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Ae-jeong, who had disposed of almost all their old furniture, had spent the intervening time shopping for new pieces like a woman possessed. As a result, while it cost a great deal of money, an interior design of some kind of rootless origin was born.
Because she had been so preoccupied with imitating things she found impressive in wealthy homes, there was no consistency in the style she pursued. She bought various expensive and trendy items—ranging from modern and classic to French antique—and placed them throughout the house.
Large paintings hung on the walls, encased in ornate, antique-style gilded frames. She even installed museum lighting on the ceiling. However, the paintings inside the frames were Giclee reproductions of Impressionist masterpieces—so famous that they actually looked tacky.
Regardless, Ae-jeong was extremely satisfied with the interior she had decorated herself.
Jiyu was thrilled to have a massive built-in bookshelf stretching from floor to ceiling and a bathroom all to herself. She also loved that, instead of the noisy Fifth Avenue, she could look out the window and see a tranquil courtyard and a treehouse.
On a weekend evening, after the unpacking was mostly finished.
Ae-jeong urged Jiyu and Alan to change into nice clothes for dinner.
“Why do I have to change just to eat? I’m tired from unpacking...”
As Jiyu grumbled and lingered, Ae-jeong pushed her along.
“In wealthy homes, you change into something pretty for dinner, and then—aha! You light candles and cut steak! That’s how it’s done.”
Ae-jeong was already grilling steaks, wearing a sophisticated dress that reached her knees with an apron tied over it.
Alan and Jiyu changed their clothes and sat around a newly purchased, mid-century modern style round marble table.
Ae-jeong lit the ornate French antique candelabra placed in the center of the lavish spread of food. Watching this, the father and daughter exchanged glances. Alan winked and gave a slight nod, as if suggesting they just go along with what their mother wanted.
With her heavy makeup, gold jewelry dangling from her, and a smile so wide it seemed to reach her ears, Ae-jeong truly could not have looked any happier.
That excitement seeped into those watching her.
[Honey, shall I pour some champagne?]
Alan suggested with a smile.
“Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot. Darling, of course! Give me champagne.”
He returned with three glasses and a bottle of champagne. He placed a glass in front of Jiyu and poured her a sip.
[It’s a special day, so you can pretend too.]
With the appetizing steak before them, Alan raised his glass.
[To our family's happiness!]
“Cheers!”
[Cheers!]
As the glasses clinked, the clear sound of the crystal glasses filled with liquid echoed through the candlelit living room.
Jiyu sniffed and tilted the champagne glass to her lips. After touching a bit of the champagne to the tip of her tongue, she was startled by the tingling bubbles and the bitter taste, quickly pulling the glass away.
Seeing this, Alan and Ae-jeong burst into laughter. Jiyu laughed awkwardly and set the glass down.
It was a night where the laughter didn't stop.
They made plans to visit Naples, Florida, during winter break, and decided to go to the Bahamas during spring break.
Jiyu confessed that she wanted to try earning pocket money by working as a babysitter. Ae-jeong asked why she would want to go through such hardship, but Alan agreed, saying it was a good idea and that she would learn a lot.
She hadn't yet revealed that she planned to take a children's book author class at a nearby community center, fearing her mother would make a fuss and interfere, telling her to do this or that.
‘I’ll tell them during winter break.’
She shrugged and listened to Ae-jeong's endless chatter. It was a night that would remain in her memory for a long time as one of her happiest days.
✾ ✾ ✾
[Waaaah, big sister! Don't go, hnnng...!]
Kneeling on the floor, Jiyu wrapped her arms around the girl's neck and patted Daisy, who was sobbing uncontrollably and refusing to let go. With a troubled expression, Jiyu looked up at the teachers surrounding them.
Having come down to the lower school library for a brief errand before her supplementary class, she had happened upon Daisy crying in front of the classroom and found herself stuck.
The kindergarten children, wearing backpacks and standing in a neat line outside the classroom, watched them with curious eyes.
[Daisy, Olivia has a class, so she has to go back up now.]
Miss Janice comforted Daisy. Having started as an assistant teacher when Jiyu first entered kindergarten, she was now Daisy's homeroom teacher.
At that, Daisy wailed even harder, clinging desperately to Jiyu. Jiyu worried the child might collapse from crying so hard she was gasping for breath.
