WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend is Too Pretty

Chapter 1: Becoming Best Friends with the Aloof Princess of Platinum Blonde (1)

Alicia.

Alicia Cecilia Blomvall.

With a Korean mother and a Swedish father, she came to Korea at the age of five due to her father's business.

She disliked everything about it.

Initially indifferent, she soon grew tired of the excessive attention directed at her whenever she walked down the street.

Though most of it was kindly meant towards the cute platinum blonde girl, it was too much for her young self to handle.

"It's annoying. I feel like a deer."

Just like the deer at the zoo she visited with her dad, becoming an object of people's curiosity was something Alicia detested.

She disliked the attention outside, and at the daycare she attended, it was the opposite: the avoidance and indifference made her suffer.

"Alicia~ Why don't you say hello to the other kids?"

"...I'm Alicia. Hello."

When she first arrived here, she thought playing with other kids, though they looked a bit different, would be much better than being around big adults.

Her Korean mother and father, who learned Korean after marrying her mother.

Thanks to her parents, she knew a bit of Korean.

Well, for a five-year-old with Swedish as her mother tongue, she was quite good.

But since she didn't use it often, her pronunciation was inevitably awkward.

"Yunji, how about you play blocks with the teacher and Alicia?"

"No! I wanna play over there!"

-Tadadak!

"......"

"......"

"......Shall we play just the two of us?"

"...I wanna read a picture book."

More than the distinction of being foreign, it was her different hair color, skin tone, and appearance that stood out more to the kids, and the fact that they couldn't communicate well made her isolated in daycare.

Alicia, smart and perceptive, realized on the first day.

That the other kids were wary of her. There were no kids like Mel or Chris from Sweden who were eager to play and welcome her.

It was the same, yet different.

"I don't need you guys either. I like fairy tales much better."

So, from the day she entered daycare for about two weeks,

She pretended to be strong and immersed herself only in various fairy tales.

Not because she found the fairy tales interesting. She always preferred active play over sitting still.

It was just pretending to study while reading fairy tales.

About the language of this somewhat familiar country, where she was going to live, thanks to her mother.

At the daycare, she read fairy tales, and at home, she watched lots of Korean videos on NewTube.

To become a bit more like the other kids around her, to be able to have more ordinary conversations.

"What should I do... What should we do, Teacher Yeong-eun?! I feel so sorry for her, but I don't know what to do...!"

"Well... Since Alicia is trying, let's help her study as much as we can..."

"That's all we can do, right?"

The daycare teachers knew. They knew Alicia was trying to blend in with those around her.

Despite being just five, it was truly remarkable that instead of whining or complaining, she was making an effort on her own.

The problem wasn't so much her poor language skills as it was her striking appearance, which made it hard for the other kids to approach her.

Unable to reveal this harsh truth, they decided to help her with her studies.

After all, having failed to make her play with others initially, forcing the kids together would only lead to more hurt.

And so,

While Alicia stole glances at other kids from time to time and studied with fairy tales,

The daycare teachers, finding her so adorable yet regrettable for not mingling with other kids, watched over her anxiously.

Around two weeks into this situation,

That child entered the daycare.

Lee Do-yoon.

A boy who had to start daycare late due to delayed moving schedules, though he had registered in advance.

And then.

"Do you wanna draw a picture?"

Unlike other kids, he immediately clung to Alicia, suggesting they draw together upon his arrival.

For a child who had just arrived at daycare, it was an unusually sudden gesture, as most would normally feel anxious being away from their parents.

It was sudden, but…

Both, the teacher taking Do-yoon by the hand to the playroom and another teacher who had been sneakily keeping an eye on Alicia.

'Fight, fight!'

'Hang in there! You're our hope!'

Everyone was rooting for him.

Alicia's problem was partly due to her somewhat prickly personality, but mostly because the other kids were hesitant to approach her.

So, someone like Do-yoon, who took the initiative to approach her, was a precious opportunity.

Knowing how Alicia often looked at the other kids with pity, the teachers had no doubt she would be overjoyed and play with him at this golden opportunity.

They had no doubt... but.

"It’s all fucked up."

Defying all expectations, Alicia turned her head away haughtily, uttering those words she might have picked up from some bad NewTube channel.

The teachers shook their heads.

They thought it was over.

