A Warm Invitation
My sobs gradually subsided, and with them came a wave of embarrassment. My eyes were still damp, the tip of my nose bright red, but Ji-an kept looking at me as if nothing had happened, which only made it worse. I rubbed my eyes with my palms and muttered,
“Aww… I’m so sorry, crying in front of a child…”
“It’s okay.”
Mr. Ha-jun shook his head with a gentle smile.
The sudden sound caught me completely off guard. I hadn’t eaten breakfast and had been crying on top of that, so the rumble from my stomach came out embarrassingly loud.
“Mommy’s hungry! Her tummy just went grrr!”
After Ji-an’s cheerful declaration, my face flushed even hotter than before.
“N-no, it’s just… I left without eating breakfast…”
I covered my face with both hands and bowed my head. Why did it have to happen right now? If there were a mouse hole nearby, I would have crawled into it and disappeared.
“Haha, it’s still a little early, but how about we go grab some lunch together?”
“Ah… I really couldn’t impose…”
I waved my hands in protest. I had already cried in front of the child; accepting a meal on top of that felt like taking advantage. But Mr. Ha-jun shook his head again.
“What’s there to feel sorry about? If anything, I’m the one who’s grateful. Just having you play with Ji-an like this is more than enough.”
At those words, I couldn’t find a reply and simply lowered my head. My already burning cheeks grew even hotter.
“Th-thank you…”
I answered in a tiny, crawling voice, still looking down. My voice must have been too soft, because Ji-an tilted her head, then beamed brightly.
“We’re going to eat, right? Because Mommy’s tummy went grrr!”
The child’s innocent words eased the tension, and a laugh slipped out of me. The moment I laughed, Ji-an dove into my arms with delight. Mr. Ha-jun watched the two of us with a warm smile.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?”
“Umm…”
When I couldn’t decide after a long moment of hesitation, Ji-an shouted from within my embrace.
“Tonkatsu! Let’s eat tonkatsu!”
She wriggled in my arms as she spoke, and Mr. Ha-jun nodded.
“Would tonkatsu be all right with you too, Seoyeon?”
“Yes… that’s fine with me.”
I hesitated briefly before nodding.
“Yay! Then let’s go!”
Ji-an sprang up as if she had never been on the verge of tears, throwing her arms in the air. Her small hand tugged mine, full of excitement. I stood up at her gentle pull, and she dragged me eagerly toward the door.
“Hurry! Mommy’s tummy went grrr, so we have to go right now!”
My face flushed again at the child’s words, but this time laughter came before the embarrassment. I glanced back at the sound of chuckling behind us and saw Mr. Ha-jun following with our coats, smiling at the sight.
When the door opened, I looked forward again. The teacher I had seen earlier was standing in the hallway. She glanced at me and Ji-an, then quickly shifted her gaze to Mr. Ha-jun.
“Ah… so the two of you were together. I saw Ji-an’s father arrive, but I didn’t see you, so…”
There was something subtly strange in the teacher’s eyes. The awkward look, as if she had noticed something, made me try to pull my hand free from Ji-an’s. But the child only gripped it tighter.
“I… I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“N-no, not at all.”
“N-no, you’re not.”
Mr. Ha-jun and I spoke almost at the same time. Ji-an looked at us and giggled.
“You both said it at the same time! Jinx!”
At Ji-an’s words, the teacher laughed and gently ruffled the child’s hair.
“Haha, Ji-an seems to be in an especially good mood today, doesn’t she?”
“Yep! And right now Ji-an is going to eat tonkatsu!”
“Really? That sounds fun~”
Ji-an’s voice grew louder with excitement.
“And earlier, when Ji-an was playing alone, Daddy made Mommy cry! But Ji-an forgave him!”
The moment I heard that, I lightly covered Ji-an’s mouth with one hand. But the words were already out and couldn’t be taken back. The teacher’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between me and Mr. Ha-jun. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but somehow it sounded strangely suggestive.
“Uh?… Ah, um… I-I see?”
The teacher answered, but her voice trembled faintly. The soft laughter that followed only made the awkwardness thicker.
“It’s… it’s not what you’re thinking…”
Mr. Ha-jun, who had stepped closer, hurried to explain. The teacher looked at us for a moment before changing the subject.
“Ah… yes, of course. Children are naturally very innocent, after all…”
She tried to smooth over the atmosphere, but once the strange idea had taken root, my face burned so fiercely that I could only keep my head down. Oblivious to my feelings, Ji-an kept holding my hand and grinning from ear to ear.
