READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 223
While chatting about this and that school stuff, time flies and it’s already 1:40 PM.
When the sound of a growling stomach echoes, Ji-eun unnie belatedly checks the time.
“Oh my, it’s already this late?”
Ji-eun unnie, who was lying in the living room, suddenly sits up in surprise.
She grabs the thin coat carelessly left on the floor and hurriedly picks up her smartphone and wallet.
Do you have an appointment? Siyeon and I stare at unnie…
“You two haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s go out together.”
A bit out of the blue, she suggests we have lunch together.
Not “Shall we go out?” but “Let’s go out.”
With no option to refuse, it’s not a bad idea, so we quickly gather our clothes.
Could it be that she’s in such a hurry because we missed lunch?
A short while later, standing idly in the common entrance of the next building, a bright yellow van enters the apartment complex.
The kindergarten name is prominently written on the car door.
Ah, it’s Juwon’s pick-up time.
Right, she wouldn’t be in such a hurry just because we missed lunch…
Reflecting briefly on treating our life senior as a woman crazed for lunch, we greet Juwon as he jumps out of the car.
Juwon, energetically jumping out of the car, runs to his mom and says his first words.
“I’m back!”
“Hi, Juwon-”
The kindergarten teacher, smiling brightly, waves from inside the car.
Seeing this, Ji-eun unnie grabs Juwon’s shoulders and turns him towards the car, saying,
“You should greet the teacher.”
“Goodbye-”
Juwon politely bows.
The kindergarten teacher, exchanging warm greetings with Juwon, glances at us and asks Ji-eun unnie with a slightly surprised face,
“Juwon’s mom, you have such big daughters too?”
“They’re my nieces, like daughters.”
Ji-eun unnie, asked this, hugs us tightly and answers the teacher as if boasting.
Technically, we’re just someone else’s kids, but in terms of closeness, our relationship isn’t much different from family.
It’s hard to explain in words, so Ji-eun unnie calls us “nieces like daughters.”
“I see, oh my… I was really surprised.”
The teacher’s surprised expression changes to one of understanding, mixing admiration and a hint of realization.
‘To have a high schooler at unnie’s age…’
Guessing what the kindergarten teacher might have thought, I run a simulation in my head.
Assuming she’s in her early to mid-thirties with two high schoolers, she would have had kids by middle school at the earliest or high school at the latest.
That’s not just speeding, it’s like removing the brakes altogether.
Such a reaction isn’t unreasonable.
“See you tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, take care-”
As the brief adult greetings end, the sound of the door closing roughly echoes, and the bright yellow van leaves the apartment complex.
One kindergarten student, two high schoolers, and one adult remain idly in front of the common entrance.
Ji-eun unnie looks at Juwon and speaks.
“Juwon, is there anything you want to eat?”
As expected of a mom, she leaves the lunch menu to Juwon, who probably already had lunch at kindergarten.
But, as they say, human greed knows no bounds.
“Hmm…”
Juwon sits there pondering.
Thinking about it, at kindergarten age, it’s a time to be true to one’s desires.
Even if full, if asked what they want to eat, they’ll answer honestly without hesitation.
Juwon, a bundle of greed, decides today’s lunch menu…
“Pizza!”
Right away, pizza.
Given our household’s tendency to stretch one pizza over two days, it’s a rare treat.
Lately, small-sized frozen pizzas have been popular, so we haven’t ordered out much.
After Juwon’s bold answer, Ji-eun unnie looks at us and asks in turn,
“Pizza? How about pizza, kids?”
“Great!”
“Is there even a question?”
While Siyeon honestly agrees, I elegantly state that as someone who’s just along for the ride, I have no grounds to object.
Holding Juwon’s hands, Siyeon and I swing him like a swing, talking about how Juwon will start school in a couple of years, and we arrive at the local pizza place.
We order two pizzas.
One is a bulgogi pizza, a common choice with little room for dislike.
The other is a gold chicken tender pizza with sweet potato mousse, which Siyeon loves.
“When will it come out?”
“Wait a bit.”
“How long?”
