance holding my things.
The director of photography looked at me like he'd fallen in love.
"Ji-ho, Si-yoon's incredibly smart, isn't she?"
"You think so?"
The director nodded emphatically at Dad.
"Wow... I seriously can't stop being amazed. She's a natural in front of the camera."
"Ah-ha-ha..."
After all kinds of shooting were finished, Dad, who hadn't been happy about me doing the shoot...
looked at the photos of me, nodded to himself, and put them into his wallet.
"Why're you putting them there?"
"Huh?"
"You're supposed to put 'em with Mom."
Dad stared at his wallet for a second and then started to brood over the problem.
"...Just a sec. Let me get some more copies."
"....."
I'd chosen a photo as a way to comfort him.
I'd figured that if a picture of us went into the box, Mom would be able to see it too...
When we got home, Dad started making a meal.
I sat in a chair and watched him cook for a while, then reached for the notebook and pen beside me.
I picked up music too quickly, so for something to kill time with, I'd chosen what I was worst at: drawing.
But even that, after sticking with it for a while, had reached a level that overwhelmed kids my own age.
"Heh... my talent is truly..."
"Si-yoon, what're you doing?"
"Drawing you, Dad."
"Really?"
Dad looked at my drawing and fell silent for a moment.
"...What's with that reaction?"
"...Huh? It's so cool~ Is this me, your dad?"
His lifeless response made me pretend I was going to rip up my drawing.
"No! You drew it perfectly! Isn't this practically a photo?! You really are good at everything, my daughter~"
I saw his reaction, let out a snicker, and put the drawing back where it had been.
My drawing ability was overwhelming for my age, but even then, it was only at the level of a lower-elementary student.
"Si-yoon, is drawing fun?"
"You think there's something I'm bad at?"
As I spun my pen and kept drawing, Dad laughed and said,
"Both your mom and I are terrible at drawing, so you probably... won't be very good at it either?"
"There's nothing you can't do with effort."
"Hearing that from a five-year-old is kind of absurd, though."
He said it sarcastically. When I stared at him without a word, he flinched.
"...I'm gonna be a painter."
"...Huh?"
"I'll succeed at the thing I'm worst at~ Then I'll be good at everything else too~~"
"Hmm... Si-yoon? Wouldn't it be better to do what you're best at?"
I thought back to the past for a second and nodded.
"Okay, then fighting?"
"...Is our Si-yoon good at fighting?"
Dad clearly thought I was joking.
"Yep. Better than you, Dad~"
"Come on~ Do you even know how strong Dad is?!"
"Nope. You're weak, Dad."
"....."
Suddenly, Dad rolled up his sleeve and stuck out his pinky finger.
Not sure what he was getting at, I just looked at him.
"Arm wrestle me."
"You want me to snap it?"
At those words, he immediately folded his pinky back down.
"...Sorry."
I watched Dad cook for a while, then started drawing again.
My skill wasn't improving; only my drawing speed was getting faster.
To the point that I was almost just cranking them out.
Realizing this wasn't going to cut it, I searched for 'drawing practice' on my phone and started following the tutorials.
"Oh..."
Dad watched me as he cooked, then nodded.
The drawing had perfectly formed fingers.
When the video ended, I turned to the next page in my notebook.
And this time I started drawing what I could remember, without the video.
The fingers on the notebook page had turned into bean sprouts.
"....."
"...Pfft."
"...You laughing?"
Dad flinched under my glare and avoided my eyes. I spoke to him in a low voice.
"Dad."
"...Y-yeah?"
"You barely do anything better than a five-year-old little kid, so stop making me look like I've got no manners when other people see us."
"Yes."
I'd gotten sick of drawing, so I shoved the notebook carelessly to the side.
Dad, who'd been reading my mood, neatly straightened the notebook I'd shoved aside.
There was always a notebook and pen wherever I spent time.
That was Dad being considerate of me, since I'd gotten absorbed in drawing.
Also, I still fell asleep in Dad's arms.
Because this young father of mine couldn't fall asleep without me.
By now, all kinds of people had started coming over to visit.
Starting with Da-yeon's mother, and even Dad's acquaintances who'd been shrouded in mystery.
"Grandma, you sleeping over tonight?"
"Of course~ Are you happy about it too, my Si-yoon?"
"Yeah. What about Grandpa?"
"He says he's busy, so he'll come tomorrow~"
I quickly drew a picture and handed it to Grandma.
