Chapter 47 : Teeth, Press Conferences, and Premium Beef: A Day of Chaos and Chews

Right after that statement, it was no surprise that the press conference descended into chaos.

An unprecedented incident—a magical girl hurling foul language right in the middle of a press conference.

Fleeing the barrage of questions, I escaped to the waiting room where the minister and some officials were, finally taking a breather.

Well, I had said everything I wanted to say.

I almost destroyed the podium, but managed to restrain myself since there wasn’t any physical damage caused.

“Alright, now like this…”

“Whoa!”

And so, I found myself sitting in the waiting room. Watching two large men teaching Siyeon how to play cat’s cradle, it felt almost surreal, as if the flood of questions earlier had been a lie.

“Damn those trashy reporters… Ugh.”

Leaving the ones having fun to themselves, I grabbed a bottle of water.

After rehydrating my proud, endlessly moving mouth, I let out a short sigh, almost like a burp.

The reporters I cussed out will probably flood the news with malicious articles, but at least I felt better, so I didn’t care.

It’s not like they’re going to take over my role as a magical girl for me.

Anyway, the press conference had ended abruptly amid a bit of commotion.

Back in the waiting room, the minister approached me slowly, patting me on the shoulder in encouragement, her face breaking into a wide smile.

“Well, the outcome isn’t great, but you did your best, Sun.”

“Hmph, just words?”

I replied, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together while wearing a disgruntled expression.

There’s an old saying: Don’t spit in the smiling face of someone who approaches you kindly.

It means you shouldn’t treat someone who comes to you with goodwill like a jerk.

However, when it comes to relationships tied by money and labor, sometimes, being a jerk is a necessary evil.

The seasoned politician, who had long since caught on to my hidden meaning, asked,

“So, what do you want?”

“As a sign of appreciation for my continued hard work, how about treating me to a meal? Premium beef, no less.”

Having been dragged all the way to Seoul, cutting into my precious weekend, I figured asking for a meal wasn’t too much.

Besides, premium beef—something I rarely splurge on myself—felt like a justified demand.

The minister, likely thinking, How much could a kid possibly eat?, nodded without hesitation.

“Sure, that much is fine…”

“And let’s include the two gentlemen here who came out for work on a weekend.”

Raising my fist and extending my index and middle fingers to add the two men, I saw the minister’s face darken instantly.

Once she had already said, Alright, she couldn’t take it back by saying, I only agreed because I thought you’d eat less. That would be too petty.

The two civil servants teaching Siyeon cat’s cradle widened their eyes at my show of thoughtfulness.

“Oh wow, your granddaughters are adorable!”

“Uh, yes…”

As the staff grilling the meat made an innocent comment, the minister’s face turned more sour by the second.

It was evident from the interior alone that this wasn’t your average barbecue place—this was a high-end establishment.

Adding two adult men to what had originally been calculated as just one woman and two elementary school kids naturally meant the bill would skyrocket.

Still, the civil servant gentlemen were something else, too.

“Excuse me, can we get more ribeye, please?”

No sense of shame whatsoever.

Even with their disgruntled boss sitting right there, they ordered with the nonchalance of someone at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Is it because I’m a man in his 30s or 40s, slowly becoming more self-centered?

Or perhaps, is it the resentment of working over the weekend, vented through a feast of meat?

Anyway, the uncles, claiming they were eating well thanks to us, kept grilling meat and setting the perfectly cooked pieces on the plates in front of Siyeon and me.

Perfectly grilled beef, dipped lightly in sesame oil mixed with just the right amount of salt and pepper.

Feeling the tender texture melt away effortlessly against even a child’s teeth, I closed my eyes tightly.

“This ribeye just melts away.”

What could’ve been a meal under 100,000 won swiftly turned into a bill starting with the digit 3, withdrawn from someone’s account.

The participation of two adult men in the meal left one person’s wallet in a dire state, yet brought joy to four others.

The greatest happiness for the greatest number—doesn’t that justify it?

Though we’d made it all the way to Seoul, there wasn’t much for two girls to do in a far-off place that wasn’t even near home.

After a press conference and a hearty meal, we immediately hopped in the car and headed back home.

“Thanks to you, we ate well. Let’s meet again next time.”

The cheerful voices of the uncles, now glowing with satisfaction and glossy skin from all that beef fat, echoed pleasantly.

Matching their good spirits, I saw them off with a polite bow.

“Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!”

“Ugh, I’m so full.”

As soon as they left, I clutched my stomach and muttered, exhaling a strained breath.

A stomach filled to the brim solely with meat, not even a single bowl of rice ordered.

Of course, I’d feel bloated, I thought as I brushed my teeth to rid my mouth of the lingering aroma of grilled meat.

