Chapter 199

<Part 3>

***

A lot of freshmen gathered on the spacious playground.

Eodong Elementary School, far from being closed down, had expanded and transformed into a two-story school.

[Our Eodong National School was established in 1927 as Eodong Hanmun Sasook…]

Well, it seems like they want to brag about how old it is.

During the Japanese colonial period, it gained approval as an academic training center, and after liberation, it became a branch of Taeyang Public School, finally being promoted to Eodong National School in 1960, and so on and so forth.

[Last year, we signed an agreement with the promising local company General Family, making us the first in the county to implement a school meal program, which was previously only available in big cities. We also operate after-school classes and care classrooms in the newly expanded classrooms.]

With nearly 40 freshmen and a steady influx of transfer students, even though the numbers aren’t huge, talking about closing the school is just plain stupid.

[……With this, we conclude the 68th Eodong National School Freshman Entrance Ceremony. Students, please follow your homeroom teachers to your respective classrooms. Parents who wish to observe, please watch from the hallway……]

Now, the kids who no longer wore white tights and yellow clothes followed their homeroom teacher to the classroom.

While the other kids took the stairs one step at a time due to their short legs, Son Yoo-jin, like the brave leader she is, boldly took two steps at a time. As always, Kim Ho-jin and Lee Dong-ho were by her side.

Thump thump-.

Finally, a student!

Son Yoo-jin felt like shouting “Hooray!”

But she had to hold back. Her brother said that “Hooray” is only for when a younger sibling is born. From what she overheard her parents talking about at night, it seems like there won’t be any more siblings, so she guessed she wouldn’t be able to shout “Hooray” anymore.

“Nice to meet you. The teacher in front is named……”

Listening carefully to the young uncle-like teacher, she intently observed the pile of objects next to the teacher’s desk.

That’s not just any book.

It’s a textbook, no less.

Even though she sat at the back due to her height, Son Yoo-jin’s sharp eyesight accurately identified the objects.

Thud-.

Finally, the teacher cut the string binding the textbooks.

At the same time, Son Yoo-jin’s nostrils flared, reflecting her soaring expectations.

“From the back, one by one, come up and take your textbook.”

After receiving her textbook and returning to her seat, Son Yoo-jin, unlike the other kids who immediately put theirs in their bags, scribbled her name crookedly on the cover.

「Son Yoo-jin」

This must be what they call touching? Moving?

Thump thump-.

‘This is my textbook.’

I’ll study hard and become an engineer.

If I become an engineer, I’ll be a better person than Dad.

Maybe it was the fluttering feeling, but when she stroked the book with her chubby hand, it seemed to tremble shyly.

Startled by the absurd illusion, she blinked hard, and the teacher unfolded something on the desk.

It looked stiff due to the thick green cover, and because it was only half the width of a book, it appeared elongated.

‘Oh-, that’s the attendance sheet!’

Once again, Son Yoo-jin’s sharp insight was spot on.

“Starting tomorrow, when you come to school, I’ll take attendance. Let’s practice now, so when I call your name, raise your hand and answer.”

“Yeeees-.”

As the childish voices filled the classroom, the pleased teacher smiled broadly.

It’s a fact everyone acknowledges, but Son Yoo-jin has an exceptional memory.

The ability to remember and repeat what someone said is nothing short of extraordinary. Though still young and lacking in application, making her unable to distinguish timing, place, or meaning, her talent is undeniable.

– “Yoo-jin, what did you do when the teacher called your name in kindergarten?”

Last night, Dad, who was feeding the fish in the aquarium, asked that.

His expression was serious, and since he had called Son Yoo-jin aside quietly, she couldn’t answer carelessly. Even if she wasn’t usually perceptive, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Her brother often whispers to Yoo-jin that Dad is a bit silly.

In such cases, you just say “Yes,” but he doesn’t seem to know that simple thing.

– “I answered ‘Yes.'”

– “You can’t answer like that when you go to school.”

Dad shook his head with an even more serious expression, his eyes tightly closed.

Of course, Son Yoo-jin was flustered.

– “Then what should I say?”

– “At school, you say……”

Oh?

Learning an unexpected fact from Dad, Son Yoo-jin realized the world isn’t easy. Dad’s words about the tough world waiting after kindergarten felt heavier than usual.

Whoo-, strangely, I feel nervous.

As if already familiar, the kind homeroom teacher smiled warmly and made eye contact with each child as she called their names.

“Kang Gun-woo.”

“Yeees-.”

“Kim Chul-soo.”

“Yeees-.”

New faces. They probably came from different kindergartens.

Judging by their pale faces and speech, they seem urban.

