“Grandfather can buy everything our Geuru wants, so look around some more. It’s because this is the first birthday I’m spending with you, and there’s so much Grandfather wants to do for you.”
Birthday!
Geuru’s cheeks flushed pink. Her mouth fell open with a small gasp, and she nodded her head vigorously.
At the orphanage, all the children with birthdays that month were gathered and celebrated together. So this was the first time anyone had called Geuru aside separately to buy her a birthday present.
It was nice buying things with money Geuru had earned herself, but receiving something as a birthday gift felt wonderfully different.
*A bit more heart-pounding.*
Perhaps it was because it contained the heart of someone who loved her.
Beaming a huge smile, Geuru wandered around looking for a suitable Lego set.
Onsuhyeong watched the small child’s back with satisfaction, then took out his phone.
He was about to take a picture of her when the message window with Jurim, which he had left open earlier, caught his eye.
A few days ago, a single photo had suddenly arrived from Jurim. It was a picture of a wish list for Santa Claus.
Judging by the crooked handwriting, it was clearly Geuru’s.
They were all modest items, so it probably wasn’t a request for him to buy the child’s gifts instead.
Suhyeong keenly grasped the intention behind Jurim going out of his way to send a photo of this paper.
*So that’s it.*
The part where “Guild Leader” was written, erased, and replaced with “Dad.”
Which meant…….
It was simply bragging.
He had expressed the brag that Geuru called him Dad on a single sheet of paper.
*Goodness me.*
The way the fellow subtly showed off was absurd, yet Onsuhyeong couldn’t help but feel jealous.
On Jurim
(Photo)
Geuru’s handwriting is cute too
Didn’t you write down Grandfather anywhere?
Jurim, send me a picture of the back too
Jurim?
On Jurim, can’t you answer the phone?
If you’re that busy, I’ll send someone. Just have them deliver that paper.
He had sent countless messages, clingy in a way unbecoming of him. Yet his son remained completely silent, as if he knew all too well that nothing tormented a person quite like no response.
Even so, Onsuhyeong was not a man who gave up.
Until recently, he had had no expectation of gaining a granddaughter, so he was now vividly experiencing that overwhelming affection—the kind where you could place her in your eye and feel no pain.
It had seemed enough to simply give to his pretty granddaughter, yet it seemed an inevitable part of being human that his wants gradually increased one by one.
Today’s department store shopping was also entirely to score points with Geuru.
Onsuhyeong stealthily approached Geuru’s side and swept his index finger along an entire line of displayed Lego sets.
“I think it would be fine for Grandfather to buy this entire line over here.”
He smiled at the surprised Geuru and began to talk far more than was usual for him.
“Grandfather can even build you a Legoland……”
“Ahem, ahem. What Grandfather means is, I build buildings at the company. You’re welcome to come see them anytime.”
“Ah, do you like factories? Grandfather also builds factories at the company—would you like to come see?”
Geuru, who had picked up a large Lego box from the factory series, finally opened her mouth with a small gasp.
Weird.
Today, the Chairman was different from usual.
Like someone afflicted with a disease that would kill them if they didn’t say “Grandfather,” he included “Grandfather” in every single word he spoke, and every time he said it, he would steal a glance at Geuru.
*……Umm.*
Cold sweat ran down Geuru’s back.
Even someone with no eye for social cues could easily tell that there was some kind of pressure in his words.
Geuru’s eyes rolled around.
*A bit burdensome!*
Still.
Thinking that it meant he was accepting her as his granddaughter, her heart soon fluttered.
Dad’s dad, Grandfather!
Grandfather was Geuru’s family too.
Thinking that way, her chest felt fluffy and soft, as if wrapped in clouds.
Hugging the Lego box, Geuru stood up straight in front of Onsuhyeong and swallowed with a gulp.
“Ha, ha……”
Ha? Onsuhyeong’s eyes went wide, and he quietly waited for Geuru to speak.
“Harabuji!”
Geuru’s face flushed red as she spat it out in a garbled pronunciation.
“Thank you for buying Geuru’s birthday present today. Th-thank you.”
