Until the promised day arrived, I kept up with my workouts.
I figured I wouldn’t be able to work out once I got to America, so even if I couldn’t produce visible results, it was important to establish the habit.
Basically, on weekdays, after school, I’d use my backpack as a reasonable weight and jog a few laps around the park before heading home.
Siyeon, who was stuck in the world of computers and smartphones, often rebelled, but…
“Aren’t we going to America?”
“That’s so lame…”
Every time, I brought up the trip, and whether in a dirty or childish way, the workouts continued.
Of course, I wondered if it was too much to exercise after coming back from school before dinner…
“Ugh, I don’t want to go to the dojo!”
“Oh no, not this again! Don’t make it hard for Mom, okay?”
“Ugh…”
“Dad, can we skip English class today?”
“If Mom hears about this, we’ll be in big trouble.”
Near the front gate, listening to the conversations around, I didn’t feel that way at all.
As soon as class ended, students caught by Mom or Dad were staring blankly, looking like cows or pigs being led to the slaughterhouse as they got into cars.
Compared to that, a brief stroll in the park after school was nothing.
‘Ah, right.’
With that rationalization, walking out of the school gate, a thought crossed my mind.
Travel… That means I had to submit the field trip application form by three days in advance.
In other words, it needed to be handed in to each homeroom teacher today.
I was done with mine; Siyeon was the only one remaining.
Taking my time, I slowly crossed the crosswalk and asked Siyeon.
“Did you give the application to the homeroom teacher?”
“Yeah, she said she was jealous about going to America.”
Tap, tap.
With her light footsteps and jumps, Siyeon was only touching the white parts of the crosswalk.
It seemed a game of stepping only on the white lines began for no reason.
Once we passed the crosswalk, a game of not stepping on the golden bricks on the sidewalk began.
By the time we set foot in the park, it felt like that game ended, and running with our backpacks started.
Running ahead and counting the rhythm was a must.
“One, two, one, two, one, two.”
With a backpack full of school notices and notebooks and wearing padded jackets, we ran.
It made sense that I got tired faster than usual.
Still, after managing to run a full lap in the park, I let out a satisfying and refreshing sigh.
“Ha!”
“Ugh!”
Reaching the goal point, Siyeon released a strange breath mixed with a sense of achievement.
Anyway, it felt like my skills were improving day by day; just two days ago, I had walked from what seemed like a dot of distance.
The fact that I was able to run with a backpack to here in just two days was satisfactory.
It was too harsh to restrict eating at this age, so moving my body without restricting what I eat was the best option.
After returning from America, when there were no more travel tidbits left, I planned to use that as leverage to force a stricter eating regime.
“Let’s go home now!”
I pulled Siyeon, who was out of breath and drenched in sweat, back into the park.
I need to increase my activity somehow to lose weight.
That’s also why I intentionally chose a destination farthest from home, at the entrance to the park on the opposite side.
Crossing through the park, we headed toward the entrance closer to home.
We saw people out walking their dogs even in the middle of winter, along with elderly grandmothers and grandfathers chatting away on park benches without much to do.
“Look, a puppy!”
‘Puppy…?’
With our joined hands, Siyeon waved her finger in a direction while shaking her slipper pocket.
There was a huge giant dog walking gracefully that was too big to be called a puppy.
Was it the person walking the dog or the dog walking the person?
I recalled the breed from somewhere.
It had a smiling face and shiny white fur.
It was definitely a Great Pyrenees, right?
I remembered seeing it on some entertainment show.
With a physique that could knock over an adult man with a single charge.
Just as I thought we were almost at the park entrance, I noticed outdoor exercise equipment around.
Seeing those heavy machines, Siyeon was all of a sudden in front of me.
Not knowing how to use them properly, she climbed onto a round disc and clung to a handle at eye level, spinning around.
Even though the dog was big, it was still a puppy; I felt an urge to join in and spin my body around too.
As I approached Siyeon, she naturally got off the equipment and stuck to my side.
I wanted to give it a try, but just for a moment, stay still.
“I’m back-”
“I’m back-!”
Once we entered the house, I spotted a familiar pair of shoes at the entrance.
By now, it had become part of my routine to greet as soon as I came back, so without thinking, I casually shouted the customary greeting into the air.
