Side Story: Magpie, Magpie, New Year's Day
Side Story: Magpie, Magpie, New Year's Day
"Haaaam... We're barely out of Seoul and the air is this clean... Should I just move here, I wonder?"
He tossed the remark out lightly, grinning even though he had no such intention.
Arini's lips immediately jutted out into a pout, but A-ra pointed out the practical reality.
"Then the commute would be hell, you know?"
"It was just something I said. Where else is as convenient as Seoul?"
He gently stroked A-ra's hair and gave a big yawn.
As he breathed the clean air and stretched, his tired head gradually began to clear.
Compared to the air here, Seoul's air quality seemed almost indistinguishable from exhaust fumes.
At this rate, in just ten years, a world where people wore oxygen masks in daily life might actually arrive.
Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Ever since giving birth to Arini, they had been visiting Mother at the orphanage every holiday.
The siblings who'd come along were Minji and Hojun.
The rest of them had all made themselves scarce, saying they would come separately later.
And what if they'd said that and then didn't show up?
Then their allowances would be confiscated for six months.
Mom was waiting for them so anxiously.
Even at forty, she hadn't married and had only looked after the children.
If those kids didn't visit during the holidays, how lonely she would be.
"Oppa, I'll start unloading this stuff."
Minji yawned as she got out and opened the car trunk.
Naturally, before coming to the orphanage, they had packed all sorts of things.
Many younger siblings had been discharged, but with new children coming in, there were still too many little brothers and sisters.
So during holidays, wasn't it an older brother's heart to want to buy them the things they wanted?
"Hojun, help out a little."
"Yeah, got it."
Hojun took the items Minji handed him and began going back and forth, in and out of the building.
He had grown sturdier than me now.
Hojun, who had been so confused because of his diabetes... had now turned into a total muscle monster.
He possessed muscles so bulging it was hard to believe he was a man.
Whenever I saw that, it was somewhat motivating...
But at the same time, the thought that I didn't particularly want a body like that also crept in, so I hadn't even tried.
"Ehh, a man just needs to exercise enough to be healthy. Muscles, my foot."
"Is that so..."
"Yeah. Noona would probably hate seeing our Seong-hwan bulked up with bulging muscles, you know?"
"Then I'd just have to quit at once."
He lived for A-ra and Arini, so if the two of them disliked it, he wouldn't do it.
Truthfully, he found it disgusting too, so he disliked that sort of thing as well.
Because the weather was cold, we each picked up a box to get inside quickly.
A-ra took the heaviest one, and Arini carried a bag of firecrackers weighing about 10kg.
And I carried a small paper bag.
With even my daughter carrying something that heavy, having only this... I could feel my pride take a bit of a hit.
A sigh escaped me, wondering if I was really cut out to be a dad.
"Arin-ah. Give that to Daddy and take this one."
"I'm fine. I can carry this."
A-ra held a box approaching 40kg in one hand and stroked Arini's hair.
It was amazing she held it with one hand, but A-ra was someone who never did anything dangerous, which made it all the more astonishing.
After all, didn't that mean she was absolutely certain her actions would never turn dangerous?
And yet there she was, holding a 40kg box in one hand.
They went inside, reached the kitchen, and set down the luggage.
Then, by the wall beside the kitchen entrance, Mom poked her face out.
"Ah, Mom."
"Grandma!"
Truly, it made you feel the passage of time, didn't it? Watching my daughter call Mom 'Grandma' and run to be held.
But come to think of it, was Mom a grandma?
She was still only in her early forties.
"Aigoo aigoo, my baby. Did you miss Grandma?"
"Yeah! I missed Grandma!"
Still, seeing Mom's face split into a huge grin at the sight of her granddaughter made a bitter smile appear automatically.
Wasn't it such a wonderful sight?
Still, I couldn't help pouting.
I was Mom's baby.
And Arini was my baby.
"My son, even after having a child, you haven't changed one bit?"
Yet Mom smiled brightly as she said this, stroking my head.
A-ra, grinning widely too, also stroked my head.
"Seonsaengnim, I'll put this in the fridge."
"Minji. I told you to stop calling me that and call me 'Mom' now, didn't I?"
".......Uh...Mother...."
Minji had such terrible memories of her parents that she kept calling her Seonsaengnim.
Was it four years ago?
From then on, Mom had said not to call her Seonsaengnim anymore, but to comfortably call her 'Mom.'
But despite that, Minji had kept calling her Seonsaengnim.
Because for Minji, the existence of a mom or dad was worse than garbage.
