That’s when it happened. With good timing, Hyeol was waking up from sleep. Hyeol frowned deeply then opened his eyes with a sparkle. His characteristically large and jet-black pupils were moist.
Thump thump.
My heart was literally pounding hard. Kkotsu seemed to feel similarly to me as I could see he was getting nervous.
Gwak Hyeol x Baek Kkotsu.
Yes, this historic moment when the main characters of this novel meet…!
“What are you supposed to be?”
“……”
Click!
I was so surprised by Hyeol’s unexpectedly cold words that I ended up taking the photo.
No, Hyeol-ah! You can’t do that! Saying “What are you supposed to be?” the first time you meet the main shou…!
“I… I… I’m, Kko… Kko…”
“Kko-kko? Are you a chicken?”
“……”
A chicken…!
At Hyeol’s subsequent cold words, Kkotsu couldn’t speak properly and his eyes became teary as if he was about to burst into tears.
“N-no, Kko, Kkotsu-ya…! Hyeol just woke up so he’s probably not thinking straight at all, he wasn’t talking to Kkotsu…!”
I had no choice but to step in and desperately comfort Kkotsu. That’s when Baek Woojin, who had approached at some point, spoke with an indifferent face.
“The kid’s sharp attitude really resembles me a lot from before.”
“What…?”
Baek Woojin, who made a comment that didn’t even sound like a compliment, seemed to really like Hyeol as his eyes lit up.
“Sir, dinner is ready.”
Then, breaking the quiet silence, the ajumma who came out of the kitchen spoke. I hadn’t noticed her presence, but she must have been preparing food all this time.
“Ah, thank you. You can go home now.”
Baek Woojin immediately saw off the ajumma who was changing into her coat, then approached me again with big strides.
“Will you be able to eat?”
Baek Woojin asked, looking at the condition of my lips.
“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”
My lip was just slightly torn, it wasn’t like the inside of my mouth was injured, so naturally eating wasn’t a problem. More than that, it was shameless of me to get a free dinner on top of having him experience such trouble because of me, but I had no choice right now.
“Um… Woojin-ssi, wait a moment…”
No, honestly speaking, I was more worried about Hyeol than filling my stomach right now. He had suddenly come to an unfamiliar place following his father.
“Hyeol-ah…?”
“Mm, the square footage is definitely…”
But Hyeol was walking around the house very naturally, as if he were someone who had come to look at a house. Walking lightly and quietly, he was thoroughly examining the electronic devices and furniture placed throughout the living room, the interior lighting, and even the window frames.
“Hy, Hyeol-ah…?”
I had expected he would be curious about daddy’s friend’s house, but it wasn’t the kind of behavior I had imagined.
“Mm… I see there’s an ajumma who cleans?”
Hyeol, who had run his finger along the window frame, asked Baek Woojin sharply.
“There’s someone who comes every other day. When it’s just two men living together, it gets messy quickly.”
Baek Woojin responded with an unconcerned expression.
“Two men…?”
Hyeol looked once at Kkotsu, who was sitting behind the sofa with only his face peeking out, then muttered with slight surprise, “So he’s a boy…”
I was also surprised by Kkotsu’s pretty appearance, to the point where it was hard to believe he was male. It’s not like there’s a law saying boys can’t be pretty, but even I had never seen such unrealistic looks in the real world.
Of course, Baek Woojin and Hyeol, including Chae Seungyeon, were also outstanding in appearance. Come to think of it, the mother-in-law was the same…
Could it be a setting that all the characters in the novel have above-average looks? I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to praise my younger sister for at least doing that setting well.
“Well, let’s eat now.”
“Oh, yes yes. Kkotsu, Hyeol-ah, let’s eat.”
Only then did I extend my hand to Hyeol and Kkotsu. Kkotsu grabbed my hand tightly as if he had been waiting for it, but Hyeol didn’t. He avoided my hand and walked straight past me.
“I’ll wash my hands in the bathroom first.”
