LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 5
‘To think my first confession in both lives is from a 5-year-old.’
I pushed down my gloomy feelings and finished my self-introduction, then laid down in a corner where I wouldn’t be disturbed.
‘I should just take a nap.’
But it seems those oblivious 5-year-olds aren’t going to leave me alone.
Three kids surround me, making my life miserable…
“Hi, what do you like? You’re really pretty, let’s play together.”
Here comes the kid in a princess dress.
“Let’s build blocks.”
Randomly suggesting to build blocks.
“Ah, let’s date!”
That ugly kid keeps insisting we should date.
‘I miss my mom.’
It looks like I’ll just get into trouble if I engage with these little brats.
Even when I deliberately close my eyes and ignore them, they’re not giving up.
These little demons lean in like a competition, shaking me, spitting on my face, and keep talking to me.
One kid pushes the spitting heads away.
“Hey! Stop it! Do-hee is gonna play with me.”
It’s that rich kid from my mom’s friend.
‘Nice. Baek-hwi, welcome.’
Of course, I’m not playing with you either.
“Uh, right, I was gonna play with this guy, so go away.”
The demons look confused, but when Baek-hwi pushes, they go back.
Phew, if that rich kid wasn’t here, I’d be tormented all day.
“Cool, kid.”
“I’m not a kid!”
He whines when I call him a kid, but who cares.
“Okay, I’ll take a nap, so you keep an eye on me.”
“Why are you the big brother? We agreed to play!”
“Ah, then I’ll play dead.”
“What’s playing dead?”
“I’ll lie here like a corpse, and you keep an eye on me. Can you do that?”
“Got it.”
Simple is nice.
I should get friendly with this kid.
He’s easy to use and he’s the son of my mom’s rich friend.
If annoying kids show up, I’ll just use him.
As the surroundings quiet down, I close my eyes and quickly fall asleep, tired from my exhausted mind.
While I’m napping, the free time ends, and the teacher wakes me up.
“Do-hee, it’s class time, you need to wake up?”
I don’t know what kind of kindergarten teacher is holding class these days.
They’re even teaching 5-year-olds English.
At 5, they can barely handle Hangul.
Of course, nothing special.
“Okay, everyone, let’s say a word that starts with ‘a’.”
“Apple.”
It’s just simple English vocabulary and pronunciation correction class, but surprisingly, the kids around me are listening intently.
‘Well, I guess it can’t hurt to listen.’
“What’s the harm in listening, right?”
The boring class finally ended, and it was lunchtime.
As I sat down with my food tray, Baek-hwi came along and plopped down next to me.
Watching him follow me around like a little brother made him oddly adorable.
I thought about how I’d have to take care of him like a little sibling whenever we met.
After finishing my lunch, I went back to a corner to catch a nap, but Baek-hwi trailed after me, looking at me with those puppy eyes.
“Hyung, let’s play corpse game. You should too.”
“No way, let’s do something else.”
“Why? The corpse game is fun! If you play once, you can keep at it for hours!”
“Ugh… come on, let’s do something different.”
Sigh… since we decided to get close, I might as well indulge him a bit.
“Alright, what do you want to do?”
“Let’s play house! You and I can be mom and dad.”
‘What kind of nonsense is that?’
Oh, I was supposed to be speaking like a gentleman, but here comes the crude talk again.
Gotta refine my thoughts before I speak.
“Okay, I’ll be dad, so you be mom.”
“What? I’m a boy, so why are you dad? I want to be dad!”
“Listen, I’m the dad, so you get to be mom. If not, I’m not playing.”
“Ugh… fine, whatever.”
“Alright, I’ll be the hardworking dad who comes home after work. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
I pretended to open the door and walk into the house.
“Honey, I’m home!”
“Welcome back! You need to eat.”
“I already ate outside. Ugh, I’m exhausted from dealing with Manager Kim. I’m going to sleep first.”
Then I pretended to lie down, but I just plopped down on the floor.
As I laid there, Baek-hwi shook me, asking what I was doing and telling me to get up, but I wasn’t budging.
Ah, well, dads are always tired after working, right~
When it was time for class again, I stopped the dad play and got up, only to see Baek-hwi pouting, tears in his eyes, glaring at me.
Whatever.
The next class was math.
And guess what? We were learning math in English!
If we keep having classes in English, I might just get used to it.
I was half-listening, zoning out, and before I knew it, the science class ended, and it was time to go home.
I waited at the kindergarten entrance, and Mom came running toward me.
Seriously, who runs like that? It’s so uncultured for an adult. Ugh.
“Did my princess wait for me?”
“I did, but don’t run like that. It’s so uncultured.”
“Why? Mom ran because she missed her daughter. Boo hoo!”
“I don’t care. Let’s hurry home, I’m so tired.”
“Wasn’t it fun?”
“Wasn’t there?”
“Talk while we go.”
I quickly jumped in the car and headed home.
“How was kindergarten?”
“It was just classes all day long. I already know everything, so there’s no need to learn.”
“Really? Did you make any friends?”
