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chapter 15
Boiling-Water Sterilization
It was my fifth day on the job.
I left home early in the morning and boarded the bus.
Hissss—
The bus driver greeted me with a big smile.
“Student, you’re heading out earlier than usual today.”
“Yes. I have a lot to do today too, haha.”
As soon as I sat down, I pulled two drama scripts out of my bag.
Normally, I spent my hour-long commute admiring the scenery outside the window or organizing my thoughts about the day.
But today, I planned to go through the scripts page by page and imagine the scenes I might appear in.
“Wow, this script is really interesting.”
Each script was about fifty pages long, but even within that relatively short length, it contained a fascinating story that had been woven together perfectly.
I became completely absorbed in it.
With every page I turned, my heart swelled with excitement.
“…I can’t believe I get to be part of a drama like this.”
The moment I decided to give acting a try, I had been thrown straight into the real thing.
And the drama I had been thrown into happened to be incredibly good.
How many people could be this lucky?
Hissss—
The rear door of the bus opened, and I bowed toward the driver.
“Thank you as always, sir! Fighting today too!!”
“Oh, that gave me a real boost of energy. You too, student!”
I got off the bus and immediately headed toward the meeting place.
The reason I had come early was actually to buy a used toy for Maengkkong.
Gaji~! Gajigaji~!
My phone rang, and when I checked it, there was a notification from the Gaji Market app.
“Oh, they’re on their way.”
I waited near Maebong Station for a while when a man in his mid-thirties, who looked every bit like someone who had come out for a secondhand transaction, approached while looking around.
Soon, our eyes met.
I cautiously asked,
“Excuse me, are you Gaji…?”
The man lifted the large box he was holding until it reached his chest.
“Yes, I’m Gaji!”
I quickly approached, took out the cash I had prepared, and handed it to him.
“Thirty-five thousand won, right?”
“Wait a second. I’ll ask my wife.”
“Ah! It’s written in the app!”
“My wife handled all the chatting on the app. I’m just running an errand on my way to work.”
The man gave an awkward smile before calling his wife.
“Hey, honey. I just met the buyer. Is it thirty-five thousand won? Oh, okay~”
The man grinned.
“She says thirty-five thousand won is right. Would you like to check the mobile first?”
“Yes, please.”
The man set down the box, took out a large mobile, and pressed a button.
Click, clack.
Ding-ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding-ding~
It was a familiar melody I had heard countless times while raising my youngest siblings.
I checked to make sure the music coming from the mobile was working properly, then checked whether the mobile itself rotated properly.
Tilting my head, I asked the man,
“Sir, the black-and-white mobile is included too, right?”
“Oh, of course. It’s inside the box. I washed it too.”
“I was just worried it might only come with the color mobile, haha. The sound works perfectly, and the product is in excellent condition.”
It was a Tiny Mobile, commonly known as one of the must-have baby-care items in Korea.
There were certain toys that babies needed at different stages of development, and this Tiny Mobile was one of them.
All the baby products and furniture in Hee-soo’s house were top-of-the-line.
Yet, there were hardly any toys specifically suited to each stage of a baby’s development.
A precious toy that gave caregivers a brief moment to catch their breath while raising a child.
I wasn’t buying it for myself.
I was buying it because Hee-soo and Maengkkong needed it.
Of course, if I asked Manager Yang, he would get one immediately.
Baby products that could be used for a long time were better purchased new, but toys were different.
Buying them new felt wasteful.
Once a baby passed the developmental stage they were intended for, they became practically useless.
Nearly new products were constantly being listed on Gaji Market, so buying them secondhand was the better option.
For reference, the actual gift I had bought for Maengkkong with the bonus I received yesterday was scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
I made a fist and held it up toward the man.
“Thank you for the transaction. Fighting with the parenting!”
“Haha, things are finally starting to feel a little more manageable. Fighting~”
I started walking toward Dogok-dong with the box containing the Tiny Mobile.
A satisfied smile remained on my lips the entire time.
“I wonder how much our Maengkkong is going to love this. Haha.”
As I vigorously wiped down the Tiny Mobile with disinfecting wipes, Hee-soo, who looked like she had turned into Fu Bao, tilted her head.
“Teacher. What’s that huge, weird-looking thing?”
“It’s a Tiny Mobile.”
“Huh? Maengkkong already has a mobile.”
Instead of answering, I turned the mobile on.
Ding-ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding-ding~
“Ooh~”
“It’s like this, hehe. Shall we see how much Maengkkong likes it?”
“Go, go!”
I sat Maengkkong in the baby chair and placed the Tiny Mobile where it would be at an appropriate distance from her field of vision.
