Glue Hide and Seek
Adhesive hide-and-seek had begun. It was the kind where you hid from someone scary. I was playing the scary person, but for fairness I decided not to use my ears or nose.
"I'm coming to find you now. If I catch you, I'll hit you… or at least pretend to." I counted five extra seconds in my head, then wandered around the pond. Finding Saebyeok turned out to be ridiculously easy.
"Hmm…" It was a neatly folded square box. The flaps were closed so I couldn't see inside, but I knew Saebyeok was in there—her black tail was sticking out.
She forgot about the tail, huh. New body parts took time to get used to. I walked toward the box, pretending I had no idea she was there.
"I wonder where Saebyeok could be." Her tail, which had been swaying gently, froze at the sound of my voice. When my footsteps drew closer, the startled tail shot straight up.
"Mm." Saebyeok was always blunt, but her tail was honest. The sight was so cute that I couldn't resist teasing her.
"…Not here either, I guess." I walked right past the box, still acting clueless. Her tail relaxed again, swaying happily once she thought she'd gotten away with it. She looked so purely delighted that I almost felt bad for what I was about to do. Almost.
"Found you, Saebyeok." I grabbed the tail poking out of the box. It felt exactly like mine—soft and warm.
"Huh?" The folded box opened and Saebyeok peeked out. Her voice and expression stayed flat, but her tail betrayed pure shock.
"How did you know I was in the box?"
"Your tail was sticking out."
"My tail?"
"Yeah. Tails are tricky, aren't they? Easy to forget, but hard to hide."
People without tails probably didn't understand the struggle. I was glad I had a friend who shared the same inconvenience.
"Yeah… tails are easy and hard at the same time." Saebyeok's ears and tail drooped. She looked disappointed at being caught so quickly. I felt a little sorry, but rules were rules. Following the game, I had to "punish" her.
"…Are you really going to pretend to hit me?"
"Of course. That's how the game works."
Was that how hide-and-seek worked in this world? I still wasn't sure about the local customs. Well, this is a world with mana, so… Even if it got a little rough, nobody would actually get hurt. I convinced myself, then raised my fist toward her.
"Come here. I'm going to give you a bunch of noogies. Might pull your hair too."
"Uwaa." Saebyeok made a flat, emotionless crying sound. Just then, someone approached us.
"Winter, what are you doing…?" Jeong Yuna stood there, staring at us with a bewildered expression. I had no idea why she looked so shocked.
"We're playing hide-and-seek."
"Hide-and-seek…?"
"Yeah."
"But why during hide-and-seek—"
Why what? Had we done something wrong? I glanced at Saebyeok, but she just tilted her head in confusion.
"What's wrong with hide-and-seek?"
"It just looks… kind of scary."
"…Isn't this how you're supposed to play?"
"It is…?" Jeong Yuna looked genuinely puzzled. Maybe she didn't know the rules very well.
"When you get found, the seeker hits you a bunch, and the one who's caught has to beg to be spared."
"That's—" Her pupils shook violently, like she'd just witnessed something horrifying.
"What's wrong?"
"N-no, it's nothing… I guess that's just how it is for you and Saebyeok."
"Aha." So it was different for us. She kept saying strange, meaningful things. I didn't get it, but we still had other people to find. They were probably waiting for me to find them.
"We're going to look for the others now."
"Oh, can I come with you?"
"Sure!" Having another person to play with the kids would make things easier. We set off together, and I didn't forget to give Saebyeok a few light taps on the head as we walked.
**
"Waaah!" Levinas, who had been running around the pond looking for a hiding spot, spotted some tall people and dashed straight toward them. The men had scars on their faces and intimidating tattoos on their arms, but Levinas didn't care at all.
"Help Levinas!"
"Huh?" Confused, the men let themselves be herded around by her little hands. Levinas used them to build a living wall—up, down, left, right—then hid inside it.
"What are we doing?" one of them asked.
"We're playing hide-and-seek!"
