My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

4. Until You and I Became Childhood Friends at 6 Years Old (4)

“Aki, what should we play? Jungle gym, zipline? Or tumbling?”

“Ah, I want to play house. I want to play house with Woojoo~sang!”

“Play house? We did that last time at the playground. You want to do it again?”

“Yes, yes, Aki likes playing house.”

“Really? I wanted to do something else this time.”

“Woojoo~sang, you don’t want to play house with me…?”

“…Alright. Let’s play house together. Where should we do it?”

“Yes! Over there. Let’s go over there!”

As I followed Aki, who liked playing house, to the corner of the kids’ cafe, another meeting was taking place at the drink bar area for adults.

That meeting was between our parents and Aki’s father.

“Nice to meet you. I am Sumimoto Fujiwara.”

“Oh, hello. I am Woojoo’s mom. And this is Woojoo’s dad.”

“Nice to meet you…”

The Korean couple, my mom and dad, who exchanged awkward greetings, glanced at the middle-aged Japanese man in front of them and moved slightly closer to each other.

“Eunhye, is Fujiwara a common surname in Japan?”

The only foreign friend of their son, Fujiwara Aki. And his father, Fujiwara Sumimoto.

It’s natural for a daughter and father to have the same surname, but the important thing is the surname ‘Fujiwara.’

As a matter of fact, the name of the Japanese ambassador to Korea is ‘Kenichiro Fujiwara.’ And now, the person sitting in front of them is named ‘Sumimoto Fujiwara.’

“It’s common, but it’s rare to find someone with the Fujiwara surname by birth.”

“By birth? What does that mean?”

“It’s almost nonexistent now… To put it simply, it’s a surname given directly by the Japanese Emperor. People with such surnames are a kind of nobility. Less than 5% of the entire Japanese population has it.”

If this Fujiwara Sumimoto person is a relative of the current Japanese ambassador to Korea or has a similar connection, the two diplomats should be careful with every action they take from now on. Any mistake could be a diplomatic faux pas.

“So, is that person a noble?”

“I don’t know. Should we ask? But how do we ask?”

“…Excuse me for interrupting, but our Fujiwara family has been using the Fujiwara surname by birth for generations.”

Coincidentally, Fujiwara Sumimoto, Aki’s father, was quite fluent in Korean.

The reason was due to the insistence of Fujiwara Kenichiro, the Japanese ambassador to Korea, just like with Aki…

“Oh, you speak Korean… Um, if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what your relationship is with Fujiwara Kenichiro?”

“To Aki, he is a grandfather. To me, he is a father.”

“…I’m sorry, we were being rude.”

Startled, the mother quickly bowed her head.

“Rude? Not at all. I would rather like to thank you, the parents of Wooju.”

But to their surprise, when the mother bowed her head, Aki’s father followed suit.

“Pardon? Thank us?”

At the sudden remark, the mother and father stared blankly at each other’s faces.

The father asked with his eyes, ‘Eunhye, did you do something for him?’ The mother shook her head and replied with her eyes, ‘No, it’s the first time I’ve seen him today. What about you?’

Naturally, the father also shook his head, and both of them simultaneously wondered, ‘Then what is he thankful for…?’

“Aki used to be a cheerful child. But ever since he came to Korea due to my father’s insistence, he hasn’t smiled at all. It must be because of the sudden change in environment and not being able to make friends his age. The language barrier is bigger than one might think.”

“Ah, yes. That’s true. Children need time to adapt when their environment changes.”

“Yes, that’s right. So I waited. Aki is a bright child, so I thought she would be fine with just a little time. But that wasn’t the case. Aki, who always smiled, grew darker day by day, and that turned into a month, then two months. And after three months, I realized. I couldn’t leave Aki like this.”

“Ah…”

“But there was nothing I could do. Shamefully, I’ve spent my whole life working. I’ve never had a proper conversation with Aki, nor have I done anything fatherly. I wanted to make Aki smile, but I didn’t know how, and it tore me apart. I even had extreme thoughts about what would happen if Aki never smiled again… But then.”

Aki’s father lifted his head.

The place where his weary middle-aged eyes were directed was none other than the corner of the kids’ cafe where Aki and I were sitting.

“One day, I came home from work, and Aki greeted me with a bright smile and said, ‘Dad, something really fun happened today!’ I didn’t show it, but I was so surprised that I quickly asked what happened. Do you know what Aki said?”

“What, what did she say?”

“She said she met a Korean boy named ‘Wooju’ outside, and playing with him was so much fun. She explained everything that happened in detail.”

──Honey, what did I tell you to do when I got home?

──Hmm, let’s see? Was it a greeting?

──No. The correct answer is ‘Welcome home’… and a kiss!

──Oh, a kiss?

──Yes, a kiss! Come on, hurry up and give me a kiss!

