Buffet
After the New Year, after the Lunar New Year, my sister Sia and I had turned eight years old.
Originally our family used to gather together on New Year's Day to spend time with each other, but because of the fire that happened on Christmas, Dad had been rushing around nonstop.
Fortunately, no one was killed or injured in the fire, but the cleanup at the scene kept Dad busy.
After the New Year and the Lunar New Year passed, Sia and I…
And then came the day of our kindergarten graduation.
It was the graduation announcement for our class at Noa Kindergarten.
We had graduated from kindergarten.
The graduation ceremony was held at the nearby Youth Center.
As we marched onto the stage like a performance, we sang together in the auditorium.
After the graduation ceremony ended, I looked for Mom.
Mom was holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand.
“Mom!”
“Siawoo! Happy graduation from kindergarten!”
“Hehe!”
I ran straight toward Mom, and she pulled me into a tight hug.
After a moment, she set me down and said, “Should we spend today with Sia’s family?”
“I like that! But what about Dad?”
“Yeah, Dad is coming too today.”
“Wow! I can finally spend time with Dad after so long!”
“Hehe, let’s go then!”
Today was special because I could spend time with Dad.
Holding Mom’s hand, I left the auditorium and spotted Sia’s family waiting for us in the distance.
“What did Siwoo say?”
“He said it would be good to spend time together.”
“That’s great! Sia also said the same thing…” Oops, Sia, Dad is here!”
Sia quickly covered Dad’s mouth with her arm before he could finish.
“Come on, let’s go!”
“Okay.”
Sia’s family and I each got into our own cars and headed to the buffet.
It wasn’t the buffet we went to last time. Today we were going to the same one where Sia’s family had invited us before.
At the counter, after the instructions, we entered.
“Welcome!”
Dad was already waiting there.
“Dad!”
I ran carefully and hugged him.
“Siawoo, you can’t run like that.”
“Yes.”
“Be careful. A kid can’t help how much he misses his dad. Did you ask about Dad today?”
“Did you miss Dad a lot, Siawoo?”
“…”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe, good. Let’s sit down first. Sia’s family is coming too.”
So Sia’s family and I ate together.
Sia and I piled our plates with everything from the salad bar, while Mom and Dad chatted about our elementary school.
“Siawoo goes to Noa Elementary. What about Sia?”
“Oh, Siawoo goes there too? Sia also goes to Noa!”
“Wow, that’s perfect!”
“Yeah, I was hoping we could be in the same class…”
“That would be great. I was thinking maybe you could pick up Sia in the morning too?”
“No, I’ll leave that to you…”
“What do you think, Eun?”
“Sounds good. Then if you pick us up after school, it’ll be perfect.”
“You’d pick us up and drop us off?”
“Yeah. We’ll walk most of the way. If it rains, we can take the car then.”
“Hmm, that sounds good.”
The path to Noa Elementary passes right by Sia’s house, so Mom had already decided to drop off Sia on the way to school and pick her up after.
Then we started talking about my academy.
“Are you sending Siawoo to an academy?”
“Hmm, I think I have to. Honestly, I feel bad leaving her with Mrs. Ji-woo.”
“If you want, I can watch her. Look, I even have a degree in physical education.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
“Hehe, I was the physical education goddess, you know?”
“Eh? You told me you met someone named Seung-hyun in college.”
“That’s right. It was CC.”
“Wow… CC couple. I’ve never seen that before.”
“Exactly. We met because of work.”
“It’s romantic, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Should we just do CC?”
Mom and Dad were enjoying the conversation, but then Sia said, “Hmm… this is delicious.”
“What is this?”
“It’s sushi.”
“Tuna? Is it good?”
“Yeah, try it.”
Sia and I were busy eating while the parents talked.
Since the buffet had sushi, we kept bringing more. Sia had never been before.
The sushi that Sia liked best was shrimp and tuna.
“I think these two are the best.”
“Aha, I like these two too.”
“What about this?”
“Salmon.”
“Salmon… oh, I get it.”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Then should we go again next time?”
“This time let’s try pizza.”
“Okay.”
Sia and I moved from dish to dish, tasting everything.
