NOVPUBAs I walked down the most pleasant path with the angel, I arrived at the Tiger Mansion.
Standing at the front gate, I couldn’t help but wonder if I should really be part of Kim Shin-rok’s birthday party, but just as I was thinking this, Baek Ho passed me the lead from the angel, and I was pulled out of my thoughts.
When I heard the "Bang!" sound, I realized we had already arrived at the main building.
It felt as though the angel, being a genius, had used teleportation to make the distance seem incredibly short.
“Welcome. How do you feel? Hmm, you look fine.”
Hwang Ji-ho, who seemed to have been cooking, had rolled up the sleeves of his school shirt and was wearing a half-apron.
When he asked how I was feeling, I didn’t answer, but Hwang Ji-ho continued to observe me before turning away.
“Sit down. Kim Shin-rok hasn’t arrived yet. Get ready quickly.”
“Hwangeo, we need to double-check the food items. Do we have enough dried persimmons?”
“Hahaha! Of course. Not only do we have enough for you, but there will also be enough for Baek Ho, so don’t worry about it.”
Baek Ho, who was listening to Hwang Ji-ho and Jeok Ho’s conversation, furrowed his brows, but neither of the two tigers seemed to pay attention.
There was a sweet aroma coming from Hwang Ji-ho, and it seemed that they were planning a dried persimmon party for Kim Shin-rok’s birthday today.
‘If you wanted to celebrate this much, you should have done it last year.’
Thinking about the relationship between Kim Shin-rok and Jeok Ho around this time last year, a birthday party seemed impossible.
Not only was it unlikely they would have had a birthday party, but it was even questionable whether they would have seen each other’s faces.
Last year on Parent’s Day, Kim Shin-rok had apparently prepared materials for the descendants of Eunho to make paper carnations.
However, I never heard of him giving a carnation to Jeok Ho.
“Phew, it’s done!”
“I think we can give it before the birthday party.”
“Do you think it’s better than last year?”
In one corner of the living room, the descendants of Eunho were busy making carnations.
This year, unlike last year, they were using felt material instead of paper to make the carnations.
‘Still not quite there.’
The descendants of Eunho worked hard, but the result was somewhat off.
If you hadn’t known they were making carnations, you’d have had a hard time guessing what they were trying to make.
Still, the color combinations did give off a carnation-like feel.
If Eunho, who was good with his hands, had helped, the outcome would have been significantly different, but the carnations made by his descendants had a unique charm and care, so it wasn’t bad.
“Are you all done?”
“Yes! Hwangeo, Baek Ho, please take the flowers!”
“There’s one for Ui-shin, too!”
It had been the same last year too, but I always felt a little odd receiving flowers from Eunho’s descendants on Parent’s Day.
I thought about it, but when the angel appeared holding a felt carnation in his mouth, all I could do was express my gratitude and admiration.
“This one was made by Mountain Spirit!”
“Me too?”
As Hwang Ji-ho and Jeok Ho received the flowers, Mountain Spirit, who had been fiddling with block toys, suddenly jumped up from his seat.
Pretending to be uninterested, he kept looking over here, so it seemed like he wanted to get one too.
The flower-giving ceremony was quick and simple.
‘This was a suggestion from Eunho’s descendants.’
Today was the first time celebrating Kim Shin-rok’s birthday at the Tiger Mansion.
Eunho’s descendants had expressed that they didn’t want the main event to be their flower-giving ceremony but Kim Shin-rok’s birthday party instead.
As a result, the flower-giving ceremony ended quickly, but there was one tiger who didn’t get a flower.
‘Jeok Ho said he would receive the flowers made by Eunho’s descendants later.’
It was obvious who Jeok Ho wanted the carnations from.
The person Jeok Ho had been waiting for finally arrived.
“Hello, I came to accompany Kim Shin-rok.”
“...Hello.” n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Unlike the smiling Andain, Kim Shin-rok looked wilted.
I heard that they successfully held Kim Shin-rok’s birthday party in Class 2-1, but seeing his face, it seemed like he had managed to receive congratulations without incident.
“Looks like you had a good time. Do you want to stop by?”
