Chapter 53

53. Zoo World

"Shiwoo, when are you shooting the movie? Jiyeon is really looking forward to it."

Jiho's mother, deftly changing lanes, asked Hyunju, who was sitting in the back seat.

"In March."

"It's not long now. Did they ask you to prepare anything special?"

"Um... they said it would be good to practice a charismatic expression, but just doing what I did at the audition should be enough... But I didn't see how Shiwoo acted at the audition."

"You didn't go together?"

"No."

"Since Shiwoo is so smart, he'll do well on his own. Don't worry too much. But if a five-year-old can make a charismatic expression and speak with authority... Hahaha! That would be really cute. Shiwoo as the King of Hell. Shiwoo, do you know who the King of Hell is?"

Shiwoo, who was sitting in the car seat and peeling a tangerine with nimble hands, answered.

"Yes, I know."

"Really? Who is it?"

"I am the King of Hell."

"Oh my! Really! That's right! Hahaha! Our Shiwoo is the King of Hell! I don't know how Shiwoo can have such a beautiful voice. He'll be the cutest and most beautiful King of Hell in the world."

After peeling the tangerine, Shiwoo put one piece into Jiho's mouth.

Jiho's mother praised Shiwoo a lot, but Jiho was also a child with a lovely appearance, so much so that he could make even the most famous child actors and models look ordinary.

Jiho opened his mouth wide and happily ate the tangerine.

"Thank you! You eat too! Shall I feed you?"

"Sure!"

Jiho, who had taken the tangerine from Shiwoo's hand, neatly placed it in Shiwoo's mouth.

The sweet taste spread in Shiwoo's mouth.

Hyunju, watching the two children, thought it would be wonderful if they grew up and continued to get along so well.

The car passed through Bucheon and entered Incheon.

Their destination today was Zoo World, which had grandly opened last spring as the largest zoo in the country, relocating animals from several local zoos that had closed due to poor management.

They parked the car in the parking lot at the entrance of Zoo World and headed to the ticket booth.

It was a weekday, so there weren't many people, but the line was still quite long.

"We already bought tickets, so... let's go stand over there. There aren't many people there. Jiyeon got us tickets at a 30% discount. She's really good at these things."

Hyunju smiled at Jiho's mother's praise for her daughter.

"Having Jiyeon must be a great comfort."

"That's right. Jiyeon and Jiho are the treasures of my life. I hope this audition goes well for Jiyeon."

"It will. She studied hard all through junior high school as she promised her father. She was also the student council president last year. I think Jiyeon can do anything well."

"Right. I think Shiwoo and Jiho will do well too, and Shiwoo is already doing well! Hahaha!"

Hyunju, Shiwoo, Jiho's mother, and Jiho held hands and entered the zoo.

A song and voice that excited children played from the speakers at the entrance.

Jiho was jumping around excitedly.

"Wow~ It's a zoo~ I want to see tigers~!"

Jiho, who was spinning in place, lost his balance and fell, but Shiwoo caught him.

"Be careful~ You might get hurt~"

"Okay! Let's take a picture!"

"Sure!"

After taking a picture with Jiho at the entrance of Zoo World, Shiwoo started exploring the zoo.

As advertised, Zoo World was incredibly large.

In terms of size, it was even better than Neverland Zoo.

However, there was a slightly chaotic atmosphere, and some areas were still under construction, so it didn't feel as clean and organized.

Still, it seemed that the animals were well taken care of.

"Ooh~ Ah~!"

When they asked an orangutan swinging on a rope at the first monkey village, it said that compared to the small zoo it used to live in, this place was heaven.

"Have fun~!"

The orangutan slowly waved its hand at the strange little boy Shiwoo, who could understand its language.

"What's its name?"

Jiho asked, and Shiwoo answered.

"It's Langlang."

Jiho's mother, stroking Shiwoo's head proudly, said,

"Our Shiwoo can read all the Korean letters now."

"Really?"

"He read the name 'Langlang' written here."

"......Yes."

I heard it directly from Langlang.

The truth was left unsaid.

Shiwoo, holding Jiho's hand, walked through the monkey village and had a pleasant conversation with some of the talkative monkeys.

Outdoor activities were the best.

His stress was relieved.

Moreover, the weather was so warm today that he didn't even need to use his heat magic.

"Look at those kids holding hands, they're both so cute~"

"Oh~ Really~ Are they in kindergarten? They already look like handsome boys?"

"The one in the black padded jacket is especially cute. Hey? Don't I know him from somewhere?"

The two cute kids, who were jumping and holding hands, caught the attention of many people.

"Jiho, let's go~! Wow~"

Shiwoo, wearing a black padded jacket, ran away before people recognized him.

"Let's go too~! I'm a monkey~!"

Jiho also ran after Shiwoo.

As they approached the exit of the monkey village, a scream was heard.

"Ah!"

Shiwoo turned around and saw that a young couple had accidentally dropped their wallet into the enclosure.

While the couple was looking for a staff member, Shiwoo, passing by the enclosure, asked a red-faced monkey nearby.

