I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
I, Kang Han-seong, Succumb to Capital.
Da-yeon ate better than I expected.
Even a rich little miss apparently crumbled in the presence of ham.
"Is it good?"
"Yes!"
"Glad to hear it~"
Dad doted on Da-yeon a lot—maybe he was getting some vicarious satisfaction through her with a side of me he never got to see.
I handled my chopsticks and picked up a piece of ham cut into tiny bites.
After we ate, Dad picked up a drowsy Da-yeon—she must've gotten a food coma or something.
When we took Da-yeon home, he gave her family the rabbit doll as a present and then we came back.
"Si-yoon, time to wash up."
"Yeah."
Dad took off my clothes and started bathing me.
"Ahh... the water temperature is perfect~"
"Is that so, Your Highness? Is there anything else you require?"
Dad looked at me and laughed.
"Yes, yes. My scalp seems to be itching, so let's use the royal shampoo."
"Yay~"
I finished the shower while humoring Dad, put on my pajamas by myself, and climbed onto the bed.
I was messing with my phone in the dark room when Dad spoke up.
"Sweetie? If you look at your phone with the lights off, you'll ruin your eyes."
"Look at this."
Dad pulled me into his arms, smelled my shampoo, and looked at the phone I was showing him.
It was full of comments on a photo I took.
- Is that Ji-ho's daughter?!
- Nah, I heard she's a child actress?
- To the commenter above: there are tons of photos of Ji-ho and Si-yoon together. You're seriously late to the party.
- Don't need any of that, she's seriously so pretty...
-Considering her mom and dad... totally agree.
Dad was smiling and reading through the praise for me when I looked at him and said,
"Tomorrow. Jajangmyeon."
"You want jajangmyeon?"
"Yeah."
"Si-yoon, you've never had it before."
"That's why I want it."
Dad quickly looked up whether it was a food I was allowed to eat.
He thought about it for a moment, then got up, checked the fridge, and came back.
"Want Daddy to make it for you?"
"Too much trouble. Let's order in."
Dad laughed and climbed carefully onto the bed and pulled me into a tight hug.
The next morning, Beta climbed onto the bed and licked my face.
"Yaaawn..."
Dad opened his eyes because of my stretching.
Maybe still booting up—he was sitting there staring blankly at Alpha.
"Si-yoon, want to try tangsuyuk and dumplings too?"
"Yeah."
Dad scratched his stomach so his abs showed and picked up the intercom instead of his phone.
"...?"
Apparently this apartment building even had a Chinese restaurant.
The Chinese food arrived a few minutes later.
"I'll pay with cash."
Dad got scissors and cut the jajangmyeon into quarters, then started mixing mine for me.
I expected the jajangmyeon taste I was used to, but this had a much deeper flavor.
Dad laughed at my wide, round eyes.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah."
I picked up a piece of tangsuyuk bigger than my hand.
Dad, who had somehow already fetched tongs and scissors, took the tangsuyuk from my hand.
Then he cut it into small pieces again. I ate the finely cut tangsuyuk.
"Hwomp."
"What's wrong?!"
"Sooo yummy."
"Ahaha."
The chewy texture wasn't the tangsuyuk I knew.
Tangsuyuk packed with incredible juices.
More than anything, since Dad's cooking was lightly seasoned, this tasted even better.
"After we eat, want to go swimming with Da-yeon?"
"Da-yeon said she wants to swim?"
"Yeah."
"Babies really are a pain..."
"Si-yoon, you're also... a ba-by?"
"Waaah."
Lee Jin-seok, wearing his swimsuit, found himself forced to acknowledge Kim Seon-hwa's love for her apartment.
Lee Jin-seok rested his chin on his hands in the water and looked out the window.
"Wow... the view is killer~"
"...?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Lee Jin-seok turned and found me beside him in the same pose, looking out at the Han River from the water.
Lee Jin-seok looked back with an expression like he was searching for his own daughter and discovered that Da-yeon and Jeong-yeon were playing with Kim Ji-ho.
If you only watched this scene, I looked like Lee Jin-seok's daughter, and Jeong-yeon and Da-yeon looked like Dad's kids.
