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After winning the grand prize at the last competition, I decided to rethink what I really wanted to do.

I started studying because I envied others’ academic abilities.
I started playing the piano because I thought people who play instruments looked cool.
And I did jump rope and stretching consistently because I thought people with fit bodies looked beautiful.

As a result, even though I’m only in the first grade of elementary school, I’m studying high school-level material and even won the overall grand prize in the elementary division for piano.
Despite being a girl, I also have a body that anyone would be envious of.

But still, I honestly don’t know what I want to do.

“Unni, what are you doing?”

Doa toddles over to me, who is lying on the sofa.

I pick Doa up, place her on the sofa, and lie down next to her.

“Ayu, I’m afraid that Unni will live her whole life just looking after you Doa.”

Doa, who is still only four years old, smiles brightly at this.

“Yes, I want to live with you too, Unni.”

Looking at Doa, my future no longer seems to matter.
I guess things will work out somehow if I just keep going like this.

But what if Doa gets a boyfriend later on?
I need to make money quickly so I can hire a bodyguard for Doa.
But, what if she falls for the bodyguard?
Okay, I’ll hire a female bodyguard.
But can a female bodyguard protect her?
What should I do?

As I let my imagination run wild, mom calls us.

“Dohee~, Doa~.”
“Huh?” “Yes?”
“Should we go out for dinner?”

Normally, we don’t go out to eat often because I usually find it a hassle to go out.

“All of a sudden?”
“Yes, do you remember mom’s friend Aunt Minha?”
“Oh, Baekhui’s mom?”
“Yes, she suggested we have dinner together.”
“What about dad?”
“He said he’ll eat out.”
“Okay, then let’s go.”

While getting ready to go out, I quickly put on my clothes and then go to pick out clothes for Doa.

“Is this pretty? Hmm, maybe not… Doa, let’s take off your clothes. Raise your arms.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, this looks good too. Should I try this chiffon dress on her?”

Mom also comes over to join the fashion show for Doa.

“Mom thinks the school two-piece uniform would look good.”
“How about a sky blue ribbon with that?”
“That color doesn’t really suit Doa.”
“Hmm… then this black one.”
“Okay, let’s try that one on.”
“Doa, raise your arms!”
“yes…”

I now understand why mom used to hold fashion shows for me.
How can you resist when she’s this cute?

By the time Doa starts to look like she’s about to cry, we’ve finally chosen an outfit and managed to leave the house.

“Mom, where are we going?”
“They said it was some kind of steakhouse, but mom isn’t really sure either.”

When we arrived at the place by car, it was a fairly upscale restaurant.

‘Wow, how much does it cost to eat at a place like this?’

Baekhui’s family must indeed be wealthy.

As we opened the door and entered, a staff member greets us politely.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”
“Ah, it is under the name Minha Kim.”
“Yes, let me guide you.”

Following the staff’s lead, we enter a room where Aunt Minha and Baekhui are already waiting.
Aunt Minha stands up to welcome us.

“Welcome! Baekhwi, stand up and greet them.”

Baekhui greets my mom.

“Hello, Auntie.”
“Wow, Baekhui looks even more charming now, doesn’t he?”

Baekhui then shyly greets me.

“Hi, Dohee…”

‘****, he still is like this.’

“Uh yeah, Auntie hello~”
“Oh my, Dohee gets prettier every time I see her, doesn’t she? I heard you won the grand prize at the competition again?”
“Yes, I was lucky. Haha.”
“How come there’s nothing Dohee can’t do? I wish I had a daughter like Dohee.”

Aunt Minha showers me with compliments and then notices Doa.

“And this little baby must be Doa?”
“Yes, hello.”

Doa, who was still very shy, clings to me and holds my hand tightly.
I wish Doa would remain this shy and only look for me the rest of her life.

“Look at her, she’s so polite. Johee, how did you manage to have such beautiful daughters?”
“Maybe because they took after me when I was younger. Hehe.”
“Whatever. Anyway, maybe I should give birth again to have a daughter.”
“Why? Baekhwi is adorable enough.”
“Ayu, my son lacks cuteness.”
“The same goes for my firstborn daughter. It’s lucky that Doa is such a cutie.”

‘As if, I’m still pretty cute even though I’m mentally a geezer insider, they just don’t know how to appreciate me.

“Anyway, let’s sit down and order food quickly. You must be hungry. The steak here is delicious.”
“This place looks really expensive.”
“Hey, it’s to celebrate Dohee’s grand prize win. Let Auntie treat you to something nice.”
“Thank you, Auntie~.”

At times like this, you should eat to your heart’s content from the rich person.

“What would you like to eat, Dohee?”

My aunt asked.

“I will get, ummm… a well done tenderloin.”
“Eh, Dohee, you’re still a child and don’t know the real taste of meat. Trust your Auntie and try medium. Steaks need to have some pinkness.”
“Then I’ll go with medium-well done. I want to share it with Doa.”
“Okay okay. What about you, Johee?”
“I’ll have medium.”

