“Alright, everyone, have a good weekend—”
“Yeeees!”
The weekday that was sandwiched between the holiday and the long weekend came to an end, and just as we were on the brink of the weekend.
I felt a bit uneasy that only those who didn’t go on trips showed up for class, but anyway, class was over, and neither Siyeon nor I went to any academy.
As usual, Siyeon was standing idly at the side entrance.
“Siyeon, let’s go.”
I thought I could pleasantly head home since I wasn’t on cleaning duty, but then—
“……”
“Siyeon?”
I tilted my head at her lack of response and took a few steps forward to look at her face.
She had a scrunched-up expression and a shuddering body, with sniffles echoing around.
Surprised, I pulled out the sleeves hidden under her padding and used my thumb to wipe the tears flowing down Siyeon’s face.
After my shock, a question quickly crossed my mind.
Which jerk made Siyeon’s eyes well up with tears?
I steadied my burning insides and gently asked to comfort Siyeon, who looked the most upset.
“What’s wrong? Did someone bother you?”
“…Ugh.”
Siyeon was sobbing while glancing around, clearly feeling the embarrassment of her age.
Standing at the side entrance, where many kids pass by, it seemed a bit awkward to talk.
After wiping away her tears completely, I tucked her damp sleeves back into the padding and held her hand.
“…Let’s talk at home.”
Even on our way home, she sniffled against the hand holding the bag of indoor shoes, wiping her eyes.
As Siyeon’s sniffles grew louder from behind, it felt like someone was lighting a fire in my stomach.
“Want me to buy you tteokbokki?”
Even mentioning her favorite tteokbokki made Siyeon shake her head vigorously.
I could tell that the thought of being called a “beggar” had still left a hefty wound, so I remained silent for the rest of the way home.
Finally, sitting face to face at home, the conversation began.
“Did something upset you at school?”
Siyeon nodded, rubbing her eyes and moving her head up and down.
Wiping away the chicken droppings of tears that threatened to spill again with her damp sleeves, I braced myself for what she might say.
The word that slipped from Siyeon’s shaky lips was one I’d never heard before.
“They called me a beggar…”
‘Beggar?’
“What does ‘beggar’ mean?”
“…a consistent beggar.”
As I continued to listen, I realized there was no other word as terribly derogatory as that.
It meant to say someone who consistently attends school is a “beggar”—a stupid term to belittle kids who do well in school.
I desperately wanted to rip the hair out of the person who uttered that word… I don’t know, maybe kick their face with my knees. But you know, ever since that pandemic calmed down and travel culture became normalized, I couldn’t just lose it like that.
As a Magical Girl, it’s tough to travel far, but I really couldn’t just hold myself back upon hearing such nonsense.
How did the world turn into a place where they compare money gifts and now travel experiences?
“Hey, I’m back—”
‘Right on time.’
As the door clicked open, I tilted my head back to see my older sister, Ji-eun, entering.
Upon sharing the tremendous news of this era’s misfortune, Ji-eun also gasped and expressed her disbelief at how kids these days behave.
Sitting down with her smartphone, she searched for ‘consistent beggar,’ and while I’m not sure how common it is, I did come across a news story about working parents whose kids cried when they returned home.
Maybe the kids are getting it from eating overseas, but it seems like they treat domestic travel like it’s nothing and only acknowledge overseas travel.
‘So darn picky.’
“Hey, sis, aren’t politicians going on overseas training trips?”
“…Huh?”
Ji-eun looked flustered by my sudden question.
We don’t know much about overseas travel.
But isn’t it politicians who are the experts on overseas trips?
There’s a language barrier, and if they’re going, it’s better to go with experienced folks, right?
Less chance of something happening.
After establishing the equation of politicians going abroad equals overseas travel, I pulled out my smartphone and visited the elementary school website to look for guidelines on applying for off-campus experiential learning.
“There might be something, but why…?”
Ji-eun, puzzled, questioned back.
I nonchalantly asked if there was a spot for us.
“Anyway, everyone knows those people are going for fun, so I wondered if we could tag along.”
“Do you think that would actually work…? Hold on a sec.”
Ji-eun stood up and headed towards the entrance to make a call.
She seemed to have social skills and took a step back to handle personal calls away from me.
With Ji-eun momentarily away from her seat, I continued browsing the school website.
