The Playground
The water fight started so suddenly.
Thankfully, the playground was inside the apartment complex.
The tall apartment buildings blocked the sun, casting plenty of shade.
That meant we could run around and play without worrying about getting sunburned.
“Take this!”
“Hurry, hurry!”
For a long while, Sia and I blasted each other with water guns.
The game basically fell into two categories.
First, we’d treat the playground’s slide structure like a survival game—hiding behind it and shooting streams of water at each other. Or we’d play a twisted version of tag, chasing and being chased while spraying water everywhere.
Of course, even in the middle of our frantic playing, there was one rule we had to follow: never go down the stairs connected to the playground.
I’d heard that the alley below those stairs was where homeless people stayed, and the area wasn’t very safe.
Still, we could have plenty of fun without going over there, so the warning quickly slipped from my mind.
Luckily, there was a water fountain right next to the playground, so we could refill our guns anytime. We sprayed water without any restraint.
Maybe because we were outsiders who had joined their game, the kids seemed to focus their attacks on us especially hard.
Especially on Sia.
“Kyaaak!”
It felt like she was getting drenched far more than I was.
Of course, every time that happened, Sia would hide behind me, turning me into the main target.
“Ehehe.”
When I saw her bright, innocent smile, I couldn’t even bring myself to complain.
“Take this!”
Besides, I was too busy pumping my water gun like crazy to fight back.
We played like that for who knows how long. No matter how much the water cooled us down, it was still the middle of a scorching summer. Eventually, the heat started to catch up with us.
“Kids! I’m going to buy some ice cream! Wait here a bit!”
“Okayyy!”
Sia’s mom had already become friendly with the other apartment ladies and headed out with them to get ice cream.
I used to think our family got close to Sia’s so quickly because my mom and dad were so sociable, but now I realized her mother was the one who was really good at making friends.
We stopped playing with the water guns for a while and took a break.
I walked over to the bag I’d brought earlier and pulled out two large towels.
I draped one over my own head and carried the other one over to her.
“Hold still.”
“Huh…?”
—rustle rustle rustle—
I dried Sia’s wet hair for her.
After vigorously rubbing it dry and pulling the towel away, I saw her with adorably messy hair.
Once I confirmed she was dry, I shook the water out of my own hair too.
Then I took out a change of clothes from the bag and switched into them.
Sia didn’t need to change, so I was about to suggest we just rest in the shade for a bit.
That’s when the kids we’d been playing with earlier came over.
Among them, the biggest one spoke up.
“Hey, where do you guys live?”
“……”
Sia looked a little scared, so without thinking I stepped slightly in front of her and answered.
“Piar Apartment, over there.”
“Piar… Apartment…”
He seemed to be searching his memory. For a moment he hesitated, but then he squared his shoulders again and asked confidently.
“How old are you?”
“Me? I’m six.”
“What? Six? Then what about her?”
He pointed at Sia, so I answered for her.
“She’s six too, same as me.”
“They’re six! Six years old!”
He suddenly burst out laughing after hearing our ages.
I had no idea why he was reacting like that. Sia and I just stood there, confused.
“These little brats are acting all tough even though they’re babies!”
I was curious about his age since he’d brought it up, so I asked.
“Then how old are you?”
“Third grade! And these guys are all third and second graders.”
“Um… so how old is that?”
“……”
He paused at the question, then started folding his fingers one by one. After folding three, he said,
“Ten! And nine! So call us hyung!”
“Okay.”
“By the way, do you two like each other?”
“…? What do you mean?”
“I said, do you like each other!”
I didn’t really understand what he meant by “like.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t know the meaning of the word.
But I couldn’t figure out why he was saying it while looking at Sia.
When I didn’t react because I couldn’t grasp the meaning, he switched targets and asked Sia instead.
“Hey, do you like this kid?”
“Uh…? I… um… that is…”
Sia started stuttering, clearly flustered.
The older boys got excited and started shouting.
“She’s stuttering! She likes him!”
