When a Babysitter Falls in Love - Chapter 13

Hyun-Woo tensed up and tightened his grip on the arm holding Jun-Woo’s hand. As the man approached, Guk Hee stepped aside and greeted him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mm.”

When that short, blunt “Mm” came out of his mouth, Hyun-Woo found himself having the ridiculous thought that even though it was the same word, it felt worlds apart from when it came from Jun-Woo. Kang Wook swept his gaze over Hyun-Woo from head to toe, then shifted his attention to Jun-Woo without saying anything. He acted as if nothing had happened, to the point that Hyun-Woo’s worries from the night before seemed meaningless. In fact, that attitude put Hyun-Woo at ease.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mm. I brushed teeth with hyung.”

“Hyung?”

When Kang Wook’s gaze returned to him, Hyun-Woo bowed deeply, nearly folding in half, before straightening up.

“Did you sleep well?”

“What do you mean, ‘hyung’?”

Ignoring Hyun-Woo’s greeting, Kang Wook asked. Only then did Hyun-Woo realize that everyone addressed Jun-Woo as “young master.” But since he thought the way people addressed each other was important for building closeness, he gathered his courage and made a request to Kang Wook.

“I’d like Jun-Woo to call me that. I think it’ll make it easier for us to get close. Would that be alright?”

The sound of someone swallowing nervously came from behind Kang Wook. The others seemed to be waiting in breathless silence for his reaction. Hyun-Woo started to worry that he had said something unnecessary. In a wealthy household like this, everyone called him “young master,” so he felt like the only one being odd.

Under Kang Wook’s silent stare, Hyun-Woo felt like his face had holes in it. It was as if the wind could pass right through him. Just then, Jun-Woo let go of his hand, walked up to Kang Wook, and tugged at the hem of his pants. His soft hair swayed as he tilted his head back.

“Jun-Woo likes hyung.”

At Jun-Woo’s words, Kang Wook’s eyebrow twitched. Hyun-Woo couldn’t even begin to guess what he was thinking. He felt anxious, worried that Kang Wook might scold Jun-Woo for it. He wondered if he had only confused the child by letting him say “hyung.” In fact, Jun-Woo called Guk Hee “Secretary Cheon.”

“Do as you like.”

Contrary to Hyun-Woo’s worries, Kang Wook gave a casual permission while looking at Jun-Woo. Jun-Woo nodded, returned to Hyun-Woo, and held his hand again. Feeling like he had gained a strong ally, Hyun-Woo’s nose tingled. Smiling brightly, he squeezed Jun-Woo’s hand.

That was when it happened. Kang Wook stepped close to Hyun-Woo and whispered by his ear. The warm breath tickled his ear, and Hyun-Woo froze with a smile still on his face.

“Let’s have a drink later.”

At the slow, whispering voice, it felt as if nonexistent alcohol spread through his bloodstream, making his body sway. Before his frozen mind could even process why he was being asked to drink, Kang Wook straightened up.

“What’s so important about titles? Just do your job properly, and I’ll give you special privileges. You can do whatever you want.”

Kang Wook changed his expression again and returned to being Jun-Woo’s father. Unable to read him at all, Hyun-Woo snapped back to attention at the mention of “special privileges.” When Kang Wook had suggested a drink, Hyun-Woo had tensed up, recalling what he had resolved the night before. But hearing about special privileges, all sorts of things he wanted flooded his mind, and he ended up speaking loudly enough to echo through the hallway.

“Special privileges?!”

Unaccustomed to loud noise, Jun-Woo let out a hiccup at Hyun-Woo’s sudden shout.

Hic!

Hyun-Woo quickly knelt in front of Jun-Woo, whose shoulders were bouncing with hiccups, and rubbed his back.

“I’m sorry. Hyung was too loud, right? Jun-Woo, try pinching your nose and holding your breath a little, like hyung. Just hold it until I count to three, then breathe, and hold it again.”

Hyun-Woo pinched his own nose and held his breath.

“Mr. Seo, what are you doing? Telling the young master to hold his breath? He needs water—water!”

Guk Hee crouched beside them, flustered and stammering.

Hic.

“I’ll bring some water.”

Standing stiffly like a statue, Butler Kim hurried off.

“This works well for hiccups.”

