Chapter 1: To Dragon-Unnie

Yi Eun had just finished changing into her little dress and ran out in her slippers, going ‘pat-pat’ down the hallway.

Her shoulder-length, slightly curly hair bounced with every step. Her chubby little face was soft and adorable, with big, glistening eyes partly hidden by thick lashes. When she smiled, deep dimples appeared on her cheeks.

She wore a pink, frilly princess dress, its puffy skirt flaring out, with two lace ribbons running from her waist down past her calves.

“Mommy, wait for Yi Eun!” she cried in her soft baby voice, afraid her mom might leave without her.
She squatted down in a panic, trying to shove her tiny feet into her little shoes.

Lee Jin crouched to gently help her daughter into the shoes, holding one hand with her three-year-old and the other carrying some sweets.
“All done! Yi Eun got dressed and put on her shoes all by herself today amazing!”

Yi Eun swung her little hand and smiled sweetly at her mom, her proud expression made her already cute face even more charming.

A nearby family had recently moved in just days after Lee Jin arrived in Korea. The wife was a nurse, and the husband was in finance.
They had two children, a daughter seven years older than Yi Eun, and a son three years older.

Lee Jin leaned down to Yi Eun and introduced them, “The family we’re visiting today has a big sister and a big brother. Yi Eun can make some new friends.”

Yi Eun blinked her big eyes as she tried to process what Mommy said, then nodded seriously, her porcelain-like little face shining with determination.
“Yi Eun understands!”

Even with Itaewon’s winding streets, their houses were only a two-minute walk apart.

The husband had taken their daughter to school, and the friendly wife was already waiting, until a last-minute call from the ballet studio disrupted things.
The teacher they’d booked had rescheduled, and now there was an unexpected chance to attend a trial lesson.

Her young son clung to her clothes, face scrunched with protest. “Omma, I don’t want to wear it!”

Seeing the pink tutu dress in her mom’s hands made his eyes well up with tears. “Why do I, a boy, have to wear this to dance?!”

At six years old, Kwon Jiyong had just begun to grasp the concept of gender, and simply couldn’t accept wearing a tight pink tutu.

But his mother was determined. With guests arriving and no time to spare, she grabbed her son, held him in her arms, and forced him into the dress despite his protests.

Right now, getting him dressed was all she could manage, she’d take him to class once the guests left.

Han Lanjie pinned down her wriggling son while catching her breath and coaxing him: “Jiyong-ah, didn’t you say you wanted to sing and dance? Ballet is dancing too! Remember how elegant it looked?”

Kwon Jiyong’s stomach was pressed against her lap as he flailed his limbs, trying hard not to cry, he had agreed to try ballet himself!

“But you didn’t say I’d have to wear this skirt!” he wailed. Even for a precocious child like him, this felt like betrayal. Omma had even secretly bought the skirt, so sneaky!

In his six-year-old heart, Jiyong thought: “As a man who truly loves art, I’m willing to try different things, but wearing this is totally unnecessary!”

But his mother had already zipped him up. Holding him at arm’s length, Han Lanjie beamed. “Wow, whose kid is this? So kiyo! Such a handsome little guy!”

The summer sun had tanned Jiyong’s skin after two months of play, but in his mother’s eyes, he was still perfect.

With teary eyes and a sulky pout, he tugged at the hem of the skirt. Between sniffles, he asked in a babyish voice, “Really? I really look kiyo? And handsome too?”

Han Lanjie nodded seriously and gave two enthusiastic thumbs up. “Absolutely adorable!”

Hand in hand with his mom, Jiyong now strutted around, trying to catch his reflection. “Remember what Omma told you yesterday?” she teased. “There’s an aunty coming over today.
You can ask her if our Jiyong is super kiyo.”

To Lee Jin, the sight of a chubby little boy in a tutu was undeniably adorable. But to Yi Eun, whose understanding of gender was still based on short hair and pants for boys, long hair and dresses for girls this “boy-girl” was just confusing!

She clung tightly to her mom’s skirt and peeked cautiously at Jiyong. Lee Jin patted her daughter’s head, then apologized to Han Lanjie, “Sorry, Lanjie-ssi, my daughter’s just a little shy meeting Jiyong.”

Han Lanjie laughed as she accepted the desserts. “No worries, my son clams up around cute little girls too.”

Jiyong blushed. The little girl was staring right at him, her eyes wide and unblinking. He didn’t know where to look.

The two moms ignored their children’s awkward stares and happily started chatting. “Oh my, you’re not Korean? Chinese-Korean?” Han Lanjie asked.

Lee Jin nodded and handed a mung bean cake to Jiyong. Her gentle smile reached her eyes. “Yes, I’m opening a Chinese dessert shop here in Itaewon. It’ll open in a few days. Jiyong can come by any time for a treat.”

