Chapter 40

40. Playroom

"Really~?"

"Yeah."

"No~ Mom's busy~"

"Who~? Who is it~"

Siwoo answered right away.

"I don't know."

Siwoo, with a slight smile on his lips, kept an eye on the bathroom while holding Mom's phone and sitting on the sofa.

After crossing his legs neatly, Siwoo spoke again.

"Jungtae hyung?"

"What's up, hyung?"

Jungtae's mom wondered why she was still talking to Siwoo.

"Yeah~ a bit~"

Siwoo chuckled.

Jungtae's mom, thinking she might have heard wrong, tilted her head and said,

In the end, Jungtae's mom muttered to herself.

Jungtae...

No.

Jungtae would do this much.

She decided to believe that.

Just as Jungtae's mom was about to hang up without any particular farewell, Hyunju came out of the bathroom.

Siwoo quickly uncrossed his legs and rolled around on the sofa.

"Huh? Siwoo, what are you doing?"

Siwoo, getting off the sofa, handed the phone to his mom and said,

"Mom~ Jungtae hyung~"

Hyunju answered the phone.

"Hello, Jungtae's mom. I was just taking a quick shower..."

Hyunju just smiled lightly without any particular response to the form of address.

Jungtae's mom continued,

"Ah, yes. The address is the same, but... it's not necessary..."

"Sure... it would be nice if the kids play well together."

Jungtae's mom finished her greeting and got to the point.

After a moment of thought, Hyunju spoke carefully.

"Um... how about before Chuseok..."

The call ended.

Hyunju, seeing 3-year-old Siwoo with his arms outstretched for a hug, muttered softly,

"Jungtae must be really busy. Our Siwoo... hasn't even scheduled anything... I don't know what to do..."

What started as a leisurely hobby with her son had grown to a point where it was hard to manage.

Does Siwoo have a talent for this?

She was worried that pushing him might make him tired, but not pushing him might waste his talent and block his future.

"Our son~ what should Mom do? You need to make the decision, but you're too young, so Mom has to decide. I'm scared I might make the wrong decision."

Siwoo, hugging his mom, rested his head on her shoulder and apologized in his heart.

'Sorry, Mom, I'm doing really well.'

* * *

About ten days before Chuseok, early September.

Hyunju was pushing a stroller towards the subway station.

Siwoo, who now expressed his desire to ride the stroller, said,

"Siwoo, do you like riding the stroller?"

"Yeah. It's good~ Let's go~"

"Sure. The weather is nice. Luckily, the air is good too."

"Mom~ I want candy~"

"Candy?"

Siwoo held out both palms neatly to his mom.

"Please~"

Hyunju stroked Siwoo's head and took a red candy from her bag.

It was an organic lollipop that babies enjoy.

"This doesn't taste like anything to me, but it seems Siwoo likes it."

Siwoo, receiving the lollipop, tore off the wrapper with his hands.

Since seeing a baby named Youngsu in the countryside, Siwoo had started peeling things himself.

'This doesn't taste like anything... The marshmallows I secretly ate at night were delicious...'

Chomp!

Siwoo put the candy in his mouth and sucked on it.

Still, he could taste a faint fruit flavor.

After giving Siwoo the candy, Hyunju, instead of taking the shorter route to the station, pushed the stroller towards the park to show him the trees.

"Look at the trees, Siwoo. There are flowers over there too? I can smell the grass."

As they walked, Hyunju noticed dandelion seed heads in bloom.

She remembered Siwoo playing happily with dandelion seeds with his grandfather.

Hyunju showed Siwoo the dandelion.

"Did you blow with grandpa? Shall we blow and send the seeds flying?"

Siwoo shook his head.

"No~ It's pretty~ Let's take it with us~"

"Because it's pretty, we'll take it with us? Got it. Should I put it in the stroller, or do you want to hold it, Siwoo?"

Hyunju held the dandelion out to Siwoo's empty hand, and Siwoo spread his small hand.

"Sure. Let's take it with us~ Dandelions are pretty."

After checking the time, Hyunju picked up the pace towards the subway station.

She took the elevator down, swiped her card, and passed through the ticket gate.

Luckily, the subway arrived quickly.

Hyunju pushed the stroller to a corner where there were fewer people.

"Let's go on the choo-choo train, Siwoo."

Siwoo, who had been sucking on the candy, took it out of his mouth and responded to his mom.

"Yeah~ Let's go on the choo-choo train~"

And he put the candy back in his mouth...

"..."

Something felt strange.

While Hyunju was looking at the subway map, a young woman sitting in front of her called out.

"Excuse me... The baby is eating the dandelion..."

Hyunju, getting off the subway, sighed at the memory of the incident.

When she turned to Siwoo at the young woman's words, Siwoo was spitting out the seeds that had stuck to his mouth.

"Pfff!"

The young woman burst out laughing, finding it too cute, and people around them showed interest, wondering what was happening.

After that,

"Isn't this the baby from 'The King's Path'?"

