NOVEL NEXT Chapter 70
“I’m sorry that our servants acted rudely.”
Eventually, I left the security guard, who had dashed towards the back of the mansion, and parked Sohee’s father’s car appropriately within the mansion’s grounds. I then guided all of Sohee’s family to the cafeteria. I guess it was because Yang Hye-in wasn’t around, but there wasn’t anyone else to show them the way.
Looking at this made me remember a communist joke I heard long ago.
There are three people: one digs the ground, one puts in the trees, and one buries the ground. In a capitalist society, if the one putting in the trees is sick and can’t work, the remaining two get paid more to do their jobs. Then, those two work harder for the extra pay, and in the end, the trees are planted.
But in a communist society, since everyone gets paid the same, they end up doing meaningless work, just digging and burying the ground all day.
I don’t know if this has really spread as a joke or if it’s a remnant of the ideological competition of the time, but—honestly, not everything runs smoothly in a capitalist society either. What company would pay the other two more just because one person is absent? It would be more likely they would try to fire the one who puts in the trees after a few days if they think they don’t need them anymore.
Moreover, looking at the current situation, getting paid more doesn’t necessarily mean working harder. People adapt to the money they earn through their work. If someone is paid millions for a meaningless job with no sense of accomplishment, when they get assigned extra tasks during that free time, they’ll think, ‘Shouldn’t I get paid more for this?’ Because no matter what the payer thinks, the recipient believes they’re being compensated for their original work.
Even if the amount isn’t in the millions, there’s always a significant gap in perception between the payer and the recipient. The convenience store owner paying minimum wage may say to the part-timer, ‘You should be doing this much!’ while the part-timer thinks, ‘Are you kidding me, for this pay?’
As someone once said, when you stand in different places, you see different things.
Anyway, I hoped that such a gap wouldn’t arise between Sohee and me. After all, she’s a friend. Of course, I approached Sohee initially just seeing her as the heroine…but my thoughts had changed a little since then.
And the most effective way to bridge that gap is, of course, to ensure mutual respect. They say you can’t spit on someone’s smiling face.
“Um, no, I’m okay? Right?”
Sohee’s father, seemingly caught off guard by my sudden arrival, answered in a way that was neither formal nor informal.
Next to him, Little Sohee was rubbing her eyes while yawning. It seemed they had gone out together as father and daughter. Sohee couldn’t join them in the morning to meet me.
While her hair was a solid black and not dyed like Sohee’s, her face looked just like her sister’s. No doubt that she would grow up to be a mini Sohee. However, I hadn’t learned her name yet, so for now, she was just Little Sohee in my mind.
“Um… so…”
Sohee’s father looked around as if searching for something, cleared his throat, and said,
“Is there… no other family… here?”
“Just speak comfortably. We’re friends with Sohee.”
When I said that, he looked a bit surprised and then coughed again, slightly embarrassed.
“Ah, then… so, um…”
“My name is Ye Sara.”
Upon my belated introduction, Sohee’s father nodded and said,
“Ah, right, Sara. Is there no family here? An older brother or something?”
I tilted my head in response to that.
“Uh, no, I’m an only child.”
Well, there’s a slim chance that I might have some hidden sibling or half-brother due to some ridiculous ‘if you wish’ type of plot twist, but as of now, I don’t know. Probably not. No matter how dramatic it may get, it won’t follow the same predictable path. For now, at least, it’s a dating sim setting.
“Really?”
Sohee’s father looked astonished as he widened his eyes at my claim of being an only child.
Is that really so surprising…?
Or maybe it actually is surprising. Everyone living in this mansion besides me were servants. Plus, until recently, the only guest was Choi Na-kyung.
So if I said I lived alone in a mansion that could easily house several generations, that would sound incredibly strange. They probably thought I must have lived with family.
Almost as if questioning the reality of this, Sohee’s father turned his gaze towards Sohee.
“Oh!”
Sohee suddenly exclaimed as if she just remembered something and immediately jumped up from her seat.
She quickly approached her father and grabbed his wrist.
“Dad, can we talk for a second?”
“Um, daughter?”
Though he got up because she grabbed him, he looked somewhat flustered and asked her again, surprised.
Even though the dining room is quite spacious, they moved out quickly, clearly indicating that Sohee was in a hurry.
“…….”
I stood there, mouth agape, watching them leave, and I suddenly turned my head.
…There, just moments ago rubbing her eyes sleepily, was Little Sohee.
She must have finally woken up as her big, bright eyes sparkled as they locked onto me.
