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Episode 88. It’s okay to be friends with a 5 year age gap (3)
When I was young, I worked as a dog walker for about 3 months and realized one thing: there is no little kid on earth who doesn’t like Pomeranians.
I really felt this when I was walking around the playground near my apartment complex. The little kids playing on the slide started to slowly approach me as soon as they made eye contact with the Pomeranian.
The dog’s owner warned the dog not to let anyone touch it, so the dog ran away, but these little guys chased the dog around the apartment complex without getting tired.
I held out for 3 months and then quit my part-time job because it was too hard. Anyway, the point is.
“Hey, Puppy. Let’s do something together.”
“Work? Work? Your opinion?”
“I said it was work, but it wasn’t anything grand.”
There was nothing to prepare in particular. I just picked up the puppy and gave it to the little one. The end.
“Huh?”
“Hanaya. If someone asks whose dog this is, tell them it’s yours.”
The boy looked down at the puppy with a puzzled face, and the puppy looked up at the boy. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he shouted.
“Aha. So all I have to do is build a bridge of love!”
“I don’t expect it to go that far. Just give your hand when the child asks you to, and if you don’t think the child is responding well, lick your hand a little.”
“But seriously, I didn’t brush my teeth.”
“He won’t care about that, so don’t worry about it, Inma. But still, uh…”
Unexpected situations can occur. I thought about as many possible situations as possible and then instilled them into my dog.
“… Just do this. Do you have any questions?”
“hmm….”
“If it’s not there right now, skip it. It’s Hana. You go over there and hug her, and then come back and talk.”
The little boy still looked like he didn’t know what I was going to do, but after a while he nodded brightly. Anyway, since it’s what the old man says, he seemed to be thinking that he would listen carefully.
“Sir, I’ll go and talk.”
“Okay. Do your best.”
“my.”
After answering, he sat down on the chair, whimpering while holding the puppy. He had done everything he could do for now, so he figured he would just watch.
After a while, the front door opened. Two red fox kobolds entered the store. They appeared to be father and son, and the younger fox kobold quickly looked around the store before letting out a roar.
“Wow! There are so many cookies!”
“Son. I’ll get the money from outside, so stay here. Got it?”
“Daddy, Daddy. Can I have some sweet potatoes?”
“If you wait here, I’ll buy you some snacks.”
“my-“
After this conversation, the man who was going to be the father came to the counter and asked me in a low voice.
“Sir, is there a place nearby where I can smoke a cigarette?”
You can smoke anywhere, as long as it’s outside the main gate, on the sidewalk, or somewhere a little further away. I was about to answer, but changed my words. It’s because I realized what the intention behind asking this question was.
“If you go a little to the right, there is a narrow alley.”
“Thank you. Me, and maybe the bathroom too… .”
“If you go around to the back of the building, it’s open.”
He said he didn’t want his child to see him smoking, so he was going to go smoke far away and come back. He probably meant to go to the bathroom to wash his hands after smoking.
This fox cobalt also realized that his intentions had been discovered, so he nodded with an embarrassed face and sneaked out without the child knowing. It would take about 5 minutes to smoke a cigarette…
I can talk to Ae-rang and the kid for a while. The flow is good. After confirming that the main gate was closed, I looked towards the fox cobalt this time.
“Wow, this convenience store is huge… .”
This place is about the size of four neighborhood convenience stores combined. There is a lot of space to display items, and there are a lot of toys and food items that are not sold in other convenience stores.
This fox is visiting such a large convenience store for the first time, and is looking around at the dairy products section and the toy displays with great interest.
It means that there was no room for interest in the child. However, it is an unexpected situation within the expected category. ‘The child coming in may not even know that you are there.’
At that time, you, Puppy, should get my attention. I told you in advance.
“bruise!”
The fox child was startled by the sudden barking of a dog. As he looked around, his eyes stopped on Hana and the puppy sitting by the shop window.
“Huh?! You little punk―”
I was about to exclaim in admiration, but then I realized that it was a dragon holding the puppy and I hastily stopped talking. His face was so tense that you could see that he was holding his breath. This was also an expected situation, but… .
Even after seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t understand it at first. Regardless of race, what on earth is there to be afraid of in terms of appearance that makes them act like that? Is there something that is imprinted on their instincts?
“to….”
