The Baby Seizes Fortune - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 14

* * *

Inside the classroom prepared for the entrance exam.

“Do you know how to solve problems?”

This was directed at the AI system Noah.

‘Lately, there have been cases where it’s been getting a bit cheeky, so I need to put it in its place before its performance improves.’

Noah, who improves its abilities through internet information, can only perform simple calculations at its current level.

[This doesn’t seem to be something I can find.]

“How can an AI not solve problems!”

[…૮ ‘ﻌ｀ა]

The white puppy drooped its ears and watched my expression.

I lifted my plump chin and said.

“Look here. Your master’s abilities.”

And obey obediently.

‘But this is harder than I thought?’

Do five-year-olds really solve problems like this to get in?

I can understand the son of a top-tier law firm, but were those twins who approached me earlier smiling also kids who solved things like this.

‘The history of the 4-year-old civil service exam is long indeed.’

Coming back to the late 1990s and taking this kind of test in the heart of Daechi-dong, it feels strange somehow.

‘This salt water problem is an IQ test?’

With various thoughts and reflections, I finished solving all the problems.

“Teacher, I’m all done.”

When I finally handed my answer sheet to the supervising teacher, the teacher looked at me with surprised eyes and asked.

“You finished everything?”

“Yes. Aren’t we supposed to solve everything?”

“Ah. That’s right, but….”

The teacher looked at me for a while with a somewhat flustered expression, then nodded.

“Yes, well done. Miss Chaea.”

[…૮₍ •ᴥ• ₎ა]

Noah’s appearance, wagging its tail ambiguously, seemed both surprised and suspicious of me.

Well, the results will come out soon. Just wait and see.

Hehe.

I smiled brightly, bowed, and left the classroom. Then I saw Junho waiting for me.

“…Ah.”

Like his face when he grabbed Min-woo’s arm earlier, this was the first time I’d seen such a dark expression.

Even when he became unemployed, Junho had been happy talking about butterflies.

“Father!”

“Oh, Chaea. Did you finish the test?”

“Yes. I did everything!”

“Shall we go home then?”

Without even asking how the test went, Junho somewhat hurriedly took my hand.

“Yes!”

As I held Junho’s hand and came outside the preschool, cold air touched my cheeks.

White breath immediately escaped from my mouth.

“It was warm inside….”

“Ah, now I feel like I can breathe.”

I looked up at Junho at the sound of his voice.

Junho, frowning at the bridge of his nose, moved his lips while looking at the snow falling little by little from the sky.

“I was so angry earlier I thought I might die.”

Hehe, a smile naturally spread across my lips.

“He’s just a little kid, Father!”

“You’re a little kid too, Chaea!”

“That’s true, but….”

“Kid or not, I wanted to teach him a lesson. Ugh!!”

Actually, seeing Junho’s face for the first time earlier, I thought it was quite scary.

“How dare he to our pretty daughter Chaea…!”

But thinking that it was because of me, my heart just felt warm.

“You held back well.”

‘Reliable, warm.’

Soon Junho turned his back toward me.

“Our Chaea, Father will carry you home on his back.”

“But it’s really far.”

“It’s okay.”

In the end, I pretended to give in and climbed onto Junho’s back.

* * *

Edinburgh Kindergarten, Director Misuk’s office. She was receiving a report about today’s incident from the 7-year-old Silver Level homeroom teacher.

Misuk raised her hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.

“Sigh, Min-woo again.”

“I should have watched more carefully, I’m sorry.”

“Contact Min-woo’s family. Tell them to really prepare to look for another preschool. We can no longer handle this.”

“Yes. I understand.”

She knew that Gi Seung-cheol, the representative lawyer of a ‘top-tier law firm,’ was Min-woo’s father.

When Min-woo enrolled, there were often incidents of him getting into fistfights with other children in his class, and when Misuk contacted him directly about this, he scoffed.

Saying things like they should take better care of the children, that there was no professional consciousness, threatening to sue. That friends did wrong and our child was just correcting them, and so on.

But Edinburgh Kindergarten’s strength was that, as much as the expensive tuition and strict admission procedures, the family backgrounds of the attending children were not to be taken lightly.

So Misuk conveyed the content of her conversation with Min-woo’s father directly to the parents of the affected children, and after receiving direct complaints from the parents, Min-woo’s father no longer acted arrogant.

“Then please go.”

After Min-woo’s homeroom teacher left, Misuk let out a small sigh and picked up the yellow document envelope on her desk that another teacher had left.

This would contain the test results of a child named ‘Gu Chaea’ who took the entrance exam today.

Misuk took out several sheets of paper from the yellow envelope.

“Well, finishing the test is impressive.”

