My Kindergarten Childhood Friend
Kindergarten
As the word implies, a friend I played with when we were little, sharing childhood games and having fun together.
So where exactly could those childhood games take place?
Right in the daycare center or kindergarten.
Elementary school would work too, but... I think there were simply more chances to play at the daycare or kindergarten than in elementary school.
But I never attended a daycare center.
The reason I didn't was because my parents took care of me themselves.
Back then, I thought this life would go on forever.
But even that life came to an end, right after my parents started sending me to kindergarten.
They sent me because they wanted me to learn social skills and because they both worked full-time, so they had no choice but to leave me there.
Even now, Mom still goes to help at Dad's company from time to time, but as the business expanded, Mom got busy too.
Plus, I had never played with kids my own age before.
Most of the time, I spent time with Mom anyway.
And even when she was busy, there were long stretches of time where I had to be alone.
That made me a bit more mature than other kids my age.
"Sia... aren't you much more mature than the other kids?"
"Yeah... probably? Maybe because we always kept our seats empty..."
"Ugh... I should have been next to him more often..."
Knowing Mom and Dad were busy, I never complained even when I wanted them to play with me more.
As it became my habit, I ended up more mature than the other kids.
Because of all that, when it was time to start kindergarten, my parents sent me to give me the chance to make friends my age, build my social skills, and spend my days more actively.
I showed my reluctance, but in the end I followed my parents' decision, and so I headed to kindergarten at just five years old, led by Mom's hand.
I hated going to kindergarten back then.
Well... it was only natural.
I had spent the whole time at home playing with Mom—learning Hangul words or doing picture games—when suddenly I was told I had to go to "kindergarten."
To a little kid, family was everything, and friends came second.
In fact, family was the only thing that mattered.
So of course I was scared of kindergarten.
A brand-new environment, brand-new friends, brand-new grown-ups...
To me, kindergarten felt terrifying.
Of course the kindergarten teachers did everything they could to help me adjust...
"Siwoo, wanna color and play together?"
"......"
"You don't wanna? Then how about building blocks..."
"......"
I refused them all.
It wasn't that I wasn't having fun, but I just didn't want to do anything with other kids.
But even I gradually got used to the unfamiliar kindergarten, and because I had no one to play with, I got bored.
The principal noticed me playing alone and took special action.
He moved me to the next class.
It might have seemed odd since I had already made friends in my old class, but the principal had his own plan.
He wanted me to meet the girl everyone paid attention to—Lee Sia—in the next class, Gaenari Class.
Sia had a doll-like appearance that made everyone want to approach her, no matter boy or girl.
Especially the boys.
When we were little, some boys who were bullied by her would suddenly become shy around her, and even the boys who used to bully others became quiet in front of her.
The reason was simple.
Because she was so beautiful, they instinctively thought, "I don't want to be hated by this kid."
So when I saw Sia, I wanted to befriend her and naturally ended up playing with everyone else and adjusting easily.
It was a crazy plan, but it made sense.
Since Sia's looks could even charm adults, it was probably the best choice.
But...
"Okay, from today everyone, meet Park Siwoo, who's going to be in our class from now on!"
"""Yes!"""
"How's the class, Sia?"
"......"
"Siwoo...?"
"Not much...""
"...Ugh..."
I didn't care about Sia at all.
Of course I thought she was pretty, but I didn't think, "I want to look good in front of her."
All I could think was...
'I have to get used to new kids too? I want to go home.'
The teachers and principal were shocked when I didn't get excited as expected.
The teachers kept trying to get me close to Sia, but I kept distance because Sia already had so many friends.
So the teachers started calling me "unexpected savior" as I kept jumping around their feet.
But then Sia herself appeared as the unexpected hero.
Until that day, Sia had never gone up to anyone first in kindergarten.
She didn't need to, because everyone else approached her first, kid or adult.
But because of me, Sia approached me first.
"Oh... Sia came to Siwoo first..."
"Yeah... me too, first time seeing that..."
Sia walked up to me and stared at me.
"......""
"......""
We stared at each other in silence for a while, and finally Sia spoke first.
"Hey... who are you?"
"...Huh?"
"Why didn't you come first? You don't wanna be friends with me?"
It was the typical self-centered way little kids talk, but somehow it made sense from Sia.
But back then, I said...
"I don't care at all. I like being alone."
"......!"
I sat in the empty seat and left Sia behind.
"......""
Sia stood there stunned, then was guided by the teacher back to her seat.
My plan to make her like me... was a complete failure.
"Haa... what should we do, Principal?"
"Yeah... this is really tough..."
"Sia is still getting along well with Siwoo."
"Really? Oh, thank goodness we switched classes. I was worried she couldn't adjust."
It was unfortunate that we switched classes, but good news that Siwoo was doing okay. Still, he wasn't making friends, so the teachers kept meeting and discussing, but...
"Haa... what should we do..."
"This is hopeless..."
No good solution existed.
But then help came from an unexpected place.
"Hey."
"......""
"Hey!"
"......""
"I'm talking to you! Why aren't you answering!"
"...Me?"
"Yeah! You!"
"Why me..."
"Iiiiiik!"
It was Sia who came up first.
Even after yesterday's rejection, the teachers kept letting out relieved sighs.
"...I'll play alone."
"What with?"
"Just... blocks..."
"......""
"Wh...""
"Pictures..."
"......""
"Wh...""
Approaching was supposed to be something I did, but Sia was ruining my playtime.
If I stacked blocks, she knocked them down.
If I drew pictures, she ruined them with black crayons.
If I wanted to play with instruments, she played something else beside me.
I could get angry, but she pulled the line just before I exploded, and even brought her own toys to play with me.
I just endured it and started playing with her.
With blocks, I stacked them all the way up to where I had originally put them.
With pictures, I colored her drawing for me.
When she played an instrument, I sang along or gave it harmony with another one.
So naturally, as we played together more and more, it just became normal from the very beginning.
"What do you wanna do today?"
"...Hmm... nothing yet."
"Then let's play outside."
"It's hotter outside..."
"Iiiiiik! Childhood play!"
"...Okay, let's go."
From then on, Sia started joining the games I played, and soon she was the one suggesting the play more often.
Of course she forced me sometimes, but she never refused even when she didn't want to, which probably meant she had opened her heart to me then.
Sia gradually spent more time playing with me.
At first, she only came to bother me occasionally, but after we got closer, we played just the two of us.
Of course, it wasn't all good.
The kids who used to play with Sia started not liking me.
Well... I could understand how they felt.
They used to play with Sia, but now I was the one playing with her.
Sia had no choice but to play with me because I was stuck to her all the time.
On the other hand, I was giving and taking fairly, so maybe Sia felt more comfortable with me.
So Sia and I became best friends at kindergarten, even though we weren't exactly the closest in age.
Of course, most of the time I was being dragged along.
Sia was super active, so she loved playing inside the kindergarten, but she loved playing outside even more.
Of course, when we went outside, I had an 80 percent chance of playing whatever Sia wanted.
But looking back now as an adult... those memories aren't bad at all.