Chapter 5: The Playground Pact: A Promise of Future Fun

It was my eighteenth birthday.
And yet, why was I watching a children’s anime?
“Wow…”
Unlike me, who was thinking these thoughts, the kid next to me was watching television with sparkling eyes.
As the anime ended and the ending song played, she turned her gaze towards me with a bright smile.
“How was it? Was it fun for Oppa too?”
“Uh…?”
Honestly, I hadn’t even watched it properly.
What if she asks to watch it again next time if I say it was fun?
After a moment of contemplation, I uttered a bitter lie.
“Mmm… well, it was fun.”
“Right?! Which of the characters did you like the most?”
I didn’t know the questions would continue like this.
“I saw it for the first time, so I don’t remember the names well.”
“Ah-! Among the blue-haired girl, the yellow-haired girl, and the pink-haired girl, who was the prettiest?”
How many girls were there in just one episode?
And there wasn’t even a single black-haired girl?
I felt like I had to pick someone, so I picked the yellow-haired girl.
Blonde was more realistic, at least.
“The yellow-haired girl.”
“I think so too! Okay! Then let’s go to the playground now!”
“Okay. Let’s go, let’s go.”
I couldn’t help it since I promised.
And I felt like I had to protect the kid’s excited expression.
The kid used a long stick to take down her clothes from the hanger on the floor.
She put on her jumper and zipped it up herself.
Tick.
“Ah!”
But because she zipped it up too quickly, the zipper stopped in the middle.
The kid was struggling to zip it up, but it was no use.
“You just zip it up carelessly? Come here.”
“It usually zips up fine.”
“Just come quickly.”
“Yes.”
The kid came to me.
I carefully pulled the zipper down.
I didn’t zip it up all the way because I thought it might be a little stuffy if it was zipped up to her chin.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The kid unplugged the electric blanket with a confident voice.
She’s frugal…
I also took my jumper from home and headed to the playground in the neighborhood.
“Brr… it’s cold.”
“Oppa, are you cold?”
“It’s January, so it’s cold. Are you not cold?”
The kid held my hand as soon as I finished my sentence.
“It’s not cold if we hold hands…!”
I definitely felt the warmth from the small hand.
“What if we fall while holding hands?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll hold tight!”
“No, what if you fall?”
“Then Oppa can hold tight! Like this!”
The kid was holding my hand with all her strength, but the grip strength was greatly lacking.
“But I don’t want to?”
“That’s mean!”
“Okay. I’ll hold it, so let’s just go.”
Still, I also held her hand with a little force, just in case the kid fell.

<2>
I think I used to play at the playground a lot when I was very young.
I moved a lot, so I didn’t have any friends, and I always came to the playground with Mom.
Mom was the one who caught me as I came down the slide after riding the seesaw together.
Memories of playing at the playground for over an hour with Mom vaguely came to mind.
There was a time when I would smile innocently and ask Mom to compete with me to see who could swing better.
I didn’t know that I would reminisce about it while playing with the kid next door.
“Oppa~! Let’s go swing!”
The kid, coming down the slide with a cheerful smile, grabbed my hand and pointed at the swing.
“Okay. I’ll push you from behind.”
“I can swing by myself! Let’s compete to see who can swing better!”
I opened my eyes wide and looked down at the kid.
“Why?”
“No. I said the same thing when I was a kindergartener.”
“Did you like the playground too?”
“Mmm… I don’t know. I don’t think I hated it.”
“I like the playground~! Hurry up and sit next to me.”
In the end, I sat on the swing next to the kid.
The kid tiptoed and pulled the swing back as far as possible.
And then, lifting her feet off the ground, the kid stretched her short legs forward.
After repeating it a few times, she went up higher than expected.
“Oppa! Am I good?!”
“You’re good.”
“Oppa, try it too-! It’s so much fun?!”
In the end, I swung just like the kid.
But since I had both height and weight, I immediately surpassed the kid’s height.
Looking at me, the kid stared at my face with a despondent expression.
“I lost…”
“It’s a physical difference.”
“Physical?”
“It’s because of your height.”
“I’m frustrated…”
It seemed the kid had some pride about swinging.
The speed of the kid’s swing, having lost her motivation, gradually slowed down and stopped.
Should I have held back in front of the kid who was showing off her skills?
“Why are you so good at it?! Teach me too!”
“No. It’s because I’m heavier and taller than you.”
“Then how do I get heavier and taller?”
“Eat well and sleep well.”
“Should I eat a lot of anchovies?”
Should I tell her that height is actually genetic?
No. Well, eating calcium-rich foods will be good for your health.
“Yeah. Drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of anchovies.”
“Yes! Then I’ll eat a lot of anchovies starting tomorrow!”
“Eat a variety of foods. That’s how you grow tall.”
“Yes! But I want to try swinging high today too. Please push me.”
“Okay. Hold the rope tight so you don’t fly off.”
“Yes~”
I grabbed the swing rope and stepped back, and the kid soared up.
“Wo…wow…! It’s so high!”
“Hey, hold the rope tight. You’ll get hurt?”
“W, wait! Lower it a little~!”
I lowered the height a little as she spoke in a hurried voice because it seemed scary.
“How about this much?”
“Oh! Yes! It’s good now!”
“Yeah.”
I let go of my hand, and the kid fell down.
I thought she would be scared at first, but the kid was swinging with a big smile.
Her giggles were cute, so I had to push the swing from behind for a while.
But why is this so tiring?

