Baby Market
Five thousand won. That was the remaining balance in Airi’s bank account. Airi, who had left the house without eating breakfast, went into a toast shop across the crosswalk. She paid for the freshly made toast, blowing on it, and used the remaining one thousand five hundred won to pay for the bus fare. Prices had remained constant for 180 years, but people's lives had changed greatly. Airi was on her way to see the child she would soon meet, dragging her pregnant body. It was a big mistake to think that the two children were not the same. However, Airi followed the law faithfully. That's why she was able to move with light steps.
The hourly wage comes in at 11 a.m. Then at least the children of unmarried mothers or single mothers can survive. Airi breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't decide everything by herself. She needed two children, and this was an important moment that would determine the future of both of them. That's why she left Jay behind and went to see the child alone. Jay would send a notification when it was time.
Excitement and happiness, that was how she felt these days. From the anticipation of meeting a new child, to the joy of conceiving a child who would become a member of society, to the fear of turning a new chapter in her life that she would never return to, Airi had to face a variety of emotional changes. The baby market in the city hall opens at noon, so she had to get there before then and stand in line. There will be a large number of pregnant women around Airi's age. With her round face and thin glasses, she would be buried in the line and soon out of sight.
Fortunately, she met Chaiti and was able to share her recent news. Chaiti, who came from India, told her about baby products such as baby clothes and hand warmers that she had prepared. Chaiti, who was going to raise the child alone, knew a lot of information, while Airi, who was going to raise the child with her grandmother, was quietly listening to Chaiti.
It was ten years ago, when Airi was in elementary school, that she met Chaiti. In front of the school building, where rain was pouring down, many of her friends hid under the umbrellas of their parents who had come to greet them. At the moment when sadness was about to creep in, it was Chaiti’s umbrella that blocked the tower of emotions. A blue umbrella. When her ears were dizzy from the dark clouds that filled the gray sky and the sound of the rain pouring down like long poles, when her friends’ laughter and relief at seeing familiar faces struck her heart, the sky soon brightened like a starry night, and the two of them happily shared the umbrella and returned home safely.
Chaiti, who was well-prepared, took an umbrella before leaving the house in the morning. Chaiti's mother came out to the front door wearing a stylish apron. Her father came out holding the car key and said affectionately that he would take her to school, but she, who was very independent, just took the umbrella and walked ahead. Anyway, her father would go to the garage, start the glass car, and fly into the sky and go far away.
White and pink, Airi hesitated the whole time because she couldn't seem to reach for either of them. Usually girls choose white and boys choose pink. So Airi was at a loss as to whose position she should think about first, hers or Jay's. She thought Jay would definitely reach for white first, and Chaiti would choose pink.
But Airi was in a situation where she was neither here nor there. If she chose white, Jay would say she had to choose pink, and if she chose pink first, she would receive an unkind look from Jay. So Airi sighed for a moment and thought quietly. She thought that there was probably a better, better option.
After a while, a staff member came and asked if she could help. Airi explained that the baby was soon to be adopted and that she needed to choose the first bib to have her initials engraved on it. The staff member smiled and said that if that was the case, everyone would choose white. And so it was. When you have too few options to choose from, you end up confused about what the right answer is. Fortunately, Airi found the answer in no time.
Adoption. What kind of social system is this, that I have to raise strangers whom I don't even know when I am in a situation where it is difficult to take care of myself? Chaiti muttered for a moment. She was born healthier and better-off than others, and had never experienced hardship. Whenever something difficult happened, her friends would always come to Chaiti, and it was because of her straightforward personality that gave her sound advice without a single flaw.
Airi had once met her adoptive mother. On her way to school in the morning, a car pulled up next to Airi as she walked through the snow that had fallen heavily, making a crunching sound. Her adoptive mother scolded Chaiti, who was riding in the car with her that day, saying, "How can you go to school wearing earrings?" and dropped Airi off in front of the school gate. She then picked Chaiti up and went back home.
Airi woke Siri up and told her that she had decided on a color. Siri scanned the nearby stores and told her that there was only one place that had it in stock. A long letter came flying in saying that if she just went there and laid the baby down, everything would go smoothly. She went to the parking lot, started the car, and got in. And then she fell asleep.
When they woke up, it was pitch black night. The child was fast asleep, and the two looked out the window at a bright blue planet 200km away from Earth. Perhaps this point would be the beginning of their journey… Jay muttered. The moment when their new journey began…