Chapter 1
“Teacher, are you hot?”
The guardian handing over the child tilted her head as she asked. At that, Lee Hyun’s face flushed an even deeper red.
It was still too early in the year to complain about the heat. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, and a cool breeze blew—if anything, it felt slightly chilly.
Before Lee Hyun could respond, the child gripping her hand tightly spoke up with complete confidence.
“Mom! Teacher’s face is always red!”
“…Ah.”
The guardian pressed her lips together, as if realizing her mistake, and let out an awkward laugh. Moments like this always reminded Lee Hyun just how sharp children could be.
And, in a way, how cruel.
They possessed an innocent curiosity that allowed them to point directly at a pimple on your face and ask what it was, without the slightest hesitation.
As the blunt truth landed, Lee Hyun’s face reddened further. Startled, the guardian hurriedly excused herself and left. Watching the small, sprout-like hand still holding her finger, Lee Hyun asked gently,
“Jiwoo, is my face really that red?”
“Yesterday, my mom gave me strawberries to eat!”
Jiwoo drew circles in the air with her hands, mimicking the shape of strawberries, then continued with a bright smile.
“But your face is redder than strawberries—and prettier too!”
Lee Hyun hesitated, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. In the end, she nodded silently.
Pretty was good enough.
Holding Jiwoo’s hand, she headed toward the classroom. Then, a shadow fell across her path, stopping her in her tracks.
“It’s the American teacher!”
Jiwoo let go of Lee Hyun’s hand and scampered over, clinging to him.
Liam—the kindergarten’s only English teacher, and its only foreigner.
Lee Hyun had heard in passing that his mother was Korean and his father American. His hair was a deep, dark brown, but his eyes were blue, giving him a strikingly distinctive look.
He reminded her of a Siberian husky.
More than that, his build was far too broad to be mistaken for Korean. With thick arms and a tall frame, he stood out even from a distance.
On days when he wore a full suit because he had “somewhere to stop by,” he drew even more attention. He looked less like a kindergarten teacher and more like a model for a fashion brand.
And because everything in the kindergarten was designed to be child-friendly, he often looked like a giant who had wandered into Lilliput.
That was why Lee Hyun became even stiffer around him—like a malfunctioning robot. She already struggled around men in general, but Liam’s overwhelmingly good looks only amplified her fear and sense of pressure.
And that wasn’t even the biggest problem.
Liam had grown up in the United States. He knew only a handful of Korean words and couldn’t hold a conversation at all.
A man she feared *and* had to speak English with.
Lee Hyun quietly tried to stick close to the wall and slip past, but Liam casually greeted her in English.
“Good morning.”
Fixing her gaze firmly on Jiwoo, who was still hanging off his arm, Lee Hyun stammered,
“G-good…”
Liam didn’t look away, as if waiting for the rest.
She squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fists, and forced the words out with painfully careful pronunciation.
“Good mo-ning.”
Jiwoo hopped down from his arm and offered advice to someone who clearly didn’t understand her.
“Our teacher’s bad at English.”
Lee Hyun had no trouble *reading* English. Speaking it out loud was another story entirely—especially in front of a native speaker.
Her face burning like it might burst, she felt Liam’s gaze linger on her for a moment before he turned away without a word and left.
The coldness of it made her pout slightly.
Liam was generally kind and friendly with the other teachers—but not with her. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he never spoke to her directly.
Even when work required communication, he always used a messenger app instead of talking face-to-face.
It felt strange, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask why. Whenever she stood in front of him, her body froze solid. In that sense, his distance was almost a relief.
Just as she was about to pass by, she remembered something important and called out to him.
“Liam.”
He turned back with an indifferent expression, looking down at her.
That was a mistake.
I should’ve just messaged him later.
But it was too late to back out now. She didn’t have the courage to tell him never mind.
Hesitating, Lee Hyun pulled out her phone and typed a brief explanation in English before holding it out to him.
There was an upcoming field trip. Originally, Liam hadn’t been scheduled to attend, but the children had complained so persistently that the director changed her mind.
Delivering unpleasant news always fell to Lee Hyun.
She had seniority, and the director knew her to be soft-hearted—so whenever something awkward came up, it was always Lee Hyun who was asked to handle it.
Instead of blaming the director, she framed it gently, explaining that the children really wanted him to come.
Liam frowned slightly at the phone.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, making the screen hard to see. When Lee Hyun nudged it closer, urging him silently, he took the phone with an annoyed look.
After reading the note, he typed something beneath it with the same flat expression.
