* * *
After Eungyeol, it was Jihoon’s turn.
“Why is everyone so good at this? You guys eat and sleep Jenga or something?”
Jihoon stared at the tower, now missing several blocks.
Next to him, Yeongdeok’s eyes blazed with such intensity that Jihoon could easily imagine the consequences of toppling the tower.
“Uh… Is this one okay?” Jihoon glanced at Yeongdeok for reassurance before gently nudging a block.
“No matter what, once you touch it, you have to pull it out. You know the rules, right?”
His childhood friend’s advice wasn’t exactly helpful.
Thanks, really.
Jihoon pushed harder, and the block stayed put, but the tower began to sway dangerously.
Knowing it was bound to fall, Jihoon continued to carefully pry the block loose, but the moment he succeeded, the Jenga tower crumbled spectacularly.
“Shit…”
Jihoon slowly turned to see Yeongdeok grinning.
He felt a shiver run down his spine.
“Come here.”
Yeongdeok beckoned with his finger, and Jihoon felt a foreboding sense of doom.
He had a bad feeling that if Yeongdeok hit him, his forehead might split open.
“Hey… I went easy on you earlier…”
Despite his growing sense of dread, Jihoon knew he couldn’t back out, so he reluctantly leaned his forehead toward Yeongdeok.
Up close, Yeongdeok’s smirk seemed even more wicked, and it weirdly suited him.
Jihoon, embarrassed by the sudden warmth in his face, tried to pull away, but Yeongdeok held him steady.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not running away—”
Just as Seonwoo had done to him earlier, Yeongdeok placed his hand on Jihoon’s forehead.
Jihoon squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the worst.
He could almost hear the distant sound of an ambulance siren.
But instead of the expected sharp pain, Yeongdeok simply swept Jihoon’s bangs off his forehead.
The light, ticklish touch made Jihoon open his eyes in surprise.
“An eye for an eye, right?”
Jihoon, not expecting Yeongdeok to go easy on him, found himself smiling softly despite himself.
“That’s not really how the saying goes…”
For a brief moment, a warm, almost spring-like atmosphere settled between them, but Seonwoo quickly ruined it by chiming in.
“Jihoon, don’t forget, you still owe us one.”
Jihoon was yanked back to reality, muttering a curse under his breath before responding dryly.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Dragging his feet, Jihoon approached Seonwoo, who playfully instructed him.
“Jihoon, lower your head a bit more.”
Though irritated, Jihoon complied, lowering his head, only to be met with a harsh, stinging flick that sent him staggering.
The blow was so strong that Jihoon, despite his size, stumbled back, his head spinning.
For a moment, he stared blankly into space, feeling as though his very soul had left his body.
“That bastard, Baek Seonwoo…”
As if the situation couldn’t get worse, Eungyeol stepped up, and once again, the sharp sound of impact filled the air.
The game was far from over.
“Alright… If this is how you all want to play…”
Jihoon’s eyes were ablaze with a sharp, intense glint of madness.
After rubbing his forehead, he moved ahead to build the Jenga tower.
In the next round, it was Seonwoo who knocked the tower down.
Waiting for this exact moment, both Yeongdeok and Jihoon hit Seonwoo hard enough that his eyes welled up with tears.
His pale skin, already light, turned a deeper shade of red on his forehead compared to others.
“Wow, no mercy, huh?”
“Of course not. It’s your karma.”
“Alright, just wait and see.”
Except for Eungyeol, everyone had faced a penalty at least once, and so began a fierce and childish battle among players averaging 25.5 years old.
“Cha Yeongdeok, you landed in South Korea. Pay me 5 million won in tolls.”
The game had switched from Jenga to Blue Marble.
Yeongdeok, having repeatedly landed on properties owned by Eungyeol and Seonwoo, losing money every turn, raised his sharply arched eyebrows and reached into his pocket for his wallet.
“Don’t take out real money now. This is supposed to be a pure game even elementary schoolers play, not illegal gambling.”
“I can’t believe I… don’t even have 5 million…”
As Yeongdeok was about to lament over having no money, he caught sight of Eungyeol and clammed up.
Almost made a foolish move like some obsessive villain who throws money around, he thought. Forcing a smile, he continued.
