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At that time, I was very young.
Fujiwara Aki was only 6 years old and a foreigner who didn’t know much about our country, so it would have been reasonable to ask, ‘Did you come from North Korea or South Korea?’
“North Korea is in the North of Korea and South Korea is in the South of Korea. But this is South Korea, so where did I come from?”
Well, even if I explained it, it was just a 6-year-old’s words, so it was nothing more than a rough explanation.
“Um, North Korea?”
My stubbornness didn’t work because it was blocked by the language barrier between Japanese and Korean.
The truth was, I was Korean, and Fujiwara Aki was Japanese.
If she hadn’t learned a little Korean through the influence of her grandparents, who were Japanese ambassadors to Korea, we wouldn’t have been able to even greet each other.
However, at the time, I had no way of knowing such a situation, and I was just frustrated that Fujiwara Aki couldn’t understand my explanation.
“No, it’s not North Korea, it’s South Korea. South, south, South Korea, understand?”
As soon as I encountered a slightly complicated issue, I couldn’t explain it properly due to my lack of foreign language skills.
I have areas where I need to improve.
Just because I got 100 on the test at kindergarten doesn’t mean I can be conceited.
There are still many things in the world that I don’t know.
Thanks to this memory, I was able to focus on my studies and get good grades since then, but I guess this kind of story doesn’t matter, right?
“Oh right! I have that. Hey, can you wait a minute?”
At that time, I was still young and lacking in many ways, but I think I was excellent at filling in the blanks.
“Here!”
“What’s this?”
“This is Papago, a translator. It lets us understand each other’s words!”
What other 6-year-old would have thought of using a translator app on their phone in that situation?
In fact, it was just a tip I learned from my diplomat parents.
They said, ‘Use this when you go abroad,’ and I just followed their advice.
But I’m proud that it was a good move to use it at the right time.
“Translator?”
“Wait, I’ll show you… こんにちは(hello)?”
“You can speak Japanese?”
“Huh? Oh, wait, can you say what you want to say here?”
Anyway, even though we couldn’t understand each other’s native languages, we had the universal language of body language.
I used hand gestures and eye contact to convey the meaning of speaking into my cell phone.
Fujiwara Aki, who understood it, spoke carefully with a slightly flushed face.
“････こんにちは(hello).”
“Hello, what’s your name?”
“I’m Fujiwara, Fujiwara Aki.”
“Ah, Fujiwara Aki. My name is Ju Woo-ju. The family name is Ju, and the given name is Woo-ju. It’s easy to remember because it’s the same even when reversed, right?”
“Ju-u-ju… … Yeah, I can remember Ju-sang.”
“Ju-sang? Oh, no, no, it’s not Ju-sang, Ju is not a name, but a family name.”
“Hmm, so Ju. Ju-sang.”
In Korea, it’s common for friends to call each other by their first names.
But in Japan, unless you’re very close, you don’t just call someone by their first name.
I didn’t know at the time that it was a big deal to do that if you weren’t close.
It’s natural to call someone by their last name if you’re not close.
Then, as you get closer, you can add ‘sang’ to their last name.
I later learned that this unique Japanese way of addressing people is called ‘Yobisute,’ but that’s not important now, so let’s move on.
“No, my name is Woo-ju, not Ju-ssi. Woo-ju, follow me, Woo-ju.”
“Not Woo-ju-sang, but Woo-ju, Woo-ju!”
“Woo-ju-sang.”
“Don’t be so formal, just Woo-ju.”
“Woo-ju-sang.”
“Can’t you just take off the “sang” at the end?”
“I-Is it not wrong to take off “sang” at the end?”
“No, that’s good enough. Um, you’re doing well. From now on, you can call me Woo-ju-sang. I’ll call you Aki, okay?”
“Eh…?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Well, um…”
Fujiwara Aki, no, Aki, was about to say something but closed her mouth.
It seemed like she had something she wanted to say, but she gave up, thinking I wouldn’t understand.
“Okay, now let’s go back to the beginning. South Korea is South Korea, and North Korea is North Korea. This is South Korea, right? So where did I come from?”
“So, South Korea?”
“That’s right! That’s the answer. You’re very smart!”
“Um, Aki is smart. My mom also said Aki is smart.”
