The party itself surprisingly did not take a strange turn.
When I say ‘strange turn,’ I mean deviating from the original purpose of my birthday party. Things like suddenly talking about business or money. Naturally, these topics aren’t pleasant for me, so they all count as ‘things that deviate from the purpose.’
“Wow, you’ve grown so much.”
This was the line I heard the most. “You’ve gotten so big.” I guess it means there are plenty of people who haven’t seen me for a long time.
And perhaps, people who wouldn’t have shown any interest in me before.
“Hello.”
I greeted people whose faces and names I couldn’t recall, forcing a smile. I waited for someone next to me or for them to introduce themselves first.
“I remember seeing you when you were three—”
“I had a chat with your mother about this and that—”
“Your father—”
Obviously, the conversations I was having with these people were not about me at all.
Father, and my late mother.
People who remain too faint in my memories.
Naturally, the conversation didn’t last long. They were people who usually made their living with words, so the dialogue carried on a bit, but that was all.
I always wore a smiling face while interacting with them, but I never asked about their personal matters.
Nor did I provide proper answers either.
When they asked about my favorite food, I responded that I liked anything.
When asked about my favorite celebrity, I just said I didn’t know much since I don’t watch TV.
When they asked if I had a boyfriend at school, I shyly twisted my body and said I didn’t yet.
Even I found it amazing. It sounded like a proper answer to them, and since I maintained a cheerful expression, it was too awkward for them to pick at me. Naturally, the conversation ended up shallow, and after trying to mix in a few more words, they had to excuse themselves.
It can’t be called a miraculous feat… It was just something I had no choice but to do.
Just luck born from mixing the situation and my thoughts.
As I expected, many people came to the party. Not just my relatives, but also their families and people in important positions within the company.
However, those people had nothing to gain here.
Because the kids invited here were mostly from ordinary working-class families.
The group dressed in red, which I was implicitly indicating as ‘my people,’ were naturally mingling and talking amongst themselves.
Of course. The only kids here who could talk comfortably were those kids among themselves. Even if they ran into faces they didn’t see frequently at school, it was especially exhausting to converse with anyone not in red.
They were simply people who couldn’t communicate with each other.
Even if I had brought along a kid from a wealthy family in Hwayoung High School, there would still be something to talk about… But there was hardly anything those studying hard from ordinary families and business operators could discuss.
Since they had no prior acquaintance, they couldn’t even pretend to know each other.
Thus, rather than being ignored or socially ostracized, which wouldn’t have been surprising, here was different.
Because there I was, wearing a red dress just like those kids.
To insult those kids would be to insult me, the one who invited them.
Ignoring them would also mean insulting me for inviting them.
Naturally, they had to be cautious in their approach.
The wave of red became a sort of wall dividing the party space, a boundary between the rich and the less fortunate.
“Sara.”
I turned around at the sound calling me.
It was ‘Uncle.’
But he was someone I couldn’t exactly call ‘uncle’ with an appropriate amount of distance. He was a cousin of my father.
He probably inherited a massive fortune long ago. The rapid growth of Eugene Group happened after that. Even before that, it was already among the largest in South Korea, but the establishment of Eugene Electronics wasn’t all that ancient.
“Yes, Uncle.”
So for now, I used the title he claimed, as uncle.
“Are you enjoying the party?”
Am I enjoying it? If judged purely on feelings, I was definitely on the side of not enjoying it. I would have preferred sitting with friends, sharing cakes and sipping tea.
I didn’t want to chat with strangers I’d never seen before.
However, I couldn’t say such things in front of the person who planned this party.
“Yes, I’m having a great time.”
“Really?”
‘Uncle’ smiled brightly as he spoke.
“You have a lot of friends. I’m relieved. I thought Sara was doing well at school.”
Of course, that statement was completely wrong. I had never done well at school. It only appeared that way because the teachers were bribed by Choi Na-kyung.
But I wasn’t dumb enough to say that out loud.
Not because I wanted to betray those who worked hard for me.
“Yes, they’re all my friends.”
“Could you introduce a few of them?”
Was that simple kindness, or did he want to test me?
I believed it was the latter.
No matter how wealthy I was, those people also had considerable wealth.
In fact, they were people who had been affluent since childhood, just like me.
The real issue was that I didn’t grow up accustomed to spending money like them; rather, they had enjoyed all of it fully.
If we asked, ‘What can money do?’ it was certain that they would give much better answers than I could.
“Sure, I can do that.”
However, he wasn’t entirely thoughtless either.
In the late-night hours, I had only coordinated outfits. While the tailors were cutting and stitching, I had some spare time.
And during that time, I roamed among the guests invited under my name, listening earnestly to their stories.
Of course, I couldn’t remember every story.
But sometimes, there were particularly memorable tales.
I considered picking one among Ha Neul, Sohee, or Sua, but quickly gave up. Because ‘Uncle’ had already seen those kids with me.
Since it was better to introduce someone completely unfamiliar for portraying ‘true friendship.’
As I turned my sight, I soon spotted the perfect candidate.
“This one.”
“Okay.”
As I walked slowly, ‘Uncle’ followed behind me. The soft murmurs of the red wave quieted down as they heard the sound of my footsteps coming closer.
The gazes from around me were fixed on me, but I only had eyes for one person.
“Areum.”
“…Uh, huh?”
Areum, who was just busily munching on a cupcake, turned around in a hurry at the sound of my voice.
She looked surprised at my face but was left puzzled by the uncle following me—
“Ahh!”
Only then did she think about the cream on her mouth, hurriedly wiping it with her hands.
Honestly, it wasn’t an action befitting high society.
And because of that, I felt relieved.
In truth, I didn’t know anything about high society either.
“Uncle, this is my friend Areum. She’s the class monitor at school and works hard enough to earn a scholarship.”
“Ah, e-eh! Hello! I’m Son Ah-reum!”
Son Ah-reum, who was almost in a panic from being introduced so suddenly, greeted ‘Uncle’ loudly.
Her voice was strong enough to gather all the previously uninterested gazes back toward her.
A momentary silence fell over the area.
“Ah, ahh…”
After a brief pause, Son Ah-reum let out a soft, regretful sound,
“I’m s-sorry…”
With a deflated tone, she apologized.
The hair sticking out like an antenna seemed, by my impression, to droop down.
After a momentary silence, someone in the crowd burst out laughing. It was likely one of the kids from the same school.
And soon enough, the area was filled with laughter.
It wasn’t mocking laughter. It was genuinely cheerful laughter. Unlike the pretentious giggling occasionally heard here, it was real laughter.
“Ugh…”
Son Ah-reum’s face was buried deep in her hands in embarrassment.
The kid who stood next to her pat her shoulder with a sympathetic expression. A few kids came over and greeted me cheerfully.
And ‘Uncle’ just watched that scene.
“…They seem like good friends.”
Ultimately, the only assessment he could give was that one.
“Right.”
…Well, most of them had only met for the first time yesterday.
