Chapter 52

52. Five Years Old

In early December, the first episode of [One Day in a Fishing Village] was broadcast.

It was a new work by PD Lee Hyoeun, who specialized in healing variety shows, and it broke an average viewership rating of 10% from the first episode, showing signs of a hit.

The simple format involved inviting celebrities from all walks of life to spend a night in a fishing village, where they would play, cook, and sit around the yard at night, sharing various conversations and healing together.

PD Lee Hyoeun invited a lot of guests who were usually hard to see on TV, focusing on highlighting their human sides rather than their professional images.

And at the end of December.

As the year-end atmosphere filled the world, the fourth episode featuring Samdeokgu finally aired, much to the anticipation of Song Junyoung's fans across Asia and many viewers who loved PD Lee Hyoeun's healing shows.

"Shiwoo! Shiwoo! Mom! Shiwoo, come out!"

Jiho, who had become Shiwoo's best friend since they first met at a sledding park two years ago and now lived in the next building, shouted.

Jiho's mother, who had been peeling a tangerine, lifted her head toward the TV.

On the screen, Junyoung, Seunghyun, and Shiwoo were shown climbing a hill in a foggy fishing village.

The three, representing the beauty of different age groups, walked impressively toward the camera, accompanied by a mysterious background music.

A subtitle appeared below Samdeokgu's face.

"Ha ha ha!"

Jiho's mother burst into laughter.

"The TV people have figured out Shiwoo."

Jiho's mother sat Jiho on the sofa, put a tangerine in his mouth, and picked up her phone.

She then called her daughter.

"Daughter, where are you? One Day in a Fishing Village is starting now."

A moment later, the sound of the door lock being pressed was heard.

Jiyeon, who was about to graduate from middle school and now radiated a subtle aura of beauty, entered the house.

She put her guitar in her room and quickly ran to the sofa to sit down.

"Is Shiwoo on?"

"They're going to catch a chicken."

"R-really? They're going to catch a chicken?"

"No, no. Hee hee! They're going to the chicken coop to get eggs. By the way, isn't Seunghyun the same age as you?"

"Yes."

"Our daughter is a complete celebrity in appearance... Hee hee hee! But Junyoung... He doesn't seem to be that kind of image, does he? He's really funny."

On TV, Junyoung was being chased by chickens.

Jiyeon and Jiho burst into laughter.

Next, Seunghyun bravely entered the chicken coop and dove out after three seconds.

The scene where Junyoung laughed and teased Seunghyun, who had fallen over, was edited out.

PD Lee Hyoeun had partially accommodated the agency's requests.

"Sis! Shiwoo is on!"

Jiho shouted.

Shiwoo, with the music from the drama where Junyoung ascended to the throne as the king, was walking toward the chicken coop.

At the bottom of the screen, a cute subtitle appeared.

Shiwoo, like in the Bapuya CF, was surrounded by an aura CG and opened the chicken coop door with a serious expression, followed by Junyoung.

A subtitle appeared below the charming face of the Asian heartthrob Junyoung.

Shiwoo also answered with a subtitle.

Above Junyoung and Shiwoo's heads, the labels '28 years old♡' and '4 years old♡' kept following them.

Jiho's mother and Jiyeon held their bellies laughing as they watched Shiwoo talking to the chickens and hearing their clucking.

After that, for an hour and a half, heartwarming and joyful scenes such as fishing and preparing dinner continued, bringing smiles to their faces.

The order of the scenes changed, and Seunghyun's interview came first, followed by Shiwoo's at the end.

"Ah~ What do we do~ Look at Shiwoo laughing~!"

Jiyeon, finding Shiwoo waving his hand too cute, stomped her feet.

The fourth episode of One Day in a Fishing Village ended with Shiwoo's smiling face.

Now it was time for the preview of the next episode.

Hyunsu, Donghoon, and Junyoung were sitting in a room, drinking beer and talking.

Hyunsu said,

Donghoon, a muscular man, gulped down a can of beer and said to Junyoung in a slightly drunk voice.

Junyoung, leaning against the wall, subtly leaned forward and made a joke that only the viewers could understand.

Donghoon and Hyunsu were surprised by Junyoung's sudden outburst.

Junyoung, laughing as if he couldn't breathe, said to his seniors.

As Junyoung's laughter was fading, a song played.

Jiho's mother, with a smile on her face, turned off the TV with the remote control.

"The atmosphere was so good. Hyunsu and Donghoon were really nice, taking care of the kids. Shiwoo is so cute. I suddenly miss him. Since Dad is coming home late today, maybe we should have gone to Shiwoo's to watch it together?"

Jiho, understanding her words, jumped up and down.

"Can we~ go~ now?"

"Now? It's late now. It's time to sleep."

"Can we call Shiwoo? Please, call him~"

Jiho begged her mother.

"Alright."

Jiho's mother called Hyunju, Shiwoo's mother, to tell her that she enjoyed the show.

Meanwhile, Jiyeon was checking the audience reactions to the episode of One Day in a Fishing Village that aired today on her phone.

"Wow, there are so many comments about Shiwoo."

– Hahahaha! He's not a kid who dominates fish, but a kid who dominates TV... From ads, dramas, and movies to variety shows... Has there ever been a 4-year-old who became this famous?

– Fishing Tour PD, what are you doing! Hurry up and invite him! I don't want to see celebrities just chatting! We want a fishing god!

