Chapter 94
Chapter 94
“What if she keeps a spending diary?”
This information had been buried in the corner of her mind . Jimin remembered hearing about it from some parenting show .
“It’ll be possible if she knows basic addition and subtraction . ”
“s.h.i.+nhae still hasn’t learned all her hangul . Her knowledge of numbers is a bit limited too . ”
Jimin"s idea was ruthlessly sunk by reb.u.t.tals from Chelsea and Sungyoon . It was to be expected . s.h.i.+nhae had just turned six years old .
“As expected, someone should manage the money for her . ”
Jimin placed a hand on her cheek as she fell deep in thought . Sungyoon crossed his arms . Both of them didn’t want to take back the money, but from an educational point of view, it would be very bad to give so much money to a child . It seemed they both agreed on those points .
“I’m sorry to ask this of you, but can you manage s.h.i.+nhae’s money?”
Sungyoon was careful as he spoke to Jimin . Due to his work, he barely stayed at home, so he couldn’t afford to give monetary lessons to s.h.i.+nhae .
“It can’t be helped . We can’t just let s.h.i.+nhae go at it alone . ”
Jimin didn’t hesitate as she nodded .
“I’ll ask in a roundabout way a little bit later . She is too happy right now, and if we take the money right now, it might backfire . ”
The two of them started to brainstorm ideas on how they could avoid hurting s.h.i.+nhae . Chelsea watched all of this, and she had this thought .
‘They are completely acting like a married couple . ’
They looked like parents discussing the future of their child .
s.h.i.+nhae returned after hiding her money in what she considered to be a great hiding spot . Sungyoon immediately grabbed her into his arms, sat down on the bed, and placed her on his knee . Then, he looked towards Jimin and Chelsea .
“What brings you here today?”
He had been caught up in the heat of the moment on who received a sebae or not . This was why he hadn’t heard why the two of them had come for a visit .
“Let’s go ring the bell . ”
Chelsea always spoke nonsense . Jimin, who stood next to her, pressed her hand on her forehead . She was dealing with a significant amount of stress these days because her friend did whatever she wanted to do . Of course, Sungyoon was also baffled by the suggestion .
“I have no idea what you are talking about . ”
“Today is New Year’s Day . Isn’t it called the Bosingak? They hold a bell-tolling ceremony every year . I want to strike an Asian bell . ”
It seemed Chelsea wanted to travel and experience everything Korean culture had to offer . It had been a long time since she had received a vacation, and she wanted to take advantage of this overseas trip .
“I can strike a bell?”
“Yes, yes! You can hit it!”
s.h.i.+nhae also showed a reaction to Chelsea"s words . Chelsea knew this was it . She started hyping up the bell-tolling ceremony in front of the little girl . It didn’t matter how much she begged, threatened, or bargained . She knew that a single word from s.h.i.+nhae was more effective than anything she could do .
She was correct . Her prediction became reality .
“Dad!”
A twinkle appeared in s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes as she pulled at Sungyoon’s sleeve . Sungyoon immediately stood up . When his daughter said that she wanted to go to the bell-tolling ceremony, all the annoyance within him disappeared in an instant .
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Sungyoon fell for it . Chelsea made a little fist, and then, she observed Jimin’s reaction .
Jimin saw through her friend"s little plan . She glared at Chelsea with narrowed eyes, but she also couldn’t ignore s.h.i.+nhae’s opinion .
“I’ll drive . ”
In the end, she was swept up in the little plan too . Chelsea was letting out a silent cheer when Jimin gave a hard slap to her arm .
* * *
Hanging by st.u.r.dy chains, a large and thick wooden pole was swinging back and forth . Sungyoon’s party stood next to the wooden pole and swung it backward . They used the ma.s.sive weight and the momentum created as a weapon to strike the bell .
Daeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng~!
A very low and resonant sound ran out . It felt as if the soundwaves were hitting their skin, and they got a little bit of gooseb.u.mp .
