Chapter 25

25. Aquarium

– Whoosh-!

Drawn by the sound, Siu headed to the next exhibition hall.

After passing through a dark corridor and emerging into a bright area, a spacious exhibition hall with seating areas came into view.

People were eating snacks or taking a brief rest there while admiring the large aquarium in front of them.

The entity that had called Siu was slowly swimming inside the aquarium.

“Wow~!”

Minseo, who had come with Siu, opened her mouth in surprise.

It was a beluga whale, boasting white skin and a round, adorable face.

Siu, who had entered the exhibition hall, looked up at the aquarium, which was much taller than he was.

It felt as if he were in a submarine diving into the sea.

It was amazing.

Of course, what was even more amazing was the large creature inside the aquarium.

“Dad~! So cute~!”

Minseo was thrilled.

Minseo’s dad informed her of the name.

“It’s huge. It’s a beluga, a beluga. The name is cool too. Let’s see. It belongs to the family Monodontidae, an endangered species... Minseo, there aren’t many in the world. There are only nine in Korea.”

“Nine?”

Minseo showed her dad nine fingers.

“Yes, that’s right. Nine. And there are two here. They seem to have a friend.”

One of them was close to the glass, looking actively at the people, while the other was farther away, moving calmly.

The one in front seemed very curious.

Siu held Minseo’s hand and approached the aquarium.

“So big...”

Minseo, who was a bit scared when she got closer, slowed down her steps.

However, Siu walked forward without hesitation.

Eventually, Siu was pulling Minseo along.

The two children, who had reached the aquarium, opened their mouths slightly and looked at the beluga with equally cute faces.

Click! Click!

Dohjin and Minseo’s dad almost simultaneously took pictures of the children with their phones.

“Hmm?”

As Dohjin was about to take another picture, he noticed the beluga swimming quickly towards the children.

The beluga stopped in front of Siu.

“Oh!”

Dohjin didn’t miss the opportunity to capture Siu’s back, who was facing the beluga.

Click!

Siu and the beluga were silently looking at each other.

“...”

– ...

Then Siu spoke.

“Arf?”

Siu, who had made a sound like he was talking to his pets Fursy and Nero, soon realized that the beluga wouldn’t hear his voice due to the thick glass of the aquarium.

Then-

Siu looked into the beluga’s eyes and strongly thought in his mind.

‘Is it you? Did you call me?’

When Siu spoke, the beluga seemed surprised, tilting its head from side to side and shaking its body.

After about ten seconds, the beluga, having regained its composure, replied to Siu.

This time, Siu was the one who was surprised.

What? It can talk?

The beluga was speaking clearly in its own language, different from other animals.

Siu’s face showed genuine amazement.

Dohjin, who had come over, felt proud seeing his son’s expression.

‘I’m glad I brought him! He’s enjoying it so much!’

Siu’s real reason for being amazed was something Dohjin couldn’t even imagine.

Siu looked into the beluga’s eyes and asked again.

‘How did you know me and call me?’

The beluga pressed its face against the glass and spoke.

Other children, seeing this, started to gather around Siu and Minseo.

“Mom~! The beluga is right in front of us!”

“Wow! It’s so close! So cute!”

“Mom! Dad! Come quickly! Quickly~!”

As more children gathered, young Minseo and Siu were pushed to the side.

Minseo, feeling sad that she couldn’t see the beluga anymore, didn’t need to worry.

The beluga had followed them.

The beluga was swimming only in the direction where Siu was.

Then the children would follow, and when Siu moved, the beluga would move, and the children would follow again.

Eventually, the mothers noticed.

“Does the beluga want to play with that baby? Oh? That baby...”

It was Minseo’s dad’s turn to step in.

When the mothers asked if it was the baby from the Pappya commercial, Minseo’s dad said that his nephew often gets told he looks like that baby, and that babies can look similar, insisting and putting up a strong defense.

“...Thank you.”

“No problem. That’s all.”

Minseo’s dad just chuckled in response to Dohjin’s gratitude.

The mothers called Siu.

“Come here, baby. Come to the center. The beluga only goes where you are.”

When Siu didn’t let go of Minseo’s hand, the mothers made space for Minseo too.

The children gathered in front of the glass, with Siu at the center, and the adults watched from behind.

The beluga spoke to Siu.

‘Why?’

Siu, seeing the children’s eyes, understood the meaning.

The adults were exclaiming how cute the beluga was, but the children’s eyes were different.

They looked as if they were seeing a mythical creature, lost in a dream.

Siu suddenly wondered.

What do my eyes look like?

‘...What’s your name?’

Is it Luga because you’re a beluga?

It’s an easy name to remember.

‘Yes, I’m Luga. I’m Siu.’

Want to play?

‘How do we play?’

The beluga wiggled its tail and started to rise to the surface.

The children shouted that the beluga was leaving and asked it to come back.

But the beluga wasn’t leaving.

After circling the aquarium, the beluga opened its mouth cutely and fired three bubbles at the children.

Beautiful and mysterious rings of water flew towards the children.

“Squeal~!”

“Wow!”

