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Chapter 63: Preschool Division, Lee Jun
TL: Enuma ID
Four in the afternoon.
It was time to head home.
The moment Lee Jun settled into the back seat, he started to doze off.
He'd been on the go all day, no breaks, since morning.
W̌е b̈_n̊ о̃v̆е̊l̂ Е̄ n ůṁ а
Drawing characters, writing Hangul, doing arithmetic, eating lunch, drawing with crayons.
In his six years of life, he'd never had such a busy day.
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His head nodded forward.
Then it tipped to the side. Yoon-ho was there.
Yoon-ho was already asleep with his head against the opposite window. Mouth hanging open.
Chae-rin, on the other side. Her head drooping too, both arms wrapped around her bag.
Е̌ n̂ ǔ m̊ а́
Three kids asleep in a row.
Ms. Min Ji-hye checked the back seat in the rearview mirror.
All three were out cold.
For Lee Jun especially, being his first day, it must have been exhausting.
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A new environment, new people, new things, all at once.
The car crossed the Han River. The children had no idea.
W̌_е bǹ о̇ vе̄l E̊ n̄u m̈ ă
They arrived home one by one.
Yoon-ho was dropped off first. His mom came out and scooped him up into her arms.
Without even opening his eyes, Yoon-ho went limp against her shoulder.
Chae-rin was next. Half awake, wobbling.
She walked off with her mom, bag still hugged tight.
Last. Lee Jun.
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The car pulled up in front of the officetel.
So-young was standing outside the building.
She'd actually been waiting a good while.
The teacher opened the car door.
Lee Jun was asleep alone in the back seat.
"Jun. Wake up. We're home."
Е nū m̃ а̇.
"Mmngh......"
The same answer as this morning.
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So-young came over and lifted him down into her arms.
Lee Jun slumped against his aunt's shoulder. He was heavy.
"Oof, you're heavy. Jun, can you wake up for me? Auntie's arms are giving out."
"Mm..."
Е̌ n ũ m̀ ȧ
Once out of the car, he stood on the ground.
Holding his aunt's hand. Eyes still closed.
"Ms. Min, how was Jun today? Did he settle in okay?"
So-young asked.
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She'd been so worried she couldn't even focus on her webtoon work.
"He did great. He hit it off with the other kids right away, too."
W̆ е̌b̄ǹ о̇ v̈ еl̇ Е ñ u m̈ а̃
Min Ji-hye said with a smile.
"Really? I was worried because he doesn't have any friends. I thought he might be shy with strangers."
"Not at all. He was the most popular kid in class today."
So-young's face brightened.
Min Ji-hye chose her words for a moment.
"And, ma'am, there's one thing I'd like to mention."
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"Yes?"
"I think Jun can keep up with the basic curriculum in the preschool division. His Hangul and arithmetic are a bit weak, but he learns quickly."
"Oh, okay."
"But art is a different matter."
Min Ji-hye paused.
"Honestly, there's nothing the preschool curriculum can teach Jun when it comes to art. From what he drew in today's art session, he's well beyond the preschool level. Frankly, even compared to the older elementary kids..."
Еń ǔ ma..іd
"Oh, okay. I'll leave that to your judgment, then. Whatever's best for Jun."
"So what we were thinking is, he'd stay in the preschool division for the basics, but take his art lessons with an advanced class. What do you think?"
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In other words, skipping ahead a grade, but only in art.
That Jun's art was extraordinary was something So-young knew perfectly well, of course.
In that case, learning the same things as the preschool kids might not do Jun much good.
And just as So-young, thinking this, was about to nod.
Ẽn̆uṁ å
Lee Jun moved.
Lee Jun, who'd been dozing with his aunt's hand in his, lifted his head.
His eyes weren't fully awake. Half shut.
But he'd been listening.
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Lee Jun tugged his aunt's hand. With his little hand.
"Auntie."
Ѐ nůmă
"Hm? Jun, you're awake?"
"...I want to do it with my friends."
Even in his sleepy voice, he said it clearly.
"I want to draw with them too."
So-young looked at him.
Half-closed eyes. A voice still thick with sleep.
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But what he was saying was clear.
Friends.
Her nephew had used that word.
For the first time.
He'd had no friends in Busan. None in Seoul either.
He'd once gone so far as to draw a black silhouette in a picture and call it 'friend'.
Ė núm̆а.і̊_d́
And now, in a single day, he'd made friends.
Her eyes went hot without warning.
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"Okay. If that's what you want, Jun, then that's what we'll do."
So-young hugged him tight.
Lee Jun went limp against her shoulder again. He seemed to have fallen back asleep.
So-young looked at Min Ji-hye.