The young woman who spoke first recognized Siwoo.

Siwoo was surrounded by people taking pictures until they got off the subway.

It was hard to refuse since they were in the same space.

Although they had just arrived at the meeting place, Hyunju felt as exhausted as if she had done a major cleanup.

"Siwoo's mom~ over here!"

From a distance, Jungtae's mom was waving happily.

Hyunju, pushing the stroller, approached and greeted with Siwoo.

"Long time no see. How have you been? Siwoo, say hello to the auntie~"

Siwoo, half-lying in the stroller, waved his hands lightly.

"Sure~ Hello! Our Siwoo is getting prettier every day~ I enjoyed the drama~ Jungtae, you should say hello to the auntie too?"

Jungtae, who had been hiding behind his mom's legs, stepped forward.

He bowed deeply.

"Hello. I'm Shin Jungtae."

"Why are you making such a fuss, hahaha! Our son is so polite."

Siwoo quietly shook his head at Jungtae's mechanical greeting.

'How many places have you made him greet... Oh...'

People may change their stance according to the situation, but they don't easily change as a person.

Jungtae's mom's attitude remained the same.

"I bought a few outfits for Siwoo. Since he's a big star, he should wear good clothes to maintain his image. I'll give them to you later, they're in the car."

In response to Jungtae's mom, Hyunju spoke.

"I always receive, so I bought a gift for Jungtae too. I heard he likes ginseng, so I got kids' ginseng..."

The more Hyunju spoke, the brighter Jungtae's mom's face became, while Jungtae's face turned to shock and fear.

"Ha!"

Seeing Jungtae's expression, Siwoo let out a laugh.

'He must hate it so much, why did you lie and say you like it? Anyway, Jungtae's mom says her son likes everything and does everything well.'

The moms were too busy talking to notice, but Jungtae heard Siwoo's laughter.

Jungtae, who had been staring at Siwoo in the stroller, stuck out his tongue.

"Be~"

He also made sure not to get caught by the moms.

Siwoo responded to Jungtae's cute provocation.

Siwoo, bringing his hands to his face, pulled down the skin under his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

"Bebebe~"

"!"

The young 6-year-old Jungtae immediately told his mom.

"Mom~ He's teasing me~"

Jungtae's mom and Hyunju's eyes turned to Siwoo.

Siwoo sat in the stroller with innocent, pure eyes.

Seeing this, Jungtae, grinding his feet, said in a wronged tone.

"No~ He did the 'meow' to me~ Really~"

At that moment, Siwoo called out to Jungtae.

"Hyung~"

"Why, why?"

Jungtae, who was angry but still answered.

Siwoo took something from the stroller's cup holder and handed it to Jungtae.

"Here~ Have it~"

It was the dandelion seeds he had left.

Jungtae, looking at it curiously, realized what it was.

He opened his mouth to teach his younger brother a lesson.

"This isn't for eating~ You blow it~"

"Really~?"

"Want to see me blow it?"

Although it had been mostly blown away, there were still many seeds left.

"Sure!"

"Watch closely~!"

Jungtae, wanting to show the difference in level between a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old, smiled and blew the dandelion seeds forcefully.

"Puff! Puff! Puff! Huh?"

"..."

"Watch! Now I'll really blow it~! Puff! Puff!"

"No~?"

"No~! Yes~! I blew it gently~! Puff!"

Jungtae, turning red from blowing, made Siwoo laugh quietly.

'Oh, cute kid. The seeds went into his mouth and stuck all over.'

Siwoo said,

"Hyung~ Ginseng makes you strong~"

"No! I'm already strong! Puff! Mom... No..."

Siwoo was laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

'Sorry for teasing you, Jungtae. I'll play with this younger brother well today.'

Even if the moms weren't great, the kids were cute.

Jungtae, who had lost his pride in front of the dandelion seeds, hung his shoulders and headed towards the playroom building with his mom.

Hyunju and Siwoo followed.

As they took the elevator up, the playroom came into view.

"Wow~ It's huge?"

Hyunju, who had never been to a playroom before, opened her mouth in amazement.

The scale was beyond imagination.

There were so many tables that even a regular restaurant couldn't compare.

Beyond the tables was an indoor playground, and on either side were large trampolines for elementary school kids and smaller ones for toddlers.

Hyunju, looking around the playroom with curious eyes, heard Jungtae's mom speak.

"You've never been to a place like this before, right? This is the hottest playroom in Gangnam now. Not just our Jungtae, but all kids... when they come here..."

"..."

Hyunju swallowed hard.

Jungtae's mom continued,

"They lose all sense of reason and play like crazy. In a way... it's like a club for kids."

"A club?"

"Yes. You'll soon understand why it's called a club."

Jungtae's mom smiled meaningfully.

Siwoo, getting out of the stroller, took off his shoes and entered the playroom with Jungtae.

Seeing the kids throwing themselves on the trampolines, Siwoo thought it might be quite fun.

'Shall I try it out?'

Oh.