“So pretty!”

The children screamed in delight.

The beluga came back in front of the children and opened its mouth wide, as if smiling.

Siu thought the expression was very cute and lovable.

The beluga, having shaken its head excitedly, asked Siu.

‘Yeah. Do it for the girl next to me too.’

Two bubbles were fired at Siu and Minseo from close range.

Minseo, who was mesmerized by the bubbles, pressed her face against the glass to see where they had disappeared after hitting it.

At that moment, the beluga, which had approached Minseo, suddenly opened its mouth wide.

“Eek!”

Minseo, thinking the beluga was going to eat her, jumped back in surprise.

She ran to her dad, startled.

“Dad!”

While Siu, a bit flustered, was looking back and forth between the beluga and Minseo, the beluga opened its mouth wide and charged at a group of boys who were watching.

“Wow!”

“Eek!”

“Mom~! The beluga is eating us!”

The boys screamed happily and backed away from the glass, then approached again when the beluga turned away.

The beluga timed its approach.

Suddenly, like the moment when the rose blooms, it turned its body and opened its mouth wide.

The boys screamed and ran away again.

“Eek! Hehe!”

After playing with the boys, the beluga charged at Siu.

Whoosh-!

The beluga opened its mouth wide enough to swallow Siu and charged.

“...”

Siu didn’t react.

The beluga tilted its head, then pretended to leave but turned back and opened its mouth like an alligator.

Whoosh-!

It was a perfect prank.

‘Look at this guy?’

Siu chuckled inwardly and took a step forward.

Call. Accept the prank. Add power to the prank.

“Whoosh-!”

Siu shouted at the beluga.

The beluga, startled, flapped its pectoral fins and fled quickly.

After a moment, it returned, smiling a bit embarrassedly.

The children, who had been startled by the beluga, clapped and laughed.

Just as Siu was about to approach the beluga again, Dohjin called him.

“Siu, shall we go get some food now?”

“Minseo, let’s go out and have some kimbap.”

Minseo’s dad also spoke.

In response to Dohjin’s call, Siu said goodbye to the beluga.

‘I have to go now. Take care.’

‘Yeah. Next time, I’ll bring my friends. Show me something fun again.’

“Bye~ Bye-bye~”

Siu, who had said goodbye, held his dad’s hand and walked away from the large aquarium.

The beluga followed Siu, shooting bubbles in the direction Siu was walking, seemingly reluctant to let him go.

Siu, seeing the bubbles bursting next to him, stopped.

“Siu, why?”

Without answering his dad, Siu turned and pressed his small hand against the glass.

The beluga, sensing Siu’s feelings, swam over and pressed its mouth against the glass where Siu’s hand was.

And-

The small baby and the large beluga remained like that for a long time, separated by a single pane of glass.

On the way out.

Minseo’s dad said to Dohjin,

“What was that just now? Between Siu and the beluga. It felt so mysterious and beautiful... like something you’d see in a photo exhibition... Ah, I should have taken a picture, but I was too distracted watching.”

“Yeah, it was so beautiful. Our Siu... No, not really.”

Dohjin, who wanted to say that his son was sometimes amazing, stopped because it sounded like boasting.

Siu and Minseo, who had met all the fish and small animals like prairie dogs near the exit, entered the souvenir shop.

“Minseo, pick something you like. Uncle will give it to you as a gift.”

Dohjin, who had held Siu’s hand tightly all day, gave Minseo a cute Nemo plush toy.

In return, Minseo’s dad gave Siu a gift.

Siu chose a beluga plush toy.

Siu, with his tiny hand, stroked the beluga plush toy’s head and hugged it tightly.

* * *

Early November.

It feels like just yesterday we were worrying about electricity bills with the air conditioner on, but now it’s the season to worry about gas bills with the boiler on.

“Money just goes out, whether it’s for electricity or gas. Sigh.”

Hyunju sighed after checking the utility bills that had arrived in the mailbox.

While Siu was taking a nap, Hyunju quickly went out to get the mail and returned, smiling at Siu’s sleeping face.

His long eyelashes were so beautiful and adorable.

“You’ve grown so much, our son. This time last year, you were filming with Ms. Lee Soo-jin and Mr. Moonlight. It’s been a year already.”

Back then, Siu couldn’t even talk or walk, and he couldn’t even crawl properly, so we practiced belly crawling every day with a puffed rice snack on the mat.

But now, he’s grown so much, wearing shoes and running around.

Lately, when we go for a walk, he’s been so interested in the kick scooters that the older boys ride.

“Our son. Mom loves you so much. Let’s make lots of beautiful memories and stay healthy.”

Hyunju pulled the blanket, which had slipped down, back over Siu’s stomach.

She tried to put the pillow, which was rolling around in the corner of the bed, under Siu’s head but gave up.

Ever since Siu started rolling over, the pillow was just for decoration.

After tucking Siu in and turning to do some housework, Hyunju’s phone rang.

Hyunju, worried that Siu might wake up, quickly went to the living room and answered the call.

“Yes, hello.”

Hyunju greeted with a surprised look.