Da-yeon's Crush.
Da-yeon's Crush.
While I was chatting with Ji-hoon, Ji-yeong walked into the classroom for the first time in a long while.
She came straight over, in such a rush she didn't even take off her backpack before launching into her news.
Ji-yeong flinched when she got a look at Ji-hoon's swollen face.
"D-did you get in a fight?"
When Ji-hoon looked at her, Ji-yeong twitched.
"Me?"
"Uh... yeah."
"The kid standing in front of you did it."
"...F-for real?"
I smiled and drew Ji-yeong's gaze toward me.
"He's full of shit. How could I ever hit someone~"
For a moment, Ji-yeong seemed to remember my picture-perfect flying knee from the past; she watched me cautiously and nodded slowly.
"R... right?"
"Of course~"
Still eyeing me warily, Ji-yeong hung her bag at her own desk.
Once class started, I locked into the lesson.
These days, every time Da-yeon saw me, she talked about nothing but Kim Tae-oh.
"...You didn't confess, right?"
"Nope! I'm still getting prettied up!"
"That's my girl. If you keep it low-key like that, someday Tae-oh will notice you too."
"Okay!"
Da-yeon followed my advice more faithfully than I'd expected, and she started putting even more work into her appearance.
Ever since she got paired with Tae-oh, it looked like she wasn't even reading her favorite comics in front of him, just studying.
Lee Jin-seok had no clue this whole precarious situation was even happening and was just thrilled about her ninety-nine average, but...
The day Tae-oh actually fell for Da-yeon and confessed, we'd be looking at a scenario where our Da-yeon's heart got straight-up kidnapped by Tae-oh.
In reality, I'd still never even seen Tae-oh's face, but I was definitely curious how impressive this little punk was.
From what I'd heard, he was the grandson of the HSW director.
Which was probably why they picked him even when I said not to pick Kim Tae-oh.
Of course, the final reason Lee Jin-seok picked him wasn't connections—it was pure skill.
They said his ability was so overwhelming he could beat every single other kid put together all by himself, so my curiosity was basically guaranteed to spiral.
Like, how long would he last if he fought Ji-hoon? That level of curiosity.
There was no way Ji-hoon would lose, but if—just if—he actually lost to some ten-year-old brat who wasn't me, the popcorn material was absolutely guaranteed.
"Si-yoon, isn't there anyone you like?"
"Me? Hmm... Ji-su from Dreaming?"
In my whole Si-yoon life, she honestly might be the person I liked most as a member of the opposite sex. Wait, or same sex...?
When I said I liked a female idol, Da-yeon tilted her head.
"...?"
"Oh, right, you don't know that Ji-hoon got good-looking, do you?"
"Liar!"
I showed her a picture of Ji-hoon.
His sharp eyes gave him a fierce sort of look.
"....."
The fact that she went quiet seemed to mean she genuinely thought he'd gotten good-looking.
"What's he like compared to Tae-oh?"
"Ugly."
'Sorry, Jae-hyeong. My mistake.'
Watching Da-yeon act more and more grown-up, I could feel how fast kids really grow.
As I lay on Da-yeon's bed, I saw the tragic Antonio, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, wearing a dress with pink lace trim.
"How's Antonio doing these days?"
"Ga-yeon won't play with him, so he just guards the house alone."
"Can't you just play with him, Da-yeon?"
"Hmm... but I've been super busy lately, you know? Still, we always sleep together~"
"Yeah?"
Da-yeon started looking at a printed photo of Tae-oh. The picture was pretty worn out.
'I never imagined she'd be this smitten...'
At this point, it was starting to feel like I was the bad guy for trying to hold her back.
Watching Da-yeon smile while she gazed at that photo, honestly... I kind of got why fathers-in-law always had that look on their faces.
While working on my drawings, I reduced how often I used oil paints for a while.
By contrast, I was using more and more watercolor.
When I painted at school, Mr. Go Min-su no longer pressured me the way he used to. He treated me with the same attitude he'd had at the very beginning.
Sometimes, when I got so focused I lost track of time, my butt would practically fall asleep, so I'd lie down on the bed set up in the corner and look at my phone.
As time raced by, both Dad and I grew overwhelmed by the constant attention and stopped accepting any kind of appearance or interview offers at all.
Before we knew it, third-grade Christmas arrived, and same as before, I spent Christmas with Dad's coworkers.
Now in fourth grade and eleven years old, my height had begun shooting up with my age, so I had to be fitted for a new uniform.
Park Ji-hoon had also thrown himself into studying and ended up in my class again.
"You've been working hard, huh?"
"Heh... no way I could lose to a bunch of brats."
True to Park Ji-hoon's word, this time he hadn't just scraped by.
Even when he could barely follow the lessons because of his sports schedule, he was more focused on his studies than I'd expected.
Especially during exam periods—he didn't even play games with me, just locked into studying.
I wound up in the same class as Ji-yeong too, and while I was chatting with her, I asked without really thinking about it.
"What's your dad's job?"
"Huh? My dad? Prosecutor."
