Worry 2 [Revised Edition]
That day had been just as ordinary as every other.
I could still remember it vividly.
It had been the Friday four days after the final exam.
I had every reason to be excited about Fridays.
Because no matter what, after every exam my mom and dad always took me to a buffet for lunch on the weekend.
Of course, what I actually liked was spending time with them, not the buffet itself.
After school I was hanging out at Sia’s house and felt strangely good about it.
That was when Sia asked me,
“Is something wrong?”
We had had this exact conversation every exam season before.
But this year Sia seemed a little more on edge.
I still thought it was nothing and smiled at her.
“Mom and Dad are taking me to the buffet tomorrow.”
“Oh… tomorrow, huh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well… if you have time tomorrow, can we hang out?”
“Tomorrow…? I’m not sure yet. If I can, I’ll text you.”
It would have been nice to eat with Sia’s family if possible, but I didn’t bring it up. Mom had always told me it would be rude to ask Sia’s mom directly.
When Sia heard my answer she looked a little downcast.
“…Okay. Got it.”
Her voice made my chest ache, but there was nothing I could do.
After we finished doing our study guide problems we took a short break.
Mom would be picking me up soon, so I was just waiting.
But when the usual time came, Mom still hadn’t arrived.
I tried calling her myself.
[Oh… Siwoo, can you hear me?]
“Yeah, where are you, Mom?”
[...I’m sorry I can’t tell you in advance, but I won’t be able to pick you up today. So… can Sia’s family let you stay the night?]
“At Sia’s house…?”
[Yeah, I’m really, really sorry.]
“Oh… okay… got it…”
[Alright… I’ll hang up now.]
“Mom?!”
[What’s wrong?]
An unfamiliar worry crept in.
“If today passes… you’ll come, right? Right?”
[Of course I will.]
Dad’s calm reply finally let some of the tension leave me.
“Got it… hurry back…”
[I will, son. I’m coming home fast so I can see you.]
The call clicked off.
“Siwoo, what do you want to do? If you really want to go home I can take you, but…”
The moment I hung up, Aunt came over carefully and asked me how I wanted to handle it.
If I said I wanted to go home, she would probably send me back.
But…
“It’s fine. I like being with Sia.”
I decided to wait for Dad.
I figured Dad would worry if I was alone at home, and being with Sia was better anyway.
“Alright, then shall we go to the mart for a minute? We’ll have a special weekend dinner!”
“Huh? I’m not really—”
“Come on, it’s weekend! It’s a little party. Sia’s okay with it, right?”
“Yeah, I’m down.”
“Sia said she’s fine too. What do you think, Siwoo?”
“…I’m good with it too.”
“See? We should change clothes and head out.”
We changed and climbed into Aunt’s car, then headed to the nearby mart.
Inside the store we wandered the aisles, picking out ingredients for dinner.
I only knew how to buy things for dinner, but suddenly Aunt pulled out a bunch of snacks.
“Alright! Today we’re doing a pajamas party with Siwoo! Let’s pick some yummy snacks too!”
“Sure! What do you want to eat, Siwoo?”
She wasn’t just buying dinner stuff—she was buying snacks too.
I was surprised, but the question I really wanted to ask was…
“Eh? What… is a pajamas party?”
Aunt explained it was when friends stayed over and ate snacks while playing together.
But…
“Haven’t we done that at Sia’s house sometimes already?”
I wondered if it wasn’t a pajamas party since we’d been staying over a lot lately.
“That’s kind of true, but it’s not exactly at the same time. We don’t call it a pajamas party when we just show up.”
“R-really?”
“Exactly. So today is our official pajamas party.”
“Eh…? Then…”
“So let’s head to the store already!”
“Whoa!”
Aunt pulled me along as we filled the cart with today’s dinner ingredients and all the important snacks.
Of course Sia was the one grabbing most of the snacks.
“Sia, aren’t you taking too much?”
“Siwoo’s right, Sia…”
I asked her first, then Aunt jumped in too.
