🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 2
Nibble.
Nibble.
What’s that sound, you ask?
Well, it’s the sound of thirty-two-year-old office worker Kim Haena picking at her food after losing her appetite.
Why?
Because whenever she imagined “What if I got transported into a novel?” while reading Cocoa Page, she always ended up imagining herself possessing someone in their twenties.
Or thirties.
Never once had she imagined ending up as a seven-year-old child.
I never even read childcare novels.
I only read romance novels rated for teenagers!
Being dragged out of bed and having her face washed by a woman who didn’t even look much older than her was an incredibly strange feeling.
To be fair, the woman was so skilled that it was comfortable and relaxing.
Still, it felt weird.
I could wash my own face when I was seven….
Yet here she was, a third-generation chaebol, being pampered.
She really didn’t think she would ever get used to this.
At this rate, she would have to show everyone what a child who could do everything independently looked like.
“Hong Haena.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Startled by the voice calling her name, Haena quickly turned around.
“Who taught you to sit there picking at your food like that?”
“…!”
Immediately straightening her back, she grabbed a large portion of seasoned spinach and stuffed it into her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Grandfather.”
The person criticizing her eating habits was none other than—
“…?”
The genuine first-generation chaebol.
Chairman Hong Jaesik.
In the novel, he had been known for his cold and strict personality.
Even Hong Haena, the villainess who lived with a knife-sharp tongue, never dared talk back to him.
Chairman Hong disliked her just as much.
Their relationship had been terrible.
It was so bad that in his will, he had specifically written that not a single penny should be left to her.
Of course, the original Hong Haena later lived comfortably off the divorce settlement she squeezed out of the male lead.
“I didn’t know you were capable of apologizing.”
Chairman Hong looked her over with obvious suspicion.
Oops.
The original Hong Haena had been a complete little brat from childhood.
Haena quickly wondered what kind of response wouldn’t break character.
“I heard you beat up Chairman Kim’s youngest grandson from LK Group yesterday.”
Before she could answer, Chairman Hong continued.
“Because of you, I had to cancel an important meeting and personally apologize to Chairman Kim.”
You really were something else, Hong Haena.
Since she didn’t know the details, Haena stayed silent.
“Chairman Kim was furious. I heard you completely broke the boy’s nose.”
“…!”
“You broke it quite thoroughly. I was too embarrassed to even face him.”
Oh dear.
Breaking the nose of a growing child?
Haena glanced nervously at Chairman Hong.
His face was ice-cold.
Even she had to admit she would be angry if her granddaughter came home after breaking another child’s nose.
“When are you ever going to become even average?”
“…!”
“You are the only grandchild of the Hong family. My only granddaughter.”
His stern voice caught her off guard.
No one had ever told her they had high expectations because of whose blood ran through her veins.
“I won’t ask you to lead everyone else.”
His expression remained severe.
“Because you don’t seem to have even the slightest chance of doing that.”
That’s a bit harsh, Grandpa.
Haena lowered her head and listened.
“But shouldn’t you at least be average? Even if you can’t be better than others, you shouldn’t be running around beating people up! What are you, a gangster? A gangster?!”
Good grief.
His voice was so loud it felt like thunder.
Haena felt wronged.
She knew she should probably apologize.
But apologizing for something she hadn’t done was annoying.
Still, who was Kim Haena?
The company’s customer service representative, marketing employee, junior management assistant, accountant, and designer all rolled into one.
There was nothing she couldn’t do.
When a customer was angry, there was a proven method.
Step One: Show empathy.
Step Two: Promise it won’t happen again.
If she were her normal adult self, she would have said:
“I understand how upsetting this must have been for you. You even had to cancel an important meeting because of it. I would be angry too. I’ll make sure this never happens again.”
But a seven-year-old couldn’t say that.
She needed something simpler.
“That’s true….”
“?!”
“Everything you said is right, Grandfather. I would’ve been angry too. It was my fault. I won’t do it again.”