Then I turned it on.
Ding-ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding-ding~
“Hee-ee~ Hyaaah~”
Maengkkong stared blankly at the rotating mobile.
Unable to contain her excitement at how cute the baby looked, Hee-soo waved both hands and exclaimed,
“Wowww~ Isn’t she too cute? Maengkkong~ What do you think? Your teacher went through all that trouble to find this just to show it to you! So hurry up and like it! Smile!”
“Hahahaha.”
“Hee-ee~”
A baby around fifty days old has extremely blurry and limited vision.
They can barely see the face of someone standing right next to them clearly.
For such a baby, a mobile helps them focus to some extent and can also assist with related developmental processes.
Hee-soo watched Maengkkong’s eyes follow the slowly rotating mobile.
Then she blinked and said,
“Wow~ There really are all kinds of baby-care products.”
“That’s right. But this one won’t be necessary for much longer either.”
“Then we should show it to her as much as possible before she stops needing it! Haha!”
“Phew. No, we shouldn’t.”
No matter how useful a mobile was, it shouldn’t be shown to a baby for too long.
Overusing it could actually have the opposite effect.
At first, it should only be shown for about five minutes.
Once the baby seemed accustomed to the mobile, the time could gradually be increased to ten to fifteen minutes.
“Later, we’ll have to remove the black-and-white mobile and switch to the color one.”
“When? Next week?”
“No. When she’s around ninety days old. I’ll keep track of it and replace it then. You just need to know that.”
“You’re the best, Teacher~!”
Eventually, Hee-soo couldn’t keep herself awake any longer and went into her room to sleep.
From now on, it was entirely my work time.
I fed Maengkkong formula, burped her, played with her for a while, and then quickly put her to sleep once she began showing signs of drowsiness.
“All right, shall we get started?”
I filled a clean new pot about halfway with water and placed it on the induction cooktop.
Beep.
While the water was coming to a boil, I organized the baby products I had laid out.
“Baby bottles, nipples, toys…”
When sterilizing things with boiling water, you had to carefully check what each item was made of.
Anything unsuitable, such as materials that could melt in hot water, had to be excluded.
I sterilized things regularly in the UV sterilizer, but even so, to completely eliminate bacteria and other germs, it was advisable to sterilize everything with boiling water at regular intervals.
Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble—
Once the water was boiling vigorously, I turned off the induction cooktop.
Then I could use tongs to immerse the items one by one.
Items made of weaker materials, such as nipples and toys, had to be taken out quickly, within thirty seconds.
Thick glass baby bottles could be removed within two minutes.
After taking the items out, I placed them on a drying rack and let them dry thoroughly until they cooled.
“All right, sterilization complete~”
Thanks to my youngest siblings, there were baby products scattered all over my house.
Back home, boiling-water sterilization alone took several hours.
Compared to that, sterilizing Maengkkong’s things was a piece of cake.
Bzzz—
My phone vibrated in my pocket. When I checked it, I had a message from Manager Yang.
Manager Yang Soo-ho: Hyuk-chan, I’ve left the supplies you requested outside the door.
“Wow, as expected of Manager Yang.”
Bzzz—
Manager Yang Soo-ho: Also, JBC sent over the contract. When can you stop by the office?
“Right. They said I needed to sign the contract.”
After thinking for a moment, I replied.
Me: Yes, Manager. I’ll discuss it with Hee-soo and decide on a schedule, then let you know. Thank you as always.
Bzzz—
Manager Yang Soo-ho: I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, our Hee-soo is finally living like a normal human being. ^^
“Hahahaha!”
I went outside and checked, finding the ingredients I had requested along with all sorts of baby supplies sitting by the front door.
“Hmm. There’s probiotics for babies. And vitamin D. Amazing. He didn’t leave out a single thing.”
Probiotics were something Maengkkong needed because she struggled whenever she had a bowel movement.
Vitamin D was something a baby who could barely spend any time outdoors needed.
I should have started giving them to her sooner, but from now on, I intended to make sure she never missed them.
“All right, then. Shall we start cooking?”
2:00 p.m.
I was holding Maengkkong while looking out the window at the magnificent buildings of Dogok-dong and the Yangjaecheon stream when I sensed someone behind me.
I turned around and saw Hee-soo standing there with a completely vacant expression.
“Hee-soo, you’re already awake? Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”
“Uaaahhh….”
“Are you a zombie? Why are you making weird noises?”
“I am a zombie. Want to hear something interesting? I woke up because I’m hungry.”
“Haha, I’ve prepared lunch. You’re going to eat, right?”