Hyeol headed straight to the bathroom without getting lost at all. Then Kkotsu flinched and trembled, then looked at me. It seemed like he was saying we should wash our hands too.
“That’s right, we should wash our hands before eating. Shall we go wash our hands too?”
“Yes, yees…”
As soon as Kkotsu answered quietly, we walked together.
*
“Wow…”
My mouth fell open when I saw the feast laid out on the dining table. Before my eyes were foods so neat and appetizing that they seemed like the kind of home-cooked meals you’d see on TV or in magazines.
“Please sit down. Kkotsu, are you going to sit there?”
Kkotsu seemed to want to stick right next to me to eat. Despite there being children’s spoons and forks placed next to Baek Woojin’s seat, he had no intention of moving from beside me.
“Yees…”
Watching Kkotsu’s belated response, Baek Woojin silently moved Kkotsu’s utensils next to me. I became a bit troubled. I naturally thought Kkotsu would go to the seat next to Baek Woojin, but if this continued, Hyeol would…
“I’ll sit here.”
Then Hyeol, who had been examining the kitchen, sat in the seat next to Baek Woojin without hesitation. Adult spoons and chopsticks were placed at Hyeol’s seat. When I tried to quickly change the utensils, Hyeol shook his head.
“Hyeol-ah, the chopsticks seem too big. Should I change them to a fork like Kkotsu’s?”
“It’s fine.”
Hyeol spoke nonchalantly and then waited politely for the adults to start eating first. When Baek Woojin first took a spoonful of soup, Hyeol picked up his chopsticks. Then he picked up the soft tofu placed in front of him and brought it to his mouth. His chopstick handling was very natural, as if he had done it many times before.
“It tastes good.”
After chewing once as if savoring it, Hyeol spoke cynically, then began eating in earnest. Surprisingly, Hyeol didn’t particularly need help from the side.
I wasn’t the only one surprised by this sight. Baek Woojin looked at Hyeol as if watching a show even while eating. Hyeol was very skilled with his chopsticks. Despite having small hands like Kkotsu, he picked up side dishes without making a single mistake of dropping anything due to poor chopstick handling.
His dining etiquette was the same. Without even the sound of utensils clashing, Hyeol would pick up side dishes in one go, put them in his mouth, and chew quietly.
Thud, thunk.
On the other hand, Kkotsu couldn’t handle chopsticks properly, so he stabbed at side dishes with his fork to eat them. Even then, there were sounds of dropping things or clattering when they hit the dishes.
But that didn’t mean Kkotsu was eating in such a messy way that he couldn’t eat alone. He ate appropriately for his age group, and while eating, he would occasionally look around here and there.
“Kkotsu, shall I mix your rice with water?”
Like any child, Kkotsu’s white rice showed no sign of decreasing in amount. He kept picking only at the pretty egg roll and tteokgalbi that the ajumma had made, so I asked. Then Kkotsu looked at Baek Woojin once before answering.
“Yes, yees…”
I got water from the water purifier and mixed it with the rice. Then I fed Kkotsu spoonful by spoonful since he couldn’t focus on eating and was being scattered.
Naturally, the eating speed of the four of us differed. Unlike me and Kkotsu, Baek Woojin and Hyeol sitting across from us had already almost finished their bowl of rice. The two ate very quietly without a word, to the point where anyone would mistake them for a father-son relationship.
“……”
Baek Woojin was one thing, but I was worried about Hyeol. I wondered if he had already learned such strict dining etiquette because he was the grandson of a chaebol family…
I could clearly see how he must have lived in that house, and it was just pitiful.
Children should grow up like children.
That was the reason I decided to become a kindergarten teacher. I couldn’t bear to watch children being neglected and abused by harsh news or adults’ selfishness and cruelty.
Children are our future and hope. I wanted to care for them so they could grow up like proper children.
“Hyeol-ah, try eating this.”
So I deboned the braised fish and placed the flesh on top of Hyeol’s rice. It was also because he ate other things well but hadn’t touched the braised fish at all, so I deliberately deboned it for him.
“……”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
