RCKS 6

10 Years Old vs 11 Years Old

The next meeting was during the summer vacation when Lee Yoonsan was 10 years old and Hwang Haekyung had turned 11 years old.

This time, the camping site was Jeju Island. Both Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents and Hwang Haekyung’s parents were very interested in backpacking, and because they preferred areas within the capital region or close to the capital region for smooth commuting, they rarely had occasions to cross over to the sea. However, the situation changed when they each purchased a camper van side by side this spring. The two families agreed on the idea of loading the cars onto a ferry and enjoying camping in various places around Jeju Island.

For that reason, Lee Yoonsan and Hwang Haekyung were once again led by their adoptive parents and parents to face each other’s unwelcome faces. It was the first time they had seen each other since the arm-wrestling incident that happened last winter.

After the arm-wrestling, Hwang Haekyung ended up with blue bruises on the back of his hand and wrist, but he would not say how it happened even if it killed him. It seemed like it was because he was embarrassed about losing to his younger brother, but for Lee Yoonsan, it was a fortunate thing. It was because it made him worry whether Hwang Haekyung’s parents, who adored him so much, would scold him no matter what since he had hurt Hwang Haekyung.

“Hey.”

When both families arrived at the car camping site in Aewol and parked their camper vans side by side, Hwang Haekyung called out to Lee Yoonsan with a sullen face. Lee Yoonsan, who had just gotten out of the car, looked at such Hwang Haekyung and widened his eyes in surprise, and Hwang Haekyung scanned Lee Yoonsan from top to bottom and then asked with an angry expression for some reason.

“How tall are you?”

“Me…?”

Hwang Haekyung, who had turned 11 years old with the change of the year, had become even prettier than when he was 10. With his pretty face, slim build, and small face, he had even started shooting children’s clothing pictorials from early this year.

The reason Hwang Haekyung started working as a children’s clothing model was simple. It began when his mother uploaded photos of Hwang Haekyung wearing clothes she had bought from an online shopping mall as a review.

A few days after uploading the review, the shopping mall made several offers asking if he would try being a model directly. After shooting a few wearing shots for the online shopping mall like that, an agency that scouts and manages child models contacted him.

Hwang Haekyung’s parents were both people skilled in contracts and negotiations, and since Hwang Haekyung was just an elementary school kid who liked earning pocket money, they signed a short-term contract with the agency. After that, he was working as a model for fairly well-known children’s clothing brands or children’s clothing lines of clothing brands.

And the amazing point, as well as the drawback, was that all of this process happened in just 3 months.

Lee Yoonsan heard all these facts from his adoptive parents. It was because when his adoptive parents took the increasingly plump, potato-like Lee Yoonsan to the hair salon with the change of the year, they happened to show him a photo of Hwang Haekyung in a magazine and explained it step by step.

Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents had laughed as if it were amusing, with their son sitting between them, who frowned upon seeing the unfamiliar Hwang Haekyung in the magazine pictorial.

Saying things like, “Haekyung looks so handsome, right? Now the whole world knows how handsome Haekyung is, doesn’t it?”

Lee Yoonsan, feeling jealous of his adoptive parents’ attention like that, had only given a grumpy response of “He looks like a girl.”

This was the first time seeing the real Hwang Haekyung afterward. The skinny Haekyung, to whom he had given bruises on the back of the hand and wrist through arm-wrestling during his winter vacation last time, had now appeared in magazines and become a kid model whose handsomeness was recognized by the whole world.

Lee Yoonsan felt strange about that. So, even after the camper van had parked, while he was hesitating in the car, Hwang Haekyung came pattering over without any sign of unfamiliarity and suddenly asked. How tall he was.

Lee Yoonsan did not know his exact height, but he had a record measured at the hospital during the health checkup mandated by the elementary school last spring. So, Lee Yoonsan went back into the camper van and asked his mother.

“Mom, how tall am I?”

“Yoonsan’s height is 161.2 cm.”

And to such a 10-year-old child, his mother smiled softly and told him the height she remembered exactly.

Lately, Lee Yoonsan had been growing faster than usual, to the point where he even complained of knee pain sometimes, so it was certain that by now, in the summer, he was taller than that.

