Chapter 45
An uninvited guest intruded into the pink-hued space created by first loves.
Panting as he barged in, the intruder was none other than Lee Cheong-ha, the Lord of Jeju.
“Huff, huff… hey. Why do you keep avoiding me?”
“…….”
“Don’t you know about respecting elders?”
Choi Deok-gyu looked toward Kim Myung-ja.
“Myung-ja, you take Chae-ri and go inside. I’ll handle this.”
Chae-ri flinched in surprise. She didn’t want to go in.
Love triangles are a common setup in dramas, novels, and plays.
Why are they so prevalent? Because they’re intensely stimulating.
Children don’t want to miss out on such a powerful stimulus.
Feeling flustered, Chae-ri spoke up.
“Grandma.”
Lee Cheong-ha shifted his gaze toward Chae-ri.
“And who are you?”
“Sunshine bo…”
Habits can be scary.
An automatic response almost slipped out, like a reply from a pre-programmed machine.
Chae-ri quickly shook her head and corrected herself.
“I’m Chae-ri Lee from Sullivan Kindergarten, age 4. My favorites are ducks and green things.”
With that natural self-introduction, she successfully infiltrated the situation.
Chae-ri then looked at Choi Deok-gyu.
She was curious how he would respond.
In a way, she had put him to the test.
Finally, Choi Deok-gyu spoke.
“Nunim (older sister).”
“What?”
“Why on earth are you acting like this?”
“Can’t you tell? You’re tempting me.”
Both Choi Deok-gyu and Kim Myung-ja’s eyes widened simultaneously.
They thought similarly:
‘That’s… temptation?’
‘Was that really supposed to be seductive?’
It felt as if someone who had never flirted before was awkwardly trying to imitate it from some strange media.
Still, Choi Deok-gyu faced a surge of tension.
“Nunim, please get a grip.”
“Why? I like younger men.”
“Honestly, you’ve never tried flirting, right?”
“What do you mean? I’m Lee Cheong-ha.”
“I have someone I love.”
Thump!
Chae-ri’s heart raced.
This was her personal theater at the moment.
The male lead (Choi Deok-gyu) confessing love to his first love!
The older secondary female lead (Lee Cheong-ha) immediately rejecting him!
And the main female lead (Kim Myung-ja, unaware of her own beauty) caught off guard!
It was a truly fantastical combination.
A moment of silence followed.
“Hey, Choi Deok-gyu, aren’t you being a little much?”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t she practically your niece? Hey.”
Lee Cheong-ha’s expression grew serious.
Much more serious than when she had talked about flirting.
“I don’t think that’s something you should be doing, Nunim.”
She appeared to be in her 30s, at least outwardly.
“I’m a special case!”
You could tell immediately.
The other person (Kim Myung-ja) wasn’t awakened.
Non-awakened people have age limits.
“Myung-ja is four years younger than me…”
“Do you know you’re the top-ranked Lord in Seoul?”
In this era of the Top Civilization, there was a Lord Reputation System.
The higher the reputation, the more buffs a lord received to enhance their abilities.
It updated every Monday, and currently, the Seoul Lord held first place.
“You need to be careful in situations like this. At least keep any romance secret. Your reputation could drop in an instant.”
Lee Cheong-ha apologized to Kim Myung-ja.
“Oh, sorry. As I get older, I lose subtlety and just end up nagging. Anyway, I apologize for the intrusion.”
From appearances, it was clear she was much younger.
“But this was a political maneuver to approach the Seoul Lord. I didn’t have genuine feelings. I’m truly sorry.”
Still, thinking carefully… even though age is just a number, Choi Deok-gyu is a bit… inappropriate, she thought, but refrained from saying it.
After all, she herself had tried to seduce her lover.
Chae-ri’s theatrical love triangle was neatly resolved.
A “Youth Elixir” had been released to the public.
Its origin was the Seoul Guild, and it was explicitly marked as crafted.
[Insane. They can actually craft this?]
[Wow, seems like Sbeeda+1.5 quadrillion, Choi Deok-gyu, and master artisans all appeared.]
[Seoul Guild is insane.]
Crafting it meant that there could be future production of the Youth Elixir.
[Spring has come to Seoul! Seoul Lord ranked #1 lol]
[Seoul Guild must be thrilled]
[Woke up to find my guild is #1?]
Seoul suddenly garnered massive attention. It was the first time since entering the Top Civilization era.
[Special condition fulfilled!]
