My Platinum-Blond Childhood Friend Is So Pretty

4 – 01. Becoming Close Friends with the Mysterious Princess with Platinum Hair -4

As the children became friends and as a result, the mothers also made connections, our meetings extended outside of the daycare.

Energetic Eli always felt disappointed when she had to go home right after school since we became friends, so the mothers took the initiative and made time until the evening.

“Ether Yoon! Hurry up!”

“Eli, what are you going to ride?”

“Alt…We’ll ride everything!”

Eli held my hand like a fish meeting water and ran around the playground near the daycare.

I followed behind her, holding onto her small hand and her platinum hair fluttering in the wind.

Her beautiful hair sparkling under the sunlight and her fair white skin, I always felt blinded by her.

Even though the attention of other parents or children was focused on us, we didn’t care at all.

Elli only had interest in me, and I also didn’t pay any attention to other children besides her.

No matter how noisy the surroundings were, it felt like we were in our own world.

“I’ll go first!”

“Nuh-uh. Next is me!”

In that moment, I felt my heart fluttering when I saw Elli’s face, which was usually reserved, filled with bright laughter, forgetting about her love for drawing.

We played together. Every day after kindergarten.

But that wasn’t all.

Even after playing for five straight days.

Not getting tired, not getting bored. Until it was time to say goodbye on Friday evening.

“…..”

“Elli, if you keep doing this, you’ll become a duck, you know? Look at the drooling lips~ hehehe.”

Jung Yerin teased her daughter while laughing, and Elli pouted her lips like a duck.

Then she firmly grabbed my hand and blocked the way in front of us.

“Elli, did you hide our son behind you? Do you think he won’t be seen like that?”

“He’s not here.”

“Doyoon is right here? Right~ Here, our adorable son is peeking out with a mischievous face, isn’t he?”

“He’s not here…”

“I’m here…”

“He’s not here! Move out of my way!”

“Pft, pfuhoo… Can’t take Doyoon with you? Are you going to take him to Elli’s house in that case?”

“Get snacks. What’re you mumbling? Here.”

With her body blocking me, as if to prevent me from taking him away, her appearance.

Our mom stifled her laughter, teasing Elli, and Elli sincerely hid me.

What mom could beat this cuteness and loveliness?

“Oh, I really can’t handle her! She’s so cute, I’ll die!”

Song Ji-eun watched her son hiding behind the platinum doll and looked at me from behind Elli with her round, innocent eyes.

Unable to overcome the growing love, she finally burst into laughter.

To the little child who allowed me to use a nickname from the day we first met. To this audacious child who knew that in order to play with her son for a long time, I had to conquer her.

She felt her heart weaken as much as when she dealt with her son.

Turning her head, she asked Yerin, Ellie’s mom, who was also quietly laughing.

“Are you free tomorrow by any chance? Wanna go to the park with the kids? I can drive.”

“Sure! Should we bring lunch boxes?”

“Oh? Are you confident? I can make character lunch boxes too, you know! Do-yoon practiced so much to make them for us!”

“Oh, I was thinking of making sandwiches… but I’ll make more so that my husband can have them for lunch too.”

“He can take care of himself. It’s okay. Just make a few kimbap rolls or something if you want.”

“Okay, yeah… sure. Anyway, I’m in.”

They were close friends and happened to be the same age, so they quickly became friends, sharing stories at the playground where they played with their children every day.

While the two of them made plans.

Ellie, secretly.

– Sneakily

“Where are we going?”

“To the swings.”

“Okay.”

She grabbed my hand and slowly slipped under the round barrel where we could crawl and move around.

Since Ellie told me to come, I followed without much thought, and we sat down in the barrel holding hands.

And she.

“Eather Yoon.”

“Why?”

“Let’s draw a picture at my house. Let’s draw.”

“Really? Can we go to Ellie’s house together? To draw pictures together?”

“Yeah. You… want to go with me.”

“I want to!”

With her jewel-like blue eyes locked onto mine, she gave me a stern look and persuaded me.

It was about a 5-year-old child.

Come to think of it, even when Ellie was young, she had a knack for drawing despite hating books and only playing outside.

Although Ellie probably would have played something other than drawing even if I went to her house, I believed her words.

So, with excitement, I thought, I should draw a picture with Ellie, the princess! And Ellie looked at me, who listened and believed her words, with a proud smile.

And outside the cylindrical container we were in.

“Your daughter is amazing, isn’t she? Our son Guseul is quite talented, isn’t he?”

“Oh…really? hehehehe.”

“Du-yoon takes after his father, so he’s a bit innocent…that’s why I worry.”

Even as they conversed, the mothers who naturally didn’t take their eyes off of us, followed us closely as soon as we entered the container.