“Oh, you came with your mom? Aki is Japanese, right? Have you been to Korea?”
“Woo-ju-sang, what does that mean?”
“Oh, the translator. Ah, I asked why Aki, a Japanese, came to Korea!”
“Oh, I see. I’m Japanese. To be more precise, my dad is Japanese and my mom is French. I came to Korea with my grandfather. Aki doesn’t know the details, but my grandfather and dad had to come to Korea for a very important job.”
“If you came with your grandfather and dad, is your mom in Japan?”
“Um, in Tokyo. Mama is a very famous model, so she couldn’t come to Korea with us. She’s very busy.”
“Wow, really? Aki’s mom is a model. My mom is a diplomat.”
“Woo-ju-sang’s mama works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”
“Ministry of Foreign Affairs? You mean the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Yes, that’s right. Both my mom and dad are diplomats. What does Aki’s dad do?”
“Um, my dad is also a diplomat. And my grandfather is also a diplomat!”
“Oh, then both of our dads are diplomats? What a coincidence, right?”
Considering that the place where Aki and I met was the Japanese Embassy in Korea, it wasn’t really that surprising.
But as I said before, 6-year-old children wouldn’t know such a causal relationship.
Aki and I were just amazed that we found the commonality that our fathers were both diplomats.
Naturally, we started talking about our fathers.
“Um, yes! It’s a fascinating coincidence. Woo-ju-sang.”
Perhaps embarrassed by her loud voice, a red blush crept onto Aki’s cute face.
She looked very American, but her reactions were surprisingly big.
I thought Aki was very cute and chuckled.
“Ugh, Woo-ju-sang’s dad is scary!”
“Um, no. My dad isn’t scary at all. He always gives me toys as presents, and sometimes he takes my mom and me out to eat delicious food.”
“I’m jealous of Woo-ju-sang’s dad. With my dad, whenever I make a mistake, his expression changes like this, and he turns into a goblin.”
“I see. So, do you hate your dad?”
“Um, no, my dad is scary, but I like him. It’s my grandfather that I really hate.”
“Why do you hate your grandfather?”
“Aki said she didn’t want to go to Korea, that she had many friends in Japan, and that she wanted to stay in Japan with her mom, but he forced me to come here. So I hate him.”
“Ah…”
When I was young, I moved around a lot with my parents.
So, I changed kindergartens and daycare centers often.
I experienced breaking up with friends just when I was getting close to them many times.
So I could understand Aki’s feelings.
Of course, I can’t say I understand 100% because I didn’t go abroad like Aki.
But I know that it’s lonely to be suddenly placed in a place with only unfamiliar people, having to say goodbye to friends against your will.
“So, when will Aki go back to Japan?”
“I don’t know. It could be a year, it could be two years. It’s all up to my grandfather.”
“I see.”
So, I thought to myself.
What can I do for Aki, a somewhat shy Japanese girl who is suddenly placed in a foreign land and is lonely?
“Hey, Aki.”
After thinking about it for a while, a good idea popped into my head.
“Do you want to go outside with me?”
“Huh? Outside?”
“Yeah, it must be lonely to be here alone for a year, right? So I’ll show you a lot of fun things, how about it?”
“Well, um, that…”
“Why? Don’t you want to?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to, but we’re not friends yet.”
“Huh? We’re not friends now? Does Aki hate me?”
When I asked what I thought was a very natural question, Aki seemed surprised, as if she hadn’t expected this question.
Her eyes darted around.
“N-No! It’s not that I hate you, but we just met today, so we’re not close friends yet.”
“Then, we can become friends from now on and become close, right?”
“Wha, wha, wha…?”
6-year-old Aki was very passive.
“We, then, can we…?”
But she nodded, unable to hide her joyful expression.
“Yes, let’s do that. We’re friends from now on, okay?”
“Y-Yes, friends.”
Gasp, we can play together now, right? Because we’re friends.
“R-Right?”
At that time, I had no concept of personal space, so I boldly took Aki’s hand.
“Let’s go, Aki!”
“O-Oh?!”
And so we became friends just like that.
Holding hands, we went outside together.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read I thought it was a Backroom, but it was a Yuri Room! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : I thought it was a Backroom, but it was a Yuri Room