But Sia replied,
“Dad will be eating too, so we need to buy enough.”
My mom and I had no choice but to agree.
After all… Dad really liked snacks and had taken a lot from Sia’s share before.
So Sia was stocking up to make sure none got taken away.
I understood the reason, but…
“Sia, buying three of the same kind is a lot, right?”
Sia had picked three of every variety.
“This one is mine… this is Siwoo’s… these are for Mom and Dad…”
“…It’s nice you’re taking care of them, but Sia… that’s too much.”
“Ugh… Dad will probably steal them again…”
“Mom will stop him, so hurry and put some back.”
“…Okay…”
Aunt’s persuasion worked, and Sia gave up on buying so many.
When we got home we found Dad already there, sorting through the bags he’d brought.
“Eh? You bought snacks too?”
“Yeah… since Siwoo is staying over, I got dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast, plus the pajamas party snacks…”
“Oh… we’re totally matching. I bought a huge pile on the way home because I thought we were having a pajamas party.”
“Snacks? Which ones?!”
“Want to check them out, sweetheart?”
Inside the envelope Dad handed me were all kinds of snacks, many with foreign labels.
“Wow! So many strange snacks!”
“Yeah, they’re from overseas.”
“Where did you get them?”
“Huh? Just from a store that sells snacks from all over the world.”
“…I thought you brought the ones you bought last time.”
“Oh, I know foreign stuff isn’t easy to find. Besides, even when I found them I only stopped at the port for a quick fill-up.”
“Anyway.”
Dad was getting scolded by Aunt for some reason.
Meanwhile Sia picked up one bag and showed it to Dad.
“Dad! What’s this?!”
“Um… just a little cookie.”
“Oh… really? Will it taste good?”
“I don’t know. Dad hasn’t tried it yet.”
“Then…”
Sia tore open the bag without hesitation.
“Oh, Sia, you should eat it after dinner.”
“I’ll just try the taste.”
She pulled out one small cookie and took about half into her mouth, then crunched it.
“Tastes good?”
A strange expression crossed her face, so I asked.
“Try it.”
She offered me the remaining half.
While I chewed it I thought,
“Mmm… just a cookie, huh?”
It was plain and ordinary.
“I was expecting something amazing since it’s from another country, but it’s just regular.”
“Yeah…”
“Sia, Dad wants a bite too…”
“No way.”
I refused and grabbed another cookie, popping it into my own mouth.
Then I rolled up the empty bag and handed it to Aunt.
“Save the rest for later!”
“Sure, sure. Good girl, Sia. You can have some later too, now wash your hands and come out.”
“…Okay…”
After that we ate the dinner Aunt and Dad had made, then watched an anime movie we’d all brought while sitting together.
Eating one each was boring, but laying everything out and sharing at once was way more fun.
At first it was just Sia and me, but after we finished washing dishes Mom and Dad sat on the couch with us.
Now all four of us were watching the movie.
After it ended we brushed our teeth, put on the T-shirts they’d bought for bed, and fell asleep on the air mattress Dad had set up.
When I woke up it was 10 a.m.
I had gone to bed late the night before, so I was surprised. Sia seemed to have been up for a while already.
After making the bed she came out with Mom and Dad, who were cooking breakfast together.
We ate the meal they made, played with Sia, and then around five o’clock Dad came to pick me up.
Dad’s face looked a little darker than usual, but I was more relieved that he had actually arrived.
“Siwoo, I owe you a lot.”
“It’s fine. Sia likes being with you too.”
“That’s good to hear…”
“If you ever want to send Siwoo home, it’s okay.”
“Thank you… I’ll be going now.”
“Okay, take care.”
Dad and I walked home from Sia’s house.
It felt good to walk together after such a long time.
As we strolled side by side Dad said,
“Siwoo… do you think Mom and I are annoying you?”
“Huh? Why would you ask that suddenly?”
“No… we were supposed to go to the buffet together today, but I couldn’t keep the promise with you.”
I had no answer for Dad.
If I said I wasn’t upset, that would be a lie.