“I’m so hungry I could eat the table right now. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
“Eh? Really?”
She hadn’t been able to eat anything at the filming location yesterday.
Still, I had assumed she would have eaten something after coming home.
Looking at Hee-soo’s face, I could see that both her cheeks had sunken in.
“Hee-soo, I’ll serve you. Have a bowl.”
“I think I could eat a bowl and a half. What’s on the menu today?”
I grinned and pointed toward the kitchen.
“Go see for yourself. Haha.”
The dining table was covered with a full spread of food.
Smoked duck salad, jellyfish salad with vinegar sauce and quail egg jangjorim, and stir-fried shredded potatoes.
The main dish was mushroom hot pot.
Hee-soo’s eyes widened.
“Eek? You did that boiling-water sterilization thing and prepared this whole feast too? Teacher, how many hands do you have?”
“Two.”
“Wow, I really love salad. I’m going to eat it right away.”
“I’ll heat up the stew for you. Go ahead and eat.”
“Yes. I’m so hungry I’m about to die.”
Hee-soo hurriedly scooped rice from the rice cooker and rushed to the dining table.
I put Maengkkong in the baby chair and turned on the Tiny Mobile for her.
Ding-ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding~ Ding-ding-ding~
“Hee-ee~ Ueh, ueeeh~”
Maengkkong adorably stretched her hands forward and waved them gently.
Hee-soo was eating with her face practically buried in her food.
I asked her,
“Look at that. She seems to like it, doesn’t she?”
“Wow, this is really delicious! Amazing, amazing!”
“…Eat plenty.”
By the time Hee-soo had filled her stomach to some extent and regained her senses, I casually asked,
“Hee-soo. Manager Yang said this morning that I should come to the company to sign the contract. When should I go?”
Hee-soo suddenly picked up her plate and shoveled the smoked duck salad into her mouth with her chopsticks as she answered.
“Mmph-hmph, this is really good. Nom nom. Let’s go tomorrow. The CEO said he wanted to meet you too. Munch munch.”
“The CEO? Hmm. If the CEO said that, then I suppose I should meet him.”
Hee-soo put down her plate and tilted her head.
“Teacher. What was that expression just now? Don’t tell me you don’t know who our CEO is?”
“…No. Who is he?”
“Lee Hyun-baek! Surprised?!”
I was.
Very much so.
If you were asked to name the best male actor in Korea, Lee Hyun-baek’s name would unquestionably be on the list.
Lee Hyun-baek, a veteran actor.
A master of acting who had turned dramas and movies of every genre into hits.
I liked him so much that I had watched practically every one of his works.
But I had never dreamed that he was the CEO of HB Entertainment.
Hee-soo gave me a mischievous smile.
“When you look at the projects our CEO has appeared in, he plays a lot of really serious roles, right? But our CEO has a huge desire to do comedy. He has absolutely zero serious vibes, haha.”
“Really?”
I was dumbfounded.
After getting to know famous actresses one after another, including Hee-soo, Yeom Jeong-an, and Lee Young-im, it was already astonishing enough.
And now I was even going to meet Lee Hyun-baek, one of the top male actors in Korea.
Hee-soo nodded.
“Our CEO gets tons of hate from the media, you know. But he covers all of it up with his acting.”
“Lee Hyun-baek gets criticized?”
“Hahahaha. Teacher, you really don’t know anything, do you? Our CEO gets absolutely roasted by the public. Oh, right. You could ask him to teach you acting.”
“Hee-soo, you teach me, don’t you?”
Hee-soo shook her head firmly.
“After seeing you at the shoot yesterday, I realized there’s nothing I can teach you.”
“Come on.”
“You know I don’t say things I don’t mean. Hmm. Rather than saying there’s nothing I can teach you, it would be more accurate to say that I shouldn’t teach you anything. I was taught that you shouldn’t recklessly interfere with an actor who’s like a blank canvas.”
“What do you mean by saying I’m like a blank canvas?”
“I’m not very good at explaining things like this. Hmm~ Anyway, our CEO is basically the ancestor of actors who are like blank canvases. You know, someone who can take on any role and give it a completely different color? Does that make sense? Hmm, hmm-hmm.”
Hee-soo rested her chin on her hand as she tried to think of how to explain it, then went back to eating.
Nom nom nom— Munch munch—
Hee-soo slurped up the chilled jellyfish salad like it was japchae.
Watching her, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘So Lee Hyun-baek was the CEO of HB Entertainment.’
Lately, one exciting thing after another kept happening to me, to the point where I could barely keep my head straight.
