“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt at all. It’s all better.”
“N-now your n-nose, no more… boogers…?”
“Yeah, no more. Want to see?”
When his friend showed his nostrils, Kkotsu peered in closely and then giggled mischievously. Then he suddenly pulled something out of his bag.
“J-Jeonghan… s-sorry…”
It was a rabbit doll that Kkotsu had made a hole through the back of its head.
“I-it b-became… like this…”
The rabbit doll must have been a gift from his friend. But he had randomly stuffed toy carrots into its mouth and made a hole…
“It’s okay, I’ll sew it up for you.”
“R-really…?”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
“Th-thank… you… Jeonghan…”
Kkotsu smiled with his eyes and hugged his friend tightly. Then the child, with slightly flushed cheeks, carefully patted Kkotsu’s back with gentle hands.
Wait, he’s really so kind…?
Kind… gentle…?
Gentle… Jeonghana… Jeonghan…?
“Gasp, don’t tell me…”
Only then did I sense something strange and turned toward Eunseong-ssi. As soon as our eyes met, he flinched and said somewhat shyly,
“Ah, that’s my son, Seungyeon-ssi.”
His son…?
Trembling, I slowly looked down at the business card in my hand.
Da Eunseong…
“Hey Jeonghan! Your clothes must be all dirty. You need to get up. Kkotsu, hurry up and get up too.”
Jeonghan.
At that moment, it felt like a huge bell rang “dang” in my head. My mind went completely numb. It was an extraordinary name that couldn’t be simply overlooked in this world.
If it’s Jeonghan… Could there have been a sub-male lead in the original novel? I vaguely remember there was a childhood friend who had lost contact with the main bottom…
“Yes, Dad. I’m sorry… Kkotsu, let’s get up. Hold my hand.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
When Kkotsu grabbed Jeonghan’s outstretched hand and smiled bashfully, warm gazes poured down.
Seeing those eyes, I was certain. Jeonghan was undoubtedly a gentle male lead.
“Oh… no…”
I felt a great sense of crisis. The gentle male lead was the most formidable rival to the obsessive crazy male lead. Moreover, he was just as handsome as Hyeol, kind and gentle, with those mature and considerate actions…
“Hyeol…!”
I couldn’t just stand here watching. I belatedly came to my senses and looked for Hyeol.
“H-Hyeol?”
But Hyeol, who I thought would be right next to me, was nowhere to be seen nearby.
“Waaaah!”
Then cheers came from inside the kindergarten. When I looked up, Hyeol was not far away. Hyeol was surrounded by children and parents with envious expressions, looking annoyed.
No, Hyeol…! This isn’t the time for that. There’s a powerful rival here…!
“Um, Seungyeon-ssi… After dropping off the kids, how about a cup of coffee…”
“Ah, let go!”
At such an important moment, Eunseong-ssi grabbed my collar, so I shouted and flailed my arms. Thwack! But my elbow struck Eunseong-ssi’s face with a heavy sound.
“Gasp! A-are you okay?!”
When I was startled and checked on Eunseong-ssi’s condition, he was bleeding from both nostrils and his eyes were rolling around.
“Ah, S-Seungyeon-ssi… el-bow… glo-ry…”
Eunseong-ssi, who was stuttering strange words, collapsed right there with a thud.
*
Fortunately, Sunshine Kindergarten had an infirmary and a school nurse. The school nurse, who immediately rushed over after seeing Eunseong-ssi bleeding profusely and unconscious, said there was no need to call an ambulance and immediately moved him to the infirmary.
“He’s just sleeping briefly because he’s tired. He’ll wake up soon.”
“He’s… sleeping?”
I was surprised to hear that he was sleeping rather than just unconscious.
“Yes, he seems to have accumulated a lot of fatigue and lost blood momentarily. Don’t worry too much.”
“Ah, I see…”
I was able to feel somewhat relieved by the school nurse’s explanation.
In the meantime, Hyeol and Kkotsu safely entered the Forsythia Class following their teachers, and only Jeonghan and I remained in the infirmary waiting for Eunseong-ssi to wake up.
Jeonghan, who sat silently next to me, was quietly looking at his sleeping father.
“Hyeol’s father, would you like some coffee? Oh, I should bring some water. Please wait a moment.”
“Oh, it’s fine…”
Before I could finish speaking, the school nurse left the infirmary.
“……”
Suddenly everything around became quiet. In Jeonghan’s silence, I rolled my eyes around looking for something to say and opened my mouth.
“Dad will wake up soon, I’ll stay here with you until then.”
“Yes…”
“Um… Jeonghan?”
“…Yes?”
When I softly called Jeonghan’s name, the child looked at me with bright eyes.
“Jeonghan… have you known Kkotsu for a long time…?”
He quietly blinked his eyelids at my question. In a different sense from Hyeol and Kkotsu, the child’s face looked very pure.
“About… three months.”
Ah… So it hasn’t been that long after all…
“Then are you and Kkotsu very close?”
“Yes, I think… we’re very close.”
“Are you closest friends here… at kindergarten?”
“Yes.”
I became a bit anxious at his confident answer.
“Have you been to Kkotsu’s house to play?”
“No, Kkotsu said I couldn’t, so I haven’t been.”
I felt great relief knowing there was no interaction between the families at all.
“What about your house? Has Kkotsu ever come to play?”
“Just once…”
“Just once? You slept over? At Jeonghan’s house?”
“We went on an autumn field trip and just…”
Jeonghan stopped answering mid-sentence and stared at me intently. I felt a pang of guilt at the child’s crystal-clear eyes.
“Ah, that’s…”
Did I ask too many questions and show my intentions too obviously? I felt sorry and troubled, not knowing what excuse to make, and just mumbled.
“Our daddy.”
“…Hm?”
That’s when it happened. Jeonghan turned his gaze away from me to look at his sleeping father.
“Just this month, there are three people he fell for at first sight.”
“…”
“I was also… born from someone daddy fell for at first sight.”
Huh…
That story was quite shocking. To learn about adult matters he didn’t need to know at such a young age… I thought Jeonghan’s family must have complicated circumstances too.
“Daddy has a soft heart…”
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Jeonghan began defending his father.
“Last week he brought home a cat that got rained on and is raising it at the office, he also helps grandmothers carrying heavy luggage, and sometimes he does lawyer work without getting paid…”
Listening to Jeonghan’s matter-of-fact story, I recalled what happened at the pharmacy last time. He was crying buckets from cat hair allergies but said there was a cat at the office…
“Our daddy… isn’t a bad person…”
Even as Jeonghan said this to me, he lowered his head with somewhat uncertain eyes. Feeling sorry for him, I gently placed my hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder and patted it.
“Yes, Jeonghan’s daddy isn’t a bad person. Teacher thinks the same way as you do.”
Then Jeonghan’s eyes widened as he looked up.
“Teacher…? Are you perhaps Kkotsu’s daddy?”
It seems the title “teacher” came out naturally without me realizing it. Worried there might be a misunderstanding, I decided to quickly correct it.
“No, I’m Hyeol’s daddy… Ah, it’s a bit awkward to be called teacher, right? You can call me ajussi instead.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
