RCKS 1

7 Years Old vs 8 Years Old

“Haekyung-ah, let’s go together!”

“I told you to call me hyung!!”

Hwang Haekyung, who had cried his eyes out upon seeing Lee Yoonsan in the newborn room right after he was born, was now eight years old. And Lee Yoonsan, who had startled Hwang Haekyung into tears with his wrinkled, puffed-up appearance that he could not shake off from the moment he was born due to the red aura clinging to him, was now seven years old.

From the moment they started toddling, they spent time at campsites every vacation period, dragged along by their parents’ hands, and they did not like that reality.

“Ah, Hwang Haekyuuung~!”

First of all, seven-year-old Lee Yoonsan found that one year older Hwang Haekyung of his to be extremely annoying. No matter how he looked at it, he did not seem like a hyung at all, so he hated how he kept insisting on being called hyung just because he was one year older, and he was jealous of how well Hwang Haekyung made friends with other kids at the campsite besides him.

In fact, camping was not fun either. There were a lot of bugs in the summer, and it was cold in the winter. But the passive Lee Yoonsan could not even once cry or throw a tantrum despite being forcibly brought to the campsite every time while clinging to his adoptive parents’ hands. It was partly because he was scared of getting scolded by the moms, but above all, it was because he knew very well that the moms liked camping.

Lee Yoonsan did not want to make the moms look downcast. He was a child who loved that peaceful harmony among the family members. And the moms hoped that Lee Yoonsan would play well with Hwang Haekyung. But no matter how much Lee Yoonsan loved the moms, that was just the moms’ wish.

Hwang Haekyung would run around here and there with his pale and skinny limbs, making friends at the campsite. Rather than somewhat pretty kids, he would attract the attention of the children in the campsite with his princess-like face while going around catching insects and throwing casting nets. Up to that point, it was something Lee Yoonsan could accept as it is. The difference was that since he himself was very shy and wary around other friends, there was no need for Hwang Haekyung to be like that too, and the moms had explained that fact to him early on.

But even setting aside such things, Lee Yoonsan disliked Hwang Haekyung.

“Ah, I said come with me toooo!”

Hwang Haekyung always made friends who were as lively as himself and left him out.

Lee Yoonsan moved his plump limbs diligently to chase after Hwang Haekyung, who was climbing up the low foothill a little ways ahead. Because of that, he fell down several times, scraping his knees, and when he fell, he once came face to face with a really big praying mantis and freaked out in terror.

Every time that happened, Hwang Haekyung would only pretend to look back, and the friends playing with Hwang Haekyung would complain to Hwang Haekyung as if telling him to hear it, saying things like ‘your little brother is annoying.’ Then Hwang Haekyung would get indignant, saying it was not his little brother, and that made Lee Yoonsan feel even more aggrieved.

“He’s really the worst….”

Now, at the annoying behavior of Hwang Haekyung, who was no longer even visible in front of him, the greatest anger of his seven-year-old life boiled up. Lee Yoonsan checked that there was no one around and teared up out of fear. He wanted to hurl all sorts of bad words at Hwang Haekyung, who had just up and left him behind, but regrettably, the vocabulary of a seven-year-old could not keep up with his feelings. So, tears of deep resentment automatically flowed from Lee Yoonsan’s eyes.

This time, to coincide with Lee Yoonsan’s kindergarten vacation and Hwang Haekyung’s elementary school vacation, the two couples had chosen a long-stay site at an open-field campsite in Yangpyeong. It was a place with few people and only a limited number of reservations possible, so they had selected it to enjoy the vacation by inviting only a few families they knew. And coincidentally, the children from the families they met at that gathering were almost all around the age of just starting elementary school. Just like Hwang Haekyung.

From the adults’ perspective, there might not be much difference between seven years old and eight years old, but it was not the case for seven-year-old kindergarten student Lee Yoonsan. Just because they were only one year older, and just because their educational paths diverged into kindergarten and elementary school, the kids treated Lee Yoonsan as an annoying little brother. In front of the adults, they would somewhat pretend to exchange greetings, but once out of the sight of the adults, who were engrossed in sharing camping gear information, it was not like that.