We also brought some food for Mom and Dad, who were chatting.
“It’s delicious, right?”
“Yeah, I’m full now.”
“If you’re full, want ice cream?”
“Ice cream? Where is it?”
“Come with me.”
I led Sia to the dessert corner, bright eyes shining.
This buffet didn’t scoop ice cream from a tub. It was a machine that dispensed it directly.
I grabbed a small bowl and pulled the lever.
A whirring sound filled the air as the ice cream came out.
“Waaah!”
I carefully took mine and handed the bowl to Sia.
“Here, take it.”
“Thanks.”
“You can put the toppings on it.”
“Okay. You’re not eating, Siawoo?”
“I’m going to try a different flavor.”
Sia took a normal soft-serve ice cream while I started adding green tea flavor.
The first time I came here I always had ice cream after dessert, so I promised myself I’d try this machine too.
After we finished scooping, we sat down and enjoyed the ice cream.
“……”
“…?”
Sia’s gaze felt heavy. I thought it was just her mood, but then our eyes met.
“Why? Is there something wrong?”
Maybe the ice cream wasn’t good. But then she said, “Is this ice cream tasty?”
“This one? It’s delicious.”
“Then give me a bite.”
“Just a second, I’ll bring it.”
“No, just give me your spoon?”
“Eh… it’ll be dirty.”
I had already touched my own spoon.
But Sia insisted, “It’s okay, just one bite.”
“Eh…”
I glanced sideways for help, but Mom and Dad were still deep in conversation.
I had no choice. I scooped some ice cream onto my spoon and handed it to her.
“Here, take…”
The spoon I offered her, but Sia stretched out and took a big bite.
“Mmm~”
When I saw Sia eating the ice cream I had brought instead of one of the kids’ dishes, something warm spread in my chest.
“Oh my, Siawoo. Are you feeding Sia ice cream?”
“Oh my, our son is so grown up!”
Mom and Dad had seen everything.
I felt my ears turn hot and hurriedly explained, but…
“N-no, I was just trying to give her my spoon…”
“You really are my son.”
“This kid… he never says the wrong thing in front of everyone.”
Mom and Dad didn’t listen to my excuse.
“Oh my, Siawoo will be very popular later. You have to be careful, Sia.”
“Yeah…”
“…”
“I still won’t allow it. Not yet.”
Sia’s family started teasing me too.
“Hey…”
I decided the best choice was to run.
“Mom, Siawoo, where are you going…!”
“Playroom…”
I ran away.
Since the buffet had many younger kids, there was a small playroom inside.
It wasn’t a noisy playground with rides, just a TV playing cartoons, but it was enough to hide in.
Before entering, I got Sia some ice cream first and then we went inside.
When I stepped in, the other kids inside looked at me, but soon turned back to the TV.
I sat in a good spot without thinking too much.
On the monitor, a cartoon of cats and mice was playing. I had already seen it before, but I got completely absorbed.
While I stared blankly at the TV, someone walked into the playroom.
When I turned, it was Sia.
“Ah, I found you.”
“…”
“Were you looking for me?”
“Yeah. It was boring.”
Sia immediately came over and sat right next to me.
I went back to watching the TV.
But I felt eyes on us.
I turned and saw that all the boys in the playroom were staring at us.
They were looking at Sia and then at me at the same time.
It felt a bit weird under their stares, but Sia didn’t seem to notice.
Instead, she said, “That was your ice cream, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Give it to me.”
“No, you brought it.”
“It’s annoying.”
“You already ate most of it.”
“It’s fine.”
In truth, I had almost finished mine.
I offered her some anyway, but she waved her hand.
“Hey… hey, let’s eat this one!”
“No! What about this one!?”
All the boys in the playroom handed Sia something at the same time.
They had brought their own ice cream or drinks.
Since I said no, they gave me what they had eaten.
Just as I was about to say something, another boy cut in sharply.
“I’m only eating mine.”
Then he looked at me sideways.
I silently handed him the ice cream I had been about to give Sia.
A little smile appeared on Sia’s face as she took a bite.
“Mmm~”
Watching Sia eat the ice cream I had brought felt strangely nice in my chest.