“…?”
Okay.
He looked shocked.
But not completely unconvinced.
Good.
Time for the next step.
Step Three: Offer compensation.
The problem was that seven-year-olds didn’t exactly have many ways to compensate people.
After a moment of thought, she said:
“I’ll do any errands you ask me to.”
What else was a child supposed to offer?
“I’m sorry…. From now on, I’ll become the best child, just like you want.”
That sounded childlike enough, right?
Honestly, she had no idea how seven-year-olds were supposed to talk.
Then she remembered something.
The final step of customer service.
A respectful bow.
Perfect.
She put her two years of department store customer service experience to use.
Bowing ninety degrees, she held the position for five full seconds to show sincerity.
Then she raised her head and prepared her most apologetic, pitiful expression.
Hmm?
The reaction wasn’t great.
Blinking, she looked at Chairman Hong.
His face remained frozen.
“…Chief Kim.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Am I dreaming?”
“No, Chairman. This is definitely reality.”
Your hands are shaking while saying that, though.
“Haena… Haena actually reflected on her actions… on her own?”
Oops.
Maybe she had acted too mature.
Should she have skipped the formal bow?
But children were usually better at greeting people than adults!
She desperately tried to figure out where she’d gone wrong.
“I’ve never seen you apologize to anyone before.”
“!”
Seriously?
Was his granddaughter really that bad?
Haena grumbled internally but smiled innocently.
“My kindergarten teacher said people should apologize when they do something wrong!”
“…Your teacher?”
“Yes!”
Only then did Chairman Hong’s expression finally soften.
“I sent you to that kindergarten because I heard their character education was excellent….”
Chairman Hong sighed deeply.
“Still, never apologize like that to anyone.”
“!”
“Other than this old man, don’t lower your head to anyone. Understood?”
He grabbed her shoulders and spoke with complete seriousness.
The sincerity in his eyes made her nod automatically.
“Good. Actually, don’t even apologize like that to me unless you’ve done something truly terrible.”
“B-But I did do something terrible this time, didn’t I?”
Breaking someone’s nose seemed pretty serious.
That was physical injury.
After a moment of silence, Chairman Hong nodded.
“That’s true. Which is why you shouldn’t create situations that require such apologies in the first place.”
Oh.
That’s what he meant.
Haena laughed awkwardly.
“You carry the blood of the Hong family. You must never bow your head to others. That’s what’s most important.”
What kind of logic is that?
Hong family or not, if you’re wrong, you apologize.
Haena frowned.
No wonder this kid’s personality turned out so bad.
“But if you do something wrong, you should apologize. Teacher said so.”
“…Hm.”
Chairman Hong’s lips twitched.
He clearly had a lot he wanted to say.
Eventually, however, he relaxed and took a spoonful of soup.
“You’re right. If you do something wrong, you should apologize.”
“Yes!”
“But never bow your head!”
“Yeees….”
What kind of standard was that?
Haena had bowed her head thousands of times throughout her life.
She genuinely couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal.
“And another thing!”
“Yes?”
“Never offer to run errands for people again! What errands could you possibly do with those tiny hands? The Hong family doesn’t do things like that!”
I think I ran errands for my mom at least a thousand times when I was little.
“But you’re my grandfather.”
“Hm?”
“You’re my grandfather. You’re an elder I should respect, so isn’t it okay to run errands for you?”
She asked sincerely.
“…Then only run errands for this grandfather!”
“Not even for my teacher?”
Didn’t children usually fight over chances to help their teachers?
Back in elementary school, everyone used to volunteer for errands.
“…No! Absolutely not!”
“Okaaay…. I’ll only run errands for Grandfather….”
What a strange old man.
She decided to pretend to agree.
“By the way, why do you look so timid?”
“Huh?”
“I told you to learn manners. I never told you to come back looking defeated.”
“!”
Was this…
The legendary “Don’t crush my child’s spirit” line she’d only ever heard about?
