Chapter 18: This tastes pretty good.

Ma Won-ho took a bite of pizza and exclaimed with admiration.

“This tastes pretty good.”

“They seem to use quality cheese.”

Jae-hyun, seated beside him, wore a satisfied expression, as if watching a child eat heartily. Chaeyeon-woo, meanwhile, stuffed more than half a cheese ball into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he chewed.

Dohwa, observing the others eat, carefully set a scorching hot slice of pizza onto his plate. It seemed to have been delivered straight from the oven.

One wrong move, and he could scald his mouth, suffering for the rest of the day.

Soon enough, he confirmed the pizza had cooled to a perfect temperature by touching it with his hand, then finally took a bite.

The potatoes crunched with each chew, and he focused solely on devouring the pizza in silence.

After finishing one slice, he confidently grabbed another type of pizza. However, his eating speed gradually slowed, leaving half of it on his plate.

‘The cheese is good, but it’s getting a bit much.’

Dohwa, sipping his cola and watching the others, met eyes with Kang Hae-il, who had also paused his meal.

“Dohwa, you should have a cheese ball too.”

Just then, Chaeyeon-woo, sitting nearby, took an untouched cheese ball and placed it on Dohwa’s plate.

Between the unspoken pressure from Kang Hae-il’s gaze and the gesture from his companion, Dohwa couldn’t possibly leave the offered cheese ball uneaten.

Alternating bites with sips of cola, he somehow managed to finish it, feeling undeniably full.

“Shall we clear up now and play some games?”

“Mintendo Wii! Hmm, Kang Hae-il, will you play with me?”

The moment games were mentioned, Chaeyeon-woo’s eyes lit up, and he singled out Kang Hae-il.

Woo Sori watched the two with an intrigued expression, but Kang Hae-il replied with an air of nonchalant composure.

“Certainly.”

“Prepare yourself, I’m about to show you my gaming prowess.”

Kang Hae-il, his attention drawn elsewhere rather than to Chaeyeon-woo’s challenge, simply let the words pass through one ear and out the other.

Playing indoors all day.

It was something he excelled at, yet with so many people around, he couldn’t help but feel a little reserved. He had never really played multi-person board games before.

Entering the playroom, four people remained, while two others headed towards the TV where the Mintendo Wii was set up.

“The classics are always the safest bet.”

“When it comes to board games, this is the unwritten rule.”

“Anything is fine with me.”

Ma Won-ho and Woo Sori chatted, vying for attention as they examined the various neatly arranged games on the shelf.

Jae-hyun, seemingly unfamiliar with games himself, sat by and watched them make their selections.

“Your eyes have completely settled now.”

“Oh, really? …Thank you.”

He had sensed an uncomfortable gaze nearby, and now he understood why. As he awkwardly offered his thanks once more, Woo Sori suddenly appeared.

“I thought it’d be best to start with a physical game, so I picked this.”

“…Jenga?”

“There are four of us, so let’s split into teams.”

Sparks seemed to fly from Ma Won-ho’s eyes as he spoke.

Winning or losing didn’t really matter.

Woo Sori and Ma Won-ho, however, displayed an overflowing enthusiasm even before the game began, suggesting a considerable competitive spirit. They seemed like a perfect pair for a team.

“Alright. Let’s decide teams by flipping our palms.”

Thus, the first team consisted of Ma Won-ho and Jae-hyun, while Dohwa was paired with Woo Sori.

‘They’ve been divided by their dispositions.’

“Should we set up a penalty too?”

“Hmm, let’s skip it for the first round, since it’s just a warm-up.”

At the mention of a penalty, a shiver ran down his spine.

Losing would be a nuisance to his own teammate.

The Jenga tower, sitting on the table, was something he hadn’t seen in quite a while.

They took turns pulling out blocks, one by one, in the order determined by rock-paper-scissors.

As the Jenga tower grew increasingly precarious, Dohwa’s expression turned serious.

“Dohwa, this one.”

He had been pulling blocks under Woo Sori’s guidance, but this time, the moment he touched it, he felt something was terribly wrong.

The Jenga block wouldn’t budge, even with a push.

He glanced at Woo Sori with an anxious look, and Woo Sori, perhaps sensing the chill in the air, pressed his lips into a thin line.

“You touched it, so you have to pull that one out.”

“…I know.”

Jae-hyun, stating the pre-determined rule, felt a little annoying, but Dohwa pushed the touched Jenga block with his finger once more.

With a slight application of force, sure enough, the Jenga tower collapsed with a clatter.

“It’s fine. It was just a practice game anyway.”

“Shall we switch teams now?”

In the newly shuffled teams, Dohwa found himself paired with Jae-hyun.

