Yum yum.
The ribs melted in my mouth as soon as I took a bite. I was happily savoring the flavor with a big smile on my face. Haru and Bora were also busy eating the ribs. Such delicious ribs weren’t something you could eat every day.
“It’s melting, melting in my mouth.”
Bora was showing a level of appetite I’d never seen before. I thought she was supposed to be managing her weight… Curious, I asked her directly.
“Bora, weren’t you supposed to be watching your weight?”
“Uh… well… Ah! Starting tomorrow! I decided to start tomorrow, Hana.”
“Really?”
Starting tomorrow, ramen is acceptable, I guess. I picked up the pieces of meat piled on my plate with chopsticks and ate them one by one. Even though I was just sitting there, Haru and Bora kept bringing me perfectly cooked meat. I was like a bird being fed, only eating what Haru and Bora brought me.
I did eat some vegetables, but the proportion was tiny. Bora, unable to watch, even placed pickled onions on top of my meat. I had no choice but to eat it with a scrunched-up face.
“Hana, are you just going to eat meat?”
Haru asked me. I nodded. After all, a child is always growing, and meat is just so much better. Plus, eating vegetables still felt a bit burdensome.
I smiled and kept eating the meat. Good meat really has to come from a good place. It felt like the meat just melted away as soon as it entered my mouth.
Usually, you have to chew meat a bit before swallowing, right? But these ribs were different. They slid down my throat after just a few chews.
I was able to feast on the ribs until my stomach was completely full.
—
“Hana, you understand, right?”
“Haru, I’m not a little kid! I got it the first time.”
Haru held my hand and kept emphasizing her point. How important could it be for her to keep repeating it?
“You must never take off this ring, and if something dangerous happens, you have to press the button on the back of this necklace, okay?”
“Haru, don’t worry. I’m not like those little kids who don’t listen!”
When I spoke with confidence, Haru narrowed her eyes and said,
“Then who was the kid who turned the entire research institute building into a water park last time while trying to make dalgona?”
“Ah! Uh…”
When Haru hit me with that fact, I had nothing to say. Using facts to win is so cheap! That’s cheating. You should win with made-up stuff, fair and square.
“Anyway, Starlight Elementary is very safe, so try not to leave the school grounds. And if you want to go somewhere after school, you have to tell me first, okay?”
“Okay!”
There was a ring with magic that would protect me even if a 10-ton truck hit me, and a necklace that acted as a locator, so I could be found even if I got buried underground or launched into the air.
These were the accessories Haru told me never to take off.
I wasn’t the type of kid to act like a rebellious frog, so I planned to follow Haru’s advice. Every morning, Haru would say this and then send me off into Starlight Elementary. I waved goodbye to Haru as her car drove away.
Then I walked step by step into the school. Usually, security guards at elementary schools are grandpas or older men, right? But Starlight Elementary was weirdly staffed with security guards who looked like buff adult men straight out of UFC.
They were muscular and looked intimidating, but I knew they were actually super kind inside, so I waved and greeted them. The guards also smiled and greeted me back.
Though, the kids around me screamed and ran away. The younger kids were still scared of the guards. Of course, the older elementary, middle, and high school students often became friends with the guards.
Those kids had been coming to school for a long time and realized the guards were just uncles. Plus, they were people who helped us stay safe during school, so being scared of them was strange.
On the way, I ran into Yumi and Jiyu. We talked about the ribs we ate yesterday as we walked into the classroom. It was so much fun chatting with the kids before the boring classes started.
—
“Hana! Hana!”
“Yeah?”
Jiyu called out to me.
I turned my head at the sound and answered. It was almost time to leave school. Although it was only 2 PM, the lower grades finished their classes early.
Having experienced the dreadful high school life where I attended school from 8 AM to 10 PM, this amount of class time felt like it passed in the blink of an eye.
“Let’s hang out at my house today! My mom bought some delicious snacks and told me to bring friends!”
“Should we?”
Originally, I planned to go home and play Steam games, but when Jiyu mentioned the delicious snacks, I suddenly felt like going. How tasty must those snacks be for her to invite friends over?
“I’m coming too!”
Yumi chimed in from the side. Tomorrow was Saturday, a day off. That meant we could stay up late without worrying about school the next day.
I took out my phone and texted Haru. The message said I’d be playing today and coming home late. Haru, who seems to live with her phone, replied almost immediately.
It was an OK sign to play until 6 PM.
And just like that, a new plan to go to Jiyu’s house was born.
30 minutes later, after leaving school, our group waited for the bus at the bus stop. It had been so long since I last took a bus that I couldn’t even remember when. I usually only rode in cars. There weren’t many buses going to the research institute from here, so it required multiple transfers.
That’s probably why Haru and Bora often drove me to school in their cars. While dropping me off in the afternoon was manageable, picking me up early in the morning was almost awe-inspiring.
I’ve heard that for working people, having flexible work hours can be quite exhausting.
“Yesterday, I had ribs…”
“Hana! That’s the third time you’ve said that!”
“So…?”
As we chatted about this and that, the bus arrived. Naturally, we boarded, and I took out my wallet to pay the fare.
“Ah!”
My wallet was empty. And there was no card either.
Oh no…!
It suddenly hit me that I usually used the card provided by the research institute and didn’t carry a personal card. And as for cash, I hadn’t brought any today. I was completely stuck.
As I stood there awkwardly, Yumi noticed and told the bus driver, “Two children, please!”
[*Beep!* Children.]
“Let’s go, Hana!”
“Sorry, Yumi. I’ll pay you back tomorrow!”
“No need, Hana.”
Getting help from a child made me feel a bit embarrassed. I was supposed to be the cool one, swiping my card like an adult.
“Let’s sit in the back!”
Jiyu was already sitting in the very back, waving us over. Yumi and I walked to the back. Thankfully, the bus driver had good timing and started moving just as we sat down.
Usually, impatient bus drivers start moving before you can even sit.
“How long until we get to Jiyu’s house?”
“About 20 minutes?”
A 20-minute ride wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t exactly short either. For me, it took about 30-40 minutes by car since the research institute was a bit out of the way.
As the bus rattled along, I looked out the window.
Outside, there were a lot of people walking around. Probably because Starlight Elementary School was close to the city center. I also saw kids in the same uniform as mine walking around.
“Hana, let’s eat lots of delicious food at my house!”
“Okay!”
As Jiyu said that, an image of me enjoying those delicious snacks automatically popped into my head. Just imagining how tasty they might be made me super excited.
After all, kids should eat a lot!
