My First Drawing for You
A full week had passed since Sihyun and Riya first met, and in all that time the two of them had not spent a single moment apart at kindergarten.
Of course, the words that passed between them were still few enough to count on one hand.
But as the days went by, both of them could feel how easy it was simply being at each other's side.
And today was no different.
What is she drawing?
For the first time, Sihyun did not look at the picture she was working on.
It wasn't that he'd grown tired of watching her draw. It was because Riya had asked him not to.
In the five short days they'd known each other, she had never once made a request of any kind — and then today, out of nowhere, she had asked him not to look.
Which only made him all the more curious about what she was drawing.
Still, he had no intention of peeking, so he sat beside her and looked elsewhere for a while.
"Sihyun."
Riya tapped his shoulder.
"Are you done?"
"Mm... probably."
"So I can look now?"
"Here."
Before Sihyun could even turn his head, Riya held the paper out to him.
A single sheet torn from a stiff sketchbook.
What was drawn on it was not one of her usual landscapes — it was a portrait.
"Me?"
And the figure sketched across that page was Sihyun himself.
A child who looked about seven years old, drawn from the shoulders up.
It was done entirely in pencil, and the shading wasn't particularly refined, but he could tell who it was.
The uncombed hair and those sharp eyes alone captured his features with unmistakable clarity.
"How is it...?"
Riya stared at him intently from the side as she asked.
She was a girl who almost never showed emotion, but Sihyun could sense the expectation in her — and the faint anxiety beneath it.
"I've never... drawn a person before."
"Really? It's good."
"I wanted to give my first one to you."
It showed that it was her first attempt. The facial proportions weren't quite right.
It was her first time, and she was a young child, so the head-to-face ratio left something to be desired...
But none of that mattered to Sihyun right now.
All that mattered was that the first person Riya had ever drawn was him — and that made him happy.
"Thank you."
Sihyun smiled with pure, unguarded warmth as he thanked her.
It was an expression and a manner completely at odds with his mental age — the face and behavior of a genuine seven-year-old.
That very dissonance was why he hadn't been able to make friends for the past seven years.
The gap had been too jarring; he couldn't properly enjoy his own emotions.
But for some reason, in front of Riya, acting this way felt good. He could face his feelings head-on.
"I'll... draw you again later."
"Maybe I should learn to draw too...? It feels weird only receiving."
"It's fine even if you don't... Just stay by my side."
A flush rose across her porcelain-pale skin — so faint it was almost invisible — as Riya picked up her pencil again.
Her hand moved across the sketchbook once more, continuing to draw.
She still showed no intention of washing the graphite-stained hands.
"It's okay to look now, right?"
"Mm. It's fine."
After that, things were much the same as usual.
Riya kept drawing, and Sihyun watched from beside her.
They ate together. They took a nap together.
And after spending time like that, it wasn't long before it was time to go home.
Three o'clock.
Pickup time arrived while the sun was still bright and high in the sky.
As that hour came, the children followed their parents home.
But Sihyun and Riya didn't leave right away.
"We have to wait a little longer, right?"
"Yeah. Mom said she went a bit far today."
Riya's father worked in trade.
Her mother helped him a great deal with that work.
On other days it wasn't an issue, but today they'd gone a little farther out and were running late.
Not by much — only about five minutes.
As for Sihyun, he would normally walk home alone.
His house was right nearby, after all — and more than that, he wanted to stay with Riya a little longer.
It's a good thing she's pretty open-minded about it.
The biggest reason was probably that he hadn't caused any trouble for seven years.
On the first day he'd met Riya, he'd strongly voiced his opinion at home, and his parents had listened.
"What are you going to do at home, Riya?"
They wouldn't see each other for two whole days.
This was the first weekend since they'd met, so the regret cut even deeper.
They couldn't exactly arrange to meet — their parents didn't know each other yet.
They had no choice but to spend two days apart.
"Drawing...?"
"Even at home?"
"...I don't know."
And that sense of longing was a little stronger on Riya's side than on Sihyun's.
Before, drawing had been the only thing that interested her in life. Now there was Sihyun too — just two things.
And with one of those about to be taken away, the sudden emptiness she felt was only natural.
She couldn't think of what she'd do at home over the weekend.
On weekdays, she'd go home and practice drawings to give Sihyun... but she'd already given him one today.
"Then think about me all day."
"Think about Sihyun...?"
"Then you won't be bored, right?"
She'd been planning to do that even without him saying so.
But hearing him say it himself was a little funny.
Sihyun, for his part, had said it while swallowing his own embarrassment.
"Pfft..."
"...."
The faintest of laughs — but one that made a sound.
When she smiled like that, Sihyun froze and stared at her face.
It was the first time.
The first time he'd seen her laugh like that.
