6th Grade. (End of Part 1)
6th Grade. (End of Part 1)
In the end, thanks to my seasickness, I didn't catch a single one, and only Dad caught eight.
He threw back three undersized juvenile fish, and we returned to shore and went into a restaurant.
The kind of place where the atmosphere was practically begging for soju...
Dad talked to the owner, handed over the stone flounder we'd caught, and pointed at a few things while checking the tanks.
There's a real upside to getting out into the countryside like this.
Most people don't recognize Dad or me.
In their eyes, he's just a good-looking father and I'm just an absurdly pretty daughter.
The first thing to arrive, apparently ordered by Dad, was a pot of live spotted prawns.
The way they were flipping and flopping around, the little bastards looked goddamn delicious.
Judging by the owner's gaze, he seemed to expect me to recoil in horror.
Of course, I had no intention of playing along with that expectation.
To me, live spotted prawns were nothing more than an excellent drinking snack.
I grabbed a live shrimp, twisted off its head, and peeled the shell off as naturally as could be.
Holding it by the tail, I could still feel the shrimp's pulse, or something like it.
Absolutely, undeniably fresh.
I put it in my mouth and chewed, and the incredible springy chewiness and sweetness wrapped around my teeth...
Dad tried one too and was duly impressed.
While we ate the raw shrimp, the salt-grilled shrimp finished up...
They said that if we collected the shrimp heads separately, they'd make them into butter-grilled shrimp, so we set them aside in one spot.
And then, the main event: a cold raw fish soup I hadn't eaten in a long time...
Maybe because my stomach was empty, I was pretty damn hungry.
I grabbed some vegetables and the finely sliced stone flounder together and slurped in a big mouthful with a sucking sound.
The sweet and tangy flavor, the crunchy texture of the vegetables, and the stone flounder asserting its presence inside my mouth drew out a sigh of admiration.
'Ahh...'
Once again, a shot of soju felt desperately necessary.
Dad must have felt the same, because he glanced over at the fridge where the alcohol was for a moment, then looked at me and gave up.
The somyeon noodles came out, and as I mixed them into the cold raw fish soup, my salivary glands basically exploded.
I ate double my usual portion, and I couldn't stuff another bite in.
"Ugh... I'm stuffed..."
"Already?"
Dad was still looking at the menu, apparently not full yet.
"You still have to eat the butter-grilled ones."
"Ah! Right."
After eating for a good while longer, Dad looked across the table for a moment and spoke.
"It'd probably be best to skip the night fishing, right?"
He had already chartered the boat for nighttime too.
"Yeah, it was my first time on a fishing boat... I don't think I can do it..."
"I'll cancel it, then."
Dad made the call right away.
Dad and I went back into our lodging, and maybe because of the boat ride, as soon as I washed up and lay down, I crashed right to sleep.
It wasn't until evening that Dad woke me up, and I got up rubbing my eyes.
There was a barbecue set up out on the veranda.
Because I'd been in a bad mood yesterday, Dad had been running around nonstop since yesterday.
The moment I sat down, Dad brought me a blanket, worrying I'd be cold from the sea breeze.
I'd wondered how he managed to charm Mom; now it was blatantly obvious he'd won her over with this kind of thoughtfulness.
Dad sliced the grilled meat and gave it to me.
"Hmm... thanks."
"Huh?"
"You worked hard today trying to cheer your daughter up."
"I've got to do it again tomorrow, don't I? Ahaha."
"Then I guess today and tomorrow, you'll be working hard!"
"I'll have to do it every day until Si-yoon is all grown up, you know?"
"Then I'll ask you to please work hard every day from now on!"
"Haha, of course. It's only natural."
Only natural, huh... Anyone can say that.
Because I'd been in a bad mood, Dad had arranged our lodging and things to do in a single day; when I got tired, he canceled everything without a second thought.
Dad sat beside me, eating meat and pairing it with wine.
He liked alcohol more than I'd expected.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Did Mom hold her liquor well?"
"No, she couldn't even handle a single drop."
Ha... A mystery solved.
Whom I'd inherited this ridiculous constitution from...
But still, one drop is a little... isn't that a bit much...
"A single drop?"
"Yeah, it was really something. She told me she'd show me something amazing, then scooped up a spoonful of beer, drank it, and passed out on the spot."
Dad kept saying I took after Mom's personality, and this one story alone settled that question.
The sheer guts to just do that without a second thought was absolutely stunning.
Dad, perhaps reminiscing about the past, wore a serene smile, free of loneliness now, and chuckled to himself as he drank his wine.
"Does Si-yoon want a sip, too?"
"No."
"Oh... you try every other bad thing under the sun. What's gotten into you?"
I grinned and spoke.
"Guess I take after Mom."
"...?"
"Had six drops of soju and conked out."