<3>
We sat on the bench after playing at the playground for about an hour.
I was tired, but the kid sat next to me with a big smile.
“The swing was so much fun-!”
“Yeah. I’m glad you had fun…”
“Now, let’s go eat fish-shaped bread!”
“Hey, let’s rest for a bit. Aren’t you tired?”
“No! It was so much fun~! How about Oppa?”
“It was fun.”
“Me too!”
The kid sat quietly next to me until I had rested.
She was only eight years old, but she didn’t whine or anything.
It’s a bit much to say she was mature, but she wasn’t like a typical kid.
“Let’s go eat fish-shaped bread now.”
“Okay!”
The kid and I got up from the bench and headed to the fish-shaped bread store down the hill.
“One thousand won worth of fish-shaped bread, please!”
I was about to order, but the kid handed the store owner two 500 won coins from her pocket.
“Aw~ you’re so cute~ Are you going to eat it with your oppa?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll make it now~ Wait a minute with your oppa~”
“Yes~”
The kid, who answered confidently, looked up at me with a grin.
“Aw~ Your oppa is so great~ Taking care of his younger sister.”
“Yes? Ah-”
Right. Anyone would have thought we were siblings.
I didn’t need to say she was the kid next door, so I just agreed.
“Yes, well…”
“Here. I put in two more, so eat one more with your younger sister~”
“Ah… thank you.”
I received the paper bag containing the fish-shaped bread and left the store.
“We profited. Let’s go home.”
“Yes. Give me one to eat on the way.”
“You played a lot at the playground. Let’s go home and wash our hands before we eat.”
“I want to eat it now!”
“No. Let’s buy milk on the way. It’ll be hard to swallow if you only eat bread.”
“Okay. But I don’t have any more money?”
“You bought the bread. I’ll buy the milk.”
“Okay! Let’s go home and eat together!”
We stopped by the supermarket to buy milk and returned to the kid’s house.
After washing our hands cleanly, we poured milk into cups and ate the fish-shaped bread.
The kid held the fish-shaped bread’s head and tail with both hands and bit into the belly.
“Whoa. You eat it from the belly?”
“Yes. I eat from the belly. Why?”
“No. People usually eat from the head or tail. It’s just interesting.”
“Where do you eat from, Oppa?”
“I eat from the dorsal fin.”
The kid looked at me as if she couldn’t understand.
She had the look in her eyes that said, “Wow, there are people like this in the world.”
“Oppa’s more… interesting.”
“Is that so?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone eat from the fins.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone eat from the belly.”
We looked at each other curiously for a long time.
“Let’s just think of it as personal preference and respect each other.”
“Yes. Grandpa said there are all kinds of people in the world.”
“What?”
“Hurry up and eat-!”
After we finished eating the fish-shaped bread, it was time to get ready to go to work.
“I should go now. Can you be alone at home until your grandpa comes?”
“Yes! I’m used to it-!”
It made me feel bad for her.
“Yeah. Then goodbye. See you next time.”
“Yes~! Thank you for playing with me today-!”
I thought she’d feel disappointed, but the kid smiled brightly and bowed to me.
I was a bit taken aback by this first deep bow.
“Uh? Ah, yeah. Okay.”
“What’s wrong?”
The kid, raised her head, tilted her head as she looked at my expression.
“No. Honestly, I was worried about what to do if you asked to play more.”
“No way~ Oppa is busy and wants to rest, so I can’t do that~ It’s enough that you played with me today!”
Ugh… why did the kid’s words make my heart ache?
“You’re not going to play next time?”
“Huh?”
The kid was startled by my words.
Soon after, she fidgeted and looked at me.
“Can we… play again?”
“Not today. I have to go to work.”
“Grandpa said that I shouldn’t bother Oppa too much because he must be busy…”
She’s really a kid who makes me feel bad.
I don’t know why an eight-year-old kid is being so considerate.
At the age when she should be acting spoiled and throwing tantrums, it was strangely bothering me that she was so well-behaved.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I can’t do it every day, but it’s okay when I have time, so just ask.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I had fun today too. Let’s play again next time.”
The kid smiled brightly at my words.
And she repeatedly nodded and said,
“Yes! Let’s play again next time!”
“Go inside. It’s cold. I need to rest and go to work. Bye.”
I felt embarrassed about what I just said, so I quickly opened the front door and went inside.
“Haa… why did I say that?”
As soon as I came inside, I regretted what I said, but I couldn’t do anything about it.