A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 173

173. [Extra Story] The Children Grow Up (1)

The couple finished their day feeling content and returned home.

Meanwhile, their child was growing up quickly, even though their busy schedules didn’t allow them to pay as much attention as they’d like. They cherished the moments they had, laughing and marveling at the new expressions the child casually uttered. Before they knew it, bedtime arrived.

Yena, already in her pajamas, announced,

“Daddy, I want to do a countdown at midnight tonight!”

“Do you even know what a countdown is?” Jiheon asked, amused.

“Yeah! It’s when you go 10, 9, 8, 7…”

“But that’s really late. You have to be asleep by nine, remember?”

“I’m not sleeping tonight!” she declared.

Just like on Christmas Eve, Yena seemed to have a romanticized idea about staying up all night.

“Hmm. Do you think Mommy will let you?” Jiheon asked, knowing Jeongo would likely be the voice of reason.

“Daddy, please ask Mommy for me!”

Jiheon relayed Yena’s request to Jeongo. “Honey, our daughter wants to stay up until midnight?”

As expected, Jeongo didn’t seem too keen on the idea. “Why?” she asked Yena.

“I want to do a countdown! When the New Year starts, I’m going to do a *sebae* [a traditional Korean New Year’s bow] to Mommy and Daddy!”

Yena wants to do a *sebae*. The thought warmed Jiheon’s heart. He had never received a *sebae* from his daughter before. Jeongo, noticing Jiheon’s excited expression, offered Yena an alternative.

“Staying awake that long will be hard. How about you sleep first? Mommy will wake you up.”

“Okay! Then wake me up one minute before twelve. No, five minutes before! Okay?”

“But you never wake up easily when you’re sleeping. Can Mommy tickle you?”

“No. No tickling!”

“Then how should I wake you up?”

“Shout in my ear!”

“What if you still don’t wake up even if I shout in your ear? Can I pinch you?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t cry if it hurts.”

“Okay!”

Yena, having reached a smooth agreement with her mother, went to bed in a good mood.

And so, at five minutes before twelve that night, the important task of waking Yena up fell to her father.

“Princess Yena, you need to wake up. It’s five minutes before twelve.” Jiheon whispered gently.

*Jeong Jiheon, Yena clearly told you to shout in her ear!* Jeongo thought, exasperated.

*How is she supposed to wake up if you whisper so sweetly?*

As expected, Yena didn’t budge, and Jiheon moved on to the second stage.

Jeong Jiheon approached Yena’s chubby cheek with a tentative pinch.

“Yena. Jeong Yena,” he said softly.

From Jeongo’s perspective, she could only sigh. “Is that what you call pinching? How is she supposed to wake up like that?”

Jeongo pushed Jiheon away and sat in front of Yena.

Tung, tung, tung, tung. Jeongo tapped Yena’s bottom repeatedly but gently.

“Jeong Yena, wake up! You have to watch the countdown!”

“Ughhhhh……”

Only then did Yena react when Jeongo started tapping her bottom with a drill sergeant’s voice. But she couldn’t get up right away.

As if she couldn’t shake off the sleep, she just stuck her butt up towards the ceiling, which almost looked like she was doing a *sebae*. It was so lovely it melted their hearts.

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

At the same time, the situation wasn’t much different at Seunggyu’s house.

“Park Dobin, it’s the countdown!” Seunggyu exclaimed.

“Hnggggg,” Dobin mumbled.

Seunggyu shook Dobin vigorously while raising his voice, but Dobin only groaned and couldn’t wake up easily.

“One minute before the New Year! Wake up! You told me to wake you up!”

“We were going to watch this with Mom and Dad!”

“Park Dobin, you need to wake up!”

“Noooo. Don’t call meeee.”

Seunggyu and Jinseo worked together to wake Dobin, but Dobin only got annoyed in his sleep. Inevitably, Jinseo had to use her ultimate move.

“Park Dobin, Yena’s here. Wake up.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Dobin lift his eyelids.

Meanwhile, time marched on.

