First day after the break,
When I opened the classroom door, these kids were already running around since morning as if they weren't even tired.
" Sigh... "
I went to my seat, planted my face on the desk, and lay down.
While I was lying there with my ears covered, trying to rest, someone kept poking my head..
It's the first day after break, so I'm already annoyed; do the boys really want to act like this from the morning?
I grabbed the finger firmly, raised my head, and said in a loud voice.
" Ah, damn it, seriously annoying. Bak Yeongjun, is it you again... "
It's Sujin.
Sujin, her finger tightly held by me, seemed startled by the loud voice, and her eyes were brimming with tears.
" Oh, it was Sujin? "
" Mmhmm... it's me... sorry... "
Sujin finished speaking, and a single tear fell.
I had shouted out of nowhere, but it didn't seem like something worth crying over...
Eight-year-olds are sensitive, but Sujin seems ten times more fragile than them.
Tears kept gathering in Sujin's eyes, on the verge of bursting out all at once.
I quickly changed the subject.
" No, it's fine. So, did you have a good break, Sujin? "
" Yeah... "
" Really? What did you do during the break? "
" I went to Phuket with Mom and Dad to play... "
" Phuket? Thailand? "
" What's Thailand? "
" You said you went to Phuket. "
" Yeah! "
As we talked, Sujin's tears stopped.
Hoo. I don't know if I'm a student or a daycare teacher soothing kids.
" Phuket is in Thailand. "
" Huh? I didn't go to Thailand, I went to Phuket though? "
" That's what I... never mind. So, was it fun? "
" Yeah! "
When class started, the teacher came in.
" Did everyone have a good break? "
""" Yes~ """
If only life were one long vacation.
" Then I suppose everyone finished their break homework? "
""" Yes~ """
Among the children's answers, a few couldn't answer.
It was homework that could've been done with just ten minutes of effort, but they hadn't done it.
" Then will the friend in the very back row please stand up and collect the homework~ "
The person in the very back stood up and began collecting the homework.
Since seats are arranged by height, the further back you go, the taller the kids are.
For reference, I'm third from the front.
When on earth will I grow taller?
Well, Dad is 181.5 cm and Mom is 167.4 cm, so my predicted height is 168 cm; if I'm lucky, couldn't I exceed 170 cm?
After all the homework was collected, the teacher proceeded with the lesson.
" Now, what did everyone do during the break? "
" I went to an amusement park! "
" I played computer games! "
" I went to cram school... "
" I went on a boat! "
At the teacher's question, the children jumped up, competing to shout what they had done.
" Phuket! Phuket! Phuket! "
Sujin, you too...? Were you always this kind of person?
The teacher calmed the overheated atmosphere and said.
" Everyone had a fun time playing~ Then today in class, each person will present what they did during the break. Shall we start with Jinsu in the front row? "
" Yes! "
Before I knew it, it was my turn as the children presented one by one.
Lower elementary school classes have so much participatory-style teaching; it's so annoying.
" Now shall Dohee present too? What did you do, Dohee? "
What did I do?
I think I just studied.
" I just studied. "
" Come on, did you do anything besides studying? "
" Yes, I studied all day, and in my spare time I exercised and slept in bed, more or less? "
The teacher's expression hardened again at my answer.
Ah, she's not going to call Mom again, is she.
Break time,
The teacher called me, so I went up to the front.
" Dohee. "
" Yes? "
" Your homework... "
Shadows fell across the teacher's face again.
" Ah, the homework? I did it well, right? "
" In your diary: 'Doa is cute. It's hot. I ate eggs. I watched YouTube.' Sigh... that's not a diary. "
Judging by the teacher's mood, it seemed I might be told to redo the homework.
I made as sad a face as possible and said.
" But... at home I only study, so I don't have time to do anything else... "
" Is it because your mother makes you...? "
" No... I do it because I want to. "
And I tried to put on a bright expression as much as possible and said.
" She scolds me if I don't study, though. "
Mom actually says she'd prefer it if I didn't study.
" But I don't hate Mom! She loves me, doesn't she? "
The teacher made a serious expression.
" Can you tell me what you study in a day, Dohee? "
" Hmm... Math, English, Korean, science preview, Japanese study, and in my remaining time I do piano and exercise... "
" Sigh... alright. I won't tell you to redo the homework. "
Keu. Not a single flaw in my acting skills.
The teacher's expression looks serious, but so what.
After school ended, I came home.
" I'm home~ "
As I entered my room and was putting down my things, Mom hugged me from behind.
" Daughter~ "
" Hmm? "
" Did you have a good day at school? "
" No, I want to drop out as soon as possible, even a day sooner. "
" But daughter, isn't there anything you want to tell Mom? "
Looks like the teacher called Mom again.
" Did you make Mom out to be someone who wrings you out to make you study? "
" What are you talking about? I never said that to the teacher. "
" The teacher said that because I only make you study at home, Dohee seems to have no free time. She said that for a child to grow up properly, you have to give them some slack! "
" I just said that because she scolded me about my break homework, saying I didn't have proper time to do it because I was too busy studying? "
Then Mom shook my body back and forth.
" It's because you didn't do your homework properly! "
As my body was being shaken back and forth, I felt something strange in my body..
