* * *
I looked up and saw the camera lens in the tent.
‘Let me handle the hosting.’
Make sure to film well.
I smiled and asked,
“What are we playing?”
“Huh? Hey, what were we going to play with the baby?”
“Pony ride?”
“Airplane game?”
“Kicking a ball?”
“Can he kick a ball at this age? Oh, there’s a ball over there!”
How quick they are.
Did I have a ball?
Now that I think about it, I remember hearing Auntie An bought one yesterday.
The member quickly fetched the ball and placed me on the carpet.
“Hey, Kongja, let’s play ball!”
“Here comes the ball!”
One of the members gently rolled the ball towards me.
‘Do they know it’s my first time playing like this?’
Can I even kick the ball?
I gave it a try, but unsurprisingly, I ended up falling on my butt.
‘Ugh, seriously.’
Looks like I still have trouble keeping my balance.
As I was getting up, one of the members burst out laughing.
“Puhahahaha! How cute!”
Hey.
‘A normal kid would have cried.’
It didn’t seem intentional, though.
As expected, another member scolded him.
“Hey, you’ll hurt the baby’s feelings.”
“Oh, really?”
The member approached me with a sorry expression. In that moment, I realized.
‘It’s time.’
Time to showcase the special move I’ve been practicing for this moment.
One of the members, Kim Jin-hyung, crouched down in front of me to meet my eye level.
“Kongja, I’m sorry for teasing you.”
A typical kid might not even understand. Even if they did, they’d probably turn away.
‘But I’m different.’
I gently patted Kim Jin-hyung’s cheek and smiled brightly.
“It’s okay!”
Kim Jin-hyung’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, Kongja forgave me!”
At that moment, subtitles appeared in my mind.
[Member Kim Jin-hyung is delighted to have received your forgiveness]
[Love and Peace Coin +100]
Wow.
‘That’s a lot more than I expected.’
Why is he so moved by this? I blinked and looked at Kim Jin-hyung. He scratched his cheek in surprise.
“I didn’t think you’d forgive me.”
It’s no big deal.
“Why?”
“Well, usually, people don’t forgive mistakes easily.”
“Really? Who?”
“Everyone?”
That’s tough. But then again, the entertainment industry is like that.
‘There are so many idols.’
Ah, but aren’t you guys in HALO?
‘Everyone starts as a rookie.’
Now that I think about it, I heard HALO went through a lot when they were rookies.
“Really, everyone?”
“Yeah.”
Oh dear.
“Hyung.”
I patted Kim Jin-hyung’s head.
“Kongja’s okay.”
The other members groaned in unison.
“Wow!”
“The baby is so kind!”
“Even more mature than Jin-hyung!”
Kim Jin-hyung blinked and held his forehead.
“Oh man, stop teasing.”
“Mr. Kim Jin-hyung, how do you feel about being comforted by a baby?”
“Honestly.”
Kim Jin-hyung blinked and said,
“I feel good. So good it’s weird.”
“Puhahahahaha!”
“This is crazy.”
“You should be Kongja’s brother!”
“Oh man! Stop teasing!”
Kim Jin-hyung grumbled but held my waist and said,
“Kongja, kick the ball again.”
Such a nice guy.
“Okay!”
I kicked the ball. The soft rubber ball bounced to the other side.
“Aww. That short kick is so cute.”
‘Short?’ I take back the nice guy part.
‘Well, it is short because I’m a baby.’
Just wait. I’ll grow really tall.
‘With long legs, too.’
If that doesn’t work, I’ll use my coins.
As I was making this small resolution, the ball rolled back to me.
This time, I kicked it more carefully. But I still stumbled, and Kim Jin-hyung steadied me again.
Another member kicked the ball back.
But this time, it looked like it was flying towards my head.
‘It might hit my head…’
Getting hit in the face would be bad.
I stretched out my hand and covered Kim Jin-hyung’s head.
Thud.
The ball brushed my arm and fell to the floor. The room went silent for a moment.
“What, what the heck!”
“Hey, you can’t kick the ball that high!”
“Oh, sorry. Are you both okay? Of course, you’re okay, right?”
“What did I just see!”
The HALO members rushed over.
“Jin-hyung, are you alive?”
“Of course I am! Wow, did you see Kongja cover my head?”
“Yeah! Kongja’s short arms wrapped around your big head!”
“Oh man! My head’s not big!”
It’s noisy.
But the HALO members didn’t stop fussing.
“Mr. Kim Jin-hyung, you’re how old? Kongja, you’re one year old, right? How do you feel being protected by a one-year-old?”
‘They’re having fun.’ Kim Jin-hyung picked me up and stood.
“Uh, it’s a bit strange but… I like it.”
“Do you really?”
“Yeah. But at the same time, it makes me wonder why I’m so weak that a baby has to protect me. I’ll pass all these worries to Yoo Ji-chan who kicked the ball.”
Kim Jin-hyung grabbed my arm and ran to the other member.
“How dare you put us in danger! Kongja will punish you!”
Kim Jin-hyung used my hand to lightly hit Yoo Ji-chan.
“How dare you threaten us?”
“Aah, I’m sorry!”
Yoo Ji-chan crouched down and put his hands together.
“I was careless.”
“What if our Kongja got hit by the ball!”
“I didn’t kick it that hard.”
True.
‘It just went a bit high.’
But Kim Jin-hyung was relentless.
“Don’t you know that carelessness can put Kongja in danger? Hey, guys!”
Huh?
“Yes!”
What?
“Tie him up!”
Wow.
‘They’re really having fun.’
The other members quickly brought a chair.
They sat him down like they were tying him up, but the real problem was the chair itself.
‘It’s a pumpkin chair.’
Auntie An bought it as a set with a watermelon chair.
So it looked really cute.
“Pfft! The chair is too cute.”
“Hey, don’t laugh. Be serious.”
“Okay. Twist the criminal’s legs.”
“I’m innocent~”
They were a perfect match. Yoo Ji-chan, sitting in the pumpkin chair, shuddered and shouted.
“Please give me another chance!”
“Do you not know what you’ve done and dare to seek forgiveness? Hey, twist him more!”
“Aye!”
“They say to twist him more!”
Wow, this is chaotic.
‘Do kids these days play like this?’
It was hard to keep up.
“Forgive~ me~ please~”
Kim Jin-hyung stretched out his arm.
“Hey, stop the torture.”
“They say to stop!”
“Sniff. Sniff.”
I blinked. Kim Jin-hyung held me and stood in front of Yoo Ji-chan.
“I have no intention of forgiving your sins, but the little master might think differently. Little master, what do you want to do?”
Huh. The choice is up to me?
* * *
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