Reluctant Playground Games
"Winter, we're here to relax, so you shouldn't run around too much or exert yourself, right?"
"Yesss..."
What kind of exertion was there even to do at a kids' playground? With a sigh, I stepped onto the stairs and climbed up to the slide.
Standing at the highest point in the playground, I looked around. A few people came into view. From the child climbing onto the jungle gym with a bright smile to the mother pushing the swing. Among the diverse crowd, there was one being who didn't fit in at all.
An adult like me trying to ride a children's slide? If anyone who knew me saw this, they'd surely laugh their asses off.
"Haa."
How did it come to this? Sitting on the slide with a sense of despair, unfamiliar legs entered my view. It wasn't like time was flowing backward, but my legs had shortened twice over. It was disorienting in every way, but I decided to think positively somehow.
At least being younger means I might live longer.
As I rationalized it to myself, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. The sudden touch startled me, and I flinched, hunching up.
"Wh-what?!"
Turning around, a young boy was blinking at me. Seeing his innocent childlike face brought a sense of relief.
"Um, I wanna go down the slide."
"Uh, yeah."
Was he waiting because I was blocking the slide? Feeling sorry, I hurriedly tried to slide down, but the boy tilted his head at me.
"But why are your ears on top of your head? Are you a cat?"
"I-I don't knooow!"
"Aaaah—" I let out a long echo-like wail and shot down the slide. Maybe because I was smaller now, the ride felt longer than usual. Not that it was any fun.
"Haa."
Why did that girl drag an adult like me to the playground? Just to humiliate me? As I got up from the slide with another sigh, the girl approached me.
"How was it? Fun, right?"
Her fake-friendly eye smile was utterly repulsive. Any lingering doubt was now certainty. She'd brought me here just to tease me. Probably wanted to treat me like a kid now that I looked the part. What a wicked witch.
I swallowed my complaints and clapped weakly.
"Wooow..."
Clap—clap—clap— Slow and deliberate. The girl flinched visibly. She was clearly shocked that I'd finally shown some resistance after just taking it all before. It was her own tactic turned against her—acting nice on the outside while scratching underneath.
"W-wasn't it fun...?"
She looked flustered, as if she'd read my rebellion. Feeling a bit better after landing that hit, I decided to push my defiance a little further, even if she scared me.
"Fun... I dunno."
I looked up at her with a genuinely puzzled expression. My way of saying I didn't want to play anymore.
"Uh... then how about that one?"
"That one?"
I followed her pointing finger. A small swing meant for kids sat at the end.
"Yeah. You've never tried it, right? Sis will push you from behind. Wanna go sit?"
"Yesss..."
A slide and now a swing. She was really putting in the effort to torment me. I trudged over and climbed onto the swing.
"Ready?"
"Yesss..."
I nodded limply, and she started pushing my back. Each time her hand touched, my body twitched.
What the...
Was she trying not to drop my tiny body? She pushed gently and kindly. Even knowing she was faking it, her touch felt warm enough to fool me for a moment.
"How's it? Fun?"
"Y-yeah..."
To think the first kind touch in years felt like this. Pathetic that a corner of my heart tickled even knowing the truth. Maybe because I couldn't see her face behind me.
I really hate this.
I'd thought I'd endured toughly all this time. Had I unknowingly craved human affection? Feeling frustrated, I swung my legs and said,
"C-could you push harder, please?"
The higher it went, the longer before it came back down—meaning fewer touches from her. My own little act of resistance.
"Okay. I'll push hard, so hold on tight?"
"Yes."
Her hands gained strength, but it didn't feel rough or violent. If anything, the stronger pushes only amplified the sense that she was being careful not to let me fall. An annoying warmth spread in my chest despite myself. I couldn't take it anymore.
Timing it as the swing reached its peak, I hopped off.
"Ah! Winter!"
The girl's startled voice came from behind. Not worry for me, surely—just concern that the body she'd gone to such lengths for might get hurt? Her blatant attitude snapped me back to reality fast. She was never someone who'd grow fond of me.
Tch.
How nice it would've been if that touch was genuine. Entertaining such impossible delusions, I walked back toward her. She was never on my side, I repeated inwardly.
"Sorry. I thought you'd jump farther."
"Uh, yeah. There's that kind of play, but you gotta be careful not to get hurt?"
"Yesss..."
As expected, her top priority was my changed body. In a way, I'd found her weakness. She wouldn't just stand by if I got hurt.
"How was the swing? Fun?"
"Yes. It was fun."
"Really? Then wanna swing some more?"
She pointed at it with a bright smile. Not wanting to feel her kind touch again, I shook my head quickly.
"No, let's try something else."
"Okay. There's tons of fun stuff here, so let's try them all one by one?"
"Yesss..."
All of them? How many pieces of equipment were there? I counted them with my fingers.
One, two, three...
Easily over ten. I really didn't want to, but her attitude was too pushy, so I gave in. Definitely not because I liked her kind touches.
One hour later.
Summer returned to the tent with Winter. It was lunchtime. She wanted to feed Winter something nutritious and tasty, but how? As she pondered seriously, Winter tugged cautiously at her clothes.
"Wanna have some dandelion tea?"
"Dandelion tea?"
"Yes. It's good for your health."
Offering tea? Perfect timing to treat her in return.
"Then lunch is on me."
"L-lunch? I'm just offering tea..."
"Just tea? You dug and brewed it yourself."
"Yes, but..."
Winter's eyes darted side to side. Clearly puzzled about the tea's value.
"Tea prices are sky-high these days. With handmade premium, it's easily 10,000 won a cup."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Wild-picked dandelion."
It wasn't a lie at all. In this era's premium market, with the right spin, it could go for hundreds of thousands.
"Then I'll take less than 10,000 won."
"Okay. Sis'll be right back. That cool?"
"Yesss..."
Summer left the tent, leaving Winter nodding behind her. Her first stop was deep in the mountains where her colleague waited.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
A burly man emerged from behind a tree, parting the forest. The biggest guy in the guild was named Choi Jin-hyeok. He fidgeted with his large hands, like he had something to say.
"What's up?"
"Well, I accidentally ran into the kid this morning. Got something to report about it."
"Yeah?"
What happened that he'd come all this way to report? Summer blinked in surprise.
"I apologized first thing."
"Apologized?"
"Yeah. But she didn't seem to believe it."
Apologized? Come to think of it, had she apologized to the kid? Summer recalled the day the child first opened her eyes after the blessing. She'd tried to apologize right away, but the kid got scared and ran. Then her stomach growled, leading to the cafeteria by chance, and despair over the kid's plight. Things had been so chaotic she couldn't remember clearly.
Did I forget to apologize...?
Too much on her mind, too hectic—details were fuzzy. But no way she'd skip the most important apology, no matter how rushed.
Summer sorted her thoughts and looked up at Jin-hyeok.
"Even after apologizing, she didn't believe you?"
"Yeah. Nothing weird, just thought you should know."
"Okay. Thanks."
Too much trauma from people, so she still couldn't trust. Summer let out a deep sigh without realizing.
"You'll be under suspicion too. Keep that in mind."
"Yeah. I will."
She knew the kid eyed her suspiciously. It was natural, so she didn't dwell on it. Thanking Jin-hyeok for the warning, Summer headed to a nearby restaurant. She believed nothing healed a wounded soul like meat.