Heartfelt Memories
I sat there blankly on the bench, lost in thought.
The gaze of Siwoo's father, who was sitting beside me, became noticeable.
"..."
I didn't know why, so I turned my gaze to Sia’s father.
He gave me a slightly awkward smile and asked me something.
"Siu-ya… there’s something I’d like to ask you. Is it okay to ask?"
Sia’s father wasn’t asking about anything specific, but I had a pretty good idea what it might be.
Probably about Sia.
Even though I had no proof, I nodded, thinking it was about Sia.
So Sia’s father mumbled quietly for a moment, then spoke carefully.
"You and Sia play together a lot… it must be fun for you?"
"Uh… um…"
If you ask whether it’s fun…
"Yes, it’s fun."
Of course it was fun.
Now that I couldn’t be without them, I felt empty.
It was my honest feeling.
"I see…"
Sia’s father’s expression, after hearing my answer, had been steadily darkening since earlier.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Ah… um… the thing is… you were supposed to play only with your parents today, right? But you suddenly started playing with us… I thought you might be a little disappointed."
"Uh…"
"Originally… I thought that since the three of you were having fun, playing together would be fun too."
"......"
"When I thought about it again, I realized I had wrongly assumed you would like it without asking your opinion… so that’s why I was really worried."
"I’m really fine."
"Siu-ya…"
"This is truly my honest feeling. I’m having fun playing with Sia too."
The words I just said were my true feelings.
I’ve been secretly lying now and then so my parents wouldn’t worry about me.
It wasn’t good, but I said it was good.
It wasn’t okay, but I said it was okay.
I didn’t want to be alone, but I said I was okay being alone.
I’ve been lying to keep others from worrying.
But when I’m with Sia, I didn’t need to lie.
Because Sia was with me, whether I liked it or not.
So, I’ve started to like being with Sia more and more.
That’s why today, including taking care of Sia, spending time together was really enjoyable.
I wonder if my true feelings were conveyed.
"......"
Sia’s father stared at me quietly without saying a word.
I thought maybe I had done something wrong, but the uncle smiled right away.
"I see. You’re really mature, Siu."
"A lot of adults around me always say that."
"Yeah… but I think it’s good to be mature, but when you’re young, you should act like a child every now and then."
"......?"
"Sometimes you throw a tantrum and act spoiled."
"But…"
"That way, your parents can understand."
"......"
"Even adults aren’t perfect, like today. So if you don’t say anything, they might not know. That’s why I’m telling you to tell your parents."
"...... I understand."
"Yes, Siu is smart, so you’ll do well… but it was just something I was worried about as an uncle."
"Thank you…"
"...... I can’t do this anymore. From now on, just call me uncle."
"......?"
"No, why did you… wait, when you call Sia’s mom, you call her ajumma, right? So I should just call you uncle too."
"Yes… I’ll do that."
"By the way, how did you end up calling her ajumma?"
"Just… because I’m close with Sia, I thought calling her ajumma was fine."
"...... I see… wait, no, the word ajumma isn’t allowed unless the person is really close. That’s why I was a little surprised."
"I see. So what should I call her normally?"
"Normally… I’d say noona or eonni. But because of her appearance, it doesn’t feel strange at all."
"That’s true… she looks really young."
"If we go out to the playground with all of us, everyone would think we’re siblings or cousins."
"If I call her ajumma, they’d think she’s the kids’ mom, and they’d look at me suspiciously."
But… the moment I thought maybe the word ajumma was too much…
"What are you doing?"
Sia was right in front of me.
"Um? Just sitting there quietly?"
"...... hmm..."
Sia narrowed her eyes at me as if to say not to lie.
So I told her honestly.
"Just talked to uncle."
"Hmm… with dad? What did you talk about?"
"I answered because he asked if we were having fun right now."
"Hmm~"
His mood improved after hearing that, so he let out a happy sound.
Then, suddenly.
"Me too, give me some juice. My throat’s dry."
"Eh..."
He wasn’t asking for a sip of water.
I had no choice but to panic.
Because I still had plenty of juice left for Sia.
So.
"Here, it’s yours."
I handed him the juice.
He took the bottle and drank it all in one go.
Then.
"It’s not enough. Give me a little more."
So the remaining juice was only for uncle and me.
I had about half left, and uncle had almost finished his.
Just as I was thinking what to do.
"Sia, drink this."
Uncle handed him the juice.
"I’ll drink yours."
He refused.
"Eh… um..."
"Yeah, drink it."
Now there was no choice, so I gave him mine.
