At Six Years Old: How We Became Childhood Friends (4)
“Aki, what should we play? Jungle gym, zipline? Or tumbling?”
“Ah, I want to play house. I want to play house with Wooju~!”
“House? We did that at the playground last time. You want to do it again?”
“Yeah, Aki likes playing house.”
“Really? I wanted to try something else this time.”
“Wooju~ doesn’t want to play house with me……?”
“……Fine. Let’s play house together. Where should we do it?”
“Okay! Over there. Let’s go over there!”
As I followed Aki, who loved playing house, toward a corner of the kids’ café, another meeting was unfolding at the drink bar seats reserved for adults. That meeting was between our parents and Aki’s father.
“ (Nice to meet you. I am Sumimoto Fujiwara.)”
“Ah, hello. I’m Wooju’s mother. This is Wooju’s father.”
“Nice to meet you……”
The Korean couple—my mom and dad—offered an obviously awkward greeting, then glanced at the Japanese middle-aged man in front of them before inching slightly closer to each other.
“Eunhye. Is the surname Fujiwara common in Japan?”
Aki Fujiwara, my son’s only foreign friend. And her father, Sumimoto Fujiwara. It made sense that father and daughter shared the same surname, but what mattered more was the name “Fujiwara” itself. After all, the current Japanese ambassador to Korea was named Kenichiro Fujiwara. Yet the man sitting before them was Sumimoto Fujiwara.
“It’s common enough, but not many people actually carry it as their original family name.”
“Original family name? What’s that?”
“It’s almost nonexistent now, but… simply put, it’s a surname granted directly by the Japanese emperor. People with original family names are a kind of nobility. They make up less than five percent of Japan’s entire population.”
If this Sumimoto Fujiwara was a relative of the current ambassador or held a similar position, then as diplomats, my parents would have to be extremely careful with every action from this point forward—any mistake could become a diplomatic faux pas. They were about to tread carefully when—
“Then… is he nobility?”
“I don’t know. Should I ask? But how do I even bring it up?”
“……Pardon the interruption while you’re speaking, but our Fujiwara family has used the original family name Fujiwara for generations.”
By coincidence, Sumimoto Fujiwara—Aki’s father—was quite fluent in Korean. The reason, like Aki, was due to the forceful insistence of Ambassador Kenichiro Fujiwara……
“Oh my, you speak Korean. ……Um, if it’s not too rude, may I ask what your relationship is with Mr. Kenichiro Fujiwara?”
“He is Aki’s grandfather and my father.”
“……I’m sorry. We’ve been terribly rude.”
Startled, Mom quickly bowed her head.
“Not at all. Rather, I should be the one thanking Wooju’s parents.”
Yet when Mom bowed, Aki’s father bowed in return.
“Pardon? Thanking us?”
At the sudden remark, Mom and Dad stared at each other blankly. Dad’s eyes asked, “Eunhye, did you do something for him?” Mom shook her head and replied with her eyes, “No, this is the first time I’ve met him. What about you?” Naturally, Dad also shook his head, and both of them wondered simultaneously, “Then what is he thanking us for……?”
“Aki was originally a child who smiled often. However, after being forced to come to Korea by my father’s insistence, she stopped smiling altogether. It was probably due to the sudden change in environment, and also because she couldn’t make proper friends her age. Language barriers are bigger than one might think.”
“Ah, yes. That makes sense. Children need time to adjust when their environment changes.”
“Indeed. So I waited. Aki is a bright child, so I thought she would be fine if given a little time. But that wasn’t the case. Aki, who always smiled, grew darker with each passing day. One month, then two. By the third month, I realized—I couldn’t leave Aki like this.”
“Ah……”
“But there was nothing I could do. Shamefully, I’ve spent my entire life only working. I’ve never had a proper conversation with Aki, nor have I done anything fatherly. I wanted to make her smile, but I didn’t know how, and it pained me. I even had extreme thoughts about what would happen if Aki never smiled again for the rest of her life. ……But then.”
Aki’s father lifted his head. The languid gaze typical of a middle-aged man turned toward the corner of the kids’ café where Aki and I were sitting.
“One day, when I returned home after work, Aki greeted me with a bright smile and spoke first. ‘Dad, something really fun happened outside today!’ Though I didn’t show it, I was so surprised that I quickly asked what had happened. And do you know what Aki said?”
“W-what did she say?”
“She said she met a Korean boy named ‘Wooju’ outside, and playing with him was so much fun. She explained everything in detail.”
──Honey, what did you tell me to do first when I got home?
──Hmm, let me think? A greeting?
──No. The answer is “I’m home.” A kiss!
──Huh, a kiss?
──Yes, a kiss! Now come here and kiss me!
“……”
“……”
“……Anyway. That’s why I wanted to meet Wooju’s parents at least once and express my gratitude.”
Aki’s father bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you for finding our child’s smile in place of her incompetent parents. I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
When his bowed head nearly touched the table, Mom and Dad flinched in surprise and fidgeted. Then they looked at each other quietly. It was the first time they had received such a formal thank-you from someone, and it felt awkward to be thanked for something their child had done rather than themselves. So, after pondering what to do while gazing at each other—
“……Ah, well.”
