The New Year's Event
A heavy silence hung in the air. Shine and I began to back away cautiously. The rabbit feed crunched beneath our feet, but we didn't have the luxury of worrying about that.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Sensing that our movements were highly suspicious, Jin hurriedly reached out a hand and stepped forward. At his sudden movement, the rabbits scattered in all directions.
Why was he even here? Don't tell me... did he come to steal and eat the rabbit food?
When I stared at him as if looking at some horrific creature, his face fell into a pout.
"No! That's not it!"
"So you've resorted to stealing food from helpless rabbits now..."
Shine, clearly sharing my thoughts, kicked the rabbit feed on the ground toward Jin.
"I said no!"
I shifted my gaze down to his feet. Instead of the dress shoes he wore last time, he was wearing the rubber boots the staff used when cleaning the rabbit hutches.
"I was just cleaning!" Jin began to make excuses. But they were nothing but excuses.
In my mind, Jin was permanently branded as a terrible villain who stole sandwiches. Therefore, it was entirely believable that he would sneak into a rabbit hutch to steal their feed.
"Okay... Let's all just calm down for a second, alright?"
Shine and I didn't answer. Amy's warning flashed through our minds.
"Sigh... Amy..." He massaged his forehead and let out a deep sigh. "Kids. I'm not a bad guy."
*Step.* Jin cautiously took a step forward.
Instantly, Shine and I took two steps back. I had a lot I wanted to say, but remembering Amy's instructions, I clamped my mouth shut. Never talk to him.
I pulled my backpack off my shoulders and hugged it tightly to my chest. I couldn't let him steal this sandwich too.
Slowly, Jin and the two of us engaged in a tense, silent dance. Just then, a tiny rabbit hopped right in front of Jin.
"Run!"
I immediately grabbed Shine's hand and bolted.
"Ah! Kids!"
Jin's panicked voice echoed behind us. Behind the rapid *pitter-patter* of our small feet came the heavy, thudding footsteps of Jin in hot pursuit.
Terrified, I thrust my hand out behind me. It was a purely instinctive, self-defense reflex.
*Crackle!*
A surge of blue electricity shot from my hand, scattering in all directions and blanketing the entire building.
The POS terminal wasn't the only electronic device inside. There were security cameras to monitor the rabbit farm remotely, automatic doors, and various vending machines. Every single one of them was engulfed in blue currents.
The moment Shine and I slipped through the automatic doors, the malfunctioning doors began to slide shut. Having missed us by a hair's breadth, Jin placed his hands on the glass door, his face a picture of utter despair.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The instant the doors clicked shut, the vending machines behind Jin let out a violent rattle and began to vomit canned drinks. An endless parade of beverages cascaded onto the floor. Right after, a series of sharp *pops* rang out. Every single security camera monitoring the rabbit hutches inside the building had exploded.
At the same time, a shrill siren began to wail. It was the fire alarm.
Along with the alarm, torrents of water began to pour from above. The building's sprinkler system had activated.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Through the locked automatic doors, my eyes met Jin's. His eyebrows twitched, trembling violently. He was getting absolutely drenched from head to toe.
Watching him, I stuck my tongue out, spun around, and sprinted away.
I held tightly to Shine's hand as we ran for our lives. Panting heavily, we hid behind a massive boulder and peered back in the direction of the rabbit farm. Even from this distance, we could hear that the chaotic alarm was still blaring.
We hadn't managed to complete our planned route, but I didn't feel too bad about it.
"He's not following us, right?"
"Yeah."
With no sign of Jin, we slumped onto the ground and began to catch our breath. Panting, I unzipped my bag and pulled out a drink. Shine, also thirsty, reached in and grabbed her own drink.
"Should we eat our sandwiches too?"
"What if Jin comes?"
At Shine's words, I poked my head out from behind the boulder to check the rabbit farm. The loud siren had finally stopped. The flashing red lights were nowhere to be seen either.
"I don't think he's there."
Jin was nowhere in sight. Still, I couldn't shake my unease. After a quick scan of our surroundings, I stood up and led Shine away from the boulder.
"Where are we going?"
"To find a better hiding spot."
I began to head into a densely wooded area. If we went deep enough inside, no one would be able to see us from the outside. It was a spot I had discovered while playing hide-and-seek with Shine before.
As we entered the woods, the scent of grass grew thick. It smelled just like the mountains I used to hike with my friends in my past life.
Deep inside the woods, a small table and some chairs were set up. Log stools firmly planted in the ground and a rustic table carved from a massive tree trunk gave the clearing quite a cozy atmosphere. I walked over and sat down.
"Sit down, Shine."
"Do you think he might come this way?"
"But there's no one around."
Still worried, Shine kept craning her neck to scan the area. I unslung my backpack and began pulling out the sandwiches. We hadn't even drawn anything yet. I figured it would be nice to eat our sandwiches here while we sketched.
Shine and I began to wolf down our sandwiches. We stuffed our mouths so full that our cheeks puffed out like squirrels.
"Are you going to draw now?"
"Yeah."
Having devoured the sandwich, I pulled a large sketchbook out of my bag. Since I had used it so much, there were only a few blank pages left. I'd have to ask Amy for a new one soon.
Crayon in hand, I began to draw without hesitation. Gradually, a little rabbit farm took shape on the page. But then, the wicked Jin appeared in the drawing, wearing a devilish grin. I moved my crayon even faster.