“W-well then… I’ll see you next time…”
The teacher offered us a careful smile. I nodded in a daze.
“Yes… yes, let’s do that.”
When Mr. Ha-jun answered in my place, the teacher bowed and turned away. Her footsteps down the hallway quickly faded into the distance.
Once her figure had completely disappeared, silence settled over us. I still couldn’t lift my face, but Ji-an shook the hand she was holding.
“Mommy! Let’s go already~ Ji-an is hungry~”
At the child’s urging, I snapped back to my senses. I turned to look at Ji-an. Her bright, sunny smile showed no trace of the embarrassing moment. That pure expression drew a soft chuckle from me.
“All right, let’s go.”
When I answered, Ji-an swung our joined hands with delight. Mr. Ha-jun walked beside us, coat in hand, matching our pace.
“I know a good tonkatsu place. How does that sound?”
“Oh! That sounds great.”
My reply was short, but the embarrassment still lingered in my voice. Mr. Ha-jun didn’t seem to notice. He took Ji-an’s other hand, and the three of us stepped out of the building together.
Outside, the sunlight felt warmer than it had when I first left the house. A cool breeze brushed against my heated cheeks. In front of us were the friends of Ji-an I had seen earlier.
“Hello!”
The energetic greeting from four or five children was brighter than the sunlight. Mr. Ha-jun responded as if he were used to it.
“Hey, kids. It’s been a while.”
The children gathered around with smiles, exchanging glances before blurting out almost in unison.
“Mister! Is that lady really Ji-an’s mom?”
“Yeah! Doesn’t Ji-an not have a mom?”
The children’s words were blunt. Calling him “mister” and then saying something so honest that it could hurt a child’s feelings. Even Mr. Ha-jun seemed momentarily at a loss, his expression freezing.
His gaze flicked from the children to me. He hesitated, lips moving without sound, unsure if he should answer. I took a steadying breath and slowly nodded.
“…Yes, like I told you before, I am Ji-an’s mom. Right?”
Mr. Ha-jun looked at me in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected me to say it so directly. A swirl of complicated emotions passed through his eyes.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
At his confirmation, the children’s faces lit up. They looked at each other, exclaiming in wonder, and crowded around Ji-an, chattering excitedly.
“That’s enough! Ji-an is going to eat now!”
Ji-an raised her hand high and declared it like a proclamation. The children burst into laughter and scattered.
“Ji-an has a lot of friends. Is it because she always approaches them first?”
I smiled as I spoke. Mr. Ha-jun, who had been listening quietly, nodded with a gentle smile.
“It seems so. She’s the type who goes up to people first no matter where she is, so she gets along everywhere.”
I watched Ji-an for a moment. Even after parting from her friends, she was still swinging our hands with an excited expression. I had expected a difficult day when I left the house, but now it was turning out to be the complete opposite—an unexpectedly fun one.
“Let’s go~!”
Ji-an let go of my hand and ran ahead to the car. Mr. Ha-jun, walking beside me, murmured softly.
“Seoyeon, I think you should smile more often.”
I almost stopped in my tracks.
“Ah… do I?”
I hadn’t had many reasons to smile at home, but I thought I smiled quite a bit whenever I met Ji-an. Apparently it didn’t look that way to others.
“Yes. You often have a blank expression… but when you smile even a little, it looks really nice.”
I hadn’t realized a simple suggestion to smile could sound so embarrassing. I turned my head away. Before long, we reached the car.
When we arrived, Ji-an quickly opened the back door and climbed in. I had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat. I glanced back and couldn’t help smiling at the sight of her small hands fumbling clumsily with the seatbelt buckle. It was adorable.
“Okay! Let’s go!”
Ji-an said with a bright grin. Her energy made me smile without thinking. Mr. Ha-jun, hearing her, turned with a soft gaze and smiled as well.
“Then, we’re off.”
The car glided smoothly onto the road. It had been a long time since I had watched the scenery pass by on a weekend. Until now, I had rarely left the house on weekends, and even when I did, I only took a short walk before returning.
Looking at the scenery with a relaxed heart like this was more beautiful than I had expected. Ji-an’s humming from the backseat filled the car, and the rhythmic tapping of her feet against the seat added another pleasant beat.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
Mr. Ha-jun spoke gently from the driver’s seat. With my eyes closed, I answered quietly.
“Everything… feels good right now.”