Chapter 19

“Ha-yeon… do you want to eat this one?”

“No, it’s okay.”

If you were to pick the most popular kid in the Grape Class of Sunflower Kindergarten, there was only one name that came to mind. With a sharp nose, cherry-like lips, and a beauty so obvious that you could tell she was destined to be a stunning woman in the future—she was like a winning lottery ticket.

That was Kim Ha-yeon.

Because of this, the boys who tried to woo her were countless. Even boys from other classes would loiter around just to catch a glimpse of Ha-yeon. Of course, Ha-yeon had no interest in any of them. The only person she truly cherished was her mother, Kim Ha-yul.

If it weren’t for her mother, she wouldn’t have been able to find any meaning in her existence. It was because of her mother that Ha-yeon existed at all.

Today, too, Ha-yeon sat at her desk, lost in thought about her mother. Glancing at the clock, she realized kindergarten would soon be over. She thought she understood why her mother had enrolled her in kindergarten—it was probably to help her get along with kids her age. To honor her mother’s wishes, Ha-yeon made an effort to be friendly with her classmates.

Of course, she didn’t hesitate to put any overstepping kids in their place. To Ha-yeon, marrying her mother would be a thousand times better than marrying any man.

But there was something that saddened Ha-yeon. She and her mother were blood-related. Society wouldn’t easily accept her feelings. If she were to marry her mother, wouldn’t everyone look at them with disdain?

“Ha-yeon? Want to hang out today?”

Kim Min-ji, a girl Ha-yeon was close to, asked her. Ha-yeon shook her head. While she usually enjoyed playing, today it was far more important to go home and take care of her mother, who had caught a cold.

“No. My mom has a cold, so I need to take care of her.”

“Oh… okay. Got it.”

Min-ji, knowing Ha-yeon’s straightforward personality, didn’t push further. As the kindergarten teacher’s class ended, Ha-yeon packed her bag. Since her mother wasn’t working at the café today, she could head straight home. It was all very routine.

With her bag slung over her shoulder, Ha-yeon stepped out of the kindergarten. There, she immediately spotted her mother waiting outside. Ha-yeon dashed toward her.

“Mommyyyyy!”

“Ha-yeon!”

The other kids couldn’t help but be shocked. They had never seen Ha-yeon act so childlike before. The boys who admired her maturity were especially surprised by this unexpected charm.

In front of her mother, Ha-yeon transformed into a little girl. It was a side of her no one had seen before. If someone had told the boys that morning that Ha-yeon would be acting cute and clingy in front of her mother, they wouldn’t have believed it.

For the kindergarten kids, it was the day they discovered a new side of Ha-yeon.

—

I realized I had arrived at the kindergarten a bit early. I wanted to go inside and hug Ha-yeon, but I decided to leave that to my imagination. After some time, the kids started coming out—class was over. Looking around, I saw other parents who had come to pick up their kids.

I waited patiently for Ha-yeon to appear. From a distance, I immediately recognized her.

I waved to catch her attention. Ha-yeon saw me, her eyes widening, and she ran toward me.

“Mommyyyyy!”

“Ha-yeon!”

I gently caught her as she jumped into my arms. Ha-yeon loved diving into my embrace like this. Holding her, I asked, “Did you have a good class?”

“Yeah! I didn’t forget what you said about paying attention!”

“Really? Good girl~”

I patted her head and praised her. Ha-yeon, clearly pleased, snuggled deeper into my arms. She loved burying her head in my chest. Maybe it was because it was soft. I looked at her and said, “Ha-yeon, want to eat a hamburger?”

“Yeah! I want Hambugi!”

“Hambugi?”

“Hehe! The kids in my class call hamburgers Hambugi!”

“Really? That’s pretty cute…”

Hambugi… Just a slight twist on the word “hamburger,” but it sounded so adorable and charming. Should I start calling hamburgers Hambugi too? If Ha-yeon thought that way…

“Then let’s go eat Hambugi!”

“Hambugi Hambugi!”

Ha-yeon showed no intention of getting out of my arms. I endured the slight strain in my arms and continued to hold her. As Ha-yeon grew, carrying her became harder. When she was a baby, I could hold her for hours without feeling tired, but now that she was in kindergarten, her weight had increased significantly.

It was almost impossible to hold her for long periods like before. If I were a man, maybe I could, but a woman’s body is more delicate. And since I didn’t exercise much, holding Ha-yeon for too long was nearly impossible.

So, I carefully set her down. Ha-yeon pouted and tried to cling to me again, but I said, “Ha-yeon, you can walk, right? Mommy’s arms are sore!”

“Hmph!”

Ha-yeon puffed out her cheeks and looked at me. Seeing her like that made me feel guilty for not holding her longer. Should I carry her all the way to the hamburger place? But then Ha-yeon smiled and said, “Then I’ll hold your hand!”

“Okay!”

Thankfully, holding my hand was enough to replace being carried.

—

“Hambugi bugi~”

I danced awkwardly as Ha-yeon and I entered the hamburger place. Luckily, Ha-yeon thought my dance was cool. I wanted to be a confident mom in front of her. Standing at the kiosk, I felt a bit lost.

These days, you don’t order from the staff—you use the kiosk inside the store.

“Ugh…”

But this was my weakness. I stared at the kiosk with a lost expression. The burgers on the screen caught my eye. Of course, I knew how to use the kiosk, but the variety of burgers made me hesitate. It wasn’t that I couldn’t operate it—I was just thinking carefully.

“Mommy! Hold me!”

“Huh?”

“I’ll operate the kiosk!”

“Should I?”

I picked Ha-yeon up. Now her eye level matched the kiosk. Normally, she was too short to reach the upper part of the screen, even on tiptoe.

“This one and this one… and the burger set Mommy likes!”

“Wow!!!”

I was impressed by Ha-yeon’s quick decision-making. She was so smart. Maybe even smarter than me. Well, she should be smarter than me—my IQ is in the bottom 30%.

Then something else caught my eye.

“A toy…?”

There was a menu where you could get a toy with your hamburger. It was oddly appealing. I asked Ha-yeon, “Ha-yeon, don’t you want a toy?”

“A toy?”

Ha-yeon looked up at me and grinned. “Yeah! I want a toy.”

“Really? Then how about we order this burger set?”

“Okay!”

Thankfully, I managed to convince her. I silently cheered. We had struck a great deal—getting a toy with the burger set. With Ha-yeon’s help, we finalized the order on the kiosk.

I inserted my card and saw the payment confirmation message. Then the receipt printed out.

“Number 100.”

“Yep.”

Our order number was 100.

Ha-yeon and I lingered near the counter, waiting for our burgers. We planned to grab them and sit down to eat.

“Hambugi Hambugi~”

Ha-yeon circled around me, happily singing her Hambugi song. Hambugi… no matter how many times I heard it, it was oddly catchy. At this rate, I might start calling hamburgers Hambugi too.