A child who looks like me - Ch173 - DarkStar Translations

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Feeling proud after wrapping up the day, the couple returned home.

Even though they had been busy with work and hadn’t paid much attention, their child was growing up fast. As they spent time laughing and marveling at the new expressions the child casually used, bedtime had arrived before they knew it.

After changing into her pajamas, Ye-na said, “Dad, I’m going to countdown at twelve o’clock.”

“Do you know what a countdown is?”

“Yep! It’s when you say 10, 9, 8, 7, and so on.”

“That happens late at night. But Ye-na has to go to bed at nine o’clock.”

“I’m not going to sleep today.”

After Christmas Eve, the energetic child seemed to have some sort of fantasy about staying up all night.

“Well, I wonder if Mom will allow it?”

“Dad, you tell Mom.”

“Hey, honey. Our daughter says she’s going to sleep at twelve o’clock?”

Ji-heon conveyed Ye-na’s position to Jeong-o. As expected, Jeong-o reacted unfavorably.

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to countdown! When the New Year chimes, I’ll bow to Mom and Dad!”

Ye-na was going to bow.

Ji-heon felt a twinge of excitement at the thought of receiving a bow from his daughter. Recognizing Ji-heon’s bright expression, Jeong-o suggested an alternative for Ye-na.

“It might be tough to stay awake until then. How about you take a nap first? I’ll wake you up.”

“Okay! Wake me up one minute before twelve. No, five minutes before!”

“But Ye-na doesn’t wake up easily when she’s asleep. Can I tickle her to wake her up?”

“No, no tickling.”

“Then how will you wake me up?”

“Yell in my ear.”

“What if I still don’t wake up when you yell in my ear? Can I pinch you?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t cry if it hurts.”

“Okay.”

Having reached a pleasant compromise with her mother, Ye-na went to bed happily.

So, five minutes before midnight, the crucial role of waking Ye-na fell to her dad.

“Princess Ye-na, it’s time to wake up. It’s five minutes until midnight.”

Ji-heon clearly remembered that Ye-na had said to yell in her ear.

How would she wake up if he whispered sweetly?

As expected, Ye-na did not move, and Ji-heon transitioned to the second step.

With his fingers pinched, Ji-heon approached Ye-na’s soft skin.

“Ye-na. Jeong Ye-na.”

From Jeong-o’s perspective, all she could do was sigh.

“Is that how you pinch? How do you expect her to wake up like that?”

Jeong-o pushed Ji-heon aside and sat in front of Ye-na.

“Wake up, Jeong Ye-na! We have to see the countdown!”

“Ugh….”

With a voice like a drill sergeant, Jeong-o gave Ye-na a little smack on the bottom, and only then did Ye-na respond. However, she still couldn’t get up.

She seemed unable to shake off her sleep, raising just her bottom towards the ceiling, looking as if she were bowing. It was utterly adorable, enough to melt anyone’s heart.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

At the same time,

Seung-kyu’s household was no different.

“Park Do-bin, it’s countdown time!”

“Ughhh.”

Seung-kyu raised his voice and shook Do-bin, but Do-bin could only moan and was slow to get up.

“It’s one minute until the New Year! Get up! You said you’d wake up!”

“We decided to watch this with Mom and Dad!”

“Park Do-bin, wake up!”

“Nooo. Don’t call me.”

Seung-kyu and Jin-seo teamed up to wake Do-bin, but he only grumbled in his sleep. Unable to take it any longer, Jin-seo resorted to her secret weapon.

“Park Do-bin, Ye-na is here. Wake up.”

“Hmm?”

Only then did Do-bin finally open his eyelids.

Meanwhile, time marched on.

Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!

Finally, the New Year had arrived.

“Yay! It’s the New Year! Happy New Year to our son! Congratulations on entering elementary school!”

Jin-seo joyfully hugged Do-bin and delivered her New Year’s greetings, but the boy still seemed dazed.