“I’d love to, but I’ll pass. I feel bad taking up your time on such a wonderful day. Also, mom and dad are waiting for me.”
Andain politely declined Hwang Ji-ho’s offer.
From her words, I could feel Andain’s warm heart, trying to balance spending time with both the teacher and her parents today.
Just as Andain was about to leave with Kim Shin-rok at the entrance...
“Hello, I’m here too. Thank you for inviting me.”
Yong Je-geon suddenly appeared, having timed his entrance.
It seemed like he had intentionally tried to sneak in and surprise everyone, probably to see their reactions.
Both Andain and Kim Shin-rok were surprised to see Yong Je-geon so close.
Seeing their surprised faces, Yong Je-geon seemed satisfied.
‘It would be odd to not invite your only friend to your birthday party.’
Even if he was playing such meaningless pranks.
Andain smiled faintly at the childish Yong Je-geon and excused herself.
Compared to Yong Je-geon, Andain looked much more mature.
Kim Shin-rok seemed to share the same thought, staring at Yong Je-geon with a look of disdain.
Bang!
When Kim Shin-rok entered the living room, fireworks exploded all over the place.
When the special-made ability item fireworks went off, red silk-colored light spread, and the message “Happy Birthday” appeared.
The fireworks were set off by Eunho’s descendants, Mountain Spirit, and Baek Ho.
“Son, happy birthday!”
Shouting with the dried persimmon cake in hand, Jeok Ho stood with the red light behind him.
Kim Shin-rok, clearly surprised, looked dazed.
‘How could he not have expected this after having a birthday party just now?’
Everything about today, from the way the tigers had invited Kim Shin-rok to the way Yong Je-geon had suddenly appeared and mentioned being invited, screamed "birthday party."
Yet Kim Shin-rok still seemed to have no idea.
It was as if he had truly not suspected anything.
“...Thank you.”
Kim Shin-rok, who had been dazed, struggled to speak.
Kim Shin-rok looked perplexed, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.
Fortunately, when Kim Shin-rok made eye contact with Yong Je-geon, who was smirking, he seemed to snap out of it and fixed his expression.
“You must be full after eating with your students. You don’t have to eat much.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Kim Shin-rok didn’t decline the birthday meal that the tigers had prepared for him.
“I’ll eat well.”
Kim Shin-rok tasted every dish, including the seaweed soup.
Although he couldn’t eat much since he was already full, the tigers who prepared the meal were satisfied.
Since there were so many dried persimmons on the birthday table, Baek Ho was struggling, but aside from that, it was a pleasant mealtime.
“Son, here’s your birthday present.”
After the meal, Jeok Ho handed over the birthday present.
The box was wrapped in red packaging paper, small enough to hold in one hand.
Kim Shin-rok hesitated to take the gift immediately.
“A present? Just celebrating is enough for me...”
“This is a present for you. If you don’t take it, I’ll have to dispose of it.”
Even though Jeok Ho said that, it seemed like he would make Kim Shin-rok take it by force if he didn’t.
Fortunately, before Jeok Ho could lie down to force him, Yong Je-geon intervened.
“Shin-rok, if you’re not going to take it, can I have it? I’m curious what kind of gift Jeok Ho got.”
“...I’ll take it.”
Like the only friend he had, Yong Je-geon was quite persuasive with Kim Shin-rok.
Kim Shin-rok, quickly persuaded, accepted the gift from Jeok Ho.
‘But Jeok Ho is letting him take it.’
In the past, Jeok Ho would have likely said, “Who are you to take my son’s gift? Don’t ruin this good day and leave,” but now, he generously let Yong Je-geon take it.
In fact, it seemed like he was grateful that Yong Je-geon had guided his son to accept the gift.
Following Jeok Ho’s request, Kim Shin-rok opened the gift on the spot.
Inside the box was a fountain pen made from a carved ruby and red ink.
The fountain pen was engraved with the word ‘Jaeho’ (緹虎).
“...I’ll use it well. Thank you.”
Kim Shin-rok looked at the fountain pen for a long time, clearly liking it.
