#005

 

Yoo-ah, who finished calculating in his head, reached out his hand.

 

“Because the teacher told me to play with him. Do you want to play Jenga with us? Do you know what Jenga is?”

 

“Uhh. I have played it with grund- gran, granma bef b-.”

 

Main shou nodded, carefully grasping Yoo-ah’s hand sticking out in front of him. Main shou, who was answering Yoo-ah’s question with a slightly excited look, opened his eyes wide as if he had realized something and hurriedly corrected his pronunciation. 

 

At the same time, the hands that were properly facing each other loosened their grip. He felt the warmth on the back of his hand, knowing that he hadn’t let go yet.

 

I think he’s trying to correct his pronunciation. He stammered so much that he looked more awkward than before. It is very regrettable for the main shou, but there was no significant difference in pronunciation.

 

No wonder he was discouraged every time I looked this way. I think he heard what the children said earlier.

 

‘No, but… Even though he can’t pronounce like a native speaker, I think he’s good at Korean for a foreigner?’

 

No? Yoo-ah tilted his head.

 

In the conversation that the children had a while ago, and in the content described in the novel, the main shou was described to be lacking in Korean skills when he was young. So I guessed that communication would be almost impossible, if not impossible at all….

 

It wasn’t at a level where he couldn’t communicate, and if I listened carefully, he could speak so bluntly that sometimes he could even speak better than his peers. 

 

I don’t know how accurate other kids’ pronunciation is because I’ve never been interested in it. At least that’s what Yoo-ah thought. Perhaps it is not much different for non-Korean people to hear.

 

That’s why he was more puzzled.

 

At least considering that the only person in this class who can speak foreign languages, including English, is the main shou, other than Yoo-ah who was aware of his past life, there were no major flaws. 

 

At least considering the fact that there was only one person in this class who could speak a foreign language, including English, other than infants who were aware of their past lives, there were no major flaws. 

 

In the first place, quite a considerable problem could be solved with flashing the baby’s face. It’s hard to find people who don’t like pretty and cute things, regardless of whether they’re adults or children.

 

‘But why don’t they like him? Are they being shy?’

 

If the conversation was this good, it was normal to have a friend or two, with that shiny face of the main shou.

 

A beautiful foreigner of the same age who can have normal conversations. Where else is there a word that stimulates children’s appetite as much as this?

 

‘…is it not? Is it because he looks rather exotic?’

 

Even if you are an elementary school student, you will be very interested in other people who can communicate. The kindergarten students seemed to be of different breeds.

 

Yoo-ah frowned and soon shook his head. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Yoo-ah. He was being nosy. In the first place, this thought was enough to finish at home. It’s better if you don’t do it at all.

 

“Yoo-ah yah, shall we play rock, paper, scissors again?”

 

“Huh? Yeah, let’s do that. Because Su-yeok joined us.”

 

“Eh, I don’t like… Can’t we just order him last? We’re going to read a children’s book later.”

 

“Oh, that’s true, Yoo-ah! We only have three left!”

 

“Ah… but still.”

 

“I, I’m the last, so it’s oh oh….kay.”

 

What’s “three” here? It was a clock number. Yoo-ah glanced at the minute hand at the number 9. I was in a hurry because they decided to read a fairy tale book at the right time. By the way, you know that kids who can’t read the clock don’t have much time.

 

As soon as Yoo-ah tried to do it again because it was against equity, the main shou held his hand tightly. When he rolled his eyes and looked to the side, the main shou shook his head. Yoo-ah nodded, feeling awkward to come forward and say let’s do it again when he did that.

 

‘He’s still holding my hand.’

 

When he let go of his hand, saying, let’s move in order, the main shou clenched his fist and unfolded it. Yoo-ah tried to move away, pretending not to know, sighed, and advised quietly. 

 

No matter how much he doesn’t want to get involved. It was heartbreaking to ignore the child’s constant reading.

 

“It’s okay if you can’t pronounce it correctly. You’re good enough at Korean now, and your pronunciation is… Even if you don’t try, you’ll be able to fix it before you graduate from elementary school.”

 

“……!”

 

As a result, Su-yeok raised his head and opened his rabbit-like eyes, but Yoo-ah, who had already turned away, was unaware of this.

 

***

 

“Now, guys, Shall we gather in front of the teacher so that we can read a fairy tale book?”

 

The children, who were huddling and playing Jenga, rushed towards the sound. Yoo-ah sat down, looking at the collapsed piles of blocks with only debris left, and began to pick them up one by one. What he used was the belief that one should clean up his own mess.

 

Because of this belief, Jeong-hye and Joo-hyuk broke out in a cold sweat once – but it didn’t matter because they weren’t here now.

 

Yoo-ah filled his arms with blocks and poured them into the toy box. Most of the children were already gathered near the teacher to occupy the front row.

 

“I….help you.”

 

“Huh? Oh, uh… Hmm..…thank you?”

 

At that time, the main shou had already carried the remaining blocks in his arms next to the infant. Yoo-ah looked at the scene awkwardly and answered with a scratch on his cheek. It was an awkward conversation.

 

The main shou seemed to be in a good mood as if he was looking for a place to talk to. The ears and tail were not visible in the meantime.

