Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49 Elementary School Debut Ceremony (2)

The stationery shop.

For us, it was a place of nostalgic childhood memories.

Every school had a stationery shop by its main gate, as though it were required by law.

For children who were always short of pocket money, these shops offered food and toys at the unbelievably low average price of 100 won. Their selection of goods rivaled that of a department store.

Of course, in keeping with those less civilized times, hygiene and safety were somewhat neglected, but that was no concern to those who had survived(?).

And now, twenty or thirty years later, the stationery shop I encountered again was quite different from the one in my childhood memories.

"Don't they have any miniature cars?"

"Wow, Apollos cost two thousand won these days."

The miniature car tracks set up on old wooden platforms, arcade machines that poured out Gwaedori tokens, and even dried filefish grilling machines that looked as though they were never cleaned.

Most of those nostalgic items had long since disappeared from this place.

All that remained was the opportunity to pass down tales of their existence as legends.

"Son, there used to be a miniature car track at this stationery shop. Dad's car was the fastest one there, so I even went to neighboring towns to race."

"Yeeun, do you know about paper dolls you could dress up? You see, they were..."

Each parent enthusiastically recounted their glorious past, but what chance was there that the children would listen?

Ignoring the adults, the children were completely absorbed in examining the merchandise displayed around the shop.

They were seeing different sights in the same place: a stationery shop in front of a school.

"Lia, go have a look around too. If there's anything you want, pick it out."

"Is that okay?"

"I'm going to buy a lot too."

My hands were already full of snacks.

With so many people around, even shopping had become a competition, leaving little time to deliberate. Besides, there was Sani at home, who absolutely loved snacks.

As I prowled through the stationery shop with the eyes of a hawk searching for prey, something else caught my attention.

Gonggi stones.

The gonggi stones packed in a pink jewel box were among the few toys in this shop that connected with my childhood.

Although it was considered a girls' game that boys would be teased for playing, there was one exception: rainy days.

Most boys' games were played outdoors, so when it rained, their usual entertainment became unavailable.

Looking back, there were plenty of other games, such as flipping paper tiles or kicking a shuttlecock. Perhaps the boys had specifically made an exception for gonggi because they secretly wanted to play it too.

"What's that?"

"It's for a game called gonggi. Looks fun, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure..."

Oh, right. I hadn't explained how to play.

"Let's buy it and go outside first. Have you chosen everything?"

"Yes!"

After paying the shopkeeper, who was beaming at the unexpected rush of customers, we found a spot in a corner of the school playground.

There was a picnic mat in the trunk, but I didn't bother taking it out. Back in those days, sitting on the bare dirt to play was perfectly normal.

"Watch carefully what I do. First, you scatter them like this, then toss one up and catch it while picking up the others. If you drop one or touch the wrong stone, your turn passes to the next person. See? Easy, right?"

"I think I can do it!"

-Clatter. Click. Click.

I'd only demonstrated once, intending to explain the steps again along the way, but Lia's hands moved without the slightest hesitation.

"I caught every single one without dropping any!"

"You're better than I am."

"Hehe."

And so, like any ordinary father and daughter, we spent a happy time playing with a few little gonggi stones.

Without even noticing that all the cars that had filled the playground had already left.

____________

At the same time, the sedan carrying Serin, Lia's only friend, was waiting its turn in the long line stretching from the playground to the road.

"Ma'am, it looks as though we'll be delayed a little. Will that be all right?"

-Nod.

She nodded indifferently at the chauffeur's cautious question.

It was a sedan with a starting price of over four hundred million won.

The seats were plush, and the car was so quiet that one could barely tell the engine was running. A slight delay in travel time was hardly enough to put her in a bad mood.

No, if anything, it was fortunate.

No matter how she looked around, she couldn't see a single car more expensive than hers.

"Chief Son, it's a little stuffy. Open the windows. All of them."

"Yes, ma'am."

There were two calculations behind her decision to open all the windows.

She wanted to subtly show off not only that she, Serin's mother, rode in an expensive imported car, but also that she employed a chauffeur dressed in a suit.

It was a natural display of wealth, well worth enduring the exhaust fumes from the cars packed tightly in front of and behind them.

As she glanced around to check whether anyone was looking while the car crept forward, she noticed a father and daughter absorbed in something in a corner of the playground.

'Hm? Isn't that the girl who kept clinging to Serin?'

There was no doubt.

As much as she hated to admit it, the child's pretty face remained striking even from this distance. And the parent beside her was no less attractive.

'They say you can't hide family resemblance. I guess it's true. But where's her mother?'

Just then, her phone rang loudly inside her handbag.

-Ring, ring.

(Serin's mother, can you see them on the right side of the playground? That's the girl from earlier! Minji's mother said she saw them from the beginning of the entrance ceremony, and apparently it was just the two of them. If the father came to a weekday entrance ceremony instead of the mother, you can pretty much guess what kind of family they are, can't you?)

"She doesn't have a mother."

(And that's probably not all! She's a foreigner, so she must've run away to her own country!)

The mystery that had been irritating her was finally solved.

It wasn't merely that the family belonged to a different social class. They were people her daughter shouldn't associate with at all.

And the sight of them sitting sprawled on the dirt playing games was enough to make her worry that Serin might imitate them.

