TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: posted in discord
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One month after starting elentary school...
Even when I was in kindergarten, I found it incredibly challenging to play with young children at their ntal level.
No matter how hard we tried to match their level, we were adults over twenty years old ntally, while our peers were barely ten-year-old kids.
Heena and I were experiencing this reality once again in our new elentary school, in Class 5 of the first grade.
"Heena! Look at this! My mom bought a Mimi notebook!"
"Really? That's nice. It's pretty."
"Isn't it?! Yeonho, do you want to see it too?"
"Sure. Is this Mimi?"
"Yep! Haven't you seen the cartoon?"
"Heena! Forget that, look at this! These stickers!"
"Eek! Eek!"
To prevent any kids from feeling left out if allowed to sit freely, the teacher had pre-assigned seats for everyone in the class. We'd managed to convince her to let us sit together.
Thanks to that, we ended up as desk mates in the very front row, diligently listening to the kids chattering about various things during every break.
Even these little ones know beauty when they see it, which is why Heena was still incredibly popular at eight years old. Plus, she was a great listener no matter what kind of stories they were babbling about.
To kids this age, who mostly just want to talk about what they want to talk about, listeners like Heena and were invaluable.
And this wasn't just true for the kids, but for our horoom teacher as well.
"Heena~ Yeonho~"
"Yes~"
"Yes."
"Everyone's eaten their lunch deliciously, and your friends have been to the playground. So what should we do next?"
"We should wash our hands."
"Clean and scrubbed."
"Correct! Then, would Yeonho and Heena like to show the other friends how it's done?"
"Yes!"
"Sure, we can do that."
Our horoom teacher, Ms. Sung Hana, had long since noticed that we were more developed than the other children in various aspects.
To be honest, it would've been impossible not to notice. No matter how hard we tried to act similar to those around us, our basic maturity was bound to show in our everyday behavior.
So, she often asked us to do things like this, guiding our actions to influence the other kids to follow suit.
We were happy to oblige, as she was accommodating in many ways, like letting us sit together.
"Hehe, I'm so glad to have Yeonho and Heena in my class~"
I might not know much about being a teacher, but after spending a few years surrounded by little tykes, I could roughly guess how helpful our presence was.
Just the fact that we listened and followed instructions well probably scored us 95 out of 100 points.
So we obliged the teacher's requests appropriately, sat back down in our seats to listen to the kids' chatter, and before we knew it, it was ti to go ho.
Being in the lower grades of elentary school ant that once we finished lunch, our school day was over. It was seriously aweso.
There were days when we had a fifth period, but really, what kind of classes could first graders have? It was just a battle against boredom.
"How do we go ho?"
"With friends!"
"Which way?"
"The main road!"
"Well done~ Then I'll see you all next week~"
"Yes!!!"
With the teacher's farewell, the kids started moving busily. They gathered in groups, changed into their outdoor shoes, and left the classroom.
Most lived nearby, so so would probably play in the schoolyard for a while, while others, still at an age to receive their parents' full concern, would be picked up and taken ho.
And in this division of groups, Heena and I couldn't be left out.
"Let's go on the swings before we leave!"
"No way! Heena promised to go on the slide with us!"
"That's not true! She said she'd go on the swings!"
"She did not!"
"She did too!"
An argunt erupted out of nowhere, even though we hadn't given any indication either way. Before it could escalate, Heena quickly spoke up.
"Our mom called, so we have to go ho~"
"Really? Can't you play for just a little bit..."
"Sorry~ We'll see you all next week! Bye-bye!"
"Bye-bye!"
Kids trying to get us to play with them was an almost daily occurrence. Sotis we'd go along with it, but usually we'd make an excuse about our mom and slip away.
If we said our parents were calling us to co ho, even young children would usually accept it.
After saying goodbye to our friends and parting ways, we held hands tightly and headed ho. The kids were still too young to tease us about this, thankfully.
Besides, we did this every day, so they were probably used to it by now.
"Let's go then."
"Okay! Oh, Yeonho. Should we get so dalgona on the way down the hill? You like it, don't you?"
"Shall we? It's a win-win since we can eat two pieces even if we only buy one."
I eagerly took up Heena's suggestion to grab a snack on the way ho. I couldn't help it. I don't just like dalgona, I'm absolutely crazy about it.
It's seriously delicious.
Plus, when we go, whether it's because Heena is pretty or just because we're cute first graders, the dalgona man stamps the pattern more firmly.
Even though I'm confident I could pull it out successfully without that, he does it anyway. It's impossible to fail. It's basically a buy-one-get-one-free deal.
I pretended to think about it, saying "Should we?" but both Heena and I knew I wanted to go.
That's why Heena was already half a step ahead, starting to lead along.
"But you know not to eat too much, right?"
"I'll brush my teeth really well."
"We're brushing together as soon as we get ho!"
"Okay~"
By the way, I wonder if any of our classmates will see us passing by? They might get upset if they knew it was just the two of us.
