Seven Years Old

"Why won't you buy me Duel King cards!"

"No. I already bought you some last time."

"Waaaaah. Why are you doing this to meee? Huh? You're doing this on purpose, aren't youuu."

"…Where does this kid pick up these weird videos. What kind of way is that to talk."

I flailed my arms and legs with everything I had, but Mom didn't budge an inch.

'I just need one Bone Dragon!!'

I'd burned through Children's Day, my birthday, every anniversary I could think of—and still couldn't get my hands on that card.

'That thing looks seriously expensive. If I just sit on it for ten years, our apartment might go up a size.'

But none of that landed with Mom.

Honestly, if I were her, I'd snort too if my seven-year-old daughter said, "This doll's gonna be worth a hundred times more if you hold onto it!"

'She'd just think I was making stuff up because I want it, right?'

So I dropped all pretense and just begged her outright, honestly, shamelessly.

At first—especially Dad—he'd happily bought them for me, but…

"Lee Chae-won. Are you going to spend your whole life glued to those cards? What's piled up at home is already more than enough. Effective today, no more card purchases."

"Whaaaaaat?! H-how could you say such a thing…! How couldst thou do this to me, mine own father—I mean, mother!"

"…Do you want TV banned too? I told you not to do that sageuk drama impression when we're having a serious conversation."

"Yes, Mom. But the cards… can't we just… hehe."

I tried my secret ultimate weapon—opening and closing both fists in the cutest little grabby motion—but Mom held firm.

"Absolutely not. Look at that mountain of them over there. It's an addiction, that's what it is. And don't bother sneaking off to charm Dad either. Mom already confiscated all his spending money."

"I-impossible! What hast thou done to Father, mine liege!"

"Tsk—"

"Okay okay, don't take the remote. Okay, sowwy."

All through kindergarten, I'd been diligently spreading the gospel of card games.

To the teachers and parents, I'd made a convincing pitch: "It teaches number skills naturally."

The kids needed no convincing—the thrill of dueling and collecting was more than enough.

Naturally, the Duel King of this scene was me, and thanks to Dad's wholehearted support, I also had the most diverse card collection of anyone.

But last night, the towering stack of card binders had been discovered by Mom.

And Dad, who'd been my steady supplier, was mercilessly slaughtered (?) in the master bedroom.

The main pull of the new box that had just arrived at the stationery shop—the Bone Dragon—had yet to be drawn by anyone at our kindergarten.

'I wanted to be the first one to get it!!'

And now my most reliable ally, Dad, had his supply lines cut.

Was I really going to have to mooch off Si-yeon and the other kids just to watch them open packs?

'Damn it all. How much of a nobody are the kindergarten kids going to think I am!'

And I call myself the Duel King!

It was a moment that made me feel, deep in my bones, just how magnificent a thing money truly was.

'…Mom's not getting a single cut when I sell these cards and make a fortune someday.'

Dad and I could only exchange a wistful look.

Without being able to do a thing. The next day, I trudged into kindergarten feeling thoroughly gloomy.

"Hiii."

"Chae-won's here!"

"Don't you ever sleep. How are you always here first."

I exchanged a brief greeting with Kim Si-yeon, then wriggled my way over to my designated spot by the window.

"Chae-won, whatcha doing?"

"…Photosynthesis."

"You're using hard words again. Wanna play with me?"

"Doing what."

"Ta-daa! This is a new coloring book I got~ It's got all the Duel King characters! Let's color!"

'Does she never get tired of this. How can anyone love drawing this much.'

She was trying to rope me into kids' games first thing in the morning, so I was about to refuse.

"That's so babyish. Not interested."

"Huh? You always say that but then you're the one who goes the hardest."

"Ugh. T-that was… without my knowing… against my will…"

"It's got the magical girl character from Duel King that you like."

"…I don't like her."

"Then how come you never take her out 'cause you're scared she'll get worn?"

"……."

It's a misunderstanding.

I keep that card in pristine condition because it looks the rarest. That's all.

Truly.

Everyone says they don't like her, but to my eye, even the pink is a soft, refined shade.

And the outfit she's wearing is so flowy—it looks perfect for cosplay.

'She's pretty. She's definitely the most expensive one.'

It's absolutely not a personal preference. It's just that something about her clicked for me, that's all, for real.

"This is called having an eye for things. You know what investment means? The reason I treasure this magical girl is a cold, calculated assessment of her future value—"

"You sure talk a lot."

"What?! Where did you learn to say something so mean!"

"Chae-won."

"Ugh."

Anyway. There's no way I'd be into something all sparkly and blingy like that.

It's not the character—it's that the card itself is just so well-designed, okay?

Right! In fact, the coloring book version of the character might not even look that good!

……So. I'm not particularly interested, but I might as well just check.

"…Let me see the coloring book."

"Hehe, I knew it. Here, colored pencils too!"

"…."

I took them, but somehow the fact that she hadn't even considered the possibility of me saying no left me feeling strangely complicated.

"Well… it's not like I have anything else to do."

Coloring itself can't not be fun.

Right? Time flies too. Mm-hm.

We spread the coloring book on the floor and lay side by side, each absorbed in our own masterpiece.

'Hmm, this isn't the right pink. I need something lighter. Should I layer it?'

"Wow, Chae-won, you're so good. Should I try mixing colors too?"