“……”

“……”

“……Well, anyway. So I really wanted to meet Wooju’s parents and thank them.”

Aki’s father bowed his head.

“Thank you for finding our child’s smile in place of us, the incompetent parents. I will never forget this kindness.”

When his bowed head almost touched the table, Mom and Dad flinched and fidgeted.

Then, they looked at each other quietly.

It was the first time they had received such a polite thank you from someone else, and it was also awkward to receive thanks for something their child had done, not themselves.

So, they looked at each other, wondering what to do.

“……Ah, well.”

They smiled a little awkwardly but with a hint of sincerity.

“We appreciate Mr. Aki’s gratitude. But you don’t have to bow. It was our son who played with Aki, not us. In fact, we didn’t do anything at all.”

“No, it’s thanks to your well-raised Wooju that our Aki has brightened up again. We can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Wooju is such a mischievous child, I’m worried he might have been rude to Aki. Well……”

Even as she said that, a smile was on the mother’s lips. There is no parent in the world who dislikes hearing praise for their child from others.

Perhaps because of that, the mother, feeling good, gently brought up a slightly intrusive topic.

“Um, by the way. This might sound a bit out of the blue, but is Aki attending a daycare or kindergarten?”

“Kindergarten? No. He is not attending one currently. When we were in Japan, he attended Gakushuin Kindergarten, so we thought it would be the same here in Korea, but it turned out that the language barrier was quite significant.”

“Then, how are you handling his education?”

“I just teach him whenever I have time. We also have a few female tutors who come for simple homeschooling……”

“Oh my, oh my! That won’t do.”

“……Pardon?”

“At his age, he should be meeting people and playing outside. It’s good for his emotional development.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know. But even if we want to send him to kindergarten, the language issue hasn’t been resolved. Aki can speak a little Korean, but that’s about it. He can’t communicate in detail, and the cultural differences seem to make it hard for him to adapt.”

“In that case, why not send him to the same kindergarten as our child?”

The father, who had been silent, interjected.

“What? Woojoo and Aki are in the same kindergarten?”

“Oh, if you could do that, I would be more than happy… But won’t it be too much of a burden for Woojoo?”

“Oh, a burden? Our Woojoo would be happy too. If you’re really concerned, shall we ask him directly? Hey, Woojoo-.”

“Eunhye, look over there.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Over there, where Woojoo and Aki are. The kids are about to kiss?”

“Oh, they’re probably just pretending as a joke. What kind of kiss in front of others…?”

──Is it okay?

──Yes, I had a good time. Honey.

──…Huh? Why is Aki kissing me?

──I had a good time~ Kissing is something we do together. Didn’t you know that, dear?

“What, they really did it?”

“…Oh my.”

Those little ones are already kissing in front of others.

…With that kind of expression, my mom, who was looking at me, cleared her throat.

“Um, I’m sorry. It seems our Woojoo likes Aki a lot.”

“It’s okay. Kids usually play like that when they’re young, don’t they? They seem to get along well, so it’s nice to see.”

“…How many times is he going to kiss? Woojoo, can you come here for a moment~?”

──Ah, yes!

I toddled towards my mom who was beckoning me. Naturally, Aki followed closely behind me, and we stood hand in hand in front of our parents.

“Uju, you know, if Aki goes to the same kindergarten as you, can you help Aki well?”

“Huh? Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”

“Yes, how about it? Can you do that?”

“Yes! I can do that. I’ll play with Aki a lot and introduce many friends!”

“…Did you see that?”

“….”

Mom glanced at Aki’s father with a proud expression.

Aki’s father looked down at us, more precisely at our clasped hands.

“…I understand. Then, although it’s impolite, I’ll ask you a favor.”

With a very grateful face, he bowed politely to our mom and dad.

“Uju, please be a good friend to our Aki.”

“Don’t worry. Our Uju is smart, so he’ll do well. Right, Uju?”

“Yes. But mom, from now on, Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”

“Yes, it will be like that soon. How is it, good?”

“Gasp, really? Really, Aki and I are going to the same kindergarten?”

“Dad will check right away, but there are procedures, so not immediately, but it will take at least a week. So until then, Uju, you…”

“Aki! You and I are going to the same kindergarten-!”

“Kin-der-gar-ten…?”

“We can play together every day, every single day!”

“Ah, ah….”

“Our Wooju seems to be very lively like me, right?”

“Yeah, she has a mischievous streak just like our Eunhye. Just like her….”

“…What? Mischievous? Wooju sometimes says strange things just like her dad, don’t you know? Huh? Huh?”

“Look at this, just a little bit of nagging and she glares at me like that…. Ah, wait, don’t grab strange places…!”

Mom and Dad talked about how I resembled each of them while looking at me.

And from that day on, we…

“Yes, Wooju~san…! Please take care of me too….”

We became very close friends.