First Impression.
First Impression.
Kim Ji-ho was working on the song he'd made together with Si-yoon.
The phone beside his computer rang, and he answered it.
"Hello?"
—"This is Hanbit Daycare."
"Oh, Director. Yes."
—"Well, there's a friend named Da-yeon..."
"Ah, yes, I know. I heard she's Si-yoon's first friend."
Because of the cautious tone in the director's voice, Ji-ho stopped working and focused on the call.
"Did Si-yoon... cause some kind of... trouble...?"
—"What?! No, Da-yeon's mother would like to speak with Si-yoon."
Ji-ho let out a relieved sigh.
—"May I hand her the phone?"
"Yes, yes."
A young woman's voice came through the receiver.
—"Hello~ I'm Da-yeon's mom."
"Yes~ I'm Si-yoon's dad."
—"I... would it be all right if I talked to Si-yoon?"
"May I ask... what this is about?"
—"Oh~ Da-yeon just likes Si-yoon so much."
Ji-ho nodded at Kim Seon-hwa's words.
Si-yoon had called Da-yeon a bothersome kid yesterday.
Ji-ho, who knew Si-yoon well, understood that Si-yoon had meant it, but...
to another parent's eyes, it would naturally look different.
"Sure, as long as Si-yoon isn't uncomfortable with it~"
—"Really? Thank you~"
"No problem~ Please take good care of our Si-yoon~"
—"I will!"
The English novel Dad had bought for me.
—Tears Become The Sea.
I'd been reading it for a while when, sure enough, the little kid named Da-yeon plopped down next to me.
"Whoa... Si-yoon, you know how to read English?!"
I gave a half-hearted nod, as if she were annoying me.
"Then read it to me!"
I gave a short laugh and translated the very first written passage for her.
"The dragon's valor that once split the sky is forgotten, and the empire's grandeur is forgotten."
"...?"
"The royal stelae are worn away by the wind, buried in the sand, and their existence is buried with them."
"......"
"The life of the vulgar. When lowered beneath even their station, one small life blossoms."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"How should I know."
Whether my strategy had worked, the little kid hovered around for a bit before starting to play by herself.
The novel's content was more entertaining than I'd expected, and just as I was deeply focused, the young teacher came looking for me.
I set the book down, let the young teacher pick me up, and headed to the director's office.
I stared at one spot, briefly considered pretending I knew nothing and touching it, but barely held myself back.
When we reached the director's office, a woman was seated there, dressed in clothes best described by the word 'luxury'—
she looked like some future aristocrat.
'Whoa.'
The outfit, clean yet dazzling, suited her so perfectly that anyone would think, 'I am a person of considerable status.'
After being lowered from the young teacher's arms, I tried to climb onto a chair, but decided it was way too high and held my arms out again.
The young teacher looked at me, then quickly sat me on the chair.
"Give me a cushion. The desk's too high."
"Just a moment~ Teacher will get one for you~"
I perched on the edge of the desk, and once the young teacher had placed the cushion down, I sat again.
"So... pretty..."
The woman was admiring my face.
I could see Da-yeon's face in that woman's face, and I nodded as I spoke.
"I'm Kim Si-yoon, Da-yeon's friend~"
"Oh my? How did you know I'm Da-yeon's mom?"
"Because Da-yeon's pretty like her mom."
"Is she?"
Da-yeon's mother looked deeply surprised—these were hardly sounds you'd expect from a four-year-old's mouth.
I wiggled my little fingers and laced them together.
"So, why did you call me here?"
"Well, our Da-yeon likes Si-yoon so much~ I was curious and wanted to see you too~"
I glanced around for a moment, then looked at the young teacher.
"Give me water."
"Just a moment~"
I swung my legs and stared at Da-yeon's mother.
"Is that all?"
"...Huh?"
When I pulled out my phone as if to casually look at movie reviews, Da-yeon's mom got flustered and spoke up.
"So... what does Si-yoon like?"
I watched her for a moment, then put my phone away.
"Hm, lying around and zoning out, messing with my dad, or maybe watching movie reviews?"
"Really? Do you know Da-yeon likes Si-yoon a whole lot?"
"Hm... Da-yeon's been wanting to learn English, you know?"
At my words, Da-yeon's mother's eyes immediately lit up.
"Does she?"
"She told me when she gets home she's going to study English too."
"Is Si-yoon good at English?"
"Hm... I can manage reading, writing, listening, and speaking."
"".....""
Right after my self-praise, Da-yeon's mother suddenly started speaking English.
"Can my daughter be smart like you?"
I answered in Korean.
"Hm... I suppose she'll get there when she's older."
Da-yeon's mother, who had been watching me with sparkling eyes, switched back to Korean.
"What are you going to do when you get home today?"
I took a small sip of the water the young teacher had brought, then set it down.
The two of them found it adorable that I'd drunk such a tiny amount.
"If I'm not going out to play with Dad, I'll probably watch TV."
"Would you like to come over to play at our house with your dad?"
"No."
At my firm answer, the woman looked at me with even more affectionate eyes.