"...When."
I slurped down the hot Americano Dad had made for me.
"When exactly did you drink..."
Dad was staring a hole through me, and I smiled naturally under that gaze.
"Drank it on the school trip."
"!!!! How?!"
"If you keep reacting like that, no more secret stories for you. Got it?"
"...No... Sorry."
"When someone's telling you something sensitive, you're supposed to listen without making a big deal out of it. If you react like that, Dad, why would I tell you anything?"
"Right... Sorry."
Dad was smiling awkwardly.
"Anyway... Ji-hoon drank his just fine, so I thought, 'I should have some too~,' and then I blacked out. If it weren't for Ji-hoon, I could've slept out on the street. Ahaha."
"..."
The heat rising from the brazier rode the sea breeze and warmed my body.
"Let's go set off some fireworks!"
Dad chuckled, then knocked back the wine in his glass in one go.
"Si-yoon, go change your clothes and come back."
"Yeah, wait up."
Once Dad set his mind on something, he went overboard, and he brought out a massive amount of fireworks like he was heading off to carry out a terror attack somewhere.
That night, in the dark sky over the East Sea, flowers of every color bloomed brightly for a long, long time.
The next day, after relaxing with Dad.
I went to school in Dad's car, same as usual.
Today, too, I arrived at school before anyone else, and as I opened my shoe locker, two days' worth of letters and chocolate were crammed in there.
Letters and chocolates came pouring out with a clatter.
"Haa... seriously, anyone watching would think I'm collecting protection money... My teeth are gonna rot from all this. Jeez..."
I shoved them into my bag and changed into my school shoes.
I went into the still-empty classroom, slowly opened a book, and started reading.
The door slid open with a rattle and a thud. Park Ji-hoon came through the door, spotted me, and waved.
"Why didn't you come to school yesterday?"
"None of your business."
"Was it that day?"
That crazy bastard was helping get my blood boiling first thing in the morning.
When I stayed still, Park Ji-hoon slowly approached.
I swung my novel at him, and Park Ji-hoon dodged.
"Way too predictable, ho ho..."
"Oh, is that so...?"
"...Ah... Sorry."
I put the novel down and slowly stood up.
"I said I'm sorry!"
I was beating on Ji-hoon for a good while when I sensed someone coming, so I stopped and sat back down. Ji-yeong came in right after.
"Hey ther—? Ji-hoon, what's with your face?"
"She did it."
"...Oh, I see. You worked hard~"
Just like that, another consistently familiar day began, and once again, the day ended in a similarly predictable way.
The weather brought a cold wind, announcing that winter was near.
But swimming class, of all things...
Still, it was warm inside, so it felt like a public bath, at least.
As shorties like me with early physical development started having their figures become more noticeable, a lot of kids began to hate the tight-fitting clothes.
Though rash guards were the standard swimsuit at Seoul Private Elementary School anyway.
I didn't hate swimming, but winding my hair up in a bun and stuffing it into a swim cap was a hassle.
So I just tied my hair up, stayed out of the water, and did what you'd call 'zoning out at the water.'
I was simply spacing out while staring at the water.
The kids aiming to be swimmers were doing their laps on one side, and as I watched them, I saw Park Ji-hoon was there too.
Really, if you watch that moron, there isn't a single thing he doesn't stick his nose into.
Maybe he wants to feel superior among the kids who are actually working hard at swimming...
Just then, one kid came up to me.
"...Hi."
Looking at his face, it was the kid who, six years ago, had declared he would definitely become a swimmer to me.
"Hey, good to see you."
The kid suddenly had a dead serious look on his face.
"My name is Jo Tae-hoon."
When I gave him a look that said, "What business have you got with me?", the kid spoke.
"Race... race me in swimming."
Here was a kid telling me to race him in swimming when I was sitting out specifically because I didn't want to put on my swim cap.
Well, fine, it wasn't like I couldn't oblige him.
I nodded and got ready to stand up, intending to accept his request.
"If I win, go on a date with me."
If only it hadn't been for that request...
"Why would I do that?"
The kid's face had turned red, and he said nothing.
"Just go practice your swimming. That way, you'll meet someone nice, even if she's not as pretty as me."
That's the absolute height of self-praise, but what can I do?
It's widely acknowledged, by myself and others, that I'm ranked number one for Asian looks, after all.
"I... I've been practicing for six years for today..."
"Yeah, so why are you dragging me into this as a reward for your hard work... kiddo."
The more I spoke, the more the kid's expression crumpled.
And then, as if he'd mulled it over for a bit, he nodded and spoke.
"...Then just race me, at least."
"I was going to, at first. But what's this 'go on a date with me' business? Just go."
"...Sorry."
The kid, who had a lot of pride, looked like he thought six years of effort had gone down the drain because of those impulsive words, 'go on a date with me.'
