Chapter 06
Translation
“Get out.”
“……Yeees.”
I answered cautiously and got out of the car.
Grandfather didn’t even glance at me. He simply walked quietly across the parking lot.
Seeing how he was acting as though nothing had happened, I swallowed nervously.
‘Did I… pull it off?’
“Where did you get this?”
The terrifying moment came rushing back to me.
Grandfather had picked up the business card and examined it for a long time before asking me that question.
My mind had gone completely blank, but I quickly came up with a plausible lie.
“Th-that? Um, I went out earlier because I wanted to eat something delicious, and someone gave it to me on the street!”
-H-haah!
Even the fox had used the last of its strength to help me out.
Grandfather had stared at me silently after hearing my explanation, but eventually, he nodded.
“All right. Let’s go inside for now.”
After that, Grandfather acted as though nothing had happened.
Just like with the staff lady and the director, my lie and the fox’s charm had worked on him.
“……”
But why?
Something felt just a little… off.
Because Grandfather’s expression back then had been strange.
Unable to shake my uneasiness, I followed him into the mansion, nervously watching his every move.
That was when I noticed something strange.
“Have you contacted them?”
“Yes! They said they’d check right away.”
Why is the house so noisy…?
Ever since I was very young, our house had always been quiet.
That was because Grandfather, the strongest and most frightening person in the family, hated noise.
But today, I could hear the thundering of footsteps and the muffled chatter of people talking.
Grandfather seemed to notice it as well. Frowning, he asked,
“Why is everyone making such a commotion?”
“Father!”
And then, I heard Mom’s voice.
‘Gasp.’
My mouth fell open like an idiot.
M-Mom? Why was she home right now?
She always came home late at night!
I froze in place, completely flustered. By the time I came to my senses, Mom was already standing right in front of Grandfather.
“What is going on?”
But something about Mom’s expression was strange.
“It’s Yujin. Yujin isn’t in her room. It seems she… she might have gone out somewhere.”
“……”
As Mom stammered out her explanation, all I could do was blink.
‘M-Mom looks really worried.’
My mom was an incredibly beautiful and impressive woman.
She always wore a composed expression and was dressed in neat, immaculate business suits.
But the woman standing before me now was completely different.
“We checked the CCTV, and we confirmed that she left the house, but we’ve been searching the surrounding area, too, and we still can’t find her…”
Her hair was disheveled, and her voice trembled.
She looked like someone who was absolutely terrified.
But the thing was…
‘I’m right here, though…?’
I cautiously poked my head out from behind Grandfather’s leg.
The moment I did, Mom and I made eye contact.
She froze on the spot.
“Chairman! Yujin is—!”
Just then, another familiar voice rang out.
This time, it was Dad!
As he hurried toward us, my mind gradually began to catch up with the situation.
Both Mom and Dad had been terribly worried about my disappearance.
Which meant…
They’d found out that I’d sneaked out!
‘……What do I do?’
All that remained was to get scolded.
My heart began pounding furiously.
‘The switch… It hurts so much…’
In my previous life, whenever I did something wrong, Mom and Dad would beat my calves with a switch.
If you did something wrong, it was only natural that you should be punished.
I’d gone outside without telling anyone, so there was no doubt I’d get a terrible scolding and be beaten quite badly.
‘I’m scared…’
My calves already felt as though they were stinging. Before I knew it, I had lowered my head.
And then, it happened.
“I took her out for a while.”
……Huh?
Grandfather casually tossed out those words.
Silence fell over the entrance hall.
I looked up at him in shock.
Mom and Dad looked just as bewildered.
“Y-You did, Father?”
“Yes. I had somewhere to go for a while.”
G-Grandfather had lied to Mom and Dad…!
After saying that, Grandfather handed his outer coat to a nearby maid.
I could only stare up at him with a foolish expression, unable to say a word.
Did Grandfather just help me?
Because he didn’t want me to get in trouble with Mom and Dad?
I was still blinking in bewilderment at this completely unexpected turn of events when—
“……Even so.”
“What?”
“You should have at least told us, Father. We’re her parents, after all.”
A quiet voice interrupted the silence.
It was Dad.
At his words, not only Mom and I, but even Grandfather, momentarily froze.
My mouth fell open again.
‘D-Did he just say that to Grandfather?’
In our household, Grandfather’s word was law.
Whenever he said something, everyone had to bow their heads and answer, Yes, sir.
But Dad had just spoken to him as though he were challenging him!
‘……Dad’s going to get beaten with the switch, too.’
I looked up at Dad in alarm.
How much time passed in that suffocating standoff?
“Hah. Good grief.”
Grandfather, who I’d been certain would fly into a rage, didn’t get angry after all.
“Quite a lot of interesting things have happened today.”
Instead, he let out a small chuckle.
While everyone stood frozen at his unexpected reaction, Grandfather nodded.
“All right. I’ll be more careful next time. I apologize.”
And then, he said it.
That was right.
Grandfather had apologized to Dad!
‘……What in the world is going on?’
Everything was so different from what I remembered that question marks seemed to be floating all around inside my head.
But that lasted only a moment. I cautiously turned my head to gauge the adults’ reactions.
An awkward silence hung in the air, and no one said another word.
‘Then… can I…?’
Could I go to my room now?
I tried to escape to my room by sidestepping as quietly as possible.
That was when it happened.
“Baek Yujin.”
“Eek!”
Grandfather turned his head slightly and glanced down at me.
Then, looking me straight in the eyes, he said,
“Come to my study after dinner.”
……Ah.
H-huh?
My eyes began darting around wildly.
Even the fox hadn’t anticipated this. All it could do was mutter in a trembling voice.
“Are you going to answer?”
“……Y-yes, sir.”
I managed to reply, but cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘I knew it…!’
I was doomed.
As expected, it wasn’t over yet!
[Then, I’ll wait to hear from you, Grandfather!]
“……Understood.”
Click.
“……”
Baek Unhak hung up the phone and gazed thoughtfully at the business card lying on his desk.
As soon as he had entered his study, he had called the number printed on it.
And he had received some truly astonishing news.
He had known that Yujin was lying when she claimed someone had given her the card on the street.
But what his young granddaughter had actually done far exceeded his expectations.
A mere seven-year-old had traveled all the way to that distant location and auditioned all by herself.
“Miss Baek Yujin is a genius. I can vouch for that. I’ve never seen a child her age deliver such an incredible performance!”
On top of that, she had left an extraordinary impression.
The excited voice of the man on the other end of the phone, which he had been listening to just moments ago, echoed in his mind once more.
The endless stream of praise for the child’s acting.
A faint chuckle escaped Baek Unhak’s lips.
As far as he knew, his granddaughter Yujin was an unusually timid child.
She could barely bring herself to meet his eyes and was always shrinking back in fear.
Baek Unhak had secretly worried about her timid disposition for quite some time.
After all, anyone who was going to lead a corporation needed to be bold and self-assured.
Still, Yujin was only seven years old.
He had thought she would gradually learn the proper attitude as she grew up…
‘I never expected her to pull off something like this.’
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded through the study.
Baek Unhak glanced briefly toward the door before speaking.
“Come in.”
“……Yes.”
The door slowly opened, and the child stepped inside.
Her shoulders were hunched, and her eyes darted about anxiously.
Inside the enormous study, the little girl trembled like a frightened little animal.
Watching her, Baek Unhak clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Someone that timid… What on earth was she thinking?’
He found it both absurd and astonishing.
And that only made him more curious.
“I’ve heard everything from that Director Yu. I know what you did today.”
Just what on earth had prompted this child to do something like that?
