My Platinum-Blond Childhood Friend Is So Pretty

3 – 01. Becoming Close Friends with the Shy Platinum-haired Princess -3

Weekend.

As usual, I watched my favorite animation in the morning and ate the cereal that was only allowed on weekends.

“You’re not going to preschool?”

“We don’t go to preschool on weekends. Doyun. What days are the weekends?”

“Saturday and Sunday!”

“Yay~ Correct! My son is the smartest in the world! As a reward, a kiss from Mom! Mwah!”

“Um… yeah… but I can’t see Ellie… I wanted to draw a masterpiece today…”

Knowing that we don’t go to preschool on weekends, I held a new sketchbook in my hand with a gloomy face.

After looking at her for five days, I had become enchanted by Ellie’s unique scent, fair skin, and beautiful hair.

“I want to draw Ellie.”

Starting from Monday when she started going to preschool, I began drawing the beautiful platinum-haired princess, who occupied 99% of my sketchbook.

Drawing with a yellow colored pencil, I thought, “This doesn’t look right.” So I hesitantly picked up a white colored pencil, but even if I drew lines with it, they weren’t very visible.

Regretting that I couldn’t properly depict Ellie’s image in my mind.

Thinking that I miss her.

Remembering her warm embrace, gentle hands, and her voice that echoed in my ears from yesterday.

I drew the picture in the living room of the still somewhat unfamiliar apartment where we moved last week.

Beside me, my mom watched over me with a face filled with sadness.

“Doyun, are you drawing Ellie again?”

“Yeah! Ellie is really pretty! She’s a princess!”

“Now Mom won’t draw for you anymore? Before, I used to draw for you a lot.”

“Eli, look! Oh, Eli’s mom is here too! She was a princess! So pretty!”

“You said that yesterday… That’s why I only drew Eli and Eli’s mom all day yesterday!”

“Yeah! The princess is two!”

“Really? So Eli is a princess too, and Eli’s mom is a princess? But what about Mom? Mom isn’t a princess? Didn’t Doyoon dress up in the princess outfit that he loves so much last time?”

“No!”

“…Ha, hahahahaha. Well… yeah, that’s true.”

It’s not a belated excuse, but I do feel sorry for Mom… At five years old, I was incredibly innocent and honest.

Of course, from an objective perspective, our mom was quite beautiful.

However, when I recalled the image of a princess based on the animations I always watched, she didn’t quite fit that standard. With short hair and a rather lively personality that didn’t match the delicate body like a model.

Still, I really liked Mom.

She always watched me draw, praised me, and bought me many tools so I could draw more of what I wanted.

She was a mom who always gave me overwhelming love.

But as a son who didn’t know about those feelings, Song Ji-eun, secretly watching her son infatuated with other girls, couldn’t help but feel jealous.

‘These little thieves…!’

At the words that pierced the heart of her cute son, she could only swallow tears and ignite jealousy.

A son who resembled her husband, very handsome, listened well, drew well, like a prince. Since starting the nearby daycare on Monday, all she heard about was Alicia, Alicia… or now, Eli, the platinum-haired girl.

Actually, it wasn’t like this on the first day.

The photo of ‘Alicia,’ who even she found incredibly doll-like, and her son, sent by the daycare teacher, had ignited a spark in her and her husband’s hearts.

“Doyoon! Who is this? Did you make friends today?”

“Alicia! She draws too, and she looks just like Princess Gaji and Aru!”

“hehehe, our son again… Recognizing beautiful women because he takes after me? That’s why Doyoon really likes me too~”

“hahahaha.”

“Why are you laughing like that?”

“Well… it’s true. Doyoon has high standards because he takes after me.”

“Is that so? Doyoon, Doyoon! What did you play with Alicia?”

It felt really good and harmonious, setting pictures of these adorable kids as the phone’s lock screen. But as days passed, beyond one day, two days, three days, four days, and until yesterday…

From Doyoon’s lips, only the story of that child came out all day long, and the sketchbook that was filled half with animations and half with drawings of mom or dad was now brimming with Ellie.

Yesterday, Ellie’s mom’s drawing was even there!

Song Ji-eun couldn’t bear this reality.

To witness a situation where her beloved son prefers his girlfriend(?) and his girlfriend’s mom over her was something she couldn’t just accept.

