A year really does fly by in the blink of an eye.
Seol-i stayed by my side with her usual small smile, and I stayed by hers in return.
And the moment first grade ended, Seol-i was beaming with joy.
Why?
"We're in the same class again next year...!"
"Yeah, looks like it."
Because we ended up in the same class again next year.
It was truly a relief.
Seol-i had gotten a lot brighter and was starting to make friends with other girls, but at her core, she was still incredibly dependent on me.
Even though I knew that wasn't the healthiest trait, since it was what she wanted, I simply stayed by her side.
That's why I'd spent so much time worrying about how to look after her if we didn't end up in the same class next year.
All I could've done was go to her classroom during breaks to check on her.
"Ugh, why am I the only one in a different class?"
"Uuuu..."
Meanwhile, Seung-ah had been placed in a different class from us.
Seung-ah was grumbling in frustration, while Seol-i fidgeted nervously, glancing at her.
"What's the big deal? We'll come visit you during breaks."
"Really?"
"Really."
"You can't enter other classes, though."
"We can just hang out in the hallway in front of your class."
"Ah! Haneul's so smart, as always."
"Right! Haneul's smart...!"
Seung-ah said it with a mix of playfulness and social savvy, but Seol-i seemed completely sincere.
Look at those sparkling eyes. They held an indescribable depth of her true feelings.
"Seol-i, you have to come visit me every day, okay?"
"Yeah! Got it!"
Seol-i nodded vigorously to reassure Seung-ah, who grinned widely and high-fived her enthusiastically.
In that heartwarming scene, I spent the last day of first grade with Seol-i and Seung-ah.
Honestly, though, I doubted we'd go every single day.
We were still young elementary kids, in the early stages of socialization where groups hadn't fully formed yet.
There was plenty of room for them to make other friends.
But their bond turned out to be stronger than I'd imagined.
After starting second grade, Seol-i and I headed to Seung-ah's class during nearly every break—except for the unavoidable times we couldn't.
And Seung-ah was always waiting for us.
A few times, I skipped out of laziness, but Seol-i would drag me along anyway, like a kindergartener clutching her favorite stuffed toy on the way to school.
In the end, I spent almost every day with Seol-i and Seung-ah.
Throughout all of second grade.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
But that wasn't the only thing that happened in second grade.
"Today, we're going to elect a class president~"
"Yes~!"
The class president election began, and two confident kids stepped up as candidates.
In first grade, almost six or seven kids had run because they thought being class president was some cool, mysterious thing. But now, everyone knew it wasn't all fun and games, so only two volunteered.
Maybe our class just had a lot of shy kids.
In fact, our class was unusually well-behaved for second graders.
I was thinking I'd just vote for whichever of those two when Seol-i raised her hand.
If Seol-i was running, she'd get my vote, no question.
She's cute and kind, but also incredibly diligent.
As far as I knew, Seol-i had never once been late with her workbook since starting them.
That meant she finished her daily studies every single day.
I knew exactly how impressive that was.
Back at the orphanage, I hated studying so much that I'd play half-forced games of tag with the older kids. And when I became one of the older ones, I struggled endlessly to make the younger kids study.
Given that experience, Seol-i's diligence at just second grade wasn't typical for an elementary kid.
She'd definitely make a great class president. She could overcome her shyness somehow. Or so I thought...
"I... I recommend Haneul...!"
...Seol-i, what on earth are you saying?
I absolutely hated the idea of being class president.
At the end of every class, you'd have to say things like "Attention, salute, bow" to greet the teacher, and handle caring for the other kids if something came up.
With all that hassle, why me?
If I had to look after someone, I'd rather it just be Seol-i.
"Haneul, will you run for class president?"
When the teacher asked, I glanced at Seol-i's face.
Her sparkling expression was 200% sincere.
If I turned her down, she'd sulk for sure.
She wouldn't show it outright, but she'd be hurt inside. That's just how Seol-i is.
With no choice, I nodded and agreed to run.
The candidates then went up to the front and gave their speeches.
"If I'm class president, I'll make our class fun!" "I'll fill it with laughter!" They spouted all these cringeworthy, foot-in-mouth lines.
My speech was simple.
"...I'll do my best."
Honestly, I didn't want to win at all.
I only ran because Seol-i wanted me to. Winning was the last thing I wanted.
But then a twist happened.
There were 28 kids in the class.
And 18 of them voted for me.
It wasn't split by gender either. We had 14 boys and 14 girls, and the candidates were me and one other boy—two boys total, one girl.
How did I end up with 18 votes?
I found out later: according to Seol-i and Seung-ah's shared opinion, "He seemed so much like a big brother at the time."
The kids instinctively sensed it. That inside Kang Haneul lurked a 23-year-old man.
Having won, I walked back to the podium, bowed, and said,
"...I'll do my utmost as class president. Thank you."
And so, I became class president. Seol-i came running over with an even brighter smile than usual.
"Haneul! Congrats on being class president!"
"Uh... yeah, thanks."
"Let's go tell Seung-ah!"
Seol-i was flailing her arms excitedly, looking adorable, but it was time to drop a bombshell on her.
"But... Seol-ah."
"Yeah?"
"...If I'm class president, we'll have less time to stick together."
Her reaction was priceless.
Shock written all over her face—like a dramatic "boom" sound effect would fit perfectly.
"...R-really?"
"Yeah, really."
"Really...? Really???"
"Yep."
"Hnnn..."
She started tearing up again.
How dependent on me could she be?
To comfort her, I said it with all sincerity.
"If I ever had to choose between you and class president duties, I'd pick you."
"R-really...?"
I shouldn't laugh in a moment like this, but it was hard not to.
She'd been repeating "really?" over and over, and I kept answering, but it wasn't much of a conversation.
How could I not chuckle?
I took her hand to soothe her, and she managed a cute little smile through her teary expression.
Seol-i really is the cutest.
After calming down, we went to tell Seung-ah, who simply said, "Congrats!"
In any case, the class president role that started with Seol-i's recommendation? I threw myself into it wholeheartedly.
It felt like I handled every single task the teacher assigned.
But then, one incident blew up.
"Ow! Uuuuuw... huuuuw..."
During PE, Seol-i tripped and skinned her knee on the playground.
"Seol-i!"
"Huuuw... Haneuuullll... waaahhh..."
Our school's playground had that rough artificial turf, and it tore up her delicate skin.
I didn't think twice.
Class president duties were plenty.
Collecting stray balls, helping struggling kids, greeting at the end of class since it was almost over.
None of that mattered.
Seol-i was down with a skinned knee—class could wait.
I immediately gave her a piggyback and bolted to the nurse's office.
The dismissal bell rang, and I heard our class heading back, but all I saw was Seol-i.
"Uu... huuuuw... uu... eek... uuuuw..."
Every time the cotton touched her knee, every time the antiseptic stung her delicate skin, she whimpered. I stayed by her side, patting her reassuringly.
Once it was all done and classes ended, bringing another break...
Seol-i gave me a small smile and her thanks.
"Thanks... Haneul..."
I accepted her gratitude but asked right back.
Is your knee okay?
If her knee was fine, I didn't need the thanks.
Fortunately, her smile said she was alright.
By the way, that action earned me some serious goodwill from the class and the PE teacher.
It even made it into my student record.
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