Morning in the cottage began with a sweet, warm smell of breakfast and a suspicious clanging sound from the living room.
Lee Min lay in his crib, staring up at the ceiling beams and occasionally drooling on himself. He felt the calm satisfaction of a well-fed baby.
Until—
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG!!!
His father was in full survival mode.
Again.
The man was sweating like he was forging weapons instead of installing baby-proofing pads. He crawled across the floor on all fours, hammer in mouth, trying to strap a thick cushion to the leg of a wooden chair.
"Just… a few… more…" he muttered.
He tugged the rope harder.
The chair leg squeaked.
He tugged again.
The entire chair tipped over.
The father screamed and dove under the table like the ceiling was collapsing.
Lee blinked.
Then, for the first time in his short life…
A tiny squeal escaped him.
"Ahh—hih!"
His own baby laugh startled him.
He froze.
Blink blink.
His mother gasped from across the room.
"Sweetie! Did you just LAUGH?!"
He tried again, testing the strange sensation in his chest.
"Hh—haaa!"
He was laughing.
Actually laughing.
It felt warm, fizzy, and absolutely uncontrollable.
**SYSTEM ACTIVATION: THE LAUGH INCIDENT**
Of course, the System had something to say.
A blue box pinged into his vision:
[Tutorial Step 7: First Laugh Achieved!]
Warning: Host's emotional sound output may trigger enchantment aura.
Reward: +2 CHA
New Skill: Baby Charm (Uncontrolled)
Effect: Nearby adults become momentarily stunned by cuteness.
Great.
Just what he needed.
A cuteness spell.
His mother scooped him up instantly, eyes sparkling.
"Ohhhh listen to him! That's the sweetest sound in the world!"
She hugged him close, and Lee giggled again, joy bubbling out of him.
"Hah—haa—!"
A soft wave of magical charm radiated from his tiny body like a glittery aura.
His mother's eyes glazed over.
"You're PERFECT. You're the cutest thing alive. You're going to rule the world one day."
Lee blinked.
Wait, what?
Meanwhile, his father crawled out cautiously from underneath the table… and walked straight into the charm aura.
He froze mid-step.
His pupils dilated.
He dropped the hammer.
"By the gods…" he whispered, voice trembling. "He's… adorable."
Lee screamed internally.
**THE FATHER FALLS TO THE BABY CHARM**
His father collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest.
"He's… too cute… it hurts… oh gods… the power…!"
Lee stared at him in horror.
His father wasn't terrified for once.
He was in awe.
Wrong kind of awe.
Dad crawled forward reverently like approaching a divine relic.
"H-hello… your adorableness…"
The System chimed again:
[Baby Charm has stunned an adult!]
Duration: 10 seconds
Condition: Uncontrolled
Please be responsible with your cuteness.
Lee wanted to cry—but instead he accidentally laughed again.
"Hiii—heeee!"
A second charm wave blasted outward.
His mother swooned.
His father collapsed fully onto the floor like he'd been taken out by an emotional sniper.
**THE BABY-PROOFING CRISIS (AGAIN)**
Once the charm aura faded, the father scrambled to his feet, panicked and breathless.
"That… that wasn't normal. That wasn't NATURAL! That was a mind enchantment disguised as a giggle! I'm never going to survive this child!"
He pointed accusingly at the crib.
"We need more padding!"
His wife raised an eyebrow.
"He's just laughing."
The father shook his head rapidly.
"JUST laughing?! He CHARMED me! I saw stars! I almost worshiped him!"
He ran to the front door, rummaging through a storage box, and returned with:
wool blankets
a leather strap
half a barrel
a wooden crate
and something that was either a pillow or a mangled turnip
"What are you doing with that?" his wife asked, horrified.
"I'm building a fort around myself," he stated matter-of-factly. "For safety."
He proceeded to stack blankets, crates, and pillows around his work area like a bunker.
Lee watched him, then laughed again.
"Haa—!"
His father screamed and dove into his pillow-fort.
"Oh no! It's happening again! Help! I'm too young to become a thrall!"
The mother sighed and kissed Lee's forehead.
"He's just in a phase."
**THE MOBILE RETURNS FOR REVENGE**
Just then, the repaired mobile—now hung sturdily above the crib—decided to be dramatic.
A gentle breeze came in through the window.
The mobile spun.
Then spun faster.
Then—
THUNK!
It fell.
Barely.
Softly.
Directly beside the crib.
Lee didn't react this time.
He simply blinked at it.
His father, however, shrieked like a dying goat, grabbed the fallen mobile, and hurled it out the window in panic.
"It's possessed! POSSESSED!"
The mother rubbed her temples.
"We're going to need a new mobile…"
Lee giggled again, delighted by the chaos.
"Haaa—hee—!"
Another charm aura.
His father collapsed backward into the laundry pile.
**END-OF-DAY: SYSTEM NOTES**
That evening, as the cottage finally settled into quiet, the System appeared with a polite summary:
[DAY SUMMARY]
You have:
• Laughed for the first time
• Created an uncontrolled charm aura
• Stunned both parents
• Inadvertently won your father's worship
• Caused minor structural panic
New Skill:
• Baby Charm (Uncontrolled)
Effect: Emits charm waves when laughing, stunning adults temporarily.
Stats Earned:
CHA +2