Pajama Party
“Ah... nooooo...! I don’t wanna!”
Haru’s sharp scream echoed from beyond Nami’s bedroom door. But it was only for a moment before silence fell once more. The door creaked open, and Haru emerged, pouting with her lips pursed and a scowl on her face.
“Why am I the only one with the pig pajamas...! I wanted to be a bear or a cat too...”
“Because you lost at rock-paper-scissors.”
“Wanna switch now, Haru?”
“No... it’s fine... The cat pajamas suit Nami best anyway...”
Trying to console her, Nami grabbed Haru’s sleeve and said,
“Look, your pajamas even have this. Stick your hand in here, and it turns into a paw.”
“It’s still just a trotter...”
“It’s okay, Haru. You’re plenty cute.”
“What about me, NoName? Me!”
Haru flapped her sleeves at the praise, while Yuna tugged at Nami, begging for compliments of her own—but she didn’t get any.
Nami spread blankets across the living room floor and sat the two girls down.
“What should we do first? Jenga? Halli Galli? Or Pirate Roulette?”
It was Nami’s secret weapon to reconcile the bickering pair. The young girls fidgeted awkwardly, clearly unused to being in someone else’s home.
“Jenga first, then. Sound good?”
“Yeah!”
“Fine by me.”
With everyone’s agreement, the wooden block tower rose up.
“Loser gets a knuckle rap?”
“Obviously.”
“I hit hard, NoName, so don’t go easy like when we play air hockey. You’ll regret it.”
Nami had no intention of holding back either. She pulled out a block first and placed it on top.
“Your turn, Haru.”
“You know the trick to Jenga? I heard you gotta find the center of gravity. See here? It’s sticking out a bit, so the block on top isn’t pressing down.”
No one was really listening, but Haru chattered on regardless. She boldly grabbed a block, but it wouldn’t budge easily, and embarrassment crept onto her face.
“No take-backs once you touch it!”
Yuna swiftly blocked Haru’s hand as it reached for another block.
“Where’s that a rule?”
“It’s always been like that. First time playing Jenga, I Ha-ru?”
“Hey, no fighting. She didn’t know, so let’s give her a pass this once. Okay?”
“Ugh... f-fine, whatever.”
Nami barely managed to defuse the sparks flying from the start. She imagined they’d build rapport unconsciously through the game, eventually leading to Haru apologizing to Yuna in a touching scene.
“Ack!”
Crash—
Before the shaky tower could even topple, Haru flinched at her own pull and let out a weird yelp.
“Hit me.”
She swept back her bangs, exposing her pale forehead. Seeing Nami pretend to flick lightly, Yuna spoke up.
“That’s not how you do it. Watch.”
Yuna’s fingertip trembled from the excessive force. Nami was the one more tense.
Please don’t hit her too hard.
“Ow!”
But Nami’s wish went unheeded, and Haru’s forehead flushed red.
Please don’t get mad, I Ha-ru. You’re here to make up!
“You... just try losing.”
Nami’s dream had already crumbled long ago.
“Tch...”
“Hmph...”
The two girls clutched their foreheads, growling at each other. The score was 5 to 5 to 0. Amid it all, Nami had survived without toppling the tower once.
The girls silently rebuilt the tower with care. But the emotions simmering beneath were far from calm. The current atmosphere was the eye of a storm.
In the heavy silence as they played on, Haru voiced a doubt.
“Something’s off, right?”
“What now?”
Yuna replied indifferently to Haru’s words.
“How’s Nami never losing once?”
Nami flinched mid-pull. It was a valid question—Yuna stroked her chin thoughtfully too.
Shh—
Nami successfully extracted a block without collapse. Yet the tower wobbled side to side but refused to fall.
“Your turn, Yuna.”
“Hold on.”
Yuna stood and peered over Nami’s shoulder. It wasn’t noticeable from a seated view, but from above, it was clear: the tower was slanted enough to deserve collapse, constantly shaking.
“What’s up?”
“Nami, close your eyes for a sec?”
Yuna covered Nami’s eyes with both hands.
Wobble—
The tower’s vibrations intensified.
Rumble—
It finally toppled anticlimactically, and Yuna bellowed.
“She was using aura! That’s cheating, Nami!”
“What? For real?”
Having each taken five raps—ten in total—they grilled Nami.
No way Nami was leaving spare aura in invisible states in the gaps while pulling blocks and passing turns. Impossible.
But shocking words tumbled from Nami’s mouth again.
“In our neighborhood, using aura’s allowed.”
On the still-standing tower’s lower section, Nami deftly pulled three blocks at once from the second layer up. Blocks from the third to seventh layers floated in midair.
