Episode 10
Exactly 12 minutes later…
“Waaaahhhh!”
Baek Doyoon sat on the ground and started crying.
“What was that? You talked all big and only did eight kicks? Just eight?”
Next to him, Haena stood with her arms crossed, smirking at him.
“Wow, Haena’s amazing…”
“She kicked it so many times! It was crazy!”
Haena had actually done twenty-four kicks. Let’s be clear, little ones—twenty-four!
“You’re so cool, Haena…”
“Haena! Can you teach me how to play too?”
“Me too! Me too!”
“I wanna be better than Doyoon!”
There it is.
The same kids who were scared of Haena earlier now looked at her with stars in their eyes.
…So cute!
Kids really are easy to win over with just a game of jegichagi.
Haena shrugged proudly and nodded.
“Alright! I’ll make number tickets. Take one and wait your turn, I’ll teach you one by one!”
“Gasp! Haena, can I help make the tickets?”
“I wanna make some too!”
“I’m good at cutting paper!”
“I’m good at writing!”
…And just like that, their attention quickly shifted—kids really were adorable.
And at that moment, Haena officially reclaimed her title as the most popular and coolest kid at Heritage English
Kindergarten.
“Haena, you… ugh…”
The dethroned king sat alone in frustration—
“…but you’re really cool…”
—even he secretly admired her.
Later that day, just before dismissal—
“Hey, Haena…”
Some of the girls shyly walked over to her.
“What’s up?”
“Can we come over to your house today?”
Huh?
Haena was caught off guard. Not just because she’d have to do extra babysitting…
She was about to say no—especially since one of the girls was looking at her a little too seriously—
“Oh my! Haena, you made lots of friends today, huh~? I saw you earlier, you were so mature and cool!”
Their teacher came over, praising their sweet friendship.
“Haena told me all the time she wanted more friends, right~? I’m so happy for you, Haena! If your friends come over
today, you’ll be besties in no time~!”
Uh, no, teacher.
I don’t want to be friends with 7-year-olds. I just want to stay friendly at school and then go home, look at the
beautiful Han River night view, and enjoy my peaceful solitude… But of course, I couldn’t say that.
“Um, but teacher… Don’t we need permission from our parents if we want to play after school?”
This was her best shot at dodging them.
“I already called my mom! She said I can’t go to other kids’ houses, but Haena’s house is totally okay!”
“My dad said the same thing!”
“Us too! We can go to Haena’s house or Doyoon’s!”
Yeah. I think I understand why your parents are happy about this…
Even though these pure kids had innocent reasons, Haena could see the shady adult motives behind their parents’
smiles. Still, she nodded.
She didn’t want to crush their sweet little hearts.
Let’s just say I’m babysitting some cousins.
“…Well, fine. But you can’t stay long. My grandpa might not like it. He’s really scary.”
“Really?”
The kids’ faces suddenly fell.
“Oh, no no, Haena~ Your grandpa and dad always say they just want you to make lots of friends! I bet they’ll be
thrilled if you bring some home!”
Not likely, teacher. A lie is still a lie.
Especially her cold-hearted dad—he wouldn’t care if she made friends or ate trash off the street.
“Yay! That means we can stay over, right? Haena, didn’t you brag that you have so many signed idol posters at your
house?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
“I wanna see them too…”
You guys are coming because you like me, right?
Not because of the idol stuff… right?
“Wait!”
Suddenly, a loud voice stopped the kids.
“I’m coming too!”
“…Baek Doyoon?”
Haena couldn’t hide her surprise. Doyoon’s face was all puffy from crying earlier, but now he stood tall and proud.
“Haena, I can’t let you take girls like Soyul, Heena, and Rael to your house alone!”
Did you not hear what just happened, little guy?
They insisted on coming. I didn’t invite them.
“So I’m going to your house too! To keep an eye on you!”
“Nope.”
“What?!”
“I said no.”
Haena casually cleaned her ears and shut him down cold.
She was trying to break off the engagement between their families. Spending more time with him would only make
things worse.
Until it was officially canceled, she planned to keep her distance.
That’s why she humiliated Doyoon earlier—she hoped bruising his ego would make him want to break things off.
“Why not?!”
“Just because.”
“‘Just because’ isn’t a reason! Tell me why! Why! Whyyyy?!”
“Ugh, you’re so loud.”
Haena plugged her ears and ignored him.
“H-Haena…!”
“Hmm?”
Then, the girl called Soyul grabbed Haena’s wrist and whispered.
“C-can Doyoon come too…?”
Oh?
Look at that.
Haena smirked and leaned in to whisper back.
“Oh~ Do you like Doyoon?”
“!”
Soyul blushed and gave a shy little nod.
“Oho.”
So this is what a cute little first crush looks like.
Well, that changes everything.
“Alright! Then Doyoon can come too!”
I’ll play matchmaker for you two and quietly step away.
If he ends up falling for someone else, that’s the perfect excuse to break the engagement.
“Hello!”
“Hello~!”
Haena sighed as she brought the cheerful kids into her home.
She hadn’t even asked Grandpa for permission. Was this going to be okay?
She glanced at the clock and shrugged. It’s only 2 p.m.
Grandpa probably won’t be home until 6, right?
Even if he’s a chairman, he should still set a good example with proper work hours…
…Please.
“Oh my!”
Uiryeong was shocked to see the kids Haena brought home.
After all, Haena had never brought friends over before.
Honestly, they were grateful if she just didn’t hit other kids at school.
But now, suddenly, she had three friends? Uiryeong was deeply moved.
“What a proud moment!”
She wiped a tear and happily welcomed the children.
“Master Doyoon, you’re back too!”
“…Yeah.”
Doyoon remembered how he’d cried in front of Uiryeong last time and nodded, embarrassed.
Not that she cared—she just smiled warmly at his cuteness.
“He must really be close to Miss Haena now!”
What a relief. She cheerfully led the kids to Haena’s room.
“Everyone, hand me your coats and bags. I’ll keep them safe.”
“Okay!”
“I’ll bring you snacks soon, so wait a bit!”
Oh no—wait!
Haena quickly tugged on Uiryeong’s sleeve.
She bent down so Haena could whisper in her ear.
“Ma’am, don’t bring out too much cake like last time! I have homework to do later and I need to send them home
soon!”
No overtime today. My alone time must be protected at all costs.
“Haha, yes, miss. Of course.”
…She’s not listening at all, huh?
Once again, my true feelings are completely ignored…
As Uiryeong cheerfully left, the kids became fascinated by Haena’s huge room.
“Haena, your house is amazing!”
“You have all the dolls I love…”
“Haena! How did you get this?! My parents said they couldn’t find it anywhere…”
This feels like when cousins visit on holidays and try to bankrupt us…
“If there’s something you like, you can take it.”
“!!!”
“But only one each. No bargaining.”
“Bargaining? What’s that?”
“One each…?”
“Haena keeps saying weird stuff. My dad said we shouldn’t use bad words.”
It’s not a bad word—it’s just grown-up talk…
“Just pick one thing. That’s it.”
“What?! Are you really giving these to us?! Really?!”
“Yup. Go ahead.”
These things meant nothing to Haena anyway, so she smiled slyly and added:
“But there’s a condition.”
“W-what is it?”
The girls got nervous and fidgeted.
Haena proudly waved them closer.
Once they gathered around, she whispered her grand plan.
“!”
