episode_0004

“Aki, what should we do for fun? Jungle gym or zipline? Or tumbling?”

“Oh, I’m playing house. I want to play house with Uju~san!”

“Playing house? We did that at the playground last time. But are you going to do it again?”

“Yes, Aki likes playing house.”

“Really? I wanted to do something different this time.”

“Woojoo~Sang-eun doesn’t want to play house with me… … ?”

“… … okay. Let’s play house together. Where should I do it?”

“Yes! Stir. Let’s go over there and do it!”

When I followed Aki, who likes to play house, to the corner of the kids cafe, another meeting was taking place at the drinks bar, a space for adults.

That meeting was the meeting between my parents and Akine’s father.

“Started.藤原澄元です。(Hello, this is Fujiwara Sumimoto.)”

“Ah, hello. I am a space mom. This is Space Dad.”

“Hello… … .”

The Korean couple, who gave an awkward greeting to everyone, and my mom and dad glanced at the middle-aged Japanese man in front of them and then got slightly closer to each other.

“Grace. Is the surname Fujiwara common in Japan?”

Aki Fujiwara, my only son’s foreign friend. And the father is Fujiwara Sumimoto.

It is natural for a daughter and a father to have the same last name, but aside from that, what is more important is the last name ‘Fujiwara’.

It’s not that it’s not, the name of the Japanese ambassador to Korea who is currently staying in Korea is ‘Fujiwara Kenichiro’. But the name of the person sitting in front of me now is ‘Fujiwara Sumimoto.’

“It is common, but there are not many people who are Fujiwara by nature.”

“Nature? What is your nature?”

“There are almost none now… . To put it simply, it is a castle given directly by the Emperor of Japan. People with nature are a kind of nobility. Probably not even 5% of the total population of Japan?”

If this person named Fujiwara Sumimoto is a relative of the current Japanese Ambassador to Korea, or has a similar relationship, the two diplomats must be careful about every action they make from now on, and if they make a mistake, it could result in diplomatic discourtesy, so I tried to be careful.

“So, is that person a nobleman?”

“I don’t know either. Should I ask you a question? But what do you ask?”

“… … Excuse me while I speak, but we, the Fujiwara family, have been using our original name, Fujiwara, for generations.”

Coincidentally, Fujiwara Sumimoto, or Aki’s father, spoke Korean quite fluently.

It is said that the reason, like Aki, was the strong will of Kenichiro Fujiwara, the Japanese ambassador to Korea… … .

“Oh my, you know how to speak Korean.… … Oh, but maybe. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your relationship with Kenichiro Fujiwara?”

“He is a grandfather to Aki and a father to me.”

“… … Sorry, we were rude.”

Anyway, my mother, who was surprised by that, quickly lowered her head.

“Is that rude? It’s not even possible. I would rather like to say thank you to Woo Joo’s parents.”

But for some reason, when Mom lowered her head, Akine’s father followed suit.

“Yes? Thank you?”

As the unexpected words came out, Mom and Dad looked blankly at each other’s faces.

Dad asked with his eyes, ‘Eun-hye, have you done anything for that person?’ Mom shook her head and just looked with her eyes and said, ‘No, I’m seeing this person for the first time today?’ ‘You say that, honey?’ he asked.

Of course, Dad also shook his head, and both of them said at the same time, ‘Then what are you thankful for? ‘?’ he asked.

“Aki was originally a child with a lot of laughter. But ever since I came to Korea at my father’s insistence, I haven’t had a chance to smile. Maybe it was because of the sudden change in environment, or maybe it was because I couldn’t make friends my age properly. The language barrier is bigger than you think.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Children need time to adapt when their environment changes.”

“Yes, it is. So I waited too. Aki is a bright kid, so I thought he would be okay if I just gave him a little time. But that wasn’t it. Aki, who was always smiling, became darker day by day, and then one month turned into two months. And it wasn’t until three months later that I realized. I can’t leave Aki like this.”

“Ah… .”

“But there was nothing I could do. It’s a shame because I’ve been working all my life. I’ve never had a proper conversation with Aki or done anything like a father. I wanted to make Aki smile, but I didn’t know how to do it, so it was frustrating. I even had extreme thoughts about what would happen if Aki stopped smiling like this for the rest of his life. … … But.”

Aki’s father raised his head.

The place where the middle-aged man’s characteristic languid gaze was directed was none other than the corner of the kids cafe where Aki and I were sitting.

“One day, when I returned home from work, Aki smiled brightly and spoke to me first. ‘Dad, something really fun happened outside today!’ Although he didn’t show it, I was surprised and quickly asked. What happened? Then, do you know what Aki said?”

“Well, what did you say?”

“I met a Korean boy named ‘Woo Joo’ outside, and it was so much fun playing with him. Even explaining in detail what happened.”

──What did you tell me to do first when I got home?

──Hmm, well? Was it a greeting?

──No. The correct answer is -. It’s a kiss!

──Uh, kiss?

──Yes, kiss! Now, come here and kiss me!

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … Well, anyway. So, I really wanted to visit Wooju’s parents and say hello to them.”

Aki’s father bowed his head.

“Thank you for finding my child’s smile on behalf of me, the poor parent. I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life.”

When my lowered head almost touched the table, Mom and Dad froze in shock.

Then, they looked at each other blankly.

This was the first time they had received such a polite thank you from someone else, and they were also embarrassed to be thanked for something their child did, not their own.

