Little Cassano
“Park Joo-hyung si?” A voice asked on the phone.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“My name is Secretary Ji Hye Shin, I’m calling from your son’s school. There was an incident at school today so we would like you to come in, please. 1PM should be fine?
Vincenzo Cassano agreed, thanked her and was about to hang up the phone when he heard those dreaded words-
“Alright sir we’ll see you and your wife soon, then.”
Vincenzo groaned internally, thinking about how she was NOT going to be happy, not going to be happy at all.
As if on cue his phone rang, interrupting his myriad of thoughts; he looked at the caller ID ‘Hong Byeonhosanim’.
Funnily enough he had never changed her name on his phone from this rather formal word to “yobo” or “jagiya”. It seemed almost too trivial and insignificant a word to describe her.
He answered on the first ring, loosening his tie,”Hello?”
“Don’t make any excuses, you’re coming to school.”
“I have a deposition today, you know that-”
“That was in the morning. I checked.”
“But-” Damn her and her lawyer genes.
“I just finished up court for the day, I’ll see you there at 2, Byeonhosa Park.”
Before he could say another word he heard the phone line go silent. She’s mad.
---------------------------------------
As Vincenzo entered the office, the first thing he noticed was the tension that hung in the air.
His wife was glaring daggers at him as he entered, and it was one of the rare moments in his life where Vincenzo Cassano (or Park Joo-hyung as he goes by now) actually feared for his life.
He spotted his 6 year old son, Han Seo, sitting on one chair, twirling his thumbs and looking down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with his mother.
On the other side of his wife was a woman a little older, a man he presumed was her husband and a little child next to him who seemed to be the same age as his son.
As Vincenzo watched the other child, a bubble of laughter threatened to escape his lips; the boy was sitting there, covered head to toe in something that looked red and slimy and wet.
Was this why they had been called in?
“Ah, Mr. Park, thank you for joining us. Please have a seat.”
As he sat down, Vincenzo tried to make eye contact with his son, but the poor boy’s guilty gaze remained pointed downwards.
“So, as I was saying, your son, Mr. and Mrs. Park seems to have covered young Mr. Kim, here in red slime and jello-”
Vincenzo and his wife shared a look, her giving him the slightest nod- go ahead. He turned his head to his son and shook his head at him don’t say anything- we got this.
“My son seems to have done this?” He asked lightly, out loud.
“Well, yes he was last seen near the door where the bucket was hung-”
“Well, you seem to not have any proof in particular that it was Han Seo,” Vincenzo replied.
“Well, the boys have been fighting for few days now, verbal altercations-” blubbered the principal.
“They’re six years old!” Cha young interrupted,”Of course they’re fighting. Aren’t other students in their class doing the same?”
“Yes Mom!” Han Seo quipped up,”there’s a lot of fighting.”
“Well sir, I think this begs the question- why do your teachers not seem to have control of their classroom,” Cha young asked,”Do I have to be afraid for my child?”
“No! That’s not what’s-”
“My child is covered in red stuff!” Exclaimed the mother of the other child, indignantly.
“Ah, he enjoys body painting does he?” Cha young asked, smiling.
“No, I was just saying that-”
Vincenzo seized the opportunity to swiftly exit the chaos, standing up and buttoning his coat,” Well this seems to have been a phenomenal waste of time. I do hope you get a better grip on this fighting that seems rampant in your school. We’ll be leaving now. Han Seo let’s go.”
Cha young was now staring down the other mother and Vincenzo gently extracted her hand from it’s crossed position and led her out of the room along with his son.
“How dare that woman try to accuse MY SON of-” Cha young grumbled as she put on her seatbelt in the car.
“I did it, Mom,” groaned Park Han Seo miserably,” I covered him in the red stuff-”
“We know, Han Seo-ya” Vincenzo said.
“You know?”
“Of course we do,” replied Cha young irritably, “What we don’t know, is why.”
”Because he’s a big bully. So I dumped red slime on him- like you did with the bad man that hurt Grandpa. I couldn’t find pig’s blood anywhere though-”
Vincenzo had been about to drive away when he paused, looked at Cha- young and burst out laughing.
Cha young was trying to be disapproving, for her son’s sake, but couldn’t deny that her son’s emulation of their old prank was…. Downright hilarious. And so, against her best wishes, a smile crept up on her face and soon she too was in peals of laughter.
Young Han Seo smiled with satisfaction, he had been feeling terribly guilty since he was caught, but seeing his parents smile and laugh like this meant he had done something good.
As if reading her son’s thoughts, Cha- young shook her head,”Aish, Han Seoya, you can’t cover people in red slime everytime you argue with them. Your dad and I won't be able to bail you out everytime. In fact, we’re not going to do it ever again. If you get in trouble, you will take your punishment.”
“But…. Dad said that when people don’t get what they deserve we have to take matters into our own hands!”
“And what did he say that made you take matters into your own hands?”
The smile suddenly disappeared from young Han Seo’s face as he stayed silent.
“What is it, son?”
“He makes fun of the other kids in class. Yesterday he pushed this boy in class who walks on crutches, and then he laughed. It was not very nice.”
“That’s not very nice at all,” Cha young agreed.
“So you’re not mad? I.. I did well?”
As he stared at the innocence on the boy’s face, Vincenzo with a pang was reminded of his older namesake, as he replied,” You did very well, son. You deserve to be called a little Cassano.”
His wife shot him a look.
“But your mother is right, you can’t use us as an excuse to bail you out. We don’t want you picking fights for no reason.”
“So I… I’ll stop?” asked the young child, looking sad.
“Tell you what,” Vincenzo said,” If you get in trouble defending someone else, then we got you. If you go around fighting for yourself then you’re on your own. How’s that sound?”
The little boy grinned,”Deal!”
Vincenzo casually spoke,”Next time, you should do something a little less incriminating to yourself. Maybe we can put a spider or two in his pencil case-”
Han Seo nodded,”That’s a good idea. Or steal his-”
Cha young shook her head, smiling to herself. This child was going to grow up to be just like his father; and it couldn’t make her prouder.