[City Reputation System activated.]
The City Reputation System was very similar to the Lord Reputation System—it ranked cities.
[Wow, they’re bringing this to Korea?]
[I thought only top advanced nations had this.]
[How many places worldwide have this so far?]
[Fewer than ten globally.]
[No longer a backward, insignificant place.]
Thanks to the appearance of Sbeeda+1.5 quadrillion, Choi Deok-gyu, and master artisans, Seoul proudly claimed first place in Korea.
[Positive effect on Top-tier activities]
[Chance to acquire Magic Stones in Top (Seoul) increased.]
The more this happened, the more complicated Choi Deok-gyu’s feelings became.
“Actually, all of this is because of Chae-ri.”
Apart from Davis and Pyraion, Choi Deok-gyu was almost the only one who knew the full story.
Hence, his worry deepened.
“I must make sure Chae-ri’s ability doesn’t leak out.”
Chae-ri was too young. He had to protect this little child.
“I need to find more ways to keep her safe.”
Evening.
Chae-ri looked forward to this time when the family gathered to eat.
“I can’t help it.”
She was still at the age where she simply enjoyed being with her mom and dad.
Chae-ri accepted her feelings honestly.
Ji-seok smiled warmly.
“Our Chae-ri is such a lucky charm.”
Chae-ri, awkwardly using chopsticks, lifted her head and gazed at Ji-seok with bright eyes.
“So, Um So-young actually came to see you?”
“Really? She came to your hospital?”
“Yes. She even took pictures and gave autographs.”
“Send me the photos. I’ll post them on the hospital SNS.”
Kim Ha-seon also smiled brightly.
Following Choi Deok-gyu, Um So-young brought incredible promotional effect.
“Truly, our Chae-ri is a lucky charm.”
“Chae-ri, did you do well?”
“Yessum!”
“Hehe.”
Praise makes even whales dance, and parental praise made the child soar.
She was extremely happy but tried not to appear too proud.
“Chae-ri is already this cute, imagine how adorable the baby will be.”
Chae-ri flinched in surprise.
For a moment, she felt like the protagonist, but soon realized reality.
The baby would probably receive love without needing to call Choi Deok-gyu or Um So-young.
Far more than she herself would.
The conversation naturally shifted—as always—to the baby.
“Today, 9 weeks and 3 days. About 3 cm in size and 2 g in weight. Isn’t that adorable?”
After some time talking about the baby, Chae-ri subtly checked the time.
“Tomorrow is my legal birthday, right?”
According to the novel’s setting, her birth registration had been delayed.
Her real birthday was a few weeks ago (she just turned 3), but officially it would be counted as tomorrow.
Everyone believed that, even though in the story it was usually forgotten.
“I usually don’t care much about birthdays…”
Even in her past life, birthdays had never held much significance.
The problem now was that she was in a child’s body.
Her instincts made her quietly look forward to it. This would be her first birthday celebrated in this house.
“Fine. Don’t bother me…”
Her mouth moved almost unconsciously from all the praise she’d received.
“Chae-ri, tomorrow is yo—”
At that moment, Ji-seok suddenly stood up.
“Uh, it’s already this late.”
He had been very busy with night shifts lately.
“I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Make the most of it while the opportunity lasts.”
Ji-seok hurried back to work.
Kim Ha-seon also slowly got up.
“Ah, I’m so tired. Can’t even lift a finger.”
At 9 weeks pregnant, her condition was poor.
“Chae-ri, Mom will rest for a while. Can you just take the empty bowls to the sink?”
“Yes, Mom.”
Chae-ri was left alone in the kitchen.
In the end, she couldn’t even bring up the word “birthday” and went into her room.
Even though she had become a magical child who could summon Choi Deok-gyu and Um So-young, her parents hadn’t remembered her birthday.
She felt a little down, but it was okay.
“I have my friends anyway.”
Davis would be busy, and soon it would be time to summon Pyraion.
Already, Greenie had started blowing a toy trumpet and rattling castanets with both hands.
Pwoo~!
Click-clack! Click-clack!
[Chae-ri’s birthday: 5 hours and 55 seconds to go!]
By the way, Chae-ri liked the number 5 the most.
It sounded similar to “O-ri” (duck).
Pwoo~!
Click-clack! Click-clack!
Pwoo~!
Click-clack! Click-clack!
[Chae-ri! I miss you!]
Tears welled up in Chae-ri’s eyes.
That single word, I miss you, was enough.
