On the day of Shia’s high school graduation, special guests came to visit.
The first guest was Seonah.
“Seonah unni!”
“Congratulations on your graduation, Shia. I wanted to bring Hyungbu and Jiah, but I couldn’t bring Jiah because
she isn’t on vacation yet. My husband said he couldn’t leave her alone, so they couldn’t come. Both of them asked me
to convey their congratulations on your graduation.”
“It’s okay. I already spoke with Jiah.”
And the second guest was Mina.
“Ah, uh, hello, Auntie…”
“Ah, Mina! Welcome!”
Mina hid behind Seonah’s legs, peeking out shyly while bowing her head to greet her.
Seeing her adorable demeanor, Shia tried to approach Mina to give her a hug, but—
“Ugh, eek…!”
Mina completely hid behind Seonah’s legs.
When Shia, feeling disappointed, lowered her head, Seonah gently patted Shia’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. She’s still quite shy. But don’t worry, Shia, she doesn’t particularly dislike you.”
“I know, so it’s fine. It can’t be helped.”
Even though they visited each other twice a year, the time spent apart was much longer. In that situation, Shia felt
satisfied that Mina had come along.
“You said you’re going back tomorrow evening, right, unni?”
“Yeah. I just had a bit of time before my business trip, so I stopped by. Oh, and here’s a gift. Congratulations on your graduation, Shia.”
Seonah said this as she handed Shia a paper bag she had been holding in her right hand.
Inside was……
“Uh, unni? Is this real?”
“Of course it’s real. Would I give you a fake?”
Inside was the latest model of a liquid crystal tablet worth over 2 million won.
“This is a gift to encourage you not to give up. You didn’t go to university, so you need to work even harder, right? Got it?”
“…Yeah. Th-thank you so much, unni.”
“Wow. Suddenly, you’re being so formal. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m just expressing my gratitude honestly!”
“Uh, um….”
As Shia was chatting with Seonah, Mina quietly opened her mouth.
“Uh? Mina, what’s up?”
“Shia Auntie. Congratulations on your g-graduation….”
“…Mina, can I hug you just once?”
“Eek…!”
“Ah, I wish I could just live in Japan, too.”
“Do you have the money?”
“Let me live at your house….”
“I wouldn’t mind, but what about the family? Shia, with your skills, you’re going to get busier and busier. Taking a
day off occasionally isn’t a problem, but planning a trip will be tough. I wouldn’t want to recommend getting too far
away from your parents.”
“That’s definitely true….”
After the graduation ceremony, Shia wandered around with Seonah and Mina before returning home to start
drinking with Seonah alone.
Shia’s parents had to leave for work right after the ceremony and would be back tomorrow, while Mina had already fallen asleep.
Now left alone with Seonah, who had been her benefactor, Shia began to open up without hesitation.
“Although my family isn’t particularly wealthy, our relationship isn’t bad either… I know how hard my parents
worked for me, so now I have to work for my family, right?”
Given that they had a considerable amount of debt, it would take a long time to pay it all off.
As Seonah had mentioned earlier, working to that extent would make it difficult to plan a trip, and since Seonah was
a director at a famous company in Japan, it would surely not be easy for her to schedule visits to Korea like this.
“Looks like we won’t see each other for a while?”
“Well, we can still keep in touch regularly. Our company will probably outsource to you often, so we won’t lose contact.”
“Ha….”
“Since I also visit Korea quite often, it’s enough to see each other then, right?”
After all, I really like my unni.
Shia swallowed that thought inside.
Even though Seonah had a blunt expression, she was truly kinder than anyone else. Knowing that her opportunities
to meet Seonah would decrease was disappointing.
“I really want to live in Japan, too….”
As Shia emptied her beer can, she sighed sincerely.
“I’m tired…”
After finishing a light drinking session with Seonah, Shia returned to her room to start working.
Even though she had drunk on such a commemorative occasion as graduation, Shia hardly had any time to rest.
The family circumstances were not good.
Of course, working while drinking was not particularly efficient, but she needed to make some progress on her work,
even if just a little.
“It’s difficult…”
This time, the high pay for the freelance job was a testament to the fact that the client was seeking a fairly high level
of quality. And that meant Shia’s reputation had risen enough to take on work of this caliber.
While Shia felt pride in that fact, there was also a growing sense of pressure within her, especially knowing that she
had received a liquid crystal tablet worth over 2 million won from Seonah today.
“Huh….”
Shia briefly set down the tablet pen, lying back to gaze at the ceiling.
She had given up on going to university because she couldn’t afford the tuition.
