Chapter 35
35. A Wolf Like a Puppy
"Our Jiho. Having fun?"
"Yeah. It's fun. We're going to see the wolves over there."
They were finally heading to the wolf enclosure to see the wolves from the fairy tale books. They might be a bit disappointed seeing them in real life. But no,
a small wolf pup was looking at them with cute sparkling eyes, wagging its tail slightly. Its soft gray fur
"Huh? The wolf looks just like a puppy!"
Jiho exclaimed in wonder, covering his mouth with his hand.
Naeun smiled and said,
"Right? Wolves and dogs look similar. They're in the same family."
The children were thrilled by the little wolf right in front of them, waving their hands and clapping, unable to hide their excitement. The wolf cub
seemed accustomed to the children's reactions, sitting quietly and nibbling on its front paw while watching them. Even that small gesture was so lovable that the children couldn't take their eyes off it.
A little later, as they reached the elephant enclosure, the children gaped in awe. A massive elephant swung its trunk
and captured their attention instantly.
Minho stared at the elephant in shock and muttered,
"Elephants are this big?"
Naeun laughed and asked,
"Yeah. Want to give it some food?"
Jiho shook his head vigorously and stepped back.
"No, no! What if the elephant eats my hand too!"
Jiho hid his hands behind his back and cautiously looked up at the elephant.
Naeun burst out laughing at Jiho's reaction. The elephant simply swung its long trunk leisurely, exuding enormous dignity,
but to the children, its size felt overwhelmingly like a giant from legends. Seeing the elephant eat food offered by people with its trunk, the scared Minho also refused to give it any food.
After touring the zoo like that, Kangwoo said,
"Let's take the lift down. Then we can see the whole view from above."
As they reached the lift area following Kangwoo's words, the attendant said,
"You'll have to hold the kids since they're young."
"Yes."
So Kangwoo held Minho, Naeun held Jiho, and the two rode side by side on the lift.
As the lift began to move smoothly, the children stared in awe at the scenery unfolding below their feet.
Bare winter tree branches glimmered faintly in the sunlight, and gray and brown trees cast shadows over the winter garden.
Kangwoo held Minho close and smiled, saying,
"Minho, look down there. See the tiny zoo?"
Minho's eyes widened as he looked below in wonder.
"Wow, Uncle, I can see the elephant house and the path we walked!"
Meanwhile, Naeun held Jiho tightly and quietly explained the view below together with him. Jiho looked at the scenery below excitedly and said in a thrilled voice,
"Mom, the merry-go-round we rode earlier—it's there! Wow!"
"Really?"
It was the merry-go-round spinning round below their feet. Naeun's heart filled with joy at Jiho's excitement and thrill.
As the lift descended slowly, a small pond sparkling like a mirror in the reflected winter sunlight came into view. Minho pointed at the pond.
"Wow, ice!"
Kangwoo felt the winter reality seeing the frozen pond. Minho cheered. Jiho also laughed excitedly, saying, "Wow. So fun."
Under the radiant sunlight, the children exclaimed in delight one after another, and Naeun and Kangwoo held the children tight while enjoying the view together. The quiet winter landscape unfolding below the lift and the children's laughter blended, making the lift feel like
a cradle of happiness.
"They're enjoying it so much."
At Naeun's words, Kangwoo nodded with a smile.
"I'm enjoying it too. I had no idea amusement parks were this fun. I feel resentful for only working all this time."
"Then let's come again next time."
"Will you make kimbap again then?"
Naeun tilted her head at Kangwoo's words.
"Hmm. We'll see then. But now that we're here, everything they sell looks delicious. We could buy some."
Before getting on the lift, the children had eaten huge hot dogs, and Kangwoo had followed suit. In his current situation of planning a protein diet and losing weight, they were all bad foods. Normally, he wouldn't have glanced at them,
but why had they tasted so good?
On the way home, the two kids in the back seat car seats fell asleep in an instant. Kangwoo grabbed Naeun's hand tightly while driving. Naeun looked up at Kangwoo, who held her hand without a word.
"Thank you."
Naeun spoke first. Actually, she had been surprised when Kangwoo first suggested going to the amusement park. Kangwoo looked at such Naeun and asked,
"If I hadn't driven today, you would've driven here yourself, right, Naeun?"
"Yes. But since I promised not to ride Minho in my car, even if I came, I'd have only taken Jiho briefly. But if I had, Minho probably would've been really upset. It felt a bit bitter to me that he has no memory of ever coming to an amusement park. If it's not rude, could I ask about Minho's parents?"
A brief silence flowed. It was about his brother's family, and Kangwoo didn't actually know much.
"Well, I don't know the details either. When my brother married his wife, Mother opposed it strongly. But they married anyway, and Mother and my sister-in-law never got along. Their marriage wasn't good either; they started bickering about a year in, lived separately, and divorced when Minho was 3. Even so, Minho spoke pretty well until then, but after his parents divorced, he stopped talking like this. His vocabulary is much lower than average kids…"
Naeun shook her head at Kangwoo's words.
."No. His vocabulary is never lacking. When I talk one-on-one with Minho separately, there's no problem communicating at all. He can speak as much as his peers; he just distrusts others."
"Distrust, that could be."
"Does he think his parents' divorce was because of Grandmother?"
Kangwoo didn't answer. Naeun didn't pry further either. She thought it crossed a line.
"Want to have a drink tonight?"
She knew exactly what that meant. The only place with alcohol in the annex was Kangwoo's room. Since something had already happened in that room, Naeun couldn't answer right away to Kangwoo's words. Then Kangwoo said,
"The kids will be tired and sleep early."
Meaning come up after putting the kids to bed. Naeun turned her head forward and muttered,
"I said I ate and ran."
"Where's that fair? You have to take responsibility."
Kangwoo said in a languid voice. Take responsibility. At those words, Naeun turned her gaze forward again.
"Pardon? Take responsibility for what?"
Wasn't this the lines reversed between man and woman?
"Keeping me up all night and then eating and running? I mean take responsibility."
Naeun burst out laughing at Kangwoo's words. The car smoothly headed toward Seoul.
Returning home late in the afternoon, Hayoung huffed and called for Misuk.
"Mom! Was there anything weird about Naeun?"
"What? What's weird about Naeun? She goes to kindergarten and raises kids well."
Misuk came out from boiling soup and looked at Hayoung, wondering what was up.
Then, as if remembering something, Misuk said,
"Oh. That girl Naeun was driving a foreign car?"
Hayoung's eyes widened.
"Foreign car?"
"Yeah, she said it was her friend Hyesun's car. But Hyesun was unemployed until recently—even if she got a job, did she save up enough to buy a foreign car that fast?"
"Is her family rich?"
Hayoung asked urgently, unable to contain her curiosity.
"I don't know. How would I know if Naeun's friend's family is rich? They must be somewhat well-off. So she probably bought her daughter a foreign car as an employment gift. But why the sudden interest in Naeun? I told you not to mention Jiho in front of her."
Then Hayoung said irritably,
"At the filming site?"
"Yeah. We were filming at the zoo in the amusement park, and she was there with our broadcasting station's CEO."
