I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
CEO Jang Seong-man looked at Kim Ji-ho and spoke as if he'd been wronged.
"Why am I still Grandpa?"
"...There's a pretty big age gap, isn't there."
Ji-eun looked at Si-yoon.
"I'm in the doghouse—what do I do?"
"...Hm."
"You said Si-yoon's too smart to forget things, that she even remembers being in the womb?"
"She remembers people being extra nice to her first, so you probably don't have to worry..."
"Really...?"
Kim Ji-ho laughed awkwardly and laid out his strategy for dealing with a sulky Si-yoon.
"If you want her to get over it fast, you've gotta be real good to her for about a week... Is Si-yoon asleep, though?"
"Yeah, her breathing's pretty deep?"
"She pretends to sleep like that a lot."
"She's drooling, though?"
Kim Ji-ho checked Si-yoon in the rearview mirror and nodded.
"She's definitely asleep... She never lets anyone see her looking unflattering, you know."
"Such a fashionista~"
Jang Seong-man, who'd been listening, glanced at Si-yoon.
"So, when's this Grandpa thing supposed to get fixed?"
Kim Ji-ho laughed awkwardly, thought for a moment, and said to Jang Seong-man.
"Um... rather than me talking to her, it'd probably be better if you persuaded her yourself?"
"What does Si-yoon like?"
Kim Ji-ho, who'd been deep in thought while driving, spoke up.
"Uh... um... women?"
""...?""
"Maybe because she's growing up without a mom, she really likes being held by adult women."
"Ah..."
Not knowing the truth, everyone looked at Si-yoon with pity in their eyes.
"Si-yoon~ we're here. Wake up!"
I woke with a start at my dad's voice.
And Ji-eun lifted me into her arms.
"...? Why are you holding me?"
"Am I not allowed to hold you?"
"No, but I'd be heavy?"
"You're only thirteen kilos—how is that heavy~"
"Hm... isn't that like a quarter of you?"
Ji-eun's arms were nothing but bone, the complete opposite of Dad's.
"It's not... that bad~"
"You're all bones—it hurts. Put me down."
Ji-eun looked at me as though she'd been dealt a blow.
"Whoa... I'm hurt..."
"Yeah, well, good for you then."
"...Don't tell me you're getting revenge?"
"Huh? Oh... you're sharp."
Genuinely offended now, Ji-eun set me down,
and I scurried over to my dad and threw myself into his arms.
Dad works out every single day, so he's in really good shape.
Thirteen kilos is nothing to him—probably the equivalent of a sandbag.
"Dad, I sat too long and my legs ache. Rub them for me."
Dad started kneading my thighs with his free hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Ahh, that hits the spot! See? You can't do this, can you?"
"....."
I savored the comfortable ride as we headed to the restaurant.
Ji-eun sliced the beef ribs into tiny pieces.
Her fingers were small, yet she had cut the meat into pieces as tiny as her fingernails.
Dad looked at me eating the meat and wiped my mouth.
"You've gotta chew it thoroughly before you swallow."
"Ji-eun chews less than I do when she eats, you know."
"....."
And I looked over at Jang Seong-man.
"Grandpa just swallows it whole, I see..."
The two of them were reading my expressions, but Dad alone was chewing every bite thirty times.
Seeing that, the others started chewing the tender beef thirty times a bite, jaws working away.
"Si-yoon, what kind of food do you like?"
"Hm... I eat most things, but Dad hasn't made me much variety."
I was munching on a cucumber pepper dipped in ssamjang as a palate cleanser, and they were all staring at me.
Maybe because it's a child's body, my tongue is sensitive and I can taste flavors much more vividly.
Dad took a call from Kim Seon-hwa.
"Yes, Da-yeon's mother."
People looked curious about who it was.
"Overseas?"
The moment the word "overseas" came up, everyone at the table pricked up their ears.
The call went on for a while—Dad wrapped it up with an "understood."
I looked at him while chewing my meat, and he filled me in.
"She's saying let's go on a trip next week. Da-yeon wants to go together."
"Where to?"
"Australia, apparently."
"Okay."
When Ji-eun asked who Da-yeon was and what her family did, Dad answered with a smile.
"She's CEO Lee Jin-seok's daughter—from Hanseong."
"...Huh?"
