Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 1.2
Eun-sae simply held her mother’s hand and sucked on her candy.
“What do you like, Tae-seung? Auntie will make you anything you want.”
Despite Eun-sae’s mother’s friendly question, Yoon Tae-seung kept his lips firmly sealed.
He didn’t even unwrap the candy he’d been given—just held it tightly in his hand.
Why wasn’t he eating it? It was the best flavor, strawberry cream.
“He’s always been a quiet kid, a bit shy, that’s all. Tae-seung, when an adult asks you something, you should answer.”
Urged on by his mother, Tae-seung hesitated for a moment before mumbling softly,
“…Japchae.”
“You like japchae? Eun-sae loves japchae too! You should definitely come visit, okay?”
But Tae-seung only stared at Eun-sae with a faint look of pity, as if she were a little foolish.
To sum it up, here’s what had happened:
It was after kindergarten hours. While the teacher was busy handing over other children to their parents, curious little Eun-sae peeked her head out through the open door.
That was when the man holding the pork cutlet skewer lured her in.
“Your mom couldn’t come today, so she asked me to pick you up instead.”
For Eun-sae—who often admired the cheerful elementary school girls walking home after class with skewers in hand—this was an irresistible temptation.
Her parents never bought her such snacks, saying they were unhealthy, which only made them seem even more delicious.
Before she realized it, she had followed the man all the way to a nearby park.
Sensing something was wrong, Yoon Tae-seung had followed behind and appeared at just the right moment, like a hero.
A short while later, when Eun-sae’s mother noticed her daughter was missing, she frantically searched the kindergarten grounds and finally found her, rushing over to scoop her into her arms.
The police arrived soon after, responding to the report. They questioned Eun-sae and Tae-seung about the man’s appearance and pieced together what had happened.
While the officers spoke with the children, their mothers struck up a conversation—and discovered that their kids were the same age and even lived in the same apartment complex.
Same age, same kindergarten, same class.
Naturally, it didn’t take long for a warm sense of closeness to form between the two families.
From that day on, the four of them went to and from kindergarten together, visiting each other’s homes freely.
As the friendship between the two mothers deepened, so too did the bond between Eun-sae and Tae-seung.
***
One day, Eun-sae followed Tae-seung to the taekwondo studio in their apartment complex.
It wasn’t because she wanted to learn taekwondo—she just wanted to see a place filled with kids her own age, not just her kindergarten classmates.
All the way there, she clutched the hem of Tae-seung’s white dobok (uniform) in one small hand.
He looked so cool. Almost like a hero—just like when he had saved her from the man with the pork cutlet skewer.
“Don’t hold on to me.”
Walking a few steps ahead, Tae-seung frowned and glanced back at her. Then he flicked away the small hand gripping his uniform.
Eun-sae clasped her hands together nervously and trailed after him, only to reach out once more and grab the fluttering edge of his uniform.
Tae-seung suddenly stopped again.
“I said don’t.”
Flick. Eun-sae looked down at her hand, now pushed away, and bit her lip.
Tae-seung’s pace quickened, but Eun-sae refused to give up. She almost ran just to keep up, trying to grab his uniform again.
Thanks to that, they arrived at the taekwondo studio even earlier than class time.
Tae-seung immediately stood before the mirror, his expression serious.
He extended his fist straight ahead, then kicked his leg up high, almost to his head.
“Wow…”
Eun-sae’s mouth fell open in awe.
Encouraged by her clapping, Tae-seung began to show off, spinning and moving in every direction, demonstrating the forms he had learned.
Fueled by Eun-sae’s enthusiastic applause, his movements grew even flashier—so much so that, to her eyes, he looked like he was flying through the air.
“You want to try?”
He asked, wearing a proud, slightly smug expression. But Eun-sae timidly shook her head.
“Then wear this.”
He untied the white belt from his waist and shrugged off the uniform top he had been wearing over his t-shirt.
It was the very thing Eun-sae had been eyeing the whole way there.
A crisp white dobok with a black and red stripe along the V-shaped collar, and a shining Taegeukgi patch sewn proudly onto the chest.
While Eun-sae shyly slipped it on over her t-shirt, Tae-seung picked up the white belt again and tied it tightly around his own waist.
Then, with a triumphant look, he returned to stand before the mirror and threw another punch with perfect form.
Eun-sae watched him in a daze, utterly captivated by every precise, powerful move.
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