Episode 2
Nibble, nibble.
What’s that sound?
It’s the sound of Kim Haena poking at her food without much appetite.
Why? Because in all her daydreams while reading Cocoa Page, like her favorite “What If I Got Reincarnated”
fantasies—she always imagined waking up in her 20s or 30s. But reality? The 32-year-old office worker Kim Haena
got thrown into the body of a 7-year-old. And now she had no appetite.
“I never even read childcare stories! Why make me possess a little kid?! I only read novels rated 15+!”
It felt super weird to have a girl—who didn’t even look much older than her—help her wash her face right after
waking up.
Sure, the girl was super professional and made everything smooth and comfy, but still—it felt off.
“I washed my own face just fine when I was 7. But now that I’m a chaebol’s granddaughter, someone else washes my face…”
She wasn’t sure she could get used to this. She’d show them soon enough that she could do things by herself!
“Hong Haena.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Haena jumped and turned her head toward the voice calling her.
“Who taught you to be such a picky eater?”
“…!”
She immediately straightened her back and stuffed a big bite of spinach into her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Grandpa.”
Yes. The one who scolded her was none other than:
The OG first-generation chaebol.
Chairman Hong Jaesik.
In the original novel, he was very strict and cold, and Hong Haena was always nervous around him.
Even the original villainous Hong Haena, who usually acted like she had a knife in her mouth, couldn’t say a word back
to him. He didn’t like her, and their relationship was terrible.
He even wrote in his will that she shouldn’t inherit a single penny.
(Not that it mattered—Haena ended up living comfortably off the divorce settlement she got from the male lead.)
“I didn’t think you even knew how to say sorry.”
Chairman Hong narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
Oops.
The original Hong Haena was a total brat from a young age!
Haena panicked. How should I respond without breaking character…?
“I heard you beat up the youngest grandson of Chairman Kim from LK Group yesterday.”
He didn’t even give her a chance to reply before continuing his scolding.
“Because of that, I had to cancel an important meeting and personally apologize to Chairman Kim.”
Seriously, Hong Haena?! What did you do?!
Haena stayed quiet. She didn’t remember doing it herself and had no clue what had actually happened.
“Chairman Kim was furious. Said you broke the kid’s nose?”
“…!”
“You really smashed it good. I was too ashamed to even look him in the eye.”
Yikes.
She broke a growing boy’s nose. Haena glanced up at the Chairman’s face.
He looked super angry, staring coldly at her.
Yeah… I’d be mad too if my grandkid broke someone’s nose.
“When will you ever be average, at least?”
“…!”
“You’re the only grandchild of the Hong family. The only granddaughter of Hong Jaesik.”
His sharp voice made Haena flinch a little. No one had ever said something like that to her before—like they expected
great things from her just because of her bloodline.
“I won’t even bother asking you to be the best. That’s clearly impossible for you.”
Wow… harsh much?
Haena bowed her head and silently endured the scolding.
“But you could at least be average. Even if you can’t be better than others, at least don’t go around beating them!
What are you, a thug?!”
His voice echoed like a train horn.
Dang, Grandpa’s got lungs.
Haena felt wronged. She wanted to apologize, but it wasn’t even her fault. Still, it felt like she should say sorry.
But come on—this is Kim Haena we’re talking about.
The only CS manager, marketer, business team rookie, accountant, and designer in her entire company!
There was nothing Haena couldn’t do.
So when a customer was angry, how do you calm them without actually saying “sorry”?
Step 1: Show empathy.
Step 2: Promise not to repeat it.
As her office-worker self, she’d say:
“I can’t imagine how upset you must’ve been. Canceling an important meeting like that… I’d be angry too. I promise
this won’t happen again.”
…But that sounds too grown-up for a 7-year-old. Let’s make it simpler.
“You’re right…”
“Everything you said is true. I’d be mad too. It’s all my fault. I won’t do it again.”
Nice. He’s caught off guard.
That means it’s working. Time for the next step.
Step 3: Offer compensation.
Hmm… but what kind of compensation can a 7-year-old offer?
After thinking a moment, Haena said:
“I’ll do any errands Grandpa tells me to.”
What more can a kid offer than that? That was her best shot.
“I’m really sorry… From now on, I’ll be the best kid ever—just like you want.”
Yeah, she thought, that sounds age-appropriate. I think.
Then she remembered—every customer service interaction must end with a polite bow.
So she gave a full 90-degree bow, holding it for five seconds to show sincerity.
Then, when she lifted her head, she made the saddest, most sorry face she could—
Wait, huh?
Something felt off.
She blinked and looked at Chairman Hong. His expression hadn’t changed at all.
“…Secretary Kim.”
“Yes, Chairman?”
“Am I dreaming right now?”
“No, sir. This is real.”
Even the secretary’s hands were shaking…
“Did Haena… just really say sorry on her own?”
Oops. Maybe she overdid it? Should’ve skipped the bow?
But come on—kids are great at bowing. Adults are the ones who suck at it!
Haena tried to figure out what she did wrong.
“I’ve never seen you apologize to anyone before.”
Come on… I’m still your granddaughter. You don’t have to look at me like I’m a total alien.
She pouted inside but gave her best innocent smile.
“But my teacher said you have to say sorry when you do something wrong!”
“…Your teacher?”
“Yes!”
At that, Chairman Hong’s expression finally softened a little.
“I did send you to that kindergarten because their character education was supposed to be good…”
He let out a deep sigh.
“But don’t go saying sorry to just anyone.”
“You’re my granddaughter. You only bow your head to me, understand?”
He looked super serious as he said that, gripping her shoulders.
His sincerity showed so clearly, Haena nodded before she realized it.
“Good. But actually… don’t even bow to me unless it’s a really big deal.”
“But isn’t this a really big deal?”
I mean… she did break someone’s nose.
Chairman Hong paused at her words, then slowly nodded.
“Right. So don’t get into situations where you have to say sorry in the first place.”
Ah, that’s what he meant.
Haena gave an awkward smile.
“You’re a Hong. Never bow to anyone. That’s the most important thing. Got it?”
What are you even saying?
Haena frowned slightly.
If you’re wrong, you should apologize—no matter your last name.
What’s so terrible about saying sorry?
No wonder the original Haena turned out so rotten.
“But if I do something wrong, I should still say sorry. That’s what my teacher said.”
“…That…”
Chairman Hong twitched his lips. He seemed like he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he just sighed, picked up a spoonful of soup, and said:
“You’re right. You should say sorry when you do something wrong.”
“Yes!”
“But never bow your head!”
“…Okay…”
Wait—what’s your standard here, exactly?
Haena had bowed her head literally thousands of times in her life, so she really didn’t get the big deal.
“And another thing!”
“Yes?”
“And don’t go saying you’ll run errands for people! What could you possibly do with those tiny hands? The Hong
family doesn’t do errands!”
I used to run errands for Mom like a thousand times…
“But you’re my Grandpa.”
“Huh?”
“You’re my Grandpa. I’m supposed to respect you, so it’s okay to run errands for you, right?”
She genuinely meant the question.
“…Then you can only do errands for me!”
“Not even for my teacher?”
But don’t all the kids fight to run errands at school?
Even in elementary school, everyone lined up to help the teacher!
“No! No way!”
“…Okay. I’ll only do errands for Grandpa…”
What a stubborn man… Haena just pretended to agree for now.
“But why do you look so defeated, huh?”
“…Huh?”
“I told you to learn manners—not to come back acting like a scared little mouse!”
“!”
Wait—is this what people mean when they say, “Don’t crush my kid’s spirit?”
