BTA 05

chapter 05

 Kkeok (1)

Ahn Hee-soo’s eyes widened.

“Wow, you made all of this in less than an hour? That’s unbelievable. The texture is so soft, and the seasoning is perfect!”

I nodded as though it were only natural.

“Heh. Manager Yang got me some good ingredients. Though it’s a little disappointing that the rice wasn’t from Icheon.”

“Teacher! Icheon or Samcheon, how does this make any sense? It takes me more than an hour just to make scrambled eggs! And that’s while following a recipe!”

“Oh dear. So that’s why you haven’t been cooking at home all this time?”

“Yes!”

“Good grief.”

She admitted it so readily that I almost felt disappointed.

After all that talk about the fate of a famous actress, it turned out she had simply been eating bagels and apples nonstop because she couldn’t cook.

Well, that made sense.

Her freezer really had been filled with bagels, while her refrigerator contained nothing but fruit and salad dressings.

I picked up the ladle and asked one last time.

“Ms. Hee-soo, would you like some seaweed soup? If you don’t want it, you don’t have to force yourself. If you don’t eat it, I can have it before I leave work later.”

“……”

Ahn Hee-soo stared back and forth between the ladle and the dining table for a long while.

“Hmm. Since you’ve set out all these side dishes… how about just one spoonful?”

Clack!

“Gaaah! Mmmmmm. Grrr, grrr.”

After downing her second bowl of seaweed soup, Ahn Hee-soo fiddled with the empty bowl and made some strange noises.

Then she glanced at me and looked genuinely astonished.

“Oh my gosh. Teacher, what is this seaweed soup? What on earth is it? Oh my goodness! Why is it so nutty and rich? Huh? Did you put all the good stuff in it?”

“My nickname is the God of Seaweed Soup. Shortened to ‘Mi-sin.’”

“Whoa. Mi-sin! I totally believe it~!”

Ahn Hee-soo pointed at each of the empty side-dish plates one by one.

“This rolled omelet? Approved. Seasoned spinach? Approved. Bean sprouts? Approved! Seaweed soup?! Absolutely approved!!”

I was wearing a satisfied smile when Ahn Hee-soo gave a sheepish grin and pointed at the plate that had contained the beef bulgogi.

“But, Teacher. This beef bulgogi was store-bought, right? A meal kit?”

“No. I seasoned it myself and stir-fried it fresh.”

“My goodness.”

I had been helping my mother take care of my younger siblings’ meals since I was in the lower grades of elementary school.

I started cooking in middle school, and my skills really blossomed around high school.

After entering university, I eventually surpassed even my mother, and now I was good enough to hold my own against most Korean cuisine chefs.

Of course, I also held various cooking-related certifications.

Just as I was feeling rather proud of myself, Ahn Hee-soo rubbed her stomach and stared straight at me.

“Perfect. It was absolutely perfect. Wow. I actually finished an entire bowl of rice for the first time in years.”

“Two bowls.”

“Teacher! I haven’t had a meal this perfect in years. Hrrrggghh. Burp. Oh?”

“…That was quite a perfect burp.”

“It’s because I haven’t eaten a proper meal in so long. Don’t tease me.”

A perfect meal.

Considering I had wanted to prepare her a meal because I felt bad about all the trouble she’d gone through taking care of Maengkkongi, hearing that made me feel good.

She was two years older than me, but somehow, she also felt a little like a younger sibling.

I grinned and suggested,

“From now on, instead of bagels or apples, how about having a proper home-cooked lunch? Something filling?”

Ahn Hee-soo pursed her lips regretfully and shook her head.

“Ugh, no. I’m an actress. Even if I start managing my diet strictly from now on, it won’t be enough! Haha. I’m about to start working on a new project, so I’ve already begun analyzing the script. Actually, that’s one of the main reasons I hired you. Ahem.”

“You’re starting a new project? What about Maengkkongi??”

Ahn Hee-soo waved her hand as if telling me not to worry.

“Come on, don’t worry. Due to the circumstances, I only agreed to look after the baby for six months. After that, my sister is coming to pick Maengkkongi up.”

“Oh dear. But how were you planning to prepare for your project while taking care of your newborn niece?”

Ahn Hee-soo stared blankly up at the ceiling.

“Whew. I thought it would be easy. When the baby cried, I figured I’d just pick her up, cuddle her a little, and give her formula. But once I actually tried it, I realized it was completely impossible.”

“Haha.”

“I nearly died over those two weeks. On the second day after bringing Maengkkongi home, I begged Oppa Soo-ho to find me someone as soon as possible. I couldn’t wait anymore, so I posted a job listing myself.”

Only then did I understand why a babysitter recruitment post had even appeared on Karrot Market.

Ahn Hee-soo raised her voice.

“Teacher! You absolutely must never quit! Never!”

“I literally started working today.”

“Anyway, you understand, right? I was going to be satisfied as long as you took good care of our Maengkkongi. But you’re ridiculously good at cooking too?! If I ask for anything more than this, I’d be a crazy woman.”

Come to think of it.

This woman’s language was surprisingly rough for her image.

The image she showed on television and in movies was that of an elegant, sophisticated city woman.

