Chapter 93
Chapter 93
This break had come after a month, and Sungyoon really took the time to relax . He planned on resting for around 3 weeks . Urgent businesses like getting the Personal Labyrinth a.s.signed had been taken care of . There was no reason for him to go to his company . Moreover, he had reported his dangerous misadventure, where he had encountered another Bigfoot, to Jimin . Chelsea had been next to Jimin at that time, and she also piled on him by reproaching his actions . Both ladies scolded him to be a bit more careful .
The Mana Stream within Sungyoon’s labyrinth lasted two weeks . Moreover, he had to wait an appropriate amount of time for the monsters to relocate themselves . In the beginning, he had wanted to go in as soon as the Mana Stream ended . However, he had sc.r.a.pped that idea when he almost died to a Bigfoot, which had suddenly appeared in front of the labyrinth"s entrance .
Yesterday was like today, and today was like tomorrow . Peaceful and boring days continued .
However, today was a bit of a special day .
Sungyoon looked at s.h.i.+nhae, who had worn traditional Korean clothing . He looked at her with love in his eyes .
She was wearing a beautiful hanbok, which doubled her cuteness . She had donned a bright red skirt and a blue jeogori, and her sleeves were decorated with colorful stripes .
Although s.h.i.+nhae looked cute wearing anything, the hanbok brought out a different form of cuteness . Her cuteness had gone off the charts .
It seemed the hanbok was more uncomfortable than her normal clothes, so there was a bit of awkwardness in her movement . However, she was a kid . She ignored the awkwardness as she moved around the house, and her skirt fluttered every time she moved .
Sungyoon looked pleased . He had made a big decision in buying a hanbok for s.h.i.+nhae .
Usually, hanboks were more expensive than normal clothes . For adults, they only had to worry about getting fat as their body wouldn"t go through any changes . Unlike the adults, children grew rapidly each day . There was a good chance that this hanbok had to be discarded after one year .
However, Sungyoon had taken everything into consideration and had gifted a hanbok to his daughter . He didn’t feel an ounce of regret about that decision .
“Dad, look at this!”
s.h.i.+nhae, who was wearing her hanbok, spun in place . The bright red skirt danced in the air as centrifugal force made it whirl . The little girl was the apple of his eyes, so, of course, Sungyoon was moved by this sight .
“Uh-whew! You are too cute!”
He spoke as he kneaded s.h.i.+nahe’s soft cheeks . The little girl laughed, but it seemed she found his gesture tiresome and quickly moved her face away from his fingers . Sungyoon groped the empty air in loss .
“Dad, dad! Sebae!”
“Of course! Dad has to receive sebae from s.h.i.+nhae!”
Any feeling of loss was gone . Sungyoon spoke loudly as he sat in front of her .
It had been a while since he could celebrate a holiday with s.h.i.+nhae . When his company went bankrupt, he had fallen to the bottom, and he hadn’t been able to celebrate any holidays with his daughter . Not to mention, he had to entrust her to an orphanage before he went to the Moon . After he started going to the Moon, he spent the majority of his time there . In the past year, he had missed Children’s day, Lunar New Year, Christmas, and even her birthday . This was why celebrating a holiday today with s.h.i.+nhae was that much more precious to him .
“Happy New Year!”
s.h.i.+nhae yelled out loud as she kowtowed towards Sungyoon . It seemed that she had learned how to bow in kindergarten . Sungyoon looked very satisfied as he watched her .
“I will!”
He purposefully spoke in a solemn manner, but there was also a playful tone to his voice . s.h.i.+nhae got up . She wasn’t familiar with the hanbok, nor used to making these gestures . She wobbled for a moment as she got up, and Sungyoon flinched as if he wanted to go prop her up . However, the little girl was successful in regaining her balance .
“New Year’s money!”
s.h.i.+nhae ran towards Sungyoon and pushed both hands out towards him . Of course, Sungyoon wasn’t going to act cheap on such an occasion . All the money he had earned was for his daughter .
“Wait a moment!”
Sungyoon took out his wallet . He had been prepared for this moment . He took out four crisp 50 dollar bills, which he had withdrawn from the bank, and handed them over to s.h.i.+nhae .
“Wow~!”