Ji-yeong's dad's job presumably wasn't the kind where he swung a sword around... which once again hammered home that this Seoul Private Elementary School was anything but ordinary.
The older the grade, the more all over the place the other kids' heights got.
Park Ji-hoon's height was on the upper end for our age, and since I'd also started growing fast, I was about even with Ji-hoon again.
"Did you stop growing or something?"
"...You're the one who's growing."
Looking at the other girls around me, I was definitely tall.
"Where'd that superior height of yours go, you little shit? Huhhhk?"
"...Knock it off."
"Guess you scarfed it all down like a goddamn hog and it came straight out the other end as shit."
"Haah... fuck..."
Park Ji-hoon, whom I constantly teased, received far more confessions than I'd expected. Whenever it happened, I called it a crime and made fun of him.
Far more boys confessed to me, and whenever I opened my shoe locker there was always at least one letter and a piece of chocolate waiting inside.
"...Kgh? If you get one..."
My fist landed with a smack, and the strength drained from Park Ji-hoon's legs before he could finish his sentence.
After I put my shoes in the locker, I figured the brats would get their feelings hurt if I threw the letters away right on the spot, so I reluctantly stuffed them into my bag.
Of course, I absolutely tossed them before school ended.
Because Dad would definitely make fun of me if I brought them home...
"Allow me to read one."
"Piss off."
"Aww, whyyyyy."
"...?"
"Sorry."
I was in class, touching the hair Dad had braided for me.
I shot Park Ji-hoon a look of genuine amazement at how hard he was supposedly focusing on his studies, but he was actually doodling in his textbook.
'Dumbass.'
People change with their environment, and by now it was difficult to think of Park Ji-hoon as the Jae-hyeong I had known.
Jae-hyeong had forced himself to act cheerful, while Ji-hoon was genuinely cheerful.
The gap between them was so much bigger than I'd ever imagined that it was hard to see them as the same person...
Of course, if anyone looked at me, they'd probably have a hard time imagining I was that Kang Han-seong too.
Maybe that was why, lately, it felt like Ji-hoon was treating me as a new person rather than as Kang Han-seong.
During class, I ducked my head and spoke quietly.
"So has your dick gotten any bigger?"
"I swear to god you're dead."
I pulled a face like the Joker's exaggerated grin.
"Huhhhk?"
"Fuck!!!"
And, right on cue, our teacher's voice rang out.
"Park Ji-hoon!!! You again!? Get out!!!"
Lately I seemed to be seeing this scene a lot.
I looked back at Park Ji-hoon standing behind me and grinned.
"Kim Si-yoon, you're exactly the same! You get out too!"
"Excuse me?"
When I heard our second-grade homeroom teacher, now our Korean teacher, say that, I put on my most wronged expression,
but as expected, that didn't work on a Korean teacher who had already experienced me firsthand.
"Oh-ho? Not going?"
"Oh, no, ma'am. Yes, ma'am."
In the end I walked out to the back of the classroom where the lockers were.
Si-yoon herself didn't realize that she was currently acting exactly like an eleven-year-old.
By now, even Mr. Go Min-su no longer criticized my painting ability.
We simply looked at the same things, painted together, and had deep conversations about art.
Mr. Go Min-su's own paintings were far more vibrant than when I'd first seen them.
It was as if his skill had leaped several levels.
"Wow... how do you pull that off?"
I watched a brushstroke spread through the water like a flower petal.
"This is done like this....."
Mr. Go Min-su patiently walked me through it step by step.
The only thing that had changed was that he'd started pouring that same passion he used to direct at me into his own work. Other than that, Mr. Go Min-su hadn't changed one bit.
"Si-yoon, have you thought about which middle school you want to go to?"
His motive was obvious from the question.
I played dumb and answered.
"Oh, we've already decided. I'm going to a regular public middle school."
"Huh? Why?"
"The reason Dad wanted a private elementary school was because he hoped I'd get to experience a variety of things."
"Ah-ha..."
Seeing the disappointed, awkward smile on Mr. Go Min-su's face confirmed that my read on his motive was dead on.
"Dad also realized it wasn't really necessary. Plus, these days there's a trend of special-purpose schools being shut down, you know."
"I see..."
Teacher Go Min-su seemed to have something he wanted to say, so I addressed the timid man first.
"Have you ever thought about opening your own academy instead of just being a school teacher? I'd be willing to attend."
"Huh?"
"If I attended that academy, popularity would be a foregone conclusion, don't you think? And just hanging a sign that says 'Graduated top of the class from Korea Comprehensive Arts University' would be..."
Mr. Go Min-su stared intently at me.
"I mean, I'm not going to quit art no matter where I end up. And besides, once a teacher, always a teacher, right?"
"Si-yoon..."
"Enough of that, go sit over there. I'll draw you."
I smiled and started drawing Mr. Go Min-su, and in the picture, Mr. Go Min-su was smiling too.
I was exchanging paintings back and forth with Farzier.
Regardless of subject, whenever I finished a new piece, I'd send it along with the painting he'd sent me previously.
But Farzier wanted to exhibit my work, so with my permission he held an exhibition himself and displayed my paintings.
