Chapter 88

# 88 < Misunderstanding Leads to Understanding (3) >

***

On the last day of the holiday, Jin-hyuk took Yoo-jin and Jang Gun-i to Hae-won’s neighborhood store. He planned to buy Yoo-jin a cola when her mom wasn’t around.

But he faced an unexpected situation.

“Oops-. When there are too many people, we don’t sell. Same with cider and Fanta.”

The most disappointed person by Hae-won’s mom’s casual remark was Yoo-jin.

Yoo-jin, with her head down, glared at the empty drink fridge with resentful eyes. She had followed him, feeling like she was flying, only for her short legs to end up hurting.

‘Ah, my heart hurts so much.’

Seeing his little sister’s sad face for the first time, Jin-hyuk felt like his heart was being torn apart.

If he had known this would happen, he would’ve sneaked a bottle during the village hall’s yut game event. No one would’ve said anything, but he was too cautious.

“Yoo-jin, let’s get something else today. I’ll definitely buy you one next time.”

Yoo-jin glanced at the display and picked up a pack of ramen. Still with her head down, Jin-hyuk couldn’t tell her to eat something healthier. But Yoo-jin, do you even know what that is?

“Yoo-jin, should I give you a piggyback ride?”

Yoo-jin shook her head slowly, staring at the ground. She didn’t even look at her brother or answer. Her sulking reminded Jin-hyuk of Hong Soo-jung. Watching the back of kids’ heads, you often wonder what they’re thinking, and knowing disappointment was at the root of it, a cold wind blew through Jin-hyuk’s heart.

Just as he sighed through his nose,

Crunch, crunch-.

Huh? What’s that sound?

Jin-hyuk quickly ran over and bent down to look at his sister.

Ah, she was just eating raw ramen with her head down. Another misunderstanding.

Heh-! He couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she was.

Yoo-jin grinned at her brother.

“Brother, this is delicious.”

“Nehehe-, eat a lot.”

He was proud of his sister, who cheered up so quickly.

Crunch-.

The sound of chewing raw ramen came from beside Yoo-jin. Jang Gun-i never missed a meal.

‘Cute little things.’

The smile on Jin-hyuk’s face didn’t fade.

Perhaps Yoo-jin found her brother’s ever-smiling face fascinating. Her gaze at Jin-hyuk was like observing a strange animal.

The happy holiday passed like that.

***

Since mom went on a trip, Jin-hyuk planned to skip school for about three days to take care of his sister, but things got complicated.

Slap slap-!

“Brother, brother-. Let’s go to school.”

He tried to skip jogging and sleep in using his sister as an excuse, but this little one woke him up by hitting his head.

So, he went. To school.

Wherever you go, there’s always someone who attracts attention.

Ordinary beings can’t be the main character. You need something special.

Like a five-year-old girl going to a boys’ middle school.

Friends who knew Yoo-jin greeted her on the bus.

“Yoo-jin, are you going to school with your brother?”

“Yeah, hehe. It’s fun.”

Yoo-jin was excited to go to school with her brother, and Jin-hyuk’s friends were excited to ride the bus with them.

Only Jin-hyuk wasn’t excited.

‘This is dizzying.’

Was it bus sickness?

Even though he was a superhuman who could choke a wild boar, taking his sister to school was a different matter. He was always careful not to inconvenience others, even if he lived selfishly.

“Our baby, are you happy going to school with your brother?”

“Yeah! Hehe-.”

He carried his sister from the bus stop to school. Holding the little one in his arms, a backpack on his back, and two lunchboxes in his hands. He worried someone might laugh or stare, but other students seemed fascinated and fond of Yoo-jin, which was a relief.

Jin-hyuk stopped by the faculty office to explain the situation.

All the teachers came over to pat Yoo-jin’s cheeks, and some even gave her pocket money. They advised him to take good care of his sister without startling her.

‘People are nice.’