She had just turned 6 years old . Of course, it was an enormous amount of money to her . However, Sungyoon looked satisfied by the fact that s.h.i.+nhae liked the gift .
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang . s.h.i.+nhae looked happy, and Sungyoon looked happier than her . Both of them turned their heads towards the door, and a familiar expression arose on their face . It seemed someone they expected was visiting .
“Ah! It must be unni . ”
It seemed s.h.i.+nhae had a hunch as to who it was, and she hurried off to the interphone . Her cute little hand clutched the four bills, which fluttered as she ran .
“It is unni!”
When she checked who was on the display, s.h.i.+nhae didn’t bother picking up the receiver for the interphone . She went out to the front door .
Click!
“Unni!”
As soon as s.h.i.+nhae opened the door, the woman outside ran in . The child didn’t dodge as she allowed the woman to pick her up .
“s.h.i.+nhae!”
She spoke haltingly in Korean, but it wasn’t hard to understand her . The woman hugged s.h.i.+nhae’s small body .
“You are here again today, Ms Chelsea . ”
Sungyoon showed a little displeasure when he spoke, and there was a bit of sarcasm in his voice too . Whenever Chelsea had time, she would drop by to interfere in his quality time with s.h.i.+nhae .
“Ah! Happy New Year, Mr Sungyoon!”
However, his sarcastic remark had no effect .
“Also, I wish s.h.i.+nhae to have a prosperous new year!”
“Yes! Happy New Year, unni!”
They grabbed each other’s hands and spoke their New Year’s greetings with a bright smile on their faces . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say this sight was almost picturesque .
After Chelsea had arrived on Earth, she kept wearing flashy clothes . She had always made money, but she had never spent it . She now shopped as if she wanted to spend all her money . She adorned herself with nice things . Jimin had to wonder if she was spending a bit too much, but she had to remember that Chelsea hadn’t shopped like this in years . It was probably ok to let her do as she liked for now . Jimin let out a sigh . She also had a conversation with Sungyoon to let Chelsea do as she pleased for a little while .
Chelsea was looking very charming in a new way, as she had worn a red skirt and a yellow jeogori . The hanbok displayed the elegance of Korean traditional style, and she was wearing one .
Of course, Sungyoon didn’t show any interest .
“What brings you here?”
“Do you have nothing to say about my outfit?”
“It is a hanbok . ”
“… . ”
Chelsea shut her mouth . Of course, she knew it was a hanbok . Everyone and their mother knew this was a hanbok . At the very least, she wanted his opinion on whether it looked good on her or not . In fact, she wanted him to say a bit in detail why this hanbok looked good on her . However, the man"s reply was basically like giving a short answer to a descriptive question .
However, Sungyoon didn’t see what was wrong with his response . He didn’t speak any further .
“Unni, it is pretty!”
“Isn’t it? As expected, I only have s.h.i.+nhae!”
How could such a cute child come from a cold, dark, and brusque man? Chelsea thanked G.o.d for the existence of this beautiful miracle as she hugged the little girl once again .
“Wrap it up! Just go in!”
Chelsea had been squatting down so that she would be able to hug s.h.i.+nhae, but when she was about to get up, someone pushed her from the back . There was clearly malice behind the action .
“Kyaaa!”
Chelsea had lost her balance . She could barely stop herself from falling by placing her hands on the wall .
“You came too, president?”
“She dragged me here saying it"s New Year . ”
Jimin walked forward from behind Chelsea . She was still wearing a black suit that was reminiscent of the funeral black . When she saw Chelsea barely regain her balance, she clicked her tongue . Then, lowering her head towards Sungyoon, she spoke .
“I’m sorry . I should control her a little better . ”
“No, it’s fine! s.h.i.+nhae likes her . ”
Chelsea always got in the way of him spending quality time with s.h.i.+nhae, so it would be a lie to say he was in a good mood . However, such petty emotions melted away when he saw the smile on the child"s face .
“Ah! Jimin unni came this time!”
s.h.i.+nhae quickly glued herself to Jimin’s leg . Jimin threw away all negative emotions she had up until that point, and softly stroked the little girl’s head . s.h.i.+nhae closed her eyes as she smiled . She was like a cat, and Jimin’s lips naturally turned upwards into a smile .
Sungyoon let the two of them in .
