Reflection
It was unexpected.
Seo Da-eun had assumed he thought the same way she did. After all, it turned out he was in a similar situation—parents too busy to look after the house, leaving him to care for his younger siblings.
Of course, she didn’t hate looking after her little sister. Ji-ah was adorable, followed her more readily than their parents, and sometimes even became a friend when loneliness crept in. But there were moments when it felt unfair, too.
…Why only me?
Why did she have to be born into a family like this, while every other kid got to live however they pleased? Even her exercise time—not play, but training—got stolen so she could pour her energy into her sister. So yes, she had come to think of herself as sacrificing for her parents and for Ji-ah, at least a little.
But then—
“Even if they were here, Mom and Dad would have it harder than me. They’d want to see the kids’ faces more than anyone. They’re working so much they can’t even come home.”
“…”
“So I just want to make sure they don’t have to worry. At least when they’re home, I want them to feel at ease knowing I’m here.”
Seon Woo-hyun didn’t seem resentful at all. If anything, he sounded grateful. He thought more about the backbreaking effort his parents put in outside—working themselves to the bone because he couldn’t earn money yet—than about his own burden.
Most kids his age didn’t have to shoulder childcare. He was supposed to be studying and playing, yet he still thought this way. That alone was remarkable.
…Makes me reflect on myself.
Looking at him, she realized how childish her own thoughts had been. She had acted as if she were the only one struggling in the world.
Her parents, Woo-hyun—and probably countless others she didn’t even know—were living harder lives than hers, even as students. The idea that she alone was some tragic heroine making noble sacrifices suddenly felt embarrassing.
Moments like this make him seem more grown-up than me. Seon Woo-hyun does.
He usually came off endlessly lighthearted, but every so often a side like this would surface and change her mind. Everything she had learned about him while running together had slowly rewritten her impression of Seon Woo-hyun.
At first I thought he was just like any ordinary guy.
There were always individual differences, of course, but she had long believed most boys her age were immature. Unrealistic, spewing curses, spouting nonsense, snickering over nothing. It had been that way in middle school, and high school hadn’t been much different.
The first time she saw Woo-hyun in the classroom, he fit that image closely enough. She had even thought, A guy like that must live without a care in the world.
But the more they talked and ran together, the clearer it became that Seon Woo-hyun was nothing like what she had first seen. His usual casual attitude almost looked like a mask. He was more diligent and mature than she had expected—maybe even more than she was.
“…You’re pretty thoughtful. Kind of surprising.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. He seemed embarrassed by her honest impression and quietly averted his gaze.
“What’s with the sudden compliment?”
“It’s not a compliment. Just an observation. It’s interesting.”
“What is?”
“That someone our age thinks the way you do.”
“…”
“There don’t seem to be many kids like that. Ones who think about how hard their parents have it.”
Most kids their age cared about the entertainment industry, dating, the latest cosmetics, creators, celebrities, or games. Seo Da-eun didn’t think any of that was bad—she herself was deeply interested in sports.
But watching someone live with a mindset so different from the average kid made him seem a little admirable, even impressive.
She knew from experience. Looking after someone was exhausting and troublesome, and it brought no personal benefit. He had probably been doing it for years without a single complaint. Feeling that his sense of responsibility and love for his family ran deep was only natural.
He’s a good guy after all.
While she was quietly revising her evaluation of him upward, Woo-hyun waved a hand as if to brush it off.
“Enough. Let’s drop this. It’s just making the mood heavy.”
“Embarrassed by the praise?”
“W-what are you talking about? Why would I be embarrassed?”
Honestly, the way he changed the subject out of shyness was a little cute. He always lit up when she praised him during runs, yet here he got flustered.
“Then what do you want to talk about?”
Continuing this conversation wouldn’t lead anywhere good anyway, so she decided to let it go. Woo-hyun thought for a moment before asking,
“Has Ji-ah gotten into anything lately? What does she do at home?”
“Ji-ah?”
He steered the topic to the kids with natural ease. Seo Da-eun considered the question. There were more than one or two things Ji-ah liked.
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“Magical Girl Pretty Lilica. She loves it so much she watches it all day.”
It was a magical-girl anime for little girls that aired on TV. Popular enough that it got rebroadcast constantly. Whenever Ji-ah had nothing else to do, she usually parked herself in front of the television.
“Huh? Pretty Lilica? Min-hyun watches that too.”
“Min-hyun does?”
She didn’t find it strange. Even if it was aimed at girls, little kids didn’t care much about that sort of thing. Once they reached elementary school and other kids started teasing, they might hide it out of embarrassment—but not yet.
“Yeah. I catch bits of it sometimes when I’m next to him, and it’s actually pretty fun.”
“…Fun?”