In fact, even for a preschool that boasts a 5-to-1 acceptance rate, two out of five children drop out because they can’t sit in their seats during the 60-minute test time.

Just the fact that a child who just turned five can sit at a desk for a long time and solve problems shows some aptitude for learning.

Moreover, since the difficulty level of the problems is high, only truly gifted children or those with strong patience and endurance who don’t get irritated despite the difficult problems remain.

At this point, the competition ratio drops to about 3-to-1, and from then on, it’s based on grades.

Just the fact that this document envelope was submitted means that the child named Gu Chaea passed the first hurdle.

“But the score… it’s probably obvious.”

Since Edinburgh Kindergarten’s establishment, the highest score on the entrance exam was 80 points.

That child left for the United States at age 8 to receive professional gifted education and was said to be preparing for prestigious university admissions.

“Originally, all parents think their child is a genius, but in front of objective indicators… huh?”

Misuk’s eyes shook violently when she saw the score section.

* * *

Weekends without Junho were a bit boring.

“It’s a 2-day, 1-night regional shoot. Sorry, Chaea.”

But I’m not someone who can’t understand being busy with work,

and since there’s someone to look after me, I have no complaints.

“Lucky charm~ let’s eat.”

The landlady from the first floor knocked on the door from outside.

When I opened the door, the landlady gestured for me to come out quickly.

“I grilled some croaker.”

“Yes!”

I held the kind-hearted landlady’s hand and walked quickly into the first floor landlord’s house.

There I saw Minsu lying on the brown leather sofa, groaning.

“Oh my, tsk tsk.”

The landlady clicked her tongue and said.

“You should drink in moderation.”

I said with a smile.

“All twenty-year-olds are like that.”

“Huh?”

The landlady turned to look at me and made a soft sound.

“How do you know whether twenty-year-olds are like that or not? This little one is so adorable when she talks.”

And she gently pinched my rice cake-like chubby cheeks and laughed as if I was cute.

“Hehe.”

Soon the landlady brought out a full table setting to the living room. The menu was my favorite rolled omelet, croaker fish, and kimchi stew.

“Eat well. Minsu, you come down and eat too.”

“Ah… yes.”

Minsu, who seemed to have a headache from drinking too much, got down from the sofa and picked up his spoon and chopsticks with a frown.

“Thank you for the meal!”

After giving my thanks loudly, I picked up my spoon and deliciously ate the food the landlady had prepared.

As Junho said, it would be rare to find such a kind-hearted landlord’s house in Seoul City.

Even though the 90s was a time when neighborly affection was strong, it’s truly grateful that she would readily look after a single father’s child like this.

“Sleep at my house tonight. Okay? Remember what I said about coming down anytime when your father isn’t here, Chaea?”

“Yes.”

Nom nom nom.

The kimchi stew is really delicious.

The croaker fish is tasty too, and the rolled omelet is the best.

“Oh my… she eats so well.”

The emotion that often appeared in the landlady’s eyes when looking at me was pity.

The sadness of not having a mother at five years old. According to Junho, the landlady also lost her mother when she was young, so she seems to pay even more attention to me.

“If you opened a restaurant, you’d become really rich!”

When I gave a thumbs up while eating, the landlady laughed heartily.

“Oh my, look at what this child says.”

While we were having such a warm lunch,

Ding-dong- Ding-dong-

A somewhat discordant doorbell sound was heard.

The landlady went to the entrance gate wondering who it was.

While I was munching on the rolled omelet that Minsu had put on my rice, the landlady came back in.

“Who was it?”

At Minsu’s question, the landlady shrugged her shoulders and said.

“From the real estate office, telling us to sell the house.”

“The house?”

“Yes. Lately they keep telling us to sell the house, I really don’t know what to do.”

I stopped my spoon for a moment while eating.

If it’s this neighborhood…

“They’re building a new city in Unpyeong. The apartments and buildings are all shiny and new, Minsu…”

The landlady leaned forward and asked Minsu.

“Should we move to a new house too? Cheol’s family and Yeongsu’s family are going there too.”

Minsu thought for a moment and then tilted his head.

“Well, I don’t really care where we go…”

Since her son’s reaction wasn’t very helpful, the landlady looked troubled again.

I held my water cup with both hands and gulped down the water.

Then I put the cup down on the table and said to the landlady.

“Moving…”

Special move, tears skill!

“…are you going to move?”

When clear tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, the landlady was startled.

“Sniff… can’t you not move?”

Of course you can’t move!

The landlady’s food is so delicious… I can’t let you go!

‘Of course that’s part of it, but…’

Why are people making such a fuss about selling this house?

This place will be redeveloped soon and the land value will jump ten times!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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