Chapter 211

<Luck (8)>

***

After finishing school, Son Yoo-jin sat on the bus, fidgeting nervously.

“Class president, what’s wrong? Are you tired?”

“It’s not that.”

She had to go home and flip Haengun-i over. If she didn’t flip him in time, who knows what might happen.

Even though it was something she had been doing for over five days, she still couldn’t relax.

– “Oppa, if we don’t flip Haengun-i, will he die?”

– “I don’t know.”

Her brother’s expression didn’t look good when he brushed it off with an “I don’t know.” And if he didn’t know, it meant that if something scary or sad happened, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. Yoo-jin, being a smart younger sister, could think on such a high level.

“But, class president, did you write the Parents’ Day letter?”

“Oh, right. I have homework too.”

“What should I write? I’m so worried. This world is full of worries.”

Right.

What should I write? I’m worried.

The teacher said she would write it for the kids who couldn’t write in Korean yet.

If the teacher writes it, we can just copy it.

The problem is, to do that, we have to tell the teacher what to write in advance.

At that point, it’s better to just write it myself. If I know how to write, that is.

“Since Parents’ Day is on Monday, let’s write it together at school on Saturday.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Ha- My head hurts just holding a pencil.”

Ah, so that’s why Kim Ho-jin can only write his name.

His head hurts.

I thought it was because he wasn’t smart, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Even though tomorrow is Children’s Day, the kids aren’t at ease because of homework worries.

*

As soon as Yoo-jin got off the bus, she rushed home.

“I’m home from school-!”

Her shoes flew off, and her bag was thrown aside.

Thud-!

Yoo-jin slid into the incubator and landed on her knees.

“Ohh-.”

Yoo-jin’s eyes softened as they shook.

Haengun-i, who looked more mysterious and radiant the more she looked at him, was thankfully safe.

In Yoo-jin’s eyes, she could see a heart smaller than a bean, beating rapidly.

“Hehe-. Are you uncomfortable, Haengun-i? I’ll flip you over.”

“Mom already flipped him once after lunch.”

“I’ll do it again. To give him fresh air-.”

“Ohoho-, alright.”

Han Yu-young laughed until her eyes disappeared.

In this house, no one can handle Yoo-jin’s stubbornness except Jin-hyuk.

Carefully opening the incubator door, Yoo-jin thought deeply.

Wouldn’t he be healthier if I flipped him more? I saw my uncles exercising in the gym, and they kept flipping their bodies.

It’s not just for flipping the egg.

When I put my hand in the incubator, the warm energy travels up my arm to my face, and that warmth makes me feel happy, like when I was in Mom’s belly.

Now that I’ve flipped Haengun-i, it’s time to move on to other tasks.

“I’m going to take Jeong Won for a walk-.”

“Be careful with cars and watch out for rocks. Mom will follow soon.”

Jeong Won is a strong baby boy, so Mom said it’s hard to take care of him alone.

That’s why the kind Yoo-jin takes her little brother’s hand every day and goes for a walk around the neighborhood.

Just like Dad and Oppa used to do for her.

“Jeong Won, this is mugwort. If you boil it and make it into a side dish, it’s delicious.”

“Mahto-.”

“Ah- You can’t eat it raw. It’s bitter if you eat it raw-.”

“Tteo-.”

Even though I taught him yesterday and the day before, I keep teaching him.

Yoo-jin also learned the world that way.

“Mahto tteo-.”

“That’s right-.”

Jeong Won, when he’s with his sister, starts to talk a bit.

I think I understand how Oppa feels.

Looking at the baby staring at his sister with sparkling eyes, I feel like the strongest person in the world, and the happiest person too.

“Mugwort blooms white and yellow flowers in the summer, and they look like eggs, so they’re called egg flowers.”

“Kkoo-. Dagakkoo-.”

Even though I say the same thing every day, Jeong Won doesn’t seem bored and follows along diligently. He must be mimicking his sister’s words and slowly learning to speak.

Just like Yoo-jin learned to speak by copying her brother.

Vroom-.

When Jeong Won hears the bus, he points in that direction. It’s something he always does when the bus appears.

“Unga, ungaa-.”

“Oppa isn’t coming yet. He’ll come when it gets dark-.”

“Eungeunge-. Oppa eung-. Unga-.”

Jeong Won shook his head side to side.

“Right, to Jeong Won, Oppa is more like an older brother, right?”

But am I a sister or a brother to Haengun-i?

Yoo-jin, who had been so responsible while leading her brother, was caught up in a strange question. But it wasn’t a question she would hold onto for long.

Oppa said it.

Don’t dwell too long on questions that don’t have immediate answers.

Right now, it’s time to focus on Jeong Won.

“That’s shepherd’s purse-.”

“Naei-.”

“That’s a crescent moon-. Wow-. A crescent moon in the daytime.”

“Toddaa-. Oaa-.”

“Huh? It’s not the moon, it’s a cloud.”