Because I was putting off a vibe that fit being Lee Jin-seok's daughter a lot better.
"....."
Lee Jin-seok stared at me.
"Lift me up. I can't see the bottom."
"...Huh? Okay..."
At my words, Lee Jin-seok, who had been studying me for a second, lifted me up.
People riding bikes along the Han River.
"The world has really come a long way~"
At the words that came out of the mouth of a little kid who was approaching six, Lee Jin-seok made a face that said, Did I hear that wrong?
"...?"
From Lee Jin-seok's arm, I executed a flashy backflip dive into the water.
Then I swam underwater toward the schoolgirl I had seen before in the elevator.
"Yo~ hisashiburi."
The schoolgirl, who had been startled by me suddenly popping out of the water, took off her goggles.
"...Huh? Hi! You're Si-yoon, right?!"
The schoolgirl quickly scanned her surroundings, and when she spotted Dad, her face lit up.
"Eek. Ji-ho is so handsome."
"...?"
The schoolgirl suddenly started fixing her hair—Dad wasn't even looking at her.
"You trying to be my mom?"
"...Hey... I mean, if I could...?"
"...?"
Dad, who had been playing with Da-yeon, was looking around like he was searching for me.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he found me, then acknowledged the schoolgirl's shy greeting with a nod.
Then Dad went over to Lee Jin-seok and started talking seriously about something.
When I caught sight of that, I said goodbye to the schoolgirl.
"Ja~ ne."
"Yeah, bye~ Si-yoon."
I dove underwater and surfaced right between Dad and Lee Jin-seok.
"You startled me."
Dad, genuinely surprised, looked at me.
"You were in the middle of a conversation about All Blue, right?"
"".....""
Dad also knew what All Blue was.
It was now 2020 in South Korea.
And C-19 had started spreading widely through Korea.
We couldn't go overseas, so our trip to Australia was canceled.
"Does Dad like fishing too?"
"Of course~ Si-yoon's grandpa likes it a ton, too."
I learned about Dad's new hobby.
"The Great Barrier Reef... I wanted to go too..."
"We probably could still go... but I'm a public figure too... What a shame."
A trip they were genuinely looking forward to.
The two of them were honestly disappointed they couldn't go on that fishing trip,
and Dad just stared emptily at the fishing gear they'd already ordered that was now going to waste.
"Haah... The trouble always seems to come from China."
"Expanding overseas is difficult enough already... and our investments in China took a huge hit this time..."
Dad looked at the dejected Lee Jin-seok.
"Ah, that makes sense..."
Dad was a high-school graduate, so I figured he wouldn't know much besides music, but the two of them were carrying on a conversation just fine.
I dove underwater again and headed toward Kim Seon-hwa.
She was sitting in a cushy chair, maybe trying to rest.
I looked at her belly, sticking out, and asked Kim Seon-hwa.
"What's the name?"
"We haven't decided yet. Next week, Jeong-yeon's grandpa is going to name him~"
I looked at Kim Seon-hwa's stomach with the baby inside, still only just formed.
"Si-yoon has to help take care of him~"
"Jeong-yeon is right there."
Before I knew it Da-yeon had come up next to me and was talking to me.
Da-yeon, with her hair tied up and wearing a swim ring, was honestly cute.
"You should show him some respect—he's older than both me and Si-yoon!"
"I'll start doing that when I enter elementary school~"
Suddenly Jeong-yeon, behind her, clenched both hands tight.
Kim Seon-hwa looked me in the eye, like she still hadn't gotten my answer.
"Hmm... as long as he's as nice as Da-yeon."
"Ho-oh... laying the groundwork, are we?"
I laughed awkwardly and slipped into the water like a diver doing a backward entry.
Then I floated on my back, swam over to the window again, and came up.
Swimming at a dizzyingly high altitude brought a laugh out of me.
'This building is mine...'
Si-yoon was still feeling the thrill of being a platinum-spoon kid.
February 2020. Because of C-19, the kindergarten—after discussions among the mothers—chose to temporarily close in order to monitor the situation.
