Their Story

9-year-old Jeong Si-moon, 7-year-old Jeong Cha-yoon, and 5-year-old Jeong Yooni. These are the names of the adorable duckling children that Ijun and Siyeon dote on so dearly. And there is also the 5-year-old Jeong Yoo-geon, the son of Gwihyeon and Ra-yoon. Yoo-geon is destined to become the head of the family’s main house. 

When Yoo-geon was born, the members of the main house were greatly pleased and breathed a sigh of relief. However, Gwihyeon, who should have been the most pleased, had a bitter look on his face. It was natural for people around him to be puzzled when they found out that he had wanted a daughter, not a son. 

I don’t want to pass on a life like mine to my own child.

As someone who had enjoyed and was still enjoying many privileges as the head of the main house, Gwihyeon’s confession of his innermost thoughts for the first time shocked his family considerably.  Only Ijun remarked, “Seeing him say such things, it seems he’s becoming a real person now,” offering a brief comment.

At the same time, Ijun reaffirmed to his grandfather and father that Yoo-geon was indeed the future head of the Seorae Jeong family, no matter what anyone else said, warning the two who were trying various tricks around Si-moon. 

Then, there is also the 4-year-old Park Joo-ha. Joo-ha is the daughter of Yoonsoo and Eun-kyung. Yoonsoo and Eun-kyung concluded that being together was the most enjoyable thing for them and finally got married. 

Eun-kyung’s marriage even miraculously cured her parents of various illnesses they had been suffering from. And just as Siyeon had wished, Eun-kyung became a mother of a daughter of similar age. Watching Yoon-soo act as if he would go crazy because his daughter was too beautiful was an added bonus.

Thus, time continued to accumulate steadily among them.

On weekends, the Suwon clan household would often be bustling with children. When the three active boys gathered, the Suwon house was quickly reduced to rubble. And in the places where the boys were not, there was Yooni, the only girl born into the Seorae Jeong clan in over a hundred years.

Yooni liked going to the Suwon main house. Although she didn’t show her emotions noticeably, on the days when she went to Suwon, she woke up a little earlier than usual. Siyeon thought it was because she liked her great-grandfather, and Ijun thought it was because she wanted to see the koi in the pond. It couldn’t be said to be completely wrong, but strictly speaking, both were wrong. Yooni had a different purpose. 

Since a while ago, Yooni had been sitting on a white bench in the garden, away from her noisy brothers and cousin. The nanny who had been watching over her went inside for a moment to get her a drink. 

Yooni had been staring at the big tree behind her since a while ago. And when she heard someone approaching from behind, she opened her mouth abruptly as if she had been waiting. 

“Hello.” 

“….” 

About a minute after Yooni greeted, a boy finally appeared from behind the tree. His tightly pursed lips and firm gaze seemed too heavy to be just a young boy. While he looked at Yooni with a guarded expression, he couldn’t hide the curiosity in his eyes.

“Tree boy.”

“….” 

“If you don’t tell me your name, I’ll just call you tree boy.” 

At Yooni’s words, the previously expressionless boy’s face slightly frowned. After hesitating for a moment, the boy reluctantly opened his mouth, his brow still furrowed with dissatisfaction. 

“I’m 9 years old, why are you using informal language with me?”

“Is your name 9 years old?” 

“You’re silly. I’m saying my age is 9.” 

“If you tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine.”

 “I know your name. Jeong Yooni.” 

The boy seemed displeased with Yooni’s casual way of speaking, despite their age difference, but he eventually opened his mouth. As he did, Yooni’s eyes widened slightly, then curved into a crescent shape. Seeing this, the boy turned his eyes away. Despite his blunt tone, the back of his neck looked red. 

“So, what’s your name, oppa?” 

“…Haewoo.” 

“Haewoo-oppa. Were you hiding behind the tree watching me last time too?” 

“I wasn’t hiding, I just happened to see you passing by! I thought you were a doll at first, and I just curiously looked because you were moving. But only for a second.” 

With widened eyes, Haewoo denied immediately Yooni’s statement. His pride was hurt when he realized he had been caught watching her. 

“No, you were standing still behind the tree. You didn’t move until I went far away.”

“….” 

However, he could no longer refute her confident next words. At her statement, the redness that had been on Haewoo’s neck spread up to his face. Even in the midst of this, he couldn’t take his eyes off Yooni’s face, which was so beautiful that he couldn’t look away from her white cheeks.

“This is my great-grandfather’s house. Where do you live, oppa?”

This was Yooni’s great-grandfather’s house. The main house was very spacious, and many employees were living here. However, Yooni had never seen a boy of similar age to Haewoo among the employees’ families. Of course, it wasn’t strange for a stranger to be in the house, as it was a house that many people visited. 