“Ah-ha-ha-haht!”
However, it didn"t faze s.h.i.+nhae at all . She burst out laughing . A piece of metal much bigger than her had collided with a wooden pole, and an odd sound rang out as a result . The little girl found all of this fascinating . She placed her hand on the wooden pole, watching the still vibrating bell .
“Dad!”
She pointed at the bell as she spoke .
“The bell rang!”
“Yes, the bell rang . ”
Sungyoon smiled . s.h.i.+nhae rang the bell once again, and then, she looked towards him .
“I rang it!”
She stamped her feet in joy as she laughed out loud . It was a laugh capable of purifying even the darkest of emotions .
“What do you think? I think we did well by coming here . ”
Chelsea had helped ring the bell . She nudged Sungyoon with her elbow as she crowed . Sungyoon had to nod . He almost hadn"t moved as he thought the trip would be tiresome . But if he had done so, s.h.i.+nhae would have missed out on this fun experience . He wouldn"t have been able to see his daughter"s amazing smile .
“Thank you for recommending it . ”
“Hmmph!”
Her nose went high into the sky, and she turned to look at Jimin . Jimin had scolded Chelsea to cut back on her annoying behavior, so she sent the same gaze of smugness towards Jimin .
However, Jimin was different from Sungyoon .
“How much money do you owe me from the food I bought you on the Moon?”
“…”
Chelsea lowered her eyes in a coquettish manner .
s.h.i.+nhae wanted to continue to ring the bell, but other people were waiting for their turn . She had to retreat . There was a look of loss in her eyes as she continued to look at the bell .
“… I want a bell . ”
It was something a normal child might say . She was sad, but she didn’t fall to the floor and cry like other children . However, Chelsea couldn’t breathe easily . The adults were more of a problem than the child .
Chelsea had to stop the silly father that was searching ‘How to make a bell’ on his smartphone . Chelsea had to stop her best friend, who was acting like a silly mother . Jimin was looking for ways to acquire the raw materials needed to cast a bell . She felt like the aunt trying to stop the foolish parents . What made it scarier was that Sunggyoon and Jimin had the means to purchase a bell .
s.h.i.+nhae had been vivacious as she played, but it seemed she was thirsty . She started looking for a drink, so Sungyoon went to search for a nearby convenience store . Chelsea was partic.i.p.ating in the commemorative rites for the ancestors that came along with the bell tolling ritual . Naturally, Jimin was left behind with s.h.i.+nhae .
“Unni . ”
s.h.i.+nhae pulled at Jimin’s clothes .
“What’s wrong?”
“I want to buy a present with the money I got today . ”
“Present?”
Did she already want to spend her money? They had decided to set up a plan to confiscate the money from s.h.i.+nhae later on, so Jimin felt a bit uncomfortable hearing these words . However, the next words from s.h.i.+nhae’s mouth wiped away any worries she had .
“Yes . I want to buy a present for dad . ”
s.h.i.+nhae raised her head . She watched Sungyoon’s back as he entered the distant convenience store . There was a faraway look in s.h.i.+nhae"s eyes . There was a look in her eyes that shouldn’t be present in a child her age .
Jimin gulped . The little girl’s expression, att.i.tude, and eyes… Everything reminded Jimin of her younger self . In fact, whenever she received her allowance, Jimin had always bought a present for her father first .
“Dad went through a lot for me . ”
Until a moment ago, her smile had rivaled the sun . However, it was gone . Gloomy dark clouds appeared on the child’s face .
“Mom, grandpa, and grandma said I didn’t matter . They said they don’t need me because dad’s company went bankrupt . He didn’t have any money . They said…I’m a burden . ”
Ooh-doo-doohk!
Jimin became surprised . Her jaw hurt . She had subconsciously gritted her teeth way too hard . Jimin was that mad .
‘Those sons of b.i.t.c.hes!’