Ji-eun looked thoroughly thrown by this, but beside her, Jang Seong-man dropped his chopsticks.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
I was mindlessly eating onion, then picked up some garlic and dipped it in ssamjang and ate it—and was struck with horror.
A tongue engulfed in fire.
"Gyaak!"
"Si-yoon!!!"
At my scream, the conversation cut off,
and thanks to this body's sensitivity to pain, I shed tears for the first time in my life.
"....."
"You okay?"
"....."
Dad, trying to wipe my tears away.
"I didn't cry."
"Yeah, that's my tough girl."
Dad cracked a tiny smile at this rare glimpse of my childish side.
My face went hot instantly, and I shoved away the handkerchief in his hand.
"Put that away. I didn't cry."
Dad laughed and took the garlic out of my mouth with his hand.
The Hanseong family had moved into my palace, Tower Palace.
At Kim Seon-hwa's request, I was at Da-yeon's place, now that she'd finished moving in.
"Si-yoon!"
Da-yeon appeared, her arms overflowing with rabbit dolls.
"Hi."
Da-yeon looked at me without a word, then waved the hand of the rabbit doll in a dress.
"Right—hi to you too, Unfortunate Antonio, Olivia, Mamarid."
Only then did Da-yeon nod, satisfied.
"Did Si-yoon come?"
"Yes."
"You came by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Goodness... what's the occasion? Your daddy let our Si-yoon come alone?"
"...You open the door and it's literally the unit across the hall. Isn't it kind of ridiculous to come together?"
"....."
This massive apartment building had two units per floor.
"Haah... of all places, it had to be right across the hall..."
"...You don't like that, I take it, Si-yoon..."
"Nope."
At my resolute answer, Kim Seon-hwa's pupils quivered, like she'd lost the ability to speak.
"....."
Now thirty-two, Kim Seon-hwa still looked like she could pass for her mid-twenties.
I was simply marveling at how interior design alone could make an apartment with the exact same layout exude such an antique atmosphere.
"Si-yoon's here?"
Lee Jin-seok, a man who ought to be swamped, was home.
I waved lazily at him like I couldn't be bothered, and Lee Jin-seok smiled.
"Oh my, you're not scared of Mister?"
I treated him like some guy next door, but he was the heir to Hanseong, Korea's second-largest conglomerate.
And because of the scar etched into his face, even grown adults were sometimes afraid of Lee Jin-seok.
"Hmph... not really."
The scar was from a knife wound caused by Park Gi's blunder—it gave him a rough look, sure,
but compared to Jae-hyeong's face... it was practically cute.
Lee Jin-seok looked at me a few times, regarding me like his own daughter.
"You came over to play with Da-yeon?"
"Haah... just give me some snacks."
I climbed up onto a chair like I was scaling a summit, plopped myself down, and started eating snacks as naturally as I did at home.
Da-yeon seemed to want to play dolls with me—she still hadn't let go of Unfortunate Antonio, Olivia, or Mamarid.
"Why do these guys all have English names?"
"They were born in England!"
"Ah..."
Foreign-born. I had no comeback for that.
"Si-yoon, we're going to Australia—isn't it gonna be fun!?"
Kim Seon-hwa sat down beside me and wiped my mouth.
"Hmph... sounds like a pain."
"There's tons of fun stuff there, you know!"
I looked over at Lee Jin-seok, sitting on the sofa going over work.
"Great Barrier Reef."
At my words, Lee Jin-seok, who'd been focused on his work, flinched.
When I grinned at that, Lee Jin-seok averted his eyes.
""...?""
"Heh heh heh... a five-year-old runt grasping the real essence first. Heh."
"....."
I snacked away while looking at Kim Seon-hwa.
Full makeup, trendy outfit—even though she was at home.
Except for one thing: her belly was round and bulging.
Da-yeon was getting a sibling.
"All Blue~"
Lee Jin-seok flinched, like he'd caught my meaning.
"What's All Blue?"
"It's from a pirate cartoon~"
"Huh?"
I drank my milk and wiped my mouth with the handkerchief Kim Seon-hwa was holding.
"Shall we go play in English?"
"Yeah!"
I picked up Unfortunate Antonio and Olivia from Da-yeon's arms.
Da-yeon followed me around more than she did her own parents.