“Kim Ho-jin.”

“Yeees-.”

That silly Kim Ho-jin. “Yeees-“? Are you Seo Taiji?

“Nam Joo-young.”

“Yes.”

That kid’s also a new face, but still a kindergarten student.

Hey, if you can’t answer better than that, go back to kindergarten for another year.

Son Yoo-jin waited for her turn, her heart pounding.

I’ll show you how a true student answers during roll call.

I’m Son Yoo-jin, whose dad graduated top of his class from Korea University.

“Son Yoo-jin-.”

The homeroom teacher stared at Son Yoo-jin sitting at the back.

With the same smile, with kind eyes like the SSS uncles.

Finally!

Son Yoo-jin didn’t avoid the teacher’s gaze and leaned slightly against the chair back.

Now, like swatting a fly, she flailed her arm, acting cool, and answered loosely.

“I’m heeere-.”

Instantly, the teacher and all the kids turned their eyes to Son Yoo-jin.

The murmuring voices of the adults in the hallway also quieted down.

She thought they were moved by her student-like and mature answer.

But their expressions were strange.

Her kindergarten friends, as if they had made a promise, looked at her like she was some strange creature. Whether they were from the Chick Class, Elephant Class, or Giraffe Class, it was the same.

“Hahahahaha! Right! If you’re here, you say you’re here-.”

Cheongilong Heavy, watching from the hallway, seemed to understand Son Yoo-jin.

Mom, holding Jeong Won, closed her eyes with a red face, and the SSS uncles, along with other parents, bared their teeth.

“Dad- Uuuna- Babuuuu-!”

Jeong Won pointed and teased both Dad and his sister.

Only then did Son Yoo-jin realize something was wrong.

It wasn’t just her imagination that Dad, who should be at work, was laughing holding his stomach.

Unknowingly, her tightly clenched fists trembled.

It wasn’t anger towards Dad.

‘Don’t cry.’

This is the first time Son Yoo-jin experienced embarrassment in her life.

The day she cried at Choi Mi-kyung’s house, her brother said that only babies cry.

Son Yoo-jin is no longer a baby. Even though her brother still calls her a baby, she’s not.

Whoo-.

She suppressed the inexplicable emotion rising in her throat.

‘I miss my brother.’

Fortunately, the teacher didn’t scold her and just smiled kindly, but Son Yoo-jin felt even more embarrassed.

“Next, Lee Dong-ho?”

“I’m heere-.”

“You should say ‘Yes.'”

“Yes. I’m here.”

Lee Dong-ho, you punk.

Pretty loyal, huh?

“Jin Do-joon.”

“Yes. I-I’m here-.”

Oh?

***

Jin Hyuk, with his younger sibling on his lap, absentmindedly stroked his head.

With his other hand, he comforted Yoo-jin’s tiny hand.

Yoo-jin wasn’t sulking or angry.

In fact, she seemed happy.

“Really? Did you do that too, oppa?”

Hmm-.

Jin Hyuk nodded, making a sound that could either be an answer or a growl.

He needed to control the rising anger.

Back when Jang Gun wasn’t around, he was playing marbles alone in the yard when Dad called him with a serious expression.

– “Jin Hyuk, listen carefully. When a student is called for attendance, you answer ‘I’m here-.’ Saying ‘Yes’ is what passive people do. If you want to be successful, you must maintain this attitude. Understand?”

Young Jin Hyuk just nodded in front of Dad, who was spouting difficult words, wiping his runny nose.

– “The moment you graduate from kindergarten, the world is about living alone. You have to show strength. If someone hits you, hit them back, and if someone calls you, don’t answer obediently or you’ll be looked down on. My son, can you do it?”

Dad’s expression was so serious that Jin Hyuk couldn’t dare to question it. Unlike Yoo-jin, his less extroverted personality didn’t give him the courage to argue with adults.

Moreover, back then, Dad was the only man who gave him advice and was his playmate, so Jin Hyuk’s trust in Dad was absolute.

He pondered for a while watching his friends answer ‘Yes.’

Should I do that too, or is it right to do as Dad said?

“Hehehehehe! I did it like oppa too-!”

This kid is really weird. Is that something to be so happy about?

Yoo-jin struck a triumphant pose.

Worried his mischievous sibling might fall off his lap, Jin Hyuk firmly held Yoo-jin’s waist.

‘Sigh-. Why did I remember that? It’s my dark history.’

Though it was a long time ago, Choi Mi-kyung’s words brought it back.

Still, Jin Hyuk could end the day without regret.

“Dadadada- Honeyyyy-!”

Bang-.

Fireworks went off on Dad’s back as he returned from work.

