chapter 01

 Dogok-dong Town Palace (1)

When I came second in my department this time and received a scholarship, I cheered with joy.

But the thing that made me far happier than that this year was the moment my youngest sibling finally slept through the night.

Click. Creak.

On that historic night.

My third-youngest sister, Yuji, opened my bedroom door and crept toward me like a stray cat before whispering,

“Awesome. Hyukchan oppa. He made it past the dreaded eleven o’clock. It’s been four hours now.”

“Yeah. I’ve been watching him on the home camera.”

“At this rate, Wani might actually sleep through the whole night! Just like you said, since we’ve been sleep-training him—”

“Ahem. Shh. Don’t jinx it.”

When I shook my head with a solemn expression, Yuji pressed her lips together.

“Mmm. I won’t jinx it.”

Never, ever jinx it.

That was the unspoken rule in our family.

For example:

“The baby doesn’t cry very loudly.”

“He seems to sleep a lot.”

“He drinks his formula really well.”

“He’s such an easy baby.”

And so on.

But that day, our youngest, Wani, really did sleep for ten whole hours straight.

‘Phew. I guess I can finally relax a little while standing guard at night.’

Our youngest Wani had only just passed eighty days old.

He was the thirteenth child in our family.

No, I didn’t say that wrong.

He really was the thirteenth.

Our youngest’s full name was Lee Wan (李完).

Our family had put their heads together to come up with that name, hoping it would mean that we would finally stop at thirteen children.

My name is Lee Hyukchan. I’m twenty-seven years old and in my final year of university.

My younger brother, Yuchan, is one year younger than me. He was currently away in another part of the country for sports training.

The third child was my kind younger sister, YujI, who had been taking turns standing night watch ever since the youngest was born. Yuji was twenty-five. She had worked as a coordinator in the broadcasting industry but was currently taking a break at home.

And then…

There were the twenty-three-year-old twins, who had enlisted in the military together, and our sixth sibling, who had enlisted not long ago.

All the siblings born after them, from the youngest high school senior to the first grader, were minors.

There was even a preschooler.

The twelfth child was Haenam, a troublesome four-year-old.

Ten months before Haenam was born, our huge family had gone on a trip to Haenam, the southernmost village where our maternal grandmother lived.

While watching the sunset from an observation deck back then, I jokingly asked my father,

“Dad, even a soccer team only has eleven players. We’re really not having any more siblings now, right?”

My father casually pointed at the setting sun and smiled.

“Hyukchan, even this dad is setting. I’ve got no strength left now, hahaha.”

“Hahahaha.”

That evening, my father and mother said that since our grandmother’s house was too small, they would go sleep somewhere else.

And that’s how we ended up with our twelfth sibling, Haenam.

My siblings and I had wanted to name him Lee Haenam, after the village of Haenam, meaning the ‘end of the land,’ because we sincerely hoped he would be the last.

As you can see, Haenam wasn’t the end.

While studying for my certifications, I checked the time and saw that it was five-thirty in the morning.

I checked the home camera on my tablet and saw Wani waving his little arms adorably as he prepared to wake up.

“Oh? He’s awake. Let’s see. Wow. He didn’t wake up even once for ten whole hours. Our youngest is such a good boy.”

Flip.

I closed my book and stretched as hard as I could.

Then I got up from my seat with a hearty laugh.

“Huaa~ Even if I don’t have to stand night watch anymore, I still have to get up at five-thirty in the morning. Still, I can’t complain.”

Click.

“Waaah~ Waaah~ Waaah~”

When I stepped into the living room, Wani’s tiny, adorable cries greeted me.

Outside the window, the darkness was slowly being erased by the blue light of dawn.

“Oh, our Wani is awake? Big brother will change your diaper. Let’s change your diaper and then have some milk, okay? Heave-ho! Hahaha. You’ve gotten a little heavier already?!”

Riiip—Riiip—

“Oh, our Wani really went all out while sleeping, huh?”

“Eaaah~ Waaah~ Waaah~”

“Are you hungry? All right, your big brother will make your milk right away!”

That’s right.

I was the eldest of thirteen siblings.

I could confidently say that when it came to practical childcare, I was among the best in South Korea.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Town Palace Babysitter Recruitment

Monthly Salary: 4 million won

Monday–Friday

09:00–18:00, negotiable

Seeking someone who can commute to Town Palace in Dogok-dong and work as a babysitter and housekeeper.

5 days a week / 3.8–4 million won

6 days a week / 4.5 million won

Special Note: 50-day-old newborn

• Priority will be given to newborn care rather than housework.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience caring for newborns
• Relevant certifications preferred

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I happened to come across a babysitter recruitment post while browsing the secondhand-trading app ‘Gajimarket.’

As I read it, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“They’re paying four million won just to take care of a fifty-day-old newborn? Then how much should I be getting? I’ve raised more than ten babies myself. Hahaha.”

I should have simply laughed it off.

“Hmm. It’s vacation, too. Even though I got a scholarship for my final semester, I’m always short on living expenses. …Wouldn’t this be better than working several part-time jobs?”

I kept fiddling with my smartphone, checking the Gajimarket posting over and over.

Every time I read it, I found myself more tempted.

