-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Matriarch
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Grandmother approached slowly, leaning on a cane.
‘Ah, I didn’t know about that.’
Does she have trouble with her legs?
‘Is it congenital, or from an accident?’
I hadn’t noticed when she was sitting in the study.
Whatever my thoughts, my grandmother's gaze was incredibly sharp.
‘Wow, a normal baby would have burst into tears.’
But alas, I am not a normal baby.
I beamed brightly.
I swayed my shoulders and sang.
“Hee-poo, hee-poo, hee-poo-poo!”
Her gaze remained sharp. I kept wiggling my body.
‘It’s just baby babble.’
So please, drop your suspicions, Grandmother. Do so, and you shall find salvation.
Her doubtful expression faded after a few minutes. She sighed and said.
“Then again, there’s no way a baby would know who Hitler is.”
Oh, but I do.
I sang with a serene smile on my face.
“Hee-poo-ah! Baa-ah.”
Grandmother’s expression finally softened. She took a few more steps and hooked her cane on the railing of my cradle. Then, she pulled a nearby chair over and sat down in front of me.
‘Well, this is a different side of you.’
Maybe it was because she was sitting in the yellow pumpkin chair that Ansan-daek used when she played with me. She definitely didn't look like a demon king today.
I stared intently at my grandmother.
‘Looking closely, she resembles Mom.’
I suppose that’s natural for a mother and daughter.
‘But why did she come? What’s her purpose?’
The matriarch of Seongjin Group must be busy; she wouldn’t come without a reason.
As I was pondering this, a pale hand suddenly reached out and gently poked my cheek.
“Hm, hm.”
Grandmother kept prodding me, letting out strange hums.
“Soft.”
Well, of course. It’s a baby’s cheek.
I reached out, trying to grab her finger. Seeing this, my grandmother spoke.
“Your fingers are small, too.”
That’s also quite obvious.
But really, Grandmother, was your purpose just to poke me?
“Did Sujeong really bring him home just because he’s this cute?”
Grandmother quickly pulled her hand back. Then she sighed.
“Will she throw him out again once he grows up and loses his baby fat?”
Hey, this old lady!
My eyes went wide, and Grandmother frowned back at me.
“But I have a feeling he’ll look similar even when he’s older.”
Wow.
“So, was it Laozi?”
Oh no.
“Bba-woo-bba!”
No!
‘I may be Gongja, but calling me Laozi is going too far!’
Grandmother’s cheek twitched as she spoke.
“You’re unsettling.”
What?
‘Why!’
What’s unsettling about this perfect face!
“You look like computer graphics. So perfect that your expressions don’t seem human.”
W-well, isn’t that a good thing?
“That’s why there’s something strangely unpleasant about you.”
N-no!
I was silently horrified. Whether I was shocked or not, Grandmother continued to look down at me.
“Some people might like this kind of face, but… who knows. They’ll probably get tired of it eventually.”
Th-that’s crazy!
I couldn't listen to any more of it.
I quickly turned to the mirror. The moment my eyes met my reflection, I understood exactly what she meant.
‘Oh, damn it all!’
She was right.
I cupped my cheeks with my hands and froze.
‘I get why she said that.’
My expressions were a little unnatural.
‘How should I put this?’
First, I needed to confirm it.
I tried the acting I was best at.
‘Let’s try playing Thug #3.’
It was usually the role of a goon who threatens the heroine, only to get beaten up by the hero.
‘I just need to lower my eyes and smirk.’
In the past, that expression had synergized with my insect-like features to create a face that made everyone want to land a punch.
‘Ah, this is…’
But the baby in the mirror now was different.
‘When I lowered my eyes, all you could see were my eyelashes.’
Was that why? Far from looking vulgar, it actually looked holy. And because of my perfect jawline, the smirk didn't look like a sneer but more like a distorted smile.
The conclusion was simple.
‘I’m not used to this face.’
I had to relearn how to move my facial muscles from scratch.
‘That’s why all my expressions are weird. Damn it. Why didn’t I think of this?’
I dropped my hands from my cheeks and sighed.
Unfortunately, I knew the answer.
‘I was too busy admiring my looks to notice.’
I lightly tapped my thigh with my small fist.
‘You’re lacking the proper mindset of an actor, Lee Hanjo—no, Ma Gongja!’
But this face was just too perfect not to admire!
I looked in the mirror again. Perhaps because it was so beautiful, my disappointment vanished, and my mood lifted once more.
‘Man, with a face like this, the drinks would go down easy without any snacks.’
Just then, the voice of the grandmother I’d forgotten about spoke.
“You, what are you doing?”
Oops.
‘I forgot she was here.’
I babbled, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Hee, poo! Hee-poo!”
Grandmother pushed up her butterfly glasses. I gave her a bright smile and raised my arms, opening and closing my fists in a little wave. It was a special service for my grandmother, who seemed to like my hands.