They had been listening to our conversation the whole time.

Thanks to them, Ellie’s “kidnapping” was quickly suppressed, and in the end, we said our goodbyes.

-Kkoko

While exchanging hugs that had become somewhat familiar. While sharing our warmth today as well.

“Ellie, bye-bye… I want to go with you…”

“…Azunmaa.”

“You can’t call me cute like that! Seriously, if you let us sleep at that house, Duyoon will say he wants to live there.”

“hehehe, it’s okay for him to sleep at our house for just one day.”

“It’s not okay! I can’t sleep without our son!”

I promised tomorrow.

***

And the next day.

Leaving the dads at home, the four of us went on a trip in the car.

I sat in the back seat with Ellie, happily munching on the snacks she fed me.

“Eat.”

“Nom… yum yum…”

In the middle of the seat, two small hands were overlapping.

Ellie, who took care of me like she did with her younger brother, as if treating me as her only friend.

Receiving such care from Ellie, I thought she looked even more like a princess today, wearing a pink dress.

“Both of you, look this way~ Cheese!”

“Cheese.”

“Yum…chizu.”

-Snap!

Such a moment of ours was captured in a single photo.

And arriving at the park, wandering along the tree-lined path with Ellie, who was already delighted just to be outside.

Then, the two of them together amidst the grassy field.

-Click!

Capturing moments of holding hands and embracing each other amid the mothers’ laughter, it was all captured in photographs.

Enjoying the spring breeze during a stroll, they all sat on the bench together, savoring character-shaped lunchboxes and sandwiches.

“Ah~”

“Yeah.”

“You too. Have some.”

“Yeah… Ellie, here.”

-Click!

Feeding each other, too, became a part of the pages of memories.

Later, at the somewhat deserted sandbox in the park.

“Let’s play together!”

“I want to play too!”

A couple of kids who looked a bit younger than them unexpectedly approached and invited them to play.

Without paying much attention to the unusual appearance of Ellie, who seemed a bit different, the kids played without hesitation.

“Yeah, let’s play together.”

I welcomed the kids like I did during preschool, but Ellie wasn’t particularly interested in their approach.

As it turned out later, having many friends wasn’t essential for her. For Ellie, a few who considered her important and whom she considered important were enough.

Perhaps the isolation she experienced during the two weeks in preschool left a short but traumatic impact on Ellie.

After playing with the sand for a while, Ellie grabbed my arm and moved away.

“Uh…”

“Etheryun! Come here!”

As if not wanting to be taken away, as if insisting on playing only with herself, Ellie tried to monopolize me as if it were natural.

Since I enjoyed being with Ellie anyway, I went along with it. Eventually, we found ourselves playing separately, just the two of us, as usual.

“…Sorry. Because of Ellie, Doyoon can’t play well with friends,”

Jung Ye-rin apologized to Song Ji-eun, who had become both a fellow parent and a friend.

But for Song Ji-eun, it was just…

“If you’re a woman, you should have that level of pride. You have to take care of your own man…”

“….”

Just like her son, she didn’t have any particular thoughts. In her eyes, whether it was Ellie or Doyoon, the child didn’t seem to have serious issues, and she believed that friends would naturally come along once they entered elementary school.

No, shortly, even if she didn’t like it, kids would flock to them. Her son Doyoon looked good, resembling both herself and her husband, and Ellie spoke so eloquently that it hurt her mouth.

So Ellie’s actions just seemed cute to her.

At first, she thought Ellie was like a mischievous kitten, but when she saw the truly adorable child, Ellie’s actions, which she secretly considered as a daughter-in-law candidate, were simply charming.

In response to Song Ji-eun’s reaction, which was mixed with jokes but also full of sincerity, Jung Ye-rin also smiled.

And she looked at the children playing happily.

“Donkatsu.”

“I’m eating donkatsu. Is this donkatsu?”

“Yeah. You should make it too.”

“Like this… French fries!”

“Make donkatsu, I told you!”

Childhood friendship, but I hope this relationship lasts for a long time.

Both the children and the mothers themselves.

***

My five-year-old days in the faint memories were a series of such days.

Met Ellie, fell for Ellie, played with Ellie every day.

When I looked at the photos in the album, I could always confirm our memories that were always together.

We didn’t do anything special.

When I was alone at home, I drew pictures, and when I was with Ellie, I always played with her, following her around.

In the meantime, we also visited each other’s homes once in a while.

What started as a simple friendship at the daycare center evolved through interactions with moms and daughters, including my mom.

With the addition of dads to the interaction, it didn’t take long for us to become close neighbors as families.

And a few years later.

Physically, we became neighbors as well.