*

Startled by the fireworks, Yoo-jin took out her notebook.

“Oppa, let’s do dictation-.”

Starting tomorrow, formal education will begin, but who did she take after to be so studious?

Jin Hyuk, who was a troublemaker, used to play alone with tops and marbles.

But he couldn’t ignore his sibling’s request.

Having a partner in both sports and studies is enjoyable and motivating.

Few would understand that fact as deeply as Jin Hyuk, who studied and exercised alone.

“Yum-. Food. Yumyumyumyum-.”

Jeong Won, sitting on the floor next to the table eating, called his brother.

Even the gentle Jeong Won has some sense, so he seeks his brother instead of Mom, who’s giving Dad a mental education.

The baby hands, palms together in a ‘please’ gesture, are adorable. His face was covered in rice grains, and just picking them off could fill two spoonfuls.

“Oh, our Jeong Won wants more food? Yoo-jin, wait a moment.”

The rice grains on Jeong Won’s face disappeared into Jin Hyuk’s mouth.

For the baby, new rice had to be scooped and mixed with barley tea.

Mom had washed the old rice, and only the crispy parts were cut into small pieces with scissors and placed on top of the rice.

‘What a strange kid.’

Not even two years old, yet so independent that he shakes his head if someone tries to feed him. The kind of independence that would make him answer ‘I’m here’ without hesitation on his first day of elementary school.

With his clumsy spoon skills, he feeds himself, spilling a lot but somehow eating even more.

“Now, shall we do Yoo-jin’s dictation?”

Anyway, Jin Hyuk had already completed the first-year high school curriculum through advanced study, so his own studies weren’t urgent. And as the eldest, there’s nothing happier than spending time doing something with his siblings.

He opened the textbook Yoo-jin handed him.

“I sat on the chair.”

“Luscious fruit.”

“I shouted.”

“I made a doll.”

“Friend, are you okay?”

“A feast was held.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Endless wide grassland.”

School dictation tests are usually ten questions, but Yoo-jin, being greedy, did twenty before handing over her notebook.

“Oppa, please grade it-.”

“Sure, let’s see.”

He had already prepared the red colored pencil while reciting the questions.

“While I grade, do you want to do something else, Yoo-jin?”

“Yes-.”

Yoo-jin started drawing on the back of the scrap paper Dad brought.

“Sorry for not being honest- If this moment is a dream-.”

Was that the Sailor Moon theme song?

After watching the cartoon Jang Jin-nam recorded all winter, she must have learned the theme song.

「Dictation

Eodong National School

1st Grade, Class 1, Number 18 Son Yoo-jin」

With Yoo-jin’s singing as background music, he started grading.

“When the night comes and I can’t call, my heart keeps fluttering-.”

“Correct, correct, this is also correct-.”

It was a series of circles.

Yoo-jin even correctly placed the comma in 「Friend, are you okay?」

What more can you teach an eight-year-old who already understands punctuation?

“Hmm-, this one’s ambiguous.”

“In the distant night sky, our love shines like a dream- Why?”

Yoo-jin, startled, stopped humming.

“‘Endlessly’ is an adverb, so it should be written as one word. ‘End’ and ‘lessly’ should be connected.”

“Ah, I see. Spacing is still hard for me-.”

It’s normal to find it hard.

Jin Hyuk thought the level of the textbook Yoo-jin was using was too high.

Reading and writing Korean alone is impressive, but is it really easy for an eight-year-old to handle spacing too?

“Yoo-jin, even if you can’t do spacing, it won’t affect your life, so don’t be upset if you make mistakes in dictation.”

“Ah, really? It’s okay if I can’t do dictation?”

“It’s good if you can, but it’s not a big deal if you can’t. Still, it’s good to follow spelling rules. Like distinguishing between sitting on a chair and not being sick. As I always emphasize, accurately expressing yourself is crucial. It helps avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Scratch scratch-.

Not answering immediately and moving her lips, it seems Yoo-jin is memorizing what her brother said again.

Try memorizing this too.

“I think spacing issues are due to flawed rules, not problems with speech or writing. It’s certainly not the problem of those who struggle with spacing. But if you’ve received education and studied, it’s good to follow spelling rules.”

Hangul is a syllabic script that combines consonants and vowels vertically and horizontally. Therefore, even without spacing, there’s no hindrance in reading and writing, showcasing its excellent characteristics. It’s fundamentally different from scripts like English, which become unreadable without horizontal spacing. Still, for readability, minimal spacing is good. Jin Hyuk, about to say all this without taking a breath, held back because it seemed too mean.

Because.

“Hmm-.”

Yoo-jin’s forehead is precious.