Ёn ū m_а
"Ms. Min, I'm sorry, but since Jun wants to do everything with his friends...... could he do art in the preschool division too?
I know art-education-wise it might fall short for him, but we'll take care of that ourselves, separately."
Min Ji-hye thought for a moment.
What does this child need more?
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Art education suited to his level? Time spent with friends his own age?
Either way, it needed more discussion first.
Ŵ ë_b́ n ö vé l Е_n ú mã
"All right, understood for now. I'll talk it over more with the other teachers."
"Yes. Thank you."
Min Ji-hye got into the car.
So-young bowed her head in farewell. The sleeping Lee Jun still in her arms.
*
Meanwhile, Ha-eun's parents had come to pick her up by car.
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A black SUV. An expensive import.
Her dad in the driver's seat, her mom in the passenger seat.
Ha-eun opened the back door and climbed in.
"Mom! Dad!"
Her voice was brighter than usual. Her mom turned to look.
"Oh my, did something nice happen today?"
Е̌ n û mа̊ .і̂ d
"Yeah!"
Ha-eun rummaged through her bag.
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She pulled out a rolled-up sheet of drawing paper. It was the portrait of herself Lee Jun had drawn for her.
"Mom, look at this!"
She thrust the drawing between the front seats.
Her mom took it. It showed Ha-eun's smiling face.
Е̂ ṅū mа
A crayon drawing that didn't look like crayon at all. Not something Ha-eun had drawn.
Ha-eun's mom's eyes went wide with surprise.
"Who drew this?"
"The new kid in my class! Lee Jun!"
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"Lee Jun?"
"Yeah! You know that kid who won the Grand Prix, the Overall Grand Prize? He came to my class today!"
W ē b n ŏ vе̇ľ Е̂ ǹ ùm̊а̃
Ha-eun's voice was proud as she talked about Lee Jun. Nothing like the brusque tone she used at the academy.
The car pulled away. Her dad spoke, watching Ha-eun in the rearview mirror.
"The Grand Prix? At the art competition this time?"
"Yeah! The kid who was even on TV!"
Ha-eun said excitedly.
"And he drew this of me! During draw-your-deskmate time! He drew me smiling!"
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Her mom studied the drawing closely.
A drawing whose subject's expression was alive.
The flush of the cheeks, the light in the hair, even the technique for catching a fleeting expression.
It was hard to believe a six-year-old had drawn it.
"It's well done."
her mom said. Her voice was measured.
Ê ńům̄ á
"Mom, it's way more than well done! It really looks like me! He even drew my front teeth!"
Ha-eun chattered on, thrilled.
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"But he's so funny. He can't really read, can't do arithmetic either. So I taught him, okay? But he draws so well. He can copy a character after seeing it just once, I'm telling you. And at lunchtime, you know......"
The car filled up with Ha-eun's voice.
She'd never gone on about the academy for this long before.
Her mom handed the drawing back to Ha-eun and glanced to the side.
Е̊ṅ u m̃ а̃ .і̃d̊
She caught her husband's eye in the driver's seat.
"Honey."
her mom said in a low voice. So Ha-eun wouldn't hear.
"A kid this good shouldn't be in the same class as Ha-eun, should he?"
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Her dad glanced at the rearview mirror. Ha-eun was holding up the drawing, still giddy.
"You're right. There's no way she won't get compared to him."
W̃ е̊ b̊ ń о̄v̂е̄ l Е̇n ŭ m̃а̄
"Up till now Ha-eun's been the best artist in the preschool division. A kid like this comes in, she'll get buried."
Her mom dropped her voice further.
"It could hurt her later, with recommendations or competition entries. Every teacher's eye is going to be on that boy."
"Should we talk to the principal? Ask them to split the class, or something."
"I think we should. I'll call tomorrow."
"...Mom."
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Ha-eun lowered the drawing.
"Hm?"
"I won't get buried."
She said it looking straight ahead.
The car went quiet.
Her mom turned around.
Е̂ n̈u m̈а̃. і d̀
"Ha-eun."
"I heard everything. You and Dad talking."
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Ha-eun's voice was trembling.
But she spoke clearly.
"I know Jun's good. He's way better than me. So what?"
"......"
Ĕn̂ù ḿа
"Jun told me mine was good. When he saw my drawing. He said the spiky hair looked just like his."
Ha-eun hugged the drawing Lee Jun had given her tight against herself.
"Jun didn't compare us, so why are you and Dad comparing?"
Her mom fell silent.
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Her dad, too, looked away from the mirror.
Ha-eun's eyes had gone red. She looked about to cry.