My family wasn’t poor. My father ran his own business, while my mother operated a welfare center.

Even so, being the eldest son in a family with so many siblings came with quite a heavy responsibility.

And the weight resting on the shoulders of the eldest son of thirteen siblings was practically comparable to the weight of a thousand pounds.

“All right. There are more than a thousand applicants. It’s not like I’ll actually get it just because I apply, right? Hmm. Still, if by some chance I do get accepted, I could save up some spending money until I get a job. I could also buy toys for my siblings. Might as well submit an application.”

With nothing to lose, I began filling out the application.

The next day.

After sending my younger siblings off to school early in the morning and leaving the youngest in Yuji’s care, I was getting ready to head to the welfare center my mother operated when my phone suddenly began vibrating noisily.

Bzzzt—Bzzzt—Bzzzt—

“An unknown number. Hmm. Hello?”

A sharp male voice came from the other end of the line.

[Hello! Are you the person who applied for the babysitter position through Gajimarket?]

“Yes, that’s right! My name is Lee Hyukchan.”

[…Oh. You’re a man? Hmm.]

I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Did he call without even realizing I was a man?’

I cleared my throat before answering.

“I am a man, but I’m currently majoring in Early Childhood Education, and I also have relevant certifications. As for newborn-care experience, I’ve got more than I can count.”

[Phew. Our owner wanted to interview you, so I called on their behalf. They’re in a hurry. When are you available?]

I answered without the slightest hesitation.

“If I help my mother at work from now, I’ll be finished around one in the afternoon. I’m available anytime after that.”

And that was how I went to Dogok-dong for the first time in my life.

The enormous Town Palace building that came into view as soon as I exited Dogok Station.

It was like a whole new world, just like the department store right in front of it.

“Wow. The class is definitely different.”

I had been born and raised in an outlying area of Gyeonggi Province, and it wasn’t until I entered university that I began traveling back and forth to Seoul for the first time.

Of course, even my life in Seoul had consisted of nothing more than school and part-time jobs around campus.

That was how distant the name Town Palace felt to me—so distant that it hardly seemed real.

“So that’s why they can pay four million won for a babysitter.”

Muttering to myself, I headed toward the interview location.

“It’d be nice if I get it. Even if I don’t, it’ll still be a good experience.”

A private café near Town Palace.

As I walked toward the entrance, I glanced through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and saw the quiet interior.

There probably weren’t many customers because it was after lunchtime on a weekday.

Jingle—Jingle—

When I opened the door and stepped inside, the rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans pleasantly filled my nose.

I stood just inside the door and looked around.

At the nearest table, I spotted a man wearing a semi-formal suit.

I quickly walked over and cautiously asked,

“…Is this Gajimarket?”

He looked to be in his early forties.

The man had slightly protruding lips and large, prominent eyes. He gave me a sheepish smile and waved.

“Haha. That’s right.”

Ah.

So this was him.

I quickly approached him and bowed deeply.

“Hello! I’m Lee Hyukchan, the applicant for the babysitter position.”

The man grinned and extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Suho. You can just call me Manager Yang.”

“…Manager Yang? Yes, understood.”

“But if you ask me whether this is Gajimarket the moment we meet, it makes us sound like we’re meeting to trade secondhand goods. Haha.”

“Does it?”

I grinned and sat down across from Manager Yang.

He then slid the documents he had printed out toward me and continued.

“After we scheduled the interview, I read your résumé a little late. And your background was really impressive. You’re currently studying Early Childhood Education at Jungang University, which is one of the most prestigious universities in Seoul, and you have several certifications. On top of that, your experience working at a welfare center is pretty incredible, too.”

I raised the corners of my mouth and nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct. But more than that—”

“Exactly! More than that!”

Manager Yang pointed directly at the self-introduction section of my résumé and continued.

“You wrote that as the eldest son of thirteen siblings, you’ve been responsible for raising your younger siblings ever since you were weaned off baby bottles. That’s right, isn’t it?”

At Manager Yang’s words, I nodded vigorously.

“Ahem. To be precise, it was baby food. I started helping my parents take care of my second-youngest sibling when I was weaned off baby food. I even changed the diaper of my youngest sibling, who’s over eighty days old now, before I came here this morning!”

At my forceful sales pitch, Manager Yang chuckled.

“Haha. That part really caught my eye. I’m sure our owner liked that part, too. Anyway, I’m not the one who’s going to interview you.”

“Then who will…?”

I tilted my head and looked around.

Manager Yang pointed toward the enormous Town Palace building visible through the café’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

“The owner is over there. With the baby. They’re probably struggling quite a bit right now.”

“…Ah. I see.”

I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on, so my thoughts became a little tangled.

As I tried to make sense of the situation, Manager Yang gave me a meaningful smile before suddenly saying something completely unexpected.

“Mr. Hyukchan. I’m the manager of Ahn Heesu.”

“…Pardon?”

“Actress Ahn Heesu. The actress.”

I knew that name.

But I knew it so well that my thoughts became even more complicated.

Ahn Heesu was one of the three most beautiful women in South Korea, a top actress whose dramas ranked number one on terrestrial television whenever she appeared in them, and whose movies surpassed ten million viewers whenever she starred in them.