Hyun-Woo showed Jun-Woo, pinching his nose and holding his breath for three seconds before slowly exhaling. At first, Jun-Woo couldn’t even pinch his nose properly, but he gradually followed along. After a few hiccups, they stopped before Butler Kim even returned with the water.

“Wow, it stopped.”

Jun-Woo let go of his nose and looked at Kang Wook with wide, curious eyes. Following his gaze, Hyun-Woo looked up—and was startled. Kang Wook’s expressionless face had softened into a faint smile at his son. It lasted only a fleeting moment, like a flash of light, but Hyun-Woo clearly saw it.

‘He smiled.’

Staring blankly for a moment, Hyun-Woo quickly came to his senses and stood up.

“No more hiccups now, Dad.”

“You did well.”

Kang Wook patted Jun-Woo’s head with his large hand, then looked at Hyun-Woo.

“Take good care of him, Mr. Seo.”

At Kang Wook’s glance, his eyes slightly lifted in a seductive curve, Hyun-Woo’s heart suddenly began to race. Until now, any action from the parents of the children he cared for had only made him uncomfortable. He didn’t understand why his heart was pounding now, but decided it was because he had been moved by the sight of Kang Wook smiling at Jun-Woo.

Maybe that was why he ended up waving along with Jun-Woo at Kang Wook’s retreating figure.

“Jun-Woo, you should say, ‘Have a good day.’”

As if he had been about to bow, Jun-Woo folded his hands neatly over his stomach, then tilted his head before copying Hyun-Woo and waving.

“Have a good day.”

At that moment, Guk Hee, pale-faced, grabbed Hyun-Woo’s hand, and Kang Wook turned around—but all he saw was Jun-Woo waving.

***

Jun-Woo’s classes, which started at nine in the morning, only ended just before lunchtime at twelve. For the English class that began at eleven sharp, three native speakers came and conducted the lesson directly. During the two thirty-minute sessions, only English was used from start to finish. Hyun-Woo, who wasn’t confident in his English speaking skills, ended up feeling dizzy by the end. Thankfully, Guk Hee translated, so he managed to exchange a few words, but it was a class he never wanted to attend again. Jun-Woo, however, must have been used to it, as he followed along without whining.

Thinking of the children who couldn’t sit still even during simple math and Korean lessons, Hyun-Woo felt a bit sorry for how composed Jun-Woo was. He resolved that at least when they were together, he would let Jun-Woo run around freely and act like a child.

As soon as class ended, Jun-Woo jumped up and ran to Hyun-Woo, grabbing his hand. It seemed he really liked holding hands. Touched, Hyun-Woo gave him a big thumbs-up.

“Jun-Woo, you’re good at English. Hyung finds it really hard to speak.”

“‘Hi’ means hello.”

Noticing Hyun-Woo staring blankly, Jun-Woo explained, waving his hand briefly.

“I see. Next time the English teacher comes, hyung will say ‘Hi’ like this too.”

“Mm.”

After nodding, Jun-Woo glanced at Guk Hee, who was talking with the English instructor, then lowered his voice.

“I have a book.”

“A book?”

“Mm. I’ll show you later.”

“Oh, you’re going to show hyung?”

“Mm.”

After answering bravely, Jun-Woo looked up at the approaching Guk Hee.

“Lunch will be served in the dining room on the second floor.”

“Um… Secretary Cheon, you can speak casually to me. We’ll be together all the time, right? So please feel free to speak comfortably.”

Hyun-Woo said with a bright smile. At the kindergarten, everyone called each other “Teacher So-and-so” and got along easily, so the formal speech felt uncomfortable to him.

“I don’t speak casually to anyone. And do you always smile like that, Mr. Seo?”

“Do you not like smiling?”

“Is there any need to smile in this conversation?”

Guk Hee’s expression was serious, as if he genuinely didn’t understand.

“Alright then. I won’t smile in front of you, Secretary Cheon.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Even Hyun-Woo, who had never been criticized for smiling before, didn’t feel very good about it. Following behind Guk Hee, he secretly glared at the back of his neat head. But he didn’t realize Jun-Woo was watching him. Narrowing his eyes, Jun-Woo quietly mimicked Hyun-Woo’s expression. Finding it amusing, he smiled brightly—but unfortunately, no one saw it.