The Fight
Ugh...
I thought as I watched the friends gathered around me.
These weren't the friends I had first approached and gotten close with.
These were the ones who had randomly latched onto me and started calling me friends out of nowhere.
And honestly, I didn't consider them friends.
After all, they had barged in without my consent.
With that issue, I had asked my mom or dad for advice, but both of them had smiled faintly and told me it was okay to think of them as friends.
My parents had wanted to see me play with kids my own age.
They had said if you make friends you can play together, and if you stay alone you'll get lonely too, so they hadn't kicked anyone out who came over.
Instead...
Today it's playtime!
I get to draw pictures!
I'm the big sister!
I took center stage and did whatever I wanted.
The clinging kids around me would naturally drift away on their own.
But the ones who had stuck to me didn't leave, so we went through kindergarten life like that.
Then suddenly everything changed.
It all started after a new kid named Park Siwoo joined our class.
His looks weren't particularly noticeable.
But there was one big difference.
He didn't approach me at all.
Up until then, whether boy or girl, kid or adult, everyone had come over, said hi, and tried to befriend me.
But this Park Siwoo kid...
No matter how many times our eyes met, he showed zero interest.
Seeing that, I suddenly got irritated.
I didn't know why, but because I was irritated, I decided to go talk to him myself.
Hey...
...
Hey!
...
I'm talking to you! Why aren't you answering!
...Me?
Yeah! You!
Why me...
Eeeek!
The result was still zero interest.
Before, everyone giving me attention had felt like a burden and I hated it.
But now that an actual kid who didn't give me any attention had appeared, the feeling flipped.
You... who do you think you are to ignore me?!
And from that moment on, a strange obsession began in me.
Whenever Park Siwoo was doing something, I would go over, talk to him, or block his view and draw his attention.
Of course, if it felt a little too much, I wouldn't do it.
But that meant at first I got a weird sense of satisfaction when I saw him looking annoyed.
Because I could feel he was ignoring me, and that felt good.
After a few days like that...
Playing with Park Siwoo started to feel fun.
The other kids would just chatter among themselves and decide everything, but my opinion didn't matter there.
But whenever I wanted to say something, it would get way too serious and I'd lose the chance to talk.
On the other hand, Park Siwoo...
What do you wanna do today?
He would casually ask me first.
Even though I was clearly bothering him, he didn't care and asked what I wanted to do.
Because of that, I gradually started liking the time I spent with Park Siwoo.
Since I liked spending time with him, of course the time together increased, and thanks to that the loud voices of the other girls barely bothered me.
Originally the kindergarten life had been boring, but it was starting to feel a little better.
And the person who noticed I was enjoying kindergarten was none other than my mom, Kim Jieun.
Normally if someone asked what happened at kindergarten...
Nothing happened. Or just... it was boring.
My mom noticed that recently I seemed happier, so she casually asked me.
Sia.
Yeah?
Are you enjoying kindergarten lately?
...Yeah.
Why? Is there something wrong?
Just... I made a friend to play with.
...!
The Sia who always said kindergarten was boring, the Sia who never talked about friends, was finally telling me she made a friend at kindergarten.
Kim Jieun was thrilled.
But thinking she might get mad if she showed excitement, she asked casually.
What's the name of your new friend?
Park Siwoo...
Hmm... What did you play with Siwoo?
...Playtime and drawing pictures.
Oh... Did you eat lunch together?
Yeah...
I see...!
And since she even mentioned eating lunch, Kim Jieun was internally exploding with joy.
Thank goodness! This is really good!
Normally she thought she didn't really fit in with the other kids, but hearing about this friend made her incredibly happy.
So she started asking a bunch of questions.
Hmm... What's that kid Siwoo like?
Hmm... He seems kind of grown-up...
Grown-up?
Yeah.
Hmm... Wow.
He likes playing alone.
Then how did you become friends?
I said let's play first.
Oh my goodness.
It was a huge shock that Sia had made a friend, but it was an even bigger shock that she was the one who had gone over first.
The two of them were the type that always drew attention, and most kids went over first, but this Park Siwoo kid was the one who had come over to her first, so it was really shocking.
I wanted to see what kind of kid this friend was, so I asked.
Hmm... Can I see that Siwoo friend sometime later?
...Why?
Kim Jieun gave me a strange look and asked with suspicion.
Because she's the first friend you made, I just wanted to see her once.
...Okay. I'll ask.
Great! Thanks!
Kim Jieun had a bit of her own reason for wanting to see Park Siwoo.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Kim Jieun's chance to see the friend Sia had made came pretty quickly.
Mom! Let's go together today and check out Siwoo!
Sure, sure.
So Kim Jieun saw...
The kid facing Sia as she came into kindergarten.
Just an ordinary kid her age, but... he looked kind of grown-up.
Hi~ You must be Siwoo! I came because I was curious about the kid who plays so well with my Sia.
I greeted her with a smile.
...
Without any reaction, he stared at me fixedly.
Kim Jieun's eyes curved a little more.
He's definitely a bit special...
Meanwhile...
Mom, I'm leaving now! Let's go inside!
Eh? Eh... um...
Come on!
Sia grabbed Park Siwoo's hand and pulled him inside.
My daughter was taking the lead...
Kim Jieun thought her daughter's bold behavior was refreshing as she left kindergarten and put on her sunglasses.
Since she had seen Park Siwoo with her own eyes, she had a good impression.
I hope my daughter and Siwoo get along well.
But...
She said you fought with Siwoo?!
Yeah...
How?
I don't know.
Sia came home and told me that shocking thing.
※※※※※※
As I was staring blankly at my mom and Park Siwoo, I felt something rising from the deepest part of my chest.
What... is this...?
I had never felt this emotion before.
I had felt something similar sometimes, but it disappeared right away and I didn't think much about it.
Annoying...
For some reason, when I saw Park Siwoo staring blankly at my mom, my chest felt tight.
So I dragged him along, thinking if he didn't stare he'd calm down.
But even after bringing him over, my heart didn't calm down, so I asked him because I wanted a clear answer.
Your mom is pretty, I'm pretty.
I hadn't expected much.
I knew myself that my mom was way prettier.
But I asked anyway.
Your mom...
Park Siwoo's cold words made me throw a punch first.
Thud.
I don't know why.
But hearing that my mom was prettier made the knot in my chest grow bigger, so I said something I didn't even mean.
Hmph! I won't play with you from now on!
Then I stomped inside the classroom.
While playing in the classroom, I kept staring at Park Siwoo.
If I was angry, he should have come over first to make up, but...
...
He was really just playing alone in silence.
Idiot... dummy...
Seeing Park Siwoo not approach me made me even more upset, but when I sat next to the teacher I was secretly happy.
To hide my joy, I deliberately made him leave.
Then seeing Park Siwoo eating lunch far away, my head was a mess.
When I got home and told my parents I had fought with Siwoo, the blocked feelings all exploded at once.
Waaaaah!
Eh... Sia, shhh... shhh...
Because I had never cried except when I was little, Kim Jieun was really busy calming me down.
After somehow calming me down, Kim Jieun stroked my hair and said.
Okay, Mom will help. You have to say you're sorry to Siwoo. Got it?
...Yeah...
With Sia who had stopped crying, Kim Jieun started calling someone somewhere.