“Where’s Ye-na?”

“…She’s sleeping.”

It felt like starting the New Year with a defeat.

On the other hand, worries flooded in.

He was of age, and it was time to send him to school, but would he really be able to adjust to school life…?

With a heavy heart, Jin-seo welcomed the New Year.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

The world outside was cold, but inside the house was warm, and at the end of a short winter, the children graduated from kindergarten.

Ye-na, having to leave her friends after graduating from kindergarten and attending an elementary school far away, cried tears of sorrow even after the ceremony. Do-bin comforted her.

“Ye-na, don’t cry.”

“But you can keep meeting your friends at elementary school.”

“No, I don’t have friends. I’m not close with them.”

“……”

“I’m closest to you.”

“Still, we might be in different classes.”

The school that Ye-na and Do-bin would be entering had about 100 students enrolled each year, resulting in about four new classes. This meant that the chances of Ye-na and Do-bin being in the same class were 25%.

From that moment on, Do-bin also began to feel anxious.

“Mom, has the announcement come out yet?”

Do-bin constantly nagged Jin-seo about it.

The class assignments for first graders were announced in the last week of February on the school’s website. Jin-seo, equally curious about the class assignments, visited the school’s website every time her son asked.

By this time, Jin-seo was nine months pregnant and her body felt heavy. Even when she was pregnant with her second child, her belly had grown quickly, but with the third, it seemed to swell even faster, making it look like her due date had already passed.

This made moving around uncomfortable. Sitting at the computer for even a simple task became a bit of a challenge each time Do-bin pressed her.

“Mom, has the announcement come out yet?”

“Park Do-bin, I checked just 30 minutes ago.”

“It could have come out in that time.”

Sigh.

Although she sighed, he wasn’t wrong. With love for her son, Jin-seo sat back down at the computer.

“Oh, the announcement is out!”

Indeed, within those 30 minutes, a notice had been posted on the school’s website. Jin-seo became the third parent to check the class assignment notice. After downloading and opening the attached document, she found several pages listing the names of the children.

“What is this?”

Do-bin wrinkled his nose as he looked at the document. The children’s names were partially redacted for privacy, and Do-bin’s name appeared as Park ○-bin.

“Do-bin is in Class 1.”

Jin-seo kindly pointed out her son’s name.

“Wow! I’m in Class 1? Does that mean I’m Park Do-bin?”

“Yeah. And….”

After checking her son’s name, Jin-seo quickly moved her gaze. She could also see Ye-na’s name nearby.

“Our Do-bin is lucky.”

“Why?”

“Because both you and Ye-na are in Class 1.”

“Where? Where does it say that?”

As Do-bin leaned closer to the monitor, Jin-seo pointed out Ye-na’s name for him.

– Jeong ○-na, Guardian Jeong ○-heon

Ye-na’s and Ji-heon’s names were written side by side with the middle letters redacted. Jin-seo thought of Ji-heon for a moment. Ye-na’s dad must feel so touched.

“Is this Ye-na?”

“Yeah. The middle letter is redacted. Her dad’s name is right next to it, so it’s definitely true that Ye-na is in Class 1.”

“Ye-na is in Class 1, and I’m in Class 1?”

“Right.”

“Wow! I’m number one!”

Do-bin raised his arms high and shouted excitedly as he jumped around.

No, no, son. It’s not number one; it’s Class 1……

Still, it was a relief that he was such a positive child, but the thought of sending such an oblivious young one off to elementary school made Jin-seo feel increasingly anxious.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

As afternoon approached, it was time for them to go to the academy.

Since last year, Ye-na had started attending an art academy, and she had become much better at abstract painting. Even during portrait painting sessions, it seemed that Ye-na was the only one painting abstract art, but Jeong-o decided to take a long view of things.

Ji-heon, despite not being able to draw well, had once received an award after great effort, and Jin-seo recalled this story from her mother-in-law, Yeong-mi.

