Chapter 83

“Okay, everyone, have a good weekend—”

“Yes—!”

The weekday sandwiched between the festival holiday and the weekend comes to an end, and just like that, the weekend begins.

I feel a little guilty that only those who didn’t travel came to take the class, but anyway, classes are over, and neither Shiyeon nor I go to any academy.

As usual, Shiyeon stands quietly by the side entrance.

“Shiyeon, let’s go.”

Not in charge of cleaning, just as I feel it might be a pleasant walk home…

“….”

“Shiyeon?”

I tilt my head at her lack of a response and take a few steps forward to see her face.

Her expression is crumpled, as if something is bothering her, her body is slightly shaking, and I can hear her sniffle.

Surprised, I quickly pull out the sleeve hidden inside my padding and gently wipe the tears flowing down Shiyeon’s face with my thumb.

After the shock, a question immediately crosses my mind.

What brat made Shiyeon tear up?

I calm my own racing heart and gently ask Shiyeon, who is clearly the most upset.

“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”

“…Ugh.”

Shiyeon, still sniffling, looks around cautiously.

It seems like she’s at that age where she’s becoming aware of her embarrassment.

Standing at the side entrance where kids frequently pass by, it’s awkward for her to talk.

After wiping her tears completely, I tuck the damp sleeve back inside my padding and hold her hand.

“Let’s talk at home.”

On the way home, even while I hold her hand, I can see her other hand, holding her indoor shoes bag, wiping her eyes with a sniffle.

Each time I hear Shiyeon’s sniffles from behind, it feels like someone is lighting a fire inside me.

“Should I buy you tteokbokki?”

Even with my offer of her favorite tteokbokki, Shiyeon shakes her head.

I realize that whatever upset her must have deeply hurt her, so I didn’t say another word until we got home.

Finally, we sit opposite each other and begin the talk.

“Did something upset you at school?”

Nodding, she rubs her eyes and moves her head up and down.

As I wipe away the tears that threaten to spill again with her damp sleeve, I hold my breath, anxious about what she will say.

The word that comes from Shiyeon’s trembling lips is something I’ve never heard before.

“Kids called me a ‘dog beggar’….”

‘Dog beggar?’

“What does ‘dog beggar’ mean?”

“…It means a kid who attends school all the time.”

As I listen to her story, I realize that there’s no worse derogatory term in the world than this.

It’s a stupid term used to demean kids who attend school regularly by comparing them to beggars.

I want to grab the hair of the brat who said that and knee them in the face. But with the pandemic settling down and the travel culture rapidly becoming normalized.

As a magical girl, it’s hard to go far, but still, I couldn’t stand hearing something like that.

How does the world operate when it compares holiday money and travel?

“Hey, I’m home—”

‘Right on time.’

With a click, I turned my head back as Senior Jiun opened the door and walked in.

After hearing the lamentable news of this generation, Jiun was shocked and shared her bewilderment at how kids are these days.

We sat and pulled up our smartphones to search for the term ‘dog beggar,’ and it seems that indeed there are stories about dual-income parents whose kids come home crying.

It seems the kids only care about traveling abroad, and they treat local trips as embarrassing.

‘So picky.’

“Jiun, don’t politicians go on overseas training?”

“…Huh?”

Jiun was taken aback by my sudden question.

We don’t really know much about overseas travel.

Politicians would surely be the experts in overseas trips.

There’s definitely a language barrier, and if you’re going, it’s better to go with those who have experience.

It reduces the chance of accidents.

After establishing the equation of political overseas training = overseas travel, I picked up my smartphone and started searching for the rules regarding applications for outdoor experiential learning on the elementary school website.

“There should be something, but why…?”

Jiun asked with curiosity blooming.

I nonchalantly stated my purpose and asked if there was a spot for us.

“Since I know they’ll be going out to have fun anyway, can we tag along?”

“Will that work…? Wait a moment.”

Jiun stood up and walked towards the entrance to make a phone call.

Maybe it’s due to her experience in social life, she takes personal calls a little farther away.

Leaving Jiun behind for a moment as she stood up, I continued looking through the school website.