So the two of you looked at each other and wondered what to do.

“… … Oh, what.”

He smiled a little awkwardly, but showed sincerity.

“Aki’s father’s heart was gratefully received. But you don’t have to lower your head. It was our son who played with Aki, not us, right? Actually, if you look at it, nothing was done.”

“No. Thanks to the good training of Woo Joo, our Aki has become bright again. I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Since Woo Joo is such a playful kid, I’m worried that he may have done something rude to Aki. what… … .”

Even as she said that, there was a smile on her mother’s lips. There is no parent in the world who doesn’t like praise for their child from someone else’s mouth.

Perhaps that was why my mother, who was in a good mood, was a little hesitant and hinted at the story.

“Well, by the way. It may sound a little bit out of the blue. Is Aki going to daycare or kindergarten?”

“Kindergarten? no. Currently not attending. I went to Gakushuin Kindergarten when I was in Japan, so I thought it would be possible to do the same in Korea, but when I actually sent it there, the language barrier was surprisingly big.”

“So, how are you educating your child?”

“Just watch my studies whenever I have time. We invited a few female tutors to do simple homeschooling… … .”

“Oh my, my! You can’t do that.”

“… … Yes?”

“It’s time for fun, but you’re saying you’re homeschooling? Father, when your children are young, you must let them meet people and play. That’s good for emotional development.”

“Is that so? I didn’t really know. But even if you want to send your child to kindergarten. This is because the language problem I mentioned earlier has not been resolved. Aki can speak a little bit of Korean, but it’s just that he’s not able to communicate in detail and it seems like he’s having trouble adapting to the different culture.”

“Then, how about sending your child to the same kindergarten as my child?”

Dad, who had been silent, intervened.

“Yes? Are Woo Joo-kun and Aki in the same kindergarten?”

“Yes, if we let him go to the same kindergarten as Woo Joo, it will be easier for him to adapt, and we will be able to communicate to some extent like we do now. They say they rely on translators now, but don’t children have poor learning skills? Once we put them together, they will stimulate each other, so Aki will be able to learn Korean faster, and I think our universe will be able to learn Japanese more easily too. It’s a win-win for both.”

“Huh, I would be very happy if you could do that… … . Wouldn’t it be too much of a nuisance to the space military?”

“Ah, what about the nuisance? I would say our universe is good too. If that’s the case, should I ask you directly? Boy, universe-.”

“Eunhye, look over there.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Over there, where Woo Joo and Aki are. The kids are trying to kiss me?”

“Ah, you’re probably just pretending to be joking. What are you doing in front of other people? … .”

──Okay, okay?

──Ugh, I had a good time. honey.

──… … uh? Why is Aki kissing me?

──I had a nice trip~ Kissing is meant to be mutual. You didn’t know that either, did you?

“What, you really did it?”

“… … Oh my.”

Those little ones are already kissing in front of others.

… … My mom, who was looking at me with an expression of something in mind, cleared her throat.

“Uh, sorry. I think our universe likes Aki a lot.”

“It’s okay. Isn’t that what kids usually do when they’re young? They seem to be getting along well, so it’s nice to see them.”

“… … How many kisses does he give? Woojoo, do you want to come here for a moment~?”

──Ah, yes!

I walked steadily towards my mother who was beckoning me. As if it was natural, Aki followed behind me, and we stood in front of both parents holding hands.

“Uni, there you are. If Aki goes to the same kindergarten as you, can you be there to help him?”

“Huh? Are Aki and I in the same kindergarten?”

“Ugh, what do you think? Can you do that?”

“Yes! It can happen. I will play with Aki a lot and introduce you to many friends!

“… … Did you see it?”

“… … .”

Mom glanced at Aki’s father with a somewhat proud expression.

Aki’s father looked down at us, or more precisely, at the hands Aki and I were holding.

“… … All right. Well, I know it’s rude, but I’ll spare you the shame and ask you a favor.”

With a very grateful face, he bowed his head politely towards my mom and dad.

“Space Force. Please become good friends with our Aki.”

“Don’t worry. Our universe is smart, so it will do well. Right, space?”

“Yes. But mom, are you and Aki going to the same kindergarten from now on?”

“Yes, it will happen soon. How do you like it?”

“Wow, really? Do you really go to the same kindergarten as me and Aki?”

“Dad will find out right away, but since there are procedures, it won’t be right away, but it will probably take a week at the earliest. So until then, you, the universe… .”

“Aki! They say you and I go to the same kindergarten-!”

“Children, wow… ?”

“From now on, we can play together every day, every day!”

“Ah, ah… .”

Aki couldn’t understand Korean properly because he didn’t have a translator, but he blushed slightly as if he liked the fact that I was holding hands with him, who was so excited.

“I think our universe is very active because it resembles mine, right?”

“So, the tomboy temperament is very similar to our Eunhye. They look exactly alike… .”

“… … What? minx? The reason Wooju says strange things sometimes is just like his dad, don’t you know that? uh? Huh?”

“Look at this, my eyes widen when I say something unpleasant… . Oh, wait a minute, don’t look at strange places… !”

My mom and dad talked about me and said that I resembled each other.

And, from that day on, we

“Oh, that’s right, a translator. … … Aki, please take care of me from now on!”

“Ugh, space~top… ! Please take care of me too… .”

We became very close friends.