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About two hours later, after Jae-hyun’s birthday party ended.
I was walking outside with Aki, who seemed unusually happy.
“Hehe, ehehe~ ……”
Aki was humming a tune, something she didn’t usually do, and walking jauntily beside me, as if she was very excited.
Just a few hours ago, she was very upset because I brought her to Jae-hyun’s house without saying anything, but after going down to the 1st floor for a moment, she couldn’t hide her smile, as if she was constantly overjoyed.
All I did was promise that I wouldn’t lie in the future, and that I would marry her when I grew up.
‘…..What is it?’
“Ah, maybe..”
Maybe she liked the birthday party that was held at Jae-hyun’s house?
The food that Jae-hyun’s mother had prepared was very delicious, after all.
I, at the age of 10, truly thought so, and with a slightly misguided certainty, “Aki really likes food?”, I opened my mouth.
“Aki, are you that happy?”
“Yeah, I’m really happy!”
‘Hmm, I knew it.’
When Aki isn’t in a good mood, giving her food solves everything.
I made a mental note of that, then gently took Aki’s hand and went a step ahead.
“Aki, did you see Jae-hyun’s expression earlier?”
“Huh? Jae-hyun?”
“The boy who had the birthday party. The one you gave the Google gift card to.”
Of course, Aki, who didn’t even remember Jae-hyun’s existence well, didn’t actually buy the gift herself.
The gift Aki gave to Jae-hyun was one that I had prepared just in case.
Originally, I didn’t plan to give it through Aki, but since it had turned out this way, I thought that it would be good if Aki could get along with her friends. So, I secretly told her to give it to Jae-hyun on my behalf.
-Nam Jae-hyun-san. This is a gift from Aki!
-Huh? Not Aki, but a gift from Fujiwara-san to me…?!
-It’s a Google gift card or whatever it’s called. I heard that Nam Jae-hyun-san wanted to have this?
-F, Fujiwara-san…! Thank you, I’ll treasure it!
Of course, Jae-hyun, who had no way of knowing the background, was just impressed by Aki’s consideration and was genuinely grateful.
Well, sometimes, it’s better to not know…
“Ah, Nam Jae-hyun-san? Yeah, I saw him. When I gave him the gift that Woo-ju~chan prepared, he almost cried!”
“No, he really did cry? I saw him rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand while saying that he was very happy because Aki gave him a birthday present.”
“Ah, honto(really)? It wasn’t such a moving gift….”
“It’s because it’s the first time he’s ever received a present from a girl.”
“Ah, I see….”
Aki trailed off, then glanced at me.
“Hey, Woo-ju~chan.”
“Yeah, why?”
“What do you want to receive for your birthday present?”
“Me? I… um, a pencil case with a toy?”
A pencil case with a toy, something that every elementary school boy yearned for. I was no exception.
However, I didn’t have a chance to get one at this time, because regardless of whether I could buy it with my allowance or not, my mother didn’t allow me to have such a pencil case. The reason was that the place for studying and the place for playing must be separate.
“But why that? Are you going to buy it as my birthday present?”
“Yeah, yeah! If possible, I want to buy you what you want.”
“Ah, if it’s like that, then you shouldn’t buy a pencil case with a toy. My mom said that it would distract me from studying, so she told me not to use such a pencil case. She said it wouldn’t be okay even if I bought it with my allowance.”
“Yeah, really? Then, you know, should Aki try talking to Woo-ju’s mama directly?”
“What do you mean ‘talk to her’, how would you do that?”
“I bought a pencil case with a toy as a gift for Woo-juchan, but I heard that he’s not allowed to use it. If I tell her that I already opened the package so I can’t get a refund, I think Woo-ju’s mama will allow it. What do you think, Woo-juchan?”
“…!”
It felt like a lightning bolt struck my head at that moment.
It wasn’t because I was shocked that she was trying to go against my sky-like mother’s words by using her brains.
It was because Aki’s idea to get my mother’s permission in a way that I could never have imagined was a fresh shock to me.
I grabbed Aki’s hands tightly.
“……Aki, are you a genius?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s not it…”
“No, you are a genius, Aki. How can you think of such a way? You’re a genius, Aki, really a genius!”
“Ah, hehe….”
“Aki, no, genius Aki-nim. Can I ask you a favor? I really, really want to have a pencil case with a toy!”
“Yeah, I understand. If it’s what Woo-ju~chan is asking for………….”
“Oh, thank you! Aki, I really like you!”
“……Ah.”
Like that, while we, who had somehow reached Aki’s house, were having a fresh conversation on the main street,
A little distance away from where Aki and I were, right below Aki’s house across the street.
“Oh my? Aki, it’s Aki!”
A tall person, a woman who seemed to be in her early to mid-20s, greeted her.
Of course, I had never seen this person before.
“Aki, do you know her?”
Immediately recalling the solemn promise from my parents (Woo-ju, even if a stranger says they’re a friend of your parents, you absolutely shouldn’t follow them, okay?), I reflexively stood in front of Aki.
