Chapter 15: Spring

Mari underwent several surgeries again. This time, it was a procedure where they inserted a type of pin into her bones.

Considering her age, since she hadn’t finished growing yet, the length had to be periodically adjusted loosely.

Fortunately, the surgery was done after avoiding any severe nerve damage and while she was in the recovery stage.

As a result, she found herself unable to move for a while.

Because of that, we stopped our usual drawing games and quietly watched TV.

As you saw, the significance of this year’s Athens Olympics is…

The morning news about the 2004 Athens Olympics was playing on the hospital room TV.

They were emphasizing it as the first Olympics of the 21st century and its symbolic return to the origins.

‘Since I always went to school in the morning, it’s kind of refreshing to watch morning broadcasts like this.’

It was a feeling I could only experience during the vacation period.

Anyway, beyond the fun, there was something strangely refreshing about watching the morning TV broadcasts.

While I was thinking this.

The news moved on to the next story.

Recently in Japan, there has been a huge boom in Korean dramas, leading to the cultural phenomenon known as ‘Hallyu’…

The announcer’s words sped up as she began explaining why Korean dramas were so popular and the opportunities they presented to introduce Korean culture.

‘Oh, national pride.’

It seemed like the era when the term “Hallyu” started to be used was around this time.

And it was the peak of the desire for recognition, symbolized by things like “Do you know Korea?”

But it didn’t seem like Mari found it interesting. Lying in bed, she murmured.

“…Boring.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

With a sigh, Mari pulled the blanket up as far as she could with her left hand.

Then, shivering unlike usual, she spoke.

“Ugh, it’s cold. Aren’t you cold?”

By the way, it was August.

The season when the intense summer heat and the monsoon rains were in full force.

‘Living with the air conditioner on and complaining about the cold in summer… Is this what being rich feels like?’

Even though it wasn’t as unbearably hot as the heatwave caused by global warming after 2020, the outside was hot enough to make one curse the weather choices of Grandpa Dangun.

‘Grandpa Dangun was actually a top-liner, but maybe his descendants were forced into the mid-lane…’

Since the mid-lane was reserved solely for the gods, the descendants, who were human, were paying the price for changing lanes.

Of…!

An unexpected worship.

Worship…!

Did the gods raise the World Championship trophy?

‘But that game won’t be out for at least five more years…’

By the time that happens, I was thinking of buying a laptop and playing a few rounds.

Honestly, even though I’ve been living far away from games for a long time, it’s hard not to think about them sometimes.

‘SNS, video sites, and not surfing the internet… I guess I’m in forced dopamine detox.’

Anyway…

I answered Mari’s comment, as if she had forgotten the season.

“…It’s August right now. Don’t you think the air conditioning is a bit too strong?”

“Is it? I don’t know… When you live here, your sense of time gets weird.”

“Do you want me to turn the temperature up a bit?”

“Yeah.”

I grabbed the air conditioner’s remote control and adjusted the temperature.

At the same time, I was quietly worried.

‘Is she acting like this because of the medicine she was given during the surgery…’

She used to be a very quiet child, but with a strong appetite and a playful nature…

Lately, she had been looking noticeably more tired as the surgeries continued.

Mari, like a cat buried in blankets, began to doze off.

“I want to… go out soon.”

“But you said you wanted to stay here forever.”

“I changed my mind. I just like home better.”

“You’ll still have to stay here for another six months.”

“Wow… really? Time goes by so slowly. I think I understand why it feels like putting your head in a head and sticking your face to a deer’s body.”

Suddenly, she compared it to art.

‘Is she talking about Frida Kahlo with the head in her head?’

It seemed like she was talking about Frida Kahlo, who had suffered from paralysis for so long.

Judging by her joke about the artist’s painful life, it seemed like Mari was really going through something difficult.

I turned off the TV and sat next to Mari, holding her left hand.

It was cold.

But there was strength in the hand I was holding.

Mari began to mumble, half asleep.

Like a child trying to push away sleep, she just said whatever came to her mind.

