The Squirrel and The Tree (Nako x Male Reader)

Chapter 4

"Ahhh~ It's so cold," Yongrae yawned, the cold breeze of the early morning air hitting his face as he walked to Nako's house to pick her up. 

He arrived a few minutes later and knocked on their house door.

At first, there wasn't anyone answering so he decided to knock again, where he eventually heard someone yell from the inside.

"Just a minute!" the voice said before opening the door not shortly after. "Oh, Yongrae!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Yabuki~" He politely said in his usual dragged-out, lazy voice.

"Good morning to you too, young man," she gleefully replied. "I assume that you are here to pick up Nako-chan?"

"Ne~ You are spot on, Mrs. Yabuki."

"I called it," she giggled before stepping aside to make way for him. "Well, come inside our humble abode. We don't want you to wait outside in the cold."

"Thank you~" Yongrae ducked his head down and entered the Yabuki household. For someone his height, it's understandable that he isn't quite used to the ceiling being close to his head.

"You can take a seat on the couch while I let Nako-chan know that you're here, okay?" she patted the boy's back as he agreed and sat on the couch.

A few seconds after Nako's mother entered her room to wake her up, he heard his best friend shriek as she started to get ready for school.

"Oh my gosh," Not long after, he heard a gasp behind him, prompting him to turn around to see Nako's father.

"Yongrae shonen!" he said excitedly and sat at the sofa chair beside him. "It's been a while since I saw you. How've you been?"

"I'm doing really great, Mr. Yabuki~ What about you?" the boy politely replied.

"Same old, same old. The family is still as lively as ever, the only difference is our Nako-chan growing up," Mr. Yabuki dramatically wiped his 'tears' as Yongrae just silently chuckled at his fatherly antics.

"Well, at the end of the day, she would still be your adorable daughter, Mr. Yabuki."

"You make a great point," the older man sighed and leaned back at the sofa chair. While waiting for a certain girl to get ready for school, the two guys killed some time by talking and reminiscing about the old days from when they were young kids.
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"You know shonen, I am forever grateful for what you've done for our daughter," Mr. Yabuki patted Yongrae's shoulder.

"As you may have figured, it was very difficult for us when we first arrived here in Korea, especially for our Nako-chan. They used to bully her due to her small stature, she couldn't even fight back due to the language barrier... Of course, we tried to address it to the school principal, but for some reason, they didn't take action whatsoever and that hurt us, it felt like we failed to protect her."

Yongrae just sat there and listened attentively to what he was saying. He already figured how hard it was for the Yabuki family since moving from Japan to Korea but hearing it from the man himself, he couldn't help but sympathize.

"That's why when we learned about you protecting her, I was overjoyed. Not only did she gain a protector, but she also gained a friend, who would eventually stick by her until now. For that, my wife and I are forever grateful, Yongrae shonen, " Mr. Yabuki sighed in content as he finally showed his gratitude for the boy in a proper manner.