However, Aki peeked out from beside me and then.
“Ah, Mama…!”
“…Huh? Mama?”
She started running towards the crosswalk which had just turned green, and I, thinking to myself, ‘What, did she just say Mama?’, quickly followed Aki.
“Mama, Mama!”
“Yeah, Aki. Have you been well?”
“Yes, Aki has been well!”
“Okay, I’ve been healthy too, honey. But Aki, it’s dangerous here, so let’s cross the street first, okay?”
Aki and the woman, who hugged each other, walked across the crosswalk very affectionately.
So, I, who was at the back, also followed across before the signal changed. As soon as Aki stood on the main street, she gestured towards me, who was about three steps away.
“Woo-ju~chan, come here!”
“Okay….”
Aki had greeted her with a happy face, but she was a stranger to me. She was telling me to come over, so I hesitated, and as if my appearance looked cute to her, the woman smiled gently at me.
“Mama, say hello. This boy is Woo-juchan that I told you about! And Woo-juchan, this is our Mama!”
“Ah, she was your mother…?”
I thought she was a stranger, but it was Aki’s mother.
‘……If I speak in Korean, she won’t understand, and should I speak in French?’
But I don’t know how to speak in French, what should I do?
As I was pondering, I gave a greeting in the third language, Japanese.
“始LT.宇宙。(Nice to meet you, I’m Joo Woo-ju.)”
“Oh my, you know how to speak Japanese?”
“Yes, a little. I learned it from Aki.”
“Oh my, oh my, is that so? Our Aki…”
“Yeah, that’s right! I taught Woo-ju~chan Japanese!”
As soon as her name came up, Aki puffed out her chest and smiled.
Aki’s mother looked down at Aki as if she was seeing her again, then gave her a pretty smile and stroked her hair.
“Our Aki, it feels like just yesterday you were asking me for milk, when did you become so grown-up?”
“Ah, Mama…! Woo-juchan is beside me!”
“……”
Recalling my dad’s life advice that it was best to pretend you didn’t hear things you couldn’t react to, I pretended that I hadn’t heard anything and looked at the distant mountains.
“Ah, this boy is Woo-ju, right?”
“Mama, I just said it! This boy is Woo-ju~chan!”
“Yeah, sorry. I was so happy that I forgot?”
Aki’s mother, who had hugged Aki affectionately, turned her head towards me.
“Sorry, I was late in greeting you? It’s nice to meet you, I’m Aki’s mom. My name is Fujiwara Iroha.”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you…”
“Do you know what I do?”
“I think I heard from Aki that you work as a model.”
As I revived Aki’s words from the past and answered, Aki’s mother smiled as if I had answered correctly.
Only then did I relax slightly and glance up and down at Aki’s mother.
She looked around her mid-20s, or even younger. She looked so young that even if she was a woman with a daughter who was 10 years old this year, I could believe it without any doubt if she said she was Aki’s older sister.
Her hair color was the same pale pink as Aki’s, but her head was very small, her facial features were very distinct, and her entire body, including her fingers and lower body, were all stretched out and cool.
As Aki had once told me, she had a bright Westerner-like look and style that showed she was from France. She looked like a model in a way that anyone would be able to understand right away.
“……”
Overall, she was similar to Aki, but slightly different, and mature. Maybe Aki would grow up to look just like this when she was ten years older.
As I imagined Aki’s appearance ten years later and stared at her, Aki’s mother suddenly smiled.
“Are you perhaps smitten with this auntie?”
“……Huh?”
“What, were you not? I thought so because you were staring so blankly~”
“Ah…”
‘So, Aki’s mother has this kind of personality.’
I hadn’t known her for very long, but somehow, it felt like I knew. It seemed my thinking that she was similar yet different from Aki was accurate.
“Ah, Mama!”
I slowly nodded, and Aki jumped out of her mother’s arms and quickly came next to me, linking arms with me.
“Mama can’t go after Woo-juchan! Woo-juchan is mine!”
“Oh my, is that really so?”
“Huh? Uh, well…. I’m not sure, Mother.”
I had learned Japanese, but I wasn’t able to speak it perfectly yet. So, I called Aki’s mother with a word I knew, Mother(母).
“Hmm, Mother? Isn’t that title a bit too early…?”
However, I didn’t even dream that it also meant ‘mother-in-law’ in Japanese, and I only found out about that fact later…
But this wasn’t very important.
“But Mama, what brings you to Korea all of a sudden? You said you were busy with modeling and couldn’t come!”
“It’s complicated to explain… Simply put, I just had some free time. I wanted to see our Aki after a long time, and also your dad who I haven’t seen.”
“Then, you have to go back to Japan again soon?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I still have a lot of work to do in Japan, so I have to go back.”
“Ah, I see….”
Aki looked dejected as her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, said she had to go back soon.
“……Aki.”
Aki’s mother quietly looked down at Aki.
“How about you come live with me in Japan?”
….She said something that made me doubt my ears.
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