From the fragmented words emerging through the sobs, Jiyu inferred that her friends weren't playing with her.
Because she was "stupid."
Come to think of it, Jiyu remembered Azure mentioning in passing a while ago that Daisy had been having some problems lately.
Perhaps because she had known her since she was a baby, Daisy followed Jiyu like a real older sister. Jiyu's heart wasn't cold enough to leave Daisy behind while she was clinging and crying.
Thanks to Ae-jeong sharing every detail about Hunter's house, Jiyu knew that Rosa had gone to Guatemala for three weeks to visit family. She had heard they hired a temporary babysitter, but according to Miss Janice, the sitter apparently couldn't come due to a sudden accident.
That meant they had to wait for Lauren, but she was currently in surgery and unreachable by phone, and Jerard was on an overseas business trip and couldn't be contacted—a total deadlock.
After thinking for a moment, Jiyu asked Miss Janice.
[Um, would it be okay if I took Daisy home? We live in the same building. My last class is a supplementary one, so I think I can ask the teacher for understanding.]
[Thank you, Olivia. How kind of you. But according to the regulations, that's impossible without parental consent.]
Just then, Miss Carlton approached with a phone and handed it to Miss Janice.
[It's Mrs. Hamilton.]
While the teacher spoke with Lauren, Jiyu stood up while holding Daisy. The child continued to cling to her tightly, sobbing sorrowfully.
After finishing the call, Miss Janice nodded toward Jiyu.
[I just finished talking with Mrs. Hamilton, and she said the surgery is over now. However, she said it will be 4 o'clock at the earliest before she can arrive. She'd be very grateful if you could take her, but if that's too much, she said to hand her over to Daisy's brother, Hunter. That would be better, wouldn't it?]
Flustered, Jiyu shook her head vigorously.
[O-oh, no. I can take her. Please don't worry.]
[Is that so? Are you sure you're okay?]
[Of course!]
She nodded several times.
[Then I'll leave it to you. I have to go out now to supervise the students' dismissal.]
Watching Miss Janice hurriedly lead the lined-up children away, Jiyu whispered into Daisy's ear.
[Daisy, stop crying. If you stop now, I'll buy you gummy worms at Lucky Market on the way home.]
As if a stop button had been pressed, the child's sobbing ceased for a moment. When the crying started again, the intensity was much weaker.
[Hic... not those, but fish... hic... gummies?]
[Okay. I'll buy you fish gummies. Oh, do you want to go up to the 6th floor and see my locker?]
The 6th floor was a level permitted only to high school students. From the perspective of lower school children, it was the coolest, most mysterious territory in the school.
Daisy continued to sniffle but nodded repeatedly. Her tear-stained face was already full of curiosity.
Jiyu went up to the 6th floor with the child, explained the situation to the teacher, showed her the locker, and then, as promised, bought her a bag of fish-shaped gummies from the deli in front of the school.
Holding the small hand of Daisy, who was chewing on a red fish and smiling brightly as if she had never cried, Jiyu stepped into the Hamilton Residence for the first time in a while. Led by the child's hand, she headed toward the play room.
The play room, overflowing with pink, unicorns, and rainbows, was now Daisy's space, not Hunter's.
[I wish I could read books well like you, big sister.]
[Hmm. Shall we try reading together? I'll teach you.]
Though she spoke clearly and articulately, Daisy was exceptionally slow in learning the alphabet and phonics. Jiyu remembered hearing that she hadn't even been able to attempt Hangul.
Jiyu wondered if the "stupid" comments from earlier were perhaps because she was being teased by her friends for not being able to read.
She was anxious that Hunter might burst in, but since it was still high school class time, she had a bit of leeway. Jiyu sat Daisy on her lap and read a children's storybook together, pointing to each line with her finger.
It was only when Lauren rushed into the play room that the two of them looked up from the book. Daisy slid off Jiyu's lap and dove into the arms of her mother, who had her arms wide open.
[Hello.]
Jiyu greeted her politely and put the book back on the shelf. Lauren, holding Daisy, approached Jiyu as she gathered her backpack and thanked her repeatedly with overwhelming gratitude. Then, she spoke cautiously.
[Olivia, I wonder if...]
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