Seo Da-eun stared at him blankly at the claim that an anime for girls under seven was fun. Woo-hyun paid no mind and pressed on with missionary zeal.
“You should watch it sometime. Yesterday’s episode 59 was insane. The scene where Lilica sacrifices herself to save Spica? Even guys tear up for real.”
“…”
“Then Laika shows up at the last second and saves the dying Lilica. That emotion—man. Puts most blockbuster movies to shame.”
He even had all the character names memorized?
“Ah, really? I should check it out sometime. Later.”
She said something she didn’t mean just so he wouldn’t feel hurt. Watching Seon Woo-hyun passionately preach about a little girls’ anime, she couldn’t help thinking that for all his mature outlook, his tastes were surprisingly childish.
I was still in the middle of preaching the beauty of Magical Girl Lilica to Seo Da-eun when two voices rang out from the playground in the distance.
“Unnieee~ Come over here!”
“Hyung-aaa~!”
At the sound of them calling us, we stopped talking and stood up. Our eyes met with the shared look of people who knew this was coming. Kids were like that—quick to get interested in something and just as quick to lose interest. Them calling us meant they had gotten bored of playing by themselves.
Mentally steeling myself, I walked toward the playground with her.
“Hm? What’s up, Ji-ah?”
“Yeah, hyung’s here. What is it?”
As we got closer, both kids’ faces lit up like they had just discovered a fun new toy.
“Let’s play hide-and-seek! Hide-and-seek!”
“Min-hyun wants to play, but two people isn’t enough! Unnie and oppa have to play too!”
We had come out for this anyway. Seo Da-eun and I both nodded readily.
“Alright, let’s do it. Who’s it?”
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
“Rock-paper-scissors, loser is it!”
At Ji-ah’s shout we played, and Min-hyun ended up as the seeker.
“Then we’re hiding?”
“Yeah!”
While Min-hyun buried his face against the horizontal bar and counted to thirty, the rest of us scattered and hid. Hide too easily and the kids got bored; hide too well and they got frustrated. Finding the right middle ground was key.
I tucked myself inside the slide and peeked out just enough to survey the playground. Min-hyun had already finished counting and was searching for people.
…Still, Min-hyun’s eye for these things wasn’t bad.
Just as I expected, he quickly spotted Ji-ah under the playhouse.
“Found you!”
“Eek! I’m caught! Run!”
Ji-ah shrieked and bolted, Min-hyun chasing after her. But even laughing as she ran, Ji-ah was too fast for him to catch.
Hide-and-seek rules varied a little from group to group. Apparently at kindergarten you only counted as caught if someone actually tagged you. Ji-ah was taller than Min-hyun, and at that age the difference between boys and girls wasn’t huge yet, so he simply couldn’t close the gap in height or speed.
“Ugh… I lost her…”
In the end Min-hyun gave up, exhausted from the chase. Ji-ah had already darted off to hide somewhere else. I got spotted later too, but managed to escape. Having already let two people slip away, Min-hyun’s shoulders slumped and he looked thoroughly dejected.
What now? Should I pretend to mess up and let him catch me?
If he didn’t catch anyone else, he might lose interest completely. I was just thinking about “accidentally” appearing in front of him when Seo Da-eun, who had been hidden out of sight under a building overhang, casually stepped into view.
“Huh? Noona!”
“Ack, I’m caught! Gotta run!”
She fled at a deliberately slow pace—just slow enough for Min-hyun to catch her—and let herself be tagged by the sprinting boy.
“Hehe. Gotcha! I caught her!”
“Yeah, noona’s caught. Min-hyun, you’re amazing.”
Min-hyun bounced up and down with excitement over his first catch, while Seo Da-eun watched him with open fondness and praised him.
I couldn’t help admiring how quickly she had read his mood and appeared. It meant she had been watching the kids that carefully. And she wasn’t even doing it for her own sister—she was looking out for mine. That made me grateful too.
Seo Da-eun ruffled the excited Min-hyun’s hair, then said,
“Now that noona’s caught, I’ll help look, okay?”
“Yeah!”
“You’re all dead. From now on, anyone who gets caught is in for it.”
Wait, that rule wasn’t in the original game.
Seo Da-eun freely added her own rule, and Min-hyun giggled like he loved it.
Hold on. I think our eyes just met.
A second later I, who had been hiding against the upper wall of the play structure, fell squarely into Seo Da-eun’s radar.
“It’s Seon Woo-hyun! He’s over there! On top of the play equipment! Seon Woo-hyun, halt!”
“Woooaaah!”
Unlike the leisurely pace she had used when letting Min-hyun catch her, Seo Da-eun now charged after me at full beast-mode speed. Watching her, I thought:
…Isn’t this cheating? How am I supposed to outrun the track team in a footrace?