Chapter 59

The strawberry shaved ice and mango shaved ice placed before us looked like tiny works of art. Fresh fruits were piled high on the pure white snow-like ice. Just the colors of the strawberries and mangoes made my mouth water. The strawberries looked as if they had just been harvested, and the mangoes were perfectly ripe, gleaming with a golden hue. Of course, I might have been exaggerating, but the shaved ice looked so delicious that it felt that way.

Ha-yeon opened her mouth wide and exclaimed, “Mommy! Look at this strawberry! It’s huge!”

Ha-yeon picked up a spoon and scooped up a big bite of strawberry. The large strawberry sitting on the spoon looked absolutely delightful. I chimed in, matching her excitement, “It really is big!”

Ha-yeon nodded proudly and said, “Right?”

She put the strawberry in her mouth and started chewing slowly. As the sweet and tangy juice of the strawberry spread in her mouth, a happy smile quickly appeared on her face. She looked like a child who had just tasted the most delicious food in the world. Ha-yeon was very expressive, and just by watching her facial expressions, you could tell exactly how she felt. Of course, it was different from what her kindergarten teacher had told me. The teacher said Ha-yeon was very mature and calm, but Ha-yeon was nothing like that.

She seemed smart, but her childlike innocence was still very much present. I could somewhat imagine Ha-yeon being mature. She had shown that side of herself in front of me a few times. But the idea of Ha-yeon being calm and having little emotional change was hard to picture. Even now, wasn’t she a very emotionally expressive child?

“Is it delicious, Ha-yeon?” I asked.

Ha-yeon nodded and answered loudly, “Yeah! It’s really yummy, Mommy.”

Seeing Ha-yeon so happy made me feel happy too. Ha-yeon moved her hand and scooped up another strawberry, then held it out to me.

“Mommy, try it! It’s super delicious!”

I smiled slightly, feeling pleased by Ha-yeon’s willingness to share. Some kids her age wouldn’t easily share their things, but Ha-yeon showed no such behavior.

“Really? Should I try a bite?”

I took the strawberry Ha-yeon offered and put it in my mouth. As I chewed, the sweet and tangy juice of the strawberry spread. I smiled happily, just like Ha-yeon, and said, “It’s delicious, Ha-yeon!”

“Right, Mommy?” Ha-yeon said with a confident face.

We had eaten enough strawberry shaved ice, so it was time for the mango shaved ice I had ordered. I scooped up a piece of mango and put it in my mouth. A very sweet flavor filled my mouth. Shaved ice was definitely meant to be enjoyed with such sweet flavors. Ha-yeon was looking at me with curious eyes, as if saying, “Give me the mango!” I immediately caught on to her thoughts and said with a smile, “Ha-yeon! The mango is really delicious too! Want to try it?”

“Yeah!”

Just like Ha-yeon had scooped up a strawberry and given it to me, I did the same for her. Ha-yeon put the mango in her mouth and started chewing. Seeing her smile happily, it seemed she really liked the mango too.

“Is it yummy? Is it yummy?”

“Yeah! The mango is delicious too!”

And so, we shared the strawberry and mango shaved ice. When you go to a restaurant, the fun is in ordering various dishes and sharing them. If you only order one dish, even if there’s a lot, you can’t share it, which takes away some of the enjoyment. The more people there are, the better it is. If I were alone, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy two flavors at once.

The more people there are, the more variety of food you can order and enjoy!

And so, our shaved ice summer retreat ended quickly. Of course, it was very satisfying. I was grateful that we could enjoy the shaved ice shop as a summer retreat so satisfyingly. We could have eaten this at home, but it wouldn’t have felt like a summer retreat.

—

Time passed. The cool autumn air seeped in through the slightly open window in the house. The breeze in the living room felt soft and sweet, washing away the memories of sweat from the summer. The cicadas’ buzzing had now subsided, replaced by maple leaves. The sunlight, which had felt too harsh in the summer, now left a cool shade, gently wrapping around my skin. I no longer had to worry about the intense summer sun. Even now, the sunlight streaming through the window wasn’t that strong.

“Hmm…”

I sat on the sofa, sipping a light cup of coffee. Of course, it was instant coffee. I didn’t have the occasion to drink expensive coffee. Although when I worked at the café, the boss said I could drink as much as I wanted.

Lately, I’ve been feeling more emotional. I wondered if it was because of autumn or the mischief of the female hormones in my body. It could be both. They say that when the autumn wind blows, all sorts of random thoughts come to mind.

“Mommy, Mommy!”

Ha-yeon was full of energy today too. A child’s energy is limitless. It was hard for me, an adult, to keep up. But since I had rested a bit, it was time to play with Ha-yeon. This cute side of Ha-yeon would disappear as time went on.

As Ha-yeon grows up, she’ll become more mature and less likely to act cute and be calm, right? They say that when puberty hits, kids stop talking much with their parents. Of course, they’ll still talk a lot with their friends. Thinking about that day coming made me feel like crying a little. My lovely Ha-yeon becoming an adult…

I wished that day would never come, but time flows no matter what.

“Yeah, what is it, Ha-yeon?”

“I’m bored!”

“Really? Then should we go for a walk with Mommy?”

It was the weekend, so there wasn’t much to do. On weekdays, Ha-yeon goes to kindergarten, and I go to my part-time job at the café, so time passes, but on weekends, it feels like time has stopped. I didn’t have any hobbies. I could have made some, but it didn’t make sense to leave Ha-yeon and go out to play.

“Yeah, I want to go for a walk with Mommy!”

And so, our walking plan was immediately put into action.

—

We entered the walking path. The autumn scenery welcomed us. The wind brushed past our noses coolly, and the leaves were turning red and yellow. Ha-yeon smiled curiously at the grass, and I smiled while watching her.

“Mommy, look at the fallen leaves! Aren’t they pretty?”

Ha-yeon was picking up fallen leaves from the ground. The leaves, which were originally green, had turned red and yellow in autumn. Did they know their colors had changed? Fallen leaves are the first thing that comes to mind when autumn arrives.

“That’s right, they’re as pretty as you, Ha-yeon.”

“Hehe!”

Ha-yeon twisted her body shyly at my compliment. Ha-yeon was truly pretty, so my compliment wasn’t empty. She would only grow more beautiful as she grew up. I couldn’t compare.

“Mommy, there are acorns here!”

As we walked along the path, there were acorns scattered here and there. Ha-yeon picked them up, looking amazed, and told me about them. I said to her, “There might be other things besides acorns, right?”

“Hmm…”

Ha-yeon looked around, but there was nothing but acorns. She came up to me with a disappointed expression and said, “There’s only acorns…”

“Really?”

Whoosh—

At that moment, a strong wind blew, and the autumn-colored maple leaves scattered all at once through the branches.

The scene before us overwhelmed all our senses. The red, orange, and yellow maple leaves rose high into the sky and then slowly danced down to the ground like a scene from a magnificent movie.

Ha-yeon’s eyes widened. She stood still, her mouth slightly open, watching the leaves scatter. The acorn she had been holding tightly in her small hand had already fallen to the ground. Perhaps the beautiful scene had made her lose her grip.

Even I, who don’t have much of an artistic sense, thought it was a beautiful sight.

And so, Ha-yeon and I fully enjoyed the essence of autumn.