“She totally does!”
“Ooh la la! She likes him! She likes him!”
They began running circles around us.
Sia rarely raised her voice, but she shouted,
“It’s not like that!”
“It’s nooot like that!”
“When someone says it’s not, it usually is!”
“They like each other!”
They kept teasing us without mercy.
Sia’s face grew red as she listened.
Even so, the teasing didn’t stop.
Eventually Sia screamed at them, but that only seemed to fuel them more. They wouldn’t quit.
“Uuu…”
Then the sorrow must have hit her all at once. Sia started sniffling.
I hurried to comfort her, but it wasn’t enough.
A single tear finally rolled down from Sia’s eye.
It slid along her cheek, gathered at her chin, and then—
—plop!
I heard the clear sound of a water droplet near my ear.
“…??”
The moment I wondered what that sound was,
I realized the three boys who had been yelling and teasing us had suddenly gone completely silent.
I looked over, confused.
All three of them were staring blankly at Sia, their eyes unfocused.
“…What are you doing?”
The eerie feeling made me call out to them, but there was no answer.
Sensing something was wrong, I reached out to grab Sia’s hand.
—thud!
“Ugh!”
Someone shoved me hard with both arms.
I was knocked to the ground. Before I could even feel the pain,
“Ky…aaak!”
I saw all three boys rushing toward Sia at the same time.
I didn’t even notice the scrapes burning on my skin. I scrambled up and ran to block them.
“Hey… hey?”
“Get back!”
Sia still couldn’t fully grasp the situation. She just stood in place, stomping her feet anxiously.
I told her to move back, and once she had retreated a little, I stepped in front of her to shield her.
But the three boys kept coming closer. I snatched up the water gun that had been kicked around, and sprayed them wildly.
Even when the water hit their faces, they only squinted and continued advancing.
Eventually the gun ran out of water. I tossed it aside and kept moving, trying to maintain some distance.
During all that—
—squeeze.
Sia grabbed my shirt tightly.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
I said I’d protect her… but I didn’t have any real plan.
Still, I wanted to reassure her with those words.
I kept Sia behind me and slowly backed away, trying to create more distance.
Luckily the three of them weren’t running either—they were walking slowly—so I was able to keep some space between us.
I wanted to run away right then, but—
“Ah… auuu…”
Sia seemed frozen in terror by their sudden change in behavior. She couldn’t move properly, so running wasn’t an option.
While we were helplessly circling around, I spotted someone coming up the stairs connected to the playground.
“Excuse me! Please help us!!”
I shouted as loudly as I could, just like I’d learned in kindergarten.
After asking for help, the tension finally left my body.
I thought an adult would come and help us, just like they taught us at school.
But even though the adult had clearly heard me, he climbed the stairs at a completely ordinary pace and then looked around.
That was when I got a good look at him for the first time. He had messy hair and extremely dirty clothes.
He looked exactly like the characters I’d seen in fairy tale books.
The man narrowed his eyes and scanned the area.
When his gaze landed on Sia, the corners of his mouth curled up.
Yellow teeth showed between his lips. The sight was incredibly creepy.
With that same eerie grin, he strode straight toward us.
I kept backing away, but his steps were much longer than a child’s. He easily shoved aside the elementary school boys who had been in front.
—thud! —thump! —thud!
Sia was so terrified that she had stopped moving entirely.
Now that running was impossible, I clenched my teeth and stepped in front of her again.
—thud!
“Ugh!”
“Kyaaak!”
But a single light kick sent me flying backward. Sia, who had been right behind me, fell with me.
As we lay side by side on the ground, he grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up.
—whoosh!
He threw me aside.
“Aaaah!”
I rolled across the dirt several times before stopping. When I frantically turned my head, I saw the man approaching the terrified Sia.
I tried to get up.
—throb, throb!
My whole body screamed in pain.
My arms and legs burned and ached so badly that I could barely move.
As I struggled against the pain, Sia’s voice reached me.
“Help… me.”