“Ye-na, hurry up! We’re meeting Do-bin.”

“Okay. But Mom, I got a text from Unnie Sae-bom.”

Ye-na stood in one place, looking at her phone.

“Oh really? What does it say?”

“Sae-bom Unnie also moved to our apartment.”

“Really?”

Ye-na handed her the phone. On the screen was the name of Sae-bom, a second grader she had met at last year’s Go tournament.

– Hi Ye-na! You said you live in the ○○ Apartment, right? I moved here today!

After reading the text, Jeong-o looked out the window. It was February, the season for moving, and she could see several moving trucks. Since Sae-bom mentioned that she moved today, one of those trucks must belong to her family.

“I should go see her later!”

Jeong-o felt excited all of a sudden. Whenever Ye-na talked about Sae-bom, a smile bloomed on her face. It seemed that both Sae-bom and her mom were nice people, and Jeong-o was eager to greet them since their connection was now renewed.

With an excited heart, Jeong-o left the house with Ye-na.

“Ye-na!”

Before they knew it, Do-bin had reached Ye-na’s apartment complex and ran over to her happily. They had planned to meet in front of Do-bin’s house since Jin-seo was feeling heavy, but it looked like Do-bin had come out a bit earlier.

“Park Do-bin!”

“Ye-na, we’re in the same class!”

The children immediately grabbed each other’s hands and began a lively game of “Ganggangsullae.” Ye-na was thrilled to be in the same class as Do-bin.

While watching the children’s boisterous reunion, Jeong-o greeted Jin-seo.

“Sister, I’m sorry for coming out late.”

“It’s okay. Do-bin was so excited after the class assignments were announced… he was singing about wanting to see Ye-na quickly, so we came out early. But there are a lot of moving trucks here?”

“Yeah, there seem to be a lot of moves today.”

As Jeong-o and Jin-seo chatted, Ye-na’s phone rang. It was Sae-bom.

“Hello.”

Ye-na immediately answered the call. However, the response came from outside the phone.

“Ye-na!”

Sae-bom ran over from a short distance, calling out Ye-na’s name. Ye-na also shouted when she saw her.

“Oh? It’s Unnie Sae-bom! Unnie!”

Do-bin’s face, which had been blooming like cherry blossoms in spring, suddenly froze.

“I recognized you from over there!”

Sae-bom approached, and next to her was a boy around the same age as her.

“Hello, Sae-bom. This is Ye-na’s mom.”

“Hi, I’m Kang Sae-bom, and this is my younger brother, Kang Sae-byeol.”

“Oh? Kang Sae-byeol!”

Ye-na quickly recognized Sae-byeol. He was also a friend she had met at the Go tournament. In August of last year, Sae-byeol had been Ye-na’s first opponent in her very first Go competition.

“Hi, Ye-na.”

Sae-byeol greeted her with a shy yet happy expression, glad that Ye-na recognized him.

Jeong-o asked, “Do you and Sae-byeol know each other?”

“Yeah! We met at the Go tournament.”

At Ye-na’s reply, a storm swirled in Do-bin’s eyes.

Oblivious to Do-bin’s unease, Ye-na asked Sae-byeol.

“So you’re attending ○○ Elementary School too?”

“Yeah. What class are you in?”

“I’m in Class 1. What about you?”

“Wow! I’m also in Class 1!”

Sae-byeol’s face, which had just moments ago shown a shy expression, blossomed brightly. It felt as if Do-bin’s blooming cherry blossoms had been stolen away.

“Kang Sae-byeol, you made a friend right after moving!”

Sae-bom said playfully, nudging her brother.

Do-bin couldn’t smile at all.

He had overlooked an important fact amid his joy of becoming an elementary student and being in the same class as Ye-na.

Becoming an elementary student meant that the world was widening.

Not only his world but also Ye-na’s.

And… it meant he had a rival.