Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 501:

“Hmm?”

“Why?”

As Seo-jun tilted his head while holding Ha-rang and heading to the filming site where the teachers and children were, Park Ee-deun asked.

“Ha-rang seems a bit heavier. Is it just me?”

As Seo-jun shook his arms this way and that, as if to gauge the weight, ha-rang laughed as if he was having fun. Park Ee-deun also chuckled and said.

“You don't know how well the kids eat these days. Ha-rang must have grown a lot stronger too.”

“Really? That's good.”

“That's great!”

It seemed that not only his mind but also his body had grown.

“This is mugwort.”

“Mug!”

“This is grass.”

“Grass!”

Seo-jun and Park Ee-deun were squatting by the faucet, sorting out the grass and herbs that the children had picked. The vegetables for dinner were already washed and placed next to them.

The children who had been sorting out the herbs with the two teachers had gone to play early because they were bored, but Ha-rang was stuck to Seo-jun's side, putting the grass he had picked into the basket, following Seo-jun.

“Ha-rang can do it too!”

“Our Ha-rang is awesome. He's better than teacher Ee-deun!”

It was a problem that the inedible weeds went into the herb basket and the mugwort went into the grass basket.

Seo-jun quickly moved his hand so that Ha-rang wouldn't notice and switched the mugwort and the weeds. Park Ee-deun laughed at the sight of Seo-jun.

“Ee-deun, that's grass.”

“…Isn't it shepherd's purse?”

“Shepherd's purse looks like this.”

Seo-jun showed him the well-trimmed shepherd's purse. Seeing the clearly different appearance from the grass he was holding, Park Ee-deun closed his mouth and carefully picked out the grass from the herb basket.

Seo-jun and Park Ee-deun sorted out the edible herbs from the many weeds by type and headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, they were busy preparing to fry some fritters. It could be dangerous to use oil, so Heo Un-sung and Jung Na-hee blocked the children from approaching and played with them. Both of them looked exhausted.

“Hehehehe.”

The more they were told not to, the more they wanted to do it.

Park Ee-deun, who noticed the children sneaking up to the kitchen, shouted and ran. The children laughed and ran away.

“I'm going to catch Ha-rang!”

“Kyahaha!”

Ha-rang was already in there.

“They’re having fun.”

“You don't know how much energy they have.”

Seo-jun laughed at the sight of the children who were more lively and energetic than the last time he came, and the teachers who looked more detached than the last time.

“What can I help you with?”

Seo-jun rolled up his sleeves and asked. He had a certificate in Korean cuisine. Kim Ja-young smiled brightly and said.

“I'm going to make fried chicken and seasoned chicken, and vegetable fritters with the herbs that the kids brought. Can you chop some chicken and vegetables for me?”

“Sure. Do you want me to chop them small?”

“Yes.”

As Seo-jun took out the vegetables and herbs from the basket and chopped them into small pieces that were easy for the children to eat, Kim Ja-young made the sauce for the seasoned chicken. She focused on the sweet taste that the children liked. Kim Ja-young, who was tasting the sauce, looked at Seo-jun, who was cutting the carrots evenly as if he had measured them.

“Do you want me to make something separate for the teachers? It's quite sweet to suit the kids’ taste.”

“Yes. It would be nice if you made it a bit spicy.”

“Then I’ll make a super spicy sauce too!”

Kim Ja-young laughed like a witch stirring a big pot of seasoned chicken sauce, as if she was thinking of playing a game of chance.

“But there's more than last time.”

Seo-jun, who was trimming the mountain of chicken, said. Kim Ja-young laughed.

“The kids eat so well. It's hard to prepare the rice!”

She said it was hard, but her expression was bright. Seo-jun also smiled and said. It was better than not eating, even if it was hard to prepare.

“Shall we fry them now?”

It was time to fry everything.

They prepared a cold batter to make the fritters crispy and Seo-jun poured oil into the home fryer. When the temperature was right, Kim Ja-young put the chicken coated with batter into the fryer. The chicken sizzled and bubbled as it plunged into the hot oil.

“The sound of frying is so good. You could make it into an ASMR.”

“I know, right?”