Han Lanjie waved her hands. “No way! Even as neighbors, we can’t take advantage like that.”

Jiyong glanced at the soft-spoken aunty, then at the quiet little girl beside her. After thinking for a moment, he held out the mung bean cake to Yi Eun.
“Here, Yi Eun, you can have it.”

Yi Eun shrank behind her mother, suspicious of this strange “girl” giving her food. Mommy had warned her never to take things from strangers especially not weird ones like this!

Her tiny head was full of anxiety, but with her mom still nearby, she didn’t cry. Instead of taking the cake, she looked up at her mom and asked sweetly, “Mommy, can we go home?”

She spoke in a mix of Chinese and Korean, leaving the other mother and child tilting their heads in confusion. Her lips quivered. “I want to go home.”

Jiyong was still holding out the cake. He turned to his mom, confused. “Does Yi Eun not understand us?”

Lee Jin gently hugged her daughter, whispering in Chinese, “Didn’t Mommy say there’d be a big sister and a big brother here? This big brother thinks you’re really cute and wants to give you a treat.
What should you say?”

Yi Eun clung to her mother’s neck, then turned to look at Jiyong. But the pink tutu was too much. No matter what Mom said, she was convinced this “brother” was actually a sister.
She nervously took the cake and said with a sparkle in her eyes, “Thank you, unnie (big sister).”

Jiyong, delighted that she took the cake, bounced in place and tugged at his mom’s sleeve. “Omma, Yi Eun is so kiyo! Can I come play with her all the time?”

Jiyong, who’d already filmed two commercials the year before, didn’t have many friends. Now, faced with this sweet, pretty girl, he was smitten. “What did she just say?”

Lee Jin, flustered, smiled awkwardly. Thank goodness her daughter’s language skills were still a mess. She gently told him, “Yi Eun said thank you, Jiyong-ssi.”

Jiyong grinned, his dimples reaching up toward his nose utterly adorable. Yi Eun, munching her mung bean cake, peeked at him curiously again and again.

After twenty minutes of chatting, Han Lanjie noticed her son’s tummy bulging from all the sweets and smacked her forehead. “Aigoo, I nearly forgot, I need to take this kid to ballet class for the trial lesson!”

“Ballet?” Lee Jin stood up with her daughter. “I’ve been wanting to find something for my daughter to learn too. Can we come along and see?”

“Of course!” Jiyong’s mom beamed. “It’d be great if they could learn together.”

Lee Jin smiled and nodded, then asked softly, “Yi Eun, would you like to learn ballet too? Wear a pretty dress like your brother?”

Yi Eun still didn’t understand why her mom kept saying this “sister” was a brother. She looked at Jiyong’s skirt, then wriggled her legs to signal Mommy to put her down.

She cautiously reached out her hand toward Jiyong. Curious, he reached back, but she quickly pulled away and pointed at his skirt. “Yi Eun wants to touch it.”

Jiyong looked up, confused. “Omma, what’s she saying now?”

“Yi Eun wants to touch your skirt,” his mom translated.

Jiyong proudly stuck out his little leg and swished the skirt in front of her. “Here, Yi Eun, touch it!”

The two moms burst out laughing at the sight one kid full of pride, the other full of wonder. “Looks like they can learn ballet together!”

By the time they were driving to the dance studio, the two kids were sitting in car seats holding hands, babbling in mismatched languages.

“Yi Eun, you’re so kiyo! Be my little sister, okay?”

“Unnie, your skirt is pretty.”

“How old are you, Yi Eun? Can you rap?”

“…Rap?”

Jiyong’s eyes lit up, he finally understood a word she said! He started explaining what rap was and even sang a little part of a song in his cute baby voice.

But he spoke too fast, leaving bilingual-babbling Yi Eun completely lost.

Their moms exchanged a glance through the rearview mirror as the car filled with baby voices all the way there.

When they arrived, the ballet teacher was already waiting.

“Ah, Jiyong’s mom is here?” The elegant teacher, whose legs were longer than Jiyong was tall, smiled gently and turned to the girl. “Aigoo, is this Jiyong’s little sister?”

Jiyong puffed up his chest, “Yes! Her name is Yi Eun.”

Yi Eun blinked at the teacher, then at Jiyong.

The teacher crouched down and patted her head. “Oh my, so Jiyong is oppa? Will you dance with Yi Eun?”

Yi Eun looked to her mother for reassurance, then back at Jiyong’s eager expression. She nodded and grabbed a handful of his skirt. “Yes, Yi Eun will dance with Jiyong-unni.”

She had just spoken her first full sentence in Korean since coming to Korea.

Everyone froze.

A second later, Jiyong’s wail echoed through the dance studio:

“I’m not a girl! I’m not doing ballet anymore!”