— gulp gulp!
He drank a couple of gulps.
"Yeah! It’s enough!"
He sat next to me, then.
"Here, I drank it well."
He handed me the juice back.
I took the juice Sia had returned and placed it between Sia and me.
Just in case Sia wanted to drink it too.
We three sat quietly like that, and Sia was panting a little because she was hot.
So I turned the fan I had received toward her.
"It’s cool..."
She closed her eyes and said it was cool.
I asked, "Should I take it and use it myself?"
But she said, "No, you do it."
I became an accidental fan stand, but… since she had sweated so much, I couldn’t do anything about it.
Then, suddenly.
"Siu."
Sia called my name, so I turned my head.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she continued.
"...That was the juice just now..."
— whirrrrr
Of course, before I could finish speaking, uncle wiped Sia’s face with a towel, cutting off her words.
"Eh, sorry. I cut you off."
It happened so quickly and naturally that uncle pulled his hand away late.
Sia’s hair was messy from the towel.
"Eh..."
"...... It’s okay."
If that was the case, it was a big deal.
Her voice grew quieter, and the whole atmosphere became cool.
The surroundings had been hot until just now, but now it felt a little cold.
Sia was definitely sulking hard.
"Sia-ya, dad’s sorry..."
No matter how hard uncle apologized, Sia’s anger didn’t disappear.
Finally.
"It’s chicken, right? Of course it’s good, but..."
"Yeah. Why all of a sudden...?"
"Ah... that’s because I made a mistake and made Sia sulk. I ordered chicken to cheer her up."
"I see..."
"When Sia pouts because she resembles me, ordering chicken usually fixes it."
"I see... but is it okay if we eat it too?"
"Well... it’s good to eat together. Anyone who wants only the bones?"
"I don’t care about anything."
"I prefer the boneless."
"Ah, I must have ordered it wrong. I ordered half boneless, but if I’d ordered only boneless, it would have been fine."
"Boneless is possible?"
"When I asked, they said yes."
"Did you order set chicken?"
"I think so."
"Anyway, eat well, Seung-hyeok."
"Yeah... I hope this fixes Sia’s mood..."
"Here, just accept it as karma."
"Yeah..."
So we ended up eating chicken.
The adults ate at one table, we at another, and naturally Sia and I ended up at the same table.
Our chicken was all boneless, with three flavors.
Soy sauce, soy sauce, and cheese. Since she said it was the chicken brand Sia liked...
"Sia, which flavor do you like the most?"
"Huh...?"
"The one you like, you eat all of it. I’ll eat the others."
"......"
Then she suddenly narrowed her eyes at me and glared.
"......?"
I didn’t know why Sia was doing that, so I opened my eyes wide, then said in a tone that slightly softened my mood.
"You can eat all of it."
"But..."
"It’s fine with you."
"Eh... okay, I get it."
The word "you" from Sia a moment ago was really bothering me, but... she turned her eyes back to the chicken, so I didn’t ask again.
Just... since we’re close friends, I thought that was why, and I took a bite of the soy sauce chicken.
It was my first time trying this chicken.
It was really delicious.
After finishing the chicken and eating it to digest, we came out of the tent and started controlling the drone here and there.
Before I knew it, the sun was setting.
The sun setting meant it was almost time to go home.
From the surrounding people starting to leave one by one, it seemed like we needed to leave soon so we wouldn’t be stuck in traffic.
"Should we start cleaning up now?"
"Yeah, the car will get stuck soon."
"Let’s do that. We’ll help you pack the tent."
"No, it’s fine. The two-touch tent folds easily."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, just organize the furniture inside."
"Let’s do that."
We started cleaning up the back area.
Mom and ajumma handled the food we ate and sorted the trash, while dad and uncle started organizing the things inside the tent.
We climbed on top and rolled around to deflate the air mattress.
After everyone finished cleaning together, it was time to say goodbye.
"Today was fun."
"I was the one who had the most fun."
"Maybe we should go camping like this again later."
"Yeah. When the kids get a little older, it would be nice if we all went together."
"Stop it, stop it!"
"Okay, well, let’s go in then."
"Yes, we’ll go in too. Siu-ya! See you next time!"
"See you later, uncle. See you later, ajumma."
"Sia-ya."
"See you next time."
"Yeah, take care."
"Let’s play together again next time...!"
"Yes!"
Sia, who answered energetically, turned her gaze to me.
Then, with a smile, she waved her hand.
"See you next week."
Next week.
It was a simple greeting, but for some reason, the image of Sia waving her hand stayed long in my memory.