Episode 27. Middle School Student (2)
The day of Kang Yera’s elementary school graduation ceremony.
No matter how busy his schedule was, family-related events were Kang Dae-oh’s top priority.
Therefore, Kang Dae-oh temporarily stopped work and drove his car on a temporary commute home to pick up his wife.
Min Seung-yeon, who was waiting at home, greeted Kang Dae-oh with Kang Yeyoung.
Kang Dae-oh looked around and asked, “Where’s Yebin?”
“She said she had a photoshoot today.”
“Right, she did.”
Last night, Kang Yebin had been sulking because she couldn’t attend her unnie’s graduation ceremony.
If it was a schedule that could be postponed, she might have done so.
However, it was realistically impossible, so Kang Yebin was unavoidably absent.
Seeing her younger sister’s disappointed reaction, Kang Yera thought Kang Yebin was acting that way because she liked her unnie so much.
However, the reason Kang Yebin was disappointed was elsewhere.
Because she wouldn’t be able to see her unnie make a silly mistake at the graduation ceremony.
Because of this, Kang Yera’s outburst continued for a while.
As soon as they got into the car, Kang Yeyoung started adjusting the cam screen.
Kang Dae-oh tilted his head at the sight of his youngest daughter and asked, “Are you going to film your unnie’s graduation ceremony?”
“Yes. Unnie Yebin told me to make sure to film it. And I also need to secure video footage to upload on YouTube.”
To her younger sisters, their unnie’s graduation ceremony seemed to be a major event.
Kang Dae-oh, who headed to the elementary school with his wife and youngest daughter, swallowed hard as he saw the crowded parking lot.
‘It’s tough right from the start.’
If you live in South Korea, especially Seoul, it’s always good to be prepared for parking difficulties.
This is because there are many cars, but not enough parking spaces.
Moreover, when there’s a big event like today, one must be even more careful.
He drove around several times trying to find a parking spot, but a suitable place was nowhere in sight.
Just then, a girl suddenly darted out from the parking lot and waved towards the car Kang Dae-oh was in.
It was a face Kang Dae-oh knew well.
“Appa, over here! A spot just opened up here!”
Thanks to Kang Yera, Kang Dae-oh was able to quickly pull his car in and secure a parking space stably.
Kang Dae-oh, who got out of the car, asked Kang Yera why she was there.
Then Kang Yera said, “I figured there wouldn’t be any parking spaces, so I came around the time appa would arrive and was looking for a spot.”
Thanks to Kang Yera’s initiative and broad perspective, which allowed her to even consider parking difficulties, Kang Dae-oh and his family were able to avoid circling the parking lot for a long time.
Kang Yeyoung pushed the camera towards her unnie and said, “If someone saw you, unnie, they’d call you an old soul. What elementary school student in the world would calculate parking issues and do this?”
“But I actually am an adult, so what?”
She wasn’t wrong.
Kang Dae-oh and his family followed Kang Yera to the school auditorium.
There, students and parents who, like Kang Yera, were celebrating their graduation, had already arrived and taken their seats.
At Kang Yera’s appearance, the hall suddenly became noisy.
Kang Yera was quite a famous student at school.
As a result, there was no one in that place who didn’t know her.
Thanks to her recognition, Kang Yera also took the position of graduation representative.
Since Kang Yera was used to standing in front of people, the expectation that the graduation ceremony would proceed smoothly if left to her weighed heavily on Kang Yera’s shoulders.
The students took their seats in rows and columns.
Watching her daughter’s graduation ceremony, Min Seung-yeon whispered softly to Kang Dae-oh, “It’s different from our time.”
“The order of the graduation ceremony?”
“No. The number of students. When we graduated, weren’t there about three times as many students here?”
“That’s right.”
It was a moment where the issue of declining birth rates was clearly felt.
Amidst this, Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon had given birth to no less than three children.
Thanks to that, they were still being called patriots.
As soon as the graduation ceremony began, several students were already seen with teary eyes.
Kang Dae-oh looked at them and recalled memories from the past.
‘Even back then, there were friends who cried because they didn’t want to part with their friends.’
He wondered if everyone was doing well now.
“Next, we will have the graduation speech by the student representative. Please come forward.”
“Yes!”
Kang Yera stepped onto the stage with an energetic voice.
Then the students cheered and welcomed Kang Yera’s appearance.
A star admired by her classmates.
Kang Yera smiled brightly and slowly began to read the representative’s speech about graduating.
“Over the past six years, we have accumulated many memories and learnings here. The teachings our teachers imparted, and the friendship and joy we learned from our friends. We will strive to keep all these things for a lifetime and become wonderful, exemplary adults.”
Kang Yeyoung said with a wry smile, “It feels very awkward hearing the word ‘exemplary’ come out of unnie’s mouth.”
“What’s wrong with that? It suits her well.”
Min Seung-yeon was proud of her eldest daughter standing on the stage and reading the speech on behalf of the students.
Kang Dae-oh felt the same.
“Lastly, although we are leaving this school, we believe our memories will remain here forever. I will conclude now. Thank you! I love you, everyone!”
Kang Yera used both arms to make a big heart above her head and shouted with full aegyo.
Then, once again, a passionate response followed.
