"All right, let's look at the next question."

Sitting by the window in the back row, Wooyoung turned his gaze outside.

It was the last class of the day, and already past four in the afternoon.

A week had passed since he'd moved to this little country town. One day he'd been living somewhere else, and the next he'd found himself here, enrolled in an unfamiliar school.

The town was so small that even the local middle school had hardly any students.

There wasn't much to do near his house, either. No decent places to hang out, nothing to keep him occupied.

Every day was painfully boring.

Except for one thing.

That little girl.

Yoonseul.

"..."

She was sitting on a bench at the edge of the schoolyard, a lollipop tucked into her mouth.

Yoonseul didn't have much to do, either. Her grandmother was out working at her business, which meant the girl spent most of her time at home alone.

So after finishing school, she'd come to his schoolyard to wait for him.

Wooyoung had grown fairly close to Yoonseul since that day.

Maybe she'd taken a liking to the lollipop he'd given her. Whatever the reason, she'd spent the next few days wandering around his yard without saying much.

Then, the day before yesterday, she'd finally begun asking him questions.

"How old are you?"

"Where did you live before?"

"Is your hand okay?"

He'd injured his hand rescuing her, but the stitches had been removed yesterday. They'd gone to have them taken out together.

He wasn't particularly worried about his own hand. He was a boy, after all. But the wound on her tiny hand didn't look like something that would disappear easily.

She'd needed ten stitches.

It was bound to leave a scar.

Yoonseul, who'd been diligently sucking on her lollipop with that very hand, shifted the candy back into her left cheek.

Her soft, pale cheek bulged into a perfect little circle.

"Shall we do one more question?"

"Oh, come on, sir!"

"There's only five minutes left. Can't you just let us go?"

Wooyoung had been watching Yoonseul for quite a while when his classmates' complaints drew his attention.

He turned toward the front of the classroom.

Unable to withstand the chorus of protests, the Korean-language teacher closed his textbook and nodded.

"All right. That's enough for today."

The students cheered and immediately began packing their things.

Wooyoung quickly stuffed the books spread across his desk into his bag as well.

He couldn't help thinking about the little girl waiting outside.

She must have been bored out of her mind by now. She'd already been sitting there for hours.

The bell rang.

Wooyoung headed straight for the schoolyard.

******

As students poured out of the main building, Yoonseul began looking around from her seat on the bench.

Her dark eyes darted busily from one face to another, searching for Go Wooyoung.

It apparently wasn't easy.

All the boys wore the same uniforms, and most had short hair. At a glance, they looked much alike.

With his schoolbag slung over his right shoulder and one hand tucked into his pocket, Wooyoung walked toward her.

Yoonseul had been sitting with her knees drawn up against her chest, but eventually she sprang to her feet.

The sight was so adorable that Wooyoung stopped for a moment just to watch her.

With her neck stretched out as far as it would go, she looked rather like a meerkat.

He'd always thought it would be nice to have a little sister like that.

Just looking at her made him smile.

She was simply too cute.

"Oh?"

Perhaps she'd finally spotted him.

Yoonseul raised her little hand, pointed at him with one finger, and widened her eyes.

Their gazes met across the schoolyard, and a warm smile spread across Wooyoung's face.

When he approached, Yoonseul tipped her head back to look up at him, her expression brightening with recognition.

Wooyoung crouched in front of her.

Only then were their eyes level.

"When did you get here?"

Yoonseul liked the gentle way he spoke to her. Her lips twitched into a smile as she answered.

"A while ago."

It had been more than an hour since he'd first spotted her in the schoolyard.

She still didn't seem to know how to tell time. Apparently, she had no idea when she'd arrived.

Thinking he ought to teach her how to read a clock, Wooyoung reached out and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Finished your lollipop?"

"Yep!"

Yoonseul nodded enthusiastically and held up the empty stick to show him.

"Then I guess I'll have to buy you another one today."

He knew that if he bought her one today, she'd come back tomorrow and suck on it while she waited for him.

Apparently, she liked that idea.

Her eyes curved into delighted crescents.

Wooyoung held out his open palm.

Yoonseul studied it for a moment before placing her hand in his.

He stood, and the two of them walked out of the schoolyard together, side by side.

"Wooyoung?"

"Hmm?"

At her call, Wooyoung glanced down.

Yoonseul looked as though she had something to tell him.

They'd only known each other for a few days, yet being around her already felt strangely natural, as though they'd known each other for years.

And he couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

"Her parents died in a car accident before she was even born. That's why her maternal grandmother is raising her."

That was what Minhee had told him after learning about Yoonseul's family.

It had been a traffic accident.