“What’s the point of making friends with little kids? But since he’s Mom’s friend’s son, I played a little with Baek-hwi.”
“Hehe, is that so? I’d still like it if my daughter made some friends.”
“Well, once I go to school, I’ll make friends on my own. I don’t want to go to kindergarten anymore.”
“Alright, since it’s your decision, we’ll do it that way. I don’t want you to feel bored.”
“Yeah, playing with you is a hundred times better.”
“I also find it fun playing with my princess~ Let’s hurry home and play.”
“No way, when we get home, I’m going to play the piano and study first.”
“Aww.. when will I play with Mom?”
“What would a grown-up play?”
“Aww.. that’s mean.”
“A bad girl is attractive.”
“I like a good daughter.”
“Hurry up and have a sibling. You and Dad seem to be getting along these days.”
Mom seemed to run out of words and we drove home in silence.
Once we arrived home, I practiced the piano and studied until dinner, all the things I couldn’t do at kindergarten since the morning.
Setting a routine and repeating it makes me feel anxious if I can’t keep up.
After Dad got home and we had dinner together, he asked about kindergarten.
“Our princess, have you decided to keep going to kindergarten?”
“Nope, I’m going to stay home.”
“Really? Was kindergarten that boring?”
“It’s tiring talking about it; if you’re curious, ask Mom.”
“Our princess is always so grumpy.”
Dad’s making that sad face again.
Once he makes that face and I don’t reply, he’ll loop around for hours wanting affection, so it’s easier to just answer.
“No, it was pointless; we just did lessons I already knew, and the kids aren’t even at the same mental age as me, so what’s the point? I just want to make a sibling for Mom; she wants to have a good daughter.”
Dad was so surprised by my words that he choked up.
What’s wrong with making a sibling?
“Uh, ahem, are you saying to make a sibling?”
“Yeah, but you and Mom seem to get along every night.”
Dad looked red in the face as he glanced at Mom, but Mom, even redder, avoided his gaze.
“Dad’s just playing at night with Mom.”
“Who says that? If we hold hands while sleeping, a baby will come, so hurry and get me a sibling.”
“Ah, right, um… uh…”
“Big brother, hurry and eat; the food will get cold.”
“Okay, okay, let’s eat quick, princess, you eat fast too.”
Next time Dad takes too long to talk, I should tell him to make a sibling.
I wonder if I’ll see a sibling before this year ends.
“Won’t I see my younger sibling before long?”
“Would a younger sister be better or a younger brother?”
“Regardless of gender, I just want one to appear quickly so I can feel free.”
“After eating, I went to my room, digested while watching YouTube, and then followed my routine of studying, jumping rope, and stretching.”
“Now that I’ve established a routine, I definitely do it consistently.”
“My leftover free time is spent playing the piano.”
“After finishing my fulfilling daily routine and taking a shower, I was lying on the bed when Dad suddenly came into my room.”
“Daughter, let’s sleep together with Mom tonight.”
“Why are you suddenly acting like this when you let me sleep alone lately?”
“Why are you bothering someone who was comfortably lying down?”
“I don’t want to; I’m going to sleep alone.”
“Why not? Dad wants to sleep with Do-hee.”
Then Dad picked me up and kidnapped me to his room.
As we entered the master bedroom, Mom reached out her hand to welcome me.
“Daughter~ Come here, let’s sleep together with Mom and Dad.”
“What’s going on with these two?”
“They were enjoying themselves together at night.”
I was forced to lie sandwiched between Mom and Dad.
This is uncomfortable.
“Why are you suddenly kidnapping someone who was sleeping well?”
“Aww, doesn’t Do-hee want to sleep with Mom?”
“Well, not really.”
“You don’t want to sleep with Dad either, right?”
“Well, that’s a bit undesirable.”
Dad is pouting again. Who asked to be kidnapped?
“Is it because I asked to have a sibling earlier?”
Mom stammered as if flustered while answering.
“Ah, ah no.”
“Then just say no, why are you stammering?”
Right, it’s obvious they were trying to show me how to just hold hands while sleeping.
“Hurry up and hold hands if you want a sibling.”
“Oh…”
Dad and Mom awkwardly clasped their hands together, placing me in the middle.
Ugh, this is uncomfortably awful.
Mom, perhaps feeling awkward, quickly changed the subject and spoke.
“Oh, by the way, today in the elevator with Do-hee, some auntie told her to try being a child actor.”
“Uh… really? Do-hee, do you want to?”
“Well, it might be fun to try.”
Then Mom replied.
“By the way, I posted a bunch of Do-hee’s pictures on SNS, right? After seeing her pictures, people texted me about child model offers saying she’s super cute.”
“That’s great; Do-hee doesn’t go to kindergarten anyway, so she can model during that time.”
“I didn’t say anything because I was worried Do-hee might have a hard time. Do-hee, do you want to try?”
“Eh, I’m fine with that, but let go of my hand now. It’s uncomfortable as hell. How many kids do you plan to have, anyway?”
Only then did Mom and Dad finally let go of my hand and cleared their throats.
“Ahem.”