Then he handed the phone back—almost tossing it—and walked away.
Looking down at the phone that landed in her hand, Lee Hyun let out a hollow laugh.
**[Fine. And next time, talk through messenger.]**
“So he *is* looking down on me because my English is bad…”
She took a deep breath and tried to comfort herself.
It’s better this way. I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s nothing to misunderstand, nothing to explain.
She assumed Liam was just equally prickly with everyone.
After all, he wasn’t very talkative to begin with.
That assumption shattered completely during nap time.
Because Lee Hyun learned that there was a very specific reason behind his distance.
—
### * * *
Once, a friend of Lee Hyun’s had said something without thinking.
*“Hey, kindergartens have nap time, right? You get to rest then. I’m jealous.”*
Not knowing where to begin explaining, Lee Hyun had simply smiled that day.
Reality, however, was very different.
While the children slept, Lee Hyun sat quietly with her laptop, working on documents as she kept watch. Beyond hands-on teaching, there were endless plans, schedules, and reports to prepare every month.
As she typed carefully, afraid of waking the children, a message popped up on her screen.
**Did everyone sleep well?**
A new student had recently joined her class. The sender had contacted her last week after struggling during nap time.
When Lee Hyun replied that things had gone well today, they exchanged brief greetings.
Just as she was about to return to work, another message arrived.
**Teacher Lee Hyun, I have a question.**
Before she could ask what it was, another followed immediately.
**Liam said you have a crush on him. Is that true?**
“…Crush?”
Lee Hyun frowned slightly.
She could understand English, but she wasn’t confident enough to trust her instincts. Quietly, she opened an internet browser and searched the word.
The moment the results appeared, a curse nearly escaped her mouth. She clamped her lips shut, teeth biting down hard.
Her trembling eyes burned as they fixed on the screen.
**Crush**
1. To press
2. To break
3. To smash
4. *Romantic infatuation*
She desperately wished it was the first or second meaning.
But she knew—without a doubt—
He meant the fourth.
Here is a **clean, flowing novel-style English translation** of ***I Need a Carrot, Chapter 1***, rewritten naturally rather than word-for-word, while preserving tone, character voice, and subtle humor. I’ve also **integrated and polished** the last English portion so it reads seamlessly.
—
## I Need a Carrot
### Chapter 1
“Teacher, are you hot?”
The guardian handing over the child tilted her head as she asked. At that, Lee Hyun’s face flushed an even deeper red.
It was still too early in the year to complain about the heat. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, and a cool breeze blew—if anything, it felt slightly chilly.
Before Lee Hyun could respond, the child gripping her hand tightly spoke up with complete confidence.
“Mom! Teacher’s face is always red!”
“…Ah.”
The guardian pressed her lips together, as if realizing her mistake, and let out an awkward laugh. Moments like this always reminded Lee Hyun just how sharp children could be.
And, in a way, how cruel.
They possessed an innocent curiosity that allowed them to point directly at a pimple on your face and ask what it was, without the slightest hesitation.
As the blunt truth landed, Lee Hyun’s face reddened further. Startled, the guardian hurriedly excused herself and left. Watching the small, sprout-like hand still holding her finger, Lee Hyun asked gently,
“Jiwoo, is my face really that red?”
“Yesterday, my mom gave me strawberries to eat!”
Jiwoo drew circles in the air with her hands, mimicking the shape of strawberries, then continued with a bright smile.
“But your face is redder than strawberries—and prettier too!”
Lee Hyun hesitated, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. In the end, she nodded silently.
Pretty was good enough.
Holding Jiwoo’s hand, she headed toward the classroom. Then, a shadow fell across her path, stopping her in her tracks.
“It’s the American teacher!”
Jiwoo let go of Lee Hyun’s hand and scampered over, clinging to him.
Liam—the kindergarten’s only English teacher, and its only foreigner.
Lee Hyun had heard in passing that his mother was Korean and his father American. His hair was a deep, dark brown, but his eyes were blue, giving him a strikingly distinctive look.
He reminded her of a Siberian husky.
More than that, his build was far too broad to be mistaken for Korean. With thick arms and a tall frame, he stood out even from a distance.
On days when he wore a full suit because he had “somewhere to stop by,” he drew even more attention. He looked less like a kindergarten teacher and more like a model for a fashion brand.
And because everything in the kindergarten was designed to be child-friendly, he often looked like a giant who had wandered into Lilliput.
