Aejeong was not the sort of person to overlook details like that. As a result, the round tin cookie box in Jiyu’s wardrobe drawer was crammed with ribbons in every imaginable color. Not because the ribbons were particularly pretty, however.
“Ugh, no matter how many times I look at this ribbon, it’s still so tacky. It’s not like you’re some little comrade singing praises to the Dear Leader. But what can we do? All the children in this neighborhood wear them, and if you’re the only one who doesn’t, they won’t let you play with them. So you have to wear one too.”
Jiyu nodded despite not fully understanding. She could follow roughly half of what Aejeong said in Korean, while the rest slipped past her.
With her rough hands, Aejeong spread ointment over the bruise on Jiyu’s pale forehead. After being rushed to the emergency room with a mild concussion, Jiyu had developed a lump on the back of her head and a bruise across her forehead. Fortunately, aside from those two injuries, nothing else was wrong.
“Ugh, this bruise is going to take more than a week to fade. It’s not that bad, but anyone who sees you will think you’re being abused at home.”
She clicked her tongue, looking thoroughly displeased.
“…Ouch.”
When Jiyu turned her head to escape the merciless fingers, Aejeong caught her by the chin and ruthlessly turned her face back.
“Just bear with it for a little longer. We have to put bruise cream on it so it fades faster. Of all times, this had to happen right before the first day of school. Sigh. Still, at least something good came out of it….”
After the accident, Hunter’s mother, Lauren Hamilton, had apologized to Aejeong and invited them back to the house after the first day of school so the children could finish their interrupted playdate.
Aster School, which Jiyu attended, and Alton School, which Hunter attended, were prestigious private schools with more than a century of history, located just one street apart.
Aster School was for girls and Alton School for boys. Although they had separate headmasters, both were operated by the same foundation.
The students attended classes at their respective schools, but they had plenty of opportunities to interact. They shared a sports center equipped with a swimming pool, as well as a large library, and participated together in after-school programs and club activities. Major events such as cultural festivals and homecoming were jointly organized by the parent associations of both schools.
Offering the advantages of both coeducation and single-sex education, while also boasting a long history of producing leaders in every sphere of society, the two institutions were considered elite even among the fiercely competitive private schools of the Upper East Side.
On the first day of school, dismissal time for the kindergarten and elementary students turned the gates of Aster School and Alton School into absolute chaos. Parents waiting in the pickup line spilled onto the street as they chatted, making it difficult for cars to pass.
The dismissal process took even longer on the first day. To protect the children from dangers such as kidnapping, the school required the details of every authorized pickup person to be registered in advance. Each homeroom teacher then verified the adult’s identity before personally handing over the child.
Dressed from head to toe in luxury brands for the first day of school, Aejeong grabbed Jiyu by the wrist the moment she picked her up and hurried her toward Fifth Avenue.
“Jiyu, hurry! Hunter is waiting!”
Her voice was brimming with excitement.
Jiyu’s face went white as paper. She wanted to throw a tantrum and scream that she did not want to go, but she forced herself to hold it in. Tears welled in her eyes, turning them red, yet she bit down hard on her trembling lips.
If she cried and made a scene, she was afraid every eye in the crowd swarming outside the school would turn toward her. She could not decide which frightened her more—Hunter Hamilton or the stares of strangers.
Ever since she had been rushed to the hospital with a concussion, Hunter had become more terrifying to Jiyu than a ghost appearing at midnight.
Aejeong, however, had no idea.
Jiyu weakly shook her head and dragged her feet, but Aejeong, oblivious to her daughter’s distress, tightened her grip on Jiyu’s thin wrist and pushed through the crowd without hesitation.
The moment they turned the corner onto Fifth Avenue, they spotted Lauren holding Hunter’s hand.
While the two mothers exchanged warm greetings, Hunter glared at Jiyu with vivid blue eyes full of irritation and contempt.
Jiyu trembled and tried to step back, but Lauren placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder and firmly pushed him forward.
“Hunter Hamilton. You said you had something to say to Jiyu, didn’t you?”
Lauren’s voice was smooth, yet resolute.
Hunter planted his feet in resistance, but he still stumbled forward toward Jiyu. With a sharp gasp, Jiyu darted behind her mother, only for Aejeong to pull her back out.