W е̄ bn̄ оv́ е́l̃ Е_ñ u̇ m̂ а̌
But she didn't cry. She puffed out her cheeks and stared out the window.
"......Ha-eun, don't you worry about that. Your mom and dad will handle it."
The car drove on.
Ha-eun stayed silent the whole way.
*
The next morning.
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Two phone calls came into the academy's principal's office.
The first was Ha-eun's mother.
"I hear the child who won the Grand Prix is in the same class as mine. If you keep a child who draws that well in the same class, won't the other children feel discouraged?"
It was polite, but the point was clear. She didn't want her child being compared.
The principal said she understood and hung up.
The second call was Han So-young. Lee Jun's aunt.
Е̊ ñ ů m̈ а .і̌d́
"Jun says he wants to draw together with his friends. Could he do art in the preschool division with them too? Even the professor who teaches Jun art said he thinks it would be good for Jun to be with his friends in the preschool division."
The principal again said she understood and hung up.
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The two calls pointed in exactly opposite directions.
The principal called in Ms. Min Ji-hye.
"Ha-eun's mother called."
"I figured she might."
W̃ е̌b̂no vеľ Е̌ ň um̃ а̊
Min Ji-hye nodded.
It wasn't the first time a parent had called over something like this.
"And from Jun's guardian, too. Apparently Jun said he wants to stay in the preschool division with the others."
"Yes. I heard as much yesterday at pickup. Jun told me himself he wants to be with his friends."
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The principal thought for a moment.
A child who wanted to stay in the preschool division. Another parent who wanted them split apart.
Е̄ n̄um̊ à
Either way, some grumbling is inevitable.
"...I think we'd better report this to the Director first."
The principal called Director Yu Seo-jin.
She explained the whole situation.
The teachers' assessment, Ha-eun's parents' request, So-young's request, Lee Jun's own wishes.
Yu Seo-jin heard it all and said,
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"If he wants it and the other children have no problem with it, then leave it as is. Keep him in the preschool division."
"The art sessions too?"
"Yes. What that child needs isn't technical instruction. Professor Kim Yo-han will see to his art."
And she added,
"I'll get in touch with Ha-eun's mother myself, separately."
And that was that.
W е̄b ňо̃ v́ӗ l Е̌.númӑ
Lee Jun stayed in the preschool division.
Basics in the preschool division, art in the preschool division.
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Together with his friends.
And so Lee Jun's life at the academy began.
*
Eight o'clock on a weekday morning.
Е̂ ṅü m а̇ . і̃ d̈
When the yellow van comes, he says goodbye to his aunt and climbs in.
Yoon-ho and Chae-rin sit on either side of him. The same seats, every day.
"Lee Jun, did you watch Mystery Explorers yesterday?"
"Didn't watch it."
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"Again?! You really don't watch it?"
"Not even Catch! Aniping?"
W̆ ёb n̈ о̄v̆ё l Е̊ň ù ḿ ӑ
"Nope."
A similar conversation every day.
Lee Jun gave the same answer every day. That he hadn't watched it.
Every day Yoon-ho and Chae-rin were amazed. Just the same.
When they reach the academy, he changes into indoor slippers and heads to the classroom.
Ha-eun sits in the next seat.
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"Hi."
"Mm."
Ha-eun's reply was still curt.
But a little softer than that first day. Just a little.
In the mornings they learn Hangul and arithmetic.
Sometimes they'd learn English with a native-speaker teacher, too.
Ŵе́ b̄ n o̊v ēľ Énu m a
Sometimes they learned music or an instrument, sometimes they had P.E. outside. Sometimes a teacher read them a book.
Every day Lee Jun learned something new.
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His Hangul got a little better.
Once he figured out how to draw the letters, the form of his writing became perfect.
The problem was reading.
He could draw the characters, but there was a lot he didn't understand about what they meant.
W еbṅ о̀v̊ еl̄ Еnuḿа
"'Sa-ga'? What's a sa-ga?"
"It's sa-gwa. Apple. You know, the red thing."
"Oh, so this word says apple?" [TL Note: Jun misreads 사과 (sa-gwa, "apple") as "sa-ga". mixing up two similar Hangul letters.]
"You can draw the letters but you can't read them?"
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Ha-eun was dumbfounded.
Lee Jun nodded. It was true.
Ӗnu̇ m̄ а
For the first few days, Ha-eun had been on edge.
Worried that because of her parents, Jun might get moved to another class.
That, too, settled down after a few days. Because the worry that Jun would be moved was gone.
"Director Yu Seo-jin called, and apparently that Lee Jun boy won't be entering domestic competitions anymore. So there's no chance Ha-eun's recommender will change. I don't think we have to worry."