Bold as brass, but
““No way that’s a rule!””
The girls, unwilling to tolerate it, chorused and punished the cheater.
In the end, Nami—having taken ten raps each—clutched her burning forehead and alternated glances at the two giggling girls.
“Your hands are so mean...”
They’d spent so long on Jenga that evening arrived swiftly. After sealing Nami’s aura, her savior from the penalty pit was none other than Professor Cheon Kyujin.
“Dinner time?”
He arrived right on cue with chicken, homemade Hanwoo beef tartare, and strawberry canapés piled high with cream cheese on crackers.
“Whoa, chicken!”
Unboxing released a sweet, savory wave of seasoned chicken aroma. The kids went wilder for it than the pricey takeout dishes.
“Even chaebols eat chicken?”
“We do... pretty often...?”
Haru replied snarkily to Yuna’s question. She actually ordered it weekly, loving it that much.
After a few bites, Yuna and Haru’s cheeks puffed out, gray bones poking from their small lips.
True to their age—preferring TikTok over TV—Haru pulled out her tablet to watch creator dance videos nonstop.
“This unnie’s so pretty. And her dancing’s insane.”
“Nami’d be even prettier grown up.”
“Duh? Still, I hope Nami stays small forever.”
“Same.”
Rare agreement between the two, who shared no common ground but Nami. Conversation flowed back to her.
“Ever picked Nami up?”
Haru perked at Yuna’s casual toss.
“How?”
“Grab under the arms, like this.”
“Eek! Tickles! But you really lifted me like that?”
“Yeah! Super light—no effort.”
Yuna claimed she’d even spun Nami around once.
“When’d you get close to Nami anyway? First day, she didn’t even introduce herself and ditched.”
“Back then... we weren’t friends... It happens.”
“And during group work, you yelled at Yoon Si-hu and Nami.”
“That was...”
Haru nailed Yuna’s sore spot. But Professor Cheon interrupted to clear plates, derailing the talk.
“Dinner tasty?”
“Yes, delicious!”
“Better than our chef’s at home!”
“First time trying those recipes—glad you liked. You’re watching a movie after, right? Set up a beam projector in Nami’s room. Picked one?”
“No! First I’ve heard.”
“Where’s Nami, though?”
No sign of her anywhere. Deep into the videos, Yuna and Haru hadn’t noticed her long absence. Not in the bathroom washing greasy hands either.
Only her master bedroom left.
“Can we go in?”
“Maybe she’s tired from waking early? Peek quietly.”
“Open slow...”
“She knows not to talk.”
With permission, Yuna eased open Nami’s door. Pitch black—no light seeped in, blackout curtains sealing the single window. Half-open, living room light illuminated one corner: a large, expensive-looking capsule. Opposite, Nami’s bed—big for a kid, but she curled shrimp-like in one corner, dozing.
“She’s asleep...”
“What now?”
Early evening, sun just setting. Pajama party host conking out first left them stumped.
“Mm...”
Nami stirred without covers; the girls jumped. She mumbled, lips moving, swallowing.
“Sleep-talking. Too cute...!”
“What’s she saying?”
Yuna tiptoed close—heels off the floor—ear to Nami’s mouth.
“El... Ras... Mavben... Sutr... Arhen...”
Unintelligible to most, but Yuna and Haru locked eyes, exclamation points popping over their heads.
Runes they’d chanted endlessly like poems in academy over the past year.
El, Ras, Mavben, Sutra, Arhen.
Haru clamped her mouth first, stifling giggles.
“Reciting runes in her sleep...!”
Wondering Nami’s reaction if told, Haru buzzed with anticipation.
“To get first place, does she really go this hard?”
“Seo Yu-na, give up top student. You might beat Yoon Si-hu, but NoName? Never. Heh.”
Familiar words from before, but Yuna didn’t mind Haru’s jab. They listened intently to see how far Nami’s rune recitation went.
“Sutr...s...”
Now five syllables. Siatris controlled Lorentz symmetry in transmutation circles. Yuna’s fingers had curled twice—about twentieth rune.
Then Nami’s mouth stilled.
“Wake her?”
“Aw, wanna watch more...!”
“Rude to her!”
“Five more minutes?”
Debating amid Nami’s deep sleep, mumbling resumed.
“Riph... sleepy... wanna sleep...”
Already asleep, yet craving more.
“Creserium... so tired... but can’t sleep...”
Nami’s hand clenched unconsciously. Bed sheet crumpled in her grip.
“Yandelbirk... head hurts... hate it...”
Voice clarifying. Sweat beaded on Nami’s brow.
“Hard...”
“Gonna... die...”
“Save me...”
“■■-nim, please...”