How To Run From The Sun || Fairy Prince
baenxietydadâ:
Mu-yeol instantly regretted asking about Henryâs mother, because he could tell it wasnât the easiest subject for him to talk about. But if Henry genuinely wanted to use their friendship to get him more in touch with his KoreannessâŚwell, they kind of had to talk about it a little.
No problem! Marlin could soften this up.
âOh wow, sheâs only ten years older than me.â Marlin noted. âI donât talk to my son about myself either, and Iâm a fairy. Korean fairies are generally much more open with their children than Korean mundus are, but even I donât really â so donât think it is very strange your mother doesnât share much about herself.â
He took a sip of his coffee before continuing.
âAnd plenty of immigrant parents donât teach their children their language. I didnât have a choice because I didnât speak English when I came here so if I didnât teach my son Korean, we could not have communicated. But your mother obviously spoke English when she married your father, and her husband was a British man, so it makes sense she spoke English around and to you. Some parents I know didnât teach their language because they thought their children would get confused, or learn English poorly. Scientifically, we know thatâs not what happens, but to parents who just want their children to have it easier than they didâŚthey donât always understand that.â
Marlin cleared his throat. âIâm just saying to not feel bad, that your mother didnât make sure you spoke Korean, and Iâm sure she had her reasons. But, uh, yeah. I can teach you. Anything you want to know. Hangul, music, formal vs. informal. Being Korean is the one thing Iâm good at. Someone at Pixieâs once described me as âterminally Koreanâ, which. Tracks.â
Henry was interested in maybe getting a little closer to his roots and learning a bit about where he came from. That interest was also mixed with a little shame, however, and that shame ate at him when he thought about it. He shouldnât have to find someone outside his family to teach him about his culture, right? Was his family that messed up?
Also there was the question of whether or not he even deserved to be called Korean, which might seem silly, but heâd lived his whole life being exceedingly British and he never once made it a point to ask his mother to teach him anything different. He was too busy being caught up in school and reading and theater and all those other things that he didnât feel like he had time to learn. That was very sad and he hated it a little bit.Â
âIt might be nice to learn,â he said finally, rubbing the back of his neck. âI do feel a little guilty going to someone who isnât my mother though. Maybe Iâll ask her first and see what she says. Maybe sheâll teach me some things and I can impress you next time we meet.âÂ