And it was... breathtakingly beautiful.
It hasn't changed.
The feeling he'd had the first time he saw her still hadn't faded.
From then until now, Riya had always shone — and she always would.
That made him so happy.
"Riya, Mommy's here."
Just then, someone opened the kindergarten door and stepped inside.
Black hair, black eyes — and a face that was the spitting image of Riya's.
"Mom."
It was Choi Harin, Riya's mother.
As Choi Harin approached, Riya went to her and hugged her leg.
Seeing Riya's mother for the first time, Sihyun froze again, his heart trembling.
Why...?
Even he didn't know the reason.
"And who are you?"
Choi Harin stroked her daughter's hair for a moment, then turned to the boy beside her and asked.
Her face was full of curiosity — and something that looked almost like recognition.
Just as Sihyun was about to introduce himself, Riya — still clinging to her mother's leg — came over to him and spoke first.
"Sihyun."
"Sihyun? Ah! So you're Sihyun?"
At the same time, Riya took hold of Sihyun's arm with both of her pale white hands, gripping it tightly.
She pulled him toward her, as if claiming him as her own.
"Nice to meet you. I've been wanting to meet you."
Having already heard about him from Riya, Choi Harin smiled as she looked at Sihyun upon hearing his name.
She'd already heard quite a bit about him at home.
Only about five times, of course — but for a girl who barely spoke at all, even that was an enormous event.
That was how deeply the name Baek Sihyun had been etched into her daughter's mind.
Hmm... he is handsome. So that's why Riya talked about him like that.
The boy whose arm her daughter was holding.
His features were a bit sharp, but he was a good-looking child.
Riya hadn't said outright that he was handsome, but from the little glimpses and stories she'd brought home from kindergarten, Harin had been able to guess.
Still, what a relief.
Seeing him in person, his personality seemed far better than what she'd heard.
Her daughter had never been able to join the other kids, and it had fretted her endlessly.
In that situation, a savior named Sihyun had appeared — so she already held a considerable fondness for him.
Of course!
Knowing that this boy was the subject of her daughter's first portrait did sting a little.
"Thank you for staying with Riya."
The moment he heard those words, Sihyun opened his mouth right away.
Because that was what he ought to say.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. I'm glad we get to be together."
It was a statement that came from the heart.
Choi Harin smiled faintly, as if she found that amusing.
She seemed far more lively than Riya — but when she smiled like that, she was the spitting image of her daughter.
They chatted for a little while longer, and then, checking the time, she opened the kindergarten door.
"Alright, Riya. Let's go home and have dinner."
At her mother's words, Riya reluctantly let go of his arm and went to her.
Just before stepping out of the kindergarten, Riya suddenly turned her head and spoke to Sihyun.
"Sihyun."
Not in her usual flat voice, but one that trembled slightly.
"You have to think about me over the weekend too... right?"
"...Oh my!"
Choi Harin exclaimed in surprise from beside them, but Sihyun didn't hear a word of it.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"...."
Because the sound of his own heartbeat filled his ears completely.
Even then, he still didn't understand why he was reacting this way.
I feel good.
He felt good — that was all he could think as he looked straight at Riya, his face slightly flushed.
Riya's face was just as red.
Her skin was so pale that the rosy flush stood out all the more.
Then another voice reached them.
"So our son can make a face like that, huh?"
This time, it was a voice Sihyun knew all too well.
The woman who had entered through the kindergarten entrance looked exactly like Sihyun — if you just sharpened her soft eyes a little.
"Mom...?"
It was none other than Yu Seoa, Sihyun's mother.
At her appearance, it was Riya's turn to freeze.
She'd known they would meet someday, but this was far too unexpected.
What... what am I supposed to say...?
With her still-meager knowledge of human relationships, she had no idea what to say in this situation.
"What are you doing here?"
"I had some free time, and you weren't coming home, so I got worried."
Yu Seoa's sudden appearance was startling for Sihyun as well.
Still a bit flustered, he turned toward Choi Harin, who gave his head a light pat.
"Ah... Riya's mother?"
"Ah... yes, that's right. You're Sihyun's mother, aren't you?"
"We should go to a café sometime. There's a lot I'd like to talk about."
Just as with Choi Harin, this was the first time Sihyun — who had never had friends — had ever talked about another person.
They were words that might have been difficult to say on a first meeting, but these two were different from their children.
Both Choi Harin and Yu Seoa were the type who loved socializing with people.
I'll just... stay with Sihyun.
Having missed the timing for a greeting, Riya was rather pleased to sidle up and sit close to Sihyun instead.
And for quite a while longer, the two of them enjoyed the extra time they'd been given.
That short day passed.
And after that, it didn't take long at all for the two families to grow close.