Her father had died instantly. Her mother, who'd been pregnant with Yoonseul at the time, had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

She'd struggled between life and death, but in the end, she'd passed away, leaving only Yoonseul behind.

The baby had barely survived.

Since then, she'd been raised by her grandmother.

Yoonseul was smaller than other children her age, and she was so quiet that she didn't seem to have many friends.

At least, that was the impression Wooyoung got.

She was always alone.

Although she'd called out to him, Yoonseul had fallen silent again.

Wooyoung waited patiently for her to speak, then gently encouraged her.

"Go on. What is it?"

"I'm hungry."

She seemed to eat lunch at school, but it was already past four. No wonder she was hungry.

Her little hand was wrapped around his thumb as she trotted along beside him.

He found everything about her adorable.

Wooyoung was walking unusually slowly to match her short strides.

Her long hair, loosely gathered into a single ponytail, had come almost completely undone.

"And I'm thirsty, too."

"Come on, then. I'll make you something good when we get home."

"Really?"

She tipped her head back and beamed up at him, her eyes crinkling with delight.

How could someone look so much like a doll?

Those enormous eyes were adorable.

So was her little round nose.

Even the gap where her two front teeth had fallen out was adorable.

Wooyoung was still gazing at her when they reached the market. He stopped in front of one of the shops.

Yoonseul's eyes grew even wider.

"Go ahead. Pick some."

"These?"

"Yep. Choose three you like. How does that sound?"

"Wow..."

A sign above the display read:

Three hair ties for 1,000 won.

Wooyoung only had a little over ten thousand won in allowance money, but he could certainly afford something like this.

Besides, Yoonseul didn't even have a proper hair tie.

Her hair was currently held together with an ordinary yellow rubber band.

Her eyes wide with fascination, Yoonseul examined the colorful accessories for a long time before carefully selecting three.

"Those are the ones you want?"

"Yep!"

She nodded over and over.

Wooyoung let out an amused chuckle, paid for the hair ties, and took her home with him.

******

"Wooyoung, I want to eat now."

The only things Wooyoung knew how to cook were fried eggs and instant noodles.

For a moment, he wondered whether it was all right to feed instant noodles to an eight-year-old.

In the end, he decided to fry some eggs instead.

They had rice and seaweed, too.

That should be enough.

"Just a second. It's almost ready."

"Can I have some of that stuff your mom gave me yesterday, too?"

The stuff his mother had given her yesterday?

Wooyoung thought about it for a moment.

Then something clicked.

"What, Roasted Grain Powder?"

Yoonseul nodded vigorously.

Minhee had gone grocery shopping yesterday and made them drinks with Roasted Grain Powder when she got home.

Apparently, Yoonseul had liked it.

Her eyes were fixed on the bag sitting in the corner of the kitchen counter.

"Sure. I'll make you some of that, too."

Wooyoung transferred the fried eggs onto a plate and set them on the low dining table.

Then he brought over a large stainless-steel bowl.

"Hang on. You can't drink milk, right?"

"Nope."

He remembered her saying that milk always gave her a stomachache.

So he poured water into the bowl instead.

Then he added generous spoonfuls of Roasted Grain Powder and sugar, stirring everything together.

Yoonseul watched with sparkling eyes.

Once he'd mixed it well enough, Wooyoung got up, fetched some ice from the freezer, and dropped the cubes into the bowl, where they bobbed on the surface.

He used a ladle to fill a cup and handed it to her.

A smile immediately appeared on Yoonseul's face.

"Here. Drink up."

Looking positively thrilled, Yoonseul lifted the cup and took a long drink.

"Ahh! It's so good!"

Her whole face lit up with happiness.

Wooyoung couldn't help laughing at the sight.

She had a thick smear of Roasted Grain Powder above her upper lip, and her hair was a complete mess.

Still, she kept drinking, clearly delighted.

Watching her, Wooyoung picked up the comb lying nearby.

"Turn around. I'll comb your hair."

Yoonseul obediently turned around without getting up.

Wooyoung removed the yellow rubber band from her hair.

Her long locks fell all the way to her waist, but they were badly tangled.

Every time he tried to draw the comb through, it caught on another knot.

Not wanting to hurt her, he carefully worked his way through the tangles, loosening them one by one.

"I want some more."

Yoonseul had already finished her drink.

She held the empty cup up in front of him.

"You want another?"

"Yep."

"What about your food? Didn't you say you were hungry?"

"Just one more."

She raised her index finger and gave him a slightly sheepish smile.

Wooyoung set the comb down for a moment and filled her cup to the brim with the Roasted Grain Powder drink.

Yoonseul accepted it with an expression of pure happiness, as though someone had just handed her the entire world.

And as Wooyoung watched her, a radiant smile spread across his face, too.

Chapter 6

Comments