I tried to minimize my footsteps, but it seems he woke up from my presence. Hyeol wriggled under the thick blanket and stretched out his small hand to me. When I held his hand, it was warm since he had just woken up.
“Did you fall asleep right after talking to Papa earlier?”
“Yeah… no….”
“No?”
As I stroked Hyeol’s hair while he sat half-leaning against the bed, Hyeol pressed my hand firmly. It didn’t hurt, but it seemed like there was some emotion behind it.
“…I was angry.”
“Angry? Why? Did something happen?”
That’s strange. The ajumma definitely said nothing happened….
“Because of Kkotsu.”
“Kkotsu? Did you fight with Kkotsu?”
Since he had been arguing with Kkotsu frequently lately, I thought this might be something like that. But they had never had a big fight… I was worried their relationship might get worse.
“We didn’t fight. He’s just weird….”
Hyeol, who muttered in a sulky voice, let out a deep sigh. Since Hyeol would honestly say if they had fought, this situation seemed a little different from other times.
“Why? What did Kkotsu say?”
“Nothing….”
“Then?”
To my repeated questions, Hyeol paused for a moment before whispering so only I could hear.
“…He keeps cutting up perfectly good books with scissors.”
“Books?”
“Yes.”
According to Hyeol, Kkotsu had been opening picture books with flowers and animal drawings and continuously cutting out the pictures with scissors. It seemed like Kkotsu wanted to cut them out to play with them…. But Hyeol was shocked and very angry just from the fact that he cut up books.
“There were no kids like that at the kindergarten I used to go to? Really… isn’t he a chicken? Not a person… like a chicken….”
Hyeol, who spoke seriously about Kkotsu’s identity, let out a deep sigh.
Tearing up books…. Of course, both children and adults might think it’s strange if a child does that. But for that to be the case, Kkotsu’s behavior had a clear reason, and since he wasn’t doing it to all books but just considered it play in his own way, it didn’t seem like a big problem.
From Kkotsu’s perspective, he would naturally have argued back at Hyeol who was scolding him. Still, it was the same argument as always, and it didn’t escalate to a fight because Hyeol just sighed and went into his room.
“Then I accidentally fell asleep.”
“I see….”
“Yes, but when I thought about it, those aren’t my books anyway, and it’s not my business if he cuts them with scissors. So from now on, I’m going to stay quiet even if he chews up books. But he’s probably already chewed up a lot, right?”
“…….”
As soon as I heard those words, my heart ached. Even though it was a short period, I felt so sorry as a father for not being able to buy Hyeol even one book….
That’s why I wanted to show Hyeol the book I bought today right away.
“Actually, Papa has a present for Hyeol.”
“…A present?”
As soon as he heard about a present, Hyeol jumped up from the bed.
“Wait a moment, let me wash up first…!”
Was he that happy just from hearing there was a present? Hyeol quickly got out of bed and headed out of the room.
“Yeah, Papa needs to wash up a bit too….”
I also got up from my seat to follow him, but stopped abruptly.
What’s this, is it just my imagination?
Hyeol’s face seemed a little strange just now… I must have seen it wrong, right…?
I was having puzzling thoughts when it happened.
“Aaaahhhhh…!”
Hyeol’s scream echoed long from inside the bathroom.
“Hy, Hyeol?!”
Startled, I ran out of the room to see Kkotsu sticking his bottom way out and peering toward the bathroom.
“Kkotsu…? What are you doing there….”
It was the moment I was wondering about Kkotsu.
Click.
“Papa….”
Hyeol opened the bathroom door and came out with a tearful face. As soon as I saw him, I gasped involuntarily.
“Hy, Hyeol? Your face…!”
Hyeol’s entire face was completely covered in doodles, making him look like a raccoon. Even though Hyeol’s face was wet with water, the markings drawn with permanent markers hadn’t smudged at all.
“Who…”
Without even looking for the culprit, it was obvious to anyone that it was Kkotsu. I quickly grabbed Kkotsu.
“Kkotsu… Hyeol’s face…! No, Kkotsu, why is your face also…?!”
I was startled once again.
“Yes, yess…! I, I did, did it…!”
Kkotsu cheerfully admitted to his crime with a bright face. He even grinned while waving the permanent marker he had used as a weapon.
“Kkotsu…”
The reason I couldn’t scold Kkotsu at all was… because Kkotsu’s face, which had been fine just moments before, was also covered in doodles just like Hyeol’s.
“I, I’m a rab, rabbit…”
He probably knew he’d get in trouble beforehand and painted his own face with the marker…
Sigh… I couldn’t help but sigh. These kids… I seriously worried whether they could really become a couple when they grow up.
*
It was the day when the rain that had been pouring since the weekend turned into heavy snow.
With so much snow piled up on the streets, instead of the school bus, Baek Woojin drove Kkotsu and Hyeol directly to kindergarten, while I headed to Eunseong-ssi’s law office.
At first, I had hesitated a bit about visiting. But there was something I’d been wanting to look into for a while, and I couldn’t just ignore the young master’s introduction. Also, while I didn’t doubt Eunseong-ssi’s abilities, I thought even simple legal consultation might be somewhat helpful.
Of course, Baek Woojin showed a somewhat lukewarm reaction.
‘If it’s related to Hyeol, I can help you too.’
‘Ah, that’s true, but…’
‘However, if Chae Seungyeon-ssi has decided that way, I can’t burden you about it.’
‘……’
‘Please contact me when you finish talking with Jeonghan’s father. I’ll be waiting.’
The look in Baek Woojin’s eyes as he dropped me off in front of the office is still vivid in my memory. I felt like he would really wait endlessly until I contacted him…
Tap, tap, tap.
Before going up to the floor where Eunseong-ssi’s office was located, I shook off my umbrella in front of the stairs. Chunks of snow fell to the floor with a thud.
“The snow keeps falling…”
The snowfall wasn’t that heavy, but at this rate, quite a lot would accumulate by the time it got dark. Still, I should be able to return before then. It would probably take about an hour for the conversation to finish. Then I wouldn’t need to call Baek Woojin, who was busy with work…
‘…I’ll be waiting.’
I can get home by myself just fine…
Even though I knew I couldn’t keep relying on Baek Woojin forever, hearing such words made me want to depend on him more and more.
Eunseong-ssi’s office was on the third floor. After climbing the stairs of the old commercial building without rest, I found a sign reading ‘Da Eunseong Divorce Specialist Law Office’ next to a tightly closed iron door.
Knock, knock, knock.
When I knocked on the door, it finally opened with a creak after a while. Through the gap, I could see Eunseong-ssi’s tired face.
“Hello, Eunseong-ssi.”
“Uh… Seungyeon-ssi…?”
He looked somewhat flustered upon seeing me. I felt the same way. It wasn’t the reaction I had expected. He had always been telling me to visit his office… was a sudden visit burdensome after all?
“Ah… I came too suddenly, didn’t I…? I kept trying to contact you this morning, but you didn’t answer. Are you very busy…?”
“What? You contacted… you contacted me? Oh, ah, right. My phone broke last night and I sent it for repair…”
“Ah, I see…”
Hearing the situation, I understood, but I thought he would welcome me warmly… Eunseong-ssi’s complexion looked dark, so I didn’t know what to do.
“If you’re busy, I can come back another time…”
“Ah, no! Please come in… I was just a little surprised. I was wondering if I was still dreaming.”
“What? Dreaming?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, please come in…! It’s very cold outside, isn’t it?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