His face steadily grew redder, and his breathing grew rough.
I figured I'd done enough by this point and looked at the kid, who was staring at the floor.
"Whoever wins or loses, let's just grab lunch together at school sometime."
"Huh...? Huh?!"
I dusted off my butt, wet from the pool deck, and put on my swim cap.
The swimming teacher must have been watching our situation, because before I knew it, he'd set up a lane for the race.
Jo Tae-hoon kept glancing at me.
"Focus. You said you worked hard for six years."
"Yeah!"
The semester, which had repeated itself in a largely similar way every day, came to an end, and before I knew it, winter break had arrived.
Dad and I had been invited by Farzier and were currently on a trip to Switzerland.
"What do you think, shorty!"
"What are you on about? How much does this cost? It's ridiculous."
The piece Farzier had on display looked like scribbles made by splashing paint around.
"Five million dollars."
"That's ridiculous. Doesn't your pride sting? Taking money for making something like this."
"Heh, the shorty still doesn't understand art!"
"What are you talking about? You wait for my paintings like your neck's about to snap."
"...That... I can't deny. However, this piece expresses the anguish of a master!"
"I'd get more money if I put paint in my mouth and spat it onto the canvas."
"Oh?!"
"What do you mean, 'Oh?!' Are you kidding me?"
Farzier was a person who had reached the absolute top of the world with a single painting.
His pride was so fierce that if anyone insulted his paintings, he would want to tear their mouth open.
But when I said things, Farzier laughed and gave it right back.
"What about this one?!"
Now a middle-aged man nearing old age, Farzier was delighted like a little child, introducing his works as if he were showing off his toys.
"This one too!"
While looking at Farzier's work, I glanced outside the window.
"Living in a place like this and only looking at paintings, no wonder you're so narrow-minded."
I said it in Korean, so Dad was the only one who understood.
But even Dad was looking out the window I was staring out of.
A view of supreme natural beauty.
The scene outside the window was a perfect match for that phrase.
As someone who painted as a hobby, I couldn't just stay still...
I tried to drag the easel I could see and go outside.
"Si-yoon?"
Farzier, who had seen me and looked out the window, chuckled.
"It's already prepared outside, shorty."
"Oh...? That's the first agreeable thing you've said since we got to Switzerland."
"As expected, you're a brat."
"I know."
A heavy snow began to fall in Seoul.
"Ugh, I feel so bundled up..."
Dad rummaged around and pulled out my padded coat, then started wrapping me up tightly.
"You promised to make a snowman with Da-yeon. Can't have you catching a cold."
"If you bundle me up this much, it'll be hard to even bend over."
"Even if it's hard, you can't catch a cold."
After getting dressed, I went outside. On the left, Lee Jin-seok's kids were running around having the time of their lives, and Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon were having a snowball fight.
On the right, I could see the adults all gathered in one place, drinking hot coffee and chatting.
It seemed like I ought to head over to the right side too, but I had no choice but to walk over to where Da-yeon's family was.
While I was playing with Ga-yeon, a snowball came flying my way.
I'd been watching Park Ji-hoon since he was preparing it, and without even looking at the incoming snowball, I caught it and slapped it onto the snowman.
Park Ji-hoon's competitive spirit must have kicked in, because he started throwing more and more.
That bastard just keeps losing all sense of boundaries when his parents are around.
Snowballs came flying at my head and body...
Da-yeon saw the look on my face and started to read the atmosphere carefully.
"Si... Si-yoon, are you alright?"
Ah... guess I hadn't kept my expression under control.
While I was smiling awkwardly and nodding to Da-yeon, another snowball smacked me in the back of the head.
When Park Ji-hoon spotted me putting a pebble into a snowball, he fled without looking back.
I sighed, taking stock of my height, which seemed to have decided this was as far as it would go. It had started growing very slowly from 157.
In the end, it didn't look like I'd pass 170. Could very well end up under 165, even...
Fortunately, my chest and hips were showing signs they'd fill out nicely.
I'd put my hopes in the fact I was barely fourteen...
I hadn't shown my face on broadcasts for a while, but I was reminded of my popularity whenever I saw my movie clips and Nine-Tailed Fox memes still circulating.
If you searched my name on Green Window, the related search term 'latest news' popped up.
Graduation day drew near, and since I was the student council president, I gave a speech as the student representative.
And I finished the graduation ceremony, taking photos with the other kids.
Da-yeon, who'd had her graduation ceremony a day earlier, was waiting for me with Kim Seon-hwa.
Dad was there too, and as I slowly walked in that direction, Park Ji-hoon joined us, and we took a group photo with our bouquets.
And then, we arrived at the Chinese restaurant.
"For graduation, it's jjajangmyeon~"