They only showed interest in Hwang Haekyung, who was the same elementary school student as everyone else, and did not even give Lee Yoonsan a glance. Since they were all only children, they did not have the habit of looking after a little brother either, and to make matters worse, there was nothing particularly about Lee Yoonsan that could capture the attention of kids his age.

If Hwang Haekyung had a princess-like face on his skinny body, Lee Yoonsan was different. Lee Yoonsan, who had made one-year-old Hwang Haekyung wail uncontrollably right from birth, still had a plump build even now, along with dark skin and droopy eyes.

His already aggrieved-looking droopy eyes even appeared like squinting eyes due to the puffy cheeks. What was nicely called plump was in fact that Lee Yoonsan, who had long been diagnosed with childhood obesity, had a round belly that could not be hidden even by loose clothes, which was a standout point. Thanks to that, Lee Yoonsan had never received any particular popularity or attention even at kindergarten.

Of course, Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents adored such a son like a little prince, and Hwang Haekyung’s parents cherished Lee Yoonsan even more fervently than Lee Yoonsan’s own adoptive parents did, but that affection from them did not provide much comfort to the young heart of seven-year-old Lee Yoonsan.

In conclusion, Lee Yoonsan could not escape being a loner even at the campsites he visited every summer and winter vacation period from a very young age. At best, Hwang Haekyung would occasionally pretend to glance at Lee Yoonsan, but even that was just a half-hearted pretense thrown his way only when he could not withstand the parents’ urging.

So Lee Yoonsan hated Hwang Haekyung. He hated how he kept insisting on being called hyung without acting like one at all, and how he did not actually look after him despite that, and how he would immediately abandon him like this and run off to play as soon as he made new friends, and even how he kept denying that he was a little brother while acting as if it was embarrassing, all of it was hateful and hateful again.

“Auntie, Haekyung went somewhere without me….”

So Lee Yoonsan used his ultimate move. Lee Yoonsan knew very well the most reliable way to get revenge on Hwang Haekyung. That was to tell it to Hwang Haekyung’s parents.

Lee Yoonsan limped over to Hwang Haekyung’s mother, showing her the knee wound he got from falling while running after Hwang Haekyung’s group, and threw himself into her arms, bursting into loud sobs. Since Hwang Haekyung’s father and mother adored the younger Lee Yoonsan immensely more than their own son, it was an even more effective method than telling his own adoptive parents.

Sure enough, when Lee Yoonsan, who had run off toward the low hill, came back sobbing with blood streaming down from his knee, the faces of Hwang Haekyung’s parents hardened frighteningly. They sat the Lee Yoonsan, who was wailing thickly and even hiccupping, on their laps and immediately began to soothe him. They poured in all sorts of care and affection, to the point of abandoning the barbecue preparations.

Rather, Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents shook their heads at the sight. Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents already knew the fact that Lee Yoonsan acted spoiled and coquettish much more toward Hwang Haekyung’s parents.

“That Hwang Haekyung kid is really such a rascal…!”

“Did our baby get really scared because of that? Uncle will scold hyung Haekyung when he comes. Is the baby hungry? Does it hurt here? Uncle will apply some medicine. Shall we apply medicine and then eat some skewered meat, skewered meat?”

“Huuu… yes… skewered meaaat….”

“Our baby potato is so cute, really….”

With Lee Yoonsan seated, his eyes sparkling even while crying at the word meat, the soothing show by the two adults was in full swing. Hwang Haekyung’s father was busy rummaging for ointment to apply to Lee Yoonsan’s chubby knee, while occasionally making eye contact and wiping the tear stains on his puffy cheeks, and Hwang Haekyung’s mother, while furious at the heinous act(?) her son had committed, wore an entranced expression at the snot bubble from Lee Yoonsan.

And the expressions of the other adults watching that scene were all varied. To be precise, they were divided between those who found the Lee Yoonsan, who was acting spoiled in a pitiful way while popping his snot bubble, to be cute, and the boy’s own parents, who looked stunned at their son’s grubby, dirt-covered potato-like state.

“I’ll scold hyung when he comes later. How can a hyung leave our baby behind without looking after him, right?”