“My head hurts, but what should I call this feeling… it hurts, but it’s reassuring? Reassuring but hurting? I don’t know. I feel like I might melt soon… My hand is also tingling.”

“Everything will be okay. Just sleep now.”

“Really? I guess so…”

“Yeah. And let’s go to school together next year.”

“Yeah, let’s do that…”

“Okay, sleep well.”

“Yeah… sleep well.”

After Mari fell asleep, I quickly finished my visit for the day.

I briefly considered stopping by somewhere, but soon decided to go straight home.

‘It’s about time I hear from Hanul.’

The call I received was when I had completed my elementary school early graduation process and was inquiring about the special admission exam.

The entrance exam for Hanul was at a middle school level for art, so I had thought it would be an easy pass, but unexpectedly, I got some news.

“Special entrance students need to attend for one semester first?”

“Yeah, since it’s unprecedented, it could change. But according to the school’s founding rules, students who enter early through special admissions need to spend one semester adapting to the dormitory first…”

Hanul Comprehensive Arts School was a combined middle and high school institution.

This meant that for six years, students would live in dormitories with peers around the same age.

While six years may sound like a short time, it felt like half a lifetime for teenagers.

Since it was a long education period, there were regulations for younger children entering early.

‘Special Admission—Students entering younger than the usual age must come a semester earlier for adaptation.’

Of course, since this kind of early admission was rare in such a specialized institution, no one had ever applied for early admission at such a young age before…

“This is the first case where a student, Go Hana, has met all the requirements for special admission…”

“…Really? So, that means she’ll have to stay an extra semester?”

“Well, not exactly. She won’t have to follow the regular curriculum during this semester. For now, she’ll attend special classes in the dormitory and receive basic lessons. The dormitory and tuition fees will be waived.”

“Tuition fees are waived…?”

“Since meeting the special admission criteria already qualifies her as a scholarship recipient… special admission students, including their adaptation semester, will have their tuition waived for the first semester.”

“Oh, I see. Got it.”

After hanging up the phone, my uncle, who had been anxiously waiting by my side, looked at me.

“Tuition fee waiver…?”

I answered firmly.

“Waived.”

Nodding.

“All of it?”

“Just the first semester and next year.”

“So, after that, I’ll have to pay?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, saved some money. I mean, I’m not saying I’m wasting money on you…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I understand completely.”

My uncle, who was happy about the saved tuition fees, quickly realized what he said and started apologizing awkwardly.

But I understood how he felt.

So I gestured.

Nod, nod.

A gesture to grab a drink.

“Today, Samgyeopsal, call?”

Bring me the meat and cola!

My uncle responded to my request.

“Sure!”

“Then let’s go!”

My uncle and I had a hero’s time.

Of course, since I drove, my uncle was forced to not drink, but he was the kind of guy who could get drunk just on the atmosphere and cola.

So, with our final worry about tuition fees settled, the only thing left was to wait for a dormitory spot to open up.

And by mid-August, as summer vacation was ending, Hanul contacted us saying a dormitory spot had finally opened up for special admission students.

We sensed that the time had come to prepare for leaving our beloved villa.

“Did you pack your outerwear?”

“Yeah, since it’s still going to be hot for a while, I shoved it into the clothing bag first.”

“Toothbrush and toothpaste?”

“There should be a store there too.”

“Did you pack your underwear?”

“Uncle, do you really think I wouldn’t pack that…?”

“Hm… and…”

As my uncle fiddled with his hair, he smiled and turned to me.

“Right, who am I talking to? You’ll handle it just fine.”

“Who am I, huh?”

Here is the translation of the text you provided:

“The youngest special admission student in Hanul’s history, art genius Go Hana.”

“…Heh.”

“I’m not kidding, you know. This is really something impressive.”

“Stop praising me. I get it.”

“Heh heh, you’re embarrassed. And the school uniform suits you surprisingly well.”

“Hmm.”

Is that so?

…I didn’t actually say that.