Watching this, Dad started frantically signaling Grandma.
"Is that Grandma? It looks exactly like me~"
"...That's Dad...?"
"".....""
Dad's pupils started to tremble like he was having a PTSD attack,
and Grandma saw his expression and began reading my mood.
I tried to snatch the notebook out of Grandma's hand, but she held on, smiled, and said,
"Your father looks like his mother, you know? So it's an easy mistake~ Grandma's got short hair too~"
I looked at Grandma, who was making a desperate excuse, and spoke in a low voice.
"Hmm... try being a little more convincing."
"W-well... your dad is as pretty as you are, Si-yoon. You drew him so prettily that I thought it was Grandma~"
So... my pretty dad is pretty, and because I drew him prettily, he was so pretty that she thought it was her...?
'Is this one of those "the giraffe I drew is a giraffe, and the giraffe you drew is a giraffe" situations?'
It was the kind of excuse you could almost understand if someone actually had the reasoning capacity of a five-year-old.
"Honestly, you know it doesn't make any sense either, right, Grandma?"
"...I suppose so."
"Give me back my sketchbook."
In the end, Grandma did not get a single drawing from me.
I started to find this kind of thing fun, so I gave people one chance per day to take a drawing home.
Surprisingly, Da-yeon was the one who took the most of my drawings.
Looking back at myself enjoying this kind of thing, it felt like my mind was following my body now that my body had become a child's.
At this point, even I didn't know myself anymore...
I swung my legs and set Alpha down in front of me to draw.
Thanks to a year of repetition, my drawing ability had improved noticeably.
Even so, it was still only at an upper-elementary level, but it looked like it'd reach middle-school level soon.
"Si-yoon."
"Yeah?"
"You want to try playing an instrument with me?"
"No, it's too easy."
He'd probably never had anyone say they didn't want to do something because it was too easy in his whole life.
Dad laughed awkwardly.
"It might be harder than you think."
Dad pulled out a dust-covered violin.
He dusted it off, tuned it, and got into position to play.
"Dad, do you want me to play violin on your next song?"
"....."
"I can read you like a book."
And with that, Dad put the violin back away.
"If it's piano, I'll play it for you."
Dad's eyes sparkled, and he spent the rest of the day asking what kind of piano I liked.
"A grand piano... isn't that overkill?"
Dad answered as if that was absolutely not the case.
"No way, the sound is completely different, you know."
"A digital piano is fine."
Dad looked at internet storefronts like he was disappointed, but in the end ordered a digital piano.
"Want to go out to eat with me today?"
"Meat?"
"Of course~"
"Nice."
We got ready to go out and went down to the parking garage.
Dad put me in the car seat.
"Where're we going?"
"You can look forward to it~"
On the way to the barbecue place, CEO Jang Seong-man got into the passenger seat, and Ji-eun got in next to me.
When I merely gave a cool wave hello, Ji-eun touched my cheek.
"Si-yoon~~"
"Ow."
"Hmph... I was gentle..."
I casually picked up my phone and started playing a movie review.
"Oh... I had fun watching that one too."
I glanced at Dad, then tried to shoot Ji-eun a look that said "be quiet," but the oblivious Ji-eun spoke out loud.
"Alien vs. Predator, huh? That's, like, a super old movie~"
"Kim Si-yoon..."
"...Yeah?"
I quickly shoved the phone into my pocket.
"I told you not to watch stuff like that."
"...Sorry..."
I shot Ji-eun a glare, so she avoided my eyes. Dad saw her in the rearview mirror and said,
"You're trying to blame someone else? Even though you were the one watching it, Si-yoon?"
"...Sorry."
Dad let out a sigh and focused on driving.
Ji-eun quietly apologized to me.
I ignored Ji-eun and stared at my phone.
I deliberately turned up the volume and put on Pororo, and the song filled the car.
[Playing is the best~]
"".....""
I'd only turned on Pororo, which I didn't even like, out of a petty act of defiance, so Dad gave me a disappointed look.
"Pl... playing is the best..."
At the sight of me awkwardly singing along, Dad cracked a smile. I handed the phone over to Ji-eun.
"Ji-eun, watch this. I'm gonna sleep. Good night, Grandpa. Dad, get some sleep later if you've got time."
I closed my eyes and tried to pretend to be asleep, but I ended up genuinely passing out.
Because this body fell asleep far too easily...