 

“Yoo-ah yah, Su-yeok ah! We are going to read a children’s book now. So let’s gather in front of the teacher!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“y, yes!”

 

Yoo-ah turned his back in response to the sound of the teacher calling him. After that, Su-yeok followed him like a goldfish poop, and Yoo-ah deliberately walked faster and squeezed in between the children.

 

There was speculation that they would be more involved no matter what he did. They’re already quite intertwined. Yoo-ah ignored this as well.

 

“Is everyone here? Now what fairy tale should we read today? Anyone have a book you’d like to recommend!”

 

“Snow White!”

 

“Teacher, please read Sleeping Beauty!”

 

“Cinderella!”

 

“Aladdin!”

 

“Jack and beans and bean sprouts!”

 

There seems to be a trap in the middle, but the fairy tale reading time was going smoothly. Yoo-ah procrastinated in search of a moderately comfortable position. Fairy tales were, of course, out of interest.

 

The teacher scanned the children by filtering out the fairy tales they had read recently and the ones they had read too much. Then she made eye contact with Yoo-ah,

 

Hwi! Hwip!

 

“……?”

 

She then went straight over.

 

‘Did she just ignore me?’

 

It was absurd for a moment, but for this reason, Yoo-ah chose to speak up.

 

“Teacher-!”

 

“Yes, Yoo-ah. Why?”

 

“Then did the prince know that Snow White was dead?”

 

“Well, that’s what the dwarfs told me, so maybe?”

 

“Then, why did the prince kiss the dead?”

 

“…….”

 

“What?!?”

 

“Isn’t, Isn’t it because he loves her? He’s saying goodbye!”

 

“But he saw her for the first time that day.”

 

“…….”

 

Well, that happened.

 

“Teacher!”

 

“…….”

 

“Teacheeeeeer!”

 

“…Yeah, Yoo-ah. Why?”

 

“By the way, it was Hansel and Gretel who ate the house first, but why are you criticizing the witch?”

 

“No matter how much they did wrong, she’s trying to bully and eat young children. When there are children in need, you should help them.”

 

“But the witch was killed by Hansel and Gretel, and all the treasures were taken away.”

 

“She was punished for doing something bad!”

 

“If you do something bad, will you die at someone else’s hands and have all your money taken away?”

 

“…well…”

 

That………happened.

 

On reflection, the crime committed was greater than I thought. The fairy tale villain Yoo-ah quietly moved to the corner. He felt like he had to stay in the corner as if he were dead when she was reading a fairy tale book in the future.

 

Yoo-ah fell into the back row and sat down by the window. It was still early summer, so the place where the sunlight was hot because the air conditioner was not turned on. Perhaps because of that, it was a relatively quiet place because there were few people.

 

It was time Yoo-ah put his back on the window and wriggled in search of a comfortable position again.

 

Crouch- ^[1] Sfx for sitting down. 

 

“Can I…. si sit here?”

 

”…….”

 

Why are you sitting here…?

 

Yoo-ah was frozen in an awkward position, leaning half against the window. The main shou kept his eyes fixed on the tip of his wriggling finger.

 

Yoo-ah who caught the sight expressed his/her refusal.

 

“You won’t be able to hear the fairy tale well because it’s far from the teacher.”

 

“It’s okey. ^[2] The spelling is purposely wrong as Su-yeok is pronouncing it in a slightly wrong way. “

 

“It may be hot because it is close to the window.”

 

“Yoo-ah is sitting here too.”

 

“It’s because I get cold easily.”

 

“But, [mom said that] the snow leopad? living in the cold might be sensitive to heat….”

 

I can’t fall for it. Yoo-ah kicked his tongue. I thought he was just timid, but I guess he wasn’t. Or he’s still too young to notice.

 

The main shou surprisingly came in clearly at Yoo-ah’s words. It was not wrong, so Yoo-ah had no more excuses to bring.

 

“…then sit down. You must not make noise instead.”

 

“Yes!”

 

He he.

 

Su-yeok came to Yoo-ah’s side and sat next to him at the reluctance of his permission. Yoo-ah slipped his butt and fell to his side. It was very burdensome to come close enough to reach his shoulders.

 

As the main shou said, it was true that the hot air was stuffy because Yoo-ah was a snow leopard hybrid who was sensitive to heat. Being sensitive to heat doesn’t mean you don’t get cold.

 

Still, it wasn’t that hot yet, so it was bearable.

 

Yoo-ah leaned back against the window again and blinked slowly. The windows, moderately heated in the early summer sun, were warm.

 

‘I haven’t even had lunch yet.’

 

Maybe it’s because I haven’t slept deeply for the past week or because I’m drowsy because I’m blowing weakly through a slightly open window gap. I felt a rush, of course.

 

In addition to the teacher’s reading of fairy tales, it was a perfect sleeping environment.

 

‘Ah, I don’t want to sleep next to him…’

 

Yoo-ah purposely tightened his eyes. But the heaviest thing in the world seemed to be his eyelids. It didn’t work out as he wanted.

• 1. Sfx for sitting down. 
• 2. The spelling is purposely wrong as Su-yeok is pronouncing it in a slightly wrong way.