"Ooh~ Ah~!"

"Can you pick that up for me~?"

The monkey yawned as if it was bothered, then climbed down the tree and picked up the wallet from the ground and brought it to Shiwoo.

"Oh, oh oh!"

Shiwoo, hearing the couple's surprised exclamation, secretly pointed to the couple to avoid drawing attention.

– Kiki!

The monkey, annoyed by the constant requests, threw the wallet in front of Shiwoo and left, shouting that he should have brought a banana if he was going to keep asking for things.

Shiwoo and Jiho, frozen in place by the monkey's grumpy reaction, looked at each other and giggled, then returned the wallet to its owner.

"Thank you, kids! You're so cute~!"

After greeting the wallet's owner, a young woman, Shiwoo and Jiho, along with their mothers, ordered a cotton candy at the cotton candy stand at the exit of the monkey village.

"Little customers~? This uncle will make it delicious for you!"

Whirr!

Watching the process of making cotton candy, Shiwoo thought he should try making it with magic at home.

'If I levitate sugar in the air, heat it to melt it, and then cool it with a breeze... will it work?'

Shiwoo and Jiho shared the cotton candy and entered the panda house.

"I am a panda~!"

I heard that Jiho, who usually doesn't play well with other children due to shyness, was especially lively when with Shiwoo.

Shiwoo had a conversation with the pandas and, on the way out, did a high five with a really, really cute red panda through the glass.

"Me too~ Me too~"

Jiho pleaded.

"Re~ Se~"

'Should I do one more high five?'

Shiwoo asked the red panda to do a high five with Jiho as well.

"Jiho, let's go~! Let's go see the penguins~"

Jiho, with a happy face, kissed the glass where the red panda was and reluctantly turned to follow Shiwoo.

They enjoyed watching the penguins, sea leopards, and polar bears.

The end of the zoo tour was the Savannah World, modeled after Neverland's Safari World.

"Jiyeon also got us tickets here. It's half price on weekdays in winter, but the reservation was very competitive. We'll ride in a six-seater car and see everything comfortably. Boys, let's cheer~!"

Jiho's mother, who was usually shy but got excited around familiar people, waved her arms enthusiastically at the children.

Shiwoo and Jiho raised their hands and cheered.

"Wow~!"

Shiwoo was genuinely excited at the thought of seeing lions, tigers, and bears up close.

He had been to Neverland Zoo a couple of times but had never been to the Safari World.

Shiwoo and Jiho headed to the ticket booth of Savannah World.

Jiho, with a flushed face, asked Shiwoo.

"Have you seen a tiger before~?"

Shiwoo, after checking the mothers' reactions, whispered to Jiho proudly.

"I've seen a dragon before~"

Jiho's mouth dropped open.

Jiho tilted his head and asked.

"What is that?"

"Um... It's... a really big... iguana-like thing."

"I~ gu~ a~ na~?"

Jiho's eyes widened.

"Yes. You know iguanas? I saw them at the mart when we went grocery shopping."

"Oh~ They look scary~ Really big~?"

"Yes, bigger than our apartment."

"Can it fight well? Is it stronger than a tiger?"

Shiwoo, with a slightly rosy face from the cold, smiled.

And he spoke in a voice tinged with mischief.

"Much stronger than a tiger~ It can just eat it~ But... it's a bit weaker than me."

"......! So if you fight a tiger, you would win?"

"Of course~ I can win with just one finger~ If I do a quick snap, the tiger would go 'Aah~'"

Will he believe it?

Or not?

"Wow~"

He believes it.

This cute kid.

So innocent.

Shiwoo, who was born a month after Jiho, put the cap on Jiho's padded jacket over his head like an older brother and ran with Jiho to the entrance of Savannah World.

"Look to your left~ There's a white tiger rolling around~ Can you see it, kids? Can you see the white tiger?"

Shiwoo and Jiho answered enthusiastically.

"Yes~!"

"Can you see it, ladies~?"

"Yes~!"

Hyunju and Jiho's mother, seemingly reliving their childhood, answered in loud voices, just like the children.

"Oh~ I'm so happy you all answered so loudly~! Shall we wave to the white tiger~?"

Shiwoo and Jiho, sticking to the window, waved enthusiastically at the white tiger.

Hyunju took pictures of the two children with her phone.

Click! Click!

"Okay~ We've seen the herbivores and the lions and tigers. Finally, let's go see our cute teddy bears~"

Jiho asked Shiwoo.

"Shiwoo, what are teddy bears?"

"They're... yellow bears that love honey~ They appear in cartoons."

"Oh~ I see~"

The car entered the area with the sun bears.

"Here are the sun bears~ You can see the bears playing freely~"

In a vast space that seemed to have been moved directly from nature, the bears were resting comfortably.

Some bears were scratching their backs against trees, and others were sunbathing on rocks.

"Wow~ Bears!"

"Really big~!"

As Shiwoo and Jiho enjoyed the last part of the zoo tour, two sun bears walked lazily like neighborhood bullies and blocked the front of the car.

Oh~