“Gooum-.”

“Jeong Won, look over there. It’s a patch of clouds.”

“Jogakkooum-.”

“A plane is flying.”

“Biyoong-. Unga- biyoong-.”

When Jeong Won hears the word “plane,” he thinks of his brother first. It’s only natural since his brother often took him on planes.

“This is clover-.”

“Krrrr-.”

Following her brother around, Yoo-jin sat down on a hill where clover was spread out. It was a sunny spot, so the grass was greener than elsewhere.

When Yoo-jin was younger than she is now, she used to play here often with Hong Soo-jung. Under the protective umbrella of her brother.

Her brother made rings and crowns out of clover flowers for Hong Soo-jung and Yoo-jin.

Every moment is special, but there are some scenes that are particularly happy memories. For Yoo-jin, it was sitting on the soft, cool clover field with her brother and sister. Being the youngest, she got all the love and attention, so it’s only natural.

Ah, the good old days-.

“Krrrr-, krrrr-.”

Jeong Won liked the soft touch of the clover and stroked it with his hand. He even grabbed handfuls and pulled them out, but Yoo-jin didn’t stop him. She also grew up feeling the texture and moving her hands like that.

The sound of her mom’s voice, who had followed late after preparing boiled sweet potatoes and radish water kimchi for the kids’ snack, came from behind.

“Yoo-jin-, should we look for a four-leaf clover with Mom?”

A four-leaf clover…

They say it’s a symbol of luck.

That’s why at school, during breaks, kids crouch at the edge of the playground, searching for four-leaf clovers.

“Why aren’t you looking, Yoo-jin? Should Mom look for you?”

Mom, who was rummaging through the grass with Jeong Won, asked. Her gaze was fixed on the clover.

Yoo-jin shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

Oppa said it.

Oppa and Yoo-jin are people who don’t need any more luck.

Wanting more is greed, and greed brings trouble.

If you already have more than enough and try to get more, it’ll cause problems.

Like eating too much and getting a stomachache.

Oppa always smiles when he looks at Yoo-jin, but when he talks like that, his expression becomes serious.

I don’t remember what he meant, why he said that, or how that conversation came up…

But if Oppa says so, then it’s so.

‘If you get a stomachache, you’ll feel bad.’

Even Yoo-jin can’t easily fix a stomachache.

***

The issue of participating in the junior tournament was settled according to Jin-hyuk’s wishes.

His parents said he would figure it out on his own and didn’t push him. Since Yoo Se-ra didn’t add to Jin-hyuk’s opinion, there was no one to force him to participate or to feel sorry for him.

“Hey, what a waste. You’re going on a plane, right? Singapore? They’re holding it there, right?”

Except for Choi Mi-kyung.

Choi Mi-kyung, the high school girl, suddenly became diligent and started going to school with Jin-hyuk on the first bus. Even Saturdays were no exception.

It’s obvious what she’s up to, but what can you do.

“The final exam period overlaps with the training period-.”

“Hey, but don’t you think Seung-hoon is tired?”

This guy, who had no interest in the first place, just asked that.

It was a natural bait to shift the topic to Lee Seung-hoon.

“He must be tired-.”

“Let’s go to Seung-hoon’s place during summer vacation.”

“I’m with my siblings-.”

“Let’s go together-. It’s too far to go alone by bus. You have to go all the way to the terminal and transfer to a local bus. Isn’t it dangerous for a fragile girl to go alone?”

Jin-hyuk scanned Choi Mi-kyung with as neutral a gaze as possible.

‘She does look fragile.’

Her temper is… eh, never mind.

Anyway, she’s the kind of friend who looks like she’d break if you squeezed her.

“We’ll see…”

“Yay! So we’re going together?”

I said we’ll see…

Blah blah-.

At home, it’s Yoo-jin, and on the bus, it’s Choi Mi-kyung the high school girl. Life is a constant eardrum assault.

‘Should I start riding my bike again?’

Yesterday, I was grateful to Choi Mi-kyung for playing with the kids on Children’s Day, but now it seems she was just setting up to complain.

*

When they arrive at school, Choi Mi-kyung heads to the wrestling club’s training ground.

She wipes the desks and chairs in the education room and does some light organizing.

Actually, the wrestling club’s training ground is well-maintained, so there’s not much for Choi Mi-kyung to do.

“Ouch-, my back. This frail body of mine is suffering so much.”

Choi Mi-kyung whined as she pushed a wheeled chair back in.

While Choi Mi-kyung was making even the easiest tasks seem difficult, Jin-hyuk was flattening the sandpit with a rake.

‘What kind of suffering is this?’

He had decided to help out so his friend wouldn’t suffer alone, but Jin-hyuk ended up doing most of the work.

Still, thanks to Choi Mi-kyung rolling up her sleeves and stepping up, the wrestling club members paid more attention to maintaining the training ground. The dormitory cleaning was also much cleaner.

“Manager, hello-.”