As if her already incredibly handsome son wouldn’t hurt her eyes enough, it felt as if he had been snatched away.

So she made a resolution. On Monday, she would directly see the faces of the other mother and daughter.

“Humph, just try looking once!”

Certainly, there was no intention to force them not to play together or tell them not to play with Ellie.

Like a mother-in-law dealing with a daughter-in-law, she planned to assess whether she was ‘fair’ but strict in deserving Doyoon’s love.

With that determination, she approached her son, who was diligently drawing Ellie in the sketchbook again today.

“Doyoon~ Mom wants you to draw for her too. Huh? It would be really nice if Doyoon drew a picture of Mom~”

“Uh… yeah… Okay. I’ll draw Ellie and then draw Mom.”

“As expected, there’s no one like our son! So cute!”

-Knock

“Ugh… Ji-eun, I’m hungry…”

“Eat by yourself! I have to use Doyoon as a model!”

“You’re too much.”

***

Although I couldn’t meet Ellie, unlike me, who was enjoying a somewhat pleasant weekend by diligently drawing Ellie’s picture.

Ellie, on the other hand, had placed her mom’s tablet on the bed and was absentmindedly watching YouTube videos.

Until last week, there was a strong determination to speak Korean better.

But now.

“… Not fun.”

As a means of filling the time on a weekend when she couldn’t meet her friend.

When going to kindergarten, she didn’t say a word, but at home, she often wore a white dress.

If Doyoon had seen her, he would have gone crazy about how she looked like a princess, lying on the bed in such a cute dress.

‘I want to play…’

For Alicia, Doyoon’s presence was salvation.

You might say that being just a playmate doesn’t sound grand, but even Alicia herself didn’t realize how much she regarded him like that.

With no proper communication, and no one to emotionally connect with other than her parents, during the long hours spent at kindergarten, there was no one to play and communicate with.

To her, it was no different from hell.

Initially, she had hoped that if she improved her language skills, she might make friends. However, now that she had finally made a friend in this unfamiliar land, the thought of approaching others with that mindset was no longer feasible.

If Idoyoon were to disappear in front of her now, Alicia might not want to go to the daycare center anymore.

In just five short days, Idoyoon’s presence had become overwhelmingly significant in Alicia’s heart.

She even gave him a hug, something she had reserved for only two friends in Sweden.

“Alicia and Idoyoon will be forever friends.”

Alicia found Idoyoon charming.

He laughed a bit foolishly, but it was cute.

He enjoyed drawing, and it was nice that he would eventually go out to play when she called him.

Looking directly into each other’s eyes while talking, unlike other children, was also nice.

Being called “Princess” by him was delightful.

The warmth, the tenderness, the joy she felt when hugging Idoyoon.

The sense of relief that welled up from deep within her chest.

It kept coming to Alicia’s mind, making her want to hug him again.

Thinking that she should greet him immediately when she goes to daycare tomorrow, she complained to her mom.

“Mamma.”

“Why are you like this?”

“I want to see Idoyoon.”

“Oh my, what should we do… It’s still Saturday, and you have to sleep for two more nights. How about going to the park with mom?”

“… Okay.”

“hehehe, on Monday, you should talk to Idoyoon’s mom a bit. Since Ellie likes it so much…”

Seeing Alicia, who used to enjoy going to the park with her, now considering it as a last resort, Alicia’s mom, Ye-rin Jung, felt a sense of relief inside.

Being biracial, Alicia was aware that she didn’t easily fit in with her peers due to her striking platinum hair and jewel-like eyes inherited from her father.

Given the lengthy messages filled with apologies from the daycare teacher for several days, she, who had witnessed her daughter struggling, hadn’t yet made the decision to transfer her to a daycare with foreign kids.

Because there was a teacher who did her best for her daughter.

Continuously moving seemed difficult to adapt to, and there was also the thought that she had to overcome to continue living in this country.

However, as she entered the third week and saw Elly becoming even more downcast, she felt it was time to make a decision, whether to move to a new daycare, or perhaps switch to homeschooling.

Finally, Elly made a friend.

Upon hearing that a new boy at daycare seemed interested in Elly, she quickly went to pick Elly up as soon as it was dismissal time.

