Ji-an watched quietly as Se-hyeon cleaned her hands, moving clumsily yet carefully. Holding a wet wipe in one hand and her small palm in the other, she meticulously wiped away the sticky remnants of candyfloss.

“Where did you get this?”

Ji-an asked curiously, her gaze fixed on Se-hyeon as he tended to her hand.

“All done.”

Se-hyeon replied, ignoring her question completely. Her skin was now spotless — clean and dry — as if it had never been sticky in the first place.

“Ji-an!”

A voice called out behind her. It was In-hwan.

“See you.”

Se-hyeon replied quickly, saying her goodbyes before Ji-an could respond. Then, just like that, he turned and walked away.

Ji-an stood there, blinking, and watched his figure fade into the crowd. Moments later, In-hwan and Jung-ho appeared in front of her.

“What were you doing? I called you like five times.”

“Huh?”

In-hwan had been standing beside her, calling her to look at the lion together, but she hadn’t noticed—too absorbed in her cotton candy and the sleepy lion.

But when he saw her standing with a strange boy earlier, In-hwan had made his way over.

“Who was that?”

He asked, eyes following the retreating back of the boy who had already disappeared.

“Cotton candy oppa.”

Ji-an replied, her tone casual. The boy who didn’t even like sweets, but cleaned her hand for her. There was too much to explain, so Ji-an simply summed it up with that single nickname.

The hand Se-hyeon had wiped now felt soft and dry, no trace of stickiness left.

“What’s that even supposed to mean—cotton candy oppa?”
Jung-ho scoffed with a laugh and clicked his tongue.

Hands on her hips, Ji-an glared up at him with exaggerated defiance.
“It’s true!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s stop bickering and go back to Mom. She must be getting bored sitting alone.”

With that, In-hwan took both of their hands in his and led them back toward where Gyeong-hye was waiting.

After lunch, they spent quite a long time wandering around the zoo.

They bought snacks along the way, grabbed some popcorn—Ji-an’s favorite—and saw all the animals she had only ever read about in books to her heart’s content.

While they were enjoying themselves, the once-blue sky gradually turned warm with streaks of crimson sunset.

“I think it’s time to go. I’m exhausted.”

Gyeong-hye said to In-hwan. Her legs, already prone to swelling in the final month of pregnancy, were now visibly puffed from walking too much.

“Alright. Kids, Mom says she’s really tired.”
“Aww… but I still want to play…”
Ji-an’s eyebrows drooped dramatically; she was clearly not ready to end the day.

Gyeong-hye reached out and gently patted her round little head, her expression tinged with apology.
“Let’s come back again after Kkomul is born, okay?”

“Mom’s tired. We have to go now.”

Jung-ho took his mother’s side, gently reprimanding Ji-an. Tears quickly welled up in her big eyes. Although she was disappointed, she couldn’t bring herself to throw a tantrum after hearing that her mum was having a hard time. Instead, she just pouted silently, her lips trembling.

Then, like raindrops, the tears that had been brimming spilled down her pale cheeks.

“Next time, Daddy will bring you again. I promise.”
In-hwan crouched down in front of her and held out his pinky.
“Pinky promise.”

But Ji-an didn’t respond right away. Her eyes stayed fixed on his hand, her own little fingers clenched tightly into a fist, still upset.

“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
“Mom, me too!”
Jung-ho, standing by her side, grabbed Gyeong-hye’s hand to follow.

“Want to come too, Ji-an?”

In-hwan asked, glancing at his daughter, who remained locked in their quiet standoff.

Ji-an shook her head firmly. She wasn’t going anywhere.

With a gentle sigh, Gyeong-hye gave her husband a look of sympathy.
“I’ll take Jung-ho for now. We’ll be right back.”

“Alright. Be careful.”

In-hwan said, giving a soft nod and smile. And just like that, it was only Ji-an and In-hwan left under the glowing orange sky.

“Still want to play more?”
Ji-an nodded, her head bobbing silently.

There were still so many things she hadn’t done yet. She hadn’t seen the rabbits, or gone back to see the lion one more time. She hadn’t even had ice cream yet. And now they were going home?

Her small heart couldn’t take it. The tears wouldn’t stop.

In-hwan gently wiped her damp cheeks and let out a quiet chuckle.
“Daddy really will bring you again soon, I promise. I think Mom just walked too much today and got really tired.”

Her pale cheeks had turned a flushed red in no time. She was crying so hard from the heartbreak that even her round little nose had gone pink, and the corners of her eyes were red and swollen.

As Ji-an scrubbed at her tears with the back of her hand, someone suddenly approached.

Her teary eyes widened as she looked up.

Standing in front of her was the same boy she had seen earlier at the lion enclosure.

In-hwan glanced between his daughter and the unfamiliar boy with a puzzled expression, unsure of what was happening.

“Hello.”
The boy gave a polite bow to In-hwan first, then reached out and placed a long stick in Ji-an’s small hand.

