Chapter 92

92. Eun-dol

"Jongsu~!"

Like a neighborhood child calling out to a friend, Seokho shouted Jongsu's name as he arrived at Jongsu's house.

Siwoo looked into the courtyard of Jongsu's house, which he had visited after five years, from the front gate.

Just as before, a wooden platform was placed in the middle of the spacious courtyard.

‘Did that kid grow up well?’

What was his name again?

Youngsu?

The image of the small baby who had a word battle with him on that platform, a language prodigy, came to mind.

After a fierce exchange, he had concluded the situation with “Woteoppaak~~?”

Siwoo thought that this was the kind of moment that brings back memories, and he smiled unconsciously.

"Hey, our grandson is cold. Open the door quickly."

Creak.

As the gate opened, Seokho took Siwoo's hand and entered the courtyard.

Jongsu, who had just returned home after tending to the cows in the barn behind the house, slipped on his slippers and ran out.

"Wow~ What a great honor! A Super~ Star has come! I was just about to go find you when I heard you were coming, but Geumsun suddenly went into labor~ So I couldn't go."

"Geumsun? Did she give birth?"

"If she had given birth, would I be standing here? The contractions are intermittent. The doctor said it might happen by tonight~ I think I've already had my sleep for today."

"You must be tired."

"Come in! Siwoo, do you remember me? I'm Grandpa Jongsu. Grandpa Jongsu."

The "Do you remember me?" season 2 with the neighborhood elder had begun.

"You've grown up so well! When you were little, you and our grandson watched clams and played in the water. Wait a moment. Here, have some strawberries. Eat this. I'll call your friend."

Jongsu, who had brought Siwoo into the house, took out his phone and made a call.

"Siwoo, Ah~"

"Ah~"

Siwoo, sitting on the warm living room floor with Grandpa, was eating strawberries when Jongsu handed him the phone.

"Siwoo, Youngsu~ Your friend Youngsu~"

…Having only met once when he was three, it was quite awkward to call him a friend, but from Jongsu's perspective, who remembered them sitting side by side eating clam soup, they were childhood friends.

Siwoo put the strawberry given by Grandpa into his mouth and looked at the phone screen.

A chubby, round-faced child was staring at him blankly.

‘Yeah, you must find me strange too. It’s awkward.’

Especially since Siwoo remembered that incident, but Youngsu wouldn't remember anything.

Sure enough, Youngsu's mother's voice came from the other side of the video call.

Youngsu waved at Siwoo.

Siwoo found the robot-like greeting of Youngsu adorable and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hi! Let's play together when you come to the countryside later."

"Did you see the arts and physical education test results?"

"Thanks~"

Jongsu, who had been watching Siwoo and Youngsu's conversation with a pleased expression, took the phone when the children said their goodbyes.

"Youngsu~ Come during the holidays and eat some delicious food with Siwoo. We can go sledding together, and I heard you're learning Go, so you two can play Go too~ Got it? Our dog, Grandpa loves a lot!"

Seokho, who had been watching Jongsu with a meaningful gaze, spoke after the call ended.

"By the way, do you remember that Siwoo and Youngsu agreed to a Go match when they were 8?"

Jongsu laughed.

"Of course~ I've been waiting for that day! Our grandson is so smart that the teacher at the Go academy praises him endlessly!"

After launching a preemptive strike, Jongsu looked at Seokho with a mischievous smile.

"Huhuhu."

Seokho was smiling.

In a low voice, Seokho spoke.

"Our Siwoo is not just smart. He's a genius."

"…Why are you setting the mood like that?"

"I only found out today because my son and daughter-in-law are not good at boasting… Our Siwoo… teaches the teachers at the academy, they say?"

Jongsu was speechless at Seokho's bold statement.

"…"

"Why? Don't you believe it?"

"No, my friend. You can add some seasoning to the story, but if you go too far, it's hard for me to respond."

"No need for long talk. Bring the Go board. If you win against our grandson, I'll treat you as my elder brother for life!"

"Haahaha! What, are you serious?"

"Of course~"

"Oh, good! Alright! Our grandson will give me a nine-stone handicap, so how many stones will Siwoo give?"

"What handicap? Let's play an even game."

"What? An even game? With an eight-year-old?"

"Why, are you getting scared?"

"…Sigh, what a life. What makes you so confident to boast like this? Fine, do as you please. I won't go easy on you. If I win, you said you'd treat me as your elder brother, right?"

Jongsu, thinking about the end of his long rivalry with Seokho and the prospect of being called "elder brother," went to get the Go board with a happy face.

Meanwhile,

Siwoo picked up a strawberry with a fork, put it in his mouth, and chewed it cutely before asking his grandfather.

"Grandpa~ Should we play it fair? Or for real?"

After seeing Jongsu approaching with the Go board and humming a tune, Grandpa gave a short and clear order.

"Siwoo. Crush~ him~"

Grandpa and grandson, who looked somewhat alike, smiled mischievously and high-fived.

Jongsu, who didn't know Siwoo's true identity as the academy's Master Yoonshushu, sat down with a cheerful face.

"Let's see how well our Siwoo plays."

Jongsu, who had been watching Siwoo carefully place the Go stones with a smile, gradually lost his smile as the game progressed.

