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chapter 53
Eshi hesitated just as she was about to answer, “I thought playing together would make it easier to get close.”
She paused. Even now, things felt awkward, and saying that might make everyone more self-conscious, so she quickly thought of another excuse.
“Uh, Grace! Grace wants to play!”
“Grace?”
Eshi gestured to Grace with her eyes.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve never played like this when I was little, so I’m curious…”
Grace, quick to catch on to the situation, spoke up. Even the two who hadn’t seemed willing to cooperate now moved, thinking, If Grace wants to play, we should join in.
Looking at their actions, it seemed even Leto, not just Livanu, quietly liked and followed Grace.
Well, it was true that Grace had helped Sophie a lot.
Eshi found herself secretly watching Grace with a newfound look in her eyes.
“Why?”
Feeling the gaze, Grace asked why she was looking. Eshi smiled and silently handed her a piece of paper folded for playing ddakji (Korean traditional paper game).
“But how do I fold this?”
All eyes turned to Eshi.
Since no one, not even Ahin, knew how to play ddakji, everyone was looking solely at Eshi.
However, with Ahin included, there were five people, so it wouldn’t be 2 vs. 2; they decided Eshi would act as the referee.
“Try folding it like this.”
Eshi carefully helped each one fold their paper ddakji, clumsily but sufficiently. They decided the order with rock-paper-scissors and learned that to prevent the ddakji from flipping, it needed to be flattened, so they excitedly stomped on the paper with their feet.
The first turn went to Eshi, who had lost at rock-paper-scissors.
Feeling lucky, Eshi naturally chose Grace as her opponent.
“I choose Grace!”
“…Ah.”
Livanu showed her disappointment openly but quickly stiffened when she realized her partner would be Leto.
Leto’s reaction was no different.
Grace, eager to quickly start, placed her folded ddakji on the floor and asked a question. Eshi couldn’t help but smirk.
“Is it okay to win in one go?”
“Go ahead and try.”
Eshi had only watched secretly when the children played without including her. She knew winning wouldn’t be so easy, hence the amused smile.
The slightly provocative pair quickly caught Livanu and Leto’s interest.
“Grace is strong.”
Said Livanu, subtly siding with Grace.
“It’s not strength, it’s skill that matters.”
“…Really?”
Curious, Livanu tilted her head. And so, the match between Eshi and Grace was set.
Thwack!
Eshi struck her ddakji down hard, but Grace’s ddakji didn’t flinch.
Grace picked up her ddakji and aimed it precisely at Eshi’s flipped ddakji.
Since skill mattered, she struck with all her strength, aiming accurately.
Thwack, whoosh!
Eshi’s ddakji spun several times in the air before finally flipping.
“Whoa.”
Eshi was the most surprised. Even though her ddakji was flipped, how many times did it spin?
“See, I told you Grace is strong.”
Though Grace won, Livanu seemed even prouder, giggling. She didn’t forget to praise Grace, giving a thumbs-up.
“Ha ha. You try next, young master.”
And just like that, Eshi and Grace’s match ended anticlimactically.
Eshi slumped her shoulders, disappointed she didn’t even get a chance to hit the ddakji, but what mattered more now was for Livanu and Leto to bond, so she let it go.
“I won’t go easy on you.”
“Yes. You don’t have to.”
With Livanu’s bold words, Leto went first.
Despite his confident attitude, the ddakji didn’t flip easily, unlike with Grace.
“Heh.”
Getting into the game, Leto started to heat up.
Initially timid, he slowly realized it wasn’t easy and began to put more force into his shoulders.
“It’s my turn. This time I’ll flip it.”
“I don’t think it’ll flip…”
He teased like that.
The three watching from behind smiled quietly at their antics.
But no matter how many turns they took, the match didn’t end.
“How do you hit it to make it flip? It just won’t go over!”
Frustrated, Livanu asked.
“I told you, it’s skill.”
