Side Story: Younger Sister's State Exam
Side Story: Younger Sister's State Exam
Little children have a tremendous amount of energy.
Since they couldn't contain that energy at home, it was essential to let them run around in a wide, open space.
In a way, they were similar to dogs.
Because dogs also get extremely stressed if they don't run around in a wide space.
In that regard, our home's cost-effectiveness for walks was very good.
I could just take Arini, Lil' One, and Pipsqueak out together.
"Arini, don't go too far~"
"Okay! Daddy, I want Pocari!"
"Got it."
My daughter always drank Pocari to replenish fluids after running around.
She must have learned it from watching her mom diligently exercise every day.
Arini grabbed Lil' One and Pipsqueak's leashes and dashed out with quick steps.
Seeing my daughter and the two dogs, who looked absolutely overjoyed, I figured that letting Arini and the dogs run around and tire themselves out was indeed the best method.
Once in a while, there were people who said that leaving a small child alone with dogs and watching from a distance was neglect.
But that was simply people who knew only half the story making generalizations.
Our Lil' One and Pipsqueak were dogs so smart I almost suspected they were people in their past lives.
In all the time I had raised them, they had never once bitten a person or barked at nothing.
And they didn't run wild during walks either.
No, if anything, Arini was the one who ran wild to the point where Lil' One and Pipsqueak had a hard time.
Well, it didn't really matter if she ran wild.
The ground level of our apartment was designed so that cars couldn't enter, so it was safe.
Things like delivery trucks could be moved using the cargo lift in the underground parking lot.
You could call it a consideration for the delivery drivers, but since they blocked cars from the ground level and actually created more work for them, in a way it was only natural.
"Haa... The weather's nice~"
I let out a refreshing sigh as I watched Arini run wild holding Lil' One and Pipsqueak's leashes.
Winter would come soon, so the number of times we went outside like this would decrease.
'Should I really fix up the terrace?'
Since it would be hard to go out frequently in winter, I could just let them run around on the terrace.
In our home, the railing height had been made to two meters and reinforced to be extremely sturdy, so even if an accident happened, it had been remodeled to ensure nothing too serious would occur.
Our home was a penthouse, so the terrace was very spacious.
So much so that it could easily be called a Terrace House.
Before Arini was born, I had made it so Lil' One and Pipsqueak could run around, but shouldn't I change it into a place we could all use together now?
Well... we already frequently used it to go out and see the night view or look at the constellations through the astronomical telescope...
Ah, I didn't know.
I'd have to ask A-ra later.
Thinking that, I got up with a start, held my phone up to the vending machine next to the bench, and picked out two drinks.
Thinking back to the era when you could only use coins in vending machines, the world had really become more convenient.
With a Chikㅡ sound, the cold can's lid opened.
I gulped down the contents and let out a satisfied exclamation.
Indeed, the first sip of a drink was always the best.
It was just a shame that the taste diminished the more you drank.
"Huh?"
As I sat on the bench with the can to my lips and looked ahead, just moments ago Arini had been playing by herself, but in the blink of an eye someone had come to play with her.
And it was someone I knew very well... no, someone so close that saying I knew them well wasn't enough. Family.
"Kim Min-ji!"
I shouted loudly, calling her, and she came over with a bright smile.
She was attending a six-year college of dentistry, so she was still a university student and must be very busy. Why was she here at this hour?
"Hehe, oppa."
Minji flung herself into my arms without a care that her niece was watching.
She nuzzled her head against my chest as if asking for praise.
Arini, watching this from the side, was naturally puffing out her cheeks and sticking out her lips.
She probably wanted a hug too.
"What's up? Is something going on?"
"I passed both the written and practical exams."
"Oh... really? In a way, it was only expected."
Was it September?
I had heard she was taking the national medical licensing exam around that time, and it seemed she passed well.
This year's exam was held earlier than previous years, so I was a bit worried... but it looked like it turned out well.
Thinking back to how she'd been anxious about failing despite being the top student at the college of dentistry, I couldn't help but smile wryly.
Well, there was no way she'd fail.
"So, I can call you a dentist now, right?"
"Yeah. Once the license is issued, I'll be a general practitioner."
"Good job, well done. Did you tell Mom?"
"Of course I told Teacher first."