Still, having one of the top actresses in the country acknowledge my abilities felt pretty good.

I puffed out my chest and said,

“It should be about time for Maengkkongi to wake up. You should get some rest, Ms. Hee-soo. I have quite a few things to check right away, so I’m going to focus on work.”

Ahn Hee-soo waved her hand.

“Focus, my foot! It’s fine! You should get some proper rest while Maengkkongi is sleeping, too. Honestly, I’d be perfectly satisfied if things were just like yesterday and today. Maengkkongi sleeps so~ well, doesn’t she?! She’s absolutely perfect.”

Ahn Hee-soo was smiling brightly.

I showed her the list I had checked off in the memo app on my phone.

“Ms. Hee-soo. It’s not perfect at all. In fact, it’s closer to a disaster. Take a look at this.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“A list of baby supplies. We need to completely redo Maengkkongi’s room setup. Starting with the handkerchiefs.”

Ahn Hee-soo’s expression immediately turned serious.

“Teacher! The handkerchiefs Maengkkongi is using? They’re all designer brands. They’re Hermes handkerchiefs that were incredibly difficult to get.”

“Yes, and those hideous orange handkerchiefs—whether they’re Hermes or whatever—are the first things we need to replace. We need something made of soft, gentle bamboo fabric that’s suitable for a baby’s skin.”

“…But they’re so incredibly soft.”

“They’re so soft that they don’t absorb any moisture at all.”

“…Isn’t the point just to wipe things?”

I explained to the bewildered Ahn Hee-soo why it was necessary to properly set up all the baby supplies.

Actually, I had already figured everything out yesterday when I first saw Maengkkongi’s environment.

Nothing had been properly prepared, and they had absolutely no knowledge about childcare.

On the day I first came to this house, I was shocked when I felt that Maengkkongi’s room was around 30 degrees Celsius.

As if that weren’t enough, they had even put a cotton blanket on the baby’s crib.

Normally, from the newborn stage until around one year old, a baby’s room should be kept between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius because of heat rash.

The humidity also needs to be controlled.

There were plenty of other things that needed to be considered as well, such as lighting to help the baby distinguish between day and night.

But this woman—

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

That was right.

She genuinely had no idea.

“I wanted to ask you about something else, though. Maengkkongi keeps spitting up. Every time she drinks formula, she throws up. She eats, then throws up. She gets uncomfortable because she can’t digest it. Last week, she suddenly shot vomit forward like a water gun. I panicked and was about to take her to the hospital, but she looked perfectly fine. I was completely out of my mind. And I didn’t even have the confidence to take a baby anywhere by myself. I thought I was going crazy.”

“That’s called projectile vomiting.”

“Projectile vomiting??”

“Yes. Babies’ digestive systems aren’t fully developed, so they have difficulty digesting food and tend to get gas easily. They also spit up frequently after feeding. That’s why you have to burp a baby until they can sit up on their own.”

Ahn Hee-soo mimicked patting a baby’s back.

“My sister taught me to do this, so I did it like this! Like this! Like this! With my palm. Bam! Bam-bam!”

“Yes. You shouldn’t do it like that. That’s beating the baby, not burping her.”

Ahn Hee-soo let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

“No wonder she never burped. Good grief. This is hard.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she burps properly while I’m working.”

“What about after you leave…?”

“……”

An awkward silence briefly settled between us.

“Would you like me to give you a private lesson when Maengkkongi wakes up later?”

“Please.”

“All right. For now, get some more sleep. If the timing works out before I leave, I’ll call you.”

Ahn Hee-soo shook her head.

“Nope! If I go straight to sleep after eating, all of this will turn into fat. I’m going to analyze my script in the study, so call me when it’s time, okay?”

“Oh. Script analysis? That sounds cool. Is it a movie script?”

“Why? Are you curious? It’s in the study. Want me to let you take a peek?”

“No. I mean, what would I do with a script? Haha.”

“Come on~ Don’t be like that. When I practice later, read my lines with me!”

“…What? Read your lines?”

“Ha-ha! Just kidding~! Anyway, I’m off to read my script~”

Ahn Hee-soo’s eyes sparkled as she talked about the script.

Once again, I was struck by the fact that she really was an actress.

‘Oh, right. She’s an actress. And not just any actress—the actress considered the best performer among all the actresses in Korea. I’d completely forgotten while lecturing her about childcare. Hmm. A script.’

After seeing nothing but her airheaded side, watching Ahn Hee-soo talk about her actual profession somehow made her seem cool.

“Then, Teacher, good luck! Please take good care of our Maengkkongi, who’s so~ picky about people.”

“Don’t worry. Good luck to you too, Ms. Hee-soo.”

I watched Ahn Hee-soo’s back for a moment as she turned around and scampered toward the study, then quickly shifted my eyes back to the tablet displaying the home camera.

An actress reading a script and practicing her acting was part of a world completely unrelated to me—a distant world that had nothing to do with my life.

“Oh, Maengkkongi’s moving. She’s going to wake up. Ah, so cute. Haha. Shall we get back to work?!”

Yes.

At least at that time, acting was still a world that had absolutely nothing to do with me.