“Okay, kids, stand here!”
Rustle rustle.
At the boss’s words, Jiyu, Yumi, and I stood where the sun was clearly visible. The boss was filming us with a mobile phone.
“V!”
Click click!
The shutter sound from the mobile phone turned our moment into a picture. After taking several photos, we ran to the boss to check how well they turned out. The boss was good at taking photos, but we still needed to make sure. Plus, these photos weren’t just for the boss—they had to be shared with me too. I planned to post them in the group chat with Jiyu and Yumi. These were photos of our memories, after all.
The photos turned out great. They captured the start of our fourth grade in elementary school. Perfect. I gave the boss a thumbs-up. The boss returned the gesture. See, the boss and I really get each other.
“Alright, kids, we’re done here. Shall we head back to the hotel? It’s been a while, and you must be cold.”
“Yep!”
The boss was right. It was freezing. Even though we were bundled up, the cold winter wind was no joke. It was like standing guard at night in the military—no matter how many layers you wore, it didn’t help. Our shoes had been soaked through for a while now.
“Cold, so cold!”
We trailed behind the boss, who smiled and said, “Shall we go warm up a bit?”
“Yep!”
Our bodies were stiff from the cold, and we couldn’t do much. It was time to thaw out, just like the boss said. But where were we going? I suddenly wondered about our destination. With the boss around, our options had expanded. Just having one adult guardian opened up endless possibilities.
———————————————————-
Slurp slurp.
I was sipping sikhye through a straw. Our destination turned out to be a jjimjilbang (Korean sauna). It was the perfect place to warm up. Of course, any memories of the bathhouse connected to the jjimjilbang had long been erased. If I were to describe them, I’d probably end up in jail. Even though my body was young, my mind wasn’t.
“Hana, let’s go into the sauna!”
“Mm-hmm…”
Jiyu and Yumi were also sipping sikhye in their sauna outfits. The ice cubes floating in the sikhye kept it cool, even in the hot sauna. In fact, the ice melted so slowly that it felt like the sikhye never ran out. It was like the sikhye was multiplying. Still, this sikhye was a bit disappointing. If it had been made with Starlight Rice, it would’ve tasted so much better.
If I had to name the most important ingredient in sikhye, it would definitely be rice. Honestly, you could say that almost nothing else goes into it. While we were sweating it out in the sauna, the boss came in. We were supposed to spend the day with the boss. Originally, they had planned a surprise party for me, but since I ran off to Gangwon-do, it all fell apart.
Maybe that’s why the boss seemed a bit off. I should’ve at least told them I was going to Gangwon-do. The boss said that from now on, if I wanted to go far, I should let the office know. They wouldn’t stop me, but they wanted to be informed, just in case.
“Let’s eat eggs!”
The boss brought boiled eggs. We all crowded around. No matter how fancy or delicious other foods were, nothing beat boiled eggs in a jjimjilbang sauna. Food is fascinating—it tastes different depending on where you eat it.
“Take this!”
I smashed an egg on Jiyu’s head.
“Ahh!”
Jiyu screamed and covered her head. It’s common to use a friend’s head to crack boiled eggshells. Jiyu grabbed an egg to get her revenge. I tried to run, but Yumi caught me.
“No… no!”
“Yes!”
Jiyu mercilessly smashed the egg on my head.
Thud!
“Ouch!”
I couldn’t help but scream. It’s not like the eggshell was made of steel, but my head…
I won, but the pain remained. I chased Jiyu and Yumi with fire in my eyes, of course, holding a boiled egg. But maybe because of the hot air in the sauna, I was out of breath even though I didn’t run much.
“Huff… huff…”
I plopped down on the spot. Jiyu and Yumi also sat down, looking exhausted. While we were exchanging glances, the boss spoke with a solemn expression.
“Kids, stop messing around! Let’s just eat the eggs.”
“Okay!”
We exchanged looks. It was a truce. The battle wasn’t over. We huddled around the boss and ate the eggs. Boiled eggs with sikhye were absolutely delicious. Honestly, it could rival hotel food. Of course, if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick hotel food.
“So good!”
Dipping it in salt made it even more delicious. As we chatted and ate, the eggs were gone in no time. With four of us eating, they disappeared quickly. Of course, we were already full, so there was no need to order more. But eating in the hot sauna made us sweat like crazy. I felt like going to the bathhouse. The sauna in the jjimjilbang wasn’t as hot as the one in the bathhouse, but it was still hot enough to make you sweat if you stayed still.
“Should we go to the ice room?”
The jjimjilbang wasn’t just about hot saunas. There was also a place cold enough to freeze ice. We nodded enthusiastically at the boss’s suggestion.
“Yes, let’s go, boss!”
“Me too, me too!”
We all rushed out of the sauna and found the ice room. Inside, it was cold enough to freeze ice. Of course, we couldn’t stay long. At most, maybe 5 to 10 minutes. Any longer, and we’d catch a cold.
“Brr, it’s cold!”
We sat on the chairs in the ice room. Jiyu, Yumi, and the boss were all feeling the chill. I looked around. The walls were covered in ice, forming icicles. Seeing that, I smirked. A good idea came to mind. I quietly broke off an icicle and slowly placed it on Jiyu’s back. Jiyu jumped at the sudden cold.
“Ah, it’s cold!”
“Hehehe!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Jiyu’s reaction. But if I attacked, Jiyu wasn’t going to stay still. Jiyu quickly grabbed an icicle and tried to put it on my back.
“Ouch!”
I couldn’t withstand Jiyu’s attack. Jiyu had already put the icicle on my back. It was freezing cold. I couldn’t help but jump. Jiyu and I soon got into a little battle. It was a fight over who could put ice on the other. Yumi watched us with a pitiful look, while the boss watched us with a smile, as if it was the most entertaining thing. Well, they say watching a fight is the most fun.
As we spent time messing around, the cold of the ice room started to get to us. Our bodies, heated from the sauna, were now cooling down. We left the ice room before we caught a cold. It would’ve been a disaster to catch a cold for no reason. After leaving the ice room, I sipped on some sikhye.
The sikhye, with ice floating in it, was refreshing enough to make my forehead tingle. It was worth buying. We continued exploring the various saunas in the jjimjilbang. There were all kinds of saunas, each with its own temperature.
Some saunas were just warm enough to be comfortable, while others were so hot it was hard to breathe as soon as you entered. We wandered around the saunas, warming up our stiff bodies enough to watch the sunrise. It was a fulfilling way to spend January 1st.
Now that I’m in the 4th grade of elementary school, my goal is to spend the year healthy.
