Anomaly-12 (3)
"Hum hum~"
The freedom to draw whatever I wanted, with no restrictions whatsoever.
I hummed a little tune, savoring every bit of it.
I had no idea which chair belonged to first place and which to second.
But either way, they'd both lose it when they saw the drawings on their precious seats.
Mad? Good. Then show yourselves.
"Pfft..."
I giggled as I sketched a dragon shaped like a pretty butterfly onto one of the chairs.
- Woof woof!
While I drew, Baekgu barked furiously at the empty air, which meant the owners of these chairs weren't laughing one bit.
They were probably shaking with rage right now.
I ignored it and focused on my artwork.
This time: a super cool stag beetle!
I diligently drew one soaring through the sky with its wings spread wide.
My drawing skills weren't the greatest, so the result looked a bit wonky.
But hey, appreciate the effort, okay? I tried really hard!
"Hum hum~"
I was humming away, lost in my doodles, when—
"Stop! Stop it!"
A frantic voice echoed from the empty air.
It sounded like a high school girl.
The prickly edge in her tone was the standout feature.
She was probably the first-place one, freaking out and trying to make me stop.
"Don't ruin my chair with that disastrous drawing talent of yours!"
Whirrr.
The CCTV cameras whirred into overdrive.
The control room must have picked up first place's voice by now.
Just luring her into speaking had already earned its keep.
But to secure that block game for sure, I pretended not to hear and kept drawing.
Next up: a cute snake.
I started coiling one around the base of the chair.
"Arrrgh... That's not a snake! Ugh... ughhh..."
First place's voice pitched even higher.
Yeah, get mad like that and come out already.
The crayons were starting to wear down!
"Fine... I can't take this anymore!"
The moment I finished the snake and moved to the next phase, first place finally appeared.
'Whoa...'
I was a little surprised when I saw her.
I'd figured she was a girl from her voice, but as a top student, I imagined a plain type with black horn-rimmed glasses.
She looked more like a stylish high school big sis than I expected.
"Hey... what the heck is wrong with you?!"
Her personality matched my expectations, though—total jerk vibe.
Her face was full of irritation as she glared at me. Looked like she needed help becoming a nicer big sis.
That's what angels are for, right? So I kindly decided to guide her redemption.
I picked up my crayon again and resumed doodling on her chair.
This time: the ruler of the skies, the bald eagle symbol of America.
I unleashed my creative fury, slashing the crayon across the seat.
With every stroke, the chair got prettier and prettier.
"Stoooop iiiiiit..."
First place clutched her head and wailed like she was in agony.
I figured this was a good point to quit while I was ahead.
No need to push her into doing something crazy.
Instead, I moved to the remaining chair.
First place was out, so this must be second place's.
I reignited my artistic passion and started decorating it.
With every line, the design grew more vibrant and colorful.
This time, I drew my favorite blocky pig from that game.
A square face, then a curly tail...
Shake shake.
The chair started trembling wildly in response.
And soon enough—
"Stop that right now!"
A lion's roar boomed as second place appeared.
He was a guy in the same school uniform as first place, so probably from the same school.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Unable to contain his fury, he slammed his fists on his desk.
"Drawing, duh."
I flinched at first, but realizing he couldn't touch me, I stood tall and answered confidently.
"Hah..."
He let out a disbelieving scoff, then grabbed his chair and bolted to the opposite side of the room.
First place, watching with arms crossed, tossed in a jab.
"Running away? So pathetic. That's why you can't beat me."
"Shut up!"
"Using language like that? No wonder your Korean scores are tanked."
I was the one who'd stirred the pot.
But now that they'd shown up, they ignored me and started bickering with each other.
"Fake genius bought with daddy's money."
"Money makes a genius a genius."
"If I threw ten million a month at tutoring, I'd crush you!"
"Hmph... Jealous much? If it's that bad, I could give you a few N-level problems I ditched~"
But their argument was so childish.
They sounded like high schoolers from their talk, but this was high school banter?
'Kids these days.'
Time for a grown-up like me to step in.
"Stoooop!"
I wedged between them, spreading my arms to physically separate the two.
"What?"
Second place snapped irritably.
"Come here."
First place spat venomously.
I looked back and forth between them.
"As an adult, I'm telling you!"
"...?"
"Fighting like that is no good! Hold hands and make up!"
"..."
"Haa..."
My intervention must've worked.
The tension eased; they'd been glaring daggers just seconds ago.
'At least they have some self-control.'
I sighed in relief.
"Hurry up and shake hands!"
"..."
"Now!"
But they didn't budge an inch despite my stern command.
Instead, second place smirked lazily.
"Hey, kiddo."
"Ki... kiddo?"
"Yeah, why don't you head back to elementary school?"
It hit me like a truck.
I'd accepted my youthful new look, but getting called a kid to my face was a first.
"Even a broken clock's right once a day—guess even a blockhead can say something smart occasionally."
"Wha... what?!"
"Run along to kindergarten, kiddo."
Quietly watching first place joined in, stabbing another icy dagger into my heart.
First place too...!
"Ugh..."
Grief welled up.
I'd been to college!
Discharged from the army!
"Sniff..."
I knew I couldn't cry.
Crying here would just prove I was a kid.
But once my eyes started watering, they wouldn't dry up.
"Ugh..."
Ah... so depressing...
I want bread...
"Uh..."
"H-Hey?"
As I trembled, the two who'd been tormenting me looked panicked.
First place's prim expression crumbled as she hovered awkwardly in front of me.
Second place scratched his head and nudged her leg.
"First place! You're making the kid cry!"
"N-No... you started it!"
- Woof woof!
My one ally, Baekgu, trotted over wagging his tail to comfort me.
"You soothe her. Hurry."
"No way... babies like you more anyway..."
"Quit yapping. I've never dealt with kids!"
First and second place started squabbling again.
Watching them ticked me off.
Is it so hard to just get along?!
Even mild-mannered me was getting mad.
"Hey! You two!"
"Y-Yes..."
"Ugh... hurry... make up already!"
I tasted salt on my lips.
Aw, my tear ducts had given out.
No choice now.
I powered through the saltiness and kept going.
"Hurry! Shake hands!"
"..."
- Woof woof!
Baekgu barked supportively.
Thanks, Baekgu...!
You're the only one for me!
"Ugh..."
"Ahem..."
They hesitated, glancing at each other awkwardly, until—
"Tch, whatever. Here."
First place coolly extended her hand.
"Uh... yeah."
Second place manfully took it.
A heartwarming sight of them holding hands.
Time to push it one step further.
"Okay, now pinky swear."
"Uh... sure."
"Stamp it!"
"Uh..."
"Copy!"
"Yeah..."
"Promise never to fight again!"
They eyed each other, then—
"Sh-Should we... stop fighting?"
"Y-Yeah..."
The two who'd been growling at each other were now reconciling cutely!
I felt a little happier and beamed.
"Great! Now kiss!"