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

Soon, the New Year dawned.

“Wow! It’s the New Year! Happy New Year, my son! Congratulations on entering elementary school!” Jinseo hugged Dobin and happily gave him New Year’s greetings, but her son was still out of it.

“Where’s Yena?” he mumbled sleepily.

“……Sleeping.”

A feeling of starting the New Year with a defeat washed over Jinseo.

On the one hand, worries flooded in. *Now that this kid is old enough, I have to send him to school, but I wonder if he’ll be able to do well in school….*

Jinseo greeted the New Year with a touch of gloom.

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

The world is cold, but the house is warm. After a short winter, the children graduated from daycare.

Yena, who would be attending an elementary school far from the daycare, ended up parting ways with the friends she had made over the years, and she burst into tears even after the graduation ceremony. Dobin comforted Yena.

“Yena. Don’t cry.”

“You can still see your friends even after you go to elementary school.”

“No. I don’t have any friends. I’m not close to them.”

“……”

“I’m closest to you.”

“But we might end up in different classes,” Dobin said, his own voice tinged with worry.

The school that Yena and Dobin were entering had about 100 children enrolling each year. About four new classes would be created, so the probability of Yena and Dobin being in the same class was 25%.

From then on, Dobin also started to get antsy.

“Mom, has the announcement been made?”

Dobin kept badgering Jinseo almost every day.

The 1st grade class assignments would be announced on the school website in the last week of February. Jinseo was just as curious about the class assignments as Dobin, so she visited the school website every time her son asked.

Jinseo, who was nine months pregnant, had become heavy. She felt like her belly had grown quickly when she was pregnant with her second child, but her third pregnancy made her belly grow even faster, and now it looked like she was well past her due date.

As such, her movements were also uncomfortable. Every time Dobin nagged her, the simple task of sitting in front of the computer felt a little burdensome.

“Mom, has the announcement been made?”

“Park Dobin, I checked 30 minutes ago,” Jinseo said, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

“It might have been announced in the meantime!”

Hooo. She sighed, but he wasn’t wrong. Jinseo sat in front of the computer again, motivated by her love for her son.

“Oh, it’s been announced!”

Indeed, an announcement had been posted on the school website bulletin board in the last 30 minutes. Jinseo became the third parent to check the class assignment announcement. She downloaded the attached document and opened it, and it contained several pages of children’s names.

“What is this?” Dobin asked, peering at the document.

The children’s names had their middle characters obscured for privacy, so Dobin’s name was listed as Park ○bin.

“Dobin is in Class 1,” Jinseo said, pointing out Dobin’s name.

“Wow! I’m in 1? Does this mean Park Dobin?”

“Yes. And……”

After confirming her son’s name, Jinseo immediately scanned the list. Yena’s name was also visible nearby.

“Our Dobin must be happy,” she said with a smile.

“Why?”

“You and Yena are both in Class 1.”

“Where? Where does it say that?”

Jinseo pointed out Yena’s name to her son, who brought his face close to the monitor and moved his head, trying to decipher the obscured name.

– Jeong ○na, Guardian Jeong ○heon

Yena and Jiheon’s names, with the middle letters covered, were written side by side. Jinseo thought of Jiheon for a moment. *Yena’s dad must be feeling emotional.*

“Is this Yena?” Dobin asked, pointing.

“Yes. They covered the middle letter. Yena’s dad’s name is next to it, so it’s certain that Yena is also in Class 1.”

“Yena is 1, I’m also 1?”

“Yes.”

“Waaaaa! I’m number oneeeeee!” Dobin raised both arms and shouted loudly, running around wildly.

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

Anyway, it’s a relief that he’s a positive child, but the thought of unleashing that energetic, somewhat clueless child into elementary school made Jinseo’s gloom deepen.

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

It was time to go to the *academy* [private after-school tutoring] in the afternoon.

Yena, who had also started attending art *academy* last year, had become better at drawing abstract paintings. Even during the time for drawing portraits, it seemed like only Yena was drawing abstract paintings, but Jeongo decided to take a long-term view.