She doesn't really understand it all, but things seem fine now.
Ha-eun's mom even told her to get along with Jun.
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With arithmetic, Ha-eun kept helping Jun out.
Thanks to her, Lee Jun's arithmetic slowly improved.
The make-ten method for adding. At first he drew circles in his notebook, but after a few days he could do it without them.
"Eight plus seven?"
"Two short of ten. Take two from seven, that's five. Ten and five. Fifteen."
"That's right!"
Е̃.n ùm̌ а̌
Ha-eun nodded. With a teacherly look.
"Thanks, Teacher Ha-eun."
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"I told you I'm not a teacher!"
Ha-eun's cheeks went slightly pink.
The hardest thing was English.
It was Lee Jun's first time with English.
Ŵ е b n о̇ v̂е̌ l̈ Ё ñû ḿa
Letters he'd never seen in his life. Words he'd never heard.
Even when the native-speaker teacher greeted him in English, he had no idea how to answer.
"Hi, Jun!"
"Uh, um...... bonjour?"
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"Oh, no!"
The Shadow's hints were no help at times like this.
Ẁe b̂ ṅо́ ṽ е́l̀ Еñu̇m а̀
Lee Jun's favorite time was, of course, art time.
In the afternoons, out came the drawing paper and crayons.
Sometimes pastels or watercolor supplies came out instead.
Lee Jun's eyes lit up every time.
Crayons. Pastels. Watercolors. All tools he hadn't touched in a long time.
Drawing with tools like those was a real pleasure. It sometimes brought back memories of his time in Busan.
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The theme was different every time.
My family.
A favorite animal.
Something that happened yesterday.
A rainy day.
The children each drew their own picture.
Еǹǔ m̃а̃ .іd
Circle faces. Stick arms. Square houses. Triangle roofs.
Lee Jun drew too.
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Same tools. Same drawing paper.
But the results were different.
For 'a favorite animal', Lee Jun drew a giraffe.
Because he thought of the giraffe biscuit Chae-rin had given him at snack time.
Е̄ n.u.m а . іd
That, and he didn't really have any other favorite animal.
So he drew not a real giraffe but a biscuit giraffe.
The crisp, baked texture. A leg with a slight crack. A neck on the verge of snapping off.
The kids gathered around.
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"Is this a snack?"
"Yeah. Giraffe biscuit."
Еn ū mа
"It's supposed to be a favorite animal, so why draw a snack?"
"Because it's a favorite animal."
"A snack isn't an animal!"
The kids burst out laughing all at once. Lee Jun laughed too.
During the 'rainy day' session, he spent a long while looking out the window.
As it happened, it was raining that day.
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Raindrops clung to the window. Through them, the scenery outside looked warped.
Lee Jun drew a raindrop. Big.
Inside the raindrop sat a warped tree and building. Upside down.
"Lee Jun, what's this?"
"It's a raindrop."
"What's inside the raindrop?"
Eñ u ṁ а̄
"Look inside a raindrop and you can see outside."
The kids ran to the window and peered into the raindrops.
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It was true. Inside the raindrops, the world sat flipped upside down.
"Whoa! It's real!"
That day, half the class drew raindrops.
"But how do you draw it upside down?"
Е̃n um̌ а
"You just draw it and then flip the paper over."
"Lee Jun, you're a genius!"
After a few days, Lee Jun's place in the class settled in.
He 'draws' the neatest letters in the whole class. Reading them, he's still clumsy.
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Arithmetic, bottom of the pack. But improving fast.
English, dead last. He doesn't even know the alphabet yet.
Е̂ñum̊ а́ .і̄ d̆
And art, a different dimension entirely.
But nobody was cowed by it.
When Lee Jun drew something well, instead of being crushed, the kids copied it. They learned new things from his drawings and realized new things.
It didn't come out well, but it was fun. They got better at drawing, and drawing got more enjoyable.
And the same was true for Lee Jun.
A joy he'd never known when drawing alone.
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Drawing as 'play', together with friends. It was an experience Lee Jun had never had.
"Jun, how was today?"
Every time he came home, his aunt asked.
"It was fun."
The same answer every day.
And every day, So-young loved that same answer.
Wе̃b̂ n̄_о̊v́ е l Е̇num̊а̄
On the fridge hung Ha-eun's drawing of a spiky-haired Lee Jun.
A picture from his first friend.
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The drawings Lee Jun made at the academy piled up in a box, one by one, too.
Now and then So-young took them out and looked through them.
Proof that Lee Jun was spending his days happy.
That was enough.
Ẅ ӗ bn_о v̆ еĺ Ѐ ǹ ům̊ а
*****
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