Episode 14: Juwon

The little kid pulled out something yellow and round and offered it to Yeondu.
I was cautious, thinking he might pull out another frog or play a prank, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
What he pulled out was nothing other than a potato.
“Um, um, our mom says spring potatoes are delicious!”
I feel like I’ve heard this line somewhere before.
Unlike earlier, there was no mischievousness in the kid’s expression.
His cheeks, now flushed, were filled with shyness.
Wait, he came to apologize, so why is he blushing?
It seemed like upon seeing Yeondu, this kid had fallen for her at first sight.
Thinking that way, it made sense why he startled Yeondu with the frog incident. Perhaps he initially wanted to show bravery by catching the frog, and then it just spiraled into a prank.
Most likely, his actions weren’t intentional. If they were, he wouldn’t have come to apologize like this.
“There’s always at least one of these guys around.”
When I was young, whether boy or girl, there was always one in the class.
The type of fool who expresses affection by teasing.
In the end, such people end up crossing an irreversible river.
And sadly, I was that type.
“Gosh.”
My embarrassing past came flooding back.
I shook off the thoughts and chuckled, then said to the kid, “Hey, kiddo.”
“Yes?”
“So, you’ve fallen for Yeondu?”
Teasing was always part of being comrades.
The kid’s face turned as red as a beet.
“W-what are you talking about!”
As the boy got flustered, Yeondu turned to me with a puzzled expression.
“Dad, what does it mean to ‘fall for’ someone?”
Ah, Yeondu doesn’t know what it means to fall for someone.
One of the things I’ve learned during the week we’ve spent together is that Yeondu doesn’t know many words.
It was natural for her understanding of words to be lacking, given her sheltered upbringing.
So whenever Yeondu asked about words, I immediately explained them to her.
“So, ‘falling for’ someone means…”
“Ahh! Mister!!”
But this time, the little troublemaker interrupted me with a loud protest.
“What’s wrong, kiddo?”
“Please don’t say it.”
This kid, seriously. He knows he’s fallen for her, right?
Doesn’t he want his affection to be known?
Well, I’ll let it slide as a comrade for now.
I can explain to Yeondu what it means to fall for someone later.
Meanwhile, Yeondu spoke as she looked at the untouched potato, “Is this for me?”
“Yeah, our mom says spring potatoes are delicious… Oh, I mentioned that earlier.”
“Thank you!”
With a bright smile, Yeondu accepted the potato and immediately offered it to me.
“Here, try it, Dad!”
Huh? I appreciate it, but this isn’t right.
The kid looked shocked. Understandable.
It’s like giving the chocolate you got on Valentine’s Day to a friend.
Why is the metaphor so specific? I’ll refrain from elaborating.
“Yeondu.”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Since this is a gift for Yeondu, you should eat it first. If there’s any left, you can give it to someone else.”
“Me first?”
“Yeah. Is this your first time trying boiled potatoes? Give it a taste.”
Yeondu nodded and took a bite of the potato.
Ah, it was warm when I checked the temperature earlier. No need to worry about it being too hot.
“Yum…”
Oh? I thought she’d just politely say it’s delicious, but it actually is tasty?
Must be because it’s seasoned just right. It’s good enough to eat without salt or sugar.
I thought he might have brought raw potatoes, but this kid has more sense than I thought.
“Alright, I’ll go.”
“Oh, wait a minute, kiddo. What’s your name?”
“I’m Oh Seondong. And I’m not a kid…”
He’s quite assertive.
With a slightly mischievous smile, I asked, “Seondong, have you tried getting water from the spring?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Can you get some water for me? It’s my first time doing this kind of thing.”
“I don’t want to. You can do it yourself…”
“Yeondu, falling for someone means…”
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”
I took Yeondu’s hand, and we started walking comfortably.
Jingle-jangle.
Seondong followed behind me, holding the water jug.
Ah, it’s not too heavy because the water jug is small.
And I plan to take it back from him after a bit.
Meanwhile, Yeondu kept looking back, seemingly feeling guilty.
“Dad…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s hard to carry alone… Can Yeondu help?”
“Is that so?”
Yeondu didn’t let go of my hand and moved to Seondong’s side.
Then, sticking close to him, she reached out her hand.
“Let’s carry it together.”
Seondong’s face quickly turned red.
This kid can’t lie judging by his face turning red.
“Me, too! Let’s carry it together!”
“Yeondu, please, let me carry it alone!”
“Dummy, aren’t you just getting in the way?”
“Yeondu’s not a dummy!”
Once again, the kid blurted out something teasing. He seems to enjoy it.
I chuckled and said, “Seondong, how old are you?”
The kid answered gruffly, “I’m six.”
“Oh, really? You’re a year older than Yeondu.”
“Yeondu is five?”
“Yeah. Seondong, you’re like Yeondu’s big brother.”
Yeondu looked surprised. “Big brother?”
Thanks to the frequent visits to the convenience store by the high school kids, Yeondu has learned the terms “big brother” and “big sister.”
But she probably didn’t think Seondong would be her big brother, considering they’re almost the same height.
“Oppa, let’s carry Yeondu together.”
The boy, whose face turned as red as ketchup at the word “oppa,” blurted out again.
“I’m six years old, you know? Don’t speak informally to me!”
“..Let’s carry it, oppa.”
Sun-dong finally looked away into the air and held out the water bottle.
Yeondu grabbed the water bottle and they began to walk.
Sip.
Their sight was even more adorable than expected.
Well, it doesn’t matter. That little guy looks happy.

After parting with Sun-dong, I returned home with a full water bottle.
“I’m back.”
“Hand me the water bottle.”
“Yes.”
Grandma took the water bottle and immediately put it in the refrigerator.
I thought she wouldn’t like cold water, but apparently, I was wrong.
