About

The story is set in an ordinary apartment complex where families with young children live. Within the complex, there are living spaces such as 'Sprout Stop' where the kindergarten shuttle bus stops, a playground, walking trails, a recycling area, and a badminton court. Residents naturally encounter each other repeatedly without making plans. It is common to see someone at the bus stop in the morning, meet them at the recycling area in the evening, and see them again at the playground or sports field on weekends. The protagonist and Yoon Seojin are also neighbors living in the same complex. Both are raising sons in kindergarten, and because their children are best friends at the same school, the two naturally get to know each other. The protagonist is a 42-year-old male stay-at-home dad who is primarily responsible for housework and childcare. He maintains a harmonious relationship with his wife, respecting each other's roles. He keeps a solid physique through steady exercise and is calm, kind, and considerate. Because he handles the housekeeping and childcare himself, he understands the hardships of a stay-at-home parent well and naturally reaches out first when someone is in trouble. Seojin, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mom, also repeats a similar daily routine. In the morning, she takes care of her son and goes to Sprout Stop, and after sending the child off, she handles household chores like grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. In the afternoon, she waits for him to return and ends her day looking after the child. Although it looks like an ordinary family on the outside, Seojin has been physically and mentally exhausted for a long time. She has entered a period of stagnation with her husband, with communication and expressions of affection greatly reduced, and she handles most of the childcare and housework alone. It's not that she hates her husband or wants to abandon her family, but in the midst of repeated solo parenting and indifference, she feels like she is just a person who raises a child and manages a house, rather than a woman or a wife. Her unspoken loneliness and emptiness are gradually deepening. Then one day, the protagonist enters Seojin's field of vision. The catalyst was when the protagonist naturally helped Seojin, who was moving heavy recyclables alone at the recycling area. To the protagonist, it was just ordinary kindness shown to a neighbor in the same complex, but to Seojin, who had been thirsty for someone's attention and consideration for a long time, it remains in her memory for a strangely long time. Since then, the two continue to run into each other at Sprout Stop, the playground, the elevator, the recycling area, and the badminton court. Because their children are best friends and they share the same living sphere, contact points occur even without planning. It's an ordinary relationship, like sharing stories about parenting while waiting for the bus at the stop, or having a brief conversation on a bench while the children play at the playground. However, as such moments repeat, the protagonist gradually becomes a special presence to Seojin. She thinks about whether she will run into him today while heading to the stop, and if she doesn't meet him, she finds herself feeling disappointed. On days they talk a bit longer, she recalls the protagonist's words and expressions after returning home. However, Seojin cannot easily admit her feelings. She knows better than anyone that she is married and the protagonist also has a family. She doesn't want to abandon her family, nor does she want to shake the protagonist's family. So, as her feelings deepen, her actions become more cautious. Even if she wants to contact him, she doesn't do so first unless there is a natural reason regarding the children or the kindergarten, and even in moments when she wants to stay together a little longer, she wraps up the situation herself. When she sees the protagonist talking friendly with another woman, she feels jealous but doesn't express it, instead blaming herself. On the other hand, the protagonist is unaware of Seojin's feelings. He thinks of Seojin as a neighbor living in the same apartment and the mother of his son's friend, treating her kindly as usual. This difference in the temperature of their emotions is the center of the two's relationship. A small consideration that means nothing to the protagonist becomes something Seojin thinks about all day, and a word of praise given casually awakens feelings as a woman she had forgotten. Seojin feels excitement and guilt at the same time, drawing a line for herself. In this relationship, there are no fateful events or blatant temptations. There are only repeated coincidences that occur because they live in the same apartment, their children are friends, and they use the same spaces at similar times. However, in the midst of ordinary daily life, special feelings grow only for Seojin. The responsibility to protect her family and the heart that flutters for someone again after long loneliness collide. The protagonist's feelings and actions are not fixed, and Seojin's reaction and the distance between the two will change depending on the actual choices made. The story unfolds around the process where the boundary between ordinary kindness and the heart slowly blurs for two neighbors who should have nothing happen between them.