– Hahaha, this is definitely rigged. The kid is a complete black cow. What kid can catch a sea bass just by touching it? Hahaha, I'll believe it if you release the unedited footage.

– The fishing unedited footage is available on the website, you white cow. Haven't you watched the show? Can't you read?

– Seunghyun and Shiwoo feeding the kids together was so cute♡ Our Oppa Junyoung is taking great care of Shiwoo... Is there no fan cafe for him yet? I want to join but can't find it. T_T

– This kid is the insider fan cafe. Check it out. Lee Sujin leaves a lot of comments, and Han Tae-soo and Seunghyun are there too. Since last year, the top two actresses in our country, Han Yoo-ri, have been actively liking his posts. He's almost a celebrity among celebrities. The actors he's worked with all love him.

– I want to see him in person. I just want to meet him once to confirm that he really exists in this world. T_T He's so cute. T_T

* * *

Shiwoo looked at the calendar.

It was January.

Time, though slow, always moved forward, never stopping.

'I'm five years old now. That's 44 months, right?'

In the late night, Shiwoo came out to the living room and sat on the armrest of the sofa, enjoying the night view beyond the balcony.

From the fifth floor, all he could see were a few lights from the large commercial building in front of the complex, which were on 24 hours a day.

Bokshil and Nero, who had been sleeping with Shiwoo in his room, realized he was gone and hurriedly followed him to the living room.

– Woof!

– Meow!

"Come here. I'll give you a snack."

Bokshil and Nero, still half-asleep, opened their eyes wide.

"You shouldn't eat snacks after waking up from sleep. But I'll give it to you today as a special New Year's gift."

– Meow!

Nero asked if it was okay because of the healing magic.

Bokshil nodded and the two did a high-five with one of their front paws.

They had learned the high-five from Shiwoo when they were young and now did it on their own without his instruction.

"Wow... Bokshil is six years old now, and Nero is four. When we first met, you were three and one. You've grown so much. You're funny guys. Come on, let's eat the snack."

In the kitchen, Shiwoo took out the snacks for the kids and got his own snack.

One of the boneless Jitos chicken sets that his parents had ordered for dinner was left in the refrigerator.

"Let's eat four pieces. Actually, at five years old, if I wake up in the middle of the night and eat chicken by myself... isn't that okay? Alright, let's eat seven pieces, seven pieces."

He added three more pieces.

Shiwoo went to the balcony with the kids and enjoyed snack time while looking at the moon outside the window.

"Why are there so many delicious things in the world? What do you think?"

– Woof!

– Meow!

"Right. Even if you eat three meals a day, you can't try all the food in the world. I want to grow up quickly and visit all the good restaurants."

Shiwoo put a piece of chicken in his mouth and chewed it.

It was delicious.

He agreed with what Uncle Hyunsu said in One Day in a Fishing Village, that eating a delicious meal with good friends is one of life's joys.

"Tomorrow, I'll go out with Mom and Oppa, and we'll probably come back late. Play nicely with the slide and the soccer ball until Dad comes home, okay?"

– Woof?

"Let's go to the zoo. The zoo we saw on TV. Oppa, you need to play with the animals a bit."

After eating seven pieces of chicken, Shiwoo put the chicken box back in the refrigerator.

He was about to go back to the balcony to clean up the kids' snack pouches and cans when his heart suddenly beat violently.

Boom-

His head started to spin.

Shiwoo, who had staggered for a moment, put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

"...Ah, shaking my head makes it dizzier. What's going on? Is it that time already?"

As Shiwoo, who had been sitting on the living room floor, stood up, his heart sank again.

Shiwoo stood still and calmly controlled the mana that was raging inside his body.

"Hmm..."

Shiwoo took a deep breath and stood up firmly.

Bokshil and Nero were looking at him with worried expressions.

Shiwoo, who had recovered his color, smiled brightly and went to the balcony.

"I'm fine. Did you finish your snacks?"

– Woof!

– Meow!

"I'm fine. Let's clean up if you're done."

After cleaning up the snack cans and pouches, Shiwoo played with the drone with Bokshil and Nero, as if nothing had happened.

The next day.

Shiwoo, having finished preparing to go to the zoo with his mother, came out to the front of the apartment complex.

"Shiwoo, are you not cold?"

"Uh~ I'm not cold!"

With the heat magic, Shiwoo wouldn't feel cold.

At the parking lot, Jiho's mother was waiting with Jiho.

The four of them were going to the zoo today.

After hearing that the weather would be unusually warm this week, Hyunju and Jiho's mother decided to go out together for Shiwoo and Jiho.

They originally planned to go to the sledding park, but Jiho and Shiwoo strongly wanted to go to the zoo because they had been to the sledding park too often.

"Phew, a zoo in the middle of winter. Aren't the animals all hiding from the cold?"

Jiho's mother said.

"The weather is so warm this week, they might be out. If the kids want to go... we should go, right?"

Hyunju smiled.

"Shiwoo~!"

Jiho, who had become even cuter at five, ran to Shiwoo and held his hand tightly.

"Hi!"

Shiwoo greeted playfully, and Jiho raised his hand and shouted.

"Hi! Hee hee!"

"Want to go to the zoo~?"

"Uh-huh! Let's go! Mom~! Take lots of pictures with Shiwoo!"

Jiho's mother started the car.

Hyunju got in the back seat with Shiwoo and Jiho.

The car, with the four of them, headed for the zoo.