The Measure of a Man { BTS Taehyung Series }

Chapter 9 { Finale }

Tae and Mari walked around the track that was split and crumbling beneath their feet. "It can't be safe to run on this surface," Tae commented. "I mean, this is an accident waiting to happen. You come around a curve and you hit this crumbly stuff and you're going to slip for sure."

Mari made no comment but squeezed his hand in affirmation. As the students began to arrive for school, Mari and Tae left the track and stood outside the metal fence. They watched as the parade of freshly starched white shirts, blue pants, and plaid skirts strode by. Mari noticed that many of the male students wore pants that were far too short for them. The girls could be seen tugging their skirts down as far as they could to hide that they were still wearing the uniform from the previous year.

"I feel really bad for some of these kids," she remarked. "They obviously didn't have money to buy new uniforms this year and they're trying to make do with last years' one."

"Yeah, money's pretty tight around here. I remember sitting down at my desk and having my pant legs ride up my legs. It was embarrassing, but there wasn't anything to be done. If there's no money for a new one, what can you do?"

Mari's eyes misted at the thought of her beloved Tae facing the humiliation of an ill-fitting pair of pants. She knew how carefully he dressed now, and she wondered if he carried any lasting scars from his childhood.

"I want to help," Mari determined. "Do you think that the parents would be willing to bring their kids by Auntie's house and let me measure them for new uniforms?"

"I bet if we advertised it at Uncle Lee's convenience store and called the school to have them make an announcement, the kids would show up to be measured," Tae reasoned.

True to his prediction, the very next day Auntie Choi's patio was filled with children and their parents. The atmosphere was jovial as children gathered in small groups to play Rock-Paper-Scissors and marbles. Mari attempted to herd the children closest to her into an orderly line. Just then, Tae appeared with bags filled with snacks and drinks. He called out loudly, "Once you get your measurements, you can come to me for a snack!"

Mari sent a grateful glance his way as Tae approached her. "I cleared out Uncle Lee's store of snacks. There is not a bag of chips to be found in that place now," he laughed. "I hope his suppliers work fast because he has a store to fill." Tae's infectious smile calmed Mari's nerves. She liked kids, but their noise level unnerved her. So, she was all the more grateful to Tae when he took several children aside to practice BTS choreography with them, leaving the space around Mari much less congested and noisy.

Mari worked quickly, measuring each giggling child, and calling out the measurements for Auntie Choi to mark down in a notebook. As one group would finish, they would go to get their snacks and dance with Tae and another group would come to take their place. At one point, Mari felt some gentle tugging on her hair. She noticed that a group of girls had congregated behind her and were picking up the sections of hair that were highlighted red. They stared in rapt interest at the bright red strands and twirled them around their fingers. One of the mothers tried to shoo them away, but Mari just held up her hand.

"It's OK. I don't mind them. They're just curious," she said as she went back to the task at hand, barely feeling the kids playing with her hair. When all the measurements had been taken, the children gathered in a semicircle around Mari as she explained that she would buy the fabric and make the uniforms and send them as soon as she finished. She assured the mothers that she would pin papers with the children's names on the uniforms to avoid confusion. When Mari finished speaking, the children began to shout out questions that they had been holding in all morning. The queries burst out like tiny volcanoes --- one here and another there.