Chapter 32

32. The Pretty Sister Who Buys Good Snacks

In the late afternoon as the sun began to set, Siwoo's family, Jiyeon, and Jihoo's family were leaving the sledding rink together. As they walked back to the cars parked side by side, Jihoo's father said, "It was nice to see you all today. The kids really had a great time playing together."

Dojin also greeted them, "Yes, thanks to you, we had a wonderful day today. Siwoo and Jihoo played so well that it's a bit sad to go home."

"Exactly. Our Jihoo also seemed to really like Siwoo. If you feel sad to part, how about letting the kids play more and have dinner together? Let's see... it's not quite dinner time yet. How about we go to the neighborhood first, have dinner there, and the dads can have a drink? Honey, is it okay if I have a drink with Siwoo's dad?"

Jihoo's mother replied with a wide smile, "Of course, I'm fine with it. The later you come home, the better."

She wasn't being sarcastic; she was genuinely happy.

Thinking about how the atmosphere would be with Jiyeon when they got home...

Just imagining it made her feel suffocated.

Dojin responded, "I have to go to work early tomorrow, so I can't drink, but let's have dinner together and let the kids play more."

"That's a shame. Well, then. You're a police officer, so it wouldn't be good to work with a hangover."

Just then, someone passing through the parking lot called out to Jihoo's mother.

"Hey~ Jiyeon's family~!"

It was a family with two elementary school children. Jihoo's mother waved, and Jiyeon bowed slightly.

Jihoo's mother said, "What are you doing here? The sledding rink is about to close."

"I don't know. The kids want to ride even for a short while. We're planning to ride for an hour. It's great that we have a sledding rink nearby."

"Right, have fun!"

Jihoo's father asked, "Who is that?"

"Mom from apartment 104."

"It's not like a class reunion, but with a sledding rink in the neighborhood, we all end up meeting here."

"Of course. Last time at the mackerel festival in the market, we all met in a row."

Jihoo's mother said to Hyun-ju, "So... what should we feed the kids for dinner? How about meeting at Square Mall? There's a place on the third floor that has something the kids can eat."

Siwoo, who was dozing off in Hyun-ju's arms, nodded faintly at the sound of Jihoo's mother's voice.

'There... it's delicious...'

Drooling at the corner of his mouth, Siwoo fell asleep again.

After having dinner at the neighborhood landmark, a large shopping mall, and doing some shopping at the supermarket in the basement, Siwoo's family said goodbye to Jihoo's family, with whom they had become quite close, and exchanged contact information.

"Bye~ Siwoo! Play with Jihoo again later!"

Jihoo's mother waved. Siwoo also waved both hands and shouted, "Bye-bye~"

For a moment, Jihoo threw a tantrum, crying because he didn't want to part with Siwoo, but when Siwoo walked over, hugged him tightly, and kissed his cheek, Jihoo stopped crying as if by magic.

Seeing this, Jiyeon recalled how Siwoo had comforted her at the sledding rink and thought again how amazing and cute he was.

'I didn't even get a kiss.'

Jiyeon smiled slightly at the corner of her mouth.

Instead, Jiyeon and Siwoo had become mutual followers on social media.

"Sis~ bye~"

"Uh-huh. Bye. Don't get sick."

After saying goodbye to Jiyeon, Siwoo got into the car and returned home.

Although the distance to the sledding rink wasn't far, due to the traffic and the various events at the sledding rink, it felt like they had taken a trip to Neverland.

It had been a long day.

Back home, Siwoo drooled at the sight of the endless stream of snacks coming out of his mother's bag.

They were the snacks Jiyeon had bought as gifts.

Although they were tasteless organic baby snacks, since Hyun-ju never gave Siwoo adult snacks, this was the only official way for Siwoo to satisfy his craving.

Of course, unofficially... he did sneak a bit of cereal at night.

Seven expensive baby snack packets were laid out on the mat.

Dojin joked with a smile, "Siwoo must be happy. He has a pretty sister who buys him good snacks."

With a beaming face, Siwoo picked up one of the snack packets nearby, and Hyun-ju tore it open for him.

"Jiyeon doesn't have much allowance as a middle schooler. She even bought snacks for Jihoo with her own money, saying it would be unfair to only buy for Siwoo. She's really too cute and kind."

Dojin agreed.

"Exactly. I've seen all kinds of kids in my work. But seeing Jiyeon today was like a whole new world."

There were plenty of kids who got into trouble and were brought to the police station, and instead of showing remorse, they called their friends to brag.

There were also many middle schoolers who called each other "gangsters" and glared defiantly.

Dojin shook his head hard.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

Dojin asked Hyun-ju, "Will Siwoo also go through adolescence? I hope he gets through it safely. Is it too early to worry about it?"

Siwoo was eating the snacks one by one with a loving expression.

Hyun-ju replied, "There are still ten years left. And Siwoo... might not go through adolescence."

"That's... right. That could happen."