Once the two children stood face-to-face, Hunter fixed his gaze somewhere above Jiyu’s head and muttered grudgingly,
“…Sorry.”
Lauren pressed down on his shoulder again.
“And?”
Hunter tilted his head to one side and let out a sigh.
“Please forgive me.”
“And?”
He abruptly thrust forward the object he had been clutching.
“This is my apology gift.”
Startled, Jiyu instinctively took a step back.
Hunter’s expression soured at the sight. Aejeong grabbed Jiyu’s arm and forced it forward.
Jiyu lowered her gaze to the object in his hand. It was a book, beautifully wrapped and tied with a ribbon.
“Oh…”
Her lips formed a small circle.
It was the newest volume in the unicorn series she loved. Her shoulders, which had been drawn up almost to her ears, relaxed slightly. She fidgeted with her tiny fingers before finally accepting the book.
“Jiyu, what do you say when someone gives you a present?”
Aejeong poked her in the back.
“…Thank you.”
Jiyu mumbled the practiced phrase in a voice barely loud enough to hear.
Hunter immediately spun around, looked up at Lauren, and demanded,
“That’s enough, right? Now let me go to the playground. Rex took all the other kids to the Central Park playground without me.”
Lauren shook her head sternly.
“No. Today, you’re having a playdate with Jiyu at home. Behave like a gentleman, Hunter Hamilton, unless you want to be banned from the playground again.”
She nodded toward Aejeong, signaling that it was time to leave. The two women ushered the children along and began walking toward the apartment on East 80th Street.
Unable to contain his mounting anger, Hunter let out a low growl and stamped his foot.
Afraid of being left alone with him, Jiyu clutched the book tightly to her chest and hurried after Aejeong on quick little feet.
His face flushed with rage, Hunter quickly caught up with her. Then, without warning, he grabbed her arm.
Jiyu flinched and stopped walking.
After glancing sideways to make sure the adults were not looking, Hunter leaned close to her ear.
“I really hate you, Ju Parker.”
His anger hissed through the gaps between his baby teeth like the wind.
Jiyu rubbed her still-throbbing forehead and swallowed back her tears of injustice once again.
She hated Hunter too.
But she did not have the courage to say it aloud, so she kept it inside and merely quickened her pace.
***
“Rosa, please take the children down to the playroom on the lower floor.”
As soon as they arrived at the Hamilton residence, Lauren addressed Hunter’s nanny.
“Yes, Mrs. Hamilton.”
The elderly Hispanic nanny nodded and took Hunter’s bag.
Aejeong drew in a startled breath and turned to Lauren.
“Is the floor below part of Hunter’s house too?”
Lauren nodded casually.
The Hamilton residence occupied the entire top three floors of the apartment building.
“The floor directly below is our family floor. The one beneath that contains the staff quarters.”
Aejeong’s mouth fell open.
“Then who uses this floor? The penthouse level?”
Lauren lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug.
“This floor has a hall for events, a formal dining room, several drawing rooms, a study, and guest rooms.”
“I see…”
Aejeong swept her gaze over the terrace beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the view of Central Park, and the Hudson River in the distance, her eyes widening in awe.
The immense open space, decorated with works of art and antique furniture and nearly as large as a gymnasium, appeared to be what Lauren referred to as the “hall.”
“Then shall we have tea out on the terrace while the children play?”
“Yes, yes! The terrace!”
Aejeong nodded vigorously, an ingratiating smile spreading across her face.
Lauren turned gracefully toward Hunter, whose lips were still pushed out in a sulky pout.
“Hunter, I heard Jiyu loves books. Why don’t you take her to the playroom and show her your library?”
It sounded like a gentle suggestion, but beneath the softness lay a clear command.
Hunter irritably shoved away the hand stroking his head.
Lauren signaled to Rosa with her eyes to take the children downstairs.
Even after arriving at the penthouse, Jiyu had tried to make herself invisible by pressing close to the wall. For the first time, however, curiosity and longing flickered in her eyes.
A library…? Will there be lots of books?
Rosa took both children by the hand and led them toward the spiral staircase connecting the penthouse to the family floor.
Hunter, his face still twisted in a sulk, yanked his hand free from Rosa’s and ran down ahead of them.