“Hehe-, hello, sunbaenim.”

“Mi-kyung, give it to me. I’ll do it.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Focus on your training, sunbaenim-.”

Even though a fellow student was fidgeting, Choi Mi-kyung was firm.

Sweeping the training ground with a broom is Choi Mi-kyung’s only exercise, so she can’t let it be taken away. Using a reed broom to sweep the sand that had spilled outside back into the sandpit, Choi Mi-kyung kept smiling.

‘Disgusting.’

Jin-hyuk was amazed at Choi Mi-kyung’s transformation.

‘These guys, I’m doing all the hard work, and they don’t even care about me!’

Jin-hyuk’s lips pouted.

It’s not that he dislikes helping with training.

‘Why am I the assistant manager?’

Never in history has he held a position lower than Choi Mi-kyung.

What’s the point of having a manager in a high school wrestling club? But thanks to Choi Mi-kyung’s liveliness, the wrestlers’ faces were always smiling. And no one dared to mess with her because she’s Choi Tae-yang’s sister.

This was when Jin-hyuk was away from school for a tournament.

Choi Mi-kyung went to the wrestling club’s coach, Seong Bu-hyeon, and passionately argued that having a manager would help the wrestlers focus on training, and that a manager who knows a lot about wrestling and is dedicated is essential.

Seong Bu-hyeon, who had read a fair share of Japanese manga, was completely swayed by her words and approved Choi Mi-kyung’s entry as manager. Along with the absent Son Jin-hyuk as assistant manager.

Choi Mi-kyung, wearing a yellow armband and rummaging through the laundry, stretched her neck.

“Hey! Lee Seung-hoon, Shin Woo-sung! Did you guys leave your underwear here?”

“Ah, no. You have to wash your own underwear. There’s a washing machine-.”

“Not that underwear, you idiot! Wrestling underwear! Your names aren’t on the underwear.”

“Ah, right. I forgot to take it out.”

“Tsk tsk-. You guys are going to get married without your balls.”

It’s like serving a grandma, not being a manager-. As Lee Seung-hoon muttered, the senior wrestlers passed by, giggling.

Shin Woo-sung, who had been thoroughly scolded by Choi Mi-kyung since the first day of school, didn’t add any comments no matter what she said, but Lee Seung-hoon added a word and got scolded.

“I’ll wash it in the washing machine, so just leave it?”

“Hey, you idiot. You’re the manager, so you should at least press the washing machine button-! You keep saying nonsense to your noona and then fall over.”

“Falling over after saying nonsense is better than falling over in the sandpit…”

Lee Seung-hoon just wanted to exchange a few more words with Choi Mi-kyung.

Probably everyone knows except Shin Woo-sung.

“Lee Seung-hoon. Stop flirting and come warm up.”

“Yes-, captain. Kayu-.”

“Do your best, kid. If you don’t want to get injured, you need to stretch well.”

Choi Mi-kyung scolded Lee Seung-hoon’s retreating back and pressed the washing machine button.

Then she picked up her backpack and moved on to her real purpose.

“Phew-. Now I have to go study.”

When the wrestlers around the sandpit started stretching their widely spread legs from the hip, Choi Mi-kyung went into the education room to study.

The wrestling club’s audiovisual education room is the quietest and most comfortable place in school. There’s a large TV where you can watch educational broadcasts, so Choi Mi-kyung uses it often.

Being Choi Tae-yang’s sister, Son Jin-hyuk’s childhood friend, and the wrestling club manager.

Choi Mi-kyung’s life was going too smoothly and easily.

‘Cunning brat.’

Jin-hyuk shook his head as he saw the light seeping through the education room door. He closed his eyes slightly.

What kind of manager is this?

This is more like a cushy job than a library manager.

Jin-hyuk led the wrestlers, who had finished stretching, out to the field.

Not only did Choi Mi-kyung arbitrarily appoint him as assistant manager, but she also assigned him duties.

「Manager: Overall.

Assistant Manager: Training ground management, assisting wrestler training, checking wrestler condition.」

What kind of job description is this?

Jin-hyuk wanted to argue but held back.

Since the training time overlaps anyway, and Jin-hyuk’s personal program doesn’t take long, and all the wrestlers are familiar, there’s nothing awkward.

But it’s still annoying.

‘I’m Choi Mi-kyung’s lackey…’

I lived my second year somewhat independently, but now I’m suddenly under Choi Mi-kyung’s thumb.

‘If I say no, she’ll call me petty.’

Thinking that, his face naturally scrunched up.

He announced the start of training to the wrestlers lined up in two rows. Unaware that his expression was twisted.

‘Let’s run ten laps lightly.’

“Shibure!”

… His words and thoughts got mixed up.

Clap clap-!

As if they had never chattered before, the wrestlers closed their mouths tightly and stood at attention.

“Ah, no. Hey-, that’s not it…”

He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but seeing the frozen wrestlers, it was already too late.

Damn, am I the only trash here?