Why am I the Princess?

I was starting to like Jisoo—a lot. From her appearance to her sense of humor, everything about her seemed to click with me.

If I were still Kang Hanseong, I’d probably already be planning our wedding… maybe even coming up with names for our future grandchildren.

As I stayed close to Jisoo, I noticed the envious glances directed at her from others in the room. Dad, smiling, asked,

“Si-yoon, do you like Aunt Jisoo?”

I frowned at his question and replied curtly, “What.”
“…Aw,” Dad pouted exaggeratedly.

Jisoo, watching our exchange with amusement, pulled me onto her lap and started playing a game on her phone. At first, I thought it was just a video, but then I noticed the character moved based on Jisoo’s actions.

Wow… the technology is amazing these days.

“Do you want to try, Si-yoon?” she offered.
“Auntie, Dad will get mad,” I replied matter-of-factly.
“Oh…” Jisoo glanced nervously at Dad.

“If Si-yoon starts playing games, she’ll never stop,” Dad explained. “When she was younger, I showed her videos on my phone, and she was so fascinated that now that’s all she watches.”
“Dad’s stingy. He says I can play games when I start elementary school,” I added with a huff.
“Si-yoon, what does ‘stingy’ mean when you’re talking about Dad?” Dad asked, feigning innocence.

Ignoring him, I leaned closer to watch Jisoo’s game. It seemed to be about surviving in a shrinking zone and becoming the last person standing. After a while, though, I started feeling tired and turned to Dad.

“Are you tired, Si-yoon?”
“My legs hurt. Massage them,” I demanded.

Dad sat me on his lap and began gently massaging my thighs.

“Ahh, that’s nice.”
“As you wish, Your Highness,” he replied playfully.

After a brief chat, I drifted off to sleep.

The room fell quiet as everyone spoke in hushed tones, careful not to wake me.

“Si-yoon is so beautiful,” one of the members remarked.
“Thanks… Wait a second. Let me lay her down,” Dad replied.

Jisoo waved her hand dismissively and said, “It’s okay. We can stop for today.”
“Really? In that case, let’s call it a day. It’s probably better for her to sleep at home.”

Lisa nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’ll practice the rest on our own.”
“Thanks, everyone. Great job. Go home and get some rest.”
“Thank you! You too!”

After cleaning up the studio and seeing the girl group out, only Dad and I remained. Holding me in his arms, Dad quietly organized the recordings, moving carefully to avoid waking me.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

“Oppa! I—” Ji-eun stopped herself mid-sentence when she saw me asleep in Dad’s arms. She quickly covered her mouth and tiptoed inside.

“Oh, Si-yoon’s sleeping…” she whispered.

Dad nodded, glancing down at my face.

“Yeah, I’m just finishing up.”
“I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out after the Dreaming girls finished, but…”
“They’re done. If you head to their dorm, they should be there.”
“Got it. Thanks, Oppa. Good work today!”
“Yeah, see you.”

Still holding me, Dad carefully made his way to the parking lot.

As the C-19 pandemic worsened, Dad’s protective instincts went into overdrive. He refused to let me go outside. When it became clear the situation wasn’t improving anytime soon, he converted a room into a home studio.

My days were spent making music with Dad, swimming with Dayeon, or attending online preschool classes.

By 2021, I had turned six. Society seemed to have adapted to the repeated waves of the pandemic. Preschools reopened for those with parental consent, while others continued their education online.

“Si-yoon, look at the screen,” my young teacher said through the laptop.

“It’ll hurt my eyes,” I replied.
“Just for a little bit won’t hurt!” she insisted.

The lesson was a drawing class, but to be honest… I could already draw better than her.

“Now, everyone, draw what you see on the screen!”

I spun my pen between my fingers and quickly began sketching. Preschool required me to endure this kind of lesson for four hours a day.

“Si-yoon, are you done?”
“Yeah.”

Hearing my response, Dad came out to the living room and sat on the sofa. He rarely left the house, worried he might catch C-19 and pass it on to me.

I rolled around in my bear pajamas, watching as Dad busied himself in the kitchen.

Since discovering cooking channels on YouTube, Dad had taken up experimenting with all kinds of recipes. He’d even told me he’d make anything I wanted if I found something on YouTube that looked good. Without responding, I sat at the table, focused on drawing Alpha and Beta.

As we spent more time with Dayeon’s family within the apartment complex, 2022 arrived in no time.

During that period, the songs Dad and I released, along with my child modeling photos, had turned me into a little star. Now, at the age of seven, with the pandemic officially over, I could finally return to preschool.

“Si-yoon-ah!”
“What?”

Dayeon, holding a manga in her hands, blushed.

“Have you watched Kamino’s Basketball?”

“No.”

“You have to watch it! It’s amazing!”

Ever since I introduced her to anime, Dayeon had become completely obsessed with Japanese manga.

“Really?”
“Yeah, yeah! Kamino is just so cool…”
“Delicious?”
“…I said cool, not delicious.”

I sighed, wondering if I’d unintentionally steered Dayeon down the wrong path. Shrugging, I opened my novel.

*私は経営者の安藤だ (I am Ando, the entrepreneur.)

“It’s all in Japanese,” I noted.

After spending so much time together, Dayeon had already mastered English and was now teaching herself Japanese through manga.

“Yup,” she replied.