"Why? We have lots of really fun things~"
"Like what?"
"...Huh?"
"Try and tempt me. Then I'll think about it."
"Hm... Ahaha."
Maybe she found her own moment of hesitation funny, because the woman beamed and said,
"We've got yummy things at home~ and toys~ and Da-yeon's big brother is there too~"
"How much older is he?"
"Two years older than Da-yeon?"
"Six? Doesn't he go to daycare?"
"He goes sometimes?"
Hanbit Daycare cost one-point-eight million won a month.
Paying that much money every month, yet only sending the kid whenever the kid felt like going...
'Unbelievable... one-point-eight million won...'
More than that, they did various things at the daycare, but I still didn't get why it cost one-point-eight million won.
'Back in my day, one-point-eight million won was half a year's food budget for me and my subordinates...'
"Tempt me a little more."
"We have a ton of dolls too~ And if Si-yoon wants anything at our house, I'll give it all to you~"
"Oho... You won't regret it?"
"Hm... except for the grown-ups' clothes and accessories? Oh! And except for the antiques—those are Da-yeon's grandfather's."
I took out my phone and asked,
"When would be good for you?"
Da-yeon's mother smiled charmingly and touched my cheek.
"Any day Si-yoon wants to come~ Will you give me a call?"
Then the woman pulled out her business card and handed it to me.
The card read: CEO, Hanseong Designnet.
'...Hanseong.'
The fact that Hanseong still existed brought back old memories, and I smiled a bitter smile.
By now, the CEO was probably Lee Gi-seok, or else that little kid who'd cried in front of me, Lee Jin-seok.
Da-yeon's dad would be Lee Jin-seok...
Back in the organization that did dirty work for S Company, ranked first in the Korean business world, I'd done a lot of terrible things to Hanseong.
Remembering Da-yeon's bright smile made one corner of my heart feel heavy.
"Then I'll come over to play some time when my dad's free. My dad, well... he'll go if I pester him, so don't worry about that, and make lots of good food."
In the four long years I'd lived this life, this was the first time I'd said so much at once.
"Let Da-yeon do the things she wants. Don't try to tempt her into what you want."
The woman wore an expression that looked as if she'd been struck.
She'd always thought she was letting her children do what they wanted, but without realizing it, she, too, had expressed her own wishes to them.
I handed my phone to the young teacher, and the young teacher looked at me.
"Open it for me."
"Hm?"
"Take the case off."
"Ah~ okay~"
After removing the case, she handed it back to me, and I slipped the business card in and handed it over again.
"Close it for me."
"Okay."
I gave the young teacher a look that said I wanted to get down.
"Ah! Do you want to get down?"
"Yeah."
The woman smiled at me and waved.
"I'll let Da-yeon do what she wants~ Si-yoon, see you next time~"
"Okay."
"Si-yoon~ Daddy's here~"
Da-yeon had already gone home a long time ago.
"Yeah."
Normally, when parents arrive at daycare, kids are quick to come running out, but...
Dad had to come inside and get me himself.
"What's my Si-yoon doing?"
I was building a block tower with intense concentration.
"Wait."
"Okay..."
Dad crouched down next to me and waited.
I pointed a tiny finger toward the space beside the young teacher and said,
"You're distracting me. Go wait over there."
"...Okay."
At the sight, the young teacher giggled quietly.
"How was Si-yoon today? About Da-yeon..."
"Oh! Si-yoon was incredibly smart, just as expected."
"Really?"
The young teacher was telling Dad about today's conversation.
"Si-yoon must be so smart it's exhausting for you."
"It's a blessing. She fills in for everything I lack..."
Dad looked up at the ceiling, as if reminiscing about the past.
"Come on~ You don't lack a single thing!"
Having finished stacking the entire tower, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Dad!"
"Yeah?"
Dad came running at my voice—if he'd had a tail, he'd have been wagging it furiously.
"How is it?"
"It's super cool."
"It's a piece imbued with the immense anguish, emotion, and skill of a four-year-old kid."
Dad just stared blankly at the tower I'd made, without a word.
"......"
"What's with that reaction?"
"It's... it's amazing."
When I kicked the blocks over and knocked them down, Dad panicked.
"...Boring."
"S-Si-yoon?"
Dad grew deeply flustered, apparently thinking I'd reacted this way because of his half-hearted response.
"Help me clean up."
"Do you want Daddy to build it again for you?"
"No."
Dad fidgeted restlessly and kept looking at me.
"Si... yoon..."
"Instead, go somewhere with me tomorrow."
"Hm?"
I handed my phone to Dad.
The young teacher had given me a strange look when I started stacking blocks—something I'd never done because I'd never found it fun—right before Dad arrived.
But now, remembering my arrangement with Da-yeon's mother, the young teacher marveled at the 'grand plan' behind my actions.
"Open it."
Dad, quick on the uptake, immediately took the case off, and the business card inside it fluttered to the floor.
Hanseong Designnet CEO Kim Seon-hwa.
Dad whipped his head around toward the young teacher, and the young teacher smiled awkwardly.