BTA 03

chapter 03

 Dogok-dong Town Palace (3)

A blockbuster drama that had recorded an average viewership rating of 45% on terrestrial television.

Its final episode had reached an unbelievable rating in the mid-60% range—a legendary drama.

The female lead of Sandstorm, Ahn Hee-soo.

One critic described Ahn Hee-soo’s performance in Sandstorm like this:

Of course, she was famous not only for her acting skills but also for her beautiful appearance.

Ahn Hee-soo, the epitome of pure and delicate beauty.

Her trademark long, straight hair.

Her small, snow-white face.

She was the actress whom most of the boys her age had a crush on during their school days.

Of course, people on the internet sometimes criticized her for having a somewhat airheaded image, but those were merely rumors.

Anyway, that incredible Ahn Hee-soo was standing right in front of my eyes.

Although she looked a little different from the image I remembered.

“Teacher. My niece is over there. In that baby crib.”

“Waaaahhh~! Waaahhh~!! Hyaaaah!! Kyaaaah!!”

Well, that made sense.

If a top actress like Ahn Hee-soo, who was unmarried, had given birth to a baby, it would have made the headlines long ago.

No, the news would have gotten out as soon as she became pregnant.

Anyway, the baby’s crying I could hear right now didn’t sound normal.

“…I see. Hmm.”

“It’s been going on for an hour. I’m worried there might be something wrong. Whew.”

This was hardly the time to worry about the baby.

The dark circles under her eyes were so pronounced from lack of sleep that it was difficult to tell whether she was Ahn Hee-soo or a panda.

I gave her a bitter smile and quickly surveyed the room.

“Please don’t worry too much. First, I’ll wash my hands before checking the baby. For your information, I have a baby at home too, so I’ve already had a whooping cough vaccination. Ahem. Manager Yang, where’s the bathroom?”

“Follow me.”

After washing my hands in the bathroom that looked like something out of a palace, I came back out to find Manager Yang letting out a deep sigh.

“Phewww. Mr. Hyeok-chan, I’ll explain the situation little by little. But… is the baby normally… like this?”

There were countless emotions contained in Manager Yang’s question.

Confusion, concern, fear, irritation, anger, and so on.

I answered with a chuckle.

“Haha. Babies can be like that sometimes.”

Manager Yang crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Whew. I’ve never seen a baby cry that much. I saw her once the week before last, and briefly today, but even in that short amount of time, she completely drained me.”

“Haha. I guess I’ll have to take a look. Let’s see why she’s crying.”

Normally, newborn babies cried because they were uncomfortable.

They might be hungry, in pain, sleepy, have soiled themselves, gotten startled, and so on.

Of course, there were also times when they cried for other reasons.

Because they were bored.

Or just because.

In the case of Ahn Hee-soo’s baby, I had a rough idea of why she was crying, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Click—

“Hweeeeing~ Hngh~ Waaaah~ Waaaahhhhhh~ Hyaaaah! Hyaaaah!!”

The moment I opened the bedroom door, the baby’s cries poured out like a sudden rainstorm.

Ahn Hee-soo walked toward me while rubbing her dry face.

“Whew. Teacher. Should we take our little Maengkkong to the hospital? She doesn’t have a fever, though. Oh, Maengkkong is the nickname we gave her before she was born.”

I answered as I slowly walked toward the baby crib.

“I’ll take a look.”

As I approached the crib, I could see a thick cotton blanket moving from a distance.

I tilted my head and moved closer.

Inside was an incredibly cute baby, wrapped tightly in a swaddle with only her face exposed, crying at the top of her lungs.

“Hyaaaaaaaah!!”

“Oh, goodness. Sweetie.”

Good heavens.

She was such a tiny, beautiful baby.

‘How can such a tiny body make such a huge sound?’

I reached toward the baby, then stopped and turned my head toward Ahn Hee-soo.

I raised an eyebrow, giving her a silent signal.

She nodded vigorously.

“Touch her, hold her, rock her—do whatever you want, Teacher. Please, pleeeeease, just make Maengkkong stop crying.”

I nodded and carefully picked up the baby, holding her in my arms.

“Let’s see. Where are you uncomfortable, sweetheart?”

“Waaah~ Waaah!! Hic! Sob, sob. Hnghaaaa~”

As I held her, I could feel how violently she was squirming.

