Ch.181Mom, I Love You (4)

Safety is always the first thing taught to young children when they start school or kindergarten.

‘Don’t cross the street on a red light.’

‘Even when the light turns green, look carefully before crossing.’

‘When the light is blinking, don’t run—wait for the next signal.’

These are words everyone has heard at least once in childhood.

Even just crossing a crosswalk requires three safety precautions,

as young children are often careless about safety.

How could parents possibly feel at ease

when sending their children to places beyond their sight?

That’s why there’s one lesson that almost inevitably takes place between parents and children.

The most important words parents say to their children before leaving home, for when they return from kindergarten or school:

“Don’t go with strangers.”

Though the probability of an unfortunate incident is extremely low compared to traffic accidents,

this single phrase is thrown out to prevent what parents fear perhaps even more than traffic accidents.

Everyone remembers it.

Don’t accept things from strangers,

don’t get into cars driven by strangers,

and never agree when strangers ask for directions and suggest going together.

It was the first lesson parents taught to protect their children,

almost like a sacred promise between parent and child.

“Wow, I never expected to meet Doyoung here of all places. What an amazing coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, it is…”

“Oh, would you like some candy? I keep some for when I get drowsy while driving. Take whichever flavor you like.”

“Th-thank you. I’ll take strawberry then…”

“This works out perfectly. I haven’t been to this neighborhood in ages, so I’m not familiar with how the geography has changed and I’ve been a bit lost. Even with the navigation system, my old memories are getting all mixed up, so I was about to ask someone for directions… And just as I was thinking that, I spotted you from behind!”

“Ahaha…”

And now,

Joonsook, wearing Doyoung’s school uniform,

was eating candy given by a stranger,

sitting in a stranger’s car,

and accompanying a stranger to help with directions.

‘It, it should be fine. She doesn’t seem like someone who would do anything bad. Besides, she seems to know Doyoung well.’

Lacking the courage to admit she wasn’t Doyoung, Joonsook

decided to pretend to be Doyoung for a while and see how things unfolded.

Well, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

If worse came to worst, she could break the window and escape.

*Tap tap*

Testing it with a light knock,

she confirmed that with this thickness and strength, it wouldn’t be too difficult to break.

“Hmm? What are you doing, Doyoung?”

“Oh, nothing at all.”

“Doyoung… You seem to have grown taller since I last saw you. How should I put it… You seem more mature? Though you were quite mature back then too.”

“R-really…? I haven’t really noticed…”

“Well, sometimes people don’t seem to grow at all and then suddenly shoot up. I guess you’re no exception.”

Just one more centimeter and she’d be 180cm tall.

Joonsook kept her mouth shut, unable to say those words.

“I heard you’ve lived in this neighborhood for quite a long time, is that right?”

“Well, yes… I’ve been living here for over 25 years.”

“What? 25 years?”

“Ah, no! Nothing! My mother said she’s lived here for over 25 years!”

“Ah… I see. Then for a high school student like you, there couldn’t be a more perfect hometown than this! Considering you came all this way for groceries, you must know the area well!”

“Ugh…”

How did it come to this?

She had just casually tried on her daughter’s school uniform.

How did she end up pretending to be her daughter in front of someone who knew her daughter, someone she herself didn’t know?

Was wearing her daughter’s uniform to go shopping really such a terrible thing?

‘Even if I’m caught… I should at least avoid the rudeness of not knowing who this person is.’

Without letting the woman at the wheel notice,

Joonsook quickly glanced around to assess her surroundings.

The basics of kendo include never taking your eyes off your opponent.

First, Joonsook decided to analyze what she already knew.

‘Though she looks like a very young lady on the surface, she doesn’t seem at all uncomfortable with Doyoung calling her “mom,” which suggests she’s most likely a mother with a child around Doyoung’s age. She’s probably quite a bit older than she looks.’

No matter how sociable her daughter was, she wouldn’t use the term “mom” for just anyone.

Even with Sahyang and Hyerang’s parents, whom she had known for a long time,

she more often used terms like “auntie” or “so-and-so’s mother” rather than “mom.”

So this must be the mother of a friend as close as Sahyang and Hyerang,

and simultaneously a woman with whom Doyoung wanted to be close enough to use the term “mom,” which would normally not be permitted.

Someone who wasn’t familiar with the local geography because she hadn’t visited the neighborhood in a long time.

She could narrow down the woman’s identity that far.

And there weren’t many people who fit within that range.

In fact, there might be only one.

‘Could this woman be… Hamin’s mother?’

Joonsook naturally leaned toward the most likely hypothesis.

Once she thought of her as Hamin’s mother, she began to see resemblances to Hamin everywhere.

The slightly curly hair, though not as curly as Hamin’s, and the golden eyes.

The cute face dotted with strawberry-like freckles,

and the small frame reminiscent of Hamin when he was shorter.

Once she thought of her as Hamin’s mother

and listed all the circumstantial evidence from her appearance,

no other possibility seemed to exist.