She mumbled as she watched my hands.
“Well, he’s just a baby.”
Ah, it seems she’s letting it go. Thank you.
“He’s a little cute, but why on earth did she bring him home? Isn’t Sujeong worried about the shares she needs to give Mari? I don’t know what she’s thinking, letting a mongrel muddy the waters of Seongjin Group.”
Wow.
‘How cold.’
I looked at my grandmother again. The shape of her eyes and the curve of her lips were similar to my mother’s.
‘But they’re so different.’
My mother, Ma Sujeong, was famous in the film industry for her fiery personality. But the grandmother before me was incredibly cold.
‘It’s natural she doesn’t like me. Still, calling me a mongrel is too much.’
So cold.
‘You’re like ice.’
An icy grandmother and a fiery mother. Their personalities didn't seem like they would match at all.
‘The emotional rift between this mother and daughter might be deeper than I thought.’
This has the feel of a conflict that’s been fermenting for decades.
As if oblivious to my thoughts, my grandmother clicked her tongue at me.
“What is she thinking, taking in a black-haired beast.”
Unfortunately, my hair is brown, Grandmother.
“You’re no help to Sujeong. I should just get rid of you.”
Hmm.
‘Well, it’s only natural she doesn’t like me.’
Every word this grandmother said was a hundred percent correct.
‘I’m a net negative for Mom.’
She probably wants to get rid of me as much as she cherishes her daughter.
‘Still, I don’t want to get on her bad side.’
She was the matriarch of Seongjin Group and my mother’s mother.
‘The problem is, I’m at a disadvantage.’
She wasn’t going to like me easily.
‘Most people would give up here.’
But I have my coins.
‘The question is how to use them.’
My grandmother said to me.
“Don’t think you can stay in this house just because of that face of yours.”
She continued to grumble. It seemed she really disliked me.
“When the time comes, I’ll step in and send you away myself.”
Ah, that’s brutally cruel.
“Should I just do it now? I should get rid of him before anyone gets more attached.”
Oh, dear.
“Hm. It’s already too late for that. The news that she adopted him is already out. If we get rid of him right away, it will cause a stir both inside and out.”
The situation was bleak. I took a quiet, deep breath. But perhaps because I was a baby, my soft breathing sounded a little loud.
‘Calm down, Lee Hanjo. No, Ma Gongja.’
Let’s think this through.
This woman dislikes me. But I need to get close to her.
What should I do?
‘First, while she dislikes me, she seems to quite like my face.’
My cute antics also worked, more or less.
‘Someone like her won’t be won over in one go.’
A single, deep, and powerful strike would only cause my own side to crumble.
‘A slow simmer will be more effective.’
To do that…
‘She needs to see my face often.’
I stared intently at my grandmother.
I rested a hand on my cheek, thinking.
Would she like me a little more if she grew attached?
‘How can I see her more often?’
Then, I saw the cane hooked on the cradle.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
‘This is it!’
A grin spread across my face. I immediately cried out.
“Poo-ah! Poo-yah!”
Use coin!
Make me give off a lemongrass scent whenever this grandmother comes near!
The text on the screen soon shifted.
<200 coins are required to emit a lemongrass scent whenever the matriarch of Seongjin Group, Na Hwajin, approaches. Do you wish to proceed?>
It was a lot of coins, but I had no choice.
‘Let’s think of it as an investment in the future.’
I immediately shouted.
“Poo-bba!”
Proceed!
Wow, that’s a steep price.
‘Still, a week will pass quickly enough.’
I smiled sweetly at my grandmother.
Did you know, Grandmother?
‘Lemongrass scent is effective for muscle pain.’
When I injured myself while filming a movie, the physical therapy clinic I went to always had this scent.
‘Well, it’s fine even if the effect is minimal.’
The important thing is making this grandmother visit me often.
“How should I deal with this thing… huh?”
It seemed the effect was immediate. My grandmother’s eyes blinked.
“Why does it smell so nice?”
I wonder why.
I pushed myself up with my legs and reached my hands out to my grandmother.
“Baa-ah!”
Grandmother inhaled, searching for the source of the scent.
Thanks to that, her face drew closer.
“Is it coming from him?”
That’s right.
My grandmother sniffed every inch of me.
‘Hmm, she’s a bit like a dog.’
After sniffing for a while, she stopped at the crown of my head.
“It seems strongest here.”
Is that so?
Her face was conveniently close. I lightly pressed my lips to her cheek and pulled away.
“Bbo-bbo! Bbo-bbo!”
It means ‘kiss.’
What do you think, Grandmother?
My grandmother’s pupils trembled violently.
‘No, you’re supposed to be happy!’
Why are you so surprised?
‘She doesn’t like physical contact?’
Not even a kiss from a baby this cute?
Just then.
Ah, my apologies, Grandmother.