"…"

Around the 50th move.

Despite the game just starting, Jongsu couldn't pick up another stone.

At first, he thought Siwoo was just imitating adults.

But by the 20th move, he sensed something was off, and by the 30th move, a battle began.

By the 50th move, it was a complete disaster.

It was over.

Considering that a typical game of Go lasts over 200 moves, it was as if the game was over as soon as they sat down.

"Let's play again."

Even after two more games, Siwoo's overwhelming presence only became more apparent.

Jongsu, looking back and forth between Siwoo and the Go board with a dazed expression, couldn't help but let his true feelings slip out.

"A genius…"

Seokho stretched his shoulders and said.

"I told you our grandson is incredibly smart."

"No, not just incredibly smart! This is a genius! A genius! Siwoo, what's your rank in online Go? Our grandson is 23rd dan, are you… are you a dan player?"

Seokho, whose face had turned red with excitement, casually replied.

"9th dan."

Technically, he had heard that Siwoo was 9th dan in strength, but Seokho understood it as 9th dan.

"Whoa!"

Just as Jongsu was about to faint, the door to the kitchen, which connected to the backyard, burst open.

Jongsu's grandmother shouted.

"Old man~! It looks like Geumsun is about to give birth!"

"What? Now? I knew my intuition was right!"

Jongsu got up, put on his shoes, and went to the barn.

Siwoo, holding his grandfather's hand, followed Jongsu.

A large cow was standing, preparing to give birth.

"Seokho, it's a good thing you're here. Let's help her. Siwoo, stay warm with Grandma by the heater."

"Okay~"

Siwoo stood by the heater with Jongsu's grandmother, watching the cow.

"Grandma~"

"Yes?"

"Is this Geumsun's first time giving birth?"

"Yes, it's her first time."

‘It must be tough. I should help her regain her strength.’

Geumsun was repeatedly sitting and standing, seemingly in pain.

When Siwoo pointed at Geumsun and used magic, a gentle aura spread and enveloped Geumsun's body.

‘It's winter, so I should make the barn warmer too.’

Siwoo decided to create a good environment for the calf to be born.

As he spread warmth in the barn, Geumsun looked at Siwoo and mooed.

– Moooo~

Seeing the tears in Geumsun's eyes, Siwoo said,

"It's okay. Hang in there~ It'll be out soon!"

Geumsun, instinctively seeking a safe place, approached Siwoo and began to push.

After a while,

Jongsu and Seokho became busy.

Siwoo comforted the anxious Geumsun.

"You're doing great~ Don't be scared. The grandpas are here to help."

Geumsun had been looking at Siwoo and blinking for a while.

Jongsu and Seokho, after securing Geumsun's body, wrapped the calf's legs in straw to prevent slipping.

"I didn't expect you to be my partner, but let's do our best. Seokho."

"Sure. I'll follow your lead. Jongsu."

Siwoo smiled at the adorable grandpas.

The two grandpas held the rope tied to the calf's legs and watched Geumsun's condition.

If they just pulled, it would only exhaust the cow and potentially injure the calf's legs.

They had to pull in sync with Geumsun's efforts.

"Geumsun~"

‘I'll count, one, two, three! Got it?’

Siwoo called out to Geumsun, guiding her to push at regular intervals.

‘I came to visit and ended up helping with a cow's birth.’

He wondered if he would ever have such an experience again.

Thanks to the efforts of Siwoo, Geumsun, and the two grandpas, a cute calf was born safely.

– Moooo~

Geumsun, who had completed her postpartum care thanks to Siwoo's healing magic, mooed gratefully.

Jongsu, wiping the sweat from his forehead, said to Siwoo,

"Siwoo, you kept talking to Geumsun~ You're so mature and kind! Siwoo, what should we name the calf? Why don't you name it?"

Geumsun was a cow that Jongsu kept in the backyard like a pet.

"Hmm~ It's a male, so… Eun-dol?"

Eun-dol was wobbling, trying to stand up in front of Siwoo.

"Eun-dol, hang in there! Your eyes are really beautiful~!"

Seeing Eun-dol, Siwoo thought of Si-yoon, whom he had left at his grandfather's house.

He decided to play with Si-yoon a lot when he got back and smiled brightly.

* * *

Siwoo wasn't the only one who took a vacation in January.

Tae-woo, his manager, had also taken a special leave and left Seoul.

Although it was only a week-long break, it was enough for a short trip.

Tae-woo was taking photos of the scenery at Bukchon Port in Jeju Island with a camera he had recently bought.

"Winter in Jeju is also beautiful. It's nice."

Tae-woo, satisfied, looked at the photos he had taken.

Taking photos of landscapes while wandering around was a small hobby of Tae-woo.

"Maybe I'll climb Hallasan tomorrow."

While thinking about which café to enter as he walked past them, a message from the company arrived.

Tae-woo, a diligent manager who had asked to be contacted about any news related to Siwoo even during his vacation, read the message.

"There are so many casting offers. The problem is that most of them need to be filtered out."

As he quickly skimmed through the long message, Tae-woo's thumb paused.

"Hmm?"

There was a unique casting offer.

"…Voice acting for an animation?"

Oh.