However, the tall Lee Yoonsan, who had plenty of leeway, did not need to consider even such parts. It was already a height more than 10 cm taller than his peers.

“I’m 161 point 2!”

“What?”

Therefore, when he relayed what he heard exactly to Hwang Haekyung, a questioning response mixed with emptiness came back.

Only then did Lee Yoonsan get out of the camper van and stand in front of Hwang Haekyung. And he tilted his head. Hwang Haekyung’s crown was even more visible than last winter. The angle of Hwang Haekyung’s face glaring at him with a flushed red face in anger was also a bit steeper.

Last winter, it was at the level of just lifting his eyes a little to glare at him, but now it was to the extent that he had to lift his chin to glare at his eyes. In short, Hwang Haekyung was small. Very much smaller than Lee Yoonsan.

“How tall is Haekyung?”

So, he asked out of pure curiosity. Without knowing that it would further ignite the anger of Hwang Haekyung, who was 149 cm.

“Forget it!”

Hwang Haekyung glared at Lee Yoonsan for a moment and then turned his head away sharply before running pattering to his parents’ camper van.

Lee Yoonsan blankly watched that sight and then tilted his head. He had come suddenly and spoken to him, so inwardly he was glad, but he only asked about his height and left quickly. Lee Yoonsan could not understand such Hwang Haekyung and soon felt a little disappointed.

Even though he was originally someone he disliked, at the moment he spoke to him, there must have been some unconscious expectation.

Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, who were watching that scene, could only laugh at their son’s dejected expression.

“Yoonsan, come here.”

“Yeah….”

The adoptive parents called the dejected son, hugged him, and applied sunscreen meticulously.

The summer sunlight was hot. Lee Yoonsan was usually fair-skinned but tanned easily in the sunlight. So, while he maintained a suitable wheat-colored skin in midwinter, in the summer, he would turn into a healthy, glossy milk chocolate-colored skin as if he had gotten a suntan.

It was also because he spent his summer vacation with a lot of outdoor activities thanks to his adoptive parents who liked camping, and it was possible because his complexion itself was healthy from the beginning.

“Our baby has become a chubby little potato!”

“Eek!”

The person who intercepted Lee Yoonsan, who had come out of the camper van with sunscreen applied meticulously, and lifted him up was Hwang Haekyung’s mother. She had rolled up her short-sleeved T-shirt to her shoulders, exposing her entire arms, and lifted Lee Yoonsan up high, and when Lee Yoonsan reacted in surprise to that, she was busy giggling.

“He’s heavy.”

“It’s still okay. I have to hug our baby a lot while I can still carry him. If he grows any bigger, auntie won’t be able to carry him.”

“Auntie….”

“Oh my, look at this kid leaning on me.”

The ones who stopped such Hwang Haekyung’s mother were Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, but Hwang Haekyung’s mother paid no mind to that and hugged Lee Yoonsan tightly. The weight of Lee Yoonsan, who was tall and chubby, was considerable, but fortunately, Hwang Haekyung’s mother was also on the strong side.

When Lee Yoonsan, hugged in her arms, leaned his cheek on her shoulder, she enjoyed it with an expression as if she were moved. It was even more touching because it was a cuteness that she could not expect from her one and only son, Hwang Haekyung.

“How long has summer vacation started, and our baby is already tanned like this? Did you go somewhere fun?”

“We went to a water park!”

“Really? That’s where you got tanned? It must have been exciting!”

“Yeah!”

As Hwang Haekyung’s mother rocked Lee Yoonsan back and forth and headed toward the camping chairs spread out nearby, Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, who had been watching that sight and shaking their heads excitedly, laughed with a sigh. It was because they understood why Hwang Haekyung’s mother had brought up their son’s skin first.

“Haekyung, did you apply sunscreen thoroughly?!”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t cry and whine that it stings later and make sure to apply it properly!”

“Ah, I applied it!”

And beyond them, Hwang Haekyung appeared again. Hwang Haekyung, who ran out of his parents’ camper van with his curly hair fluttering, looked just like a porcelain doll. His white and thin appearance, which was even pretty, was so delicate that it was enough to capture the attention of Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents.