While the standoff continued, the puppy jumped out of one of the arms. After jumping down and shaking off its fur, it stopped in front of the little fox and flopped down.
Then, he stuck his tongue out and started panting.
“Oh, you idiot. Don’t wear a mask.”
I just told the kid to hug the puppy. On purpose.
Perhaps embarrassed, he got up from his chair and ran to the puppy. He tried to bend down and hug it, but the puppy elegantly twisted away and continued to rub its fur against the little fox’s leg.
You’re doing a good job. If that kid is too scared of the kid, make him like you that much. So much so that he can’t stand not being petted.
I thought that if I set up the board like this, I would have no choice but to talk to the dog owner to ask for permission. Fortunately, it worked out as I thought.
“… That, uh…”
“to?”
“Hey, dragon buddy. Are you raising a puppy at home?”
The fox asked the boy in a trembling voice. The boy thought for a moment and nodded.
“huh.”
“Hey, uh… Should I stroke the badu? If it’s not too hot… .”
“No, it’s okay.”
It seemed like things were going well. The fox nodded awkwardly at the words that it was okay, and then bent down to pat the puppy’s head.
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Then, he stopped. The reason was obvious.
“That… That kid, doesn’t he just bite?”
This is the most important timing. I wonder if they will bite.
Even if you don’t like the thought, you can’t help it. A dog’s teeth are like a weapon, and all dogs live with their mouths empty, ready to bite someone at any time.
There is a simple solution to this, and I mentioned it in advance. In response to the fox child’s question, the puppy immediately perked up his ears and ran to the snack corner.
I came back in an instant and looked up at the fox child again. He was holding a bag of chips in his mouth. He couldn’t bite my hand while he was holding the bag of chips.
“Huh? What? Are you giving me goya?”
The puppy nodded to the fox child’s question. Hey, isn’t that a bit blatant?
“Wow. Dude, he’s giving me a squash! A squash!”
“Uh. But, I don’t have any money….”
“me too….”
Hana and the fox child both became sullen at the same time and started staring at the bag of chips. This was an unexpected situation, though… .
“I’ll give it to you as a service, so just eat it.”
I gave it my all. If I could just get by with a bag of chips, it would be cheap.
“Really, sir?!”
“Yes. It’s true, so eat it.”
“Wow! I have to eat some kkwaza! Kkuazah!”
“Hey, hey… my friend.”
“Huh? Why?”
“My mom said that when an adult gives something to someone, you have to say thank you.”
I didn’t know Hana could say something like that, but it felt good. It felt natural. The fox child made an expression that said, “Oh no,” and nodded vigorously.
“That’s it! My dad did that too. Thank you, sir!”
“Thank you, sir.”
“okay….”
From then on, things went well. I opened the bag of chips and gave it to him while he was groaning while opening it. We sat side by side on the chairs in front of the table, and Mongmongi lifted him up and placed him on the table while groaning.
Listening to them talking to each other while eating cookies, it seemed ordinary.
“Hey buddy. How old are you?”
“I am seven years old.”
“Just like me! I’m seven years old too. Wow, this is so cute.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Hey, what’s this idiot’s name?”
“Stupid.”
“Huh? Mungmung’s name is Mungmung? Really? Phew!”
The fox child’s reaction made the puppy’s face look slightly gloomy, but fortunately, he did not open his mouth.
Anyway, the structure was like this. The fox child was leading the conversation, and the other one was just responding.
“This is so amazing! The puppy’s name is Puppy!”
“Ugh… .”
Even the way he answered seemed very cautious, but that couldn’t be helped. This was probably the first time we had such a normal conversation.
Of course, the fox child was also cautious.
“…But, my friend.”
“huh.”
“Are you a friend of Yongin?”
“Yeah. A pure-blooded dragon. That’s what Mom said.”
“Well, this is my first time talking to a dragon friend.”
“Really?”
“My mom said that if I did something wrong, the dragon would catch me every day… I knew she would catch me.”
I guess that’s it. The kids were taught homeschooling as a fantasy… .
“I…?”
“Yeah! So, it was scary at first! You’re not going to catch me.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re sharing the guaja!”
Oh my gosh, this problem can be solved with a bag of chips?
When I first heard it, I thought it was ridiculous, but after thinking about it again, I thought it couldn’t be such a simple problem. Perhaps, it’s because the fox child has an extroverted personality.