“How do you use that skill?”
“There are several ways. Want me to show you?”
“Yes, show us.”
Eshi smugly began revealing the techniques she had secretly learned.
Livanu and Leto listened attentively as Eshi explained.
“Of course, hitting the center is good, but you can also hit the side subtly. You can flick it sideways, or place your foot on the side like this…”
As she demonstrated, the ddakji actually flipped.
“Wow! It worked!”
Eshi squealed in excitement at seeing a flip for the first time, and even Livanu and Leto, who had struggled, got excited.
Somehow, Eshi felt she’d returned to a childlike state. Grace secretly smiled, thinking this might be a success in bonding.
Victory went to Livanu.
Eshi’s teaching had worked perfectly.
“As expected, our young master!”
Grace, unable to hide her favoritism, was happier than anyone at Livanu’s victory.
“I thought I’d win.”
Livanu laughed confidently, as if the result was obvious. Though she wasn’t as childish as Leto, due to her childhood experiences she had always been quite mature, yet in this moment she looked like a boy of her age.
“Congratulations.”
“…Oh, thanks.”
Though disappointed at losing, Leto quickly accepted the result and congratulated her calmly.
However, just playing together once didn’t really bring them closer.
After the game ended, the two became awkward and quiet again. Perhaps it would have been easier if they were complete strangers.
But for Livanu and Leto, who were siblings, it was natural to be cautious around each other.
“Ddakji was fun, right?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we play again next time?”
“Sure.”
It was worth it to smile and laugh together, even briefly. They believed that continued play would naturally bring them closer.
“No!”
Suddenly, Eshi shouted at Grace.
“Next time, we’ll play something else!”
“Huh?”
“I still have lots of games left. We can’t play ddakji every day.”
Her excitement seemed like she was making up for not having played enough as a child.
Grace smiled, thinking it was fine, and looked forward to the next game.
After that, whenever they gathered, they enjoyed various games together.
Eshi’s claim of having many games wasn’t an exaggeration—they played enough, and new games kept appearing every day.
Soon, even Livanu and Leto began to look forward to playtime.
“Eshi! What are we doing today?”
Even outside playtime, they would ask Eshi about the day’s game.
Eshi never revealed it easily, building anticipation instead.
“Uhuhu, it wouldn’t be fun if I told you beforehand. But look forward to today as well.”
“Give us a hint at least.”
Even Leto, usually shy and hesitant to join in, couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked first.
“A hint?”
This was the first time anyone had asked.
“Yes, good idea.”
Livanu immediately caught on, eyes shining, asking for a hint.
“Hmm.”
Eshi pondered, then finally gave a small clue for today’s game.
“It’s similar to the tag game we played before, but you don’t hide.”
“Tag? Similar to that?”
“What…?”
As soon as she finished, Livanu and Leto huddled, thinking hard.
When it came to games, the two had naturally united, much to Grace and Eshi’s delight.
After playing together every day for over a week, they had slowly started to get closer.
“Grace, do you have an idea?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure either.”
“You’re not pretending not to know while actually knowing, right?”
The two pressed Grace, interrogating her.
“I’m innocent!”
For Grace, who genuinely didn’t know, it felt unfair.
“Grace has the surname ‘Bullet,’ right? Being not commoners, it’s natural you don’t know these games.”
Eshi explained on her behalf.
“I’ve never heard of the Bullet family. Where are they from?”
Leto asked innocently.
“It’s natural you don’t know. They’re practically a fallen family with only the name barely remaining.”
“…Ah.”
Grace answered calmly, but Leto seemed unsure what to do.
“What’s with that reaction? You don’t need to be so cautious.”
“Yeah…”
“So, what’s today’s game? I’m really curious too.”
Grace, casually steering the conversation back to the original topic, hinted at curiosity about the family.
But Livanu suddenly remembered that Grace had never mentioned her family before.
She wondered what kind of people Grace’s family were.
