Sweet Summer (3)
Sweet Summer (3)
"So tomorrow at 8 again... wait, was it 7?"
"8. You know you get an extra day added if you're even a little late, right?"
"I told you, I know."
I gave Lee Min-ho a hard time for mixing up the time, then climbed into the car.
It was only the first day, and I was this exhausted already.
I couldn't believe there were still 14 days left.
"Oh, right. Speaking of which, I should call Mom first."
The shocking thing I'd heard from the Center Director up on the rooftop earlier.
The fact that my mom and the Center Director had been college classmates.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and turned on the screen.
Was it the fatigue giving me low blood sugar?
The hand holding the phone was trembling, so I took out a piece of candy I'd left in the car, put it in my mouth, and crunched down on it.
"Hoo... I really do need to keep something sweet on me at all times."
I'd had a cola earlier just in case, too....
Apparently, the sugar in a can of cola wasn't enough to restore my energy.
Once I felt the candy in my mouth had completely dissolved, I pressed the number and held the phone to my ear.
The dial tone, which felt a bit drawn out, made my heart grow anxious.
The day before yesterday, when I'd told Mom I was going to the children's center for my field practice, she hadn't shown much of a reaction.
She'd just given me encouragement through everyday conversation, like 'Our son will do well wherever he goes' or 'Work hard, our son.'
I'd even told her where I'd be working, so the fact that she'd said nothing must have been on purpose, right?
"Hello? Mom?"
- Son? Did you finish your practice for today?
"Yes, but Mom. Do you happen to have anything you'd like to tell me?"
- Huh? Not really?
I could always tell by instinct when Mom was lying.
Because she'd give it away by sounding a little shaky or clearing her throat.
But right now, there wasn't a single one of those signs.
On the contrary, she radiated a sense of total confidence.
"Mom, what kind of facilities do your friends work at?"
Without questioning why I was suddenly asking that, my mother began rifling through her memory, tapping her fingers against her head.
I could tell from the sound echoing out of the phone's speaker, even without seeing her.
"Hmm... some are working at a children's center and a senior welfare center, why?"
"No reason. The Center Director I met for the first time today said she could see why you go around bragging about your son so much."
Did she finally catch on then?
A string of flustered 'ah-ah' sounds spilled out.
How should I put it... it felt like she'd only just remembered.
- Ah~ Right, right. Now that I think about it, did I say Jin-hwa is the Center Director of Sorimsa Children's Center?
"That's right."
- Hehe, Mom just completely forgot. Sorry, sorry.
I couldn't see her, but imagining my mother smiling brightly made me give a wry smile.
Well, it was a bit of a shock, but it wasn't a big deal, so there wasn't anything in particular I wanted to dig into.
- Are you on your way home now?
"Yes. I'm planning to stop by this weekend. Is there anything you want to eat?"
- Hmm... Mom wants beef?
"Then I'll buy a ton of the good stuff and bring it."
If I wanted to feed everyone at the orphanage until they were on the verge of bursting, going to Costco and buying several 20kg slabs was the most cost-effective approach.
Well, just because it's cost-effective doesn't mean the quality is poor.
It literally just meant you were getting good value for the price.
If I were looking for the kind of deep satisfaction that comes from premium quality, then Hanwoo...
But honestly, I'd end up reaching for imported beef over Hanwoo.
"Meat, huh... Should I buy a little before I go inside?"
A-ra would have already gotten home and would be waiting for me.
She'd be clutching her hungry stomach and on the verge of tears.
Wasn't that an adorable image just to imagine?
***
"Oh? What brings you here?"
I asked because someone who didn't really fit in at all was sitting in a chair on the first floor of the children's center, where little kids were running around and playing.
She didn't look like a parent, and she seemed a bit young.
Should I say she looked exactly like she was around our age?
But considering that, she was wearing a thin short-sleeve shirt, and the black tattoos visible on her skin made me furrow my brow.
I don't have any prejudice against getting tattoos young.
Maybe in the past, but this is an era where individual personality is respected, and that's a matter of personal freedom.
The reason I was furrowing my brow right now was
that if she had tattoos, why was she blatantly wearing short sleeves to a children's welfare facility?
"I'm here for field practice."
"Field practice?"
Field practice?
Isn't that what we're doing right now?
My mind instantly plunged into total confusion.
It occurred to me that the kind of practice she meant might be different from the practice I was doing, or...
"Excuse me?"
"Ah... just a moment. I'll go get one of the staff Seonsaengnim."
And then, without even answering, the tattooed woman stayed right where she'd been sitting and crossed her legs.
She took her phone out of her pocket, stuck Bluetooth earbuds in her ears, and even started listening to music.
What is with this person...
Just what is she here for.
*
"I look forward to wor...ing with you."