Geuru set the Lego box down on the floor for a moment, hesitated, then hugged Onsuhyeong tightly.
As the small child embraced him, Onsuhyeong held his breath.
“I’m so, so…… happy to have a grandfather now. My heart is thump-thumping.”
Beep—
Onsuhyeong took a deep breath, then smiled and embraced Geuru in return.
“Thank you for becoming this useless old man’s granddaughter, Geuru. I’m so happy too.”
Geuru giggled and pressed her lips to Onsuhyeong’s cheek. Onsuhyeong held her tight and smacked noisy kisses on her cheek in return.
In the midst of this, Onsuhyeong suddenly gathered his phone and stepped back a pace.
“Geuru, could you say ‘Grandfather’ one more time for me?”
“Thank you, Grandfather!”
He filmed Geuru with his phone, then sent the video somewhere with a pleased expression.
“Hm?”
While Geuru wore a puzzled look, Onsuhyeong opened his photo gallery and showed her a picture.
It was a large, two-story detached house surrounded by a long fence.
“This is a house near Grandfather’s place. The garden is spacious, so it’s good for running around and playing.”
Ahem—Onsuhyeong cleared his throat.
“Later, when you come visit Grandfather’s house, shall we go see this house together?”
“Ye-es.”
Onsuhyeong smiled warmly at Geuru, who answered prettily.
He only hoped that the child would like it, making it worth having paid a premium to chase out the previous owner.
Jurim, who would only say, “Geuru is well-behaved, so her current home is sufficient,” whenever houses were mentioned, had been quite unsatisfactory.
Perhaps Jurim subtly disliked the suggestion to move near his house.
Even so, if the child said she wanted to move, that fellow would have no choice but to follow.
Onsuhyeong grinned broadly and moved to give her another gift.
The secretary standing off to the side followed behind, slightly dazed by Onsuhyeong’s expression.
*
Buzz—
On Jurim, who was attending the International Trade Forum, checked the sent message with a listless expression.
Onsuhyeong
I came to the department store with Geuru
I’ll buy her birthday presents, feed her dinner, and send her home, so don’t worry
(squirrel shooting hearts emoticon)
(video thumbnail of Geuru standing)
— Thank you, Grandfather!
“……?”
Having checked the video, Jurim straightened his back and was on the verge of smashing his phone.
He came back to his senses at the sound of someone calling him.
“Guild Leader On?”
When he raised his head, he saw the interpreter. Next to him, a minister from the UAE was smiling.
“Ah, I’m On Jurim. It’s an honor to meet you.”
As he rose from his seat to shake hands, the interpreter translated his words.
Facing the minister who was greeting him, Jurim feigned composure once more.
He was attending the trade forum as a guild representative due to the potion crisis. He had no time to pay attention to other things.
He ought to be showing a magnanimous attitude as a representative of Korea’s guilds amid a national crisis…… no, wait—
*Grandfather?*
He hadn’t even properly heard her call him Dad yet, but Grandfather?
His head bubbled and boiled.
If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have cut the Chairman off from those dramas featuring chairmen.
Jurim tapped the table and desperately suppressed his irritation. If not for the current state of affairs, he would have rushed to the department store immediately.
He rationalized that simply remaining in his seat meant he was doing his part.
Jurim listened soullessly to the words exchanged by ministers and CEOs here and there. His mind was a mess with filthy jealousy, and he couldn’t properly hear what anyone was saying.
Just then, Go Gang, the director of the Awakened Management Bureau, nudged him in the side.
“On Jurim, not going to fix that expression?”
“Director. When do you think this will end?”
“Give up. Do you think this is something that ends in a day or two?”
Jurim furrowed his brow.
“……The worst.”
With Geuru’s birthday approaching soon, he had ended up in a situation where he couldn’t even return home properly.
He was barely making time to help take her to the orphanage, but that was all he could manage for now.
He was on the verge of becoming the worst father. How disappointed must she be.
At this rate, Geuru might become a child who said Grandfather more than Dad.
When his thoughts raced ahead this far, his insides began boiling all over again.