I was at the JSM headquarters and asked Dad.
"Why do I have to wear a mask?"
"It's dangerous if you don't~"
I was in Dad's arms, getting my temperature checked and heading to his workspace when a girl group approached us from the front.
'Oh man... they're incredible.'
By my honest standards, three out of the five were overwhelmingly prettier than Ji-eun.
Almost as much as the first time I saw Mom.
"Hello, sir!"
Dad casually acknowledged their greeting.
"Si-yoon! You're so pretty!"
It was hard to ignore attention from beautiful women, but I exercised forbearance and half-heartedly waved a hand.
If I reacted like that, they'd only swarm more...
Dad snorted at my hand gesture—the one that popped out whenever I saw a pretty girl.
Dad spoke to the one who, among the members with overwhelming looks, seemed the prettiest.
"Ji-su, you're done with practice?"
"Of course! The song you gave us, sir, it's seriously insane..."
Everyone around her was nodding.
One year later, the song Dad and I sang was still in the top 10 on the Watermelon chart.
The views on Neotube had already passed 900 million.
Suddenly one of the women started rummaging through her bag for something.
"Can I give this to Si-yoon?"
Before Dad could react, I opened my little hand, made eye contact, and nodded.
"Gimme."
But she just laughed at my reaction and looked at Dad.
"Yeah, yeah, you can give it to her."
A piece of candy I had never seen before was placed in my hand.
"Ho-oh..."
When I handed it to Dad, he tore it open with his teeth and gave it back.
As I brought the candy to my mouth, eight eyes went starry.
"...Why?"
The moment I put the candy in my mouth and one cheek bulged out, they all started fidgeting.
The woman who had given me the candy spoke up.
"We just want to see Si-yoon enjoying something tasty, that's all~"
"Don't stare. You're making me uncomfortable."
"".....""
Dad laughed and said,
"After a few simple words, the first real phrase Si-yoon ever said was, 'You're making me uncomfortable,' so..."
"Whoa... just how many stares must she have gotten..."
"When she's that pretty, getting so much attention would make anyone uncomfortable."
And yet they kept staring at me even harder.
"...I said you're making me uncomfortable."
"".....""
"Wow... she talks really well..."
I realized that our running into this girl group hadn't been a coincidence.
They followed us to Dad's workspace.
I sat on Ji-su's lap.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah."
I leaned my back against Ji-su's body as she held me, and the warmth of her body traveled along my back.
'Wow...'
I was exercising extreme self-restraint and keeping my expression under control,
but Ji-su's scent—perfume, or shampoo, or maybe just the smell of her skin, I couldn't tell—was shaking my sanity.
The members, watching my expression steadily go slack, spoke up.
"Sir, Si-yoon doesn't seem to smile much?"
"Si-yoon? Around pretty people, she normally doesn't smile."
""...Sorry?""
One by one, they were singing inside.
"Ji-su, what're their names?"
"Huh? Oh, my friends?"
"Yeah."
"Rije, Chae-yeong, Yua, Eun-jeong."
Then Yua, who looked the youngest and had been sneaking glances at me the whole time, spoke up.
"Si-yoon, who's the prettiest?"
"Me?"
"Oh... that's true."
Yua nodded seriously at my answer, all of a sudden.
'What do you mean, "that's true"...'
"Chae-yeong."
"Huh?"
"What's your last name?"
"Jeon. Why?"
"I don't like 'Jeon'..."
"".....?""
"It sounds like you're introducing yourself."
"...?"
"Jeon Chae-yeong—'I'm Chae-yeong,' get it? Ahaha!"
"".....?""
Only Dad, who understood my brand of humor, touched his forehead and shook his head.
But Ji-su, who had been quietly snickering behind me, asked,
"What do you say in Japanese when a knife is delicious?"
"It wasn't delicious, actually."
I'd been stabbed before, so I answered with a straight face, but my expression couldn't hold up against what Ji-su said next.
"Wakari-mashita!"
"Pfft?"
Si-yoon's pride was hurt to have laughed at something like this,
but amid Ji-su's ongoing bits, the workspace was filled with Si-yoon's laughter.