The tattooed woman finished her greeting with a face that looked like she'd just chewed on shit.
Her name was I Ha-na.
Compared to her pretty name, she gave off a vibe that made it seem like she'd boiled her manners or basic common sense and fed them to the dogs, so I resolved to think of her as 'the tattooed woman' rather than call her by name.
You could really say people are defined by first impressions.
She didn't even greet us properly, so I took an immediate dislike to her.
"Hey, is that person going to be okay?"
"Who knows..."
Lee Min-ho whispered into my ear.
This guy has a decent eye for people, doesn't he?
He seemed to have figured out at a glance that something felt off about her.
Jeong Hwan-yi was tilting his head from side to side beside us too, but he didn't really voice anything out loud.
As expected, a good-natured guy is just different.
"Maybe she's just someone who gets really shy."
"A person like that would have both arms covered in irezumi and walk around in short sleeves? She should have at least put on some cooling sleeves or something."
"Hey, she might hear you."
"Let her hear it then. Where in the world is there a person who shows up to do field practice at a children's center covered in tattoos?"
He had a point there.
This was the kind of situation where no one could complain even if the practicum site rejected her.
The staff members and the Center Director who'd seen the tattooed woman's arms earlier had also had slightly grim expressions cross their faces.
But, what would happen if the parents saw that when they came back after getting off work?
Aaah....
I don't even want to imagine it...
***
"Ha-na-ssi? Where is Ha-na-ssi?"
"She went outside a while ago."
"Haah..... I was going to have her use some muscle since we have to carry heavy things..."
The staff member came inside, dripping with sweat.
It looked like she was searching for the tattooed woman who'd stepped out earlier.
When she'd said she was going out because she had something to do a while ago, I'd thought a staff member had called her out, but she'd gone out to play hooky instead.
She was the type who gets more and more annoying the longer you work together.
"Then, could I give you a hand?"
"Seo...Seong-hwan-ssi?! Ah...no! It's fine!"
"Can I just stand around when we're shorthanded just because I'm a guy? Come on! Let's go down, quickly!"
"It's...it's really fine..."
You were just agonizing over the tattooed woman ditching her work a second ago, so what's fine about it?
It'd be best if you just went along with me when I'm saying let's go.
"Ah, wait a moment. I'll send a text to the other two, too."
The two of them would be resting on the rooftop.
I had been resting while enjoying the cold air conditioning during my break time too.
I doubt they'd have any complaints.
Since it's a practicum student's fate to get worked.
"Hurry...get down here...you morons.... Send complete."
As expected, I sent off a message fully loaded with provocation, then shoved my phone into my pocket.
If I sent messages roughly like this, they'd usually come running down practically begging me to fight them.
I smirked and stretched my arms out wide as I walked down the stairs, but the kids started streaming inside.
It was still a good time for them to be playing out on the playground.
"Seonsaengnim!"
"Okay, okay. It's Seong-hwan Seonsaengnim."
I patted the kids who looked like they were about to burst into tears at any second.
Based on my instincts from having looked after young children before, there was a very high probability something like a brawl was going on.
"I'll go down and check what's happening."
"No. I'll come with you."
The staff member said she'd come along, saying that even though they were kids, I might get hurt if the girls were fighting.
I'd only known her for a short time, but her kindness was truly touching.
"Huh?"
"It doesn't seem like they're fighting..."
Normally, if they were fighting, the closer you got, the more you should feel some kind of heat or intensity, but there was none of that here at all.
And that wasn't all. Even though it was blurry in the distance,
the kids were all huddled against the corner of the playground wall, which gave off a slight sense of unease.
And this familiar, acrid smell tickling the tip of my nose...
I was a little confused, but it smelled similar to the scent you'd encounter in a kitchen.
"Seonsaengnim, doesn't it smell like something's burning?"
"No way... has a fire broken out?!"
She must have been thinking the same thing, because as soon as I mentioned the burning smell, she started running frantically.
And finally, the staff member burst through the door.
But, contrary to expectations, she was standing frozen in place with a blank expression on her face.
What was she standing like that for?
"Seonsaengnim?"
"........Hah."
Having finally arrived at the playground myself, I looked in the direction the staff member was staring.
And there, the tattooed woman who'd said she was going out earlier was smoking a cigarette.
"Am I seeing this wrong?"
"......."
"Uh, Seonsaengnim? Where are you going?"
I scratched my head as I watched the staff member walk off in the opposite direction and exit the playground without a word.
First things first, I started leading the kids away to get them out of the cigarette smoke.
"Alright, kids~ Follow Seonsaengnim over here~"
"""Okaaay~"""
They were noisy, but they were innocent, well-behaved kids who followed my instructions right away.
Anyway, the tattooed woman was basically screwed now.