"Ah…" So the kid had made a wall out of adults. The men exchanged glances but stayed perfectly still so they wouldn't ruin her game. Just then, a small figure approached from a distance. It was Winter—the girl everyone in the park knew. Beside her walked a new child and Jeong Yuna.
"Levi—" Winter started toward Levinas, then stopped dead. She took a step back, her face pale with fear. One of the men shifted awkwardly, half-ready to move aside.
"Ngh." Of course a kid would be scared. The men knew their appearances were intimidating, even if they weren't actually part of any violent group.
"Levinas…" Winter trembled, glancing between Levinas and the men. At the sight, the men squeezed their eyes shut in unison. Moving would betray the hidden child, but staying still scared her. They were stuck either way, and the tension was suffocating.
"Ahem." "Cough." The men cleared their throats for no reason. Despite their scary looks, their gentle behavior made Jeong Yuna chuckle.
"Found Levinas." Jeong Yuna spoke up in Winter's place. Levinas peeked out from between the tall men.
"King, did you find Levinas?!"
"Yeah…"
"Wow! King's really good at hide-and-seek!"
"Yeah." Winter glanced at the men while answering. For some reason, they all looked relieved.
"King must be a hide-and-seek genius!"
"N-not really…" Hehe. Winter laughed awkwardly under their gazes. Then someone else caught her eye—Yoo Sang-ah, hiding behind a small park structure. The structure was so tiny that her whole body was completely visible.
"……" She was even worse at hide-and-seek than the kids. Winter and the others stared at Yoo Sang-ah in silence for a long moment. Only Jeong Yuna knew Sang-ah had deliberately hidden in plain sight to let the children win. Sometimes the best way to play with kids was to pretend you were bad at the game.
"Found Horns!" Levinas ran over and threw herself into Yoo Sang-ah's arms. Sang-ah stood up with a gentle smile.
"Oh no, you got me."
"Yeah! Now Levinas wants to be the seeker! Finding people looks fun too!"
"Does it?" Winter and the others headed back to where they'd started the game. Jeong Yuna glanced over her shoulder and gave the men a polite bow. They looked oddly proud of themselves.
**
Repair Glue. Made from the webs of the Blue Moon Queen Spider, it was a favorite tool among adventurers. Once applied, it stayed stuck for three whole hours and was often used in emergencies.
"Hmm…" Winter would probably need some someday. The moment Han Yeoreum set the glue down on the table, the front door burst open and Levinas came running inside.
"Summer!"
"Levinas is here?"
"Yeah! But what's this?!"
"It's glue."
"Glue?!" Levinas ran over and sat at the table. She examined the repair glue with curious eyes, clearly thinking up something fun.
"Yeah. It's harmless to the body, so it's fine if it gets on your skin, but never eat it or get it in your eyes, okay?"
"Got it!"
"Hehe, then I'll be right back after I check the kitchen." Han Yeoreum patted Levinas's head and headed for the kitchen. Levinas watched her go, thinking hard. As long as she didn't eat it or get it in her eyes, it should be fine. It was harmless glue, after all.
"King! King!" Levinas grabbed the repair glue and ran toward the entrance. Winter and Saebyeok, who had just come home, perked up their ears.
"What?"
"Give Levinas your hand!" Winter made a question mark with her tail and held out her hand. Levinas immediately sprayed glue all over both of Winter's palms.
"…What is this?" It felt slippery and sticky. The adhesive was getting stronger by the second. What the—? Winter sniffed her hands just as Levinas grabbed them tightly.
"Saebyeok, hold her other hand!"
"Okay." Right hand—Levinas. Left hand—Saebyeok. Winter realized too late that everyone's hands were now stuck together.
"Levinas, this is glue, isn't it…?"
"Yeah! But it's harmless to the body!"
"I-is that so…?" Winter lifted her right hand. Levinas's hand came up with it. She tried shaking it off, but the glue was way too strong.
"Whoa…" There had to be a way to remove it, right? Winter stared at their joined hands, breaking into a cold sweat.