“No money? Then I guess you’re bankrupt.”
Yeongdeok looked at the fake money in his possession.
Even after scraping together paper coins, he barely had 500,000 won.
This Blue Marble game, or whatever it was called, was oddly educational, teaching him how pitiful it felt to be broke. His forced smile trembled at the edges.
“Yeongdeok, what’s going on? You did so well in Mafia Party.”
Jihoon still remembered getting beaten 9 times out of 10 by Yeongdeok in their Mafia Party games.
How could Cha Yeongdeok lose so ridiculously now?
“This is a completely different game. But now that I know the rules, I won’t lose again.”
As a penalty for his crushing defeat, Yeongdeok got smacked on the forehead by each of the three others.
Determined not to lose the next round, he fired up his competitive spirit, but Seonwoo, knowing Yeongdeok’s knack for quickly mastering things, hurriedly began cleaning up the Blue Marble board.
“Let’s play something else now.”
He cleared the table so fast that the fake money and gold keys were all tidied up in a blink.
“How about Halli Galli?”
This time, it was Eungyeol’s suggestion.
He stood up, holding the Blue Marble box Seonwoo had neatly put away, and brought out another game.
Cards with fruit pictures and a bell were placed on the table.
“Halli Galli, you said? How do you play it?”
“Each person takes turns flipping a card face up, and when the total number of fruits on the table reaches five, you ring the bell. Simple, right?”
Jihoon, thinking this game should be easy enough, cheered Yeongdeok on, telling him to do better this time.
As Jihoon said, the rules were simple.
Yeongdeok reached out and tapped the bell in the center, liking the crisp jingle it made.
Eungyeol, apparently experienced in shuffling cards, showcased his skills, quickly dealing out even stacks to all four players.
“Cha Yeongdeok, you go first. Just flip your card over.”
Yeongdeok turned over the top card of his stack. It had five plums on it.
As he said, “So this is how you do it…,” he suddenly felt a gust of wind pass by his face.
All three others reached out at lightning speed and rang the bell in the center.
Jihoon, who was fastest, claimed the card with five plums.
“Yeah, that’s how you do it.”
Though the rules were straightforward, the journey ahead looked anything but smooth.
Jihoon shuffled the card he had just won into his pile and flipped the next one.
One lime.
It was now Eungyeol’s turn. He turned over a card showing three bananas.
Next, Seonwoo flipped his, revealing three strawberries.
Once again, it was Yeongdeok’s turn.
He mentally tallied up all the fruits on the table before flipping his card, which had three plums.
Just as they were about to complete a peaceful round, Jihoon flipped over a card showing four limes, and the calm table turned into a battlefield.
Seeing the total number of limes reach five, Yeongdeok quickly moved his hand.
But Jihoon was even faster.
Yeongdeok’s hand slammed down hard onto Jihoon’s, the sound of flesh hitting flesh mixing with the crisp ring of the bell.
“Damn, that really hurt.”
Jihoon groaned, feeling like he had been punished even though he’d won.
He followed the arm attached to the hand that had hit him so hard and saw Yeongdeok blinking expressionlessly.
Realizing that it was Yeongdeok’s hand, Jihoon pulled his own hand away even faster than he had rung the bell.
His hand stung where it had made contact with Yeongdeok’s.
“Quit whining.”
“Try getting hit by you and see if it doesn’t hurt.”
Jihoon grumbled as he gathered up the revealed cards, but his fingers were trembling so much that he kept dropping them.
* * *
Jihoon is so cute
Yeongeok’s a genius lol
Seonwoo is still as annoying as ever
seowoon STOP ruining the moment
Flustered are u Jihoon? A lil touch got u movin fast as lightning?? MMM
Thanks for the chapter 😸
I can’t wait to read more
Hes a learning machine 😭😭😭
How cute
Come on please…. little dog and cute chicken please
Jihoon blushes easily, doesn’t he? Cute..
Seowoon you are ruining the moment!!
Jihoon You are so ♥️♥️♥️
Thanks
Thanks!
yeong flesh hitting on jihoon flesh har- yeesh alr something is cooking up in my brain that i must put out in art form