(Serin's mother, what are you going to do? Serin's mother?)

"I'll call you back."

(All right. If you need anything, we'll do everything we can to help! Talk to you later!)

After hanging up, she sank even deeper into thought.

Although her questions had been answered, the class assignments were already finalized, leaving her with few options.

She could probably make a request to the school board citing various reasons, but that would amount to throwing her weight around.

Even a legitimate request carried different implications depending on who made it.

In the end, she had to choose the next-best option.

"Sweetheart, there's a girl named Yeeun in your class, isn't there?"

"Dunno."

"There is. Starting tomorrow, be friends with her. She's good at studying, and she lives in Gold Village, so her house is close to ours. Mommy will call Yeeun's mother and arrange things, so if it's okay tomorrow, bring her home. Understood?"

"Busy."

She snatched the phone from her daughter's hands when Serin answered halfheartedly.

"I told you Mommy would call her mother. Are you going to disobey me?"

"All right, all right!"

Only after reluctantly agreeing was Serin able to retrieve her phone from her mother's hand.

_____________

The next morning.

"Hello, Serin!"

"..."

Lia spotted Serin in the hallway, ran over, and greeted her, but Serin pretended not to hear.

Great minds think alike.

Her mother's concern was something she'd been worrying about herself.

Namely, Lia, who approached her with such unreserved friendliness.

Although her mother hadn't been able to bring herself to explicitly forbid her daughter from playing with that child, Serin felt the same way and had decided to take special measures of her own.

But Lia was not a child who gave up so easily.

"Hello!"

"Yeah."

Lia ran straight in front of Serin, blocked her path, and greeted her loudly again.

Her voice was loud enough to attract the attention of nearby children, making it impossible to ignore her any longer.

Surrendering, Serin answered curtly.

"It was a shame you went home so quickly yesterday, wasn't it? Did you finish your picture diary? I drew mine with crayons and colored pencils! The markers didn't work very well because they got crayon wax on them."

"Yeah."

Even after they sat down, Lia's cheerful chatter continued without pause.

'Yeeun said she'd come over and say hello first. I'll just give Lia a few answers until Yeeun arrives, then go play with her.'

But things did not go according to Serin's expectations.

"Mine didn't work very well either! So my mom cut the tip with a knife. Then it worked!"

"Really?"

"Look."

"Wow, it really works!"

"I should've cut mine too!"

Lia's easygoing conversation began drawing in the children who were awkwardly lingering without friends at the beginning of the school year, like a black hole.

In an instant, Lia was surrounded by classmates.

Serin, who sat beside her, found herself unwillingly included in the group as well.

It was like an enormous river current that could not be resisted.

If she refused to join in and moved away, someone would surely take her seat.

Since not a single friend from her English-language kindergarten had been assigned to her class, being pushed out of the main group would leave her with little chance of forming another circle of friends.

Even finding Yeeun would present a problem.

Four was the minimum number for a proper group of girls.

That was the smallest force needed for them to pair up when going to the restroom.

But in the current atmosphere, it didn't seem likely that she could recruit the other two.

'Hmph! What's so great about a girl like her?'

She'd seen Lia playing on the dirty ground.

Her bag and clothes were worlds apart from the ones Serin had chosen at the department store.

And Lia didn't have a mother.

She had clearly heard that from the phone conversation her mother had with another woman on the day of the entrance ceremony.

Lia was a girl she shouldn't befriend.

Serin's mind raced.

"A girl from the next class told me that on the first day, we don't have lessons and get to go home early."

"Really?"

'Good. Now's my chance.'

"So I asked my mom to come early. Lia, is your mom coming to pick you up today too?"

"No! I don't have a mom! Mister is coming to pick me up."

"Huh?"

Lia's cheerful reply froze the atmosphere around them.

Of course, Serin had asked the question with bad intentions.

She was jealous because Lia had not only stolen the attention that rightfully belonged to her but had also acted friendly and become her desk partner.

But what Serin had wanted to see was Lia getting flustered and telling a lie.

She wasn't so mean-spirited that she would deliberately reveal to the other children that Lia didn't have a mother.

Serin's bewildered eyes darted around, unable to settle anywhere.

And as Serin confronted her own guilt, Lia delivered the final blow.

"If I had a mom, she would've come to pick me up! I read in a storybook that mothers are people who love their children very, very much. It's nice that you have a mom like that, isn't it, Serin?"

"Y-Yeah... it is..."

"Serin, what's wrong? Are you crying?"

"Sniff, sniff... I'm sorry... Waaaaah."

"Waaah."

Children's emotions are easily contagious.

The guilt Serin felt for having tried to hurt Lia out of a moment's jealousy finally burst forth.

"All right, everyone, class is about to start, so please take your seats. Children, why are you crying over there? What happened?"

"Teacher! Waaaaah!"

The startled teacher hurriedly tried to comfort the children, but children naturally tend to cry even harder when someone tries to console them.

And so, the first lesson of Class One, First Grade, at Geumhyo Elementary School began in a sea of tears.

Even long after the lesson began, Serin held tightly to Lia's hand and could hardly bring herself to let go.

The first friend Lia had made was a little selfish and calculating, but she was not a bad child at heart.

And when classes ended, the friend who climbed into the imported car worth more than four hundred million won alongside Serin was not Yeeun, but Lia.