It Feels Like Raising Kids
Over the green hills~
A backpack on my shoulders~
The golden sun~
I put on a song to get us in the mood for the trip. Maru had hooked her phone up to the car so we could play music, and I went ahead and picked something that felt right for a journey. I was sure the kids would sing along. Their reaction caught me completely off guard.
"What song is this, Hana?"
No way. I couldn't help being stunned that Jiyu and Yumi didn't know a song this famous. Either that, or I was simply too old, the way people always said. It had come out in the eighties, so kids born in the 2010s might well have never heard it. I was born in 2000, but I'd listened to it plenty—especially on trips. It was one of those songs you put on without fail whenever you went traveling.
"You don't know this one, Yumi?"
"Nope. First time I've ever heard it!"
Maru, driving beside us, spoke up as if she hadn't expected that either.
"This is a song our generation knows. How do you even know it, Hana? I figured you wouldn't know the first thing about songs."
I'd slipped. Working the phone like it was second nature and putting the song on had given me away. But I had an excuse ready, so I could glide right past a moment like this.
"I picked it off a playlist of songs that are good for road trips, Maru."
"Oh yeah? Well, Let's Go on a Trip is a good song for a trip, I'll give you that!"
"Unnie, do you know this song?"
Jiyu asked from beside her, plainly curious. There really did seem to be a generation gap between Maru and a bunch of third graders. Even I sometimes failed to click with Jiyu and Yumi when we talked. Maybe it was because I'd gotten younger, but thankfully, as time went on, it felt more and more like our tastes and wavelength were lining up. Call it adapting.
"You bet! Back in our day, not knowing this song basically made you a spy. Whenever we went out with the upperclassmen in college, this one always came on. And it's been remade a bunch of times, so it's pretty famous!"
Maru turned the music up a little. Soon the car was full of a lively beat and the thump of drums. When you were heading out on a trip, it was hard to find a song more exciting than this one.
"It's cheerful, though. I like it."
Yumi seemed to be enjoying herself too, catching the spirit as she listened. A good song transcended age and taste. Relieved, I put on a string of songs that were actually on the charts. If I carelessly played the wrong thing and made Maru suspicious, that would be a disaster. Not that she'd believe I was an adult even if I told her.
And so the car carrying our little party glided along the highway. It was a weekday, and the road was wide open. Watching the cars fly past left my own heart feeling clear and light. Nothing like those gridlocked holiday roads.
They were due to arrive soon at a beach along the west coast. The moment they reached the destination, Hana was out of the car in a flash. A blazing sun and a fierce blast of heat fell on her at once.
"Waaah, it's hot!"
She fled into the shade at a run, driven off by the sunlight. It was so strong she simply couldn't stand it. Watching her, Maru called out.
"Hana, you've got to put on sunscreen!"
They had already applied some before setting out, but Hana hated having cosmetics on her skin so much that they hadn't been able to use much. This time Maru meant to slather it thick over her face, arms, and legs. If that snow-white, translucent skin so much as burned, Maru's heart would ache. A child's skin was delicate, and there was no telling what kind of trouble sunlight like this might cause. The summer sun was that fierce.
"Nngh!"
Caught in Maru's grip, Hana was getting sunscreen rubbed all over her. Maru pinned her with both legs, then used her free hands to scrub at Hana's face. Behind them, Jiyu and Yumi climbed out of the car. Only after she had successfully finished coating Hana did Maru turn her gaze on the two girls.
Jiyu and Yumi sensed the killing intent in that look and tried to run, but it was already too late. Maru put sunscreen on them as well. Children's skin was more precious than anything; she couldn't let it slide. If she skipped it and their skin peeled, she would have no face to show Jiyu's and Yumi's parents, who had entrusted the children to her.
Taking the two of them on an outing had required their parents' permission in the first place. If the kids had said they were traveling on their own, the answer would have been an immediate no. But there was a guardian, and that guardian worked for a company under the famous Byeolbit Guild. An employee of a major corporation could be trusted to be capable, and since she was a woman, there were no worries of that sort. If anything, it was a chance to leave the children with good memories.
All they needed to pack was clothes, so there were no extra costs. The kids were getting a free trip to the beach, and since they were going with friends, there was no reason for them to object. So Jiyu's and Yumi's parents had given permission without a second thought.
"Kids! Want to rest in the shade?"
Maru started unloading the trunk. Even on a weekday, the beach was crowded—summer vacation must have started. There were plenty of children, whole families by the look of it.
One glance at the tents spread along the shore, and Maru changed her plans. She had meant to pitch a tent and sleep in it, but the way things looked, that wasn't going to be easy. So she rented a pension nearby.
The method was simple. She called the company, and they told her a pension had already been reserved. They must have booked it on the chance it would come in handy. Money was no object anyway. Reserve ahead of time, and if you needed it, wonderful; if not, oh well. That seemed to be the idea.
"Whoaaa!"
"Hana, get over here! It's a sandy beach!"
The children had already forgotten all about resting in the shade and went racing across the sand. Watching them, Maru smiled. Hana fit right in with the other kids, looking exactly her age. Children really did show their true selves when they were with friends.
Back in the building, she had seemed like an unemployed layabout. It was vacation, of course, but the sight of her rolling around in her room all day had left that impression. Still, considering the work Hana actually did, calling her a bum didn't quite fit.
Because of her, hundreds of thousands of people would make their living. If she vanished overnight, the people thrown out onto the street would fill dozens of soccer fields all by themselves. That was how important she was. It was easiest to think of Hana as the true heart of Byeolbit Foods—easiest to think that if Hana disappeared, Byeolbit Foods would disappear with her.
At any rate, while Hana and the children played on the sand, Maru quickly set about moving the luggage. There wasn't much of it. They had planned a one-night, two-day trip, and she had decided to buy anything they lacked at a nearby mart, so she had packed lighter than usual. The walk was a bit far, though, so she quietly called Yumi over.
She couldn't quite trust Hana. The girl had a scatterbrained side. Yumi came when she saw the gesture. Of the three, speaking to the grown-up one put Maru more at ease. As Yumi drew near, Maru said softly,
"Yumi. Unnie's going to drive over to the pension for a bit, so can you keep a good eye on Jiyu and Hana? Don't go anywhere. Or if you do, you absolutely have to let me know, all right?"
Yumi listened and nodded.
"Yes, Unnie. I'll do just what you said!"
That set Maru at ease. With Yumi's firm answer in hand, she got in the car and left for the pension, meaning to drop off the luggage and drive straight back. Yumi watched the car's rear as it pulled away.
Then she turned and headed back to where Hana and Jiyu were. Those two would be all over the place while they played, so just as Unnie had said, she had to hold onto them and play with them herself. On a beach this wide, one wrong turn and they could easily end up lost. They had their phones, of course, so a call would bring them back together—but still.
"Let's build a sandcastle!"
Hana said it while gathering sand, looking as if she had made every preparation in the world for the project. Jiyu pitched in beside her. Seeing the two of them, Yumi could relax. At least if they were building a sandcastle, they wouldn't be running all over the place. She felt, somehow, like she was raising children. Hana and Jiyu had thoughts you simply couldn't predict.
And so Yumi made up her mind to keep stacking the sandcastle until Maru came back.