He never received much care before, but seeing this, the teachers seemed like good people. Jin-hyuk didn’t know about Son Kwang-yeon’s presence among the teachers, so he couldn’t realize it was selective tolerance.

A teacher who joined in the second semester asked if Jin-hyuk was a single father and got a lecture from Lee Byeong-se. You can’t judge a teacher by that. The vice-principal stopped Lee Byeong-se.

But Lee Byeong-se went further.

“Ah, let it go-. Do you want your school life to get messy, Kim?”

“I might not know······.”

He was a rich kid from Seoul, but he didn’t know much about the world. Lee Byeong-se intended to guide his junior on the right path.

“Don’t know? You should know what you need to know!”

“I must have misunderstood. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all for your own good-.”

But it looked different to other teachers. The inferiority they had suppressed since hearing that his pocket money was more than their salaries seemed to explode.

Jin-hyuk pulled over a spare desk and chair for Yoo-jin.

In Jin-hyuk’s neighborhood, there were no daycare centers, then called infant schools. Except for a kindergarten for seven-year-olds, early childhood education was nonexistent. So, Jin-hyuk hoped his sister, who still stumbled over words, wasn’t growing slower than her future peers.

“So, what’s the answer?”

“This!”

A clear child’s voice echoed in the boys’ middle school classroom.

Yoo-jin, sitting quietly beside Jin-hyuk, suddenly answered loudly.

“Um······. That’s right. The answer is ‘this’.”

He didn’t know what she knew, but it was the correct answer.

The teacher tilted his head and wrote the number 2 on the board.

Jin-hyuk whispered to Yoo-jin.

“Yoo-jin, we promised to be quiet during class, right?”

“Yeah, hehe.”

Jin-hyuk smiled more like a dad than a brother and patted his sister’s cheek.

He didn’t know why she shouted ‘2’, but a kid who didn’t even know numbers couldn’t know the answer. In the following classes, Yoo-jin only mumbled quietly without making loud noises. She was a sister who listened well to her brother.

“Wow-, is that the class president’s sister? So-, so cute!”

“Isn’t she more like a daughter? Class president, be honest.”

Jin-hyuk’s friends also adored the five-year-old in the middle school classroom. His desk mate Chae Kyu-ho, as well as Lee Seung-hoon and Shin Woo-sung from the wrestling club, tried to win her over with bread and milk.

Even Park Yong-seok from another class gave her chocolate, probably wanting to impress Jin-hyuk. Jin-hyuk wondered why such a nice guy hung out with someone like Yoon Seong-dong but quickly dismissed the thought. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s just a matter of correcting them quickly or continuing down the wrong path.

Jo Seol-chan also came over and pretended to know Yoo-jin.

“Hey-! Did our Yoo-jin come to see Seol-chan oppa?”

“-No. Hehe-.”

Jin-hyuk was nervous at Yoo-jin’s honest answer, but Jo Seol-chan didn’t seem to hear it properly. Yoo-jin often talked about Jo Seol-chan. Her answer just meant today’s school visit wasn’t because of him, but it could be misunderstood.

During breaks, kids from other classes came to see her, bringing candies and chocolates.

“Thank youuu-.”

Yoo-jin neatly packed them into her pink rabbit bag.

“Yoo-jin, aren’t you eating? Are you scared mom will scold you? I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Jang Gun-i, let’s eat together. Hehe.”

Ah, right.

Jang Gun-i is guarding the house alone. He barely managed to leave him when boarding the bus, but it still bothered him. If he runs out of food, he’ll go to Choi Mi-kyung’s house, so he won’t starve, but he worried how he’d manage alone at home for so long.

‘He might even come to school.’

Given how smart he is, it’s a realistic concern.

Jang Gun-i has been eating leftovers since he was adopted. He eats human food, specifically the same food as Jin-hyuk’s family. So, he won’t eat dog food. He’s a funny one.

Come to think of it, he even ate acorns.