“…I live in this neighborhood. I just came here to play with a teacher.”

Haewoo said in a gruff voice, kicking the tip of his shoe against the ground. 

“Did you get permission from your mom and dad?” 

“I don’t have a mom and dad.”

“…You… don’t have parents…?”

Yooni’s face turned pale. Her large eyes soon brimmed with transparent moisture. As if he had expected this, Haewoo crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his chin.

“Do you have a sister? Or an older sister?”

“…No, I don’t.” 

“See, you don’t have an older sister either. I have one. It’s not fun not having a sister, is it?” 

“But… how do you live without your mom and dad?”

As Yooni’s eyes welled up, the flustered Haewoo quickly uncrossed his arms and approached her. 

“Listen carefully. Not having parents is inconvenient, but it doesn’t mean you can’t live. It’s similar to how you feel bored because you don’t have a sister to play dolls with. Understand?”

“I don’t even like playing with dolls.” 

Yooni, who had suddenly stopped crying, wrinkled her forehead slightly and turned her head sideways. 

“What do you like then?”

“Fishing.” 

“Fishing?” 

“There’s a red koi in that pond over there, and I’m going to catch it with a branch.”

Haewoo, looking puzzled, turned to look at where Yooni was pointing. 

“You think you can catch a koi with a branch?” 

“Then how can you catch it?” 

“If you have a net, it’s easy to catch. No, I can even catch it with my bare hands.” 

“You can really catch it with just your hands?” 

“Want me to show you?” 

Yooni’s eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously. Smiling satisfactorily at her reaction, Haewoo quickly ran towards the pond, unhesitatingly jumping into the water.

Splash! 

Startled by the sound, Yooni jumped up from her seat and ran towards Haewoo. 

“Oppa, are you okay?” 

With an eager smile on his face, Haewoo soon appeared in front of the bewildered Yooni. As he walked towards her, drops of water dripped from his soaked pants onto the ground. 

“Look.” 

Haewoo extended his hands towards her, showing her the fish he was holding. Surprised by the flapping fish, Yooni twitched for a moment, but soon leaned in to look closely at the fish, seeming fascinated. 

“Okay, now let’s put it back in the pond.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to catch it?”

As she straightened her back and spoke, Haewoo furrowed his eyebrows. He had gone to the trouble of catching the fish, and now, after a few seconds, she wanted him to release it back into the pond. He felt a bit annoyed.

“I saw it, so now let’s send it back home.” 

“Don’t you regret it?” 

“No. I don’t.” 

With Yooni’s response, Haewoo quickly released the flapping fish back into the pond. After confirming the fish swimming freely in the water, Yooni finally breathed a sigh of relief. Haewoo watched her with an uncomfortable expression. 

“You’re very fickle, are you?”

“No, I’m not.” 

“Do you even know what fickle means?”

“Yes. It’s like when I told the nanny that I didn’t want to eat anything, but then I said I wanted fresh fruit juice.” 

Yooni had told the nanny she wanted fresh fruit juice on purpose to talk to Haewoo. The nanny, without hesitation, headed towards the kitchen to make the juice Yooni had requested, knowing Yooni was more cherished than the heir of the family. Everyone in the Jeong household knew how special she was.

“Are you thirsty?” 

“No, I lied to the nanny so I could talk to you.” 

“Were you that curious about the tree boy?” 

“You were so pretty. I wondered if you were a boy or a girl.” 

Haewoo frowned at Yooni’s answer. He hated being told he was pretty. 

“Don’t you have a mirror at your house?”

“Of course we do. I look at it every morning.”

“Even though you see your face every day, you still thought I was pretty?”

“I thought you were as pretty as me. It’s honestly difficult. Did you think that way too, Haewoo oppa?” 

Without changing her expression, Yooni calmly acknowledged her own beauty. She was surprised that there was another human as pretty as herself, and was curious whether it was a  boy or a girl.” 

“I’m going to tell you a special secret – I actually have two names.” 

“I have two names too. Jeong Riyeon and Jeong Yooni. I was originally Riyeon, but Dad changed it to Yooni. So what’s your second name?” 

“…Ji-hoo. A long time ago, I was Haewoo, but now I’m Ji-hoo. Song Ji-hoo.” 

Haewoo smiled as he spoke, his eyes shining as he looked down at Yooni. 

“Do I have to call you Ji-hoo oppa from now on?” 

“No, you can just call me Haewoo. No one else is allowed to call me Haewoo, but you can.” 

“Then you call me Riyeon. It was my name before I was born.”

“…Riyeon.” 

The two exchanged their special names, names only they could call each other. However, the time when they would actually start calling each other by these names was still far in the future.

<End of the Extra Episode>