Whenever someone who saw the exhibition wanted to buy one of my paintings, I'd get a call.
-"Si-yoon, someone wants to buy '313'... they offered two million dollars."
"Oh yeah? Go ahead and sell it however you like, and take a thirty percent commission."
-"As I've always said, that commission is far too much."
"You've gotta take out taxes anyway, and it's a pain, so just handle the deductions yourself."
-"Hmm... more importantly, in my view, two million dollars for oil painting '313' is far too low. It's not as if they should be looking down on you."
"What're you talking about, two million for a scrap of canvas is more than generous. Sell it."
However, thanks to Farzier's influence, the painting ultimately sold for three million dollars.
I told Farzier to take thirty percent for himself, but he sent me the entire amount after taxes.
Every time Farzier sold a painting for me, I sent him an extra painting as a gift.
Since the house was overflowing with paintings anyway.
Every now and then when I sent him a letter saying I was low on paints, he'd send back several boxes of insanely expensive paints.
This was a win-win relationship. I also sent my paintings to Master Ahn Jun-tae.
Though they always got sent back whenever I did.
Maybe because he was so thoroughly Korean, Ahn Jun-tae was reluctant to accept gifts.
As time passed, I was left at Da-yeon's house more often while Dad went on frequent domestic concert tours.
Though he still made it back the same day.
When I plopped down on the sofa next to Lee Jin-seok and leaned against him, Lee Jin-seok kept stealing sidelong glances at me.
"What."
"Ahem..."
"Spit it out."
"Aren't you... being a little too comfortable there?"
I crossed my legs, propped my chin on my hand, and stared at Lee Jin-seok.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
"Ahem... not at all..."
"Mister."
"Hmm?"
Lee Jin-seok folded up the newspaper he'd been reading and made eye contact with me.
"You know you've been acting like an old-fashioned hard-ass lately, right? Da-yeon might start hating it."
"...There's no way Da-yeon would."
"She's just about due for puberty, so be careful."
"All right..."
I lounged around on the sofa, then looked toward Ga-yeon, who came running over after finishing his studying.
"Ga-yeon, all done with your studying?"
"Yeah!! Look, it's Si-yoon!"
I'd asked if he was done studying, but what came back was a drawing of me.
"Oh... that's exactly the same, huh?"
"Right?!"
Ga-yeon was cradled in Lee Jin-seok's arms.
"I'm bored, wanna go to the pool?"
"Yeah!"
I got up from the sofa and went into Da-yeon's room.
'Well, well...'
In her secret diary, Da-yeon was drawing Kim Tae-oh from a photo showing his new look.
I'd thought she was the type to fall fast, but she was more serious than I expected, so absorbed in her drawing she didn't even notice me come in.
When I made my presence known, Da-yeon jumped in surprise and slapped a hand over the drawing.
"Si-yoon! You're not supposed to just barge into people's rooms!"
Seeing her get embarrassed even in front of me now... honestly... made me feel strangely hurt.
"I already know everything that's in your heart, Da-yeon."
I playfully tapped Da-yeon on the nose, then sat down next to her and fixed up her drawing.
Da-yeon's eyes sparkled.
"He really is good-looking."
The older this brat got, the more his looks shone through too.
"Right?!"
So in comparison, was Da-yeon's appearance lacking?
Not a chance.
Da-yeon's adorable looks only got more pronounced the older she got.
And this wasn't just my godfather bias talking—she was even becoming a hot topic on internet news.
In this superficial, capitalistic society, Da-yeon was someone who had it all.
She was not lacking at all beside that pretty boy. If anything, she completely outclassed him.
"I'm heading to the pool, by the way."
"Me too!"
Da-yeon carefully tucked the photo into her notebook, then gingerly placed it inside a drawer and changed into her swimsuit.
"Si-yoon, zip me up!"
I zipped up Da-yeon's rash guard, then headed home together with Lee Jin-seok to grab my own swimsuit.
I casually changed into my swimsuit right in front of Lee Jin-seok, and Lee Jin-seok zipped up my swimsuit for me.
"Da-yeon's situation is serious."
"...What are we gonna do...?"
"It's starting to feel like I'm the bad guy for trying to hold her back..."
"Is it really that bad...?"
"Da-yeon's even getting wary of me now."
Lee Jin-seok's expression turned grave.
"Still, I don't think she'll ever confess first... You've made things clear enough to that Kim Tae-oh boy too, right?"
"....."
"You haven't?"
"...I did bring it up, but he said there's no way something like that would happen..."
"When Da-yeon hits puberty it's gonna be absolute chaos... Honestly, it might be better if she just confessed now and got shot down..."
At my words, Lee Jin-seok's face went dead serious as he replied.
"Da-yeon... getting rejected... That's unacceptable."
"Don't just say it's unacceptable, do you have an actual plan? Why'd it have to be the HSW director's grandson, of all people? I mean, you knew that and still picked him. Haah..."
"....."
I nagged Lee Jin-seok for a good long while.
In response, Lee Jin-seok could feel the exhaustion creeping back over him.
'Sigh... I'd honestly rather sit through another shareholders' meeting...'