Chapter 6 : 10 Years Old, Aki’s Possessiveness Slowly Begins…? (1)

So, four years later, after Aki and I started attending the same elementary school.

It was spring of the year I became a third-grader.

It was the third week since the new semester had started.

When I was little, around 10 years old, I was getting ready to go home after the end-of-day bell, and Jae-hyun, a friend from the same class and kindergarten, approached me.

“Joo Woo-ju, you know we’re meeting at my house after school today, right?”

“Yeah, I know. We’re supposed to go by 4 PM, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. You remember?”

“Of course. How could I forget a friend’s birthday?”

“Oh, you are, Joo Woo-ju… Ah, but Woo-ju.”

“Hmm, why?”

“Did you ever ask about what we talked about? You know, about bringing your girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? Ah, you mean Aki?”

When I asked back, unsure, Jae-hyun grinned as if to say that it was indeed about Aki.

I shook my head at Jae-hyun.

“She’s not my girlfriend…………….”

“Anyway, so is she coming? She’s coming with you today, right?”

“No. I don’t think she’ll come.”

“What? Why, why?”

“I asked her casually last time, and she said she didn’t want to. She said she doesn’t want to go to a stranger’s house.”

“A, a stranger……?”

Jae-hyun stuttered as if he was quite shocked. From Jae-hyun’s perspective, he went to the same kindergarten as Aki and is even in the same class, so he must have been upset at being treated as a stranger.

Actually, Aki at that time had a tendency to put everyone aside except me…

Jae-hyun, who had no way of knowing that, or perhaps he had an inkling but didn’t want to admit it, moved closer to me.

“Hey, hey, what do we do, what do we do?”

“There’s nothing I can do, I guess only I should go to your house?”

“Ah, no! That’s not how it’s supposed to be. I’ve already told everyone that you and her would come to my house together!”

“Huh? Why did you say that when it wasn’t even confirmed?”

“Why, so more girls would come! All the girls want to become friends with Aki…!”

Jae-hyun, who was honest about his desires both when he was little and now, was at a loss, then he grabbed my shoulders with both hands.

“Joo Woo-ju. No, Woo-ju! I’m asking you as a friend. Can’t you please bring her with you today?”

“Well? It’s not like I can just bring her if I want to…”

“You’re her boyfriend. You always say sorry when we ask you to play with us and only play with her! So if you say it, she’ll listen to you…”

“No!”

“Hmm, that’s not quite it………….”

The kids don’t know it well, but Aki is subtly stubborn.

Usually, when girls and boys play together, it’s the boy who leads, but the reality is the opposite. Also, even when I suggest playing with other kids, she only wants to play with me.

How can I explain this reality so Jae-hyun will understand? I was trying to think about that, when I heard a familiar voice from far away.

“Woo-juchan!”

A girl who calls me with ‘chan’ instead of ‘sang’, proving that we have become closer through our four years of interaction.

I turned my head slightly at the familiar but also a little strange title, and sure enough, Aki was standing next to me.

“School’s over, let’s go home now!”

Aki’s family moved last year, making their house quite close to mine. It’s about a 10-minute walk. So, we were going to school and coming back home together every day, and today too, Aki came to my seat to go back with me.

Jae-hyun must have thought that was his chance, because he slowly moved his feet and came behind me, then poked my back.

“……Hey, Joo Woo-ju!”

He didn’t say anything, but it was clear that he wanted me to ask her one more time.

“Hmm…”

I don’t think it’ll work anyway, but should I still try to ask?

With that mindset, I got up from my seat and naturally started the conversation.

“Okay, let’s go. But Aki, it’s Jae-hyun’s birthday today.”

“Jae-hyun? Who’s that?”

“Nam Jae-hyun. A friend who went to the same kindergarten as us, don’t you know him?”

“Ah, Nam Jae-hyun-san? Yeah, I know him!”

“He’s a kid.”

“Ah, I see. Nam Jae-hyun-san, birthday omedeto! (Happy birthday!)”

At this time, Aki often used Korean and Japanese together. Perhaps it was because she spoke Korean at school and Japanese at home, and while it’s a bit less now, she was in a state that people often describe as ‘the Korean patch went wrong’ when she was young.

She mixed honorifics and casual language, said strange things because she couldn’t distinguish polysemous words. Sometimes, she would mutter in Japanese very quickly, making me feel flustered. But since she was well-educated at home, she was basically a polite and kind child.

However.

“Yeah, thanks! But Aki, maybe today…”

“……Fujiwara-san.”

“Huh, what?”

There was only one case where Aki became firm.

That was when someone who was not close to her called her casually.

As mentioned before, Japan has a unique honorific culture called ‘yobisute.’ Simply put, Japanese people use different honorifics when calling someone they’re not close to and when calling someone they are close to, and they think that is basic courtesy.

