children’s day
— moonsoo makes an important visit.
children’s had always been one of the favorite holidays for all four of the bak siblings, it being with the likes of christmas and their birthdays. they never struggled for money, and their children’s day gifts were always much bigger than needed but their parents always liked to spoil them, which the children always loved.
moonsoo’s reason for loving children’s day had always gone a little further than that. of course he liked the gifts -- he had kept most of them over the years -- but there was more to it. children’s day is meant to be used as a day for parents to spend time with their children, to do activities with them and, with their busy schedules, moonsoo’s parents rarely had the time to devote much time to each of their children individually.
children’s day was pretty much always the same while growing up. the family nanny, mija, would wake each of the four children and feed them breakfast as their parents got ready. after breakfast, gifts would be given and the children were allowed to play with them until lunch. after lunch, their parents would take all four of them to children’s grand park, where mija followed to ensure that the children behaved properly the whole time.
as a child, moonsoo always thought children’s day was the best, because of how much attention he got from his parents but, somewhere along his teenage years, when he was a trainee at summit, he’d realized that children’s day was only ever perfect because mija took on all parental responsibilities and allowed his parents to take all the praise. thinking a little harder, he realized that that was pretty much an everyday occurrence in the bak household.
now, at twenty one years old, moonsoo’s parents still sent a gift for children’s day and he sent back a nice card that would get to them three days later for parents day. It’d become a new tradition, the skeleton of what it once was and the missing element was clear.
waking up early on the fifth of may with no real plan, he got ready quickly and told the other members of twentytwenty he’d be back later in the day. before he left, he checked his reflection in the mirror, making sure that his hair looked at least half combed before he pulled his mask over his face.
being a nanny to the seoul elite for close to thirty years allowed mija to have quite the salary, yet she lived in a small apartment on the edge of town because all her money had always gone towards her own children’s education. moonsoo remembered asking her why she lived in a shack as a child, remembered how patient she’d been with the spoiled child and took the time to explain to him that not everyone could afford to live in a big house like he did. it had confused him at the time, but he was thankful for this little lessons now that he was older.
as it was usually the case when he went to visit the older woman, she was already on her porch when he got there. it seemed she aged every time moonsoo showed up here, but her smile remained unchanged as she stood to embrace the tall boy in her arms.
“you’re too tall, moonie-ya.” she pinched his cheeks as she pulled away from the hug, causing moonsoo to laugh. she’d been saying that since he was twelve years old and it had become their greeting over the years. “you’re just too small, halmoni.”
the older woman smacked the side of his head, causing giggles to flow out of moonsoo without him meaning to. even if she’d always had endless patience for the boy, it didn’t mean she allowed him to act like a brat. walking inside together, she made motion for him to sit and he obliged, watching her fuss around the kitchen to get him something to eat.
“thank you.” he grinned up at her as she placed a bowl of reheated kimchi jjigae in front of him, waiting for her to sit before eating. he ate mostly in silence, listening to her rant and rave about whatever drama she’d been watching recently and how the idol industry was a mess and how he’d really ought to get himself a girlfriend -- all with a smile on his face.
once their meal was done, moonsoo wasted no time picking up their bowls and washing them in the small sink under mija’s judging gaze. once the dishes were washed to her liking she simply walked away, which was moonsoo’s cue to rinse his hands and finish up before she complained that he was wasting all her hot water.
when he turned back towards the small dining room table, a small gift had been placed upon it. Even if they weren’t her biological children, she’d always try to get something small for the bak children on children’s day. smiling brightly, he sat back down in front of her, eyeing the gift before looking back at the older woman.
“halmoni, you don’t need to get me a gift.” he spoke softly, chest feeling just a little tight as he stared at the small box. “you’ve done so much, i don’t need a gift.”
the old woman waved him off. “i’m old, don’t make me wait longer than i already have.”
not wanting to offend her, he carefully unwrapped the gift in front of him. it was a picture frame with a single picture -- one that mija had taken during moonsoo’s first children’s day, when he was barely a few months old. too young for the zoo, he had stayed behind at the house with mija, swaddled carefully against his chest, sleeping peacefully. moonsoo could feel the threat of tears stinging in his eyes as he set the frame on the table, unable to look up at the woman.
“i don’t think i’ve ever properly thanked you.” he spoke after a shaky breath, eyes watering. when mija looked back at him confused, he continued. “for raising us. me. for taking care of me like your own.” he shrugged, looking back down at the table.
lost in his thoughts, he missed mija getting up and moving closer to him, wiping away the tears with her thumb like she did when he was a child. “moonsoo-ya,” she spoke softly, the usual bite in her voice gone. “you are my own. maybe not by flesh and blood but here,” she pressed her finger to his forehead. “and here,” she pressed her finger to his head. “you’re mine.”
“i don’t need your thanks or your words. or your money.” she emphasized the last part, looking at moonsoo with pointed eyes -- as soon as twentytwenty had started making real money, he’d always offered to give her a pension or really anything she needed, but she always declined. “i raised you like a parent would, and i didn’t do it to get recognition. i did it so you would be a good person, so you’d have real guidance in your life.”
so often while growing up, moonsoo would throw tantrums and mija was always the one to deal with him. when he screamed that he hated her, she still spoke to him in a soft voice to tell him she loved him. when he locked himself in his room for days on end, she still put food outside his door so he’d have something to eat. although his parents may have prepared him for idol life, mija had been the one to prepare him for the rest of it. so much of what he knows, what his interests are, can all be traced back to mija. she’d been the perfect mother to him, without even having given birth to him.
“i love you.” he closed his eyes as he leaned into her hands, taking a second to ground himself. he didn’t say the words often, but he meant them when he said them to her.
“i love you too, brat.” the woman laughed softly, running her thumb gently across his cheek. moonsoo had always been a terrible judge of other’s feelings, but he swore she was radiating nothing but straight love. “no crying in my kitchen, you know the rule.”
when he left later that afternoon with an bagful of treats and leftovers mija had made him promise to share with all his group members, moonsoo hoped the woman understood how much she meant to him, how thankful he was for everything she’d done. sure, it had been her job, but it was always more than that with her. she’d become the main parent in his life, the one person he truly hoped to make proud. he hoped he could live up to her expectations, that he would but enough but he also knew that if he were to fall from grace, should he stumble, she’d always be the first one to pick him up.
because that’s just what parents do.
