After ordering free chicken for dinner, Siyeon’s birthday came to a fulfilling end.
Autumn was already setting in, bringing a chilly atmosphere to the world.
“Etchu! Kheukh….”
With the sudden change in weather, my body seemed confused about how to adapt, resulting in pathetic sneezes accompanied by a trickle of snot escaping.
Sniffling, I swallowed down the snot that dripped down my throat.
Perhaps it was the recent weather fluctuations, I wasn’t sick, but my nose itched and sneezes kept coming.
There were even news reports about the flu going around, and it was about time I got vaccinated….
‘So annoying.’
The distance to the awkwardly placed hospital felt close for a car ride and far to walk.
Overwhelmed by laziness, I curled up even more under the blanket.
When it was hot, I didn’t want to step outside, but now that it was cold, I also didn’t want to go out.
Even with the blankets, my hands and feet felt cold, twitching restlessly.
‘I might turn into a little bean if I stay like this.’
Thinking I needed to move to warm up, I tossed off the thin blanket and padded around the house.
Rubbing my chilly arms, the first place I headed was the empty master bedroom.
When I threw open the closet door against the wall, instead of clothes, I found winter bedding hanging there.
I reached deep inside and pulled out the fluffy blanket, drawing it towards me.
Of course, after taking one for myself, I pulled out another for Siyeon.
Soft breaths could be heard from the front of Siyeon’s room and my own.
After that, I dragged the thin blanket that had been used all summer and tossed it into the washing machine.
I also rolled up the mat that was on top of the mattress, vacuumed the area once, and then that pile of summer bedding started whirring away in the washing machine.
“Hah.”
After pressing the squeaky washing machine button, I yawned widely and scratched at my neck with my short nails.
By the time the blanket laundry was done, Siyeon would probably be up as well, so I planned to run it again then, flopping down on the fluffy blanket.
The once plump blanket sank down, offering a sense of softness.
Thinking it would be nice to snooze a bit more, I fiddled with my smartphone, a sure-fire sleep aid.
Staring back was a lonely green phone icon with the red number 2 indicating missed calls.
Upon checking belatedly, both calls were from Ji-eun (my older sister).
Since I habitually kept my phone on silent, I often missed calls from close people.
There are ways to set the phone to vibrate separately for calls, but configuring that for a few minutes felt tedious.
Since it was my fault for not picking up the phone, I dialed back first, feeling a hint of guilt.
“Hello? Oh, Mari!”
“Yes, I just saw you called. I had my phone on silent.”
“Ugh, I told you to take it off silent.”
“Oh, yes… did you have a good Chuseok?”
Instead of a clear answer, the topic of conversation was subtly turned away.
“I was just about to talk about that, but you didn’t pick up the phone.”
My sister had intended to delve into those topics, but she scolded me through the phone about how I never picked up.
The questions about whether we had a good time visiting the maternal or paternal sides had quickly merged into the silent phone call.
Like stepping back from a snake only to step on a lion’s tail.
Caught in a situation where I couldn’t speak even if I had ten mouths, I clenched mine shut as Ji-eun’s voice continued from the other end.
“So, how about you and Siyeon? Did you both have a good time? Did you get anything nice this year?”
A conversation only people who know each other’s situations can have.
The question “did you get anything nice?” was a reference to the food scrap war of rock-paper-scissors.
I boasted about Siyeon’s Chuseok achievements with a peculiar excitement.
“Siyeon won rock-paper-scissors consecutively and got extra ribs and pancakes.”
“Lucky you? We also brought back some leftover side dishes from the maternal side, but you don’t need to give us any.”
Suddenly, Ji-eun said it seemed like they didn’t need to send over any of the leftover side dishes.
A thought of regret flooded my mind.
“What? The more side dishes, the better.”
Like gripping at my pants leg, I mumbled towards the phone, hoping for a hand of side dishes…
“No way, you all should start thinking about your weight.”
“Tch.”
At her stern remark about weight, all I could do was click my tongue in annoyance.
If she mentioned she didn’t want to give any, then it would have been better not to bring it up at all — it felt like I was given something only to have it snatched away.
In any case, since she said she wouldn’t give it, it was unavoidable.
While sharing stories of Juwon (her baby) and events from Chuseok, before we knew it, our phone call had exceeded five minutes.
Juwon was incredibly popular, whether with the maternal or paternal side.
After listening to my sister’s stories for a long while, I thought it was finally time to stealthily toss a topic in.
“Oh, by the way, did you hear?”
“Hmm?”