Anyway, it’s good that Yoo-jin also considers Jang Gun-i family.

During P.E., Yoo-jin rode the swing, and Jin-hyuk pushed her, making sure she didn’t fall. He wished his sister wouldn’t feel lonely, unlike him, who just sat alone.

“Yoo-jin, do you like school?”

“Yeah! Hehe-.”

“Then should we come again tomorrow?”

“Yeah! Tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow too.”

Let’s see. Parents are coming back the day after tomorrow, so I’ll have to bring her until then. Yoo-jin is indeed smart. She even considered our parents’ return schedule.

He was about to eat lunch when homeroom teacher Kim Seon-sook took Jin-hyuk and Yoo-jin to a snack bar. The menu was bibimbap and kimbap, and Jin-hyuk ordered a cola.

Finally, the moment came for Son Yoo-jin to taste cola for the first time in her life.

“Ooooh-?”

Yoo-jin, tasting cola, seemed shocked, her eyes wide and frozen. Her big pupils shook more violently than when she encountered a wild boar.

One sip, two sips.

Son Yoo-jin was happy.

Yeah, drinking cola behind parents’ backs. Kim Seon-sook nodded quietly.

‘We’ll have to eat the lunchbox for dinner.’

Yoo-jin, who should nap in the afternoon, stayed awake during breaks, watching her brother and his friends play. Leaning on the chair back, she looked more mature than the middle schoolers.

On the bus home, Jin-hyuk held the dozing Yoo-jin and sighed.

It was a long day.

Lately, with constant incidents, every day feels long.

‘I’m tired, so tired. Raising kids is the hardest.’

He missed his mom and pursed his lips.

Getting off the bus, Jang Gun-i, waiting at the stop, greeted them.

Choi Mi-kyung’s mom, Kim Soon-bok, praised him loudly.

“Oh my, Jang Gun-i waited here all day.”

“Really? Without eating?”

“Not eating my foot-. This mutt ate even our Hwang-gu’s food. What kind of stray dares to steal a Jindo dog’s food-. That pup is brave-.”

Kim Soon-bok laughed, whether it was praise or a curse.

Seeing Jang Gun-i’s bulging belly, Jin-hyuk decided to feel just a little sorry.

The sparse fur on the yellow dog showed Jang Gun-i had no time to be bored.

Choi Mi-kyung’s Jindo dog, Hwang-gu, is a fierce male, but when Jang Gun-i growls, he hides in his house. After the mating incident during vacation, they couldn’t even make eye contact. Jang Gun-i must be a tough dog.

Now, feeding the chickens, taking care of Jang Gun-i’s water and food, bathing Yoo-jin, and having dinner together would end the day. He planned to make kimchi stew with various pancakes acquired during Chuseok.

“Brother, let’s do homework.”

After a day at school, Yoo-jin remembered homework. She seemed to focus more on class than the fairy tales she was supposed to read. Jin-hyuk had no choice but to do homework, and even though he flipped pages quickly, Yoo-jin didn’t miss a thing, watching closely.

“Brother, you missed here and here.”

“Huh?”

She’s really watching closely? Yoo-jin pointed out even the parts Jin-hyuk intentionally skipped. It’s amazing, but being a genius as a child doesn’t mean staying one. Kids are said to have good short-term focus.

‘My sister must have the basics.’

Thinking that, he still felt uneasy and watched Yoo-jin closely.

She hadn’t even learned numbers, let alone Hangul, but she seemed to read. Her speech improved a lot after just one day at school.

‘Is she a super sister?’

From Jang Gun-i to Yoo-jin, there are too many talented people in the house.

Finally finishing homework, Jin-hyuk closed the book and sat quietly.

‘I’m the most ordinary.’

Swallowing nonsense, he turned his head to the calendar.

The slow days had flown by, and the day to reunite with his parents was near.

Apart from longing, he felt a sense of gravity.

‘I have a lot to talk about with dad.’