No matter the place.
Making everyone happy and laugh is Kang Yera’s strength.
Even the students who had been teary-eyed since the start of the graduation ceremony, at some point, assimilated into Kang Yera’s mindset and wore deep smiles.
If Kang Dae-oh were asked to choose the most difficult thing in the world, he would answer like this.
That it’s making people laugh.
Looking at his eldest daughter walking this difficult path, Kang Dae-oh felt a sense of pride.
After the elementary school graduation ceremony.
Not long after, the date for Kang Yera’s middle school entrance ceremony, signaling her new beginning, was set.
This time, Kang Yebin, who was absent from the graduation ceremony, was also able to join.
Seeing Kang Yera in her middle school uniform, Kang Yebin let out a small sigh.
At her younger sister’s reaction, Kang Yera looked at her own clothes here and there and asked, “Is there something you don’t like?”
“No.”
“Then why did you sigh?”
“Just… because you’re pretty, it’s annoying.”
Even normally, Kang Yebin definitely acknowledged that her unnie was pretty.
If she had just kept her mouth shut and been quiet, she would have grown into an idol with national treasure-level beauty, enough to dominate the Korean entertainment industry.
But she kept doing and saying things that broke the image, which was a bit disappointing.
However, Kang Yeyoung’s thoughts were different.
“That’s our eldest unnie’s charm, isn’t it?”
“Should we call that charm?”
“Yeah. If I were a boy, I would’ve kept chasing eldest unnie to ask her out.”
“……Just imagining it is terrifying.”
Kang Yera, who swept her noticeably longer hair back with one hand, checked her face in a hand mirror.
Kang Dae-oh, who glanced at her, clearly realized that his eldest daughter was increasingly resembling her mother.
‘The power of genes is strong.’
Upon arriving at the middle school, Kang Dae-oh’s family headed to the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was scheduled.
Whenever they passed by, whispering sounds were heard from around them.
This was because everyone recognized Kang Yera.
“Oh my goodness! A celebrity has entered our school.”
“Oh my, really!”
“Look how much prettier she is in person. The person next to her must be her mother, right?”
“She’s a spitting image of her mother.”
In front of the pouring compliments, Kang Yera puffed out her chest even more.
School officials seemed to have already heard the rumor that Kang Yera would be a new student, as they appeared relatively less surprised.
Nevertheless, the gazes focused on Kang Yera were unavoidable.
When people see a celebrity right before their eyes, they all show similar reactions.
Kang Yera even showed the composure of waving her hand, as if enjoying people’s gazes.
It wasn’t just students and parents there.
“Yera-yang! Please look over here!”
“Could you briefly tell us even one word about how you feel about becoming a middle school student?”
“Just a moment for a photo… I’ll only take one!”
“You’re blocking the angle there! Move out of the way!”
Reporters competed, rushing to capture Kang Yera in her school uniform on camera.
The school had already anticipated that reporters would come.
However, it seemed they hadn’t expected such a large crowd to gather, so they hurriedly deployed even teachers who were available to manage the scene.
If Kang Yera stayed in one place for too long, a crowd might gather and an accident could occur.
Therefore, Kang Yera chose to enter the auditorium with her family at the fastest possible pace.
At the entrance of the auditorium, Kang Dae-oh shook his head in disbelief as he watched the reporters who were showing regretful longing.
“I never thought reporters would follow us all the way to the entrance ceremony.”
Unlike Kang Dae-oh, Kang Yebin seemed to have already known this situation would occur, and she slowly continued, “A popular celebrity means money. No matter how trivial the news.”
Although being followed by reporters was annoying, it was also a measure of popularity, so it wasn’t a situation to simply dislike.
Perhaps because of the reporters waiting outside, the entrance ceremony finished faster than expected.
Kang Yera, who was assigned a classroom where she would attend school for about a year starting tomorrow, moved there with her family.
Regarding the first class, which parents were observing, the homeroom teacher shouted to the students, “Since it’s the first class today, we’ll have a simple self-introduction time. First…”
Tension spread across the students’ faces.
This is because introducing oneself in front of unfamiliar people requires more courage than one might think.
At the mention of self-introduction, Min Seung-yeon chuckled softly.
Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung showed interest in their Mom’s reaction.
“Why, Mom?”
“It just reminded me of when your appa introduced himself in front of students when he was a university student. What did he say? He said, ‘My dream is to become a university student who is not oppressed by anyone and pursues freedom!’ I laughed so much when I heard that.”
Kang Dae-oh’s face flushed red.
“Why are you bringing up old stories now?”
“Just because I remembered.”
The two daughters also showed interest in their appa’s past story, which they hadn’t known.
Meanwhile.
At some point, it was Kang Yera’s turn.
“Next. Yera, would you like to give it a try?”
“Yes!”
Kang Yera, standing in front of the children, took a short breath, then opened her mouth.
“I am Kang Yera, an idol who doesn’t want to be forced and always wants to be a free spirit! Please take good care of me!”
Min Seung-yeon and her two daughters’ gazes turned towards Kang Dae-oh.
“Like father, like daughter.”
At Min Seung-yeon’s single remark, Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung nodded their heads multiple times, expressing deep agreement.
