Close Interview with Yoo A-yeon (3): The Empty Playground
Afternoon, a little past four o'clock.
A-rin and Dad came home. The living room grew lively again.
The reporters angled their cameras so that A-rin and Dad's faces stayed out of frame. When I asked if they could just blur them later, they said it wouldn't look natural. Shooting from angles where faces simply didn't appear made it easier for viewers to feel immersed.
Protecting someone's likeness really is a lot of work, I thought.
“Heave-ho.”
I pulled two kick scooters out in front of the entrance. Cute pink children's models—one a little bigger, the other much smaller. Both had rainbow pinwheels attached to the back, giving them a modern touch.
While tying my sneakers, I called out.
“Unni! Are you going out?”
“Yeah! Let's go together!”
A-rin came toddling over to the shoe rack. She was still clumsy with laces, so I tied them for her. Click. I helped her with the helmet, knee pads, and elbow guards too.
“Are you heading out now?”
“Yes! Reporter ajussi, can you keep up?”
Michael answered while checking his camera.
“Where are you going?”
“Follow me and you'll see!”
Mom put on her shoes and came out with us.
Outside, the sun was already sinking low. The sky had begun to turn gold—the awkward hour right before dinner.
I stepped onto my adorable little scooter.
“Hup.”
Whoosh. I pushed off with one foot and glided forward. The wind tugged at my hair.
“Uhehehing~”
This feeling of speed is pretty nice…
Already spouting old-man thoughts. What happened to you, Yoo A-yeon?
…Of course, it was a children's scooter, so the pace was slow enough for an adult to match at a walk.
Whoosh whoosh. A-rin followed on her tiny scooter.
“Unni! Wait for me!”
Thud thud. Mom walked behind us. The reporters trailed after with their cameras.
We turned corner after corner. A few minutes later, we arrived at the neighborhood playground. I glanced around. No one was there.
Five o'clock. This was when kids usually headed home. The playground equipment stood empty.
I parked my scooter at the edge and stepped inside. A-rin hopped off hers too.
“Okay.”
“Choa!”
We both dashed toward the slide at the same time.
“Heave-ho.”
Yoo A-yeon climbed the slide steps. Her little sister followed right behind. At the top, the two of them peered down for a moment.
Then—
Whoosh. They slid down one after another.
“Hehet! Fun, Unni!”
“Again!”
They climbed up and slid down over and over. Lee Dong-hyun captured it all on camera, always from angles that kept the younger sister's face hidden.
The same child who had been explaining advanced math with a journal earlier was now happily riding the slide. From behind his camera, Lee Dong-hyun whispered to Michael.
“Hard to believe it's the same kid.”
Michael nodded and kept filming. After the slide, they moved to the jungle gym. Yoo A-yeon ran over and started climbing, her sister right behind her. She even showed off by flipping upside down and hanging by her knees. Together they reached the very top.
Whoosh. A cool breeze swept by. A-rin spread both arms wide at the summit. Yoo A-yeon hung just below, feeling the wind. For a while they simply gazed at the distant sunset—orange and pink blending across the sky.
Before long—
“Ready.”
A-rin shouted first.
“Jump!”
They leapt together and landed on the soft urethane ground. The moment their feet touched down, they took off running.
“Unni, catch me!”
A-rin sprinted ahead while Yoo A-yeon chased after her.
“Got you!”
“Hiet!”
Still filming the two girls, Lee Dong-hyun quietly moved closer to Mom.
“Does A-yeon often play at the playground with her sister?”
Han Seol-ae watched her daughters and answered.
“Yes. They tend to stay indoors, so I make sure they get outside at least once or twice a week to move their bodies.”
“Why come at this odd hour, though? If you came earlier, there would be other children around.”
Han Seol-ae glanced at the girls for a moment.
“Our children find it a little difficult to get along with kids their own age. We deliberately choose times when no one else is here.”
“What do you mean by difficult?”
“We consulted a child psychologist. Apparently, children whose cognitive development is significantly advanced struggle to form friendships with peers their own age. It's like an adult trying to play with young children—it just doesn't fit.”
Lee Dong-hyun nodded.
“Ah, I see. That must be quite a challenge.”
“So for now, they just play together like this.”
The camera turned back to the girls. They were deep in a game of tag, roles reversed.
“Now I'm it!”
“Catch me!”
Thud thud thud. Yoo A-yeon ran in the opposite direction, breathing hard, a bright smile on her face. Kids always end up laughing when they run.
While filming the scene, Lee Dong-hyun asked quietly.
“Is the younger sister also more intelligent than other children her age?”
Han Seol-ae drew a firm line.
“I'm sorry. I can't answer that.”
Lee Dong-hyun paused, then bowed his head.
“Ah, I asked something outside the contract. My apologies.”
“It's all right.”
Han Seol-ae shook her head gently. The camera returned to the playground.
Time passed. The sky grew darker. Just as the orange light began fading into deep navy, Han Seol-ae called from the playground entrance.
“Girls, time to go eat.”
Two voices answered at once.
“Yeees!”
“Ne-eh-!”
Thud thud thud. The two girls scrambled down from the equipment and ran toward their scooters. Whoosh. They grabbed their scooters and took off. Han Seol-ae followed behind them.
Lee Dong-hyun lowered his camera and spoke to Michael.
“Let's wrap it up here for today.”
“More than enough.”
Michael nodded in agreement.
“Then we'll be on our way.”
“Take care.”
“Reporter ajussi! Bye-bye!”
“Ah, bye…”
With a small bow, the three of them disappeared down the alley. The sound of scooter wheels rolling echoed through the quiet streets.
The next morning.
“Sailor uniform, sailor uniform… Mom! Where's the one I wore yesterday?”
“It's in the laundry basket.”
Rustle rustle. I dug through the basket. There it was—wrinkled and covered in dust…!
“Eek… This is bad.” Sniff sniff. It smelled strongly of sweat from yesterday's playground adventure.
The reporters were coming again today…
“I can't show off peak cuteness in something this grubby!” “Just wear another cute outfit.” “But… the sailor uniform is the cutest…”
It also gave off that extra “smart kid” vibe.
“Won't it look strange if you wear the sailor uniform every single day?”
“Hmm. Maybe you're right.”
After thinking it over, I decided it was important to show a wider variety of cute looks. Swish. Convinced, I changed out of my pajamas and into regular clothes.
Ding-dong.
“They're here!”
Thud thud thud. I ran to the door and opened it.
“Reporter ajussi! Good morning again!”
“Yeah. You're full of energy today too.”
“Hello, Ayeon.”
Filming began.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Today we're going somewhere!”
“Where to?”
I looked straight at the reporters.
“Ajussi… Yesterday, when you saw us playing at an empty playground, you thought, ‘Those kids don't have any friends,’ right?”
Flinch! Lee Dong-hyun's pupils widened slightly. When I repeated the same line in English, Michael's eyes widened too.
“W-we never thought that.”
“Yes. Ayeon, I never thought so too.”
“Hmph. You can't fool my eyes! I'm not some pitiful kid!”
Friends don't have to be the exact same age, after all. Even Teacher Park Ji-soo had said that socializing with people at a similar intellectual level was better for social development.
“So today, I'm going to show you how I communicate with my close unni and oppa. A-rin, let's go!”
“Okay!”