00006 A Special Friend ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
"Oh? Who are you?"
When Minjun quickly climbed up the tree, what he saw was none other than a child around his own age.
And the child’s appearance was similar to a foreigner he had seen on TV, boasting a very unusual look with brown hair and green-hued irises.
Because of that, although Minjun had asked in Korean, he hadn’t expected the child to answer. He looked around once more and shouted.
"It’s dangerous. Climb up! Take my hand."
Since he didn’t know whether the rustling sound had come from that foreign kid or a mountain beast, he showed body language as if to say “take my hand and come up.” The kid approached with hesitant steps, then very easily climbed the tree on his own.
After the kid climbed up, Minjun wondered how he should talk and spouted out some broken English he knew.
"Hi! My name is Minjun! Uh… how do you say, ‘how did you end up here’……."
Watching Minjun talk while scratching his head for a while, the kid soon spoke in fluent Korean.
"I know how to talk."
"Huh! You… you know Korean!?"
"Yeah. I know how."
"Wow… what a relief. I was worried I’d have to wait until the teacher or my dad came to speak English. I’m really glad. Where are you from? How did you end up here? And what’s your name?"
With so many questions, Minjun poured them out, and the kid blinked his eyes before answering one by one.
"My name in Korean style is Do Junmin. My hometown is a place called Kepler KMT. I ended up here by mistake while traveling because something happened."
"Ah… so you came from a foreign country."
Even though it was a country name he had heard for the first time, it definitely felt foreign at a glance, so Minjun exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, amazing. It’s my first time seeing a foreigner… and it’s also my first time seeing a foreigner speak Korean so well. I saw Uncle Hally talking on TV… but this is amazing."
"Amazing? It’s also unexpected for me to be talking with beings who live in a place like this."
"I see. Anyway, nice to meet you. But that rustling sound… was that you? I thought it was a mountain beast and climbed up here… and you were the one I told to come up."
"Beast? If you mean animals… there are none around here."
"Ah! So it was you. Ugh… I climbed up here for nothing. I was really scared. Wild boars come out sometimes. Hehe."
Relieved at the words that there were no animals, Minjun breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking that perhaps because the kid was a foreigner his word choice was a bit strange, he continued the conversation.
"Have you eaten? Ah! You must have parents with you."
"Rice? Hm… now that you mention it, I haven’t taken in energy. I could last a few days, but it would be dangerous."
"Huh? You haven’t eaten with your parents? Let’s go to my house and eat… ah, you’d need permission from your parents, so that would be difficult. Hmm……."
Minjun, who had been about to invite him for a meal, thought that bringing a foreigner he had just met would surprise not only the villagers but also his parents. He scratched his head, worrying, then took out the bellflower roots he had planned to give his mother and offered them.
"These are bellflower roots, and they’re really tasty. I was going to give them to my mother… but you eat them."
Junmin, seeing the bellflower roots that had been dusted clean of dirt, opened his eyes wide and made a surprised expression.
"You’re giving me this thing filled with high energy?"
"Yeah. You said you haven’t eaten. I also dug up some arrowroot to take home; should I give you that?"
"No. This one is enough. It’s enough to resolve the problem immediately, leave here right away, and endure for quite a while after returning. To give such a precious thing…!! Are you really giving it? Even here, this would have been difficult to find."
"I just… dug them up from here and there? There are small ones too. Shall I give you more? Do you like bellflower roots?"
When Minjun showed him the things he had dug up, calling them bellflower roots, the kid was startled and his eyes sparkled fiercely, but soon settled into a calm state. He only accepted what Minjun had first offered and shook his head.
"No. This is enough… and thank you. Honestly, I was worried about how to get by… but thanks to you, I’ll be able to spend my time a bit more comfortably."
"It’s nothing, I just gave you bellflower roots… anyway, I’m glad you like it. But where do you live? You probably don’t live here in Sangbok-ri……."
"I live nearby. I’m just staying for a bit. I’ll probably have to be here for a few days."
"I see… so do you have a house?"
