“Oooooh…”
I couldn’t help but marvel at the contents of the file the teacher had given us. I never imagined that so much could be folded from just a single sheet of paper.
“Everyone, try folding one of the animals or objects from the file the teacher gave us!”
We were given plenty of paper, so even if we failed, it wasn’t a big deal. There was no pressure, so we could attempt even the difficult folds. I scrolled through the options, but nothing had caught my eye yet. Then, my eyes lit up as I found exactly what I wanted.
[Dinosaur]
A dinosaur! The mere idea of being able to create a dinosaur through origami was incredibly exciting. The clay dinosaur I made last time was still in my room. The thought of adding another piece to my collection made my heart swell. Yumi and Jiyu, sitting next to me, seemed to have already chosen their animals.
“I’ll make a rabbit!”
“I’ll make a frog!”
Both of them had picked something simple and easy. But as a man, I knew that no matter the challenge, I had to take the difficult path. Without hesitation, I opened the dinosaur file. However, upon seeing the length of the instructions, I couldn’t help but hesitate. The process seemed surprisingly complicated.
I rolled my eyes and glanced at Yumi and Jiyu’s tablets. Whether it was because of my childlike eyes or some other reason, my vision was exceptionally sharp. I could see clearly even from a distance, though of course, I couldn’t see things as far away as an eagle could.
Both of their instruction scrolls were short. That meant the dinosaur I had chosen was complex. If it were easy, the instructions wouldn’t be so lengthy. I hesitantly reached out toward the tablet.
“Hana, are you going to make a dinosaur? You really love dinosaurs, don’t you?”
At Yumi’s words, my hand froze mid-reach. For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t give up here. With superhuman patience, I suppressed the urge to choose something else and decided to prepare to fold the dinosaur.
————————————–
“Ugh…”
Folding the dinosaur wasn’t as easy as I thought. I followed the instructions exactly, but I couldn’t understand why the result was so different. How did it turn out like that? To cool my head, I watched Yumi and Jiyu working on theirs.
They had already finished and were coloring theirs with colored pencils.
No way!
Even though I might be way better at studying, losing to kids at origami… I couldn’t believe it. My world went dark. Then, Yumi looked at the paper I was struggling with and came over.
“Hana, are you having trouble? Do you want some help?”
I tried to shake my head and refuse, but I really wanted to make a majestic dinosaur. Honestly, I had taught Yumi a lot about studying, so maybe it was okay to get some help from her this time. That thought cleared my mind. After all, give and take is the essence of human relationships, right?
I nodded.
“Okay, Hana, watch this.”
Yumi brought a chair next to me and kindly taught me. I couldn’t help but marvel at the dinosaur taking shape under Yumi’s hands. When I was fumbling with it, it didn’t look anything like that, but in Yumi’s hands, it was coming to life.
Yumi completed the imperfect dinosaur I had struggled with for 30 minutes in just 3 minutes. She didn’t fully finish it, though. It seemed like Yumi wanted to teach me how to fish rather than just giving me a fish.
“Hana, watch carefully. From here, you do it like this…”
“Wow…”
I listened to Yumi’s explanation in awe. Yumi seemed perfect for activities that required manual dexterity. She might not be as good at studying as me, but she was way better at this kind of stuff. Of course, by the time she reached adulthood, she’d probably surpass me in studying too. After all, I had the cheat code of an adult’s mindset.
If we started on the same level, Yumi’s potential was much higher than mine. Right now, it seemed like I was way ahead, but given time, Yumi would definitely catch up.
“Wow! Following Yumi’s instructions, it’s turning out really well!”
Following Yumi’s guidance, the dinosaur was coming together perfectly.
———————————————-
Kim Shin-tae was a 7th-grade civil servant living in the countryside. Ever since he was young, he had heard his mother lament that there were no satisfying jobs in the countryside.
So, he started preparing for the civil service exam from a young age.
As a result, right after graduating from university, he took the civil service exam and became a 9th-grade civil servant. Now, with years of experience, he has climbed up to the 7th grade.
As Kim Shin-tae approached the age where marriage was expected, he couldn’t resist the pressure from those around him and went on a blind date. Being in the civil service, which is tightly knit, it felt like he was getting a lot of blind date offers.
If his job had been just ordinary, he might not have received so many blind date proposals. But in this rural area, having a civil servant job put him in the top tier of eligible bachelors. Unless you worked for a large corporation or a public enterprise, his job was a guaranteed lifetime gig, which was pretty much a cheat code.
So, today, after another blind date with a suitable woman, Kim Shin-tae arrived home and saw a package at his doorstep, his face lighting up.
“Oh! It’s from Jae-chang! Finally, it’s here!”
Despite being in his 30s, Kim Shin-tae preferred makgeolli (Korean rice wine) over other alcoholic drinks. The sweet and slightly tangy flavor had him hooked, and he couldn’t even look at other liquors. After a tiring day at work, drinking makgeolli with some snacks on a Friday evening was his way of unwinding.
The next day was a Saturday, his day off, so he didn’t have to worry about a hangover. Carefully carrying the box, Kim Shin-tae placed the makgeolli on the table.
“Shin-tae, what’s that?”
His mother, who was watching TV, asked him. He wasn’t living alone but was staying with his parents.
“Oh, that’s the new makgeolli Jae-chang made. He said it’s a new product and sent it to us to try first.”
“Really?”
Hearing this, his mother went into her room. She wasn’t really into drinking anyway.
“This is 40,000 won per bottle?”
There were two bottles, so the total price of the makgeolli in the box was 80,000 won. He couldn’t imagine who would pay that much for makgeolli. Luckily, he got a friend discount and paid half price, 40,000 won. If he had to pay the full 80,000 won, he might have considered cutting ties with his friend as a joke.
At the mart, makgeolli costs less than 2,000 won. Jae-chang had asked him to help promote it, so he planned to drink one bottle himself and take the other to a company dinner. The civil service organization is tightly connected, and rumors spread quickly.
If office romance got exposed, not only would the civil servant’s own organization know, but other places would hear about it too. It made him realize how big yet small the civil service world was.
“Will it taste good, though?”
The most important thing was the taste. Jae-chang had highly recommended it, but he wondered if it would live up to the 40,000 won price tag. If it didn’t taste good, he was ready to scrap the idea of taking it to the company dinner. Offering bad makgeolli to his superiors could lead to who knows what.
After roughly placing the makgeolli on the table, he went to wash up. The snack was jerky. Wearing just a tank top and pajama pants, Kim Shin-tae placed a cup on the table.
He picked up the makgeolli and opened the lid.
“Oh?”
As soon as he opened the lid, the strong aroma of the makgeolli made him smile oddly. It had a rich scent unlike any other makgeolli he had tried. He quickly poured the makgeolli into a cup.
A deep gray-colored makgeolli greeted him.
“Nice color, nice smell…”
Now, all that was left was the taste. Kim Shin-tae picked up the cup and started drinking. He intended to take just one sip and put the cup down, but the taste was so good that he ended up downing it in one go.
Kim Shin-tae’s eyes widened as he stared at the makgeolli.
“This is really good!”
Until now, the makgeolli sold at the mart didn’t even feel like real makgeolli. They tasted like alcohol mixed with water. After tasting this, Kim Shin-tae felt like he could never go back to those.
Kim Jae-chang’s friends experienced the same thing as Kim Shin-tae. Their reactions were identical. This makgeolli truly had a heavenly taste.