I read through relevant regulations step by step and checked the maximum duration allowable.
‘Off-campus experiential learning application… maximum of 10 days per session.’
According to the application guidelines, it allows for up to 10 days at a time.
I planned to schedule it to maximize the duration, just like those kids who skip a day or two.
If anyone were to provoke me, that would be fine, but I won’t stand for Siyeon being ridiculed as a beggar.
“How long are we thinking of staying, Mari?”
“It says a maximum of 10 days.”
“They’re planning to be in the U.S. for 7 nights and 9 days starting next Thursday; is that okay?”
“That sounds great.”
“In that case, I’ll take you on Thursday morning, yes, yes…”
Agreeing to the only option presented to me, Ji-eun continued her call.
What started with Siyeon’s tears suddenly turned into our overseas travel plans being set.
A journey to the land of double-barreled shotguns and junkies, the U.S. was now on our itinerary.
Ever since that day, even by the time the weekend rolled around, Siyeon had a smile stretched from ear to ear as if she had never cried.
Her first trip abroad, I felt just as excited.
Still, since it’s a country where firearms are legal, I often found myself worrying about all the possible accidents.
I’ve heard that citizens shoot and kill any “monsters” that come their way, but still, you know.
“…”
While munching on the leftover holiday food, I eagerly anticipated Thursday on that Saturday.
Feeling a strange sense of discomfort from Siyeon, I finished my meal and called her over.
“Siyeon, come here for a sec.”
“Hmm?”
As Siyeon approached, I squeezed her cheek and belly, feeling the softness of her chubby cheeks and stomach with my thumb and forefinger.
Surely, she felt a bit more plump than before.
“Gah! That tickles!”
After tickling her three times, Siyeon couldn’t hold back her laughter and wiggled away from me.
Looks like she was pretty ticklish.
I sneakily crawled again and grabbed her belly once more that she claimed was ticklish.
“Gained a little weight, huh?”
“Eep!”
Siyeon inhaled deeply, trying to hide her slightly protruding belly.
After a moment of waiting, with a ‘phew’, her belly popped back out again.
Thinking about it, I realized that lately Siyeon had been glued to her computer and smartphone, and I hadn’t seen her playing outside much.
“Let’s take a lap around the park.”
No matter how young she is, her health is still a serious matter.
Unlike her obedient self in the first grade, now that she’s in fourth grade, she’s starting to express her likes and dislikes and voice complaints.
She frowned as if she really didn’t want to go, and tentatively let out a complaint.
“I don’t want to go out…”
“Aren’t you going to the U.S?!”
“Ugh…”
In moments like this, a good way to go about it is to threaten with rewards that were already planned.
It might sound weird to call it a threat when it’s something I can’t really cancel, but it does work.
Especially since she lacked physical activity recently.
With all the high-calorie food we savored during the holidays, she’d put on some serious weight.
So I tucked a jump rope away in my pocket and dragged Siyeon to the park.
“One, two, one, two, one, two.”
Repeating the numbers while matching our steps, we started running together.
The park was mostly empty except for people walking their dogs and a few grandmothers and grandfathers sitting on park benches.
There was nothing else but foliage.
Once our run wrapped up, it was time for jump rope.
Even though the rope kept tripping me, I jumped about ten times, repeating the workout.
Siyeon, wanting to join, grabbed the rope to jump as well, but…
“Ugh.”
She tried to whip it around twice quickly, but it slapped against her ankle.
Ouch.
I could manage one jump, but I definitely couldn’t handle that two-footed jump.
After running and jumping rope until I was tired enough, despite it being winter, sweat began to bead on my forehead.
“I’m tired; I’m hungry…”
“Alright, let’s go in now.”
At this point, I finally heard Siyeon’s whine.
Nodding, I gathered the two padded jackets I’d left nearby, and together with the clothes soaked in sweat from our winter workout, we headed home.
As soon as I opened the door, the fragrance of food wafted through.
I wondered if Ji-eun had cooked something while we were out exercising…
“Back? I’ve made dinner!”
A plate neatly piled with white rice and kimchi, and golden-brown chicken nuggets.
With sweet chili sauce that was impossible to resist and a mixture of ketchup and mustard, it was a delightful sight.
All the effort I put into exercising went right out the window.
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