“Who is this? Ji-an, do you know him?”
In-hwan asked, confused. Ji-an looked down at what had been handed to her. It was a bubble wand.

“Stop crying.”

The boy said simply.
“…”

“And take this too.”
He placed a large lollipop into her other hand before she could say a word. The whole exchange happened so fast, In-hwan didn’t even have a chance to ask anything.

The boy then gave one more bow to In-hwan and turned to leave. When In-hwan looked in the direction the boy was headed, he spotted two women—most likely his mother and grandmother—waiting nearby.

As the boy rejoined them, In-hwan stood up and gave them a small nod of acknowledgment. The woman who appeared to be the boy’s mother returned the gesture with a polite bow.

Just then, Gyeong-hye and Jung-ho returned from the restroom.

“What’s that?”
Jung-ho reached for the bubble wand in Ji-an’s hand, but she turned away quickly, clutching it tightly.

“It’s mine.”

“What is it?”

Gyeong-hye asked.

“I don’t know. Some handsome boy suddenly came over and gave it to Ji-an.”

“A boy?”
Gyeong-hye looked at her husband, and In-hwan nodded.

Thinking back, he was pretty sure it was the same boy who had wiped Ji-an’s sticky hand earlier near the lion enclosure…

Either way, thanks to him, Ji-an had already forgotten all about her tears and was now busy squabbling with her brother.

“Come on, let’s head back.”

“Mommy, I want to eat this!”
Ji-an held up the lollipop the boy had given her and asked Gyeong-hye to open the wrapper.

All the way to the parking lot, she happily nibbled at the sweet candy, smiling wide, her eyes curved like little crescents.

***

“Se-hyeon, who was that little girl?”
Sang-ah asked casually as they walked toward the main gate where the driver was waiting.

She wasn’t the only one surprised by his sudden behavior. Seong-rim also looked at him with raised eyebrows, clearly caught off guard.

“Just… someone I know.”

“You know her?”
She didn’t seem to be his age—in fact, the girl looked much younger than him. How he had come to know her was a complete mystery.

Even at a glance, the girl was undeniably adorable. And the items Se-hyeon had given her were the very ones he had personally picked out earlier with Seong-rim at the snack shop.

“Grandma, can you buy me those?”
“Of course! My puppy gets whatever he wants. Grandma will buy you anything.”

He didn’t even like sweets. Sang-ah had been puzzled about why he wanted candy of all things—
But now it made sense. He hadn’t bought them for himself. He had bought them for that little girl.

As soon as they left the shop, he had said he needed to go somewhere quickly—and he returned right after delivering them.

“Let’s just go.”
Overwhelmed by the increasing number of questions, Se-hyeon gently tugged on Sang-ah’s hand.

He was dying to look back, but forced himself to keep facing forward, pretending that nothing had happened. They were already on their way home after spending the day at the park.

But on their way out, he had spotted that same little girl again, crying her eyes out in front of her father.

She was still crying when they left. He hadn’t seen her since the lion enclosure and had assumed that she had gone home by then.

He never imagined he’d run into her again.

Something came over him and he suddenly turned to Seong-rim and asked if they could stop at the snack bar one more time.

He quickly grabbed the first two things that caught his eye.

A bubble wand. And a lollipop. Since she liked cotton candy, he figured she’d like this too.

“You feeling okay? You said you were tired earlier.”
“I’m alright. Guess I got a good bit of exercise today.”

He said casually as Seong-rim and Sang-ah chatted. Meanwhile, Se-hyeon was lost in thought.

‘Should I look back just once?’
‘Is she still there?’

He did want to see her again. But he hesitated, worried Sang-ah would ask him more questions if he turned around. And, well… he felt a little shy, too.

Still, after going back and forth in his mind, Se-hyeon finally turned his head slightly, casting a hesitant glance over his shoulder.

There she was, still at the same spot. Now playfully arguing with a boy who seemed to be her older brother.

At least she wasn’t crying anymore. Her tiny face had softened into a smile, dimples forming on her cheeks each time she laughed.

She was already licking the lollipop he’d given her, sweet and content.

‘I should’ve asked her name.’

He would probably never see her again. But now, he regretted not even asking for that much.

“…Se-hyeon.”

Sang-ah called softly.

“…Huh?”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m okay.”

“Still, let’s grab something to eat on the way back. We haven’t had anything since lunch—you must be starving.”
“All right.”

Se-hyeon replied half-heartedly, worried that his mum might have seen him looking at the little girl.

He had a feeling that, from now on, every time he saw a lollipop, he would think of that tiny, teary-eyed girl — that adorable girl who had cried so hard today.

That adorable girl who had cried so hard today.

Se-hyeon had forgotten how to smile, weighed down by his mother’s illness for so long.

But now, for the first time in what felt like forever, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

It had been an unforgettable day —one marked by unusually beautiful weather.

And it was a moment he hadn’t realised he’d been waiting for.