After Aunt Minha calls the waiter to order, she continues chatting with mom.

“Dohee attends a national public elementary school, right? Why did you send her to a public school instead of a private elementary school?”
“Dohee just said it was a waste of money and said she’d just go to the one within walking distance from the house.”
“Oh come on, that’s not something to save money on. The kids you meet at private schools become personal connections later on.”
“More than that, the quality of education at private schools is different from public elementary schools.”

After listening to Aunt Minha, mom seems to consider transferring me to a private school right now.

“Auntie, there’s nothing to learn at a private school for me anyway.”
“Eh, Dohee, you might think so, but once you go, you’ll see it’s different.”
“Hmm… but I’m already studying high school material…”
“Huh? High school? What do you mean, Dohee is studying high school material?”
“Well, Dohee has been studying on her own since she was young and now she’s reading high school books…”

Aunt Minha, in surprise, tapped her mom’s arm and said.

“Are you kidding me? You knew Dohee is so smart, so why did you leave her alone and keep her hidden?”
“I was worried that if I talked about it, it would just make Dohee’s life harder.”
“Still, you should at least get her some gifted education.”
“Well, Dohee manages well on her own, and she didn’t want to receive a gifted education. Haha…”

Continuing her excited conversation with mom, Aunt Minha turns to me and asks,

“Dohee, do you really not want to be your aunt’s daughter-in-law?”
“No.”

Pointing to Baekhwi, who was sitting shyly, Auntie said,

“He takes after me and is handsome, right? Lots of girls at school confess their feelings that they like him at school.”

‘Then why not choose one of them instead of me?’

“Haha…”
“And he’s rich, even if he’s not as smart as you, he’s already studying middle school material.”

‘Isn’t making an elementary school first-grader study middle school material considered abuse?’

“I just want to live with my Doa for the rest of my life~.”
“Oh, you don’t care about boys yet because you’re still a baby? It’s not just because he’s my son, but there really is no boy like Baekhui right?”
“Yes, yes…”
“Auntie won’t give up on making you my daughter-in-law, Dohee won’t you consider it?”

‘Please give up…’

After finally being released from Auntie’s pestering, I spoke to Baekhwi.

“Hey, are you really studying middle school material?”
“Yes, it hasn’t been very long since I started though…”
“How can an elementary student be so ahead? Isn’t it difficult?”
“You’re studying high school material.”
“I do it because I want to.”

Baekhui smiled and said,

“I do it because I want to too.”

Then, blushing, he added quietly,

“And you said before that studying hard is cool…”

Oh.
Did I plant that idea?

“I mean, working hard is cool is a common belief shared by everyone….”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, keep working hard, but take a break if it gets too tough.”
“Okay!”

Oh well…
As long as he doesn’t go through a rough phase and change for the worse, more girls will flock to him.
By then he’ll give up on me.

“Unniiiii~”

Doa, feeling sad being left out of the conversation, tugged at my arm with her tiny delicate hands.

“Doa, were you bored because Unni wasn’t playing with you?”
“Yes.”
“Unni will always only be with Doa for the rest of her life~.”
“Me too, I like Unni.”
“Unni likes you as well.”

Knock knock

With a knock, the waiter brought in the food.

“I’ll place the food here.”
“Thank you.”

The steak in front of me smelled amazing.
I cut a piece of the steak and put it in my mouth.

“Wow, this is so damn delicious.”
“Hey, Lee Dohee, mom told you not to use bad words.”
“Okay, anyway, it’s really delicious.”

Aunt Minha who was listening to my conversation with mom laughed and said,

“Haha, it seems to suit Dohee’s taste?”
“Yes, it’s very delicious.”
“If you marry Baekhwi, you could eat this every day.”
“That’s a bit…”
“I’m just kidding, kidding.”

Yea “sure”, you’re kidding.

I cut the steak into small pieces and fed it into Doa’s mouth, whose teeth weren’t fully grown yet.

“Doa, say ah~”
“Ahh~”

Her tiny mouth chewing was so adorable.

“Delicious?”
“Mhm, delicious.”

Expensive places are worth the money.
No matter what I become in the future, I need to make a lot of money.
I want to buy delicious things.
Wouldn’t it be nice to explore Michelin-starred restaurants abroad?

After finishing our meal and parting ways with Baekhwi’s family, we were on our way home in the car.
Doa, tired, fell asleep on my lap.

I decided to talk to mom about how I couldn’t focus on daily life after winning the competition.

“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“What should I do?”
“What? In the future?”
“Yes”

Mom thought for a moment and then said,

“Why not just be my daughter?”
“Oh~, mom’s comment is kind of cool.”
“How was mom’s comment?”
“It sounded too prepared, so minus 10 points.”
“My princess is about to get another flick on the forehead.”
“Hehe, so it’s 90 points out of 100.”
“Why did my daughter give such a high score?”
“Just because you’re Mom.”

Mom smiled and replied,

“When wasn’t I?”
“Yeah…”

It seems like it wasn’t a problem I needed to worry about.