“Why are you holding money?”
s.h.i.+nhae was struggling to take off her shoes within the skirt of the hanbok . She was unaccustomed to these clothes, so she was having a hard time . Then, Chelsea, who had been watching s.h.i.+nhae, caught sight of the money in hands of the little girl, who proudly showed her spoils to Chelsea .
“New Year’s money!”
“Wow! You received a lot!”
Chelsea spoke in an exaggerated manner to express her surprise . s.h.i.+nhae pulled her shoulders back in pride .
“You want to sebae to unni?”
“Huh? I can do it?”
“Of course!”
In fact, she wanted to experience the culture of sebae . Chelsea sat down in the living room to receive sebae from s.h.i.+nhae . At some point, she had grabbed Jimin’s hand and pulled her down with herself . It seemed Chelsea wanted her to also receive sebae from s.h.i.+nhae . Jimin also desired that, so she didn’t resist Chelsea"s overbearing actions .
The two ladies sat next to each other . It was awkward for Chelsea to sit crossed-legged on the floor, but she worked at it . After a bit of effort, she was able to twine her legs .
“Happy New Year!”
s.h.i.+nhae once again kowtowed . Chelsea and Jimin let out gentle laughs as they watched her cute actions .
“Jeez! You are so cute . So I’m supposed to give New Year’s money now?”
Chelsea took out her wallet, and Jimin followed suit .
‘How much do I have to give her?’
Chelsea counted the money in her wallet as she thought about it . There was a culture around sebae, and the one that received sebae had to give money to the person who bowed . Chelsea knew this, but she had no idea how much she had to give . She looked towards s.h.i.+nahae"s bed, where s.h.i.+nhae had carefully placed her money . She counted how much Sungyoon had given her, clearly seeing four 50 dollar bills .
‘Do they normally give so much?’
Of course, she would be giving it to s.h.i.+nhae, so she didn’t consider it a waste . She had saved up a lot of money over the years . Still, she thought two hundred dollars was a bit too much for a six-year-old . This was why she glanced to the side where Jimin was taking out her money .
Jimin outdid Sungyoon . She was taking out six 50 dollar bills . Jimin put on a bright smile as she handed over the money to s.h.i.+nhae . Chelsea misunderstood thinking this was all completely normal, so she took out four 50 dollar bills .
In a flash, s.h.i.+nhae had received a ma.s.sive amount of money . She became excited . She ran into her little room, and she opened her drawer to take out her little wallet . After storing all the money inside, she put the wallet back into the drawer .
“I’ve received a sebae . Now I want to try giving a sebae . ”
She really was trying her best to enjoy the full Korean culture on this trip, so she muttered those words . Her eyes headed towards Sungyoon .
“Now that I think about it, Mr . Sungyoon is pretty old, right? Should I be calling you elder?”
He looked to be in his early to mid 20s, but he was in his late-30s . Chelsea’s eyes twinkled . She had found her target . She would be able to get some New Year’s money from him through sebae .
However, Sungyoon was a steel wall .
“Our household doesn’t give New Year’s money to people that are already making money . Moreover, there isn’t too much of an age difference between me and you . The age difference isn’t high enough for you to sebae to me . ”
Then Sungyoon spoke the next words as if it was a throwaway sentence .
“Ms . Chelsea is 30 years old this year . ”
“What the h.e.l.l! I’m 28 years old!”
Chelsea shouted, and Jimin burst out laughing next to her . Chelsea glared at her friend . However, it was as if Jimin was using this opportunity to let go of all her stress . Her tinkling laughter didn"t show any signs of dying down .
In the end, Chelsea pouted . She gave up on giving a sebae . To be precise, she gave up on gathering some New Year’s money .
“Do you think it’ll be ok?”
Jimin finally calmed down after she laughed for a long time . She spoke as she watched s.h.i.+nhae exit her small room .
“I was in a good mood, so I gave it to her . However, I wonder if we gave too much . ”
“Huh? Weren’t we supposed to give a lot?”
“Who the h.e.l.l gives so much money to a child?”
Chelsea wanted to hold up a mirror in front of Jimin as an answer . She was taken aback by Jimin’s words . However, Jimin looked troubled, and Sungyoon also looked serious . s.h.i.+nhae was so precious to him that he hadn’t hesitated to give 200 dollars to her . He became serious, because this had to do with educating his child .