Landing in Your Inbox

95 - it's a bird, it's a plane

May 15, 2021 2:34 PM
Korean Children Outreach Fund Center, Osan

Jung U-Pil was given the choice of venue for his birthday. He could have it in a restaurant with his closest friends or just at home with his parents. Ultimately, he asked if he could invite his friends as well as the children of the outreach center so everyone would have fun.

And since then, the party has gotten big with friends chipping in. For the only child of Jung Man-bok and Hyeon Myeong-sun, a superhero themed party with bright red, blue, and yellow balloons and flags all over the gymnasium was prepared. He wore a Spider-Man costume his mother sewn for him but he eventually opted out of the mask.

His first guests were his friends from his old school — Ho-yeong, Eun-byeol, and Nam-sik — who were flashy and colorful in their store-bought costumes. Like the comic book heroes they were dressed as, they leapt out of the family van, squealing with capes and skirts flying as they ran to greet the friend they missed.

"Hey, children! You forgot your gifts!" Na Wol-suk called out uselessly as the children were well into the gymnasium. "Ah these kids..."

"Kids will be kids...They missed U-pil so much....Uhm..." Yang Ok-geum swallowed. "Should we bring down the cake?" She spent the whole one-hour ride holding onto the tall box.

"Yes, it's very delicate." Ma Young-ae agreed from the front seat. Her driver was already getting out of the van to help carry it. "We need another person to help." She put her phone to her ear.

"Oh there's Man-bok!" Wol-suk pointed at the man waving and jogging to their area.

The air traffic controller was breathless from the preparations since the night before but he remained in high spirits. "Welcome! You arrived early." Man-bok greeted the women with a springy bow. "I hope it wasn't hard getting here?"

"It's not a problem. The cake though..." Young-ae signaled behind her to a sheepishly smiling Ok-geum.

"Oh, Ok-geum!" Man-bok gaped at the box she was keeping still, "That is a very tall cake..." It was up to the van's ceiling.

"It's four layers." Young-ae climbed down the van. "We have to make sure all children are fed." She instructed her driver to help bring it down with Man-bok taking the other side.

***

Man-bok and Young-ae's driver carried the cake shakily to the gymnasium where children were already running around in circles. Man-bok counted as they walked to make sure their steps were timed but the driver tried to avoid colliding with a child who wasn't watching where they were going. The cake tilted slightly to the back to Man-bok's horror.

Until it was set upright by a third man.

"I have it. Go on." Jeong-hyeok told Man-bok who almost fainted in fright but nodded and proceeded to their destination on the cake table.

The cake was unveiled to the children's wide-eyed collective gasps, one that was complete with skyscrapers and a figure of Spider-Man in mid-swing. U-pil gave the biggest wow at the cake that was almost as tall as him.

Young-ae beamed in the midst of this, flanked by friends who congratulated her as though she herself baked and decorated the cake. Three layers depicted the structures and silhouettes of a city at night, sitting on top of a red base covered with webs meticulously carved from fondant.

Myeong-sun joined her friends briefly to welcome them to the outreach center and also admire the cake which has become the centerpiece of the room. "Young-ae, this is magnificent. I hope it wasn't too troublesome bringing it here."

"Oh no trouble at all!" Ok-geum downplayed with a guffaw.

"Ok-geum held it valiantly." Young-ae complimented as due.