Still, she'd made a lot of progress these days, blushing as she occasionally called her 'Mom.'
Honestly, it was a little cute too.
"Grandma."
"Our Arini. Is there something you want to eat? Tell Grandma everything."
"I want to eat tteok-guk."
"Tteok-guk sounds good. Grandma will make it right away, so you rest. Alright?"
"Okay!"
As expected, our daughter could boil and roast anyone alive.
Even our usually stern Mom had been boiled down immediately.
"Hojun-ah. You brought the aprons, right?"
"Yeah. How many should I get?"
"Bring just two."
"Got it."
Since it was only natural for a man to help with the kitchen work, I'd told him to get the aprons from the car.
Minji and A-ra Noona had to go to the living room to hand out things to the younger siblings.
This time, while toys were good, I had also bought some phones.
I'd bought them once before as well, but most of those kids had left the orphanage's care period and were now under my roof.
For kids these days, what harsher punishment could there be than not having a smartphone?
No matter how much you might say they didn't need one, there was no reason to keep them from having one either.
Last time I'd prepared cheap budget models; this time I'd at least brought mid-range ones.
How many people in the Republic of Korea used budget phones these days?
Students didn't need flagship models, but they should at least use something reasonably quick.
A budget model was worse than having nothing at all.
"Even so, my son. Don't overdo it."
"Mom, if you heard the sum I earned this time, you might faint, you know?"
"Really?"
"And later, let's go look at a car together. Do I have to see you taking the bus all the way to that faraway mart?"
"Hehe, sorry. Still, Mom finds the bus comfortable too."
Had our mother been listening to what I'd said just now?
Now I wasn't so sure anymore either.
"You have a license, why take the bus? Just listen to me nicely."
"Alright."
It wasn't like our circumstances meant we had no money.
Last time, after seeing Mom heading home from grocery shopping at the mart, both hands full, getting on a bus, I had almost cried.
No, to be precise, I did cry.
It was truly upsetting and heartbreaking, no joke at all.
I'd come straight to the orphanage and waited for Mom until she arrived, then just hugged her and cried...
Thinking back on it now, it was just... crying at my age...
"But about that... Mom had stopped by briefly to buy snacks after coming to see a movie with friends..."
"Shh! Why are you trying to bring that up."
"The misunderstanding my son had..."
"Ahem... It's embarrassing, so let's talk about something else. I heard the newest kid isn't in very good shape?"
"Yeah... so I'm pretty worried."
Age 16.
Already fully grown, but he had been abandoned by his parents, apparently.
It wasn't like he was rebelling against Mom or anything, but he just seemed to be having a very hard time mentally.
He ate, washed up, and did everything else just fine, it seemed.
"He doesn't even go to school... Still, I think he is studying for the qualification exam inside."
"Then well... let's leave him be for now. There's no need to force him to school, is there?"
"Do you really think so?"
"? Yes."
"Haa... You might be worse off than that child, Seong-hwan."
Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I had never once tried to make a friend.
Only when I entered university did I get them.
But I had also attended school just fine.
And succeeded too.
"My son. Should Mom give you a hug?"
"Being hugged is nice. But why is your expression on the verge of tears?"
"Mom is sorry. I couldn't look after you properly, and..."
"No, what's this all of a sudden."
It was a little perplexing.
It seemed like it might be teasing, but also like it wasn't!
***
"..............Oh."
"What. Guess Mom didn't tell you."
First, to look after the kid who'd newly arrived, I knocked on his room door. In one hand, I held a mid-range smartphone. I'd heard his phone was broken and unusable. In his situation, there was no better bribe than a new phone. So after somehow getting him to come outside, the kid just stood there frozen in shock. It seemed he must have been a fan of mine.
"Hello, dongsaeng."
"Yu... Yu...."
"Yu?"
"Yu... Yoo Seong...."
"Stardust?"
"Yu... Yoo Seong-hwan...."
So he did know me.
Well, how many people in the Republic of Korea wouldn't know me by now, anyway.
The kid looked confused as to why I was there.
I glanced inside, and it looked like he'd been watching Qtube on the computer.
'Oh, that was me?'
It was a video of me making roast beef, filmed last year.
"I'm your older brother. Nice to meet you, dongsaeng."
"Hiiiik.....!"
"You'll hurt Oppa's feelings, you know. Want a phone? I've got allowance money too."
"S...S-Sorry! J-Just a moment!"
Kwang.
And he'd slammed the door shut.
Maybe it was because he was only in his underwear.
But the kid's state didn't seem that bad to me?