As soon as Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents spotted such Hwang Haekyung, they waved their hands and called the child. Then, Hwang Haekyung, who had been glaring at their camper van where his dad was riding, came flapping over to Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents. The sullen expression from his dad’s nagging had also disappeared.

“Our prince has become even more handsome?”

“Did you perm your hair for the pictorial? It’s so cute.”

“Yeah, auntie.”

To the affectionate words of Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, who pulled the approaching Hwang Haekyung into their arms and patted his back, Hwang Haekyung smiled broadly and replied. Since starting as a kid model, Hwang Haekyung had met many adults who treated him kindly.

As his photos spread online, parents of other kid model children followed him on SNS or recommended joining friendship gatherings, and so on, receiving numerous favors and attention.

However, the adult Hwang Haekyung liked the most was still Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents. He liked the familiar kindness he had seen since he was young and the comfortable smiles, and he liked those arms that adored him unconditionally.

“Our prince, auntie brought a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes. I bought a hat and a robe~”

To Hwang Haekyung, who was excited from receiving so much affection, what Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents showed was a cute children’s bucket hat and a thin long-sleeved robe. All of them were things for Hwang Haekyung, who had sensitive skin.

Unlike Lee Yoonsan’s firm skin that tanned well in the sunlight, Hwang Haekyung’s pale skin was weak to the sun. His lilac-tinted skin would turn bright red quickly if he slacked even a little on applying sunscreen, and it was common for it to peel. So, even though he played and ran around well with other kids, he had to suffer the aftermath more harshly than anyone else alone.

Knowing such Hwang Haekyung, Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents always took care of him meticulously every summer, and this time, they had even prepared a hat and robe.

“Why did you buy something like this?”

“It’s because we’re worried our prince might get hurt from playing too much~”

As Hwang Haekyung’s father walked over heavily and spoke gratefully toward such Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents, Lee Yoonsan’s mother responded wittily and draped the hat and robe over Hwang Haekyung. The hat and robe, made of cool material since it was summer, seemed quite satisfactory in Hwang Haekyung’s eyes as well. A smile bloomed on the child’s face and did not fade.

Hwang Haekyung’s father felt the same way. He felt grateful that Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents always cared for his son. Moreover, he liked the reason for preparing the hat and robe this time.

It was not because he was worried that his son, who was doing kid modeling, might damage his skin and have issues with shooting, but because he prepared the gift worrying that it might hurt when his skin peeled from tanning, so he was even more thankful.

Hwang Haekyung’s parents currently supported his kid model activities, but they planned to stop it anytime if their son showed the intention to quit.

Although he was luckily doing kid modeling because a good opportunity came and that opportunity led to even better opportunities, they did not think that beauty management and receiving people’s attention suited their son well.

“Haekyung, go play now. Take good care of Yoonsan.”

“Ah, it’s always Lee Yoonsan, Lee Yoonsan….”

“Hey, Haekyung’s dad. Don’t do that. Haekyung, just go play. You don’t need to stress too much about taking care of your younger brother. The aunties will take good care of Yoonsan on their own.”

“Yeah!”

When Hwang Haekyung’s mouth protruded a couple of inches at his father’s words after checking the fit of the bucket hat meticulously, Lee Yoonsan’s mother added a word upon seeing him.

Hwang Haekyung replied brightly to such Lee Yoonsan’s mother’s words and then started running pattering off to find a group of other friends far away. It was natural for the adults to laugh at the excited, puppy-like back figure.

“Isn’t it tough?”

And around the time the remaining adults started setting up the car camping site space among themselves, Lee Yoonsan’s alpha mother opened the conversation first. The kind question contained many words. To Hwang Haekyung’s father, who was decorating the car camping site together, and to Hwang Haekyung’s mother, who had sent Lee Yoonsan off to play and joined.

“Kid modeling turned out not to be something to do. Don’t make Yoonsan do it.”

So, comfortable words burst out with a sigh. To the grumbling-like words that Hwang Haekyung’s father opened up, Lee Yoonsan’s adoptive parents just smiled bitterly.

They only met for long-term camping twice a year during vacations, but the two families were the type to communicate frequently.