‘No, I need to be careful. Making a mistake about this would be extremely rude to the other person. Moreover, I’m currently wearing my daughter’s uniform and pretending to be her. Any mistake I make will be seen as my daughter’s mistake.’

Joonsook’s eyes were sharp, but she was also extremely cautious.

Even with all the circumstantial evidence pointing to one conclusion, it was still just circumstantial.

She decided not to jump to conclusions about this woman’s identity until she had definitive proof.

“By the way, on a day like today when I’m not working, I came to surprise my Hamin after his supplementary classes, and to think I’d run into you like this! I feel like I, Do Hami, have used up all my luck for the day!”

“…Ah.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Doyoung?”

“Nothing, nothing at all. Mom.”

“Oh my, Doyoung’s voice just now sounded unusually elegant and dignified for her age…”

“N-no, it didn’t! Mom~★!”

Making Joonsook’s deliberations pointless,

she instantly learned the identity of the woman who had given her a ride.

That she was Hamin’s mother, and that her name was Do Hami.

“W-wait a moment, please.”

“What is it, Doyoung? You can speak comfortably.”

“Where are we… going right now?”

“To school! Hamin’s supplementary classes should be over by now!”

“…”

And that the car was heading toward the school.

**

“Alright, that’s it for today’s lesson. Good work everyone, and I’ll see you all in class tomorrow.”

“Thank you, teacher.”

In the afternoon at school, after the day’s supplementary classes had ended.

Everyone began to rise from their seats with excitement after class, except for one person—Hamin, who couldn’t quite bring himself to leave his desk.

“Ugh… It really is hard without glasses.”

After class ended, Hamin squinted at the blackboard covered in white writing.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah… Jeongkyu.”

Lee Jeongkyu, who had been attending supplementary classes on crutches, asked Hamin, who was having a staring contest with the blackboard before leaving through the school gate.

“I couldn’t see what the teacher wrote on the board during class. I was thinking maybe if I narrowed my vision like this, I could see better.”

“What happened to the glasses you usually wear?”

“Ah… I was washing my face earlier and my contact lens fell out, so I tried to wear my glasses, but it turns out I brought my old broken pair.”

Recently, Hamin had been wearing contact lenses more often at Doyoung’s request,

but he still frequently wore his usual glasses.

However, perhaps because he wasn’t yet accustomed to using lenses,

he occasionally lost them while washing his face or showering.

Today was no exception.

He had gone to school wearing lenses in the morning, but lost one while washing his face.

When he tried to take out his usual glasses as a replacement, the glasses case he had sleepily put in his bag turned out to contain his previous pair with the broken bridge.

“Hahaha, so I couldn’t take any notes at all. That’s why I’m squinting as much as possible to see the writing. It helps me see a little better.”

“Why don’t you just take a picture of the blackboard and write it down when you get home?”

“…Oh. Right.”

“Are you seriously an idiot?”

This behavior lent credence to Doyoung’s prediction that he would be good at studying but bad at making money.

“Here, I took pictures for you, so look at these and write it down when you get home.”

“Ah, thanks. I’m glad we’re taking supplementary classes together, Jeongkyu.”

“Sure, I’m leaving now.”

“Wait, it’s hard to go up and down stairs with crutches. Let me help you.”

“Get lost. I don’t need your help. Hey, Red Head! Come with me to the first floor.”

Jeongkyu rejected Hamin’s help and called out to Ahn Seongkyung, who was passing through the hallway.

“Fuck, didn’t I tell you not to call me Red Head, you crippled blockhead? You just want to smell my hair while I’m supporting you!”

“If it bothers you that much, wash it better. That’s why no one sits next to you during supplementary classes except me.”

“And who sits next to you besides me? Don’t lecture me when your personality is as broken as your leg, asshole.”

“Fine, just come with me to the first floor. I have no one else to help me.”

“Sigh… fuck. In exchange, you carry my bag. My shoulder hurts when I support you with my bag on.”

“Isn’t that because of your red head?”

“I swear I’ll break your other leg too.”

The two supported each other as they went down to the first floor.

For some reason, Hamin found himself missing Doyoung.

…

Hamin carefully descended the stairs with blurry vision and exited through the school gate.

The morning had been pleasantly cool, but walking along the road in the heat of midday, with heat haze rising, was quite difficult with his already dizzy vision.

*Honk honk!*

“Son!”

Just then, a familiar voice and horn sound calling for Hamin.

He naturally turned his head toward the voice.

“My son! Did your class go well? Mom came to pick you up specially today!”

“Mom…? How…?”

When he turned his head, there was Hamin’s mother,

Hami, parked in front of the school gate in her car.

“I told you I wasn’t working today. I came to pick up my son! It’s hot out, get in quickly! There’s a surprise inside!”

“Ah, okay!”

Following his mother’s words, Hamin opened the back door with an excited expression.

“Ta-da, Doyoung came along to see you too!”

“Huh… Doyoung?”

“H-Hamin… I mean, Hamin. Hello.”

Hamin squinted at the Doyoung before him,

and that day, the Doyoung in Hamin’s eyes looked somewhat different from usual.