“Haekyung’s mom, Haekyung is eight years old now too. The kid might just want to run around and play, what’s there to fuss about?”

Lee Yoonsan’s mother interjected with an exasperated tone toward Hwang Haekyung’s mother, who was grinding her teeth and promising proxy revenge on her son. But it seemed that such words were already not getting through to Hwang Haekyung’s mother.

“Even so, the kid should look after his little brother a bit! No, where on earth did he dump Yoonsan and wander around until now? What if he had lost the child?”

“As long as Yoonsan came back safely, that’s fine. Don’t scold Haekyung, just leave it. Don’t ruin the kid’s mood now that he’s come to play.”

A conversation passed where it was unclear whose son they were talking about.

In this way, it had been quite some time since the bizarre phenomenon occurred where Hwang Haekyung’s parents doted on Lee Yoonsan, and Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents doted on Hwang Haekyung. So, when did it start? It was from the moment Hwang Haekyung started speaking and called Lee Yoonsan ‘honey bun!’ right away. From then on, Hwang Haekyung’s parents began pouring all sorts of affection onto Lee Yoonsan, starting from a sense of apology toward him.

On the other hand, Lee Yoonsan’s mothers just laughed as if it was amusing at Hwang Haekyung’s words. Children are more honest about appearances, and since Lee Yoonsan had been born as a healthy, robust baby and had never once not been chubby even as an infant, it was not a wrong statement, they thought.

Of course, calling him a ‘pig’ was an excessive personal attack, but since it was not something the child said knowing what it meant, and it could just be corrected, that was their stance. —That conclusion came about, and Hwang Haekyung’s pretty appearance and affable nature also greatly appealed to Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents.—

“Our baby, uncle will grill some skewered meat for you. Since our baby’s mouth is small, uncle will cut it small like this?”

“Yes!”

“Who does our Yoonsan take after to be this cute…?”

In any case, the adults from both families excessively adored each other’s sons. Pretty elementary school student Hwang Haekyung and potato-like kindergarten student Lee Yoonsan each had distinctly different fan bases. The personalities they had were the same in that regard. Therefore, even in the long-stay camping that continued every vacation period each year, Lee Yoonsan and Hwang Haekyung could not become close.

Hwang Haekyung, who was popular among his peers and acted as the leader, and the introverted Lee Yoonsan, whom only the adults found cute.

Skinny Hwang Haekyung with a pretty, princess-like face, and plump, dark-skinned Lee Yoonsan with droopy squinting eyes.

Elementary school student Hwang Haekyung and kindergarten student Lee Yoonsan.

There was absolutely no basis for the two of them to become close.

“Haekyung, where have you been without looking after your little brother, and now you come back?”

Around the time when the barbecue meat was almost done cooking, Hwang Haekyung’s group returned to the campsite along with the evening sunset. Hwang Haekyung looked as if he had run around everywhere, with grass seeds stuck here and there on his clothes, a face flushed red, and disheveled hair.

The first thing that poured down on Hwang Haekyung was his father’s stern voice. Normally, he might have gauged the situation a bit, but Hwang Haekyung passed by his playmates, hid his body behind Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, and stuck out his tongue at his own father while glaring at him.

“That kid, what is that!”

“I don’t have a little brother!”

“You punk, can’t you see Yoonsan’s knee is scraped? What did dad say? He said if you come camping, you have to look after your little brother well to be a good hyung, right?”

“He fell on his own, why are you yelling at me!”

With Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents in front of him, Hwang Haekyung confronted his father without any fear. At that eight-year-old’s boldness, people laughed, and the other kids naturally scattered to find their own parents.

Lee Yoonsan was held in Hwang Haekyung’s father’s arms at that moment, and his cheeks stuffed full of meat were puffed up as if they would burst. Hwang Haekyung gave such a Lee Yoonsan a brief glare and then quickly hid his head behind Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents.

“Stop it, Haekyung’s dad. Don’t give the kid unnecessary eldest son stress for no reason.”

“If dad were you, Haekyung, he’d carry Yoonsan around because he’s so cute, carry him!”

“Pigs are heavy, you know? You carry him around, dad!”

“That’s really something!”