Her swaddle had nearly come undone.

She seemed to be kicking her legs especially hard.

I gently rubbed her abdomen with my finger and found that it was quite firm.

‘She’s straining incredibly hard. Could she have gas, or is she suffering from colic?’

There was also a reddish rash on the baby’s face.

It was probably because she had been wrapped up so tightly under the thick cotton blanket.

‘Heat rash.’

Then I noticed something else.

The crying baby was smacking and puckering her lips.

I slowly brought my finger near the corner of her mouth, and the baby turned her head toward my finger.

‘Hmm. So it’s a combination of several things.’

Still holding the baby, I slowly walked toward Ahn Hee-soo.

“Ms. Hee-soo, you said Maengkkong is your niece, right? Do you happen to know whether she normally breastfeeds?”

“No. I don’t really know either. She probably drank formula the whole time.”

“Hmm. When was the last time she was fed, and how much did she drink?”

Ahn Hee-soo blinked with a dazed expression before answering.

“…Around twelve o’clock? About 70 milliliters.”

“Did she start crying after she ate? Or did she cry first, and then you fed her, but she kept crying? I mean, actual distressed crying, not just fussing.”

“Hmm? She cried, so we fed her, but she kept crying. But Maengkkong doesn’t really fuss when she cries. She’s been making that exact crying sound ever since my sister brought her home.”

I nodded and asked another question.

“Ms. Hee-soo. Who decided on 70 milliliters per feeding?”

“My sister told me. She said that’s what they taught her at the postpartum care center. I didn’t really know either, so I just kept feeding her that amount. Whew. Why? Did I do something seriously wrong?”

All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

I grinned and walked toward Ahn Hee-soo.

“Let’s start by going to the changing table.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

As I followed Ahn Hee-soo toward the changing table, she looked at me and cautiously asked,

“Teacher… our Maengkkong isn’t possessed or anything, right?”

I snorted.

That one question alone told me roughly what kind of person she was.

“Of course not.”

First, I removed the cotton blanket.

After giving Maengkkong some additional formula, I made sure she burped properly—BUUURP!—and then immediately gave her a stomach massage.

“Big brother’s hands are magic~ Big brother’s hands are magic~”

“Heh… heh… wheeze…”

After panting for a while, Maengkkong let out a long yawn—haaam~—then slowly blinked her eyes.

‘Now.’

I quickly held her snugly in my arms and began gently bouncing her.

“Shhh~~ Shhhii~~ Shhhii~~~ Shhhiiii~~~~”

Maengkkong soon fell asleep.

I carefully lowered her onto the crib, starting with her lower body.

Then I counted to thirty in my head.

‘Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty! Good.’

Done.

Throughout the entire process, the baby hadn’t shown even the slightest sign that she might start crying again.

After finishing, I turned around.

Ahn Hee-soo and Manager Yang were both staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

Without making a sound, I mouthed,

“Let’s go out.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

We carefully left the room where the baby was sleeping.

As we headed toward the living room, I whispered to Ahn Hee-soo,

“Ms. Hee-soo. When your sister was staying at the postpartum care center, Maengkkong was still a newborn less than 30 days old. But she’s over 50 days old now. Once a baby passes 30 days, they’re no longer considered a newborn. But if you continue feeding a 50-day-old baby formula according to newborn guidelines, of course Maengkkong is going to be hungry.”

“Ohhh~ I didn’t know that. But, Teacher!”

Ahn Hee-soo checked the home camera on her phone and asked with an incredulous expression,

“Oh my goodness. She isn’t waking up? How did she fall asleep so quickly? Teacher! What on earth did you do?”

I answered with a grin.

“I took care of everything that was making Maengkkong uncomfortable.”

“Wow~ Amazing. You’re a total professional. We could hold Maengkkong and beg her to stop crying until we died, and she still wouldn’t stop.”

“Haha. Begging her wouldn’t do anything. She can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Oh? Ohhh~”

Ahn Hee-soo blinked her big eyes before nodding.

Then she tied up her hair and said to Manager Yang,

“Oppa. Stay in the study with the teacher for a bit. I’m going to wash my face before Maengkkong wakes up.”

About ten minutes later.

The study door suddenly flew open.