That was why Lee Hyun became even stiffer around him—like a malfunctioning robot. She already struggled around men in general, but Liam’s overwhelmingly good looks only amplified her fear and sense of pressure.
And that wasn’t even the biggest problem.
Liam had grown up in the United States. He knew only a handful of Korean words and couldn’t hold a conversation at all.
A man she feared *and* had to speak English with.
Lee Hyun quietly tried to stick close to the wall and slip past, but Liam casually greeted her in English.
“Good morning.”
Fixing her gaze firmly on Jiwoo, who was still hanging off his arm, Lee Hyun stammered,
“G-good…”
Liam didn’t look away, as if waiting for the rest.
She squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fists, and forced the words out with painfully careful pronunciation.
“Good mo-ning.”
Jiwoo hopped down from his arm and offered advice to someone who clearly didn’t understand her.
“Our teacher’s bad at English.”
Lee Hyun had no trouble *reading* English. Speaking it out loud was another story entirely—especially in front of a native speaker.
Her face burning like it might burst, she felt Liam’s gaze linger on her for a moment before he turned away without a word and left.
The coldness of it made her pout slightly.
Liam was generally kind and friendly with the other teachers—but not with her. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he never spoke to her directly.
Even when work required communication, he always used a messenger app instead of talking face-to-face.
It felt strange, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask why. Whenever she stood in front of him, her body froze solid. In that sense, his distance was almost a relief.
Just as she was about to pass by, she remembered something important and called out to him.
“Liam.”
He turned back with an indifferent expression, looking down at her.
That was a mistake.
I should’ve just messaged him later.
But it was too late to back out now. She didn’t have the courage to tell him never mind.
Hesitating, Lee Hyun pulled out her phone and typed a brief explanation in English before holding it out to him.
There was an upcoming field trip. Originally, Liam hadn’t been scheduled to attend, but the children had complained so persistently that the director changed her mind.
Delivering unpleasant news always fell to Lee Hyun.
She had seniority, and the director knew her to be soft-hearted—so whenever something awkward came up, it was always Lee Hyun who was asked to handle it.
Instead of blaming the director, she framed it gently, explaining that the children really wanted him to come.
Liam frowned slightly at the phone.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, making the screen hard to see. When Lee Hyun nudged it closer, urging him silently, he took the phone with an annoyed look.
After reading the note, he typed something beneath it with the same flat expression.
Then he handed the phone back—almost tossing it—and walked away.
Looking down at the phone that landed in her hand, Lee Hyun let out a hollow laugh.
**[Fine. And next time, talk through messenger.]**
“So he *is* looking down on me because my English is bad…”
She took a deep breath and tried to comfort herself.
It’s better this way. I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s nothing to misunderstand, nothing to explain.
She assumed Liam was just equally prickly with everyone.
After all, he wasn’t very talkative to begin with.
That assumption shattered completely during nap time.
Because Lee Hyun learned that there was a very specific reason behind his distance.
—
### * * *
Once, a friend of Lee Hyun’s had said something without thinking.
*“Hey, kindergartens have nap time, right? You get to rest then. I’m jealous.”*
Not knowing where to begin explaining, Lee Hyun had simply smiled that day.
Reality, however, was very different.
While the children slept, Lee Hyun sat quietly with her laptop, working on documents as she kept watch. Beyond hands-on teaching, there were endless plans, schedules, and reports to prepare every month.
As she typed carefully, afraid of waking the children, a message popped up on her screen.
**Did everyone sleep well?**
A new student had recently joined her class. The sender had contacted her last week after struggling during nap time.
When Lee Hyun replied that things had gone well today, they exchanged brief greetings.
Just as she was about to return to work, another message arrived.
**Teacher Lee Hyun, I have a question.**
Before she could ask what it was, another followed immediately.
**Liam said you have a crush on him. Is that true?**
“…Crush?”
Lee Hyun frowned slightly.
She could understand English, but she wasn’t confident enough to trust her instincts. Quietly, she opened an internet browser and searched the word.
The moment the results appeared, a curse nearly escaped her mouth. She clamped her lips shut, teeth biting down hard.
Her trembling eyes burned as they fixed on the screen.
**Crush**
1. To press
2. To break
3. To smash
4. *Romantic infatuation*
She desperately wished it was the first or second meaning.
But she knew—without a doubt—
He meant the fourth.
—
If you want, I can:
* Make it **lighter rom-com** or **sharper internal monologue**
* Keep future chapters **consistent in tone and terminology**
* Adjust for **official web-novel English style**
Just say the word.