I carefully read through the relevant regulations and checked the maximum duration allowed for each trip.

‘Outdoor experiential learning application…up to 10 days for one time.’

According to the application regulations, a maximum of 10 days per request.

Seeing the little ones who skip a day or two as if to show them the maximum schedule, I couldn’t stand the thought of Shiyeon being called a beggar.

“Mary, how long do you plan to stay?”

“Apparently, it can be for up to 10 days.”

“Starting next Thursday, there’s a trip to the United States planned for 7 nights and 9 days, is that okay?”

“Sounds good.”

“Then I’ll take you on Thursday morning, yes, yes….”

When I answered positively to the singular choice presented, Jiun continued her call.

What started with Shiyeon’s tears quickly transformed into a determined schedule for overseas travel.

The journey was set for the country of double-barrel shotguns and drug dealers, the United States.

After that day, even into the weekend, Shiyeon looked as if she had never cried, her smile reaching her ears.

Her first-ever overseas trip, it was exciting for both of us.

Still, since it’s a country where firearms are legal, I can’t help but worry about any accidents.

It’s said that moderate monsters are shot down by citizens; what’s left to say?

“….”

On Saturday, as I munched on leftover holiday food, I waited anxiously for Thursday.

Noticing a strange discomfort about Shiyeon, I finished my meal and called her over.

“Shiyeon, come here for a second.”

“Huh?”

I approached Shiyeon and playfully poked her cheeks and belly, feeling the softness of her chub.

Indeed, it seems she’s gained a bit more weight than before.

“Hehe! That tickles!”

After poking about three times, Shiyeon couldn’t hold back her laughter and playfully backed away.

It must have been very ticklish for her.

I slowly crawled back toward her and squeezed her belly once more.

“You’ve gained a bit, haven’t you?”

“Eep!”

Shiyeon inhaled sharply, trying to hide her puffy belly.

After a moment, as she exhaled a sigh, her belly popped back out.

Thinking back, it seems that lately, Shiyeon has only been fiddling with the computer and smartphone, and I haven’t seen her running outside much.

“Let’s take a lap around the park.”

No matter how young she is, health is paramount.

Now a fourth grader, she’s begun to express likes and dislikes distinctively from the obedient first grader she once was.

With a clear displeasure on her face, she hesitantly murmured.

“I don’t want to go out…”

“Aren’t you going to the U.S.?!”

“Ugh…”

In these situations, the effective method is to threaten with the previously planned reward.

Since it’s something that’s impossible to cancel anyway, while it might sound a bit odd to call it a threat, it tends to work.

With her recently lacking physical activity.

After indulging during the holiday and eating high-calorie foods, she had gained weight unbelievably.

So, I shoved a jump rope into my pocket and dragged Shiyeon to the park.

“One, two, one, two, one, two.”

Counting repeatedly, I matched my steps with Shiyeon as we ran.

The park was filled with people walking their dogs, and elderly citizens sitting on benches; it was pretty quiet otherwise, just grass as far as the eye could see.

Once our running session was over, it was time to jump rope.

Even if the rope kept getting tangled, I managed to jump about ten times in repetitive exercise.

In the spirit of doing this together, Shiyeon grabbed the rope too and tried to jump as well…

“Ugh.”

When she tried to turn the rope quickly twice, it snapped against her ankle.

Ouch.

While I could manage to jump once, I couldn’t handle skipping like that at all.

As we continued running and jumping rope at the park until we got suitably tired, even in the middle of winter, I felt the sweat beginning to bead.

“I’m tired, I’m hungry…”

“Alright, let’s head back now.”

At this point, Shiyeon pleaded.

Nodding, I gathered the two padded jackets I’d kept nearby and, drenched in sweat from our winter session, we headed home.

As soon as I opened the door, the aroma of food filled the air.

Wondering what Jiun had prepared while we were exercising…

“Back? I’ve made dinner!”

White rice served neatly with cabbage kimchi, and fried chicken nuggets turned golden brown.

With sweet chili sauce that is irresistible, alongside a mix of ketchup and mustard.

All the effort we put into exercising turned into mere dust.