“Do you have anything else to do, Grandma?”
“Do whatever you want, or just go to sleep.”
Oh, I actually intended to go back to Seoul.
The train I booked is scheduled for tomorrow, so I can’t go back now.
Well, I might as well follow Grandma’s advice and take a good rest.
“Then I’ll really go to bed?”
“Sure.”
“Grandma, do you know a boy named Seondong? Oh Seondong.”
“That brat? What about him?”
Seems like she knows him because it’s a small neighborhood.
I joked with a smile.
“Yeondu is like a mouse and Sun-dong is like a bat?”
“That little rascal, why do you ask?”
As expected, it turned out that ‘Yeondu’ was a word my grandmother came up with herself.
It’s a terrible hybrid word made by combining ‘bat’ and ‘mouse.’
“In short, it means a bat-like kid.”
Understanding the meaning made me even more bewildered.
“No, Grandma. What does ‘Sun-dong’ mean to a grandson?”
“Fit perfectly.”
“Well… Back when he was a newborn, you used to boast about how cute he was to the whole neighborhood.”
“Don’t you close your mouth!”
I shut my mouth, fearing I’d get another earful if I said more.
The day went by quickly.
Even though I lay down, I couldn’t fall asleep, perhaps because I had slept deeply yesterday.
Yeondu was the same as me. So, Yeondu and I took a walk around the house.
It was beautiful wherever we went, perhaps because it was spring.
The fields had their own charm, and there were also places with vibrant flowers in full bloom.
“Like this?”
“Yeah, Yeondu. Just a little more to the left.”
“To the left…?”
“Yeah, towards Dad’s finger.”
“Yes, Dad!”
“Now, Yeondu. Pose with the flowers.”
I used to have a hobby of taking pictures.
It wasn’t like taking selfies; it was capturing landscapes and various objects.
So, while I wasn’t a professional, I knew how to take more expressive photos than the average person.
“I lost interest for a while.”
After Yeondu came, that hobby revived.
Of course, the subject was Yeondu. Every time I saw Yeondu, I felt the urge to take photos.
Today, I taught Yeondu some poses, and he quickly followed along.
The flower pose was one of them.
Click.
“Haha, I can’t tell if the flowers are Yeondu or if Yeondu is the flower.”
Yeondu seemed unable to understand what I said.
Well, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t asking him to understand.
I was just expressing my thoughts.
“Wow, how many pictures did you take?”
Continuously wandering around and taking pictures, there were quite a few saved.
There was even a picture of Yeondu holding a water bottle with Seondong, and it turned out pretty well.
“Of course, it’s Yeondu. Seondong, on the other hand, awkwardly stares into empty space.”
“What about Dad?”
“Dad doesn’t like taking pictures. He prefers being photographed.”
“Yeondu wants to take a picture with Dad…”
“Then let’s take one together next time.”
That’s how the day passed quickly.
“Grandma, can I grill it?”
“Fine, you little rascal. Take out some kimchi from the refrigerator.”
Dinner was pork belly.
Sizzle.
My mouth watered involuntarily.
It’s been a while since I had pork belly.
To a poor bachelor like me, pork belly was a somewhat luxurious food.
“But Grandma, don’t you dislike meat? I think I heard it when I was young. Did you prepare it because of us, by any chance…?”
“It’s leftovers, leftovers!”
“Oh.”
There was nothing more to say about leftovers.
Ah, should I have said it’s too much for leftovers?
Anyway, whether it’s leftovers or not, there’s too much.
Suddenly, Grandma picked up a piece of meat and put it on Yeondu’s rice.
“Is it okay for Yeondu to eat…?”
“I gave it to you to eat, so why wouldn’t you eat it?”
“Thank you, Grandma!”
Yeondu put the meat in her mouth.
She seemed to intuitively know that it would be delicious.
“Yeondu, have you ever eaten pork belly before?”
“Yes!”
“Really? When?”
“After someone else ate it…”
“.. I see?”
I was momentarily taken aback.
I could guess who had eaten it and left it.
‘Son of a…’
I swallowed the curse again.
I couldn’t spit it out in front of my grandmother.
“Go ahead and eat, you little brat.”
Suddenly, Grandma picked up a piece of meat and blew on it before putting it on Yeondu’s rice.
Yeondu hesitated to open her mouth.
“Do you want Yeondu to eat it…?”
“I gave it to you to eat, why wouldn’t you eat it?”
“Thank you, Grandma!”
Yeondu put the meat in her mouth.
It was delicious, but for some reason, it hurt more than before.
Chomp.
I gently stroked Yeondu’s head and made a large lettuce wrap.
Then I handed it to Grandma.
“What’s this?”
“Remember this morning when you were feeling upset? I’m returning the favor by taking care of Yeondu first.”
“Enough, you little rascal. You eat it.”
“Why don’t you eat it? This is the first time your grandson has made one for you.”
Oh, I usually can’t say such cringy lines.
Grandma finally opened her mouth and took a bite of the wrap.
“You wrapped it too big, damn it. I hope your grandma’s mouth tears apart and she dies.”
“…”
Damn, I shouldn’t have said that.
I started eating in regret.
Sigh.
In the meantime, Yeondu finished a bowl of rice and fell asleep on my lap.
She seemed sleepy after wandering around all day. In the end, it was just Grandma and I who had the meal.
It was delicious, but it felt like the rice was disappearing somewhere. That’s the feeling I had.
After finishing the rice bowl, I said.
“Thank you for the meal. I’ll do the dishes.”
Then Grandma’s voice came to my ears.
“Juwon.”
I was surprised and looked at Grandma.
Well, I’ve never heard Grandma call me ‘Juwon’ before.
“..Grandma?”
From her expression, I could be sure.
It wasn’t the expression Grandma had been treating me with until now.