Of course, she hadn’t particularly wanted to go to university in the first place, but the biggest reason for her decision
was her family’s financial situation.
It would be a lie to say she had never dreamed of going to university and traveling like her friends.
And with today’s graduation ceremony, Shia was reminded once again of her reality.
“I’m a bit tired….”
“Shia Auntie….”
“Hmm?”
When Shia turned her head, she saw Mina standing at the door, fidgeting as she opened it.
“Did you wake up from your nap, Mina? Is it because you need the bathroom?”
“Uh-uh. No….”
“Then would you like to talk with your aunt?”
“Yeah…”
Shia stood up from her chair to catch her breath and approached Mina.
Although Mina flinched slightly, she didn’t run away.
Seeing the cute demeanor of Mina made Shia smile naturally.
Mina had always been like this with Shia.
Well, it had only been about two years, but ever since Mina learned to speak, the pattern had remained the same.
At first, she would hide behind Seonah or Jiah’s legs, shyly avoiding interaction.
Then, after about a day, she would call her “Aunt Shia” and come over to chat.
For Shia, who was still young and without children of her own, it was a really adorable display that naturally instilled
maternal feelings.
“Auntie was actually working right now, but thanks to you, I can take a break.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Of course, it is.”
In truth, being called “Auntie” felt a bit awkward for Shia, who had just graduated high school, but since she had
been addressed that way from the start, it no longer felt strange.
She had thought about having Mina call her “unni” like Jiah, but now it felt more endearing for Mina to call her
“Auntie.”
“If Auntie is working, then, um, it’s like drawing, right…?”
“Pff! Yeah. That’s right. Drawing.”
Mina, resembling Seonah’s husband, had a clumsy way of speaking Korean.
And since she was still young, her limited vocabulary made her adorable demeanor even more charming.
Seeing that, Shia couldn’t help but forget her fatigue and smile.
How could such a cute child speak so adorably? Shia always thought it was a given.
“I also want to try drawing, too….”
“Do you want to try it, Mina? Of course, I’ll let you.”
Without any hesitation, Shia handed the tablet pen to Mina at her cute request.
“Hehe…”
Then Mina started playing with the pen, letting out a silly giggle.
“How do you make the black color?”
“Auntie will do this kind of thing.”
And the completed artwork was…
“…Oh. Is this Jiah?”
“Yeah. It’s unni. Isn’t it pretty? Hehe….”
It was a portrait of Jiah.
Shia didn’t intend to say it was well-drawn; after all, she was a professional.
However, she was taken aback by the fact that the little girl, only five years old, had drawn this picture.
While the proportions were off, anyone who knew Jiah would surely recognize the characteristics captured in the drawing.
Mina had a talent for drawing.
That was the conclusion Shia reached.
“Mina, have you ever thought about continuing to draw?”
“D-Do I have to?”
“Yeah. The doodling you just did. What if you keep doing it when you get back home tomorrow?”
“But I don’t have this thing Auntie uses at home…….”
“It’s okay if you don’t have it. You can just do it in any notebook.”
“Got it. I had fun drawing, so hehe…”
This was how Mina started drawing.
“Well, it’s a pity that I got really busy afterward and didn’t have time to visit Japan…. But anyway, that’s what
happened back then.”
It was certainly true that Shia didn’t directly teach her how to draw, as she had initially said.
However, it was clear that Shia had been the reason Mina started drawing.
It was surprising to think that something like that had happened back in those days, which Mina couldn’t even remember.
Did she really feel immensely happy to hear that Mina was drawing? And even drawing this well? Amazing!
“Ha, hehe. Hehe..”
“And so! Auntie has something prepared for you!”
With that, Shia got up from her chair and headed into the living room.
What Auntie brought back was…
“E-Eek? Auntie, this is….”
“It’s okay. I also received a lot of help from Seonah unni back in the day. I hope you’ll use it comfortably.”
What Auntie handed over was the latest model from a famous liquid crystal tablet company, worth over 2 million yen.
“But keep drawing diligently as a hobby, and later, let’s collaborate on a drawing stream. That’ll be enough for me.”
“B-But….”
“Since I’ve always wanted to draw together with you sometime.” Auntie said.
“Th-Thank you….”
I was so happy.
It made me really happy that my favorite illustrator cared for me this much.
I felt so happy that tears could almost burst out from within me.
“I love you, Toka Mama. I’ll work hard from now on, Shia Auntie!”
“…Uh, yeah! Let’s do our best together!”
I sincerely expressed my gratitude.
“Being a mama and an aunt at the same time is a complicated family tree, haha….”
“Hehe….”
As she said this, Auntie’s gentle hand patting my head was incredibly soft.
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