A young boy sat alone. He was stretching his arms in front of him, moving his hands from left to right and spinning them around as his lips made an O shape. It was Min-Jae.
There was so much opulence around him that he couldn't help but glance in amazement at the sheer scale of the place. The entrance hall alone had more money than he'd ever seen in his first life.
BANG!
A door slammed open, making Min-Jae jump in fright. From the door came out a young girl, around 7-years-old and an elder man with grey hair and a smile on his face. They were Ji-Eun and Ho-Sun, Min-Jae's grandfather.
"See you tomorrow, Min-Jae!" The girl waved happily as she stepped out the door.
Min-Jae recognised her immediately. She might be young now, but her characteristic snub nose was unmistakable.
As the girl left, Ho-Sun chuckled and ruffled Min-Jae's hair.
"You have a good friend there, little one."
'Heh, if only he knew,' Min-Jae thought.
As he gazed at his grandfather's face, his mind raced, already thinking on what measures to take to clear his image. Min-Jae's offenses started from this point and Ji-Eun would start resenting him soon enough.
'Apparently, this bastard was already ordering kids in his classroom to isolate Ji-Eun,' he thought and shook his head. Min-Jae was truly a scumbag.
"What's the matter, little one? You shouldn't be making such an expression. Leave that for us old men." Ho-Sun chuckled. Min-Jae's expression looked like an adult juggling expenses.
Min-Jae chuckled awkwardly but then smiled when an idea struck him.
'Shit, do I need to act cute, now? I don't even know how.' He resisted the urge to sigh, turning towards his grandfather.
He tilted his head slightly to the side, imitating an innocent, but curious puppy. He then reached out his tiny hand, his palm open, and wiggled his fingers playfully, as if asking for a treat or reward.
"Grandpa," he said in a voice as high-pitched and sweet as he could manage, "can I ask for a favour?"
Ho-Sun frowned. "This brat... where did you learn that word? Just ask, your grandpa will grant it."
'Shit, I screwed up. Of course asking for a favour sounds like cutting a deal. I guess I'm still not used to acting like a child.'
"Um... I..." After Min-Jae's calculated hesitation, he finally spoke. "I want someone to record and uh... document my life."
Ho-Sun's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowing into slits. The more he spoke with his grandchild, the stranger he seemed.
Before he could reply, Min-Jae continued, "I also want that if someone asks, you tell them it was your idea. If someone asks for the reason, you can tell them it's a documentary because you know I will be a great person."
As the words came out of his mouth, he realised how absurd they sounded, more so when it was a seven years old saying them. To mask his strange request with an appropriate childish behaviour, he puffed his chest out and glanced at his grandfather with a hopeful expression, his eyes wide and innocent, like a puppy begging for a treat.
Ho-Sun's eyes widened. As he processed the absurd request, he burst out into laughter; a laughter loud enough to reverberate throughout the wide and tall entrance hall.
Clutching his stomach and wiping the tears off the corner of his eyes, he said: "Brat, you're making grandpa laugh. That's good, but what a ridiculous request. Why do you want a documentary about you?"
[Uh-uh, you're in trouble.]
The system's voice teased him, but he simply smiled.
'Of course, if I'm gonna ask something like this, it means I already have an excuse.'
"Because I'm an important person, right? But when people try to tell lies about me, I will have proof from the documentary."
"That's not a documentary, little one. It's called a journal, or a diary. But you're right, you are very important to Grandpa," Ho-Sun said, his face softening, his eyes filled with a kind of pride that Min-Jae couldn't quite understand.
"And Grandpa doesn't want anyone to tell lies about his precious grandchild. So, how about this?" Ho-Sun said and pulled out a worn-out journal from his coat pocket, "I'll write down everything you do and say, then record it. You can watch it and remember all your nice childhood memories when you're all grown up. I'll even assign one of my staff to follow you and take care of you."
Ho-Sun's words seemed agreeable, but his expression said he was not off the hook, yet. He stood up and entered his office.
"Come, sit down, little one." Min-Jae sat down, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He'd accomplished the first step of his plan, but that was just the first step. Now that he could rewrite the past, he would obviously need proof of his deeds. Unfortunately, he can only change things Ji-Eun never experienced, that's why he needed proof.
As they sat together, Ho-Sun's expression turned serious.
"Min-Jae, let me tell you a story..." Ho-Sun began, but the system interrupted.
[You damn whippersnappers, get off my lawn! Back in my day—]
'Shut up.'
[Onii-chan, you meanie!]