Dojin, who was about to say that it was just their hope, changed his words, thinking it wasn't necessary to bring up reality.

But when it came to Siwoo, not going through adolescence was a realistic scenario.

'Don't worry. He's already past adolescence and is experiencing 'Bakchunji' (a playful term for a second adolescence). Although he might come home late because he's always out... '

Once he becomes a middle schooler, he will gain a considerable amount of freedom, if not complete freedom.

As long as he listens to his parents, maintains top grades, and completes his tasks perfectly, he can just enjoy himself after that.

'The problem is what he does for fun. Maybe he should try acting and singing? It would be a waste not to use the music skills he accumulated in his previous life.'

* * *

Two months later.

Hyun-ju couldn't sleep and woke up at 3 a.m. She stared at Siwoo's sleeping face for a long time.

Her heart kept pounding, and she was so nervous that she couldn't sleep.

Including the ten months she carried him in her womb, it had been almost three years.

The thought of being separated from Siwoo, whom she had been with for three years, made her more anxious than she expected.

Was it a mistake to send him?

Should I not send him?

Should I call in the morning and say he can't go?

What if he cries a lot?

I've hardly ever seen him cry. If he does...

I'll just have to bring him back.

While stroking Siwoo's head with her cold hands, Hyun-ju's heart ached continuously.

One hour... two hours...

Morning came after a few hours.

Hyun-ju prepared breakfast with a haggard face.

Since her husband didn't eat much in the morning, there wasn't much to prepare.

Dojin, who had woken up, came out of the bedroom and said, "Honey, today is Siwoo's first day at kindergarten. I'd like to take him, but I have to go to work... Honey, are you okay?"

Dojin was surprised by Hyun-ju's haggard face and approached her.

"What's wrong?"

Hyun-ju spoke with a worried voice, "I'm nervous... He's never been away from his mother. What if he gets hurt?"

"He'll be fine. Don't worry too much."

"Recently, there have been a lot of bad stories about kindergartens in the news."

"..."

Not knowing what to say, Dojin hugged his wife tightly and slowly patted her back.

Hearing his mother, Siwoo came out of the bedroom with Boksil and Nero on either side, thinking, "Sigh... Mother, you don't need to worry. I'm not an ordinary baby."

Siwoo was currently obsessed with the language of historical dramas.

While Dojin was comforting Hyun-ju in the kitchen, Siwoo, making sure his parents weren't watching, performed the "Young Baby Secret Technique" for the first time in a while.

It was a special martial art for babies that Siwoo had created after feeling threatened a few times in his baby years.

Papapap!

Siwoo leaped from the mat to the top of the sofa in a flash.

Nero, seeing Siwoo's lightness, opened his eyes wide and then leaped up to Siwoo's side as if in competition.

Boksil, on the other hand...

– Kyeong! Kyeong!

Was jumping in place, asking to be lifted up.

Siwoo, using a flying spell, lifted Boksil and sat on the top of the sofa with his chubby legs crossed like an adult, looking down at the living room calmly.

Boksil and Nero, not knowing what to do, imitated Siwoo, lifting their chins and looking down at the living room just like him.

Seeing the living room in chaos with toys scattered everywhere, Siwoo gathered mana at his fingertips.

And—

Zap!

He flew up from the top of the sofa into the air.

Like a gymnast, he did a somersault in the air while moving his hands wildly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Papapapapap!

The blocks he had built the night before fell down as if hit by something.

A dinosaur-shaped robot toy fell to the side after being hit on the head.

Boksil's yellow chicken toy, hit on the belly, flew away with a squawk.

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Siwoo, who had landed in a superhero pose on the living room mat, suddenly felt a sense of self-doubt as he stood up proudly.

'...Did I live 100 lives just to play like this?'

A yellow kindergarten bus arrived.

A young female teacher got out of the car.

"Ma'am, Siwoo might cry a lot for a while. It might be hard to see him cry, but it's important to send him off with a smile so he feels less anxious. It's all part of the adjustment period..."

"Mom~ Bye~ I love you~!"

Siwoo's energetic greeting surprised the teacher.

Siwoo made a clumsy heart shape with his hands above his head and grabbed the teacher's hand before she could say anything.

"Ah, no. Uh? Siwoo, is this your first time at kindergarten?"

"Yes... it's my first time."

Hyun-ju was also surprised.

But seeing Siwoo's bright demeanor, her anxious heart eased a bit.

"Siwoo, have a good day. I love you too."

"Uh-huh~ I love you~ I love you~"

"Teacher, please take good care of Siwoo."

Waving his hand, Siwoo confidently headed to the bus, holding the teacher's hand.

Once in the car, a familiar face was waiting.

It was the teddy bear Kyungho.

Kyungho, sitting in the car seat, was...

Crying.

The other children were the same.

The teacher, flustered, tried to calm the children.

"Kids, kids. Don't cry. It's okay. We're just going to play."

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-