Shine added little rabbits fleeing from Jin's side. I drew a giant fork in his hand, with the rabbits' hay skewered between the prongs.
"He looks truly evil."
"I know, right?"
Shine even drew horns on Jin's head. Looking at it now, he was a literal demon. The poor rabbits shed tears as they watched their precious food get stolen.
"This masterpiece perfectly captures Jin."
"Exactly."
In the drawing, Jin began to stuff his face with hay. Showing absolutely no sympathy for the rabbits, he only cared about filling his own belly. It was a truly terrifying sight.
"All done!"
The drawing was perfect. If we showed this to anyone living here, they would instantly recognize it as Jin.
"Let's go back now."
I packed the sketchbook and crayons back into my yellow bag. I also stuffed the empty sandwich wrappers into the small front pocket. Heading toward the park entrance, I checked the time on a large clock nearby.
"We're out pretty early."
We had left the park much earlier than usual. Skipping our time at the rabbit farm because of Jin was probably the main reason.
Just before leaving the park, I glanced back toward the rabbit farm. The chaotic scenes inside the building flashed through my mind.
"I didn't do it..." I muttered, shaking my head.
That's right. It wasn't me. Jin did it. I nodded in self-agreement and stepped out of the park.
Shine and I quickly ran down the stairs and bolted back to our room. I was worried Jin might chase us, but the moment we stepped into our room, those worries melted away.
"Rain!"
Rain was in the room. She seemed to be in the middle of stretching, extending her arms and legs. The moment she looked back at us, her face flushed bright red.
"Hi...?"
With her head lowered, Rain quickly brought her limbs down and gave a small wave. Watching her, Shine and I skipped over and began circling around her, teasingly.
"Didn't you say you were busy?"
"Yeah. I finished up, so I came over to play."
"Really?"
"Did you come to play with us?"
Shine and I kept spinning around Rain.
"Ah...!"
Just then, a forgotten memory struck me. I remembered Amy telling us to wash our hands and feet whenever we came back from outside. I unslung my backpack and pulled out the dinosaur stone.
"What's that?" Rain approached slowly, looking intrigued by the dinosaur stone.
I proudly held the stone out to her. "Cool, right?"
"This...?"
It seemed Rain, too, failed to comprehend the sheer majesty of dinosaurs. I let out a tiny sigh and headed to the bathroom with Shine. While washing our hands and feet, I also scrubbed the dirt off the stone. With the dirt washed away, the contours of the stone dinosaur looked much sharper.
Leaving the bathroom, I placed the stone dinosaur on the table as a decoration. A touch of class had finally been added to the plain, empty table.
"So cool," I muttered.
But Rain and Shine didn't seem very interested in the dinosaur.
"Rain, were you doing gymnastics?"
"Yeah."
"Good job."
But Rain wasn't quite finished yet, as she started doing the rest of her routine. Spinning around, Rain finished her stretches. With a slightly flushed face, she grabbed a carton of milk and chugged it.
"When is Amy coming back?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure either."
I immediately dragged Rain and Shine over to the computer. Since neither of them seemed to understand the appeal of dinosaurs, I decided to show them a dinosaur video I had watched before. As soon as the computer booted up, I went straight to YouTube. Then, I opened my library and played the dinosaur video I had liked a while ago.
A massive dinosaur roar blasted from the speakers connected to the computer. But neither of them paid much attention, clearly lacking any interest in dinosaurs.
"They're so ugly."
"Yeah. Creepy."
Their harsh criticisms cut deep. I let out a small sigh and slumped in my chair. *Click, click.* I moved my hand on the mouse and closed the video.
"Jeff...?" Seeing me look so dejected, Shine gave me a worried look.
I didn't answer, keeping my mouth shut.
"It was cool."
"Really...?"
"Yeah. A little creepy, but cool." Shine said with a bright smile.
Pouting, I turned to Rain. "What about you, Rain?"
"Uh... Me?"
Caught under my gaze, Rain's eyes darted around in panic. Then, as if a brilliant idea had just struck her, her eyes widened and she answered.
"It's cool. Really cool. Though it's not quite my style..."
"Really?"
"Of course. But Jeff, those stone dinosaurs you brought... they're lacking a bit of flair."
"Lacking flair?"
"Yeah. The dinosaurs in the video had all sorts of vibrant colors, but those stones don't have any color at all." Rain nodded as she spoke. "Don't you think?"
At Rain's words, I stared at the stone dinosaur as if under a spell. She actually had a point.
"I think you're right!"
I hopped out of my seat and ran over to the table.
"Paint would probably work best for coloring stones." Rain spoke up as she saw me pulling crayons and colored pencils out of my yellow bag. She walked over to the corner of the room and rummaged through a drawer. Finding some paints, Rain grabbed a few brushes and ran back to us.
And so, our dinosaur coloring session began. The three of us began debating which colors would suit the dinosaurs best.
"How about red?"
"Should we paint the horns on its head red?"
"No, horns have to be white."
We compromised on our differences and set to work with our brushes. The dull, dark stones were soon blessed with brilliant, vibrant colors. Finally, we painted on the eyes. The round, black eyes gave them a surprisingly cute look.
"They actually look pretty cool." Shine murmured, staring at the colorful dinosaurs.
I had been hoping for something majestic, but this had a unique charm of its own.