Luckily, a friendly girl came to me as my first conversation partner. In other words, there is a tutorial fairy.
“So, uh―”
At this point, exactly five minutes had passed and the front door bell rang.
The child’s father came back after finishing his cigarette. He came in and looked around, then looked at the children and the dog.
“Son, what were you doing?”
“I was playing with this kid! I ate candy and touched a doll!”
“Son, didn’t Daddy tell you not to touch the puppy?”
“Why, don’t you ask her! She’s so quiet!”
“You have to wash your hands later. You hate washing your hands.”
Upon hearing this, the puppy looked a little more gloomy than before, but fortunately, he didn’t open his mouth this time either. I’m sorry, Inma…
Papa Fox let out a small sigh and looked at Hana and asked.
“Honey, did you play with your son for a bit?”
“Ah… inside.”
“Thank you. But, my son has to go now. He decided to go to the amusement park.”
“Nori Gong-eon… Huh?”
“Yeah. So I’ll see you later. Son, what kind of cola do you want to drink?”
“Zero Cola!”
“Okay. Let’s eat that.”
This daddy fox seems used to looking after his kids. He finishes things really quickly.
He took his son to the beverage corner and came back in less than a minute, holding a drink and a few bags of snacks in his hands.
“Please give me an envelope too.”
“yep.”
When I told him the calculation, he nodded once and took his son’s hand. Before leaving, the fox child turned around and looked at Hana and said goodbye.
“Goodbye, my friend!”
Then he went outside and it became quiet. After a moment of silence, the puppy shook itself and cried out.
“What about the name of the original? What about the fur?!”
“Your name is interesting, objectively.”
“president?”
“Hey. My name was Lee In-gan, or this person. Wouldn’t you be surprised too?”
Plus, even though his fur is now free of dust, he just rolled around under a vending machine in the park for an hour and a half. He must have a ton of fine dust stuck to his body. It’s understandable to think he’s dirty.
“But I like the name ‘Mongmong’.”
“I’m not saying this because I don’t like it, it’s just strange. So, cheer up, Inma.”
After speaking, I purposely hugged the puppy and shook its head. While I was shaking its head, I saw its expression and it seemed to have calmed down a bit, so I put it down again and spoke to the little one.
“Hanaya. How was it? He said you were his friend.”
“… Sir.”
“uh.”
“I’m sorry. I heard that you said such sad words… .”
It was a deep, regretful tone. I listened to it for now.
“I won’t arrest you. I was just trying to say… .”
“I was going to say something?”
“I couldn’t speak… I couldn’t do it. I’ll send it to you.”
If we reinterpret this apology, it might mean something like this: ‘I was nervous and didn’t speak well. I made a lot of effort to make room for you. I’m sorry.’
Well, isn’t this a good thing?
This must have been the first positive conversation this kid had ever had in his life. He even had the penalty of being a pure-blooded dragon.
“hmm….”
It’s nothing to apologize for, you did well enough. I really wanted to say that, but…
I don’t think this is the right answer. It seems like the kid himself realized that he was lacking and figured out what the problem was. That’s what I thought.
In this situation, you might take the words, “You did well,” as consolation rather than praise. You probably won’t even hear them. After thinking about it, I just said it honestly.
“But you spoke a bit timidly.”
“Are you timid…?”
“I’m saying I didn’t have confidence. What does confidence mean? Well… .”
“Confidence is a word that I am not familiar with. Mom always tells me to live with it.”
“I see. Anyway, it wasn’t bad.”
“… Really?”
“The fox that just left said, ‘Take care.’ I told you to take care because I wanted you to take care, didn’t I?”
“to….”
“If playing with you wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t have said that.”
If you say that it was just a formal farewell, something I learned from my father, then I have nothing to say. But if you look at the facts, then what I said wasn’t wrong, right? I told him to take care of himself.
“So, what I’m saying is, let’s do as he says.”
“… What should I do to stay well?”
“Next time I see you, you’ll be better. A little more confident than you were today.”
I tried to use only words that even a small child could understand, but it’s still a bit difficult.
After somehow finishing speaking, I looked at the child, and he seemed to understand to some extent. I thought that if he understood even half of what I said, it would be a success.
After a while, the little boy rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and spoke.
“… Next one. I want to buy a croquette.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”