They offered slightly awkward but sincere smiles.
“We gratefully accept your feelings, Aki’s father. But you don’t need to bow your head. It was our son who played with Aki, not us. Honestly, we didn’t do anything.”
“No. It is thanks to the way you raised Wooju that our Aki has brightened again. A hundred thank-yous would not be enough for this.”
“Oh my, it’s fine. Wooju is such a mischievous child that I was worried he might have been rude to Aki instead. Well……”
Even as she spoke, a smile lingered on Mom’s lips. No parent in the world dislikes hearing praise for their child from others. Feeling good, Mom decided to meddle a little and casually brought up the topic.
“Um, this might sound a bit out of the blue, but… is Aki attending daycare or kindergarten?”
“Kindergarten? No, she is not currently attending. She went to Gakushuin Kindergarten in Japan, so I thought the same would work here in Korea, but the language barrier turned out to be unexpectedly large.”
“Then how are you handling her education?”
“I teach her whenever I have time, or I’ve hired a few female tutors for simple homeschooling……”
“Oh my, oh my! That won’t do.”
“……Pardon?”
“This is the age when children should be running around and playing. Homeschooling? Sir, when children are young, they absolutely must meet people and play. It’s good for their emotional development.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know. But even if I wanted to send her to kindergarten, as I mentioned earlier, the language issue hasn’t been resolved. Aki can speak a little Korean, but that’s all, so she can’t communicate properly, and the cultural differences make it hard for her to adjust as well.”
“In that case, how about sending her to the same kindergarten as our child?”
Dad, who had been quiet, chimed in.
“Pardon? The same kindergarten as Wooju?”
“Yes. If Aki attends the same kindergarten as Wooju, it’ll be easier for her to adjust, and she’ll be able to communicate to some extent like now. She’s relying on a translator right now, but children learn quickly, don’t they? Once they’re together, they’ll stimulate each other, so Aki will pick up Korean faster, and our Wooju will learn Japanese more easily too. It’s a win-win for both.”
“Oh my. If you’re willing to do that, I would be more than grateful…… But wouldn’t it be too much of a burden on Wooju?”
“Oh, a burden? Our Wooju would love it. If you’re really worried, should we ask him directly? Hey, Wooju—”
“Eunhye, look over there.”
“Huh? Where?”
“There, where Wooju and Aki are. They’re about to kiss.”
“Oh, they’re just pretending for fun. Why would they kiss in front of people……”
──There, done?
──Yeah, I’m home. Honey.
──……Huh? Why did Aki kiss me?
──Welcome home~ Kisses are supposed to be mutual, you know. Didn’t you know that?
“What? They actually did it?”
“……Oh my.”
Those little ones are already kissing in front of others. ……With that thought on her face, Mom looked at me and cleared her throat.
“Um, I’m sorry. It seems our Wooju really likes Aki.”
“It’s fine. Children play like that at their age, don’t they? It’s nice to see them getting along so well.”
“……How many times is he going to kiss her? Wooju, come here for a second~”
──Ah, yes!
I toddled over to Mom, who was waving at me. Naturally, Aki stuck right behind me, and we stood before both sets of parents, holding hands amicably.
“Wooju, listen. If Aki starts going to the same kindergarten as you, can you help her out by her side?”
“Huh? Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”
“Yeah. What do you think? Can you do that?”
“Yes! I can do that. I’ll play with Aki a lot and introduce her to lots of friends!”
“……See?”
“……”
Mom glanced at Aki’s father with a somewhat proud expression. Aki’s father looked down at us—more precisely, at our joined hands—and after a moment—
“……Understood. Then, even though it’s presumptuous, I’ll ask despite the shame.”
With a deeply grateful face, he bowed politely to Mom and Dad.
“Wooju, please become good friends with our Aki.”
“Don’t worry. Our Wooju is smart, so he’ll do well. Right, Wooju?”
“Yes. But Mom, from now on, Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”
“Yeah, it’ll happen soon. How about that? Isn’t it nice?”
“Whoa, really? Really? Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”
“Dad will look into it right away, but there’s a process, so it won’t be immediate. It’ll probably take at least a week. So until then, you……”
“Aki! They said we’re going to the same kindergarten!”
“Kinder… garten…?”
“We can play together every day from now on, every single day!”
“Ah, ah……”
Aki couldn’t understand Korean properly without the translator, but she seemed happy just holding my hand while I was so excited, her face turning slightly red.
“Our Wooju takes after me and is so energetic, right?”
“Yeah, that tomboy streak is exactly like our Eunhye. Exactly like her……”
“……What? Tomboy? Wooju occasionally says weird things exactly like his dad, don’t you know that? Huh? Huh?”
“Look at that, getting all worked up over a little teasing…… Ah, wait, don’t grab me in weird places……!”
Mom and Dad chatted about how I resembled each of them while watching me. And from that day on, we—
“Ah, right, the translator. ……Aki, let’s get along from now on!”
“Yeah, Wooju~! Me too, let’s get along……”
—became very close friends.