---
"They're so cute, so adorable..."
Sung Hana, in her fourth year of teaching and now in charge of Class 5 of the first grade this year, muttered to herself as she watched the children heading ho.
Being in charge of lower elentary grades was a tough job not usually assigned to teachers with low seniority.
She too had only been put in charge of the first grade this year due to the sudden leave of absence of another teacher, but...
It was easier than expected.
And more fun than expected.
She realized that the reason she could feel this way about being in charge of the first grade, which was said to be so difficult, was thanks to two students.
Han Yeonho.
Lee Heena.
If she had to define these two praiseworthy students in one phrase, it would be 'unlike children.'
Of course, this was her first ti being in charge of first grade. But she had been an assistant horoom teacher for third grade two years ago, and she could tell from what she had heard from other teachers and seen with her own eyes.
That these two children were different. Not in a bad way, but in a good way.
They already surpassed first grade level just by quietly listening to her words and following them obediently.
First grade? Even sixth graders don't follow instructions that well. Moreover, the two of them handled the other children well, making her job incredibly easy.
This aspect alone had already lifted more than half the heavy burden of being a first-grade horoom teacher, and watching the two was entertaining as well.
Heena, pretty enough to put child actors to sha and a good listener to her friends' stories.
Yeonho, not extrely handso compared to Heena, but with a warm smile and gentle conversation that made others feel at ease.
These children, who would have stood out even if they were apart, stuck together every day in a way that made even her feel envious.
'Can't I sit with Yeonho?'
When Heena first asked her this, she didn't think much of it. She just thought it would be good if even one child could sit with soone they were already close to, potentially reducing problems.
She just assud they had gone to the sa kindergarten, or that Yeonho was lucky to have a childhood friend.
But as she observed them, she could see that Heena was completely smitten with Yeonho, even though they were just 8-year-old kids having a puppy love romance.
The way she kept sneaking glances at her boyfriend during class.
She thought she was being subtle about looking to the side during lessons, but it was so obvious to Sung Hana teaching at the front that she almost burst out laughing more than once.
And these little rascals even held hands under the desk.
*Brrrring!*
Thinking that having these two good, cute, obedient, and in one way, cheeky students in her class was the best luck she'd had this year, Sung Hana checked her phone that was ringing busily today as well.
[ ---- Kim Jiyeon's mother: Teacher~ Class is over, right? Did our Jiyeon rember to pack her indoor shoes? ]
[ ---- Yoo Seongchan's mother: The child hasn't co ho yet. Is he still at school by any chance? Please check. ]
[ ---- Min Suho's mother: Teacher. Please talk to Suho at school about not buying snacks. He keeps coming ho having bought and eaten things. ]
"Sigh..."
Faced with the pile of ssages from parents that had accumulated as soon as class ended, she couldn't help but sigh. The toughest ti of the day had arrived.
Even with the presence of exceptionally well-behaved children in her class, this was why being a first-grade horoom teacher was only 'relatively' easy and fun. The excessive interference from parents, the biggest stress for lower grade teachers.
Still, she couldn't ignore them. She could sowhat understand the feeling of worry that led parents to send ssages about their precious sons and daughters, and this level was actually quite manageable.
As she read each ssage and tried to respond in a way that wouldn't upset the mothers, she could see another reason why Heena and Yeonho had completely won her over.
[ ---- Lee Heena's mother: You've worked hard this week too. Heena keeps saying how kind the teacher is~ Have a restful weekend. ]
Heena's mother only sent encouraging ssages like this once in a while, never making troubleso requests or trying to shift responsibilities that should be handled at ho onto the school.
Yeonho's mother rarely contacted her at all unless it was absolutely necessary.
She could confidently say they were world-class top-tier parents and children.
The children were well-behaved and obedient, while the parents weren't overbearing.
It was a perfect combination that hadn't existed before and probably wouldn't exist again, and Sung Hana sighed once more, grateful to the heavens for having this in her class.
"Ah... I want to go ho..."
---
"Yeonho. You can do it!"
"Just a little more and... Ah! I did it! Mister! I succeeded!"
"Oh my, Yeonho succeeds every ti he cos. Here, have another one~"
"Thank you! Heena. You eat so too."
"Ah~"
"Wait a mont. I'll break it into smaller pieces for you."
I put a small piece of the finely crushed dalgona into Heena's mouth, which was slightly open like a baby bird's next to .
She chewed it slowly and smiled at .
"It's sweet~"
"Delicious, right?"
"Yeah! Yeonho, you say 'ah' too!"
"Ah~"
"Haha... Maybe I should get married too..."
The kind dalgona man seed to be having an existential crisis watching our lovey-dovey behavior, but we were too busy to notice.
We were preoccupied with feeding each other pieces of dalgona.
It's seriously delicious.
Author's Note:
Ah, whatever!!
Have a great weekend!!
---
enjoy! :)
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