As the vigorous scrubbing of my toothbrush passed between my teeth, I felt something strange.

“…Huh?”

I looked into the bathroom mirror and touched the tooth that felt out of place with my finger.

Wobble, wobble, wobble.

A loose sensation coming from my front tooth.

It seemed like the baby tooth I had barely thought about was finally due to come out.

Once I started noticing it, the tip of my tongue kept gravitating toward it.

It wasn’t so loose that it could come out immediately, but pulling it out now would only leave me with pain.

I’d been through this kind of pain before, but I didn’t want to bring it upon myself deliberately.

Covering the faint remaining scent of meat with toothpaste, I called out to Siyeon, who was sitting at the computer.

“Siyeon, go brush your teeth.”
“Just a sec—”

It seemed like she was in the middle of an important scene in her anime.

Soon, the speakers blared with sounds of dramatic explosions, the groaning screams of a phlegmy monster, and a young voice emphasizing love and friendship with self-praise.

For the record, love and friendship don’t actually pay the bills.

Once the important part had passed, Siyeon paused the video and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as she came out of the bathroom, I called her over and leaned in close.

“Siyeon, open wide and say ah.”

“Aahhh—”

With her mouth slightly open, I carefully slipped in my index finger and touched each tooth one by one.

The wobbly front tooth shook wildly, unlike the rest. It looked as though it might pop out with a gentle tug of a string.

I muttered thoughtlessly as the idea crossed my mind,

“I guess we need to visit the dentist…?”

“The… dentist?”

Siyeon’s voice, murmured with her mouth open, turned into one filled with terror in an instant.

It was a grave mistake.

Siyeon immediately jerked her head back and snapped her mouth shut. Then, like a frightened hamster, she dove under the bedcovers and hid.

To kids, a dentist is the symbol of fear.

Even those who’ve never been to a dentist somehow know the terrifying sound of the drill used for scaling.

Not that it’s remotely relevant in this case.

Where’s the nearest dental clinic…

Her scared reaction was something to deal with later. For now, it was clear the time to remove the tooth was near, so I pulled out my smartphone to look up a nearby clinic.

Sure, we could pull it out at home, but for long-term health, it’s best to go to a proper clinic to avoid any complications.

Life isn’t just about doing what you want all the time—sometimes, you have to be nudged into learning that.

But dragging her there against her will could leave an even worse impression.

I decided to persuade her by offering an escape route from a greater fear.

“If you don’t go now, they might actually have to drill your teeth later.”

The result would be the same anyway: the tooth would come out, whether now or later.

The chilling sound of the drill? That’s for cavities or scaling, not pulling teeth.

Of course, there’s no chance of that happening, but invoking an imaginary fear made it seem like there was a “pre-drill” option available.

Lesser fears are conquered by greater fears.

History has always shown that to be true.

“…Alright, I’ll go,” she whispered in a small voice, peeking out from the blanket with a gloomy expression.

“Let’s go on Monday then.”

Even if I wanted to go sooner, most clinics close early on Saturdays.

And with a weekend schedule that included a drive to Seoul for a press conference, a satisfying lunch, and the drive back home, the clinic’s short Saturday hours were far behind us.

On top of that, most clinics don’t operate on Sundays, so naturally, the appointment had to roll over to a weekday.

And so, D-Day arrived—Monday.

With Siyeon trembling in unprecedented fear, we arrived at the dental clinic.

“We’re here to have a tooth pulled.”

“Aren’t your parents with you?”

“They gave me their card.”

Used to this kind of lie, I sat in the waiting room while Siyeon anxiously glanced at the peculiar chair visible inside, the one unique to dental clinics.

A nurse, wearing a sanitary cap and mask, was tinkering with a tool—of all things, the one that made the very sound Siyeon feared the most.

The sound of teeth grinding against metal, a grating noise carving through the air, turned Siyeon’s complexion pale.

“It’s okay, we’re not going through that.”

I patted Siyeon’s trembling shoulders, trying to soothe her anxiety.

“Really…?”

Her tearful eyes, on the verge of spilling over, stared up at me.

I’d never lied to her before, but the dentist’s office was a place that could make even my unblemished honesty waver.

“Yeah, really, really. Pinky swear.”

“…Pinky.”
Our soft, tiny pinky fingers intertwined, knotting like a promise.

Some time later, it was finally our turn for treatment.

It was understandable for Siyeon—her tooth was practically ready to fall out on its own—but…

“Aaaah!”
“Oh no… I’m sorry. It didn’t come out in one go.”

The sharp jolt to my gums was followed by the dentist’s brief apology.

The tooth that had seemed fine just a moment ago wasn’t coming out easily, leaving me in unexpected pain.

I should’ve postponed my treatment until the tooth had loosened a bit more.