‘Since it’s something Mari chose…’

I quietly watched the school uniform skirt moving in the corner of my vision.

It was noticeably different from the middle school uniform I used to wear in my past life, both in terms of fabric and finish.

It was impressive.

Because of her surgery, Mari hadn’t been able to go shopping with me to pick it out.

Instead, it was a uniform ordered from the specialty store where Mari had bought hers when she enrolled at Hanul.

I had offered to pay for it, but what I got back was a school uniform box handed to me with a wry smile by Manager Kang.

*’I’m really indebted to them…’

I never expected to receive a uniform as a gift…*

Of course, I had initially intended to return the money with my uncle, but Manager Kang gently shook his head.

He said only this:

“I was the one driving that day. And the one in danger was the young lady. Without the two of you, we probably wouldn’t even be here.”

The weight of those words… and the gratitude of their lives… made it impossible to say anything other than “thank you” as I received the gift.

Today, my uncle, dressed in a particularly sharp suit, spoke.

“Well then, shall we head out now?”

“Yeah.”

“Before leaving, I packed up all my things from the house. (It wasn’t much—just a couple of suitcases.) And then, we loaded everything into my uncle’s beloved car, which was parked in front of the villa.”

‘…Is the contract for this place finished now?’

“Yeah. I’ll be staying in a dorm provided by the vocational school soon, so I was thinking of keeping this place until then. But since you’ll be here alone without me, I figured it’d be better to leave.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, other than the TV and a few clothes, everything here is second-hand, so I’m planning to throw it out.”

“I see.”

Just before leaving.

We looked back at the place we had been living.

A shabby half-basement.

The entrance that smelled faintly of mold.

The hallway where we could hear the sound of rain on wet days.

We ate, slept, cried, and laughed here.

And now, we were leaving for a better life.

“It’s shabby.”

“Yeah.”

“By the way, how about Sunyi unni? Aren’t you going to miss her?”

“Well… I won’t be staying here anyway, so it felt pointless to drag things out. I decided to remain good friends with her.”

“…I see.”

We didn’t have much time for sentimentality, so my uncle and I got into the car parked in front of the villa.

After putting on our seatbelts, we moved forward.

After driving for a while, we arrived at Hanul Comprehensive Art School.

Since it was summer break, the place was quieter than when I visited for the competition before.

My uncle and I got out of the car, dragging our luggage, and headed to the designated location.

In front of the girls’ dormitory, which stretched out like a village, there was a small office-like space.

Inside, staff members were waiting to assist with my dormitory check-in.

Due to the regulations, my uncle couldn’t go any further into the girls’ dormitory management office.

So, we had to part ways here.

My uncle handed me something.

“…? What’s this?”

“A cellphone.”

“Wow…”

I opened the box, and inside was a brand-new foldable phone (by 2004 standards), still smelling fresh.

“…Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

My uncle said it awkwardly.

“Well… since you’re mature, I’m sure you’ll get along with the older girls quickly. But, if anything doesn’t work out… you can always contact me. I’ll come anytime.”

“…Okay.”

“Yeah.”

My uncle nodded, holding one of my bags, and went over to the girls’ dormitory staff.

With a bow, he handed them a set of drinks as a gift, saying, “Please take good care of Hana.”

The staff thanked him and greeted him back.

When my uncle returned, he told me:

“Wait here. Someone from the administrative office will come soon. Make sure to greet them properly and follow their instructions.”

“Okay.”

My uncle hesitated as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he couldn’t say it.

“I just wanted to say something encouraging, but I haven’t really learned anything, so I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“Yeah?”

“I already respect you,” my uncle said.

“…I see.”

My dear uncle.

Park Taeoh, in his sharp suit, patted my shoulder and turned to leave.

“Let’s stay strong, Hana.”

“Yeah. You stay strong too.”

Instead of replying, he raised his fist upward and started walking back toward the parking lot.

Well then.

Now, it’s my turn.

Just like I walked from the parking lot earlier, I dragged my large luggage towards the dormitory office.