The sound of frying mixed with the sound of rain as the chicken turned golden brown. They fried the chicken once, drained the oil, and fried it again to make it crispier. They also made vegetable fritters with canned herbs. In the meantime, the egg soup, rice, and side dishes were ready.

The large dining table was filled with delicious food. The children rushed over without anyone calling them. It was thanks to the crispy chicken smell that filled the [Chicks in the Forest].

“Chicken! It's chicken!”

“Kids! You have to wash your hands before you eat!”

Heo Un-sung and Jung Na-hee, who had half-lost their souls, followed the children and wiped their hands.

“Teacher! Ha-rang's hand!”

Ha-rang, who was playing with Park Ee-deun, ran over to Seo-jun without looking back and held out his tiny hands. Seo-jun smiled and wiped Ha-rang's hands. Park Ee-deun, who was looking for a wet tissue to wipe Ha-rang's hands, shouted.

“Yu Ha-rang! You traitor! The teacher even lifted you up high!”

“Hehehehe!”

Ha-rang didn't care at all.

The children who had cleaned their hands sat in their seats. Heo Un-sung looked at the monitor that occupied the head of the table.

“Do we need a monitor today?”

“We have him here!”

Everyone looked at Seo-jun and laughed. Seo-jun also smiled.

The teachers sat down between the children and Seo-jun sat next to Ha-rang.

“Let's eat well.”

“Let's eat well!”

The children shouted loudly and reached for the chicken first. Ha-rang's fork also stabbed a fried chicken. He bit off a piece of fried chicken and chewed hard. Ha-rang's cheeks looked like a hamster eating sunflower seeds.

“Delicious!”

“The chicken is yummy!”

The children's faces bloomed with smiles.

It was a pleasant mealtime.

After dinner, the children who had played for a while gathered in the study room. In the center of the low table where the children sat, there were colorful papers, colored pencils, sketchbooks, and crayons.

Kim Ja-young smiled and said.

“It's Parents’ Day soon, so let's make some carnations for mom and dad.”

“Yay!”

Under the guidance of the teachers, the children made carnations. There were origami ones and ones that were made by cutting and gluing petals. The children smiled brightly as they looked at the carnations that they liked.

Heo Un-sung held a sheet of paper and said.

“Who wants to write a letter to mom and dad, saying I love you? You can also draw pictures and use these stickers to make it pretty.”

“I do!”

“Me too!”

The older kids who knew some Korean wrote letters on the pretty paper with pencils, while the younger ones who didn't know much Korean copied the letters that the teachers wrote.

“Teacher. Teacher.”

“Hmm?”

Seo-jun sat next to Myung-jin, who called him. He seemed to have trouble thinking of a word to write, so Seo-jun smiled and wrote it in large letters on a sketchbook so he could see it well.

Ha-rang, who was watching Seo-jun, moved closer and tapped Park Ee-deun's leg. Park Ee-deun looked at Ha-rang with a puzzled expression.

“Teacher. Teacher.”

“Huh? Seo-jun, can you call the teacher for me?”

Park Ee-deun said that reflexively, as if Ha-rang had been looking for Seo-jun for a long time. Ha-rang shook his head vigorously.

“No!”

“No? Then why?”

“Ha-rang letter!”

“Letter? Oh, you want to write a letter too.”

“Yeah!”

Park Ee-deun thought for a moment and whispered to Ha-rang.

“To teacher Seo-jun?”

“Yeah yeah!”

“Okay. What do you want to write?”

Ha-rang whispered in Park Ee-deun's ear. Park Ee-deun smiled and wrote the letters with a crayon on a large sketchbook. Ha-rang stuck to him like glue. On the screen, ha-rang copied the letters that Park Ee-deun wrote with his crooked handwriting.

He also drew a heart and a picture of himself and Seo-jun. He giggled happily. Park Ee-deun whispered to Ha-rang, who was drawing.

“Ha-rang, draw teacher Ee-deuntoo. Teacher Ee-deun also wants a letter.”

“No!”

“Hey!”

Park Ee-deun tickled Ha-rang, who laughed out loud. Seo-jun, who was smiling contentedly as he saw Myung-jin finish his letter, turned around.

“What are you two doing?”

Park Ee-deun and Ha-rang looked at each other and grinned.

“It's a secret!”

“Secret!”

Seo-jun blinked at the two who were in sync.