The issue was, those sparkling eyes were staring straight at me.
“…….”
Ah, I’ve never talked with kids before.
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
*
Sohee led her father to a secluded spot inside the mansion.
“……About what we talked about earlier.”
Then she lowered her voice as quietly as she could. Although there was no one around to see them, she still wanted to be cautious. It couldn’t be helped if people around her found out, but she wasn’t keen on having the news reach Sara through some sort of grapevine.
It was embarrassing, sure, but Sohee held strong beliefs about romance. She didn’t want anyone else indirectly revealing her feelings for her. If she ever confessed, she wanted it to be direct, just the two of them in the moment. Naturally, doing it in a way that wouldn’t reach other people’s ears was for the best.
Of course, she had pleaded with Yang Hye-in and the other kids at the cafe earlier about this as well. Although Yoo Ha-neul and Lee Soo-ah would keep her secret even without her saying anything directly, Yang Hye-in’s situation was a bit different. While she thought it might be easier to just reveal it, Yang Hye-in could spill it to Sara unless Sohee made it clear that it was confidential.
“Um, Dad, about that… is there someone you like…?”
“That’s right.”
Sohee nodded firmly, her expression resolute.
“The person I like, that’s them. The one I was sitting across from at the cafeteria just a moment ago.”
“Huh…”
Sohee’s father sighed.
Not that he was particularly against same-sex relationships. While he might feel regret at not seeing a grandchild with blood ties, he didn’t think that meant he had to block his daughter’s happiness.
Rather, it was more that the reality was so different from what he had imagined that he couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
The child who had been sitting opposite him was, in every sense, ‘lady-like’. Not in the casual sense but as a wealthy young lady. She seemed polite, composed, and courteous… In summary, her image was completely at odds with the notion of ‘doing something’ earlier today.
Ah, of course, he had seen people behave contrary to their appearances countless times, so it wasn’t entirely unfathomable.
Though it might be awkward to say this to his daughter, if he strictly judged based on first impressions, it seemed like the daughter would be the one to take the initiative, rather than the other way around.
“But, that person… um, due to some circumstances, I want to help out.”
“…….”
Sohee’s father stood there, arms crossed, quietly listening to the story.
“Just as it happens, they said there’s a little opening here. I’d like to stay and work alongside—they’re probably just asking for a part-time job or something.”
“Ah, sure…”
He felt a sense of relief wash over him after hearing her words.
So the reason he had rushed over was entirely based on a misunderstanding. It wasn’t anything scandalous but simply a wish to work. So it was some part-time job notion.
In a way, that meant she liked that girl.
However, honestly, it was a rather abrupt topic to broach.
Of course, stories of marriage and whatnot were far from reality. The fact that first love could happen with anyone didn’t concern him much. He opposed the idea of his daughter suddenly diving into anything too intimate with her love interest, but if that person was a reasonable individual, it would be a different story.
The problem was that this individual was beyond what he had imagined.
For a moment, he decided to set aside the topic of love. Now, concerning the more immediate subject—
“…But what do you mean ‘the job’?”
“Ah, that.”
At his question, Sohee smiled brightly.
“She’s the personal maid.”
“…What?”
*
After finishing their conversation, Sohee and her father returned to the cafeteria. Sohee looked relieved, while her father wore a somewhat complex expression.
As they were about to enter the cafeteria, they were suddenly taken aback.
“Wow, so squishy~”
“Hehe, are those cheeks…?”
Sohee’s little sister was gleefully squishing Sara’s cheeks.
And she was even sitting on Sara’s lap, facing her directly.
Of course, given the age difference, it could easily be dismissed as childish play—but Sara, who had the little girl on her lap, was sweating profusely, looking completely flustered. It was as if meeting a child for the first time left her unsure of how to react.
And she probably really was.
“S-so, Sori!”
Sohee shouted, startled as she called out her sister’s name. Sori, being addressed, merely turned to look at her sister while still poking at Sara’s face.
“Hey, sis! Look! Sara’s cheeks are super squishy!”
It was undoubtedly true; those little hands grabbing at the cheek flesh looked irresistibly squishy, like something one would want to poke.
But that wasn’t the real issue at hand.
Sohee quickly dashed forward, grabbing Sori by the waist. Sori’s body was lifted effortlessly. Perhaps finding it amusing, she burst into giggles.
Thus, on that day, Shin Sohee’s little sister, Shin Sori, became the first child in the world to squish the cheeks of the wealthiest teenager.
Of course, Sohee had done even more than that.