“Apparently, the Minister is retiring.”
Suddenly recalling the Minister’s retirement news, I shared the information with Ji-eun.
It’s no wonder; the Minister had been in office during Ji-eun’s tenure.
Like it or not, it was a familiar face, and when Ji-eun heard it from me for the first time, she responded in surprise.
“Really?! I should contact him sometime… do you know when?”
“He didn’t mention when he’s retiring, but he said it’d be the last time we’d see him during this holiday.”
“Well then, he’s retiring before February next year… alright, thanks for letting me know.”
“Yeah, I’ll hang up—”
I tapped the black smartphone screen lightly.
Pressing the long red button that lit up the screen, I ended the call and stretched my arms wide.
At the same time, with a whoosh of air, Siyeon emerged from her room, half-awake and blinking.
“Yawn… who was that?”
Right after waking up, Siyeon, as if she heard the conversation with Ji-eun, yawned and asked who I was talking to.
At the same time, she pointed towards the piles of blankets and mats at the door, giving some orders.
“Ji-eun, there are summer blankets at the door, right? Bring them out and switch them for winter ones.”
“Uh-huh…”
Even with sleepy eyes, Siyeon answered dutifully, following my instructions.
I looked at the clock; it was 11:38 AM, a time that couldn’t really be called breakfast anymore.
It was at least between breakfast and lunch or just lunch.
After hanging the freshly washed blankets and mats on the drying rack in the master bedroom, I perfectly timed my actions to toss the blankets that popped out from Siyeon’s room into the washing machine.
Before long, the cold lingering on my body disappeared, leaving only a clear mind.
Even so, I felt uncertain about my future self, so just in case, I warned Siyeon.
“Siyeon, don’t forget we have to go get the flu shot tomorrow.”
“Yeah…”
Her response was barely a whisper, but at least she acknowledged me.
Since the hospital wouldn’t be open during the holiday, it was to be expected that it would get pushed to tomorrow.
The next day, after school, when I talked to Siyeon, she was 180 degrees different.
She was clinging to the telephone pole’s yellow and black part like a pillow, refusing to budge from the middle of the street.
“Hospital… no way.”
“You have to get the shot.”
I was willing to humor any minor whining or temper tantrums, but when it came to health issues, there was no room for compromise.
Standing steadfastly next to her with no signs of backing down, Siyeon, despite hating the shot, was stealing quick glances on the sly.
You might wonder what a first-year middle schooler was so scared about, but there was a reason.
It dated back to the summer of her sixth grade, not too long ago.
Due to neglecting her dental hygiene, Siyeon ended up with a small cavity, which required a visit to the dentist for treatment.
Lured by the sweet promise of anesthetic, Siyeon had happily nodded her head…
“The flu shot just hurts a little bit.”
Anyone who had experienced getting gum anesthetic would know…
Even if it doesn’t hurt afterward, getting pricked initially was incredibly painful.
Ever since that incident, Siyeon became fearful of even the vaccination that used to be easy for her.
Now, she was a first-year middle schooler, yet I found myself having to coddle her to take her to the hospital.
“I had no choice but to treat the cavity…”
Like some legendary sword stuck in a fantasy story, Siyeon was firmly wedged against that telephone pole.
Ignoring the attention from onlookers, she stared at me with wide eyes.
It was clear she wouldn’t walk to the hospital even if I tried to force her.
With no other option, I decided to pull out my trump card.
“Ugh… fine, do what you want. Get the flu or not, whatever.”
After letting out a deep sigh, I said that and started walking towards the hospital.
A classic parental tactic from the 2000s. The ‘XX will live at the mart; I’m going’ strategy.
At that time, parents would teach that throwing a fit wouldn’t solve anything, but for me, it was about utilizing it for health.
The key was to walk away without looking back.
Having spent time with Siyeon, I hadn’t used this tactic twice, but it was effective.
“……”
Without saying a word, Siyeon trailed beside me, tugging at my sleeve.
Her face looked ready to burst into tears, her beautiful features distorted.
I released a sigh of relief on the inside while holding my poker face outside.
“Why? Didn’t you say you didn’t want the shot?”
“…no.”
Only after Siyeon fully tucked her tail between her legs did I hold her hand tightly.
“I’m saying this so that you don’t end up in pain, okay?”
“…yeah.”
“Oh, our little puppy is brave.”
As I lightly patted Siyeon’s behind while softly embracing her, she responded with a face that was neither crying nor laughing.
“Puhuh, I’m not a puppy.”
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