“Teacher! My sister stayed at the most~ prestigious premium postpartum care center in Korea. Right, Oppa?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. But Hee-soo, keep your voice down a little. You might wake the baby.”

“Don’t worry. Even if I shout in the study, the sound won’t reach the master bedroom. Ma~engkkong~~! Here, look at the home camera. See? Anyway! I did exactly what my sister told me to do, but she still ended up like that. Teacher, my childcare was a total mess, wasn’t it?”

“…Huh? Yes, yes.”

To be honest, I could barely hear what Ahn Hee-soo was saying.

‘She said she was just going to wash her face. Wait. Did she really only wash her face? Is that actually the same person as before? Wow.’

I stared at Ahn Hee-soo’s face for a moment, then looked away because I was afraid I might actually go blind.

That was how radiant her face was.

‘The lights were off earlier, so I couldn’t see her properly. But even so… wow. It really looks like all she did was wash her face. She just tied up her hair, too. Her skin is whiter and more translucent than Wan’s.’

Only then did I truly realize whose house I had come to.

Just then, Ahn Hee-soo curled the corners of her lips into a smug smile.

“What? Am I too pretty?”

“…I wouldn’t say too~~~ pretty…”

I wanted to deny it, but there was simply no way I could.

She really was incredibly beautiful.

Then I noticed Manager Yang covering his face with both hands.

That finally snapped me back to reality.

‘Lee Hyeok-chan. Get a grip. You came here to find a job.’

Ahn Hee-soo giggled and pointed toward the stack of documents on the desk.

“Teacher. Those are all applications from baby-sitter candidates. The day before yesterday, I posted job listings on every recruitment site, from Albam Monster to Good Job Korea. I even posted one on Gajimarket. That’s how desperate I was~ Haha!”

Instead of answering, I simply stared at Ahn Hee-soo.

She sat on the edge of the desk, picked up part of the stack of papers, and continued.

“I was so out of it that I didn’t even realize you were a man. Look at this. Thousands of people applied. How am I supposed to read every single one while taking care of Maengkkong? But do you know why I specifically picked your résumé?”

I tilted my head.

“How would I know?”

Ahn Hee-soo suddenly tapped the left side of her chest several times.

“Jeongjung University!”

“?”

“I graduated from the Department of Theater and Film at Jeongjung University.”

“??”

Was it because we were alumni?

I just blinked in bewilderment, so Ahn Hee-soo continued her monologue as if she were performing on stage.

“Thousands of applicants! But only around a hundred and something résumés were worth looking at? Hmm~ So I quickly picked out the applicants who seemed decent. But you know what? Everyone was saying things like, ‘I used to be the vice director of a postpartum care center in Seongnam~’ ‘I’m a highly qualified childcare teacher~’ ‘I’m a professional baby-sitter~’ Hmm. They were all just boasting about their experience.”

Ahn Hee-soo lifted herself off the desk and slowly approached me.

“But you, Teacher, went to Jeongjung University! Kyaa~ I thought we’d get along really well. Oh, right, and you’re one of thirteen siblings!! Haha! That totally surprised me.”

The more she talked, the more she seemed to become completely absorbed in her own story.

I couldn’t just keep listening, so I looked straight into her eyes and asked,

“Ms. Hee-soo. Is this an interview? I mean, am I actually being interviewed right now?”

Only then did Ahn Hee-soo seem to come back to her senses, looking startled.

“W-What are you talking about? How could you call this an interview! I already made up my mind after seeing you take care of Maengkkong. My sister will like you too. Please work for us.”

“Hmm.”

Just then, Manager Yang, who had been watching the home camera, shouted,

“Hee-soo. The baby’s moving.”

“Huh? Huh?! No!!”

Ahn Hee-soo shouted urgently.

“T-Teacher! Please start working at our house right away. Can you start today? Since you’re already here, please?! I’m begging you. I’m seriously going to die. Please!”

Yes!

But if I accepted right away, I’d look too desperate.

“Of course I can’t start working today. Hmm. I’ll think about it and get back to you.”

Contrary to my words, the corners of my lips were twitching upward.

And that was how, somehow, I ended up becoming a baby-sitter.

And not just any baby-sitter.

I would be working at the home of Korea’s greatest actress, in the 12-billion-won Town Palace.