Although they were only five, the linguistic development of kids these days, especially their quick uptake of swear words from various media, was remarkably fast.

They thought the boy might get hurt and cry upon facing such a sharp rejection, or if not cry, he might refrain from approaching Alicia anymore.

But then.

"Do you know Aru Princess? I really like that! Let's draw together! Picture... huh?"

Not sure if he didn't hear properly due to his awkward pronunciation, or if he chose to ignore it.

The new boy at daycare brushed off her icy rejection with his sweet voice and moved even closer with incredible friendliness, only then realizing he had no drawing tools and looking around confused.

At this, Kim Min-ah, the Sun Class teacher in charge, acted swiftly.

"Here, here's a sketchbook! Do you like drawing, Do-yoon? Why don't you draw with Alicia?"

"Thank you!"

She quickly placed a sketchbook between them, along with colored pencils and crayons.

And then she saw it.

Alicia, who had never before had such a pure approach from a peer, inadvertently uttered harsh words, but seeing Do-yoon unfazed, she seemed relieved.

Pretending not to care, yet sneakily glancing at Do-yoon holding the colored pencils.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"…Alicia."

"Alicisa?"

"Alicia!"

"Wow... Your name is like a princess too! I'm Lee Do-yoon!"

"Hmph."

With Do-yoon, the boy with deep black hair, offering a friendly chat and Alicia, the platinum blonde girl, responding seriously yet aloofly,

They had their first encounter.

And naturally became the inseparable buddies of the Sun Class at Hanmaum Daycare.

In my childhood, I enjoyed playing with Alicia.

Just the thought of having a real-life princess, like the ones I imagined, thrilled me just by being by her side.

However,

My wish to draw princesses with her was unfulfilled due to Alicia, who was eager to explore every corner of the daycare as if she was breaking free from something.

For the first two or three days, at least, I drew pictures with colored pencils, chattering away by the side of her aloof face.

A few days later,

Realizing that no matter how much she grumbled, I would annoyingly stick around, Alicia allowed me to be by her side.

"Alicia! Wanna draw a picture..."

"Let's go to the swing."

"Draw a pictu..."

"Swing."

"Wanna draw a princes..."

"Swing."

"Draw..."

"Swing."

"Wanna start with the swing? Let's swing then draw!"

"Swing."

The seemingly aloof yet gentle princess turned out to be a self-centered queen.

I was quite laid-back myself, but she completely ignored that and dragged me along to do whatever she wanted.

I did enjoy drawing the most, but I didn't mind active play with Alicia either.

Yeah.

I simply fell for Alicia at first sight.

Her appearance was the ideal princess I had always imagined, so I was happy to do anything as long as I was with her.

So we swung together.

"Slide... Slidum."

"What's that?"

"That."

"Slide?"

"Let's go."

"Uh... We agreed to swing and then draw..."

"That."

"Wanna dr..."

"Go."

"Only that and then we draw?"

"Let's go."

And we slid.

"This... That."

"Can't we draw?"

"That."

"Seesaw?"

"See...saw. Let's seesaw."

"Drawing..."

"See. Saw."

"Got it."

And we seesawed.

My opinion didn't matter.

I was led around by her, unable to let go of my longing for drawing.

And every time,

Every time we went to ride something, not fighting to go first but subtly stepping aside,

No.

Because of it.

Alicia became a bit more clingy to me around this time. After all, I was her first friend in Korea and the only one.

To me, it was actually a 'thanks to that.' I got to play just with Alicia.

And during nap time that day,

Thanks to the teachers' consideration for Alicia, I ended up sleeping next to her every day after the first.

Lying on her side, clutching my shirt, with her beautiful platinum blonde hair cascading over the pillow, she whispered to me.

"Elli."

"Huh... Elli...?"

"Call me Elli."

"It's Alicia..."

"Elli."

"Alic..."

"Elli."

"Elli."

"Hmph."

Drowsy and half-asleep, she allowed me to sleep only after hearing me pronounce 'Elli' correctly.

Her white cheeks flushed peach, and a smile played on her lips.

I didn't understand why then, but as I grew older, I realized it was a nickname.

Normally, it's a name casually allowed between close friends, but at that time in our country, only her parents called Alicia 'Elli.'

And I was added to that list.

In just a few days,

As her one and only, best friend.

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