The sight of him staring happily at the pen was watched warmly by Hwang Ji-ho, who then intervened.
“Kim Shin-rok, that’s not the only gift Jeok Ho prepared.”
“Eh?”
“I think you’re already using the gifts Jeok Ho gave you at the Eunyeonggwan, right? Isn’t that right, Jeok Ho?”
Eunyeonggwan refers to the Glimmer Research Building at Eungwang High.
It’s Jeok Ho’s space, but he apparently gave part of it to Kim Shin-rok.
Hwang Ji-ho’s words made it clear that Jeok Ho had been keeping all the gifts he had been meaning to give Kim Shin-rok in that space.
Jeok Ho, after being freed from the red mold, had likely been preparing his son’s birthday gifts alone all this time.
“Could it be that all the items there...?”
Kim Shin-rok probably thought of those things as just supplies.
Kim Shin-rok hastily apologized.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even say thank you...”
“There’s no need to thank me. Why are you apologizing, son? I’m the one who should apologize for not properly congratulating you.”
Jeok Ho spoke gently, and Kim Shin-rok seemed even more flustered.
As they chatted, time passed quickly, and evening arrived.
Just as I was thinking of heading to the dormitory when Yong Je-geon was leaving...
“Shin-rok, aren’t you going to give that to Jeok Ho? He worked hard to make it, didn’t he? I see that only Jeok Ho doesn’t have one of those flowers, so he seems to be waiting.”
Yong Je-geon spoke in a mischievous tone.
The "it" he was referring to was probably the carnation.
Kim Shin-rok seemed to be hesitating, but Yong Je-geon blatantly mentioned it.
It seemed like Yong Je-geon wanted to see Kim Shin-rok give Jeok Ho the flowers before he left.
“...It’s a carnation.”
Kim Shin-rok took the carnation out of his pocket.
It was made of felt, and from a distance, it looked so finely crafted that it could have been real.
When Eunho’s descendants saw it, they gasped in awe.
How much effort must have gone into making something like that?
I thought Kim Shin-rok would hit Yong Je-geon for openly pushing him, but since after the Dragon Palace incident, he seemed to have been holding back, he just ignored him instead.
‘Why was he so hesitant if he was going to be so happy about it?’
Seeing the joyful sight of Jeok Ho and his son exchanging flowers and gifts warmed my heart.
While I was distracted by that heartwarming scene, Yong Je-geon left, and Kim Shin-rok and I stayed at the Tiger Mansion.
We ended up staying at the Tiger Mansion after Yong Je-geon left, and I planned to head back to the dormitory soon.
‘Suddenly staying here, I feel bad about it, but tomorrow should be better for discussions.’
Although today was Kim Shin-rok's birthday and Parent’s Day, which called for some rest, tomorrow I would not have the luxury of relaxing.
In the guest room, I reviewed the tasks I had to do tomorrow and checked the schedule when I saw a new message notification on my device.
[Maeng Hyo-don] Thanks for today.
[Maeng Hyo-don] I ran into Ju Su-hyeok and talked about you.
I wondered if Ju Su-hyeok had also worried about me.
I asked what they talked about, but Maeng Hyo-don replied with a vague response, “I didn’t say much.”
I started to worry that the shock from this week might have been too much for him, and he was still struggling with it.
Monday, after the weekend.
I didn’t have any specific plans with the kids in the dormitory, but I ended up meeting them on the way to school, and we all walked in together.
They didn’t directly say anything, but it was clear they were concerned about Maeng Hyo-don.
‘Even though I arrived early, the classroom is noisy.’
The students of Class 2-0 had all arrived early.
One reason for their early arrival was Maeng Hyo-don, but another was likely the big event coming up this week.
“Mi-ro, how’s this? I think even the kids at the orphanage could make something like a stencil decoration.”
“The design will take a long time, though. Is that okay? I can’t really reduce practice time these days...”
“Should I make the design?”
Kim Yu-ri, Dok-go Mi-ro, and Min Green were all talking while displaying a hologram.
The hologram showed search results for the keyword “Teacher’s Day event.”
Teacher’s Day was coming up soon.
