Praise Stamps and a Blushing Kiss
"Wh… what the…"
1st Place and 2nd Place looked totally caught off guard, like they hadn't seen that coming at all.
I turned to them with a big, bright smile.
"Everyone did great—no 1st or 2nd place needed!"
"…"
"This is a praise stamp!"
They froze, staring at the huge stamps drawn on their chairs, completely speechless.
I was starting to worry I'd messed up when no real reaction came…
Then—
Shlrurp.
The dark hands that had been yanking at 1st and 2nd Place started losing their grip, slowly weakening.
They didn't vanish completely, but compared to when they'd first burst out, their power was obviously fading fast.
"…"
Han A-young hurried over and nodded as she saw the noticeable change.
"It's really getting weaker."
Shlrurp.
Now the hands were too feeble to hold on anymore.
Whoosh.
With a light sound, they got sucked back into the seat of the chair they'd come from.
"…"
The containment room fell quiet again, like nothing had happened.
In the heavy silence, 1st Place turned to look at me.
Her eyes mixed relief and emptiness.
"Man… I never thought it'd end like this."
2nd Place, who'd been quiet, chimed in.
"Yeah, we couldn't have imagined a solution like that. Who'd think we'd get stamped like back in elementary school…"
He thought for a moment, then came over to me.
Squatting down to meet my eye level,
"Thanks, Angel. Looking back now, I can't believe I was so jealous."
He beamed a soft smile that didn't match his rough-looking face at all.
"Hey, get out here."
I was about to smile back when 1st Place strode over and yanked him away by the scruff of his neck.
"Wh-what the heck!"
"Dude, won't the angel get scared of your thug face?"
"Tch… I don't look like a thug."
"Bull, you look like a total gangster."
They started bickering, and for a second I tensed up, thinking their friendship had soured again.
But when they locked eyes and chuckled, I realized it was just playful teasing between buddies.
Anyway, after shooing 2nd Place off, 1st Place looked at me and plopped her hand right on my head.
Rustle rustle.
She ruffled my hair gently, making that nice sound, and said,
"Thanks, Angel. I thought you might just be some fake angel at first, but nope—you're the real deal."
"…"
I felt a tiny pang of guilt.
I hadn't always been an angel, after all.
From what I'd pieced together, my old identity had evaporated like it never existed.
But I still remembered it all vividly.
"Well, even if you're not a real angel, you're our angel."
"Haha…"
"Aww, so lovable. Never thought about kids before, but one like our little angel? Wouldn't be so bad."
1st Place glanced at 2nd Place as she said it.
I could see him flinch under her gaze.
Watching them, I suddenly remembered what they still owed me.
Han A-young would keep her promise about Minecraft anyway, so now it was time for their kiss!
I patted 1st Place's arm, which was holding me up.
"Hm? Got something to say?"
She carefully set me down.
My tiny feet hit the floor, and I looked at them both proudly, making my demand.
"You guys did great with your job! Now kiss!"
"Pfft…"
2nd Place's cheeks went bright red as he coughed awkwardly.
"N-no… that's…!"
While he panicked, 1st Place stayed cool as ever.
"What? The angel wants to see. You gonna say no?"
"…"
Whoa, sis is cool~
"Sigh, wimp."
No sooner had she spoken than 2nd Place threw his arm around her neck.
He turned to me with a smirk.
"Angel, this is how big sis and bro kiss."
"…"
Their bodies leaned in close.
Watching, my face exploded like in those anime scenes when someone's embarrassed—
Boom!
Turning beet red.
Ughhh… grown-up kisses…
Intense…
"Hmm… the dark energy's almost gone… just a tiny bit left, I guess?"
"Hm… is that so?"
After the incident wrapped up, I closed my eyes and checked the chairs' energy again.
This time, even without me pulling it off, the dark energy had shrunk a ton.
I shut my eyes and poked at it lightly—
- Brrr.
It freaked out and shivered at the tiniest touch. Basically, the dark energy was all out of power now.
'Shoulda lived nicely, huh!'
I grinned mischievously but didn't poke it more.
No point erasing it completely and risking 1st or 2nd Place vanishing.
Leaving it like a dangling thread of life was perfect.
"Here, Angel, ahh~"
"Nom…"
With the dark energy check done, I sat on the now-single merged chair, munching snacks fed to me.
The biggest gripe with potato chips is the greasy fingers, but with delivery service to my mouth, pure bliss—no mess.
Crunch crunch…
Lost in salty-crisp heaven,
"Oh, Angel. We brought a computer to the containment room."
"…?!"
"Installed the latest Minecraft, so you can jump right in!"
Fireworks exploded in my head again.
Hehe… Minecraft time now!
While 1st Place chatted with Han A-young, I headed back to the containment room with the agent uncles and Baekgu.
Thump thump.
Passing the now-familiar halls, my heart pounded harder the closer we got.
Finally… I can play Skyblock too!
Hardcore survival mode!
Hiss.
The containment room door slid open with a noise.
And there it was—
"Whoaaa…"
A flashy LED water-cooled PC, all white-themed.
I dashed over, plopped into the chair.
Way comfier than a regular gaming chair—super cushy but supportive on my back.
With bated breath, I clicked the power button.
A fancy logo swirled up.
Quick boot, desktop loaded—
"Minecraft!"
There it was, the icon I'd dreamed of.
"Hee…"
My mouth kept grinning as I clicked it.
Game launched instantly. Low-spec originally, plus beastly PC specs—smooth as butter.
Boing! Boing!
The blocky character hopped around; I dove straight into survival mode like in all those videos.
Tap tap tap!
Mining blocky cubes, building a house.
Whoosh!
"Eek…"
Digging into lava suddenly—panic-quenched with water.
Pew!
"Take this!"
Pew!
Sniping back at arrow-shooting skeletons with my bow, defending archery nation pride.
"Phew…"
Three hours deep in the game.
"Head hurts…"
I paused and slumped into the chair.
Intense three-hour session—brain throbbing.
Time's mine anyway. Can take it slow.
Woof woof!
Baekgu, curled beside me watching, saw his chance and pounced up.
"Thanks… Baekgu…"
Just watching must've been boring, but he held out great. Super grateful.
I hugged him tight, petting his head like crazy.
Whirr.
Ceiling hatch opened; robot arm plopped a snack plate on my desk.
"Ooh, snacks!"
Dark energy purged, gaming marathon—stomach rumbling right on cue.
Beaming, I shared with Baekgu.
Normal dogs can't have human food, but our super-tough Baekgu scarfs anything—even pickier than me.
Popped a blueberry in his mouth, one for me.
It burst sweet fructose heaven into my brain.
"Hehe…"
Grinning dopily at the sugary assault, reached for strawberry—
Plop.
"Hm?"
A weird fruit on the plate I'd never seen.
This is…
"Pomegranate?"
A single tiny pomegranate seed rolling among strawberries and blueberries.
"Hmm…"
Curious about the taste, sure.
But just one mixed in? Sketchy.
Lots of berries, but only this singleton—probably a mix-up while prepping.
"Eh."
I flicked the rolling seed away like picking a scab and happily split the rest with Baekgu.