"Ahem. It's nothing. You try it."

'Easy.'

I rubbed the tip of my nose with a satisfied little sniff.

I was about to turn to the next page.

"Pfft! What is this! This is girl stuff!"

Ha Jin-su came barging in out of nowhere, making a huge scene.

'It is mostly something girls do, I guess.'

I more or less agreed, so it didn't really get under my skin——

"Why are you doing something so boring?"

……Okay, but it's not boring, is it?

Beyond just coloring, there's the fun of decorating on top of it.

You don't have to run around getting all sweaty.

You can lie down and do it in total comfort.

Honestly.

What does he do that's so much fun.

'The more I think about it, the more annoying it gets.'

I slowly got up.

"You just can't wait to get hit again, can you?"

Ha Jin-su flinched.

At this age, there's no such thing as boys being stronger than girls.

The teacher just didn't know, but I'd been giving him the occasional discreet smack on a regular basis.

'Is it because he hangs around Si-yeon so much? He's always hovering around being irritating.'

Usually when I put on this much of a show, he'd grovel on his own.

"I-a true man doesn't do childish stuff like that!"

For some reason, Ha Jin-su shrieked back.

'Is this little punk putting on a show because Si-yeon's watching?'

Fine. I've been in a bad mood today anyway—lucky you.

I'm going to half-kill you.

Unfortunately, his bravado didn't last long.

He bolted.

Only after he'd put a good distance between us did he spin around.

"You thug! And I'm an actor now, so you can't just treat me however you want! Just you wait until I'm famous!"

Running away like a coward and still running his mouth.

"Why is he like that."

"Oh, Jin-su's doing like, child acting? Apparently. He's been going around bragging about being an actor since yesterday…."

"…Isn't that only for good-looking kids?"

"W-well, not every actor in the world has to be handsome…."

Si-yeon's brutally honest remark hung in the air, and I drifted off into thought.

Child actor?

Come to think of it, his mom had mentioned something like that to my mom a while back….

She'd asked if I was interested, and I'd turned it down flat.

For one thing, I had zero interest. And based on my hazy memories from my past life, getting your face out there is a double-edged sword.

The more attention you get, the more hate you get too.

'A quiet rich person beats a noisy celebrity any day.'

And there's no guarantee it'll even work out in the first place.

"…."

……So normally, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.

'But how much does he get paid for that?'

With my Duel King card supply cut off, money had become urgent.

Sure, Mom would manage the earnings. But at least I'd have a legitimate basis to demand my share.

"Aah— ah—"

Voice check: good.

I'd noticed it before, but my voice was clear and soft—pleasant to listen to, even to my own ears.

Looking at my face from every angle in the bathroom mirror, I was undeniably pretty.

It was an assessment with all objectivity thrown out the window, so I didn't go around saying it out loud.

But at least in my own eyes, that's how it was.

And above all, the thing that gave me the final push was, of course.

'If he can do it, why can't I.'

I'd better ask Mom.

Time to go gold farming on ad money.

The moment I made up my mind, I jumped to my feet.

"Boss, wanna play cards?"

"It's called dueling, you little punk. Dueling."

"Right, wanna do doo-eling?"

"No. The Boss is going to go make money."

"…Huh?"

I brushed past the challenger who'd come up to me and headed straight for the phone in the director's office.

***

"You're only doing this because I said no more cards yesterday."

[N-no I'm not. I-I just want to contribute to the household, you know? Instead of just Mom and Dad working, wouldn't it be better if all three of us earned….]

"…This kid's going to get her parents arrested. Hang up. We'll talk when you get home."

[Yes'm.]

Her motives were completely transparent, and yet the words came out so smooth and polished.

Park Eun-jeong set down the phone with a small laugh.

'My daughter… could she be a genius…?'

She could tell who the girl took after in the slipperiness department just by looking at her husband.

"Hmm."

'Can just anyone do ads and things like that?'

Everyone who saw Lee Chae-won said the same thing—she's lovely, she's beautiful, what a pretty child.

Park Eun-jeong was confident no child in the world was more adorable than her own daughter, but still.

'Child acting, ads—don't the kids who do that sort of thing have something… different about them?'

For Chae-won's family, who had lived perfectly ordinary lives, it was a world that felt impossibly distant and unfamiliar.

After work.

Park Eun-jeong brought her daughter home and the three of them had a modest little family meeting.

She knew full well that Chae-won had ulterior motives, but since the girl said she wanted to do it, she decided to play along as if she'd been won over.

"Alright, I'll make a call and look into it."

'It's not like wanting to do something means you can just go do it, right?'

Wasn't that…

"Oh my goodness, how can a child be this ethereal??"

…right…

"Oh, look at this little darling. And she speaks so clearly and confidently, doesn't she."

…huh?

"Peek-a-boo! Chae-won, look over here and give us a smile? Ohhh, she's precious."

What had started as just popping by to take a look at the address of the agency they'd been given before—

"Ma'am! Of all the faces I've seen recently, Chae-won is hands down the best. And her ability to pick things up and execute them perfectly is just fantastic."

"I-is that so?"

"Yes!!! If you just!!! Leave her to me!!! I will personally take responsibility and find her the best possible opportunity!!!"

'…….'

Huh. That was easy.

Mother and daughter blinked at each other in unison.