Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 2.1
Tae-seung was wearing two backpacks, one in front and one on his back. The one on his back was his own, while the one strapped across his chest was Go Eun-sae’s.
Same brand, same design, same color. Their mothers had bought them as a playful matching set, and neither Tae-seung nor Eun-sae had any complaints about wearing them.
[Eunha Snack Shop]
Tae-seung and Eun-sae stopped for a moment in front of the snack shop they always visited after school.
“Hello. Two cups of tteokbokki, please.”
Eun-sae ordered in a clear, bright voice.
Next to the wide iron griddle where the tteokbokki was bubbling, a row of oil-drained fried snacks was neatly lined up. Among them were pork cutlet skewers shaped like famous characters, but Eun-sae didn’t spare them a single glance.
“Are you going to taekwondo again today?”
At Eun-sae’s question, Tae-seung only nodded silently.
“I heard you took the promotion test last time. So what rank are you now?”
“Fourth dan.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
He had never once thought it was boring. Just as it was natural to go to school every morning, going to the taekwondo studio after school was just as routine.
For Go Eun-sae, who had quit after three months of joining, it might have seemed strange.
“I wanted to wear a black belt too…”
Eun-sae hadn’t even managed to move past the beginner’s white belt. Even when she practiced simple kicks, she often lost her balance and fell backward on her bottom.
“If you practice, you can do it.”
When Tae-seung replied calmly, Eun-sae pouted and grumbled.
“It didn’t work for me. You practice more.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to study hard and become a doctor.”
“You’re bad at studying.”
“…”
Eun-sae’s eyes wavered as if an earthquake had struck. She pressed her lips together tightly, but something seemed about to burst from within.
Tae-seung realized his mistake, but it was too late to take back what he said.
In the recent midterm exams, Eun-sae’s grades had been near the bottom. Her report card was not much different from Tae-seung’s, who focused on sports instead of academics.
If Eun-sae had been a good student, or even just average, those words wouldn’t have hurt so much. But unintentionally, he had hit a sore spot.
“Kids! Here are your two cups of tteokbokki. Enjoy and come again!”
Tae-seung tore off some tissue, wrapped it around the bottom of the paper cup, and handed one to Eun-sae.
“It’s hot, so hold it like this.”
Still puffing angrily through her nose, Eun-sae accepted the cup of tteokbokki. It was hard to tell whether the steam rising up came from the hot tteokbokki or from her nostrils.
Holding a cup each, Tae-seung and Eun-sae walked side by side toward the apartment complex.
Normally, Eun-sae would chatter nonstop, but perhaps because of what Tae-seung had said earlier, she barely opened her mouth except when eating.
Tae-seung wasn’t used to this kind of silence. He was always with Eun-sae, and she was always talkative to the point of being noisy. He had no idea how to make her feel better now that she was clearly upset.
Rather than risk making things worse, he decided to stay quiet. Then, after finishing her last piece of tteokbokki, Eun-sae rolled her eyes and spoke.
“When I get to middle school, I’ll study hard.”
Her low, determined tone sounded oddly solemn. Tae-seung replied briefly.
“Okay.”
“Anyway, elementary school studying and middle school studying are totally different, so being good at studying in elementary school doesn’t even matter.”
“Okay.”
“If you study too hard now, you’ll get sick of it later, so I’m just not doing it.”
“Okay.”
“My mom and dad said it’s more important for me to grow up healthy than to get good grades.”
“Okay.”
“So studying isn’t really necessary, right?”
“That’s right.”
It was complete nonsense, but Tae-seung agreed anyway. Finally, Eun-sae’s sulky expression softened. Thank goodness.
“Should I visit your taekwondo studio again today? It’s been a while since I saw the Master.”
“…Instructor.”
“Yeah, that.”
Though Eun-sae had briefly attended the taekwondo studio when they were younger, she still sometimes tagged along just to hang out. Tae-seung couldn’t bring himself to tell her that she’d be better off using that time to practice or study.
***
After class ended, whenever Tae-seung came out the back door of the classroom, Go Eun-sae was always there.
Standing in front of the shoe rack, clutching her backpack straps tightly, she rocked up and down on her heels.
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