As always, Ji-eun greeted us.
“Hey, you’re back? What should I make for dinner?”
“…Food that’s delicious but won’t make me gain weight?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Then just something tasty, please.”
After that short dialogue, which felt like a skit with my sister, I took off my sweat-soaked clothes that felt inappropriate in the cozy home warmed by the boiler and tossed them into the laundry basket.
I threw the bear cub, which had been quietly pretending to be a stuffed animal in my clothes, onto the cushion as I entered the house.
The thrown bear cub flew toward the cushion but spun off course and hovered in mid-air.
Then, slowly, it floated over to me and said,
“Are we really going to America?”
“Why, do you have a problem with that?”
It seemed like a worried question.
Was it fearing what would happen to Incheon while we were away?
But just for that moment of worry, it uttered a completely unexpected phrase.
“I was just wondering how I’d converse with those crooked writing, nose-nosed guys.”
“Your way of speaking is getting worse…”
In that brief moment, the crazy bear cub mixed two kinds of hateful expressions.
As if accustomed to such nonsense, Ji-eun twirled around, signaling there was no need to worry about that part.
“It’s okay; after all, we’re not going alone; you won’t need to speak English that much anyway.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, plus we’re joining the trip scheduled with the uncles’ overseas training…”
She momentarily trailed off while contemplating our itinerary in America.
Without needing to say much, she casually explained, proving that overseas training for politicians isn’t anything special.
“You’ll probably just follow along with the uncles and take pictures while having fun.”
“Heh.”
Reacting to Ji-eun’s rather dull prediction, I let out an intrigued sigh.
After all, it looked like Siyeon and I were just going to be fillers in the itinerary.
Even if wandering around freely would be difficult, we’d likely just come back after using only Korean without needing to say a word in English.
Just think of it as a tourist package traveling with politicians and just enjoy taking lots of pictures.
The promised Thursday, which started with skipping school.
From early morning, we drove up to the Seoul airport where the uncles gathered, waiting for the flight time.
For those under twelve, a guardian is required.
Unfortunately, Ji-eun wasn’t accompanying us on this trip.
It was truly a 9-day vacation for both of us.
“Are you really sending just the two kids? Aren’t they still under twelve?”
“It’s fine; just as long as you don’t leave Siyeon alone. She’ll be sticking with Mari the whole time.”
“I’ll go as initially requested, but if something happens, don’t grab our necks, okay?”
“I’m saying it’s fine; just let us take lots of pictures… and take us around to see different places while we play.”
In the morning in Seoul, the conversation between the seemingly older uncle and Ji-eun continued.
As various topics flowed, we, as kids, pretended not to listen, waiting for our turn patiently.
Having passed through that unfamiliar gate and into the corridor, we finally settled into our seats inside the airplane.
It was well before departure time, yet the uncles told us to follow, and we ended up boarding first.
It turned out to be the business class I had only heard about.
Siyeon and I sat in the two seats next to each other as the other uncles disappeared from sight.
‘Dang.’
I couldn’t help but admire the area that clearly looked different from the regular seats.
Indeed, the space given was different.
Unlike the normal seats that felt like a high-speed bus, it was a spacious area that seemed like it could fit a massive hot tub next to us.
Of course, the seats could recline enough to lie down, and meals were gourmet while snacks were available anytime we wanted.
It made me realize that with money, life could be quite different.
“Hey, Mari, look at this!?”
Siyeon wiggled the seat back and forth.
If we pulled something like this on a bus, we might have been scolded, but for our small frames, the space was more than ample.
Inside the little pouch already waiting on the seat were earplugs, sleep masks, lotion, creams, and other thoughtful yet detailed items.
Time passed, and it was time for the plane to take off.
After the announcements regarding putting smartphones into airplane mode and such passed,
The scenery outside the window began to slowly move.
Outside, the views were sliding by at a speed as if a person were walking, then gradually began to pass rapidly, and that strange sensation of the plane lifting off filled my body through the seat.
Something made my heart race.
“We’ve taken off!”
“Woohoo!”
The plane was now soaring through the sky.
Even though I was just as excited, I calmed down Siyeon, who was bouncing up while gazing out the window, while also bursting with anticipation.
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