" Mom! Mom! Wait a minute. "
" Why. Make your excuse. "
" That's not it, my tooth is loose. "
I put my finger in my mouth, gently touching the wiggling tooth as I spoke.
" My toof ish wiggwing. "
My front tooth wiggling slightly at my touch.
" Oh my, it's true. I heard they all fall out around this age; looks like our daughter is starting to lose hers too. "
Now that I was conscious of my wiggling tooth, I kept touching it with my tongue.
" Don't we have to pull this out? "
" Yeah, the baby teeth have to fall out for the permanent teeth to grow in pretty. Shall we go to the dentist today to get it pulled? "
" What dentist, forget it. What a waste of money. "
Mom looked at me with a sly expression and sneered.
" Don't tell me you're saying that because you're scared of the dentist? "
" What's with that expression. Why would I be scared of the dentist? "
" Then let's go to the dentist. "
" I said forget it. "
" See, I knew it, you are scared. "
" Ah, I said no! "
" Oh? You're getting mad. A strong denial means? A strong affirmation. "
" Then fine, let's go. To the dentist! "
" Forget it. It's a waste of money to go to the dentist for something like this. Let's ask Dad to pull it out when he gets home later. "
" Sigh. "
Truthfully, I was a bit scared.
Even adults are scared of the dentist.
Dad arrived home after work.
Doa ran and hugged Dad.
" Aigoo, did our princess miss Dad? "
" Mmhmm. "
Ever since Doa was born, Dad hasn't clung to me as much, which is comfortable.
" You don't even see me, do you? "
Only then did Dad look at me.
" No, our Dohee missed Dad too? "
" Not really, "
" Hing... "
I don't know why he insists on asking when he knows the answer, only to get hurt.
" My tooth is loose, I need it pulled. "
" Really? Let me see? "
I opened my mouth and showed Dad that my tooth was wiggling too.
" Dad, id's wiggwing. "
" I see, let's pull it out right now. Honey, bring me some thread. "
" Okay~ "
" You're pulling it now..? "
" Yeah, these things have to be pulled out quickly. "
I'm a bit scared.
Mom brought the thread.
" Here, open your mouth, Dohee. "
As I opened my mouth, Dad tried to tie the thread to my tooth.
" It's not easy. "
" Try tying the knot better. "
Finally, the knot was tied and it was ready to be pulled.
I'm surprisingly nervous.
It's like the feeling of tension when you're about to ride a ride at an amusement park that you've ridden before.
" Dad, you have to pull it out on three, okay? "
" Okay, here we go, one, two! "
Dad pulled the tooth before he even said three.
And not by pulling the thread, but by pushing my head, making me fall backwards onto the sofa behind me.
" Ack! "
Mom, who was filming, laughed.
" Haha, Dohee's tooth got pulled? Oppa, you're good at pulling~ "
" It was my first time too, so I was nervous, but it came out easier than I thought. "
Blood was coming from where the tooth had come out, but it didn't hurt.
But my head was ringing.
" No, you're supposed to pull the thread, why did you push my head! "
" Oh, is that so? It was Dad's first time too, so I got confused. "
" What do you mean 'is that so'! I thought my head was going to come off. "
" Sister's head come off? "
" Hey! Lee Dohee, didn't Mom tell you to use pretty words in front of Doa? "
Why does Doa always stay quiet and just watch, only to repeat whenever someone uses bad language?
At this point, could Doa be doing it on purpose?
" It's because Dad pushed my head instead of pulling the thread. This is Dad's fault too. "
" Because Dad has been spoiling you so much these days, is everything Dad's fault? "
Dad got up and approached me.
" Come to think of it, I suppose I am at fault. "
Dad hugged me.
" Okay. I was wrong, my fault! "
Dad's face drew closer.
" Ah. "
.
.
.
Now it feels like my body is maturing as my teeth are falling out one by one.
Should I measure my height?
" Mom, come here and measure my height for me. "
" Sure, let's see how much our daughter has grown. "
I stepped on the tape measure Mom brought and stood against the wall.
Mom measured my height and said.
" Oh, Dohee grew a lot? Kids sure do grow fast. "
" How many centimeters? "
" 125.1 cm. "
" Okay. I was 50 cm as a newborn, and if I'm 125 cm at exactly age 7, at this rate I'll hit 2 meters by exactly age 14, won't I? "
Mom gave me a knuckle rap as I cracked a light joke.
" Ack. "
" Say something that makes sense. "
" This is child abuse! "
" It's not child abuse. This is Mom's love. "
" No, lately Mom's violent behavior toward me has become too frequent. "
" It's your behavior that deserves hits that's become frequent. "
" I didn't do anything that deserves being hit! I'm going to report you to the teacher for child abuse tomorrow. "
" Then Mom will hit you twice as much. "
Mom is being childish.
" Sigh, forget it. Now go play with Doa. It's annoying to even play with Mom. "
" I was going to play with Doa anyway, though? "
" Seriously, why are you acting so childish. Aren't you embarrassed in front of your daughter? "
" Not at all, I'm not embarrassed? "
" Sigh. Mom is a perfect mental age match for Doa. "
" That's not true? "
" Ah, get out! I'm going to study. "
Lately, Mom seems to have developed a taste for teasing me.
Sigh.