If someone ignores that and calls her by her name like I do, or if they approach her without formality, Aki will become serious.

“Nam Jae-hyun-san and I are not close, so please call me Fujiwara-san.”

“Ah, sorry….”

Whenever Aki, who always smiles brightly, became serious like that just because someone called her by her name, I would often have a thought.

‘She hates it so much when someone she’s not close with acts rudely, but why wasn’t she like that when we first met?’

That question was never really answered, even when we grew up. But anyway, let’s move on.

“Fujiwara-san, I’m having my birthday party at my house today, so if you’re okay with it, would you like to come and join us..”

“I’m sorry. I have a prior appointment with Woo-ju~chan today. If there is another opportunity, I will go.”

“Oh, the next one is in a year…………?”

“Woo-ju~chan, let’s go.”

Aki rejected Jae-hyun’s suggestion with a single stroke, then grabbed my arm as I awkwardly got up and immediately left the classroom.

Hey, look at that.

-They’re going together again?

-Aren’t Woo-ju and her dating?

It was during our third year of elementary school, when we were full of mischief and would tease any boy and girl who played together. Despite that, Aki boldly linked arms with me, gathering all the attention of our classmates, yet she didn’t care at all.

I don’t know if I should call her bold, assertive, or both.

Anyway, I, who was half-dragged out by Aki, glanced around at the people around us as we walked.

“You know, Aki.”

As soon as we entered a road where there weren’t many people around, I quickly opened my mouth.

“Hmm, what?”

“Why don’t you play with other kids?”

I brought that up because I was worried about Aki.

As a matter of fact, Aki barely played with any other friends except for me.

When I was around, there was a stepping stone called ‘me’, so she would at least have a bit of chatter, but in places where I was not present, Aki was like a lone island. Actually, you could feel that just by how she treated Jae-hyun, right?

Aki’s hair color is pretty and her face is cute, so if she acted a little more friendly, everyone would definitely try to befriend her first. But because she put up a wall first and didn’t make other friends, I felt sorry for her, and I also felt bad for her.

But the biggest reason was because of what Aki’s father had told me.

‘Woo-ju, please be good friends with our Aki.’

Four years ago, Aki’s father had sincerely asked me that in front of Aki.

His words, which were a little stiff but definitely from a good father, still remained in my mind, and that’s why I wanted to be a good friend to Aki.

I didn’t just want to be a good friend to her, I also wished that she would have more friends like me.

“Do other kids hate you? If that’s the case, I’ll…”

“No, I don’t like other friends except for Woo-ju~chan.”

However, whether Aki knew how I felt or not, she shook her head from side to side as if to say that she didn’t want to make other friends.

“Huh? Why?”

“Watashi(I) will marry Woo-ju~chan later.”

And on top of that, she would declare things that were not agreed upon with me. But since Aki was not yet fluent in Korean, I just brushed it off.

However, that’s that, and this is this.

Aki was being stubborn, saying she didn’t want to make any friends other than me, so I started feeling uneasy.

‘……What if Aki doesn’t make any friends at all?’

During first and second grade, we didn’t know each other well and were less adapted, so we got along well enough. However, now that we were third graders and could discern things to some extent, kids tend to only play with the ones they already know.

But because I’ve been giving in to her too much, Aki is not part of any group right now.

If it goes on like this, she might spend the rest of the year, or even the next few years, without any friends except for me.

‘……That’s not okay.’

It shouldn’t be like that. Aki’s father asked me for a favor.

I sincerely thought that, so I walked next to Aki and pondered about a solution.

A way that would allow Aki to easily blend into the rest of our classmates.

“Woo-juchan, why aren’t you answering? Woo-juchan doesn’t want to marry me?”

“Huh? Ah, no, that’s not it…”

“Then will you marry me? You will, right?”

“Um, that’s…”

Something flashed through my mind while I was pondering.

Marriage.

What’s needed to get married?

Guests are needed.

Guests are also the friends of the bride and groom.

Which means, wouldn’t it work if I used friends?

“……Aki.”

I stopped while walking.

“Yeah, why? Are we getting married?”

“No, that’s not it. How about we go eat pork cutlet together?”

And, using pork cutlet as a bait, I gently lured Aki.

“Ah, pork cutlet? Woo-ju~chan and me?”

“Yeah, how is it?”

“Good! I want to go eat pork cutlet with Woo-ju~chan!”

“Then, let’s go home and put down our bags first, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay! Pork cutlet, pork cutlet with Woo-juchan”

“……”

‘……Sorry, Aki.’

We’re not actually going to eat pork cutlet.

But this is all for Aki, so you can understand, right…?