Da-yeon and I started chatting in English.
"What's All Blue?"
"Mm?"
"What Si-yoon said. Why's the ocean by Australia called All Blue?"
Lee Jin-seok dodged his wife Kim Seon-hwa's gaze.
Kim Seon-hwa pinched Lee Jin-seok's cheek.
"Honey. Before I get mad, how about being honest with me?"
"...Fishing."
"What about All Blue?"
"It's... all the world's fish species gather there, so..."
"Good grief... I knew you liked fishing, but still..."
Embarrassed, Lee Jin-seok returned his attention to his work.
"What's wrong with going somewhere you'd enjoy?"
"...Seon-hwa."
Lee Jin-seok gazed at Kim Seon-hwa with deep affection.
"Si-yoon is right here, you know?"
"...Yeah."
The heir of Hanseong—able to shake the Republic of Korea—was at the very bottom of the pecking order at home.
"Si-yoon, let's eat."
I shook my head at Kim Seon-hwa's suggestion.
Jeong-yeon must have gotten back from hagwon—he was peeking at me from behind Kim Seon-hwa, stealing glances.
"I have to eat with my dad."
"Why?"
"It's sad eating alone."
"Ah... then, should we call your daddy over?"
I pictured Dad, who'd probably already made dinner at home.
"He's probably already cooked?"
"Si-yoon... you're leaving?"
Da-yeon got teary-eyed every time I stepped out of her house.
"Wanna eat at my place?"
"Yeah!"
"It's okay if I take Da-yeon, right?"
Kim Seon-hwa smiled and nodded.
"Of course~"
Da-yeon immediately started scrambling to pack up her rabbit dolls, and I laughed as I said,
"Just one."
"They're people."
"Fine. Just one person."
After agonizing over it for a while, Da-yeon picked up Unfortunate Antonio.
"Let's go."
I took the hand Da-yeon held out, and we headed to my place.
The door was slightly ajar.
"Dad!"
"Yeah! Hold on!"
Dad came scrambling out and opened the door.
"Oh? Da-yeon's here too?"
"Yes! Mommy said I could come play!"
"Yeah? Come on in~"
I spoke to Dad as he scooped Da-yeon into his arms.
"Food."
"Got it, just a sec~ Da-yeon, you have fun playing with Si-yoon, okay~"
"Okay!"
The moment I got home, I sat on the sofa, pulled out my phone, and put on a movie review.
"Si-yoon, you're supposed to be playing with Da-yeon, you know."
At Dad's words, I looked over at Da-yeon.
"Da-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"Playing with Antonio's enough, isn't it?"
"...I wanna play with Si-yoon, though..."
Dad glanced over from the kitchen while he cooked and laughed.
"Si-yoon, come play with Antonio tooogether~"
I sleep in Dad's room, but I took Da-yeon and headed to my room.
"Whoa! So many dolls!"
Da-yeon's house was full of high-end dolls, sure, but my room was overflowing with limited-edition dolls that little girls loved.
Because Dad was known as a composer—one of the hearts of JSM—and too many people around him liked to give me things like this.
"You want this one, Da-yeon?"
"...I can have it?"
"Of course~"
Honestly, I don't like kids, but Da-yeon's all right.
She was at an age where kids normally only think about themselves, but Da-yeon wasn't like that at all.
As if to prove that between innate goodness and innate evil, goodness was the correct one.
Da-yeon stared with round eyes at a rabbit doll whose single leg was as big as her entire body.
"You want that one?"
"...Yeah."
"Dad!!!"
At my yell, Dad dropped what he was cooking and came dashing over.
"You called?"
I pointed at the giant rabbit doll.
"Da-yeon says she wants it."
"Si-yoon, you don't need it?"
"Nope."
"Okay~ When Da-yeon leaves, Mister will carry it over for you~"
"Really!? Yay!!!"
I watched Da-yeon clutching the huge rabbit doll with a beaming smile.
"Alpha, Beta, come here."
After a moment, Alpha and Beta heard my voice and padded into the room.
Da-yeon's eyes sparkled—Alpha and Beta took a liking to her right away, and I handed Da-yeon a Churu treat.
"Just feed them a little at a time."
"Okay!"
Unfortunate Antonio the rabbit doll had long since been abandoned on the bed.