Chapter 37

37. A prodigy?

Early June.

With the correct password from Dojin, the Shiwoo family got into the car.

As he started the engine, Dojin said to Hyunju,

"We're all going to pick up the sesame oil. Usually, we could just ask them to send it, but..."

"Shiwoo seems to miss his grandparents. The last time at the filming site, he hugged people he had never met before, calling them 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma.' And we couldn't go to his grandfather's birthday last time."

"That was because I was busy."

"Still, we went to your father's birthday but not to his father's. It's a bit..."

"Alright. Well, they probably want to see their grandson, so let's go and show them."

"Okay."

Vroom.

Sitting in the car seat, Shiwoo chewed on his vitamin while thinking about his grandparents' faces.

'Last New Year, Grandpa and Grandma came to visit, so this is the first time since Chuseok. That was when I was 16 months old... I was really young then.'

The 25-month-old Shiwoo was reminiscing about his childhood.

After a few hours of driving, the car carrying the Shiwoo family finally arrived at their destination.

'The scenery is beautiful. It has a different charm from the city.'

Shiwoo enjoyed the passing landscapes through the car window.

Although it wasn't a remote countryside, it was a fairly large village with a bustling town and a proper hospital nearby, surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear water.

Shiwoo's grandparents, who had chosen to live in the countryside, had built a cozy and beautiful country house and were enjoying a peaceful retirement.

Shiwoo's car passed through a cedar forest and stopped in front of a red brick house with a small front yard.

"Every time I see it... the house is really beautiful."

Hyunju, holding Shiwoo, got out of the car and admired the house.

Dojin nodded.

"That's what Father did."

"Right. Oppa, when we get older, should we also move to the countryside and build a house?"

"Let's think about it when I retire. By then, Shiwoo will be all grown up."

Dojin pressed the doorbell on the gate, and soon the front door of the red brick house opened, revealing Grandma.

"Oh! My grandchildren are here! Honey! Come quickly!"

Grandpa also appeared behind Grandma.

Grandpa spread his arms wide and ran across the yard.

"Hehehe! Why did you come all this way? Shiwoo must be tired."

Despite his words, Grandpa's face was full of joy.

Shiwoo reached out his hands to the grandparents who were at a loss for words.

"Grandpa~ Hug~"

Hyunju, who had recently started teaching Shiwoo to use honorifics, said,

"Please~"

"Please~"

Grandpa's face turned red as he clapped hands with Shiwoo.

"Oh! Oh! So cute~ My baby~ Now you're bigger and can speak so well~"

Dojin smiled inwardly, comparing his father, who was once the scariest and strictest person in the world, to the current version.

It was hard to believe they were the same person.

"Didn't you bring the butterfly and Bokshil?"

Grandma asked Hyunju.

Here, the butterfly referred to Nero.

Hyunju answered politely,

"Yes. Cats get stressed when they sleep in unfamiliar places, so I left Bokshil and Nero to play for a day."

Grandma said with a hint of disappointment,

"Is that so? They were so cute when you came for New Year. Oh, right! We haven't told you yet?"

"Yes?"

"Shiwoo, let's go inside. Grandma has a dog at home."

Shiwoo, holding the hands of his grandparents, walked through the yard where roses were in full bloom.

The soft touch of the soil under his feet felt good.

Hyunju, walking through the beautiful garden that showed the touch of her mother-in-law, said,

"Mother, it's so beautiful. Isn't it hard to maintain the garden?"

At the compliment from her daughter-in-law, Grandma's mouth opened wide.

"It's fine now. It gets tough in the summer. Pulling weeds, watering, mowing the lawn... a beautiful garden doesn't come easily. It's all about the effort you put in."

Grandma opened the door.

Grandpa and Shiwoo went in first, followed by Dojin and Hyunju.

Finally, Grandma came in, closing the door behind her, and said the line that all parents love to say,

"Have you eaten?"

Dojin answered,

"We had breakfast."

"Then you should have lunch. I've already prepared it. I'll bring it out soon. You go to the room and show Shiwoo the dog. He'll love it~ Dojin, you and Hyunju should come and see too! They're so cute~"

"Ah, Mother. I'll help too."

"I'll help too..."

When Hyunju and Dojin offered to help, Grandma waved her hands.

"Go and see first~ I've already bathed the puppies for Shiwoo's visit."

Grandma went to the kitchen with a beaming face.

"Shiwoo, do you like dogs?"

Grandpa asked, holding Shiwoo's hand and heading to the room.

"Yup~ I love dogs~ They're so cute~"

Grandpa chuckled.

"Do you think dogs are cute? What about Grandpa? Is Grandpa cute or not?"

"Grandpa is cute~ Grandma is cute~"

Grandpa's face lit up with a broad smile.

He looked like he had the whole world.

Grandpa and Shiwoo walked on the wooden floor and arrived at a room.

When they opened the door, a cozy room with a wall entirely made of glass appeared.

Beyond the glass, a tall fig tree could be seen.

"Wow..."

While Shiwoo gazed up at the fig tree with his mouth slightly open in amazement, Grandpa approached a tiny doghouse in the corner of the room.

"Come on, little ones. Your uncle from Seoul is here. Choo~ Choo~"

A small face peeked out from inside the doghouse.

– Woof~

A tiny, snow-white puppy came running out.

– Woof~

And another one.

– Woof~

The last one.

Three white puppies wagged their tails busily and looked at Shiwoo.

'...They're so cute!'

Shiwoo couldn't help but smile and stretch out his hands.

