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"You remember what I taught you, right?" Seungmin crouches down to have the same height as his daughter before fixing her dress and bag. Yongbok nods enthusiastically.
"Yes! Listen to the teachers, ask permission before doing something, and have fun" Yongbok repeats the advice that she has been memorized since yesterday. It creates the biggest grin on Seungmin's face, that he has to praise her for being a good girl and kisses her cheek. They share a hug as if the little girl is leaving the country for 2 years (she is not) before Seungmin gets up to give a space to his wife to talk to their girl.
"How about my advice?" In the meantime, Iyen asks the question to her niece. If you're wondering why she is here, well, she can't miss this historical moment. She would rather skip a few days worth of classes than missing the whole current experience.
"Focus in the class and ask a question if I don't understand!" Yongbok answers with confidence, receiving a thumbs up and a wink from her aunt that makes her giggle. By the time, her mother has already standing in front of her and instead of crouching down like Seungmin, she just bent her knees.
"And how about mine?"
"Make a lot of friends, don't make an enemy." Yongbok replies, winking at the end to make her mother chuckle. Minho nods as she fixes Yongbok's pigtails and hairclips.
"Exactly. Last time Mama made an enemy, Mama ended up marrying him, so you're still too early to make an enemy, okay?" Minho explains solemnly. Iyen instantly laughs at the back while Seungmin just shakes his head, fondly. The little girl just giggles and nods eagerly as an answer, then she hugs her mother as well.
Finally, Yongbok walks into the school, holding hands with a teacher.
Her parents and aunt watch until she disappears from their sight, she doesn't even notice that her father shed a tear, hugging his wife who laughs out loud at his misery. When she turns around, she doesn't see them anymore. Genuinely, she feels nervous, but she really enjoys making friends so the excitement overpowers her slightly more than the scare.
The class will start in 15 minutes, so while waiting for it, the kids are everywhere, playing in the playground or reading in the class. The teacher lets Yongbok go once they arrive at the kids area, allowing her to explore the place herself. Once the teacher leaves, a few kids approach her right away.
"Woah! New student!"
"She's so cute!! Look at those stars on her face, it looks like a galaxy! Like an angel!"
"You're adorable! What's your name?"
"Yeah, how old are you?"
Yongbok startles when they ask so many questions, one of them even pinches her cheeks out of cuteness aggression. She has to blink a few times to get herself together.
"Uhm...I'm Yongbok. I'm..."
Wait, how old am I, again?
She raises her hand, starting to count from one, just to remember her age before she proudly answers "4 years old!"
The other kids giggle cheerfully.
"Your name is really unique, Yongbok-ah! Hi, my name is Hwang Jinhyun" a little girl introduces herself. She is taller than Yongbok, with pigtails as well but her hair is way longer.
"My name is Song Jihan" another little girl, with curly bob hair waves her hand.
"And my name is Jang Seobin!" A boy offers a high-five, it makes Yongbok excited right away and replies to his hand with enthusiasm. They don't even manage to talk further when suddenly they hear a loud, exciting shout.
"Bokkie-yah!!"
Yongbok turns around and sees Chan running to her. She gasps excitedly as if both of them didn't meet each other two days ago at their grandparents' house (they did). She instantly drops her bag to the ground and runs to him, jumping into his hug where he snuggles her right away, making her giggle. More kids gather around them out of curiosity.
"Eoh? Yongbok-ah, you know Chan sunbae?" Jihan asks in confusion.
"Chan-ah, who is that?" A girl, the same age as the older cousin walks forward. She must be Chan's friend, Yongbok assumes.
"Channie's baby sister! Bokkie is Channie's cousin but Channie always call Bokkie baby sister" Chan enthusiastically introduces Yongbok to his friends, which by that time, another boy and a girl approach them.
"Hi, Channie's baby sister. I'm Lee Lina. These two are step-twins Yang Minjung and Kim Inseong. We are Channie's best friends" the girl introduces herself and the twins that come later and she sounds so mature like a big sister. Yongbok looks at her with sparkly eyes when she fixes her pigtails after aggressively hugging with Chan just now.
"Kids! Class is about to start, you can come in now!" The preschool teacher speaks up from the class's entrance and shortly after, they hear a ring from the other side of the building, which is the area for the elementary school. The senior kids gasp in panic.
"The bell is ringing! Chan, hurry up or we'll be late to the class!" The twin boy, Inseong rushes and he runs away first, followed by his twin sister and Lina. The preschool babies Jihan, Seobin and Jinhyun also leave to queue in front of their homeroom teacher. Yongbok is about to follow them, but she lets Chan fix her bag and collar first.
"Bokkie, Channie's class is at that building. If Bokkie needs something, just let Channie know, okay? Always find Channie, yeah? Channie will never leave Bokkie behind" the little boy says softly, and it reassures the little girl so much, almost all the anxiety and nervousness disappear thanks to those words.
But unlike her true feelings, she is a bit embarrassed to admit. Like mother, like daughter. So, instead of responding normally, Yongbok replies with.
"I can handle it myself. You go study well"
Then she leaves, running towards the queue. Although it sounds a bit harsh, Chan is still watching her with crescent eye smiles, adore her every second he gets until he finally leaves the area. Of course, he turns around to look at her once or twice before actually leaving.
Yongbok is holding her bag straps tightly, listening to the teacher attentively but then Jinhyun, who is standing beside her in the two line queue, suddenly holds her hand. The little girl looks at her new friend, and the latter smiles sweetly. She has a mole under her right eye, so pretty, Yongbok monologues in her head.
"We are going to be best best best friends, okay?" Jinhyun decides. It makes Yongbok so happy, because on the first day at school, she already has a best friend. She nods eagerly, a huge grin appearing on her face.
She cannot wait to tell her parents all about these when she gets home later.
- The End -
Bonus :
"Channie's friends and Bokkie's friends love Bokkie a lot. They said Bokkie looked like an angel with a galaxy on her face because of her freckles" Chan proudly tells what happened. It is after school, and the two mothers (plus Iyen) decide to go to a cafe after picking up their kids from school. Hyunjin responds to her youngest son encouragingly, asking a few more questions before letting him enjoy his warm peach cobbler.
"Did Yongbok tell you anything about what happened at school? She must be so excited because it's her first day" Hyunjin asks Minho while the latter sips her peppermint tea. Yongbok's mother shakes her head calmly as she puts down her cup.
"I didn't get to hear it" Minho answers. Only when Hyunjin looks surprised does she continue her explanation.
"I just heard 'it was so fun' from her and then..." She stops right there, then simultaneously, three of them at the table look in one same direction as the mother adds
"...she's gone"
Hyunjin chuckles fondly and Chan just smiles at the view, where Yongbok is sleeping soundly in her aunt's arms, and Iyen just walks around nearby their table while rocking her body softly to make the little girl as comfortable as possible.
Maybe she can tell everything when her father comes home from work that night. That's only if she remembers what happened.
The End <3