“About 10 minutes?”
While waiting for the order, we pass the time chatting with Juwon, who’s curious about everything.
Even though I was the same age once, having talked with Siyeon before, I’ve become somewhat skilled at handling kids.
The technique of rolling my pronunciation to match the conversation level had naturally become part of me.
“Unnie! Look at this!”
“What is it?”
Juwon proudly shows his smartphone, tightly held in both hands.
Ji-eun unnie, who seems to have already figured out what Juwon is showing, makes a face of utter dismay and says to us,
“He’s been going crazy over some game lately, try to stop him.”
“A game?”
My eyes light up at the mention of games.
That’s my specialty.
The screen Juwon proudly shows is a first-person shooter game.
But it looks more like a sandbox game with high freedom than a well-made shooter game.
So this is what kids play these days.
Not sure what he’s proud of, but as I watch the screen and react appropriately, the store owner comes out from the kitchen.
With delivery as the main business, there are only three tables inside the store.
The two pizzas fill the small table.
“The pizza is here-”
“Juwon, put your phone away.”
Parents who can’t stand seeing their kids on phones at the dining table.
No matter how times change, that part remains the same, and Juwon, with a game almost finished, doesn’t want to give up.
Despite being told to put the phone away, Juwon remains engrossed in the screen, making a slightly pained expression.
“Just a sec…”
“Again, just a sec?”
Of course, from the parents’ perspective, not only do they dislike their kids playing games, but the constant “just a sec” is also annoying.
I stop unnie from snatching the phone from Juwon’s hand.
As a gamer, regardless of gender, I know the sadness of having the power strip turned off mid-game.
This time, I side with Juwon and gently push unnie’s arm away.
“Three minutes, just three.”
“You were supposed to stop him…”
“It’s hard to stop a game mid-play.”
“Ugh, do as you please.”
After a sigh mixed with resignation, the promised three minutes pass.
As the game ends and the results screen appears, Juwon puts down the smartphone.
I pick up the phone and smoothly hand it to Ji-eun unnie.
To have such an obedient kid…
The pizza tasting begins, a bit late.
The pizza from the oven has cooled just enough to be picked up by hand.
Thus, we have a hearty lunch thanks to flour and cheese.
As we’re about to head home, Ji-eun unnie stops us.
“Since we’ve eaten, let’s do one thing.”
“Huh?”
Before we can ask, Ji-eun unnie naturally guides us and puts us in the car.
Indeed, nothing in the world is free.
The place we arrive at by car is the department store we visited just yesterday.
Even as an adult woman, with an adult man in a three-person household.
It’s not easy for one person to carry a week’s worth of groceries for three, so she needed porters and filled our stomachs with pizza.
“My husband comes back exhausted, and I can’t make Juwon carry the bags.”
“Well, I guess.”
I answer while looking at Juwon, who’s playing with his smartphone in the back seat.
Maybe in ten more years, but you can’t make that little guy carry boxes of groceries.
As if sensing this, Juwon’s voice, filled with determination, comes from the back seat.
“I can do it!”
“You might think we could just buy online, but for vegetables and fish, I feel safer seeing them in person.”
Whether or not, Ji-eun unnie couldn’t trust fresh produce bought online.
She insisted on seeing them with her own eyes, even if it meant dragging people along.
Actually, I can relate to this part…
Articles like ‘The meat delivered online was full of fat!’ appear almost monthly.
“Since we’re at the mart, should we get Juwon a toy too? Hehe.”
“A toy?”
At the mention of toys, Juwon stops playing with his smartphone and looks up, exclaiming.
Oops, there was another motive.
“What does our Juwon want~?”
Ji-eun unnie’s voice oozes with mischief.
In today’s world, kids’ toys easily cost hundreds of thousands of won.
Thinking it would be quite a sum, I rack my brain quickly.
‘What could it be…’
Something kids would be more interested in than toys…
Darn, nothing comes to mind?
Then, Juwon’s smartphone in his hands catches my eye.
Given parents’ negative views on games, they would never have allowed it.
“Juwon, should unnie get you a gift card?”