Minji said it went without saying and crossed her arms, sticking her nose up proudly.
She'd really grown up.
But to me, she still looked like nothing but a very young little sister.
I lightly balled my fist and brought it straight down on her head.
"Ugh, a kid like you was giving Mom such a hard time six years ago..."
"O... Oppa! Arini is right here!"
Arini was grinning brightly while holding her aunt's hand.
To Arini, Minji was an aunt so cool you could even call her a role model.
Well, considering she entered a prestigious college of dentistry and was the top student, how could she not be?
"So? You came home early today because you passed?"
"Yeah. I'll have tons of free time for a while."
"Alright, take care of Hojun-ie too."
"Okay. We're only one year apart in age, you know?"
"....I'm only one year apart from you too, you know?"
And yet she acted as spoiled as could be with me.
Wasn't this a total double standard?
*
Arini, who seemed to like her aunt more than her dad, was in Minji's arms.
Abandoned by my daughter, I was hugging Lil' One and Pipsqueak while holding back tears.
Unaware of her dad's feelings, she drank her Pocari with refreshing gusto and let out a happy sigh.
Minji, finding her niece nothing short of adorable, was just smiling brightly while ruffling her hair.
"Auntie! I picked this up earlier?"
"What did you pick up?"
Arini had a trait... no, a habit of picking up things that had fallen on the ground.
It was mostly pebbles, but once in a while she'd pick up coins or bills, a daughter who earned her keep.
Whenever she bragged like that, it meant she had picked up something more than a pebble.
What on earth had she picked up?
"This!"
What Arini took out of her pocket was a rectangular card.
It wasn't a credit or debit card, but a rectangular card safely enclosed in a case.
Minji took it, flipped it over this way and that to check, then suddenly made a slightly surprised face and handed the card to me, telling me to check it.
I took it and turned it around and around to identify what it was.
".....Gold?"
A small bar of ten grams of pure gold was attached to the card.
The issuing source was the Korea Gold Exchange.
Where on earth had she picked up something like this?
She'd really earned her keep this time.
"Oppa, how much is ten grams?"
"About 800,000 won? Around there?"
"Oh... as expected of my niece."
In a world overflowing with people who didn't earn a single penny, she began patting her five-year-old's head, saying she'd earned her keep.
Seriously, this girl was the only one who said such weird things to my daughter.
Earn her keep, my ass.
Taking this was a crime.
A clear crime specified as embezzlement of lost property.
"Arini. This is an expensive thing, so you can't take it just because you found it."
"Hing..."
Still, it seemed she felt regretful, as she was sulking and kept sticking out her lips while in her aunt's arms.
Of course. What could a child who was only five years old know?
"Okay?"
"Yes..."
She'd found something amazing on the street, and being told she couldn't take it with her... how great must her disappointment have been?
Poor thing.
It couldn't be helped.
To cheer her up, I had no choice but to buy her something she'd wanted.
She'd found something someone else lost, so didn't she deserve a reward?
Mm. Even I thought it was a remarkably good justification.
"Instead, shall we go to the mart with Daddy and Auntie? I'll buy you two toys you want."
"Two?! Then, a 911 Turbo... and... and..."
Maybe because it was so sudden, Arini couldn't decide what she wanted to buy and was trying hard to recall things in her head; I laughed softly at the sight.
"You can take your time choosing once we're there."
"Okay!"
Did she really like car models that much?
She took after A-ra exactly in this regard.
***
We left the gold bar we found at the first-floor front desk and came back up to the house.
Whoever lost it would probably head straight for the desk once they noticed.
Minji had gone up first, taking Arini and the dogs with her.
Since Minji had passed the national exam, shouldn't I throw a party?
So I planned to stop by the mart separately and buy groceries.
First, shrimp and snow crab, which A-ra and Arini liked...
As I stood in front of the elevator to head to the basement mart, snow crabs and king crabs crossed my mind.
This mart sold snow crabs and lobsters, but king crabs were too expensive, so they didn't have them.
"Ah. Should I stop by Jeong Hwan-ie's house first?"
Even for shrimp and lobster, buying them from Jeong Hwan-ie's fishery center made them much tastier than buying from the neighborhood mart.
And the difference was quite significant, more than you'd think.
There was almost no fishy smell, and they even packed grilling salt for us.