Then, the three puppies pounced on Shiwoo all at once.

– Woof woof woof!

Overwhelmed by the puppies' fierce momentum, Shiwoo fell backward, sitting down.

As Shiwoo lay on his back, the puppies climbed on top of him, biting his clothes, licking his face, and rubbing their heads against him, showing their joy with their whole bodies.

"Ah!"

Shiwoo laughed uncontrollably, surrounded by the puppies.

Click! Click!

Dojin and Hyunju, as if by agreement, took out their phones and took pictures of Shiwoo and the puppies.

"Our son is having so much fun? ...All the pictures are blurry. Ah~"

When Dojin regretted the blurry pictures, Hyunju proudly showed him her phone.

In the photos she took in continuous shooting mode, Shiwoo and the puppies were captured clearly without any blur.

"Don't worry. I took them well. I'm almost a pro now."

"Wow, my dear. It feels like you just created your Instagram account yesterday... and now you're a professional photographer. Send me the pictures."

"Sure. And I'll post them on Instagram with the countryside scenery tonight. The followers asked for countryside pictures when I said we were coming here."

"Haha. Right. Shiwoo is a complete Instagram star."

Dada-da-da!

The Instagram star Shiwoo was running around the room, playing hide and seek with the puppies.

After eating and playing with the puppies in the yard, Shiwoo went for a walk with his grandparents.

"Grandpa~ What's this?"

"This? A utility pole. It helps bring TV to your house."

"What's this?"

"A paddy field ridge. Look... oh, there's a frog. I'll catch it for you."

Grandpa slid down the ridge.

Hyunju called out,

"Father, be careful."

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

Bending down, Grandpa caught a frog with a natural, fluid motion.

'Sure enough, Grandpa. The wrist snap of a master.'

Grandpa had lived his whole life with his skilled hands.

It might not be related to catching frogs, but it was impressive.

"Here, Shiwoo~ It's a frog!"

A frog sat calmly on Grandpa's palm.

The frog stared blankly at Shiwoo.

Hyunju was preparing to take a picture with her phone.

Seeing her mother, Shiwoo smiled mischievously and brought his face close to the frog.

"Hi~ Froggy~ Come here~"

The frog didn't move.

"Soft~"

Shiwoo reached out his hand.

The frog glanced at Shiwoo's hand.

Then, it jumped down without a care.

Right at that moment.

Swoosh.

Shiwoo's hand moved instinctively.

Instead of landing at Shiwoo's feet, the frog landed precisely on Shiwoo's hand.

– ...

"..."

The frog was surprised, and Shiwoo was surprised.

Shiwoo caught the frog without thinking.

Dojin asked Hyunju,

"Did you get it? Did Shiwoo really catch it?"

"Yup. Shiwoo's reflexes are really good."

This was the moment another popular clip of Shiwoo, which would heat up the internet after summer, was created.

The title would be [Dukgu's Amazing Reflexes].

For reference, other popular clips included Shiwoo dozing off while eating chicken soup, Shiwoo sobbing after failing to skip stones, and Shiwoo shouting [Dad~] in a cute voice.

At this point, it seemed that even if Shiwoo just closed and opened his eyes, a popular clip would be born.

The frog jumped from Shiwoo's hand back to the paddy field ridge.

"Bye-bye~ See you~"

Shiwoo waved goodbye to the frog with Grandpa and continued walking.

Walking leisurely along the paddy field path, admiring the blue sky, mountains, and fields, Shiwoo felt very peaceful.

'Such a life is good too. Everything flows slowly and peacefully.'

Even the clouds were leisurely.

"Shiwoo, want to blow a dandelion? Puff~ Try it~ Say, 'Fly far, far away, little seeds~' and puff~"

Grandpa held a dandelion in front of Shiwoo's mouth.

Shiwoo pursed his lips and blew.

"Puff!"

The front part of the dandelion flew beautifully into the air.

"Puff! Puff!"

But the back part didn't fly well.

"Let me help you. Puff!"

The remaining dandelion seeds started to float and fly all over the paddy field path.

Click!

Hyunju also captured these moments in photos.

Tonight, she could give a gift package to her 700,000 Instagram followers.

Just then,

"Your grandson came from Seoul? Oh, he's so cute~! He's so handsome!"

A grandfather wearing a green cap, walking from the opposite direction, called out to Shiwoo's grandfather.

Shiwoo's grandfather chuckled and lifted Shiwoo to show him off.

"Isn't he cute? He looks like me and is very cute, and his head is super smart~!"

"I don't know about the resemblance... Is he the baby actor? Does he really say lines and everything?"

"Of course! Our grandson... what's the term? I don't know the current lingo, but directors call him a 'new star' and praise him a lot~!"

The green-capped grandfather clapped his hands and said,

"Oh, right. Jongsu's grandfather also has a grandson here? They're about the same age. That kid is called a prodigy because he speaks so well. Can this one speak well too?"

"Um, well, I guess. Are there kids who can't speak?"

"No, he's incredibly good. His mind is exceptional. He's not ordinary. The neighbors and Jongsu's grandfather are gathered now. Go and see. You'll be amazed by how smart he is~"

The green-capped grandfather left.

Shiwoo's grandfather, holding Shiwoo, stood still for a moment and then said to Grandma and Shiwoo,

"That grandfather always boasts that his grandson is smarter than ours. Should we go and see? Shiwoo, what do you think? Do you want to go with Grandpa?"

"Yup~ I want to~"

Shiwoo was also curious.

'A prodigy?'

Oh.