She knew s.h.i.+nhae’s mother was trash, but she never expected the grandparents to be trash too . It seemed the whole family was trash .
‘I guess it is to be expected . The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree . ’
As she had this thought, Jimin knew it had been a hundred times better for s.h.i.+nhae that her b.i.t.c.h of a mother had let go of her .
“But dad didn’t throw me away . He continued to raise me . He kept giving me love . He didn’t have money, but he lived with me . That is why I want to buy dad a present with the money . ”
s.h.i.+nhae looked up towards Jimin .
“Do I have a lot of money? Will I be able to buy dad a present?”
Jimin felt so much anger towards s.h.i.+nhae’s maternal side of the family, and she felt such poignant feelings when she witnessed s.h.i.+nhae’s angel-like heart . Jimin hugged the child .
“Of course, you can buy it . You can buy a really good present . ”
“That’s good!”
Jimin quickly wiped away the small tear she shed . She faced s.h.i.+nhae .
“s.h.i.+nhae is amazing . I can’t believe you came up with such an idea . ”
“Yes! Ah! You have to keep it a secret from dad!”
“Of course!”
The two of them let out a bright smile as they looked at each other .
“I’m going to ask dad to put the rest in the bank . I’m going to show it off to the other kids . ”
“Yes, yes!”
As expected, s.h.i.+nhae was a bit different from the other children . She didn’t know when it would happen, but if she decided to have a child in the future, she wanted a daughter like s.h.i.+nhae .
It didn’t take too long for Sungyoon to return with the beverages he bought . Chelsea had also experienced the ritual, so she looked satisfied . The two of them headed towards Jimin and s.h.i.+nhae .
“Huh? Did something happen?”
It was obvious to Chelsea that both of them were in a very good mood . Jimin and s.h.i.+nhae looked at each other once again .
“It’s a secret!”
“Yes! Secret!”
They placed their fingers on their lips, making a zipping motion . The two laughed when Sungyoon and Chelsea looked at them with confusion in their eyes .
* * *
The New Year’s event was enjoyable . Chelsea had proposed a plan, and s.h.i.+nhae had readily agreed to it . Sungyoon and Jimin were skeptical in the beginning, but in their own way, they had fun .
However, Chelsea’s visits to Sungyoon’s house hadn’t come to an end . They were swept-up in Chelsea’s tour of Korea once again . Chelsea carefully coaxed Sungyoon and Jimin to go on various trips for s.h.i.+nhae’s enjoyment . After playing to their heart’s content, the car containing Sungyoon’s party slowly entered into the apartment complex .
Evening had arrived, and the sun was starting to set . Unlike the other trips, they were coming home pretty early . Still, s.h.i.+nhae was soundly asleep . It seemed she was tired . Sungyoon put her in his arms, and he exited the car . Chelsea had bought a lot of toys for s.h.i.+nhae this trip, so he wouldn’t be able to take everything up in one go . If there were a couple of heavy items, he would have managed it somehow . However, there were too many items this time . Even if he had become much stronger, he only had two hands .
They got on the elevator . The party entered the familiar corridor leading to Sungyoon’s house .
But Sungyoon came to a stop as he was about to head towards his home .
“You are Mr . Woo Sungyoon?”
The man had slicked-back hair, and it revealed his handsome forehead . He had also worn horn-rimmed gla.s.ses . At a glance, he looked like a typical businessman . The man was standing in front of Sungyoon’s house .
It was clear that he had been waiting for Sungyoon, but this was Sungyoon’s first time seeing this man .
“Who are you?”
“Ah . Please wait a moment . ”
He excused himself as he took out a business card from his wallet .
“This is who I am . ”
Sungyoon was very careful to not awaken s.h.i.+nhae from her sleep . He took the offered business card . Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched when he saw the business card . Jimin and Chelsea, who were witnessing everything from the side, hardened their expression .
It was the name of a famous moonstone gathering company .
The inside of Jimin’s head turned white .
He was a scout .