“…”

No words were spoken, but it was evident that Elly’s face was brighter than usual.

However, unsure of what the future held, she refrained from being too presumptuous and patiently waited for Elly to talk about her new friend.

And on the third day.

“I rode the swing with Doyoon. We played on the jungle gym too.”

“Is that so? Did you have fun playing with your friend?”

“Nora said so. Doyoon is good at the seesaw.”

“Is Doyoon not good at the seesaw? Then Elly, you should teach him~”

“Yeah. I taught him the seesaw. And…”

In broken Korean, she could see Elly starting to chatter excitedly, much like when she came back from playing with friends in Sweden.

She couldn’t express how grateful she was. To a boy named Doyoon whom she hadn’t even seen yet.

It wasn’t until later, when the daycare teacher sent a picture, that she discovered the cute face of the boy swinging with Elly.

She was so delighted that she wanted to buy him lots of delicious things right away, but she decided not to do something uncool to the friend her daughter had made with such difficulty.

She simply looked forward to the day they would naturally meet, and finally, yesterday, she could see the boy confidently greeting Elly.

And.

“This is a hug. A greeting.”

Watching Elly give Doyoon the hug that she had taken a long time to give to her friends Mel and Chrissy in Sweden, Jeong Ye-rin thought,

“As a spectacle… isn’t it too cute? Cook, cook…”

Without realizing it, she became excited and even had such thoughts.

Even now, on the weekend, her daughter, who used to sulk about going out more than staying at home, was much better than last week, wanting to spend more time at home than at daycare.

“I’ll go a bit early on Monday to meet Doyoon’s mom and talk to her.”

For her daughter, she made a resolution to let her play with her close friend even on weekends starting next week.

Anyway, as she was about to move her body to go out with her daughter,

“Yerin, remember?”

Her husband, who had just finished eating behind her, spoke. He was as fluent in Korean as she was, having improved as much as she did while dating and marrying him.

“What?”

“The story my grandfather told about catching a bear in the mountains.”

At the sudden remark, she turned her head with a quizzical expression.

“I remember. But why all of a sudden?”

“At that time, you bravely fought for my mother who was in the car. With a shotgun.”

“…”

“I think it’s time for me too. I have to go to Sweden for a while for our daughter.”

“Wait, you…”

“Elle and hugs? Brave kid. Maybe even more than my grandfather. I need to prepare in advance…”

-Shattering sound-

“Yerin, grabbing your husband’s neck is not part of Korean etiquette…”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Ja…”

***

Over the weekend, both households had various events.

Finally, Monday arrived, and when the mothers came to the daycare early in the morning with their own thoughts.

Arriving at a similar time, the two kids faced each other.

Me and Elle.

“Elle! Hi!”

“Hello.”

“Stay with me! Today, let’s draw together…”

“Hug.”

“What?”

“Hug.”

“Hug… Oh! Ara! Why is that?”

“…Etheryun. Are you silly?”

“I’m not silly… What?”

-Shattering sound-

They exchanged hugs and greetings. Elle’s soft arms and cheeks overlapped with mine.

Once again, she engraved it on me.

“Hug. This.”

“Oh, um… Okay…”

At the moment she said “hug,” he realized even more clearly that he had to embrace her, and he stood dumbfounded facing her.

And behind me…

Looking at the mischievous platinum-haired ‘thief cat’ hugging her son, Song Ji-eun couldn’t close her open mouth.

“……”

It was much cuter than she had imagined, than she had seen in the photos.

Thanks to that.

“Yes, it’s pretty… And… It’s so cute that you’re holding Do-yoon!”

While having the same thought, Jung Ye-rin approached her with a smile.

“Do-yoon’s mom~ Hello~”

“Oh, yes! Eli’s mom…? Hello.”

“The timing is good. I was going to tell you…”

And from then on, the lengthy conversation between the two mothers continued, but it didn’t enter my ears at all.

“We’re going to ride the seesaw. Later.”

“Okay…”

It was just that I thought that I was sufficiently comforted by drawing pictures.

But realizing it wasn’t the case.

Princesses are best met in person, not through screens or drawings, I realized once again.

I enjoyed the warmth of Eli.

And so, we became close friends, both family and playmates.