"I have a place to stay. I plan to just stay quietly and then leave. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone that you saw me. I don’t really like receiving attention."
Since he was a foreigner, Minjun thought it was certainly possible. After all, Uncle Hally had said on TV that when he first came to Korea, Korean people asked him all sorts of things and even touched him, which had been embarrassing.
He figured it would be even more so in a countryside village like this, so he decided to keep it a secret.
"That’s a shame. If we could hang out, I would’ve introduced you to my friends and we could’ve played together. Ah, right! You’re a foreigner, so are you good at soccer?"
"Soccer?"
To the kid who tilted his head as if he didn’t know what soccer was, Minjun quickly climbed down from the tree to the ground and juggled the ball he had set down when climbing up, speaking as he did so.
"You handle the ball like this, and you form a team of eleven with attackers, midfielders, defenders, and a goalkeeper. Don’t you like soccer?"
At his words, Minjun saw Junmin take something out from inside his clothes and fiddle with it. Soon Junmin looked at him as if realizing something with an "Ah~," and at that look Minjun smiled broadly and said.
"Hehe, you get it now?"
"So that’s soccer. It’s quite a famous sport here. Korea’s ranking isn’t very high. And let’s see… hm, you’re not very good at it either. Your body structure isn’t suited for soccer."
At Junmin’s words, spoken while shining something like a camera at him, Minjun made a stung expression, somehow having been found out precisely.
"Still… except for attacking, I’m passable… I don’t kick at empty air or anything. Tch. Aren’t you attacking too sharply for a first meeting? Ugh."
Grumbling, Minjun stopped juggling. Junmin also lightly jumped down from the tree and spoke with a bright smile.
"Soccer… do you want to be good at it?"
"Huh? Of course! I want Korea to get past the World Cup Round of 16 and lead them even further. I want to achieve good results in the Olympics too… and I want to play soccer abroad like Cha Bum-geun."
Though he loved soccer, Minjun knew to some extent that he didn’t have much talent.
But he believed that if he continued practicing while watching instructional books, he would certainly achieve some results and be able to become a soccer player.
"Really? Hmm… then I’ll give you a gift. Since I’ve received something precious too… let’s see. Give me all those bellflower roots you mentioned. I’ll refine and compress them to use as an energy power source, so that you can play soccer magnificently."
"What? Wi… with bellflower roots?"
"Yeah."
Minjun didn’t understand what he was going to do with bellflower roots, but he was tempted by the prospect of becoming good at soccer, so he handed over a pile of carefully dug-up bellflower roots.
"Our Kepler people make sure to settle what is given and received. Since you gave me something precious, I will grant what you desire."
"Kepler people? What I… desire?"
"Yeah. Don’t you want to be good at soccer?"
"That is… it’s my dream, but it’s not what I want. What I want is for my parents to live healthily. My mother is ill, so we came to Sangbok-ri a few years ago for recuperation. She has improved a lot, so she can go out now, but…… I can achieve my dreams through my own efforts. But it’s not the same with parents."
At Minjun’s answer that he would achieve his dreams through effort and that what he wanted was for his parents to become healthy, Junmin looked into Minjun’s eyes.
Feeling the truly upright gaze with no falsehood in it, Junmin scratched his head as if troubled.
"That’s really… good. I’ll do that for you. And… I was quite moved by your words that you would achieve your dreams through effort. I’ll help with that too. Of course, if you don’t put in effort… what I made to help you will become nothing but fleeting things, but… if you put in endless effort, you can become the best player."
"Re… really? But is it okay to do something like that with bellflower roots? Should I give you all the arrowroot and other things too? Or… should I dig up more bellflower roots?"
"No. This much is enough. And sleep for a moment. Friend."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
After those words, Minjun suddenly felt drowsiness wash over him, and Junmin gradually became blurry.
And in the moment when his eyes were closing almost completely, suddenly a pure white light poured down and he felt his body floating in mid-air. Along with that sensation, he completely lost consciousness.
---------------------------= Author's Afterword ---------------------------=
Nodding off.