On the day of Shia’s high school graduation, special guests arrived.
The first guest was Seona.
“Seona unnie!”
“Congratulations on your graduation, Shia! I wanted to bring your brother-in-law and Zia, but Zia couldn’t come because school isn’t out yet. Her husband wouldn’t leave Zia alone, so they couldn’t make it. They both asked me to convey their congratulations.”
“It’s okay. I already talked to Zia.”
And then the second guest was Mina.
“Ah, ugh. H-Hello, Aunt…”
“Ah, Mina! Welcome!”
Mina hid behind Seona’s leg, peeking out with her head down as she greeted.
She was so cute that Shia wanted to go up and hug her, but…
“Ugh, eek…”
Mina completely dove back behind Seona’s leg.
As Shia sighed in disappointment, Seona patted her shoulder.
“I’m sorry. She’s still very shy. But Shia, that doesn’t mean she dislikes you.”
“I know, so it’s fine. It can’t be helped.”
Even though they would visit each other twice a year, the time spent apart was much longer.
In that situation, Shia felt content just having Mina come here, despite her shyness.
“You said you’re going back tomorrow evening, right, unnie?”
“Yep. I came by for a little while before my business trip. Oh, and here’s a present. Shia, congratulations on your graduation.”
Seona said this as she handed over a paper bag she had been holding in her right hand.
And inside was…
“Uh, unnie? Is this real?”
“Of course it’s real. Why would it be fake?”
Inside was a state-of-the-art LCD tablet worth over 2 million won.
“It’s a gift to tell you not to give up from here on out. Since you didn’t go to university, you need to work harder, okay?”
“…Yes. R-Really, thank you, unnie.”
“Whoa. Why the sudden formalities? It doesn’t suit you.”
“I was just being honest with my thanks, you know?”
“Um, hey…”
As Shia was talking with Seona, Mina quietly opened her mouth.
“Hmm? Mina, is something up?”
“Sh-Shia aunt, congratulations… on your graduation…”
“…Mina, can I hug you just once?”
“Eek…!”
★
“Urgh, can’t I just live in Japan?”
“Do you have the money?”
“Let me live at your place…”
“I don’t mind, but what about the family? Shia, with your skills, you’re going to get busier. Taking a day off is one thing, but scheduling a trip isn’t going to be easy, you know? As your unnie, I wouldn’t want you to drift too far from your parents.”
“That’s definitely true…”
After the graduation ceremony ended, Shia walked around with Seona and Mina before heading home, where she started drinking alone with Seona.
Shia’s parents had left right after the ceremony for work and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, and Mina had fallen asleep.
So, with just the two of them left, Shia began to honestly express her feelings to the benefactor who was Seona.
“Our home isn’t wealthy, but our family isn’t at odds either… I know how much my parents have worked for me, so I should start working for the family as well.”
With a lot of debt at home right now, paying it all off would surely take a long time.
As Seona said earlier, that meant Shia would have to work hard enough that scheduling trips would be difficult, especially since Seona was a director at a well-known Japanese company, making it clear that arranging a visit like this would be anything but easy.
“Guess it’ll be tough to see each other for a while, huh?”
“Well, we can keep in touch steadily. Our company will probably outsource work to you often, so we won’t lose contact.”
“Haah…”
“Since your unnie visits Korea pretty frequently, it’ll be enough to meet then, right?”
Of course, I like my unnie.
Shia swallowed that thought.
Even with Seona’s stoic expression, she was actually the kindest unnie, and the thought that opportunities to meet her would decrease made Shia feel a little sad despite knowing it couldn’t be helped.
“I really want to live in Japan…”
Shia emptied her beer can and sighed sincerely.
★
“I’m tired…”
After a light drink with Seona, Shia returned to her room and started working.
Even though she drank on a special day like graduation, Shia had little time to relax.
Things at home weren’t good.
Sure, working while drinking isn’t the most effective, but she needed to make some progress.
“It’s tough…”
This outsourcing project was proving to be high-paying for a reason, as the client wanted a fairly high quality.
And that meant Shia’s name had risen to be able to take on projects of this caliber.
Despite feeling pride in that fact, her sense of burden also grew.
Especially since she received a tablet worth over 2 million won from Seona today.
“Ugh…”
Shia laid back for a moment, placing her tablet pen down and staring at the ceiling.
She couldn’t afford the tuition, so she had to give up on attending university.