Recalling the story she had heard from her mother-in-law, Youngmi, that Jiheon was also terrible at drawing but had received an award after much effort, Jeongo remained optimistic.

“Yena, let’s go quickly. We’re supposed to meet Dobin’s family,” Jeongo said, gathering their things.

“Okay. But Mom, I got a text from Saebom *unni* [older sister or female friend],” Yena said, standing in one spot and looking at her phone.

“Really? What does it say?”

“Saebom *unni* said she moved to our apartment complex too!”

“Really?”

Yena handed over her phone. The phone showed the name of Saebom, a 2nd grader she had met at the Go tournament last year.

– Yena, hi! You said you live in ○○ Apartment, right? I moved here today!

After checking the text message, Jeongo looked out the window. It was the moving season in February, so she saw several moving trucks. Since Saebom said she moved in today, one of them must be Saebom’s house.

“I should go visit later!” Jeongo said, feeling excited. Whenever Yena talked about Saebom, a bright smile would bloom on her face. Saebom and Saebom’s mom seemed like good people, so she wanted to say hello, and now this connection had been made.

Jeongo left the house with Yena with a fluttery heart.

“Yenaaaaa!” Dobin, who had already come to Yena’s apartment complex, happily ran over after spotting Yena.

Since Jinseo was heavily pregnant, they had decided to meet in front of Dobin’s house, but it seemed like Dobin’s family had come out a little earlier.

“Park Dobin!” Yena called back, equally excited.

“Yena, we’re in the same class!”

As soon as the children met, they held hands and did a *ganggangsullae* [traditional Korean circle dance] for a long time. Yena was also happy to be in the same class as Dobin.

Watching the children’s boisterous reunion, Jeongo greeted Jinseo. “*Unni*, I came out late. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Dobin was so excited after the class assignments were announced… He kept singing and singing about going to Yena quickly, so we came out early. But there are a lot of moving trucks here?”

“That’s right. A lot of people are moving today.”

While Jeongo and Jinseo were talking, Yena’s phone rang. It was Saebom.

“Hello,” Yena answered the phone right away. But the answer came from outside the phone.

“Yena!”

Saebom ran over from not far away and called Yena’s name. Yena also saw Saebom and shouted.

“Oh? It’s Saebom *unni*! *Unni*!”

Dobin’s face, which had been smiling brightly like cherry blossoms blooming in spring, suddenly froze.

“I recognized you from over there!” Saebom said as she approached. Next to her was a boy of similar age to Dobin.

“Saebom-ah, hello. I’m Yena’s mom,” Jeongo greeted her.

“Hello. I’m Kang Saebom, and this is my younger brother, Kang Saebyeol.”

“Oh? Kang Saebyeol!” Yena quickly recognized Saebyeol. Saebyeol was also a friend she had met at the Go tournament. Last August, Saebyeol was Yena’s first opponent in the first Go tournament she had ever participated in.

“Hello, Yena,” Saebyeol greeted her politely with a happy expression that Yena had recognized him.

Jeongo asked, “Yena and Saebyeol know each other too?”

“Yeah! We met at the Go tournament.”

In response to Yena’s answer, a storm raged in Dobin’s eyes.

Unaware of Dobin’s anxiety, Yena asked Saebyeol, “Then do you also go to ○○ Elementary School?”

“Yeah. What class are you in?”

“I’m in Class 1. You?”

“Waaah! I’m also in Class 1!” Saebyeol’s face, which had been shy until just now, bloomed. It was as if he had stolen the cherry blossoms that had been blooming on Dobin’s face.

“Kang Saebyeol, you made a friend as soon as you moved in,” Saebom nudged her younger brother with a playful expression.

Dobin couldn’t laugh at all.

He had been so overjoyed with the thought of becoming an elementary school student, of being in the same school and same class as Yena, that he had overlooked an important fact.

Becoming an elementary school student means that the world is getting bigger.

Not only his world, but also Yena’s world is getting bigger.

And…… that rivals will appear.