***

After writing the letters for their parents, the sky darkened. Ha-rang, who was looking at the darkening sky, turned his head and looked at Seo-jun. He seemed to be holding something behind his back, fiddling with something.

“Teacher Seo-jun.”

“Hmm?”

“Ha-rang say bye-bye?”

Seo-jun widened his eyes and then smiled and said. He must have thought that he would leave when it got dark, like last time.

“Today, teacher will sleep here too.”

Ha-rang's fiddling stopped.

His round eyes and pouty lips opened wide.

No way!

Teacher Seo-jun is staying!

Ha-rang's cheeks flushed. His heart pounded with surprise and excitement. He forgot about the colorful handkerchief he had hidden behind his back and clung to Seo-jun.

“Sleep with Ha-rang?!”

“Yeah. With Ha-rang.”

“Wow!”

The teachers laughed at Ha-rang's joy, who raised his hands high.

The next morning.

After finishing their last meal at [Chicks in the Forest], the children packed their things from home, while the teachers brought gifts for the children. The children were excited to tear the wrapping paper of the surprise gifts.

Thanks to their careful observation, the gifts that the teachers gave were perfect for the children.

“Wow! Doggy!”

Ha-rang hugged the doggy doll (werewolf-wolf version (renewal)/made by Monster Co.) that Seo-jun gave him and smiled widely.

“Ha-rang like it?”

“Like it!”

Ha-rang clung to Seo-jun and nodded his head repeatedly at his question. Seeing his happy face, he felt that it was worth asking Uncle Hee-sang for a favor at the last minute.

The children showed off their gifts to each other, and they saw cars coming from afar. It was their parents’ cars. They saw the cars and shouted happily, “Mommy!”

“Daddy!” and ran towards them. They looked back as if they realized something.

In front of the beautiful and cool [Chick Class], the five teachers wearing different colored aprons were smiling and standing. Jung Na-hee and Park Ee-deun were a little teary-eyed.

The children looked back and forth between the cars and the teachers, and then ran back to the teachers with sad faces. They hugged their favorite teachers. Park Ee-deun hugged the sobbing Ye-rin and Jung Na-hee hugged Myung-jin, looking like she was about to cry more.

Seo-jun also comforted Ha-rang, who hugged him. Ha-rang seemed to have already burst into tears, as his body was shaking. Even if it was a prepared farewell, it was still sad.

“Ha-rang, shall we say goodbye now?”

“…Yeah.”

Ha-rang sniffled and stomped his feet. He meant to ask him to put him down, so Seo-jun put Ha-rang on the ground. He ran to the bags and brought something from his bag. It was a letter envelope with a sticker on the side that opened, neatly folded.

“This… teacher Seo-jun's!”

“Teacher's gift?”

“Yeah!”

He sniveled but bravely said everything he wanted to say, and Seo-jun smiled and opened the envelope. It was thicker and bigger than a normal envelope, and there was a handkerchief inside.

Seo-jun unfolded the handkerchief. It was white with colorful paints stained all over. He didn't know yet because it hadn't been broadcasted, but he could imagine how hard Ha-rang had worked on it. It was so pretty and precious that he felt like he couldn't use it.

“What a pretty handkerchief! Teacher will treasure it.”

“Hehehe.”

Ha-rang smiled shyly as he hugged Seo-jun. There was not only a handkerchief but also a letter in the envelope. It looked like a sketchbook, but the part that was supposed to be on the spring was neatly cut. Park Ee-deun must have helped him.

Seo-jun opened the letter. Ha-rang wiggled his butt.

On the white sketchbook, a tall person who looked like Seo-jun and a small person who looked like Ha-rang were holding hands and smiling.

There were also big hearts everywhere and shiny star-shaped stickers.

Next to it, there were crooked letters. He must have written them hard, as there were marks of pressing hard.

[Teacher Seo-jun I love you Ha-rang]

“Teacher Seo-jun love you! Ha-rang like teacher best!”

With a face full of tears and snot, ha-rang smiled brightly and said. Seo-jun paused for a moment and looked back and forth between the letter and Ha-rang, then said with a choked voice.

“…Teacher loves Ha-rang too. Really.”

“Hehehe.”

The tender scene of Ha-rang and Seo-jun was captured on the camera.