Of course, she hadn’t always wanted to go to university, but the main reason for such a decision was home circumstances.
It would definitely be a lie to say she never dreamed of living a life traveling after going to college like other friends.
And with today’s graduation ceremony, Shia once again became aware of her reality.
“I’m a bit tired…”
“Shia aunt…”
“Hmm?”
As Shia turned her head, there stood Mina, poking her head in through the door, looking shy.
“Did you wake up, Mina? Is it because of the bathroom?”
“No, it’s not…”
“Then should we talk, aunt?”
“Yes…”
Shia rose from her chair to approach Mina, taking a breath.
Mina shrank slightly, but she didn’t run away.
Shia couldn’t help but smile at Mina’s adorableness.
Mina had always been like this with Shia.
Well, it had only been about two years, but since Mina learned to speak, the pattern remained the same.
At first, she would hide behind Seona or Zia’s legs when shy.
Then after about a day, she would call her “Aunt Shia” and come over to talk.
It was an entirely cute display that naturally instilled maternal love in Shia, who was still young without children.
“Aunt was actually working just now, but thanks to you, I can take a break.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Of course, it is.”
Though it felt a little awkward for Shia, who just graduated high school, to be called “aunt,” she had been called that from the start, so it no longer carried much weight.
She even considered letting her call her “unnie” like Zia, but now it felt more affectionate for Mina to call her “aunt.”
“If aunt is working, it must be, um, like, you know, scratch-scratch, right?”
Pfft! “Yep, exactly. Scratch-scratch it is.”
Mina’s speech was a bit awkward since she took after Seona’s husband.
The clumsiness mixed with her still being young only doubled her cuteness.
Seeing her like that, Shia couldn’t help but forget her fatigue and smile.
How could such a cute girl say such cute things? It was only natural to think so.
“I want to try scratch-scratch too…”
“Do you want to try it, Mina? Then, of course, let’s do it.”
Shia handed the tablet pen to Mina without any hesitation in response to her cute request.
“Hehe…”
Then Mina started playing with the pen, letting out a silly giggle.
“How do you do black?”
“I’ll show you how to do this.”
And the completed artwork was…
“Um, I’m done.”
“Wow, is this Zia?”
“Yes, it’s my sister. Isn’t she pretty? Hehe…”
It was a portrait of Zia.
Shia had no intention of calling it well-drawn; she was a professional, after all.
However, she was genuinely surprised that the little 5-year-old girl in front of her created that drawing.
It was totally out of proportion, but anyone who knew Zia would surely recognize the details captured in it.
Mina had a knack for drawing.
That was the conclusion Shia reached.
“Mina, do you want to keep drawing?”
“Drawing, me?”
“Yep. How about continuing with what you just did when you get home tomorrow?”
“But Aunt, I don’t have this thing you use…”
“It’s okay if you don’t have it. You can just draw on any notebook.”
“Okay! That drawing was fun! Hehe…”
This was the moment Mina started drawing.
★
“Though afterwards, I got incredibly busy, and it’s a shame I have no time to visit Japan… But that’s what happened back then.”
It was true that Shia hadn’t actively taught Mina to draw.
But the reason she started drawing was definitely rooted in Shia.
It was surprising, given that Mina didn’t even remember those times.
“So, hearing that Mina is still drawing makes me really happy! And you’re doing it so well. Amazing!”
“Hehe….”
“And so! I prepared something for you!”
Saying that, Aunt Shia suddenly jumped up from her chair and ran to the living room.
What Aunt returned with was…
“Um, eek?! Aunt, this is…”
“It’s fine. I received a lot of help from Seona unnie too. I hope you use it comfortably.”
What Aunt Shia handed over was a top-of-the-line LCD tablet from a famous company, worth over 200,000 yen.
“But please keep drawing as a hobby, and let’s do a drawing collab stream someday. That would be enough for me.”
“B-But…”
“I’ve wanted to draw together with you ever since that time.”
“Th-Thank you so much…”
I’m so happy.
To think that my favorite illustrator cares for me like this truly fills me with joy.
Tears of happiness brimmed in my eyes.
“I-I love you, Toka Mama. I’ll also work hard from now on, Aunt Shia!”
“…Y-Yeah! Let’s do our best together!”
I sincerely expressed my gratitude.
“Being a mama and an aunt is quite a twisted family tree, huh? Haha…”
“Hehe…”
As Aunt lovingly ruffled my hair, her touch was incredibly gentle.
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