While the two competitive players had ended up on a team as he had anticipated earlier, seeing them together now, they exuded a rather dangerous aura.

“For a penalty, how about a light flick to the forehead?”

Woo Sori suddenly adopted a wicked grin and snapped his fingers.

“Sure.”

Jae-hyun casually agreed from beside him, prompting Dohwa to widen his eyes and glance over. However, seeing that the forehead flick was becoming the unanimous penalty, he remained silent.

“Dohwa, we just need to win.”

And there was something he hadn’t realized until now.

Beneath Jae-hyun’s seemingly gentle demeanor, a subtle madness gleamed in his eyes.

“I said I wouldn’t go easy on you this time, didn’t I?”

“Yes…”

The loser’s voice barely registered, as if crawling along the floor.

The forehead flick, when delivered lightly, was no longer a burden. Yet, his hands still trembled while playing Jenga, regardless of his competitive spirit.

In fact, the combined number of times the other three players had toppled the tower was roughly equal to Dohwa’s individual count.

Strangely, even skilled players, when teamed with him, would end up collapsing the Jenga tower, winning only once and losing every other round.

With teams changing every round, he found himself partnered with Woo Sori once more.

After playing for a while, the constant taunting had led to bickering, and this time, they had even threatened not to go easy on the penalty.

And so, the current situation was that the Jenga tower had collapsed yet again by Dohwa’s hand, resulting in another forehead flick.

Thwack!

“Ugh.”

“You okay?”

“Woo Sori, are you alright?”

Isn’t it psychotic to deliver a hard flick and immediately ask if someone’s okay?

Woo Sori, clutching his flicked forehead with a tearful expression, looked like a drenched puppy. Judging by the uncommonly loud *thwack*, it must have truly hurt.

This wasn’t just someone else’s problem.

He wished he’d gone first; watching it happen to someone else made him even more terrified.

“Hmm, come here.”

Seeing Ma Won-ho beckon him closer, Dohwa tentatively shuffled forward, one hand still covering his forehead. His heart, however, had long since fled.

As the large hand drew near, he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Stop teasing and just hit me already.”

He felt the hand pause before his forehead. As he kept his eyes closed, waiting for the impact, Woo Sori’s disgruntled voice chimed in from beside him.

Then, with a soft chuckle, something gently tapped his forehead.

‘Did he hit me?’

Opening his eyes as the hand retreated, he saw Ma Won-ho sitting with a nonchalant expression. Beside him, Woo Sori had his hands on his hips, glaring at Jae-hyun.

“We agreed to hit hard this time!”

Jae-hyun, trying to avoid Woo Sori’s reproachful gaze, spoke with an air of awkwardness.

“I considered it, but I couldn’t make him cry again, could I?”

“I wouldn’t cry.”

Jae-hyun nodded in understanding as he watched Ma Won-ho glance at Dohwa, then tilt his head slightly while speaking.

Dohwa frowned at the two of them, and Woo Sori, standing beside him, joined in.

“Let’s not switch teams this time. Let’s do one more round. And no going easy!”

“Are you sure about that?”

Even without looking, Dohwa knew Woo Sori’s forehead must be red.

Based on past experience, Woo Sori must have known that teaming with Dohwa wasn’t a good idea, yet his suggestion to keep the teams touched Dohwa.

‘This time, I’ll really try my best.’

With the other two also agreeing, they restacked the Jenga blocks and resumed the game.

He focused with an intensity he rarely showed during games, carefully searching for and extracting each easily removable Jenga block.

Perhaps because of this, he thought the game might last a little longer this time.

“Ah.”

“…It’s okay.”

This time, Woo Sori toppled the Jenga tower.

Although it was the same as him having knocked it over just moments ago, Dohwa stared at the Jenga tower in dismay. He had really wanted to win this round.

“Should we switch and have someone else do the flick this time?”

“Alright.”

As the time for the penalty approached and Jae-hyun volunteered to deliver it, Dohwa’s fear intensified. He remembered the merciless *thwack* Jae-hyun had given Woo Sori earlier.

He couldn’t bring himself to approach easily, lingering hesitantly.

“What are you guys doing here? Can we join in too!”

“…Are you done with the Mintendo Wii?”

“There were so many games, we tried a bunch, and Kang Hae-il is really good at them. So, I lost one of my wish coupons.”

All eyes turned to Chaeyeon-woo, who had suddenly burst in.

Kang Hae-il then casually sauntered over and joined them. Dohwa glanced once at the still-collapsed Jenga tower, then at the newcomers.

“We wanted to play Mintendo Wii, so we’ll go do that now! You guys play together here!”

Displaying incredible quick wit, he grabbed Woo Sori and sprang to his feet.

Then, he bolted.

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